Be Passionately In Love

So, Chen Luzhou was sprawled lazily on the sofa at the time, a mischievous impulse rising in him. He deliberately shifted the leg she was sitting on, causing Xu Zhi, who was drinking, to jolt. Half the sip went in, half spilled out, with quite a bit splashing onto his pants. Without thinking, she grabbed a tissue from the coffee table to wipe it, but Chen Luzhou brushed her hand away without a word—almost getting himself into trouble again. He warned her coolly, "Do you even see where you’re wiping before touching?"

Xu Zhi then leisurely glanced down and let out an "Oh."

Chen Luzhou: "..."

"Coming over tomorrow?" he asked casually, taking the tissue and roughly wiping his pants while keeping his head down.

Xu Zhi thought for a moment. "Yeah."

Chen Luzhou hummed in acknowledgment, glancing at her before tossing the tissue into the nearby trash bin. The movie was nearing its end, the lights still off, the flickering screen casting dim, ambiguous glows across the living room, illuminating their youthful, uncertain faces.

Their heartbeats still hadn’t settled, even though they’d been apart for nearly half an hour. The turmoil inside them remained unspoken as they sat motionless, staring at the screen. Xu Zhi had returned to the sofa, while Chen Luzhou still sat with his legs carelessly spread apart.

"Under the pressure of her stepmother and father, Juliana finally decides to confess her forbidden feelings for her brother. The stepmother grabs a nearby baseball bat, ready to kick her out, while the brother, now with a new girlfriend in college, remains completely unaware..."

Watching the film, Xu Zhi suddenly remembered something. "That friend of Zhai Xiao’s—Wang Quan—remember him?"

Chen Luzhou hummed in response.

"He added me on WeChat," she said.

Chen Luzhou turned to look at her. "Did you accept?"

Xu Zhi sighed, watching the stepmother’s hysterics on screen. "I ignored the first request, but he sent another, asking if I wanted to tutor. Apparently, a lot of parents in Qingyi are looking for senior high tutors. Did you know that? He said if he introduces me to jobs, he’d take 20% of my earnings as a commission."

Chen Luzhou recalled Li Ke mentioning something similar before. Li Ke had wanted to start a tutoring platform since their school had plenty of top students—just the commission from students and parents alone could be substantial. Qingyi was unique in S Province’s cutthroat education scene; many graduating seniors from their high school made money this way. Chen Luzhou hadn’t been interested, so he’d declined. "Don’t bother with Zhai Xiao’s side. If you want to tutor, go through Li Ke. He’s the provincial top scorer—you think he has fewer resources? Besides, if you go through him, he won’t charge you a commission."

Xu Zhi, ever bold, mused, "Maybe I should negotiate with Wang Quan—get him to pay me a commission instead."

Chen Luzhou shot her a look, the eerie blue glow from the screen making his expression especially cold. "No problem there. He’d probably throw himself at you for free."

But Xu Zhi, dead serious, teased him, "...Won’t you raise the stakes? Get Li Ke to pay me a commission. Or better yet—why don’t you throw yourself at me? Otherwise, I might just go with Wang Quan."Chen Luzhou was stunned by her marketing mindset. "Damn, why be an architect? Professor Xu, let's go into PR instead. There’s no intermediary you couldn’t win over."

Xu Zhi, however, felt a bit inadequate. "But I can’t handle scandals," she said, then suddenly inspired, she looked at him. "How about you become a celebrity? Zhu Yangqi and I can make money by selling your scandals. Sacrifice yourself for the greater good—don’t worry, Zhu Yangqi and I will take care of you later."

"...You and Zhu Yangqi taking care of me? Yeah right. The two of you would probably run off with the money faster than China’s tech development in the last 20 years. And," he paused, smiling slightly before adding, "how much more do you want me to throw myself at you? Hmm?"

It was indeed quite the throw.

Lately, Chen Luzhou had been leaving basketball games halfway through. After he left, Jiang Cheng watched his retreating figure thoughtfully, full of suspicion. Zhu Yangqi, oblivious as ever, casually threw a ball at him and said inexplicably, "Hey, what are you staring at? Finally realized he’s better-looking than you?"

Jiang Cheng had always believed that in terms of looks, he and Chen Luzhou were evenly matched—a boy’s unyielding competitive spirit, though it was clearly a losing battle. He’d never admit it, of course. But now, watching Chen Luzhou’s tall, lean figure stride away effortlessly, drawing glances from everyone around, he said to Zhu Yangqi, "Don’t you think he’s been unusually handsome lately?"

Zhu Yangqi didn’t see it. Chen Luzhou had always been eye-catching. Just now, as he walked by, people’s eyes had followed him the entire way. That was just his natural charisma. Many guys attracted attention from girls, but other guys would scoff and say, "Really? Him?" Yet with Chen Luzhou, it was often the guys who looked at him more, especially around campus. Some would even call out "Lucaozhou" and strike up a conversation, which he never refused.

Zhu Yangqi had been jealous of this growing up, feeling like Chen Luzhou had too many friends. No matter where they went, someone would know him. But later, he realized that no matter how many people Chen Luzhou met, his inner circle remained small. That was the security of their friendship. So, dribbling the ball, Zhu Yangqi said dismissively to Jiang Cheng, "Nah, you’ve known him for years. You should be used to it by now. He’s always been a magnet—"

"That’s not what I mean," Jiang Cheng cut in firmly. "He’s been way too into grooming lately. Before, he’d just grab whatever from his closet. But today, when I randomly picked something for him to play ball in, he actually said he’d worn it two days ago. And these past few days, when I text him at 7:30, he doesn’t reply until 10:30. Plus, he keeps leaving games early. Even during Olympiad training, when he was swamped, he never isolated himself like this. Based on my years of experience—does he have a girl?"Zhu Yangqi burst out laughing, thinking Jiang Cheng was overthinking it. Dribbling the basketball, he said, "What kind of person is Campus Idol Chen? There's no way he'd start dating right now. Even if he were, he wouldn’t hide it from us two. He’s probably busy with something else. I heard from his mom that they want him to go a month early—must be sorting out his visa."

Meanwhile, Xu Zhi was checking her admission results on Chen Luzhou’s computer—the same one that had once searched "why can’t I get hard." So when she opened the browser, her cursor hovered over the search bar for a moment, instinctively curious about his recent browsing history. But Chen Luzhou wasn’t the type to stumble into the same pit twice. He had wiped his history clean, leaving no trace behind.

Chen Luzhou, clearly sensing her mischievous intent, lounged lazily in his chair while reviewing documents from Liverpool. Noticing her disappointed sigh, he casually suggested, "Why don’t you just open my browsing history and see what I’ve been searching for, if you’re that curious?"

Xu Zhi’s eyes instantly lit up. "Really? Lu Cao."

"Sure," he replied with a polite smile.

But the moment she opened it, she realized she’d been played. He had already deleted everything—not a single trace remained, cleaner than a beggar’s bowl. Except for one eerily prescient search entry: Xu Zhi, please keep up this insatiable curiosity. You’re about to crack the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Xu Zhi calmly closed the tab, muttering under her breath, "...Chen Luzhou, you’re such a dog."

Chen Luzhou, leaning back in his chair, laughed uncontrollably as he flipped through his documents. "Well then, how about tossing your dog a bone?"

"Sure. Later, I’ll treat you to a big bone at the door, Chen Puppy ," Xu Zhi said through gritted teeth, smiling sweetly.

After finishing the documents, Chen Luzhou tossed them onto the table and shot her a frosty glare. "You turned me down yesterday, but when you call, I’m just supposed to wait around like a dog, huh? That’s really how you see me?"

She hadn’t expected him to hold a grudge. "Old Qu asked me to help—wanted me to give a speech to next year’s seniors. I was writing my draft yesterday," she explained.

Chen Luzhou couldn’t be bothered to argue. She just wanted to claim him for herself out of sheer selfishness. Nodding toward the computer, he asked, "Done checking?"

Xu Zhi sighed, suddenly inexplicably nervous. Chen Luzhou understood immediately— Fine, I’ll do it. He pulled the laptop toward him, angling it just enough to block her view. Without a word, he entered her exam and ID numbers, leaving Xu Zhi stunned. How does he remember these after hearing them just once?

Once he finished, he closed the laptop and studied her with amusement. Xu Zhi felt a pang of nervousness, but then he suddenly said, "I think I’ll keep you in suspense."

Xu Zhi knew he wouldn’t make it that easy. She reached for the laptop, but he smoothly blocked her, keeping it firmly out of her grasp.

Unfazed, Xu Zhi leaned back in her chair, watching him with calm indifference.

"Not even a little anxious?"

"I’ll find out sooner or later anyway."Playing mind games, Chen Luzhou realized he was no match for Xu Zhi. Initially, he wanted to ask her why she had encouraged Tan Xu to apply to A University, but then he felt it would be meaningless for them to waste time on such questions. It was like how she never brought up his past with Gu Yan—even Cai Yingying had asked Zhu Yangqi about it, yet Xu Zhi hadn’t mentioned a word to him from start to finish. So after staring at her for a long moment, he said flatly, “Buy the ticket. Six hundred eighty.”

“For the architecture department,” he added.

Xu Zhi sighed, complaining that Beijing’s winters were too dry—she’d get nosebleeds.

“Let’s go. I’ll treat you to some bone broth,” Chen Luzhou flicked her forehead lightly before heading off. “Let me change first.”

As he made for the bathroom, Xu Zhi exhaled another slow, deliberate sigh, thinking to herself, How standoffish. We’ve already kissed—what’s there to hide? What’s wrong with letting me look? Winters in the south no longer dried the air enough to cause nosebleeds, and handsome guys who could make one’s nose bleed were rare too. Yet this one was still so stingy.

“Hey, Chen Luzhou, let’s go swimming tomorrow,” Xu Zhi suggested lazily, leaning back in her chair and flipping idly through the books on his desk, her tone dripping with mischief.

“In your dreams,” came his indifferent retort from behind the closed bathroom door, seeing right through her ulterior motive in an instant.

Women were fickle. By the time Chen Luzhou changed and came out, Xu Zhi no longer wanted to go out. Instead, they curled up on the sofa and picked a random movie to watch. Midway through, inspired by the plot, Xu Zhi suddenly tossed out a question—

“Chen Luzhou, what do you think defines a successful forty-year-old?”

With one arm draped over the back of the sofa, effectively encircling her in his embrace, he glanced down at her with a lazy, roguish grin and answered, “Not getting cheated on by your wife.”

Xu Zhi: “…”

Catching the faint smirk at the corner of his lips from the corner of her eye, she knew he was teasing her. He must have another answer in mind—something more than that. Those eyes, capable of concealing thoughts and weathering storms, still held too much of a young man’s unspent ambition. He was definitely aiming for more.

Why won’t he tell me? she wondered. Because it has nothing to do with me. No matter how dazzling his future may be, my voice won’t be part of the roaring crowd in his life.

That was how Xu Zhi saw it.

During that period, they rarely went out, mostly staying in to watch movies. Xu Zhi’s associative thinking was strong, and she’d often throw out unexpected questions tied to the plot—questions that were hard to answer. Her insatiable curiosity meant that sometimes, while Chen Luzhou was still pondering how to frame a logically sound response, she’d lose patience and start calling his name incessantly, alternating between “Chen Luzhou” and “Campus Idol Chen,” relentlessly pressing him for an answer. Chen Luzhou realized she had zero patience.

Tilting his head back against the sofa, he laughed helplessly, utterly at a loss. With one arm still lazily resting on the sofa back, keeping her close, he looked down at her, slowly smoothing her soft hair as he murmured, “Can’t you give me a second to think?”

She paid no heed, putting on an exaggerated act now that she knew she had someone to indulge her. “Fine. The great poet Chen has run out of talent.”Chen Luzhou couldn't stop laughing. Every time she left him torn between laughter and tears, it was during those moments that he realized Xu Zhi could be incredibly childish. Her emotional stability often stemmed from being less sensitive to external stimuli, immersed in her own world—no wonder others couldn't influence her, no wonder her academic performance soared straight up like a pen held upright.

Their conversations spanned the vast horizons of the world—philosophy, biology, entomology... anything Xu Zhi could think of, they discussed. Chen Luzhou was often amazed by her wildly imaginative mind. Yet they never touched on emotions or the future. It was precisely in this precarious, perhaps ephemeral, emotional state that their connection burned most intensely and indelibly. Such mutual understanding, such spiritual harmony—even the most naive youth, in that turbulent age of passion, couldn't maintain absolute clarity and rationality.

Kissing became a natural progression. The awkward pecking sounds often occurred during those summer nights when no one else was around, secrets buried beneath the tireless cicada songs that filled Qingyi City. Later, whenever Xu Zhi heard cicadas, she would always recall the scent of sage on Chen Luzhou.

Of course, Xu Zhi's curiosity flourished equally strong at all times. When their third kiss remained painfully clumsy, she leaned against Chen Luzhou and whispered politely, pressing close:

"Chen Luzhou, um... I'd like to take a look—"

Chen Luzhou: ???

Author's Note:

Xu Zhi (spreading her hands): What else could it be but that ?

Just got back from the hospital today—my dad's still admitted. I'll make up for the missed double updates from the past few days, but I won't specify when. Consider it a surprise drop whenever it happens.

Red envelopes for this chapter too. Thanks for your patience.

(Seeing everyone stand up for me in the comments always moves me. There have been some family emergencies lately—I had surgery in June myself, and recently, my cough hasn't healed, plus discomfort around the surgical site. Then my dad was hospitalized for surgery too. Just a streak of bad luck with everything piling up, hence the delays. You've all been incredibly understanding—thank you.)