Be Passionately In Love

The crowd had dispersed, leaving only Chen Luzhou sitting in his seat.

"Want a drink? If not, I'm taking it."

There wasn't enough alcohol to go around, so someone came over, eyeing the unopened bottle on Chen Luzhou’s table, ready to take it.

Before he could respond, the chubby guy beside him, casually shelling pistachios, interjected bluntly, "That bottle probably belongs to Rui Jun’s girl. She hasn’t drunk it yet. You can take it first."

"Alright, let her know later," the guy replied half-heartedly, already turning to leave.

"Wait. Leave it." Chen Luzhou didn’t even look up. He was typing a message on his phone, the brim of his cap pulled low. The classmate who came for the bottle didn’t recognize him at first—only that his outfit resembled Chen Luzhou’s. But since Chen Luzhou wasn’t supposed to be here today, the guy silently scrutinized him for a while. The chubby guy, unfazed, leisurely reminded him, "Stop staring. It’s your ge ."

Thanks to his ID age, Chen Luzhou was older than most of his classmates, and with his top-tier grades, some just called him ge (older brother). But everyone knew Chen Luzhou didn’t drink—Mr. Handsome had discipline and pride. No smoking, no drinking, and plenty of chivalry. So the guy tried to weasel out of it: "It’s not for me. The girls don’t have enough to go around. The boss said we drank up the entire stock and now he’s sending someone to buy more—extra charge."

Only then did Chen Luzhou lift his head, revealing those indifferent eyes beneath his cap—dark and gleaming, like they’d been soaked in water—and said coolly, "There are girls here too. Let the Female Class Monitor figure it out herself. Don’t touch her drink."

"I’m reporting you to the Class Monitor! You’re totally taking her side!" The guy stormed off indignantly.

Chen Luzhou was used to being scolded. Ever since he suggested the dean wear boxing gloves during patrols, he’d been hearing creative insults from the art class wherever he went. He’d long stopped caring about his reputation—what was one more day?

Beside him, the chubby guy suddenly spoke up, calling him by his nickname, " Cao , I’m seriously worried for you. Aren’t you the most afraid of rumors?"

Chen Luzhou did keep his distance from girls at school. With his looks, the moment he walked alongside any moderately pretty girl, rumors would spread that they were dating. He’d learned since middle school—no matter how strict the school, gossip traveled at lightning speed.

His classmates knew this. That’s why, earlier, when someone teased the Female Class Monitor, she instinctively clarified. Because Chen Luzhou was the type to immediately distance himself if word got back to him. The chubby guy had witnessed Chen Luzhou’s rumor-quashing speed—it rivaled a rocket launch.

Chen Luzhou hummed in acknowledgment, still typing to Xu Zhi. "And?"

Cr: "Not coming yet? Everyone’s already left."

The chubby guy glanced around, checking if Xu Zhi had returned, then leaned in with a meaningful whisper, "You probably didn’t see earlier, but this girl from Rui Jun’s group—she looks like one of those art class girls. Super pretty, slim waist, long legs, and really well-endowed up top."

"You checked her out?""I just... took a couple of glances," said the chubby guy with a smacking sound, his eyes full of lingering admiration. "She's too pretty—didn't dare look too closely—" Before he could finish, whether in a flash or with a second or two to spare, he felt his entire body jolt violently as he and his stool were abruptly kicked half a meter away. "...Chen Luzhou, why the hell did you kick me?"

Chen Luzhou leaned back in his seat, looking down at his phone. He unzipped his tracksuit jacket, revealing the T-shirt underneath and his broad, straight chest. The brim of his cap was pulled low, covering half his face, but the sharp line of his jaw was still faintly visible, tense with indifference. He replied lazily, without missing a beat, "—Oh, there was a rat. It just scurried under your stool."

"Really?" The chubby guy was skeptical.

"...I never lie," Chen Luzhou said shamelessly.

"Yeah, right. You usually just screw people over outright."

Suddenly, his phone buzzed repeatedly. A reply came through.

Xu Zhi: 「Can’t you come over?」

Cr: 「It’s not that I won’t come over. It’s whether you believe me when I say that if I stand up right now, your bottle of beer won’t survive.」

The moment he sent this, Chen Luzhou saw Xu Zhi put away her phone and start walking over. Feeling a bit sour, he sent another message.

Cr: 「Am I really worth less than a bottle of Budweiser to you, Architect Xu?」

Xu Zhi replied as she walked.

Xu Zhi: 「I’m going to check if the barbecue’s ready. Maybe you should just find a lock and chain yourself to the chair, Poet Chen.」

The second Chen Luzhou read the message, he saw Xu Zhi abruptly change direction and head toward the tents. He sighed helplessly.

Cr: 「Can’t win against you.」

Still, Chen Luzhou didn’t dare stand up, afraid that if he left, Xu Zhi’s beer would be taken. He knew his classmates all too well—they were top students recruited from cities and counties across the country, veterans of countless competitions, and had met more big shots than you could count. As a result, they never took anyone seriously. If Xu Zhi had told him earlier that she’d be recording today, he could’ve at least given them a heads-up. No way would he have let them treat her like this.

People came and went around him, flowing like a stream, but no one could get him to budge. Chen Luzhou might as well have been chained to that chair. Later, when Li Ke came over to invite him to play Werewolf, he still refused. Leaning back comfortably in his seat, arms crossed and head tilted up to look at Li Ke, there was an inexplicable edge in his eyes beneath the brim of his cap. "Aren’t you going to invite those two friends to join? Your diplomatic skills seem lacking these days, Ke Ke."

Chen Luzhou rarely called him that. Between them, it was usually "Ke the God" or "Lu the Grass." This kind of affectionate reduplication carried an indescribable hint of sarcasm.Xu Zhi and Yang Yijing sat by the BBQ tent, where all the girls had gathered. The girls had already started playing games, and Xu Zhi and Yang Yijing were fortunate enough not to be left out. The girls were very welcoming, including them in everything and even asking if they wanted anything from the grill. One girl even came over to add Xu Zhi on WeChat, saying that in a few days, they could check their admission results. If they got accepted, they could notify each other and book tickets together for the start of the semester. They already had an alumni group for University A set up and asked Xu Zhi to let her know once she received her admission letter so she could be added to the group. Another girl complimented Xu Zhi, saying she was so pretty she looked like a doll and that once she got to University A, the line of boys chasing her would stretch from her dorm to the school gate. She advised Xu Zhi not to rush into a relationship and to take her time choosing carefully.

Yang Yijing, still a bit clueless, chimed in, "Do you all start dating as soon as you get to university?"

"Not necessarily, but if you meet someone you like, you probably will. It’s not like high school, where you can only have secret crushes."

"Has no one in your class ever dated?" Xu Zhi asked curiously.

"Oh, definitely," a girl whispered, eager to share the gossip. "Actually, our genius Li Ke was in a relationship. The girl was originally in our class, but she couldn’t keep up with the intensity of the coursework and dropped out in our second year, transferring to a regular advanced class. They broke up after that. So, long-distance relationships—whether across cities or countries—just don’t work out."

Yang Yijing asked, "There must be a lot of girls in your class who have crushes on Chen Luzhou, right?"

"Not really, haha," the girl deflected, then added, "It’s mostly girls from other classes. Our hallway is always the most crowded after class because people come by just to catch a glimpse of him. He’s actually pretty low-key, especially when he first started high school. No one knew he was admitted through a special recommendation—he didn’t even take the entrance exam or have any scores. Later, when people found out his dad was wealthy, they assumed he bought his way in. But if you’re paying to get into our class, you’re just asking for torture. So, everyone was really looking forward to the first midterm exams to see what his actual level was."

Yang Yijing listened intently, occasionally glancing at the flawless guy lounging in a chair chatting with Li Ke. The two seemed deep in conversation, and Li Ke’s gaze would occasionally drift thoughtfully toward their group. Being stared at so intently by the provincial top scorer made Yang Yijing wonder if there was something on his face, and he kept rubbing it absentmindedly.

Xu Zhi, meanwhile, was thinking about whether she could have made it into this class if she had studied harder in middle school. The odds were slim—being the top scorer in a county or city was no easy feat.

"And then what happened?"

"And then he came in first by a landslide, beating our genius Li Ke by nearly twenty points. Li Ke was thrilled, saying he hadn’t met anyone worthy in years. Chen Luzhou was the real deal."

Yang Yijing nibbled on a chicken claw, feeling a bit disheartened. "That’s the world of academic gods. If someone beat me by twenty points, I’d be crushed and just bury my head in the sand."

Just then, the girls playing games suddenly erupted into cheers. When they looked over, they saw Li Ke and Chen Luzhou approaching. Chen Luzhou was carrying an unopened can of beer, not drinking it but holding onto it wherever he went.The two of them walked over from the lawn dining area, still chatting intermittently. Chen Luzhou had one hand in his pocket, and probably wary of stepping on dog poop, he kept his head down, eyes on the grass as he approached. From this angle, Li Ke looked even skinnier than him—like a skeleton draped in skin, the kind of bony frame where a gust of wind would press a shirt against his ribs, revealing every outline. Chen Luzhou was tall, broad-shouldered with a narrow waist, his back straight and imposing. Beneath his open windbreaker, there must have been a layer of lean muscle, powerful and sinewy, so perfectly proportioned that not a single line was out of place. Being held in his arms would surely feel incredibly safe.

By the tents, someone had lit a bonfire. Xu Zhi happened to be sitting by the flames with Yang Yijing and another girl. The flickering firelight seemed to soften the figure approaching, making him appear warm and hazy, like a cloud baked by the sun—distant yet irresistibly touchable.

She saw him walking toward her, but Xu Zhi’s thoughts likely diverged from Chen Luzhou’s. He probably wanted to introduce these people to her, and she understood his intention—they’d all be classmates at A University soon. But frankly, this circle of top students meant little to her. Even if she went to Beijing, chances were she wouldn’t keep in touch. She didn’t want to complicate their relationship. Once social circles got involved, everything would change.

Would she really have to join their gatherings later, listening to them nostalgically reminisce about campus days intertwined with his presence? His influence was so strong—how could casual conversations among classmates ever exclude him?

Wasn’t this just inviting longing? And then what? He’d be thriving abroad, maybe even dating someone new, basking in the glow of it all, completely forgetting about this summer after senior year. Just the thought made Xu Zhi feel like she’d be trapped by a scoundrel for all four years of college.

So, just as Chen Luzhou was about to pass the bonfire and reach her, Xu Zhi leisurely stood up from her chair and asked Yang Yijing, “I’m going to grill some mushrooms. Do you want any?”

Chen Luzhou’s steps faltered. His fingers tightened slightly around the beer bottle as he watched her silhouette in the amber firelight—slender and tall, her waist indeed narrow. As she walked past one of their female classmates, the girl reached out and touched it, sighing with lingering admiration, “Xu Zhi, how are you so thin?”

Standing by the grill, she lowered her head, focused entirely on brushing on chili sauce and cumin, her expression earnest. “I jump rope every day. You could try it—you’ll see results in a week. Back in ninth grade, I weighed around 110 pounds, but after a year, I dropped to 90.”

“What do you weigh now?”

“Just about 90 pounds.”

“Wow, under a hundred pounds—usually means flat-chested or short. But you’re neither! So jealous.”

“Try jumping rope. It’s faster than running.”

……

After the BBQ, there was a small fireworks display—their class’s tribute to Li Ke, the provincial top scorer. Li Ke insisted he didn’t deserve it, saying Chen Luzhou was the rightful champion since his raw score was the highest in the province. Chen Luzhou couldn’t be bothered to respond, lounging lazily in his chair as he pulled up a movie to watch. Now seated beside Li Ke at the center of the table, he was separated from Xu Zhi by four or five people.Li Ke was the only one in the room who knew about their relationship. He suddenly stood up and walked over to Xu Zhi, politely saying, "Let's switch seats. Yang Yijing just asked me a question about quantum mechanics, and I haven’t finished explaining it to him yet."

Chen Luzhou heard this and immediately lost interest in the movie. He locked his phone screen, tossed it onto the table, and shot Li Ke an exasperated look for meddling unnecessarily.

As if you needed to play matchmaker.

Hearing the sound of chairs shifting, Chen Luzhou also stood up and headed out. Unexpectedly, Xu Zhi was walking out too—she clearly had no intention of going toward him, probably unsure where to go. In the heat of the moment, they both instinctively chose the same and only available path: the restroom.

The classmates behind them were stunned for a moment before launching into unrestrained speculation and discussion, ultimately concluding:

"Honestly, Chen Luzhou’s avoidance is way too obvious. He’s really the epitome of keeping his distance."

"Someone like Xu Zhi definitely needs to be avoided. She’s even prettier than the art class girls—she could easily become the next Gu Yan."

"If I were Chen Luzhou, after what happened with Gu Yan, I’d have PTSD too. I’d turn and run at the sight of a pretty girl. Everyone at our school knows the truth—Gu Yan was the one with the unrequited crush. But back then, because Gu Yan had just topped the art exams and was trending, netizens refused to believe it. We even argued with them in the comments, but they insisted Chen Luzhou had a ‘playboy face.’ The thing is, we see him every day—he’s so disciplined, how could he possibly be entangled with anyone?"

**

The restroom was behind the hotel’s back hill. Since they weren’t staying overnight, the staff directed them to the public restroom there. Xu Zhi followed behind Chen Luzhou as he strode through the hotel lobby and back into the night. The moonlight stretched his shadow long and slender ahead of her. He gradually slowed his pace, while Xu Zhi trudged along, eyes fixed on the ground. That sharp, elongated shadow inched closer and closer, like the tide rising and falling, about to wash over her ankles. Finally, he stopped altogether. Xu Zhi couldn’t react in time and stepped right onto his shadow. It was as if the waves in her heart had suddenly crashed against her feet, the warm seawater gently brushing over every inch of her skin.

"You stepped on my shadow," he said without moving, glancing back at her.

Xu Zhi sighed and gave in. "Fine, I’ll walk in front then." After a pause, she turned back and added seriously, "But don’t step on my shadow."

"..."

When Xu Zhi came out of the restroom, Chen Luzhou was still leaning against the lamppost opposite in the same posture as when he’d gone in. The night stretched his figure, making him appear even more lean and sharp. Xu Zhi suspected he hadn’t even entered the restroom. She walked over and asked, "Are you going back?"

"You have somewhere else to be?" Chen Luzhou crossed his arms, looking down at her.

"I saw a small slope on the back hill where we can watch the fireworks," Xu Zhi said, checking the time on her phone. "Aren’t they supposed to start at 8:30?"

The slope behind the hill not only offered a view of the fireworks but also swarms of mosquitoes. Within moments of sitting down, Xu Zhi noticed several bites already swelling on Chen Luzhou’s hands. She suddenly remembered the first time she’d seen him—back in the hallway of the senior year review building, where discarded electric mosquito repellents of various brands, used and unused, littered the floor. At the time, she’d thought this guy must be hard to please. Picky as hell.Xu Zhi noticed the increasing number of mosquito bites on his hands and couldn't help saying, "Should we just go back? If this keeps up, I'm afraid your hands will swell up like pig's trotters."

Just as she was about to stand up, Chen Luzhou pulled her back down. "Let's stay and watch here. Fewer people, quieter."

"Really fine?"

"Yeah," Chen Luzhou replied nonchalantly. The two sat side by side on the grass, Chen Luzhou stretching one leg out while bending the other, his hands propped behind him as he gazed up at the starry sky. Casually, he asked, "Does it feel like the night we watched the meteor shower?"

"A bit, but the stars were prettier that night. I really should suggest Uncle Fu open up more stargazing spots—he'd definitely make money."

Chen Luzhou shot her a cold glance. "Why don't you just major in finance? Huh? So good at calculations."

A real mood-killer.

"Not a bad idea," Xu Zhi retorted. "Why don't you go for national defense electronics? Top-notch at keeping secrets."

Chen Luzhou burst out laughing lazily. "My mom used to say I was the best at sarcasm. Now I realize, you're the real champion."

"No, my dad said I've been the best at saying one thing and meaning another since I was little," Xu Zhi corrected.

Chen Luzhou ignored her, lifting a hand to check his watch, his expression relaxed. "Five more minutes till the fireworks start. Do you want my explanation first, or do you want to watch the fireworks first?"

"No need for explanations. It's not like we're anything special. I just realized now why you're so confident. Honestly, Chen Luzhou, you deserve it."

"Fine, then you explain."

Xu Zhi: ?

Chen Luzhou smirked coldly, pulling his hands back from behind him and sitting cross-legged on the grass, his gaze shifting to her face. "What did you mean earlier by dodging? Am I that embarrassing to be seen with?"

"I just don’t want our social interactions to get too complicated, you know?" Xu Zhi answered honestly.

"What do you mean by 'too complicated'?"

Xu Zhi remembered that night's sky was clear, with only a few stars. She thought Chen Luzhou's phone must have malfunctioned—the fireworks didn’t start five minutes later, but the very second she finished speaking. A sudden burst of light exploded across the horizon, countless dazzling sparks raining down from above, carrying the wind and momentum, filling their vision with brilliant flames. The deafening "booms" echoed one after another, making her chest warm slightly.

The crowd's screams and cheers rose excitedly, wave after wave. Faintly, she heard someone calling Chen Luzhou and Li Ke's names—this fireworks display was originally set up for them.

Xu Zhi looked into his eyes, her gaze alight with the fervent glow of fireworks, and said softly, "Because the puppy is wagging its tail."

Did you hear that? Because the puppy is wagging its tail—the cheers for you will never cease. The rain in Qingyi may still fall year after year, but amidst the seething crowd—

I say I like you.

Author's note: Some readers didn't understand the last part:

"The puppy is wagging its tail"—a dog wagging its tail is its way of expressing affection for someone.

"The cheers correspond to the fireworks set off for the top scholar. The rain in Qingyi may still fall year after year"—Zhou Zhou's life is radiant and passionate, but fireworks can't be set off on rainy days. Yet whether it's sunny or rainy, Zhou Zhou's life will always be vibrant, filled with flowers and applause.

"Amidst the seething crowd, I say I like you"—I'm just one among so many.