Be Passionately In Love

"Life advice: don't just tattoo your male friend's name," Chen Luzhou walked over, pulling the person up, then added with righteous emphasis, "Not even initials."

Xu Zhi: "..."

Cai Yingying: "..."

Tattoo artist: "............"

The entire room stared at him in stunned confusion, their gazes serious yet bewildered—except for Zhu Yangqi, who wore an expression of shared indignation. The tattoo artist, looking utterly baffled while adjusting his machine and loading needles, asked Xu Zhi, "His name is Cherry?"

Chen Luzhou: "...?"

Zhu Yangqi snapped out of it: "Huh? Cherry?"

Cai Yingying, coming to her senses, explained from the side: "Haven’t you heard of 'cherry freedom'? It was one of Xu Zhi’s childhood goals when she was eight. But now that you mention it, you’re right. Maybe you shouldn’t get this tattoo—people might think you actually inked Chen Luzhou’s name."

Xu Zhi’s slender, pale arm was still sprawled carelessly on the table. She glanced at Chen Luzhou with mild indifference. "You’re bothered by this kind of coincidence?"

Chen Luzhou leaned against the table beside her, finally slipping his phone—which he hadn’t had time to put away earlier—into his pocket. He looked down at her, his dark pupils clear and direct, his tone growing more earnest. Still, he managed to coax her patiently: "I’m just worried you might regret it later. How about tattooing a cherry design instead?"

Xu Zhi was unfazed. If it ever became an issue, she could just get it removed. But it was indeed a coincidence, and she hadn’t even considered the implication. Yet here he was, making a big deal out of it. She sighed helplessly, leaning back in her chair. "But if I get a design, wouldn’t achieving 'cherry freedom' mean tattooing a whole basket of cherries?"

Chen Luzhou eyed her skeptically, his expression hovering between amusement and something else. But his stance remained firm, unwilling to compromise. He joked half-seriously, "If it’s a no, then it’s a no. Just don’t get it. You could follow Cai Yingying’s example and tattoo 'Loyalty to the Motherland' instead."

Xu Zhi rolled her eyes. "Might as well tattoo the national emblem on my forehead!"

In the end, she didn’t get the tattoo. As the group paid and left, the tattoo artist studied the strikingly handsome guy with curiosity, unsure whether to label him as a jerk or a stand-up guy. It was the first time he’d seen someone so adamantly oppose a tattoo. Tsk tsk.

The night was quiet now, the streets sparsely populated, with only the occasional faint sound of wheels rolling over the pavement. Along the way, there was a cat café. Cai Yingying, unable to resist anything fluffy, wandered inside. Xu Zhi followed. Chen Luzhou and Zhu Yangqi went to buy them each a milk tea. When he handed Xu Zhi hers, she couldn’t help asking again, unwilling to let it go: "Not even if it’s your girlfriend?"

Chen Luzhou pulled out a chair and sat down, legs spread, watching her with leisurely amusement as she teased a cat with a toy wand. The pale light framed her tall, slender figure, accentuating her graceful lines—smooth and soft, like the most vibrant blossoms and leaves in the delicate balance of sun and rain. Gentle. Gazing at her back, he felt the restless stirrings of youth. He pressed further, his tone probing: "Is a tattoo really necessary? Can’t we date without one?"Xu Zhi was engrossed in teasing the cat in its cage, only taking a sip of her milk tea without turning her head as she said, "That's not exactly what I meant. I'm just curious—you seem different from when we first met. At first, I thought you were the type of guy with messy relationships and a rebellious streak. Yingying said you’d definitely be hard to chase."

"Now?" He leaned back, his gaze cooling.

So I’m easy to chase now?

Xu Zhi turned around, put down the cat teaser, and met his pitch-black yet clear and bright eyes—mesmerizing yet fearless. Every time she locked eyes with him, she felt she’d never come across such a heart-stirring gaze again in her life. Sitting down across from him, she said, "Now I think you’re the kind of guy who grew up bathed in spring breezes—someone who should be pinned under the national flag."

"Mocking me?" Chen Luzhou caught the undertone, his stare sharp and cold as it fixed on her.

Xu Zhi sucked hard on her straw, finally pulling up the pearls from the bottom. Not wanting him to misunderstand, she clicked her tongue impatiently, wearing a sincere "Kid, you're being oversensitive" expression. "Do you know what ‘a pearl unsheathes its sword’ means? Someone like you—I’m genuinely complimenting you."

The cat café was quiet at the moment. Aside from the four of them, only a few staff members remained. Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying were teasing a chubby little orange cat in another cage, their childish bickering the only sound filling the shop.

"Zhu Yangqi, do you even know how to play with a cat? You’re gonna poke its eyes out! Can’t you be gentler?"

"Cats aren’t as dumb as you! Look how fast it’s jumping around!"

Their corner, in contrast, was serene—though the way their eyes locked carried an inexplicable tension.

"You’re just saying I can’t handle games?" Chen Luzhou was self-aware. Leaning back casually in his chair, his gaze turned serious, revealing a mix of domineering confidence and youthful arrogance. "Xu Zhi, if we really played, you wouldn’t stand a chance."

Truthfully, Chen Luzhou had to admit Xu Zhi was right about one thing—he did tend to overestimate his own importance. He had a photographer’s bad habit: whenever he saw a beautiful scene, he wanted to capture and save it for later, forgetting that the most real and intense experiences were the ones lived in the moment.

"I want to experience it, Campus Idol Chen ," Xu Zhi said, sipping the milk tea he’d bought her. The warmth slowly spread through her stomach, making her nearly hiccup from fullness.

Chen Luzhou was used to others calling him that, but hearing it from her felt oddly unsettling. He coughed. "Cut it out. I seriously suspect you’re only after my looks."

"Looks are part of you too, Campus Idol ," Xu Zhi replied shamelessly.

"Call me that again and I’ll hit you," he threatened half-heartedly, though his helpless chuckle gave him away.

Xu Zhi grinned. "What are your plans tomorrow?"

Chen Luzhou sprawled in his chair, legs stretched out, and glanced at his phone. A notification at the bottom read: July 15th, Northwest . A few days left. "Wanna meet up?"

"What were you originally planning?"

Locking his phone, he looked at her with a teasing glint, the corners of his eyes and lips curling in a smirk. "My plan was to invite someone to watch a movie. At my place. Coming?"Xu Zhi suddenly realized that when he said "you can't outplay me," he might not have been joking at all. Her heart skipped a couple of beats. "Bring it on."

He fixed her with a sharp, direct gaze for three seconds, countless thoughts racing through his mind before he finally responded with a nonchalant "Hmm." He took a sip of water from the glass on the table. "After my game then, around seven?"

"Okay."

Xu Zhi's eyes sparkled, bright as a moon soaked in water—frank and luminous.

When it came to honesty, he couldn't match her. She wore her emotions openly, every thought and feeling laid bare like an unobstructed landscape. Chen Luzhou watched her and suddenly felt that if some things demanded a clear resolution, he might as well take a couple of steps forward. At least she'd be happy.

Given her temperament, the worst-case scenario would be him ending up heartbroken, him unable to forget.

Chen Luzhou had overestimated his own self-control. The plan for seven that evening had left him distracted since three in the afternoon. He never even made it to the court—Zhu Yangqi called, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he holed up at home, attempting to read for two hours but barely flipping two pages. Then he put on a movie, half-heartedly leaning against the headboard for nearly two hours. He couldn’t recall the plot, let alone the names of the leads. Scrolling through his feed, he noticed Xu Zhi had the leisure to bake cookies, cheerfully posting:

Xu Zhi: My cousin said my cookies look—even Cupid wouldn’t blindfold himself like this. How are they ugly?

Chen Luzhou replied: Cr: Is this a turtle?

Xu Zhi quickly responded: OMG, you actually guessed it! This is a turtle without its shell. My cousin asked which agency sent you as a plant.

Chen Luzhou had to admire his own absurd guess. He’d gone for the most ridiculous option and somehow nailed it. He typed back leisurely.

Cr: Yeah, tell him Cupid sent me.

After sending it, he exited WeChat, browsing a delivery app for fruit wine while mentally berating himself. Chen Luzhou, you’re really pathetic. It’s just a casual meet-up between two people—why the nerves? His entire afternoon had been wasted on trivialities. Even the competition prep books on his shelf tempted him to start over from scratch.

The next second, despite holding his phone, he glanced at his black wristwatch for the hundredth time. Why isn’t it seven yet? Damn, I’m withering away here.

So Zhu Yangqi had seen right through him since childhood—80% of him was a hopeless romantic, the remaining 20% reserved only because he hadn’t dated yet. He’d reassess once he had actual experience.

**

When Xu Zhi walked in, Chen Luzhou was standing by the dining table, pouring two buckets of popcorn into a large bowl. He glanced up at her but didn’t greet her or say a word, his expression perfectly neutral. With a cool tilt of his chin toward the sofa, he signaled for her to sit there.

An hour late, she knew she was in the wrong and didn’t dare speak first. Obediently settling into the spot he’d indicated, she watched him move around unhurriedly—finishing with the popcorn, then pulling two bottles of alcohol from the cabinet and placing them in front of her. He handed her a corkscrew, still silent.Xu Zhi thought he was upset about her being late and quickly explained, "My cousin’s family came over today. My dad drank too much with them and didn’t leave until eight. I couldn’t leave until they did."

Chen Luzhou brought two more glasses from the kitchen and placed them steadily in front of her—his hands were unshakably steady—before glancing at her inexplicably and chuckling. "I’m not mad. Why are you so nervous?" he said dismissively.

He was just frustrated with his poor performance that afternoon. Besides, this was his first time properly and ambiguously inviting a girl over, so he felt somewhat awkward and inexperienced. He simply didn’t know how to start a proper conversation.

They sat side by side as the movie was already projected, paused on the classic Dragon Seal. Xu Zhi picked up the remote and clicked, only to see it was Kartu’s Heartroom Syndrome , which she happened to have never watched.

Chen Luzhou leaned back against the sofa and asked knowingly, "Seen it before?"

Xu Zhi shook her head, turning to him with pleasant surprise. "This is the only one I haven’t watched. You’re really good at picking things—bullseye every time."

"Lucky you," he said. "This was the only one left." He gestured toward the sofa with his chin. "Got you some fruit wine—low alcohol. I’ll take you back after you finish."

Xu Zhi agreed and picked up her glass, sneaking a glance at him as she drank, her expression like a mouse stealing fermented wine. "Why do you feel a little different today?"

The movie’s visuals were as dim as ever. Chen Luzhou lounged against the sofa, adjusting the brightness with the remote in one hand while reaching behind to turn off the lights with the other. The room instantly darkened. Outside, the sky wasn’t completely black yet—a deep indigo scattered with hazy light. The atmosphere was dim enough, so Chen Luzhou didn’t bother closing the curtains. After turning off the lights, he looked at her. His usually restrained dark eyes now shimmered like a pool of unveiled thoughts, bright and provoking. "Isn’t it obvious why I invited you? Do I need to spell it out?"

Xu Zhi would’ve loved to hear him say it, but his gaze clearly warned, If you really make me say it, I’ll hit you. So she nodded understandingly. "Got it."

Halfway through the movie, Xu Zhi felt parched and wanted Chen Luzhou to pour her some water. Seeing how engrossed he was, she figured he wouldn’t budge, so she got up to do it herself. But then her foot caught on something, and she tumbled straight onto Chen Luzhou’s lazily sprawled legs.

Xu Zhi: "..."

Chen Luzhou leaned against the sofa, completely unruffled, and glanced down at her with a teasing smirk. "What, the movie’s boring? Sitting on my lap makes it more exciting?"

Xu Zhi: "..."

Just as she was about to get up, a hand grabbed hers and yanked her forward. His legs parted, and she was pulled right between those annoyingly long limbs, repositioned onto his other thigh. His tone was half-apologetic. "This one. The other leg hasn’t fully healed from a fight the other day."

Outside, the city lights suddenly flickered on, like little fireballs igniting across the dark sky, stretching from one end to the other.The room remained dim, with only the faint glow of the hallway nightlight casting a feeble illumination. Yet, Xu Zhi felt as though the lights outside the window had ignited a fire within her chest, burning fiercely. Her gaze toward him grew more intense and daring, a reflection of a young girl's budding affection.

"Did you shave today?" she asked.

The flickering light from the television screen danced in their eyes, innocent yet probing, as if serving as the perfect catalyst. Somehow, the flames between them suddenly flared up violently—hot, unbearably hot. The molten desire they had kept hidden now stirred recklessly, impossible to ignore.

"...Yeah," he replied, his gaze revealing the restless, youthful heat he had tried so hard to conceal.

Xu Zhi leaned in, cupping his face. Whether to make up for the regret of their first time or to verify if he had truly shaved, she first pressed a slow, tender kiss to his chin before tilting her head to capture his lips with an unpracticed yet surprisingly skillful touch.

Two young, fervent bodies pressed tightly together in the solitude of the night, the heat between them nearly overwhelming. Their skin tingled, nerves alight, their scalps prickling uncontrollably—just like that first afternoon they met. It was impossible to tell who burned brighter, but their hearts pounded wildly, threatening to burst from their chests. The only sound left in their ears was the soft, lingering, yet inexperienced rhythm of their kisses.

Author's Note: I know you're eager—honestly, so am I. But some parts really need buildup for the impact to hit later. The beginning might be slow, but from here on out, it's mostly their interactions.

Updates have been inconsistent lately because my dad's been hospitalized for surgery, so things have been hectic. I’ll do my best not to miss any chapters.