Be Passionately In Love

Chen Luzhou entered the police station—probably his second time this summer vacation. The first was just a few days after his exams, when he accompanied his grandfather to the flower and bird market. The old man had impulsively lifted a girl’s skirt, and someone had filmed it. The girl demanded a hefty sum of money, but his grandfather insisted she had asked him to lift it, claiming there was something underneath she wanted him to retrieve. Without evidence, though, the video of him lifting the skirt was undeniable. The situation escalated into a messy dispute that landed them at the police station. Even if it was a setup, there was no way to prove it. His grandfather stubbornly refused to pay, adamant it was a scam. Calls to Ms. Lian Hui went unanswered, and the old man dug in his heels like an ox. Unable to persuade him and too tired to try, Chen Luzhou ended up spending the entire night at the station with him.

He hadn’t expected to be back so soon. Ever since taking Zhu Yangqi’s advice to visit a urologist, Chen Luzhou felt like he’d been stumbling into one bizarre situation after another. His mother’s saying about fortune and misfortune being intertwined really did apply at all times—he should never have let his guard down.

Here’s what happened: The girl at the front desk had carelessly assigned him a room that wasn’t supposed to be available to the public. Coincidentally, the hotel had just received notice that a few new actors would be staying on the ninth floor, and some rooms were to be opened for them.

The front desk girl, seeing how handsome Chen Luzhou was—even more so than the male lead—assumed he must be one of the actors and casually asked, “You’re with the crew, right?” At the time, Chen Luzhou was on the phone with Zhu Yangqi and only half-listening. Thinking she meant whether he was part of Feng Jin’s group, he absentmindedly replied, “Yeah.”

The next morning, when Chen Luzhou went down to the ninth floor for breakfast, none of the actors suspected a thing. They all thought this new actor was incredibly good-looking and bound to become famous, already scheming ways to ask for his WeChat. But then, in the elevator, he ran into the producer, who immediately recognized he wasn’t part of the crew. Without hesitation, the producer stopped him and called the front desk for an explanation. That’s when the whole misunderstanding came to light.

It should’ve ended there—Chen Luzhou was about to check out anyway. But when the staff saw him carrying a camera and some professional equipment, they grew suspicious, thinking he might be a paparazzo or a reseller of unauthorized photos. They found an excuse to detain him and demanded to inspect his camera. Chen Luzhou refused, but they insisted he had been secretly filming and called the police.

And so, Chen Luzhou found himself back at the police station.

“I’ve explained multiple times—I was just here to shoot for my racing team. My friends are on the sixth floor. Even if they have reasonable suspicions, they have no right to search my camera.”

The officers confirmed with the hotel that his friends had indeed been staying on the sixth floor, and the names matched. But they had all checked out that morning.

Unable to reach anyone, Chen Luzhou figured Xu Zhi and the others had probably gotten tired of waiting and taken a car ahead. By now, his patience was wearing thin, and his tone was far from polite as he said to the officer, “Can I at least have my phone back?”The officer taking the statement was quite friendly, young and clean-cut, probably fresh from his internship. Aware of this film crew's notorious reputation for being difficult, he didn't give Chen Luzhou too hard a time since he was still a student. After a few casual questions, he quickly grasped the situation—this crew called the police every other day, so they were used to it.

"I'll ask around to see who took your phone," the young officer said, still slurping his instant noodles. He barely had time to take a few bites before standing up to help look for it.

Seeing this, Chen Luzhou sighed, his resistance completely gone. "Forget it, finish eating first."

Just then, he heard someone call his name from behind. Thinking it was his imagination, he turned around indifferently—only to freeze at the sight of a familiar figure. Gu Yan was dressed in period costume, her hair styled up, clearly in the middle of filming.

"It really is you," Gu Yan said brightly as she walked over, her eyes sparkling with unexpected delight. "I saw someone who looked like you at the restaurant this morning but didn’t dare say hi. I thought it was just someone who resembled you. Then I heard they’d dragged someone to the police station, and I figured it might actually be you."

"Yeah, what a coincidence," he replied coolly.

Gu Yan played the third female lead in this low-budget web series. While Chen Luzhou had no idea why the producer was so paranoid, Gu Yan knew the reason. The male lead and second female lead were secretly dating, and last night, their fiery reunion in a hotel room had been interrupted by their manager. Unfortunately for Chen Luzhou, the second female lead’s room happened to be right next to his. Since the male lead’s career was on the rise, the manager refused to let the misunderstanding slide, fearing someone might have secretly recorded them.

The moment Gu Yan confirmed it was Chen Luzhou, she knew it was all a mistake. She immediately called the producer to clear things up. "It’s really a misunderstanding, Mr. Xu. Chen Luzhou was my classmate at No. 1 High School—he’s a top student, practically a guaranteed college entrance exam champion. Why would he be a paparazzo? Besides, his parents are well-known figures back home. His mom is a producer at Qingyi City TV, and his dad’s in business—his company even sponsored that variety show Wang Qian was on. He’s a local entrepreneur with tons of investments. Yeah, got it."

……

Gu Yan, after all, was a seasoned player in the entertainment industry, well-versed in how to handle these executives. If Chen Luzhou had known Old Chen and Ms. Lian Hui’s names carried such weight, he wouldn’t have sat there like an idiot waiting for them to search his camera.

Once he got all his belongings back, Chen Luzhou didn’t rush to leave. He dragged his suitcase to the police station entrance and slumped onto it lazily, his long legs propped against the ground as he meticulously checked his camera to make sure none of his photos were missing.

As he bent his head, the collar at the nape of his neck lifted slightly, revealing the pronounced vertebrae along his spine—a hard, clean line, like a meticulously sculpted mountain ridge, hinting at the contours beneath. It was a sight that invited touch, even the imagination of sweat glistening there.

Gu Yan watched him and said, "Chen Luzhou, I helped you out, didn’t I?"Chen Luzhou looked up at her, naturally not denying it either. The next second, he lowered his head again and gave an "mm" in acknowledgment. "Contact me when you're back in Qingyi. I'll treat you to a meal with Zhu Yangqi."

"Do we have to invite Zhu Yangqi? Can't it just be the two of us?"

Chen Luzhou didn't even lift his head, the lines of his nape clear and distinct—so lean it was quite striking. Still flipping through photos, he suddenly chuckled, answering lazily but firmly, "No."

"Why?" Gu Yan asked.

Chen Luzhou seemed not to hear, because the camera happened to land on a photo from the night they watched the meteor shower—Xu Zhi turning her head, her face full of surprise and bewilderment, yet exuding a lazy, hazy beauty. His fingers paused slightly, his expression unchanged as he quickly flipped past it, showing no outward reaction. But inwardly, he cursed—Damn her, didn’t even wait for me.

Gu Yan asked again, "Why, Chen Luzhou?"

Chen Luzhou thought to himself, if it were Xu Zhi, she definitely wouldn’t ask, "Why, Chen Luzhou?" She’d just say "Oh." All day long, aside from that "Oh," she couldn’t squeeze out another word. Just now, after flipping through the photos, he casually scrolled through their chat history. Out of dozens of messages, half were just "Oh."

Damn her, really didn’t wait for him.

"I already told you," Chen Luzhou called a car, glanced at the license plate, then pocketed his phone before sitting on his suitcase. Calmly, he swept a glance at Gu Yan, as blunt and cutting as ever. "I don’t have feelings for you. And like I said, I don’t want to be in a relationship right now." He gave her a meaningful look, deliberately needling her—he always knew where to hit a person’s weak spot. "Unless you’re willing to give up your acting dreams and come to Liverpool with me? You can’t, can you, Gu Yan? Waking up at five every morning to train, your whole body aching, no joint untouched—following me without any status would be such a loss. Just focus on acting. If you can bring glory to the country and win an award, I’d admire you more. But sending me these useless signals? That’s just boring. Really."

The words sounded harsh, but Gu Yan knew Chen Luzhou was just terrible with his words. His social circle was clean—throughout high school, he’d never been ambiguous with any girl. Forget a girlfriend, if not for that incident with her, he wouldn’t even have had a single rumor. Or rather, no one had ever seen him get particularly close to any girl. The people around him were all guys. He knew exactly how to keep his distance from girls—like when a girl from the neighboring class had a crush on him. She was pretty too, studying bel canto. Every time Chen Luzhou passed by their class to find Zhu Yangqi, the boys would start hooting. At first, he didn’t know why, but once he figured it out, he stopped walking past that door.

Gu Yan remembered Zhu Yangqi once saying the main reason Chen Luzhou got so much flak was his "mouth that could even trick a zombie into taking a few steps" and his downright inhuman personality.

**

"Tell me, is that bastard even human?"

Xu Guangji downed a shot of Jiangxiaobai, the peanuts long gone, his heart burning with frustration. He couldn’t hold it in anymore—he felt like strangling that kid.

Cai Binhong had been cracking sunflower seeds while listening to him rant for nearly two hours, even driving away a few customers in the process. Finally, he understood: "So you’re saying Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou are dating, and they even… you know?"The two sat at Sister Dan's Pan-Fried Buns by the alley entrance having a late-night snack. Xu Guangji's cheekbones were flushed red—he wasn't drunk, just prone to flushing when drinking. Chen Luzhou's situation had somehow cured his social anxiety; he boldly handed his empty plate to the proprietress, asking for another serving of peanuts—something he would never have dared before. Then, with conviction and gritted teeth, he said to Cai Binhong, "They're probably eighty percent dating. Whether they've crossed the line, I don't know. You know how it is—we both raised daughters. As a father, there are some things I just can't ask as easily as a mother could."

Cai Binhong tossed a peanut into his mouth and asked, "What did Xu Zhi say?"

"She said she wasn't willing—that Chen Luzhou tricked her."

"What the—!" Cai Binhong nearly jumped out of his seat. "And you're not calling the police? How old is Xu Zhi?!"

"Right? I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, ready to go after that kid," Xu Guangji took another swig of Jiangxiaobai, the fiery sensation burning all the way down to his stomach before slowly adding, "But Xu Zhi meant that Chen Luzhou tricked her into praying to the Goddess of Fertility. Tell me, isn't that kid just shameless?"

"Could you not drag out your sentences like that?" Cai Binhong exhaled sharply, his old heart settling back into place. "So it's not what we thought. But aren't they getting a little too close?"

"Otherwise, why would I suspect him?" Xu Guangji said. "My daughter never hides things from me, but lately, whenever Chen Luzhou's name comes up, she always manages to steer the conversation away without me noticing."

Dean Cai remarked, "That does sound fishy. If they're really dating, you'd better watch out. Boys these days have no bottom line—scamming money is one thing, but if you run into one who's after both money and looks, you'll have nowhere to cry. You've raised your daughter so well, so beautiful—you've got to guard against those wolves out there."

"How? I can't follow Xu Zhi around all the time, can I?"

Dean Cai offered a solution, "Idiot, you can start with Chen Luzhou. Isn't he coming to you for regular check-ups? Just keep an eye on him."

"True," Xu Guangji considered it a decent idea, then suddenly remembered, "Scores are coming out soon. Did you get your blood pressure meds? You should stock up. I don’t plan on remarrying—you're my only comrade now."

Dean Cai was utterly relaxed. "No expectations, no disappointments. I told Cai Yingying I won’t get mad no matter her score. She can go wherever she wants for college—I’m done worrying. What about Xu Zhi?"

"Xu Zhi said she wants to go to Beijing. It's the first time she’s mentioned leaving home—she never used to think that way. I know I can’t keep her by my side forever, but it really hits me now how fast time flies. She used to be this small, crying at every little thing, chattering nonstop like a faucet you couldn’t turn off."

"Xu Zhi actually wants to leave? Didn’t she always want to stay with you?" Dean Cai was equally shocked. Seeing Xu Guangji’s grim expression, he quickly added, "But kids grow up. They start having their own ideas.""No, Xu Zhi started changing after meeting this Chen Luzhou. You haven't seen her these past two days—absent-minded, always glued to her phone. I have no idea what's on her mind, probably thinking about that boy," Xu Guangji said, reaching for an entire bottle of Jiangxiaobai and downing it in one go, as if grinding his teeth in frustration. "If he's serious about my daughter, fine, let them date. But if he dares to play with her feelings, I'll make sure he regrets it!"

......

Xu Guangji's alcohol tolerance wasn't great. By the second bottle of Jiangxiaobai, he was nearly headline material for the local news, his face flushed darker than liver. The next morning, groggy and still half-asleep, he barely registered Chen Luzhou's presence at the clinic entrance at first, dismissing it as a hallucination. But when the boy casually took a seat across from him, his sharp, handsome features unmistakable, Xu Guangji snapped to attention—this was no illusion. The little wolf had come knocking on his door himself.

Xu Guangji took his medical record, confirming the name: Chen Luzhou, no mistake.

"Recovered?"

"Yeah, I'm here for... testing." For some reason, the boy seemed more agreeable today, his gaze noticeably milder than before—unlike last time, when he'd been all bravado, insisting he was fine despite clearly not being so.

Xu Guangji went through the routine questions, eyeing him. "How have you been feeling these past few days? Any sexual activity?"

"No," Chen Luzhou coughed. Clearly, neither intended to address the elephant in the room, but Chen Luzhou knew Xu Guangji had recognized him—otherwise, the hostility wouldn't be this palpable. He understood the protective fatherly instincts toward a daughter's male friend. Still, he figured he should clarify, adding offhandedly, "I'm a virgin."

"...Did I ask you that?" Xu Guangji nearly smacked him with the medical chart, annoyed by the unnecessary emphasis. "It's the 21st century—who cares about virginity? Are you that backward, or do you have some kind of complex about it?"

Chen Luzhou was at a loss. Leaning back in the chair, momentarily stunned—this was his first time meeting the parents, after all—he swallowed hard, laughing dryly. "...No, I just meant that I am. What others do is none of my business, and I couldn’t care less whether my girlfriend is or isn’t."

So Xu Guangji tossed out another question: "What's your stance on premarital sex?"

Chen Luzhou straightened up, righteous and solemn. "Absolutely against it!"

Author's Note:

Chen Luzhou: I almost died...

Xu Zhi: Honestly, I'm not against it at all.

Chen Luzhou: ...Don't sabotage me.