Be Passionately In Love

Chen Luzhou felt a twinge of regret at that moment—regret for buying that new lens yesterday. The original lens cap had been broken by Xu Zhi, and since he’d been planning to replace it anyway, he spent another ten thousand on a new one. Otherwise, given his temperament, he might have actually sent her the five thousand right now.

He was certain Xu Zhi would have made the driver turn around—not because she particularly wanted to kiss him, but for that five thousand yuan. He had enough self-awareness to know that.

With a self-deprecating smile, he glanced at the growing ant hole on the ground before looking up. The sky was already dark, so he couldn’t see much, but he still asked, “Did you bring an umbrella?”

Xu Zhi peered out the car window. The typhoon had just passed, leaving behind its lingering effects. The trees lining the road swayed wildly, as if tugged by some invisible, frantic hand. The moment he finished speaking, she spotted the first urgent raindrops hitting the windshield. She sighed in irritation. “No. Are you jinxing us? The second you mention it, it starts pouring.”

Xu Zhi hated rainy days. The southern town was always damp and overcast, especially during the plum rain season. Weather like this always reminded her of the days she spent at her grandmother’s house as a child—the small room with mold-stained walls, the musty dampness that no amount of floral insect repellent could mask, and the neighbor’s dog that barked incessantly in the dead of night.

Back then, Old Xu and Lin Qiudie were swamped with work, so they temporarily sent her to live with her grandmother. The old woman harbored deep resentment toward Old Xu, and by extension, treated Xu Zhi coldly. Every day, she was fed leftovers. Xu Zhi soon developed eczema, her neck covered in red rashes. To save money, her grandmother applied a homemade herbal root solution, but that night, Xu Zhi went into anaphylactic shock. Without hesitation, the neighbor uncle carried her on his back, rushing from the village clinic to the county hospital in multiple transfers. Even the doctor said with lingering fear, “If you’d arrived half an hour later, this pretty little girl would’ve been gone.”

Old Xu, who had endured years of silent grievances, finally lost his temper with his mother-in-law for the first time. The grandmother shrank into a corner, speechless. For a long while after that, they never returned to the countryside. Xu Zhi knew her grandmother hadn’t meant to harm her. During her hospital stay, she kept recalling the old woman’s kindness—her grandmother was just stubborn. Knowing Xu Zhi was particular about cleanliness, she had scrubbed the entire house inside and out before her arrival. A sixty-five-year-old woman with congenital spinal arthritis, widowed early, had painstakingly wiped the mold off the walls with a towel by herself. The leftovers were just a deeply ingrained habit—she had raised her own children the same way and couldn’t understand why kids nowadays couldn’t stomach them.

Her grandmother simply had a sharp tongue that never conceded an inch. Xu Zhi knew she resented Old Xu, not her. Back when Old Xu and Lin Qiudie weren’t yet married, a wealthy man from the city had been pursuing Lin Qiudie with a lavish dowry—several properties in town. They were nearly engaged when Lin Qiudie unexpectedly got pregnant—with Old Xu’s child.

That unlucky child was Xu Zhi. No matter how many times she tried to pry the full story out of Old Xu, she never got a clear answer. In the end, the two married. Her grandmother’s dreams of a city house vanished, and she directed all her frustration at Old Xu. Xu Zhi could somewhat understand.So back then, little Xu Zhi, lying on the emergency hospital bed with her life hanging by a thread and itching unbearably, couldn’t bring herself to hate her grandmother, nor Old Xu, and certainly not Madam Lin Qiudie. Barely clinging to life, she could only resolutely brainwash herself—I hate rainy days.

Yeah, no matter how many mountains and rivers lie between, the people you want to see will always find a way to meet again.

The studio was gradually emptying out as people left one after another. After just a few short days of interaction, Yan Letong was convinced that Chen Luzhou had a bright future ahead of him. With his personality, he was bound to go far. So not only did Yan proactively add him on WeChat, but he also gifted him two of his own signed motorcycle helmets when leaving, confidently insisting, "Take good care of these. They'll be worth a fortune someday. The helmets of a future Grand Slam contender—you're lucky, handsome." He added, "Give the other one to Xu Zhi for me. Her cornering skills totally blew me away."

Chen Luzhou chuckled, tossing the helmets into the car. "Sure, I'll give it to her." Yan Letong probably felt that parting with someone like Chen Luzhou carried a certain inexplicable excitement—like "Let's each do our best and meet at the top." Filled with youthful enthusiasm, he sat in the car, raised two fingers to his temple in a salute, and passionately instructed the driver, "Let's go, master!"

Behind him, Yan Lelin, who had just finished loading the trunk and hadn't even gotten in the car yet: "..."

**

Chen Luzhou arrived at the hotel at exactly eleven. Just as he finished checking in, Zhu Yangqi called, demanding to know when he'd be back and complaining about being bored out of his mind. Holding the phone with one hand and pushing his suitcase with the other, Chen Luzhou was about to step into the elevator when he ran into Xu Zhi coming out alone.

Seeing he was on the phone, Xu Zhi decided to leave without greeting him, only signaling with her eyes that she was going out to buy something.

As she passed by, her arm was suddenly grabbed. Xu Zhi, wearing a short-sleeved shirt that exposed her slender, clean arms, felt the broad, warm palm of a man press against her skin—an unfamiliar sensation. In that instant, it was like the childhood curiosity of poking a finger into an electrical socket, only to be jolted by an unexpected current.

Chen Luzhou was still on the phone. It was an instinctive move, and he didn’t stop to consider whether it was inappropriate. Afraid she’d slip away if he let go, he didn’t release her even though he knew it wasn’t quite right the moment he touched her. But now he was stuck in a dilemma. She felt so soft—he worried his grip might be too tight and hurt her. He didn’t dare adjust his hold; any adjustment would imply a level of casual intimacy reserved for couples, which would be even more inappropriate. So he maintained the same initial firmness, absentmindedly telling Zhu Yangqi over the phone, "What are you gonna do when I go abroad, live like a widow?" before hurriedly hanging up.

Only after stuffing the phone back into his pocket did he gradually loosen his grip, looking down at her. "Where are you going?"

Xu Zhi said, "I’m buying Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui for Yingying. She seems a little heatstroked."

"What about the one you got at the studio earlier?"

"Feng Jin and I each drank one."

"How’s your foot?" His gaze dropped to her knee.Chen Luzhou had noticed it earlier—when she walked off the field, she was limping slightly. So he had Yan Letong find someone to check on her. Coincidentally, there was a racer in the team who used to be an intern at an orthopedic hospital. After examining her, he said there were no bone injuries and she just needed some rest. Chen Luzhou didn’t bother going over to ask because he had been a little upset when he found out about her bet with Lü Yang. He hadn’t mentioned it on the phone earlier, nor did he want to, knowing his words might come out too harsh. The reshoot only took a few minutes, so he told Feng Jin to take Xu Zhi and the others back first, not wanting them to wait—mostly because he needed to cool off.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Doesn’t hurt now, just a bit bruised,” Xu Zhi said, shaking her leg.

“Let’s go up. Head to my room first,” Chen Luzhou tilted his chin toward the elevator. “I have Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui in my suitcase. And I’ve got something for you.”

**

Chen Luzhou’s room was on the ninth floor. As soon as he opened the door, Xu Zhi glanced around and remarked, “Seems like a minor celebrity is staying on this floor.” Chen Luzhou motioned for her to go in first, then inserted the keycard to turn on the lights, casually asking, “Who?”

Even if Xu Zhi had named someone, Chen Luzhou probably wouldn’t have recognized them. He didn’t pay much attention to that kind of news, especially after starting senior year.

Xu Zhi didn’t venture too far inside, standing obediently near the entrance. The room had an open-style bathroom, so she leaned against the sink and said, “I looked it up earlier but forgot again. It’s from some small web drama. Her rumored boyfriend is pretty famous, but I can’t remember his name. It’s just weird—when we checked in a few days ago, this floor was completely blocked off. They wouldn’t let us up. Yingying and I camped by the entrance for two days just hoping to catch a glimpse of a star.”

The neighboring city had a famous national 5A-level scenic area, and many popular period dramas were filmed there. The ninth floor of this hotel was reserved for production crews, so Xu Zhi couldn’t help but feel envious of Chen Luzhou’s luck. “How are you always this lucky? Like some kind of koi fish,” she said, half-admiring, half-jealous.

Chen Luzhou tossed his suitcase onto the floor but didn’t immediately dig out the Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui for her. Instead, he grabbed a bottle of water, leaning against the sink just like her, and took a sip before giving her a challenging look. “Jealous?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Chen Luzhou almost said, Then stop sharing a room with Cai Yingying and move in with me. But the words were too shameless, so he held back, resisting the urge to tease her. He twisted the cap back on the bottle, dangling it from his fingers while bracing his palm against the counter. Lowering his head, he chuckled before saying seriously, “Nothing to be jealous about. My mom always told me that fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. Whenever I get too full of myself, I think about that—who knows what’s waiting around the corner? Or when something feels unbearable, like a breakup, just remember—there’s always someone better, right?”

“Have you ever been through a breakup?”

Chen Luzhou: “Just an example.”

“Oh.” Xu Zhi nodded thoughtfully, as if understanding.

Still leaning lazily against the sink, he shot her a glance. “Don’t ‘oh’ yet. We’ve still got unfinished business.”

Xu Zhi: “What business? Do I owe you money?”"Where's the joke? Weren't you going to cheer me up?" Chen Luzhou gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the fluttering butterfly in his chest. He didn't speak again—he still had that much pride left. Avoiding her gaze, he turned his eyes toward the window, his voice cooling. "Forget it if you've forgotten. I'll get you some Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui."

Chen Luzhou stood up and dragged the suitcase over.

Xu Zhi watched as he crouched on the floor, one hand resting on his knee while the other rummaged through the suitcase. Suddenly, she remembered the first time they met—Chen Luzhou had crouched in front of her just like this to tie his shoelaces. The sharp lines of his back had resembled a sunlit mountain ridge, stirring an urge to "climb" him. His hair was soft and fluffy, like a puppy's.

Casually, Chen Luzhou handed her a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao, along with the Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui and Yan Letong's helmet, his tone detached and businesslike. "The Yunnan Baiyao is for your knee. Bought it on the way—no need to thank me. You can leave now."

Xu Zhi was about to ask what was wrong with him when Chen Luzhou, assuming she wanted to ask about the price, frowned impatiently. He lowered his head to browse for a movie, not even sparing her a glance, his prideful demeanor making it seem as if her money was beneath him. "It's free," he said coldly. "If you mention money again, we might as well pretend we never met."

Holding the helmet, Xu Zhi sighed helplessly. "Why are you mad again? Is your princess syndrome acting up? At your age, you should get regular checkups—otherwise, you might end up with breast cancer."

Chen Luzhou: "..."