Be Passionately In Love

Chen Luzhou didn't answer the phone because he was being held hostage by Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying, who had also confiscated his phone, saying they were afraid he might record the conversation.

It had been rare for the weather to stay clear these past few days, and the night was cool and crisp. The three of them sat at a barbecue joint near his place in Yifeng Alley—the same bone barbecue spot where Xu Zhi had treated them to a meal for the first time. The table was a mess of leftovers, but Chen Luzhou's side was relatively clean. Like a dog, he had only gnawed on a single bone. He had probably just finished showering and hadn’t even dried his hair properly before being dragged out.

Chen Luzhou was dressed in a loose, pure white tracksuit, the zipper pulled all the way up to cover his chin. On his feet were the McQueen sneakers that had taken the world by storm. His hair was half-dry as he slouched lazily in his chair, arms crossed, listening without really understanding why Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying had summoned him here.

"And then?" he asked, the zipper pull clenched between his teeth, his words still clear. He mostly thought these two were terrible at explaining things. "Get to the point. Do I look like I have all the time in the world to chat with you?"

"Cai Yingying ran into some trouble. She wants your help, but you can’t tell Xu Zhi," Zhu Yangqi finally blurted out, throwing caution to the wind.

Only then did Chen Luzhou shift his gaze to Cai Yingying, still biting the zipper pull. "You first," he said.

Cai Yingying stayed silent. Zhu Yangqi sighed. "Just tell him. He’ll find out sooner or later anyway."

"I think I might be pregnant."

Chen Luzhou was so shocked he dropped the zipper pull from his mouth. Instinctively, he glanced at Zhu Yangqi. "...Your doing?"

Zhu Yangqi nearly smashed his bowl. "Fuck you!" he cursed. "Do I look like that kind of guy?"

Chen Luzhou relaxed slightly. If it really had been Zhu Yangqi’s doing, he wouldn’t have known how to explain it to Xu Zhi. Zhu Yangqi was still his friend, and even if he wasn’t directly implicated, Xu Zhi would probably regret ever knowing him. He gave Zhu Yangqi a look before turning back to Cai Yingying. "...You have a boyfriend?"

"No," Cai Yingying muttered, her head lowered. She couldn’t bring herself to meet either of their eyes. But she didn’t dare discuss this with Xu Zhi—knowing her temper, Xu Zhi would probably go straight to Uncle Fu and demand blood. She was terrified, and after thinking it over, she could only turn to Zhu Yangqi. "Actually, I don’t even know if I do. It was right after the exams. Everyone wanted to pull an all-nighter, and we all got a little drunk. Zhai Xiao came to me, we played some games, and then we got a room nearby to sleep. But we were both really wasted—neither of us remembers if anything happened. I asked him, but he said he didn’t remember either. But my period hasn’t come this month, so I panicked. Please don’t tell Xu Zhi. She’d beat someone up."

That violent, huh?

"Did you take a test?" Chen Luzhou coughed, still a little awkward in that teenage way of skirting around the subject. "I mean, like, a pregnancy test strip."

"She’s too scared to buy one," Zhu Yangqi cut in. "That’s why she’s asking you. I’ve already scoped out a pharmacy for you. It’ll be least crowded around nine."

Without hesitation, Chen Luzhou kicked him hard under the table. "You want me to do this?"

Zhu Yangqi gritted his teeth and whispered in his ear, "Or should I? If it were Xu Zhi in this situation, think about it—could you even step foot in that pharmacy?"

"Don’t use her as an example," Chen Luzhou shot him a glare. "Are you two idiots? Can’t you just order a courier?"

Zhu Yangqi scoffed. "And have it delivered where? To her place or yours?"Chen Luzhou's phone rang again, annoying him to no end. "Alright, alright, just have it delivered to my place. Give me the phone—can't you hear it keeps ringing?"

"Promise me first, then I'll place the order," Zhu Yangqi reluctantly handed the phone over only after getting his confirmation.

Chen Luzhou glanced at the name on the screen and muttered before answering, "I must've owed you in my past life." Zhu Yangqi grinned through gritted teeth, "Not me—Xu Zhi. Cai Yingying is Xu Zhi's best friend. Helping her is like helping Xu Zhi."

Chen Luzhou ignored him and stood up to take the call outside.

Cai Yingying glanced at his retreating figure and asked Zhu Yangqi uneasily, "He won’t tell Xu Zhi, will he?"

Zhu Yangqi, who knew him well, replied indifferently, "You can trust Chen Luzhou completely. He keeps his word—if he promises not to say something, he won’t, even if beaten to death. And if he doesn’t want to agree, he’ll refuse outright."

For example, when Gu Yan had come to him before, he’d only said, "Depends on my mood."

Cai Yingying nodded vaguely with an "Oh."

When the delivery arrived, Chen Luzhou went the extra mile—letting Cai Yingying use his bathroom and having Zhu Yangqi wait with her for the results. He himself didn’t even change clothes, just sat on the sofa for a while as if debating whether to go or not. Eventually, he lazily stood up and headed out still wearing his plain white tracksuit. "Lock up when you leave."

Zhu Yangqi was caught off guard by the sudden alone time. "Where are you going?"

Chen Luzhou crouched by the door to tie his shoelaces without looking up. "Class dinner. Heard Ms. Lian Hui is footing the bill."

Zhu Yangqi suddenly remembered it was Thursday. "Is it for the radio interview? I think Xu Zhi’s there too."

Chen Luzhou paused. "Xu Zhi?"

Zhu Yangqi hummed in confirmation. "She didn’t tell you? Top 30 in the city get to record a TV segment."

Chen Luzhou gave an "Oh," finished tying his laces, and said, "Remember to lock the door."

By the time Chen Luzhou arrived, the recording wasn’t over yet—it was in the final interview stage. The host was energetically wrapping up the last round of questions, and the atmosphere was lively. Half the students had already finished and were chatting in the makeup room, but Xu Zhi and Yang Yijing were still being interviewed inside. A small commotion broke out outside, but Xu Zhi, unaware it was Chen Luzhou, assumed they were playing some game. It wasn’t until near the end of the interview that she spotted that familiar, captivating figure at the studio entrance—even the host’s gaze lingered on him for a moment.

The microphone was just handed to Xu Zhi.

The host asked, "Xu Zhi, your teachers say you’ve always had a steady mindset and even outperformed in the college entrance exam. Any advice on that?"

Xu Zhi had memorized her script cold, but in this incongruous setting, surrounded by looks of envy and randomness, Chen Luzhou’s steady gaze grounded her. The storm inside her suddenly stilled, leaving only soft, cloudless skies.

She recited her lines flawlessly, but as she spoke, someone approached Chen Luzhou. He exchanged a few words with them and turned to leave, pausing at the door to glance back at her.

Waiting outside.

That’s what his lips seemed to say.You look beautiful today.

He seemed to still be leaning against the wall, silently adding this in his mind.

As soon as the recording ended, Xu Zhi returned to the dressing room but didn’t see Chen Luzhou. Yang Yijing excitedly rushed over and said, "Holy shit, did I just see that legend? The one who scored 713 raw points? People from his class said that’s Chen Luzhou. How is he that handsome? I thought he was some celebrity."

Xu Zhi ignored him and casually stopped someone from his class, politely asking, "Do you know where Chen Luzhou is?"

The person glanced at Xu Zhi, surprised they knew each other, and jokingly replied, "What, you want his autograph? I’ll ask for you."

So this guy kindly stopped another classmate and casually asked, "Hey, have you seen Chen Luzhou?"

And just like that, the domino effect took hold—one after another asking, "Where’s Chen Luzhou?"

Chen Luzhou was downstairs chatting with the provincial top scorer. The top scorer felt he hadn’t performed well this time, losing points on questions he shouldn’t have. Knowing Chen Luzhou had a good mindset, he was the only one who could listen to such complaints without being accused of humblebragging. Seizing the rare opportunity of Chen Luzhou’s presence, he refused to let him leave.

Hearing someone was looking for him, Chen Luzhou guessed the recording had ended. Before the top scorer could finish, he abruptly cut the conversation short. "Let’s talk later. I need to pick someone up."

The top scorer stuck close, asking, "Who? I’ll go with you."

Chen Luzhou glanced back at him. "Fine."

When Chen Luzhou pushed open the dressing room door, he found Xu Zhi chatting with that guy from the affiliated high school. The top scorer assumed the guy was Chen Luzhou’s friend, but to his surprise, Chen Luzou walked straight toward the girl beside him. "Done recording?"

"Yeah."

The girl responded lazily and continued chatting with the guy from the affiliated school.

For a moment, the dressing room fell silent.

Chen Luzhou wasn’t exactly aloof, but he avoided getting too close to girls at school. Given his looks, any interaction with even slightly pretty girls would inevitably spark rumors—a lesson he’d learned in middle school. No matter how strict the school’s discipline, gossip spread like wildfire.

He rarely initiated conversations with pretty girls, so even when someone in class jokingly teased him and the Female Class Monitor, she immediately clarified. Everyone knew Chen Luzhou was standoffish—if he heard such rumors, he’d absolutely, without fail, distance himself from her.

Of course, Xu Zhi had no idea Chen Luzhou was so meticulous about his reputation.

In her eyes, he even seemed a bit of a player—though she chalked it up to a common flaw among good-looking guys.

**

The restaurant was booked by Lian Hui, who arranged a bus to transport their group of thirty-plus people. Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi took seats near the back, leaving Yang Yijing to pair up with the equally stranded provincial top scorer.

As soon as Chen Luzhou sat down, ready to speak, his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw a message from Zhu Yangqi.

Zhu Yangqi: "Nope. Cai Yingying’s an idiot—she got the date wrong. She went to ask Zhai Xiao again, and now he’s adamant they never dated. I’m so done."Cr: ["As long as she's fine, just tell her to be more careful next time."]

"Suddenly I feel like I can't trust your words either. After knowing each other for so long, I had no idea there was such a top student right beside me," Xu Zhi said abruptly, looking out the window.

Chen Luzhou slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked down at her with a deep gaze, smiling as he threw her own words back at her, "Then what have I ever lied to you about? Come on, give me an example. Let's see if I can find an excuse for it."

"Stop copying my way of talking," Xu Zhi turned to meet his eyes. "So your 700-plus score didn't include the optional subjects?"

The bus was unlit, their gazes locking in the dim carriage—ambiguous and heated, carrying emotions hard to define. Chen Luzhou sighed softly and said, "Yeah, there was an accident. But let's not judge heroes by test scores, alright? I just thought explaining would be troublesome, so I didn't tell you. If you're angry, we can put this debt on hold for tonight."

"You must owe plenty of romantic debts like this to other girls, huh?"

"Does first impression really matter that much to you?" He smiled helplessly, looking down at her. "Ever since our first meeting when my mom said those things about me, have you engraved them in your bones? Or do you think I act this way with everyone? This whole bus is filled with my classmates. If you can find even one romantic debt among them, I'll jump off right now."

"So confident. What if someone likes you?"

"That's setting the bar too high. How am I supposed to control that?"

"Then don't go claiming you're clean and proper."

"Can you guarantee no one has ever liked you since childhood?" Chen Luzhou raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure. But I look honest," Xu Zhi said, gazing out the window, her heart pounding as the conversation veered further off track.

"Yeah, so honest," Chen Luzhou scoffed, looking down at her. "Honestly convincing people to apply to A University—are you from A University's admissions office? You've already completed one-seventieth of their provincial enrollment target for next year."

Xu Zhi: "..."

Author's note: Pushed to my limit today, going to sleep now.

Actually, the initial idea for the identity reveal scene wasn't like this. I really can only write six thousand words max per day. Any more and my brain starts glitching. Ahhh, this chapter will probably need heavy editing tomorrow.