Be Passionately In Love

In the past, Xu Zhi would have immediately apologized, saying, "Sorry, didn't mean to." But now that they were more familiar, she gave Chen Luzhou a look that clearly said "you're so petty" and remarked, "How stingy."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Was this something that could be described as stingy?

He cleared his throat and got back to the point, pushing his laptop toward her. "There are many majors under architecture. If you're not set on the architecture department, other majors might be more— Actually, why do you always do this?" For some reason, he suddenly changed the subject again.

Xu Zhi had been listening intently and was now baffled by his sudden shift. She looked at him, confused.

Xu Zhi: ?

"The first time we met, in the hallway," Chen Luzhou said, one elbow lazily propped on the edge of the table, legs spread, the other hand resting on his thigh. He gave her a cold, accusatory glance, as if settling an old score. "Where exactly were you staring that time?"

Xu Zhi remembered their first encounter—in that cramped, narrow stairwell. His mother had been scolding him harshly, while he leaned lazily against the doorway, ordering braised pork trotter rice for himself.

"Was the pork trotter rice good?" Xu Zhi shot back with a grin.

"Sharp eyes," he sneered.

The sarcasm in his words was thick, and Xu Zhi belatedly realized what he meant. She hurried to explain, "I really wasn't staring at you—"

Chen Luzhou: ...?

Moonlight spilled its silver glow over the walls outside. Someone had planted a yard full of roses, their fiery red blooms like a cluster of burning flames, stirring impulsive desires. That crimson glow reflected in the restless eyes of youth. Inside, the room was eerily silent.

Seeing her gaze about to wander again, Chen Luzhou snapped, "Still looking! Are you that curious? I am wearing something today!"

"I wasn't curious about whether you're wearing anything!" Xu Zhi was both exasperated and flustered. "I wasn't looking at you. I've been trying to say this whole time—your blanket is rubbing against my leg. It's so itchy. Can you move it?"

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Chen Luzhou slumped back in his chair, done with the conversation. He pulled up two years' worth of admission scores for A University's architecture majors and let her browse through them herself while he curled up in his chair, looking frail and silent as he watched a movie on his phone.

"Are you mad?" Xu Zhi propped her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand as she studied him.

Leaning back in his chair, he gave her a sidelong glance and feigned a cough. "No."

"Want me to tell you a joke?"

Here we go again.

The blanket slipped down, and Chen Luzhou rolled his eyes, lifting his foot slightly to tug it back. "Is telling jokes the only way you know how to cheer someone up?"

"I don't cheer up just anyone."

Damn it, she was messing with his head. But for some reason, Chen Luzhou felt a rare flicker of amusement. He was about to ask, "Are you done looking at the scores? Hurry up, and I'll take you out for a late-night snack."

But then Xu Zhi added, "Other people don't get mad as easily as you."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

The roses in the yard seemed to lose their luster under the cold moonlight. The bedroom door was closed, though the walls were thin. Their voices were hushed, but across the hall, the couple in the bathroom had apparently finished their sweet nothings and were now arguing.

"Who is it? Show me," the guy demanded."It's just a junior. Remember the flea market the school organized a few days ago? We left all our books with him."

"Did you really need to add him on WeChat just to sell books? He must be something special," the guy said sarcastically.

"Hey, Jiang Cheng, don't be unreasonable. You added that girl on WeChat, and I didn’t say anything about it."

"You girls are something else. Whenever it's about your own issues, you always drag me into it. Fine, it's always my fault, right?"

"Jiang Cheng, you're really no fun. If this isn’t working, let’s just break up."

"Say that again."

"Break up," the girl said calmly.

"Go ahead. Just don’t come crawling back to me later."

"..."

"..."

In the bedroom, the two of them stared at each other, momentarily speechless. Xu Zhi had honestly never seen anything like this before. People from No. 1 High School really were something else. She propped her head up, blinked dryly at Chen Luzhou, and said, "Uh... aren’t you going to go mediate?"

Chen Luzhou was already used to it. Those two were always like this—they’d broken up countless times over the past year. No matter how fiercely they fought in front of others, they never actually split. Chen Luzhou couldn’t be bothered to intervene because their relationship was like sugar-coated crap—everyone else could see it clearly, but Jiang Cheng was the only one still fooling himself. Zhu Yangqi wasn’t particularly close to Jiang Cheng, but after witnessing a couple of these scenes, even he understood what Hang Sui was up to.

"I really think you shouldn’t go back to her this time. It’s pointless. You left her to get back with your ex, and now she’s only with you for revenge. Just take it and move on. Don’t keep dragging this out—it’s hurting both of you," Zhu Yangqi advised sincerely from outside the door.

Chen Luzhou hadn’t heard any mouse clicks or scrolling for a while. He looked up and saw Xu Zhi eavesdropping with great interest, completely distracted from her studies. He clicked his tongue impatiently. "Mind your own business. This has nothing to do with you."

But Xu Zhi found it all refreshing and thrilling. She looked at him and sighed, "I suddenly envy Zhu Yangqi and Feng Jin’s girlfriends so much."

Chen Luzhou: "?"

Xu Zhi: "They must know all the gossip."

Chen Luzhou: "Why don’t you envy my girlfriend?"

Xu Zhi: "You don’t seem as gossipy as them. I doubt you’d share much with your girlfriend."

Chen Luzhou smirked and pointed at the computer screen with his chin. "Stop analyzing other people’s love lives and focus on your own admission scores."

Xu Zhi gave an absentminded "Oh" and slowly refocused—though she kept stealing glances at Chen Luzhou’s hairline. He had been looking down at his phone, occasionally running his fingers through his hair out of boredom, inadvertently pushing his bangs back. If he ever shaved his head, his skull would probably resemble a peach, given the distinct widow’s peak in his hairline.

While observing him, Xu Zhi caught sight of a violin hanging on the wall. "Chen Luzhou, you play the violin?"

He looked up blankly, following her gaze before casually replying, "Yeah, learned it as a kid."

"Did you take any grading exams?"

"I did."

Xu Zhi nodded. Chen Luzhou had been ready to say "Grade 10," but she didn’t ask further. Oh well—she never followed the script anyway."My grandpa also has a violin, but he can't play it," Xu Zhi said, looking at the violin hanging on the wall. "But during the years my grandma was ill, he'd sit in the yard every day playing for her. It was so noisy—I never understood why grandma insisted on him playing when it sounded so awful."

"Why?" Chen Luzhou glanced at her curiously.

"I won't tell you," Xu Zhi mused. "Maybe when I'm eighty, if we're both still alive, you can play me a song, and then I'll tell you the answer."

"Dream on. Who still plays violin at eighty?" Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, shifting his gaze away as he returned to the movie on his phone. The leads were about to kiss—a scene he wasn't in the mood for—so he dragged the progress bar while declaring shamelessly, "At eighty, I'll be playing the erhu in the park. Who’ll know if I’m single or have a partner? If I do, I’ll play for them. If not, I’ll play for someone else’s partner."

"Fine. That’s one way to live."

Xu Zhi loved this unapologetic energy of Chen Luzhou’s—like the bold, unrestrained green of spring woods, thriving without a care.

"Done watching?" Chen Luzhou asked.

Xu Zhi hummed. "Pretty much."

He turned off his phone and tossed it onto the table. "What do you think?"

After a pause, she said, "What about landscape architecture? That and garden design were my first choices. Garden design sounds fun—I’ve always wanted a big villa with a garden I could design myself."

What would you plant in it? He almost asked, but instead said, "As long as you’ve thought it through."

"And you?" Xu Zhi asked.

"Me?" Chen Luzhou smirked self-deprecatingly, picking up his phone again. "I’m going abroad."

Xu Zhi frowned. "The score rankings aren’t out yet, but I’d guess you’re around 300th province-wide? You could get into a top-tier university here. Isn’t there anywhere in Beijing besides A University you’d consider?"

Chen Luzhou scrolled absently through WeChat, his movie long closed. "My family’s got plans," he murmured.

"Oh." Xu Zhi sighed. "That’s a shame. I thought it’d be nice to be in the same city for college—we could hang out on weekends."

Leaning back, Chen Luzhou chuckled skeptically. "Once you’re in Beijing with new friends, you’ll forget all about me."

"Not necessarily Beijing. If A University doesn’t work out, I’ll probably end up in Shanghai—F University, T University, or back to Qing University." She grinned. "And I won’t tell you where, so don’t tell me where you’re going abroad either."

Like it’d be hard to find you in three or four cities. So childish.

Chen Luzhou studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Fine."

The AC was on, but set too high—Xu Zhi’s forehead was still damp with sweat. Noticing her dry lips, Chen Luzhou asked, "Want some Häagen-Dazs? There’s some in the fridge."Chen Luzhou had bought them yesterday. Jiang Cheng's girlfriend ate one, and just now when Zhu Yangqi wanted one, he didn't let him have it. He had a feeling Xu Zhi would come today or tomorrow. Sure enough, he'd saved it for her.

Xu Zhi was parched and nodded eagerly, "Yes, I'll eat it!"

As Chen Luzhou took the food out from the fridge, he casually washed the cherries he'd bought in the afternoon and brought them in for her. However, Zhu Yangqi approached from behind with mischief in his eyes, blocking him in the kitchen. "Young Master Chen, you're quite the expert at hiding a beauty away, huh? Must've done this a lot before? Did you always bring girls back during gatherings?"

"Yeah, I played with you," Chen Luzhou replied dismissively.

Zhu Yangqi dropped the teasing. "Is Xu Zhi still inside? What are you two up to? Bring her out to hang for a bit."

"Helping her choose a major," Chen Luzhou said, turning off the tap and draining the cherries. After a pause, he added, "Better not. Don’t want Jiang Cheng and Tan Xu spreading rumors. Just ran into Tan Xu’s parents at the door—they’ll probably give her trouble."

Cai Yingying had mentioned this before. It was true—Tan Xu’s parents must be seething at Xu Zhi. Their son had been assigned to tutor her, and she ended up topping the school while their own son bombed his exams. "Listen, my dad knows the principal of Rui Jun. Want me to beg my dad for you? Don’t worry, I’ll kneel if I have to—he’ll agree. Just give me a cherry."

Chen Luzhou gave him a baffled look. "Why beg your dad?"

"So the principal won’t give Xu Zhi trouble. If Tan Xu’s parents come after her, at least she’ll have some cover."

Chen Luzhou figured Zhu Yangqi’s brain must be stuffed full of cherries. "Use your head. Xu Zhi’s the top scorer now—why would the principal give her a hard time? Even if Tan Xu’s parents want to make trouble, graduation’s over. What’s the principal gonna do—make her write a self-criticism? Fine, write it. You’re the expert on those anyway."

"True," Zhu Yangqi conceded. "Guess I overthought it."

Chen Luzhou asked casually, "Where are you applying?"

"Beijing Opera Academy, their stage design program. I’ll be the next Zhu Yimou."

"Mm. Xu Zhi’s planning on A University’s landscape architecture program. She’ll probably be in Beijing too—keep an eye on her for me."

"What am I supposed to watch? Stop her from dating? No way—once girls fall in love, there’s no stopping them." Zhu Yangqi sighed dramatically.

Chen Luzhou instinctively glanced back at the slightly ajar bedroom door, where a dim glow seeped through the crack—like a hidden moon only he knew about.

"Let her date whoever. Just don’t let her get bullied," he said.

"Seriously? She can date anyone?" Zhu Yangqi said with exaggerated concern. "Then I’ll send you pics of her and some guy holding hands on the beach, kissing."

Chen Luzhou had been about to leave him half the bag of cherries but took them all back. "Sure, if you’ve got a death wish."

Author’s Note: Update notice: Probably no update tomorrow. Next one should be the day after.

When you’re off for Mid-Autumn Festival, I’ll make it up with double updates! Two days’ worth (so generous! Hands on hips!)

As compensation, red envelopes for all on this chapter!