Be Passionately In Love

The moment Xu Zhi spoke, the tone of the conversation took a sharp turn, especially among the girls. Chai Jingjing had a strikingly glamorous appearance. Like Xu Zhi, she was a stunning beauty, but her looks were more aggressive—think bold red lips and a supermodel figure, with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes—the so-called "high-fashion face." With her long hair tucked behind her ears, she calmly voiced her disagreement: "I don’t think so. The kind you’re talking about are poor men. Do wealthy old men still need to rush to supermarkets for discounted eggs? So when I pick men, I usually look at their chests—broad, firm, and muscular. As long as they feel secure to hold, that’s enough."

Xu Zhi watched Chai Jingjing with quiet amusement, finding her rather intriguing.

Zhai Xiao cast a complicated glance at Chai Jingjing. Even though she was defending him, he couldn’t shake off an inexplicable discomfort.

Cai Yingying immediately chimed in, "That’s one way to choose, but I still prefer men with brains. My mom says to judge a man’s intelligence by his forehead—a full, high forehead usually means he’s smart, while a short, narrow one suggests he’s dull. I don’t like dumb men."

—A direct counter to the common male refrain of "I don’t like dumb women." Outside the door, Zhu Yangqi and Chen Luzhou exchanged a knowing glance, in no hurry to enter just yet.

Zhu Yangqi kept his hands still. "Are they performing a comedy skit in there?"

Chen Luzhou glanced down coldly at the position of his hand. "Move your hand."

Zhu Yangqi awkwardly withdrew it as the conversation inside continued.

Chai Jingjing looked at Xu Zhi with keen interest. "Hey, you know another advantage of men with big chests?"

Xu Zhi replied with equal curiosity, "Never held one, so I wouldn’t know."

Chai Jingjing stared at her in disbelief. "No way. A beauty like you must have men lining up for you. Then again, with so many admirers around, I guess average guys don’t even catch your eye, huh?"

—A mirror of the male quip, "With looks like yours, you must have women throwing themselves at you."

Xu Zhi smiled faintly. "Not really. My standards aren’t that high."

Chai Jingjing nodded. "Well, let me tell you—another perk of a man with a big chest is how sexy he looks in a suit with nothing underneath. Relationships are like that sometimes. Staring at the same face every day gets boring. If he doesn’t find ways to keep you entertained, who’d want to come home?"

Zhai Xiao clearly hadn’t expected his offhand comment about "public buses" to spark such sharp retorts, even drawing sarcasm from Chai Jingjing. Oblivious to his own fault, he failed to see why it was an issue—after all, guys talked like this in private all the time.

Outside, Zhu Yangqi stole a glance at the broad, firm, and tantalizingly flat chest of the aloof guy beside him, involuntarily picturing him in a suit with nothing underneath, rushing for discounted eggs at the supermarket. "...You’re doomed."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Xu Zhi was just about to say, "Sounds like Zhai Xiao’s been keeping you well entertained," when the door to the private room swung open. Everyone turned to look.

The moment Chen Luzhou stepped inside, the atmosphere in the room froze—stiff and lifeless, like dough that hadn’t risen properly. For a moment, everyone stared blankly at the strikingly handsome guy who had suddenly appeared in the doorway.Zhai Xiao recognized him at a glance, his face turning ashen. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. "Wrong door, Campus Idol Chen."

Chen Luzhou walked straight toward Xu Zhi, barely acknowledging Zhai Xiao with a dismissive, "No mistake. I'm here for her."

Zhai Xiao then turned his gaze to Zhu Yangqi, as if asking, "And you?" Zhu Yangqi jerked his chin toward Cai Yingying. "I'm here for her."

The next second, Zhai Xiao shot Cai Yingying a frosty glare.

Cai Yingying had no time for him at the moment, staring at Xu Zhi instead. "...Why did you call them over?"

Chen Luzhou was one thing, but why did Zhu Yangqi, that annoying pest, have to come too?

Before Xu Zhi could answer, Chen Luzhou pulled out the chair beside her and sprawled into it, legs carelessly spread. He casually grabbed the menu from the table, showing not an ounce of shame for intruding, and calmly flipped through the pages. To Cai Yingying, he said, "Not welcome? Fine, we'll leave. Just reimburse the cab fare—"

Xu Zhi, caught in the middle, swiftly cut him off before he could say something even more exasperating. "Don't push your luck."

Chen Luzhou leisurely lowered his eyes to the menu, gave an "Oh," and obediently sealed his silver-tongued mouth.

Zhai Xiao and the polo-shirted guy exchanged glances. The polo-shirted guy seemed to know Zhu Yangqi, and after a brief exchange, Zhu Yangqi introduced him to Chen Luzhou. "He was also in the junior high division—Wang Quan, Feng Jin's classmate. Played basketball with us a few times before."

Only then did Chen Luzhou look up from the menu, giving a perfunctory nod. "Yeah, seen him."

Wang Quan seized the opportunity to strike up a conversation. "My deskmate was in a summer camp with you. You two collaborated on an award-winning foldable bicycle design. She said she was sick and took half a month off, so she thought her name wouldn’t be on the final submission. But you still included her."

Chen Luzhou recalled—it happened last summer. "Zheng Yuanyuan?"

Wang Quan: "Yeah. She might not have gotten those competition bonus points otherwise."

"Where’d she apply?" Chen Luzhou asked offhandedly.

"B University. Barely made the cutoff, so she’ll probably get assigned a random major. But she’s set on going—she can always transfer later. The night she checked her results, she kept saying she wanted to thank you. If she’d known you were coming today, I’d have brought her along."

Zhai Xiao hadn’t crossed paths with Chen Luzhou much at school. The few times he’d seen him were on the basketball court with his classmates. He never found him particularly handsome—just average. But at Zongshan High, academic prodigies were practically deified, so when one happened to be decent-looking, the entire school treated him like a celebrity.

It wasn’t until now that Zhai Xiao suddenly realized Chen Luzhou was different—so different that even someone like Chai Jingjing gave him a second glance. Chai Jingjing was the school beauty and a part-time model, surrounded by all kinds of handsome guys and countless admirers. Zhai Xiao had pursued her for two years, yet he knew Chen Luzhou wouldn’t even need to try—Chai Jingjing would probably want to chase him instead.

"I heard you texted Zhai Xiao a couple days ago?" Chai Jingjing suddenly "attacked" Cai Yingying.

Zhai Xiao froze, secretly pleased. So Chai Jingjing was jealous after all.Cai Yingying's face flushed red and pale in turns. That day, after drinking too much with Zhu Yangqi, she couldn't swallow her anger and pulled Zhai Xiao out of her blacklist, sending him a long string of messages shamelessly confessing she still hadn't gotten over him. When she sobered up, she was filled with regret.

Xu Zhi, however, turned her head nonchalantly and asked Chen Luzhou, "If a guy messaged your girlfriend, would you go after the guy or discipline your own girlfriend?"

Chen Luzhou tossed the menu back onto the table, picked up the water pitcher nearby, and poured himself a glass. Knowing full well this topic was a minefield, yet already aboard this pirate ship, he played along and replied indifferently, "Discipline the girlfriend, I guess."

"Stop covering for me," Cai Yingying muttered, her head lowered and face burning with embarrassment. "I really shouldn't have—"

"I'm not disciplining you," Chai Jingjing cut her off directly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her bag. She lit one, her slightly upturned pupils exuding an indescribable charm and nonchalance. When she looked at Cai Yingying, there was more of a "you could do so much better" frustration in her gaze. "I called you here to show you—what's so great about this guy that you can't let go? From the moment we sat down, has there been even a hint of remorse in his eyes? All I see is smugness."

Zhai Xiao was completely stunned. "Chai Jingjing, what do you mean?"

Without even glancing at him, she flicked the ash off her cigarette. "It means, congratulations, you're single again."

Zhu Yangqi let out a low "Wow," thinking how thrilling it was to witness the queen of the sea in action. He mentally egged them on, rooting for the drama—Fight! Fight!

It was only then that Zhai Xiao realized Chai Jingjing had been acting strange lately, always turning down his invitations. She must have found someone new. "You've got someone else, don't you?"

"Think whatever you want," she said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Mainly, your performance lately has been subpar. No new tricks, nothing exciting. I'm just bored." She turned to Cai Yingying. "Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere. He showed me all the messages you sent him. Honestly, it's not worth it. Such pure, heartfelt love—he doesn't deserve it."

Cai Yingying stammered, "I was drunk..."

Chai Jingjing smirked but didn't respond further. Picking up her bag, she stood and walked away. As she reached the door, she seemed to remember something and tossed a final remark at the dumbstruck Zhai Xiao—

"Oh, and after all this time fawning over me, haven't you noticed Gu Yan and I follow each other on Weibo? She's a friend of mine—not super close, but still. You called her a 'public bus,' which means you called me one too. Otherwise, our breakup might've been a bit more dignified."

Zhai Xiao's face completely crumpled, turning beet red like a branding iron fresh out of the furnace. After struggling for words, he finally blurted out something that shocked everyone—

"Can't you give me another chance?"

Chai Jingjing didn't even glance back at him. Instead, she gave Cai Yingying a meaningful look, her eyes practically spelling out—Cai Yingying, don’t you think this guy is just... pathetic?

Pathetic. Utterly pathetic.So the moment Cai Yingying stepped out of the barbecue joint, she felt unbearably uncomfortable, with a churning sensation rising from her stomach. Without hesitation, she hailed a cab straight to the nearest tattoo parlor. Xu Zhi couldn’t stop her, and by the time they found her inside, she was already sitting calmly in front of the tattoo artist, boldly asking the guy to ink a mantra for inner peace on her.

The tattoo artist, clearly no stranger to eccentric requests, remained unfazed as he focused on his work. "Sanskrit or Chinese characters?" he asked.

Cai Yingying: "What’s the difference?"

The artist patiently explained, "The Sanskrit version has 148 characters, the Chinese one has 415. But for customers like you, I usually recommend just four words."

Cai Yingying: "Which four?"

The artist glanced up at her, seasoned in his craft. "'Stay away from men.' Same effect, less suffering."

Cai Yingying was instantly convinced. "Fine, those four words it is."

Xu Zhi: "..."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

Zhu Yangqi, who had rushed in right after them, looked baffled. "What’s she doing?"

Chen Luzhou glanced down at him and casually dropped two words: "Taking the tonsure."

Zhu Yangqi was shocked. "Tattoo parlors do that now?" he asked, staring at Cai Yingying.

...

Cai Yingying had made up her mind, so the three of them waited idly in the shop. Xu Zhi gave up on persuading her and decided to film the moment instead. As she adjusted the camera angle, she noticed Chen Luzhou and Zhu Yangqi heading out and instinctively called out, "Chen Luzhou, where are you going?"

Zhu Yangqi thought to himself, Damn, can’t even step away for a second? If they ever get together, she better not be this clingy. Before Chen Luzhou could answer, Zhu Yangqi tactfully said, "Never mind, you stay inside. You don’t smoke anyway."

Chen Luzhou gave a quiet "Mm," and the two exchanged a glance.

Their eyes met briefly in the air, both holding back unspoken emotions. Even the tattoo artist could sense the simmering tension beneath their calm exteriors, like molten lava ready to erupt.

Unable to resist, the artist looked up and whispered to Cai Yingying, "Are they a couple?"

Cai Yingying, ever vigilant, shot back, "You trying to get their business?"

The tattoo artist ran a proud shop, but he had to admit the two made a rare, striking pair—especially the guy. If he’d agree to model for ads, it’d be even better. "If they get inked too, I’ll do yours for free."

Cai Yingying pouted indignantly. "...Why do I have to be the freebie?"

The shop displayed samples of past customers’ tattoos, though they were all close-ups. One particularly bold client had a ferocious tiger inked on his buttocks—fitting the saying "a tiger’s backside is not to be touched." The tattoo was fierce and lively, but the close-up was... eye-watering, resembling the exaggerated, plump rear of Crayon Shin-chan.

Xu Zhi studied it with fascination. Chen Luzhou asked what possessed her to examine the photo for ten minutes. Without missing a beat, she replied, "Probably just my deep reverence for art."

Chen Luzhou ignored her nonsense and leaned against the display counter, arms crossed. Casually, he asked, "The artist asked if we want tattoos. You interested?"The tattoo shop was blaring with powerful rock music, the volume turned up high. So when they spoke, Chen Luzhou instinctively leaned his shoulder closer to her, lowering his voice. The sudden proximity brought his familiar scent of sage shower gel wafting into her nostrils again. The brief, urgent touch from earlier in the cinema slowly crept back up from the edges of her consciousness, sending a tingling sensation through her scalp as she looked at him.

His lips were softer than she'd imagined, like warm jelly, but his stubble was prickly.

Noticing the cut at the corner of his mouth, Xu Zhi casually asked, "Haven't shaved in a while?"

The unspoken understanding between them was clear. From Xu Zhi's hesitant gaze, Chen Luzhou immediately knew what she was referring to. His eyes swept over her lips with meaningful amusement. "Did it scratch you?"

Xu Zhi: "Yeah, really prickly. When I washed my face earlier, it even stung a bit. Thought I'd split my lip."

Truth be told, that kiss had been a bit rough. In her inexperience and poor angle, she hadn't landed on his lips at first—her first contact had been with his stubbled chin before she managed to peck his lips properly.

She'd basically scraped against his chin before kissing him properly. Just thinking about it now made her chest burn with flustered heat.

They stood side by side against the display cabinet.

"Was it exciting?" Chen Luzhou asked, thinking to himself how she was the one acting aggrieved now. Leaning lazily against the counter, he tilted his head to look at her with a teasing, indifferent gaze, asking with clear mischief, "Isn't kissing with stubble kind of thrilling?"

"Keep asking and it won't be thrilling anymore," Xu Zhi deflected, picking up a display catalog nearby and flipping through it aimlessly. "Are you getting a tattoo?"

"Nope," he answered straightforwardly, unusually serious. "My mom's with the TV station, and my dad's an annual Model Entrepreneur. I can't get one—if they found out, both of them would probably get hauled in for questioning."

Xu Zhi hadn't expected him to be so upright. "Alright then. If you can't get one, I will. What should I get?"

"Any small goals lately?" he asked offhandedly.

Xu Zhi thought for a long moment but couldn't come up with anything. "Making money?"

"That's a goal too."

Suddenly, inspiration struck.

So she quietly took a seat in front of the tattoo artist.

The artist was finishing up cleaning, not even looking up as he asked, "What'll it be?"

Xu Zhi said, "Cherries."

The artist packed up his tools and prepared his equipment, routinely asking, "Any special meaning behind it?"

Xu Zhi extended her hand, recalling Chen Luzhou's earlier question about small goals. "Just saw someone walk by with cherries and remembered my first childhood goal was achieving cherry freedom—which basically means making money. But I can't just tattoo 'make money,' can I?"

"Want the abbreviation or the full word?" the artist asked. "I'd suggest the abbreviation—it's quicker. I just did an abbreviation for your friend too."

Xu Zhi agreed.

At that moment, Chen Luzhou was on a phone call—a work notification from the northwest, asking him to arrive a day early due to impending bad weather, so they could wrap up filming sooner. He agreed and glanced at Xu Zhi, about to ask if she wanted to tag along to the northwest, when he heard her obediently lying under the stark white lamp. The tattoo artist gently reassured her it wouldn't hurt too much, just bear with it, and confirmed with her one last time—"Just three letters, C, L, Z, right?"It was only then that Xu Zhi and Cai Yingying realized that the abbreviation for cherries seemed to be the same as Chen Luzhou's initials."

Zhu Yangqi and Chen Luzhou entered almost simultaneously, witnessing this utterly heartbreaking scene. Zhu Yangqi even felt like tearing Chen Luzhou to pieces—just look at the mess you've made, you bastard!

How fucking attractive must you be to make a girl who's only known you for about a month tattoo your name on her hand! Scumbag! Have you no shame?!

Zhu Yangqi gave him a sarcastic sidelong glance and said, "You sure you don't want to get one too, asshole?"

Chen Luzhou thought to himself, We may fool around, but this is taking it way too fucking far.

Author's note: Chen Luzhou: Mom, a girl got a tattoo for me... I'm shocked too. I've gone too far this time...

200 red envelopes.

(Just to clarify, this is a comedy novel...)