Be Passionately In Love

"Seems like she really isn't interested in you," Zhu Yangqi continued fanning the flames.

"Yeah, she's definitely not interested," Chen Luzhou tossed his phone back onto the bed and continued replacing the drone battery to charge it, speaking without much emotion. "So, read the room and stop spouting nonsense in front of her from now on."

Zhu Yangqi nodded. Thought you were some irresistible charmer. Eating alone together must've meant something, huh? Fine, fine, I won't tease you about it anymore. Poor guy.

After packing up his things, Chen Luzhou hunched over, elbows resting on his knees, looking utterly indifferent as he stared at the shoes he'd just pulled from his suitcase, seemingly debating whether to wear them or not.

Zhu Yangqi noticed. "Wow, that color's bold. Pretty flashy. Are these the ones you bought last time? Haven't seen you wear them much. I thought you didn't like these loud, clashing colors?"

"Mind your own business," he said slowly, looking down. "What's it to you?"

Alright then. Clearly, Young Master Chen was in a bad mood. Zhu Yangqi knew when to back off—he was counting on Chen Luzhou to take photos for bragging rights on social media later. He mimed zipping his lips.

At ten, the two carried their equipment downstairs. Chen Luzhou was still dressed in all black, a sling bag hanging loosely across his back, wearing the same black shoes as before—clean and sharp. In contrast, Zhu Yangqi, perhaps inspired by Chen Luzhou, was decked out in bright colors like a festive Christmas tree. So when Xu Zhi and the others came down, Zhu Yangqi was the first thing they noticed. "So vibrant, Brother Zhu," Cai Yingying remarked.

Zhu Yangqi had repeated a year, making him older than the rest, so Cai Yingying's address wasn't entirely off.

Xu Zhi had borrowed Fu Yuqing's car. There was still a stretch of mountain road to drive to reach the meteor shower viewing spot. As Chen Luzhou loaded the equipment into the trunk and moved to open the driver's door, he noticed Xu Zhi lingering outside.

"What? Want to drive?" He stood behind her, lazily eyeing her. You're dangerous—always testing the boundaries of the law.

Xu Zhi glanced back at him. "No, I was just wondering if there's enough gas. Did you refuel it for Uncle Fu last time?"

Chen Luzhou pulled open the door, leaned in to press the ignition, then stepped back out. "There's enough. I'll refill it tomorrow when I head down."

"You're going down again tomorrow? What for?" Xu Zhi asked while opening her door. If you're not interested, stop asking so many questions.

Chen Luzhou didn't answer. After buckling his seatbelt, Zhu Yangqi, sitting in the passenger seat, echoed curiously, "You're going down again tomorrow?"

As the car slowly started, Chen Luzhou turned the steering wheel and gave a faint "Mhm." "My mom wants to see me."

Noticing Xu Zhi's eyes light up in the rearview mirror, he preemptively coughed and said, "Not this time. I'll introduce you another day."

Chen Luzhou was beyond exasperated—introducing his own mom to someone else.

Xu Zhi gave an "Oh" and fell silent. Chen Luzhou glanced at her leisurely through the rearview mirror and decided not to speak either.

What's with the attitude?Driving at night was quite thrilling, especially on mountain roads. The pitch-black darkness stretched endlessly under the faint moonlight, with the car's headlights unable to illuminate the end of the narrow, winding path. The occasional darting of a wild cat would send hearts pounding—more exhilarating than any adventure. Chen Luzhou was probably driving at night for the first time too, and everyone in the car was tense. Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying each gripped the overhead handles with trembling hands, while Xu Zhi appeared relatively calm.

It wouldn’t have been so scary if not for Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying, the self-appointed "atmosphere team." At the slightest rustle by the roadside, they’d shriek and holler. Xu Zhi couldn’t take it anymore and played her trump card: "How about this, Chen Luzhou, you get out, and I’ll drive."

Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying were horrified, shouting in unison, "No way! You don’t even have a license!"

Xu Zhi shot them a sidelong glance, unfazed. "Then keep it down. You’re really noisy."

Chen Luzhou casually steered around a bend and said, "Zhu Yangqi, move to the back. You’re seriously distracting me."

Zhu Yangqi, still clutching the handle, wore an expression that screamed, "Oh, so I’m cramping your flirting style, huh?" Mentally, he scoffed, You’ve got ulterior motives, you sly dog, Chen Luzhou. But he had enough self-awareness. "Xu Zhi, switch seats with me. Someone thinks I’m too loud."

Xu Zhi glanced at Chen Luzhou, but he was focused on driving and didn’t return her look. "Oh, sure."

The latter half of the trip was much quieter, though the atmosphere in the car became oddly divided. The front seat was dead silent, while the backseat was a battlefield of heated bickering—ranging from celebrity gossip to school scandals, with clear opposing stances.

"I like her, so what? She’s been in the industry for years without a single scandal. Sure, her acting needs work, but give her some room to grow. Speaking of which, there’s a girl at our school who looks just like her."

"Is Gu Yan from your school?"

"That’s exactly who I’m talking about. She’s in my class."

"Wow, she’s really pretty. But I heard her personal life’s a bit messy?"

"Messy my ass."

Cai Yingying was furious. "Zhu Yangqi, why are you cursing? Do you have a crush on her or something?"

"Half the guys at our school have a crush on her, so what? And don’t believe everything you hear. She’s not that bad—she’s actually really hardworking."

In front of outsiders, Zhu Yangqi was quick to defend the girls from his school. And truthfully, many people slapped labels on Gu Yan without even knowing her. It wasn’t just Cai Yingying he was targeting. To bolster his argument, he dragged Chen Luzhou into it—a habit unique to the boys at their school, likely stemming from some collective sense of pride. They did tend to protect their female classmates. "Right? Gu Yan really puts in the effort."

Chen Luzhou, nearing the observation point, spotted a slope ahead and gradually pressed the brakes to slow down. He merely hummed in agreement before asking Xu Zhi, "Check for me—can we go that way? There’s a rock here. I can’t see clearly."

Cai Yingying couldn’t be bothered to argue further. It wasn’t her business to begin with—she’d just been curious and ended up getting rebuffed. From then on, she decided to ignore Zhu Yangqi.

Xu Zhi rolled down the window and peered out. "Yeah, turn the wheel all the way to the right first, then back up a little."

"Got it."

"Chen Luzhou, I said turn it all the way to the right."

"I know. Can’t you see there’s a rock on my side?" He shot her a cold glance.Xu Zhi let out an "oh," while Cai Yingying fumed, "Why are you being so harsh with her?"

Before Chen Luzhou could respond, Xu Zhi turned her head in confusion to look at Cai Yingying. "He wasn't harsh with me. Isn't this just how he always talks?"

What kind of tone? Yeah, I was being harsh.

Chen Luzhou turned off the engine, frustrated as he pulled the handbrake and lazily leaned back in the driver's seat. "We're here."

You really can't tell at all that I'm a little annoyed, can you?

Mingling Mountain had several meteor shower observation spots, and this was just one of them. Though there weren't many people on the mountain now, most high school seniors were on break, so there were still plenty of visitors escaping the summer heat. The other observation points were definitely packed. After checking several locations, Chen Luzhou had chosen this one based on overall suitability. It had its advantages—fewer people, a good vantage point—but the area was small, surrounded by overgrown shrubs, and seemingly untouched by human activity. Probably not many came here on ordinary days.

As soon as Cai Yingying got out of the car, she forgot about the earlier tension, hugging her arms and shivering. The mountain air was genuinely cold, her breath nearly visible as she spoke. "It's freezing. This place is so desolate—what if there are snakes?"

Xu Zhi asked Chen Luzhou, who was setting up equipment nearby, "Can either of you catch snakes?"

Chen Luzhou secured the tripod, pulled out the camera from his bag, and casually clicked the shutter a few times, checking the lighting. "You scared?"

Xu Zhi glanced around. "Yeah, I am."

Chen Luzhou kept his head down, meticulously adjusting the wide-angle lens. "Funny, so am I."

Xu Zhi let out an "ah," listening to the rustling leaves around them. "Then what do we do?"

Chen Luzhou shot her a look. "Run. Can't do that? Snakes are slow. They won't catch up. Worst case, I'll cover you."

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhi sighed. "Should've brought Uncle Fu along."

Near the observation point was a clear spring, its water so transparent it outshone emerald green, bubbling softly as it flowed. Chen Luzhou snapped a photo of it, but the image inexplicably glowed green. He deleted it, his tone indifferent as he kept his head down. "Regretting coming with me?"

"Not really," Xu Zhi said. "Uncle Fu knows how to catch snakes. Do you know how much a snake from this mountain could sell for? Tell me—if you saw five thousand yuan lying on the ground, wouldn't you pick it up?"

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Is there anything else on your mind?

"You think getting bitten for five thousand is worth it?" Chen Luzhou said.

"That's why I asked if you could catch them," Xu Zhi replied, already fiddling with an abandoned grill without a care. "You hungry? I think this could still work if we clean it. There are fish in the spring—we could catch and grill them."

As she started dismantling the grill, Chen Luzhou swiftly grabbed her wrist, pulling her away with a look of disgust. "That's filthy."

Xu Zhi stumbled from his grip, her head knocking against his chest—but his camera was hanging there, and her chin slammed into the lens. The lens cap flew off from the impact, though Xu Zhi didn’t make a sound.Chen Luzhou didn’t let go of her hand. Her wrist was so slender that his grip easily encircled it. He lowered his head to check where she had hit herself, but Xu Zhi, likely feeling the gesture was too intimate, instinctively pulled back. Oblivious to the fact that he was still holding her wrist, Chen Luzhou only knew the impact must have been severe—enough to draw blood. The last time Chen Xingqi had fought him over the camera, his tooth had been knocked out, smearing blood all over the lens cap. Right now, he couldn’t care less about whose hand he was holding.

"Let me see," he said, his tone coaxing for the first time. "Where did you hit? You even knocked my lens cap flying."

Xu Zhi shot him a glance, one hand still in his grasp while the other covered her chin, embarrassed. "Is it expensive?"

Chen Luzhou: "..."

It was Zhu Yangqi who stepped in to mediate. "Why are you still holding her hand? If you’ve taken enough advantage, let go already."

Only then did Chen Luzhou snap out of it. He glanced down and immediately released her hand as if it were scalding hot, then shoved his own back into his pocket with exaggerated nonchalance before bending to pick up the lens cap that had been sent flying.

In the quiet mountain forest, the wind howled, the leaves rustled, and the spring water trickled, yet none of it could drown out the frantic pounding of his heart.

Zhu Yangqi, fearless as ever, leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Your ears are red."

Cai Yingying had just finished spreading out the picnic blanket. Chen Luzhou moved the bags aside and sat cross-legged, lifting the camera hanging around his neck. He flipped through the photos he’d taken earlier, adjusting the angle. "It’s the cold."

Zhu Yangqi: "Coward."

Chen Luzhou: "Yeah, I’m a coward."

The meteor shower arrived as promised, and the once-silent mountaintop erupted with excitement. Mingling Mountain wasn’t large, with several observation points scattered around. Chen Luzhou had chosen the least crowded one, though the others weren’t far. The mountain breeze carried waves of cheers and exclamations from all directions, echoing around them.

Cai Yingying and Xu Zhi stood in front of them. Cai Yingying, ecstatic, clasped her hands together. "Quick, quick! Make a wish! I want to strike it rich! I want to be gorgeous!"

Chen Luzhou missed the first few meteors, and the ones he did capture afterward were slightly blurred. He set the camera aside, and Zhu Yangqi watched as he pulled out his phone, engrossed in searching for something. "Dude! Hurry up and take photos! Forget about whatever you’re overthinking—this is incredible!"

That night, over thirty meteors were expected. Four or five had already streaked across the sky, averaging one every five seconds.

By the tenth meteor, Chen Luzhou checked his watch. He took a step back, leaning slightly as he adjusted the lens, framing both the vast night sky and the spot where the next meteor was predicted to appear. Amid the roaring cheers, Zhu Yangqi heard him call out softly—

"Xu Zhi, look at me."