Be Passionately In Love

It hadn’t rained for a while. The moon hung peacefully in the western sky, clear and serene, while slanting breezes and tree shadows drifted past the few pedestrians on the street. Chen Luzhou strolled leisurely home, carrying the perfume Xu Zhi had given him. At this hour, the entire Yifeng Alley was deserted. The glossy green leaves clung to the tops of the walls, and a kitten lay beneath them, enjoying the cool. The cicadas’ chirps were crisp and resonant, creating a rather pleasant atmosphere. Suddenly, Chen Luzhou remembered—he hadn’t eaten cicadas yet this summer.

Cicadas were a local delicacy in Qingyi City, rarely eaten in other provinces. But every summer, the night markets here revolved around them. Still, many locals avoided them—like Zhu Yangqi. Whenever Chen Luzhou, Jiang Cheng, and the others ordered cicadas during late-night snacks, Zhu Yangqi would lose it. “These things are the soundtrack of summer nights!” he’d protest. But no one ever paid him any mind, so he’d turn to Chen Luzhou—the only one among them with a hint of artistic sensibility, being a poet after all. “Luzhou, spring rain, summer cicadas, autumn wind, winter snow—aren’t these the metaphors you poets love? Where’s your romanticism?” Chen Luzhou’s usual response was merciless: “Fed to the dogs. Poets don’t need to eat?” When hunger struck, he became ruthless, even turning against his own.

Perhaps influenced by Zhu Yangqi, Chen Luzhou assumed girls wouldn’t like eating insects like cicadas either, so he’d never taken Xu Zhi to try them. Otherwise, he knew a few places with great flavors he could’ve introduced her to.

So when he walked through the door, he planned to call Jiang Cheng and ask if he wanted to grab some cicadas. But the moment he stepped inside, four icy gazes instantly locked onto him. One hand was pressing his fingerprint to unlock the door, the other holding the perfume bag, and between his lips was the stick of a popsicle he’d finished—nowhere to toss it on the way, so he’d kept it there…

The atmosphere was tense. Zhu Yangqi frantically gestured at him from the side, while Lian Hui sat in silence, her presence overwhelming. Chen Luzhou figured it was mostly due to her twelve-centimeter heels. Lian Hui had impeccable taste and always dressed elegantly, even though she was already tall. All her heels were at least ten centimeters, so whenever Old Chen walked beside her, it looked like an empress parading with her eunuch.

Staring at Lian Hui’s sky-high heels, Chen Luzhou’s mind inexplicably flashed back to his first date with Xu Zhi at the mountain villa. She’d descended the hill wearing hotel slippers, completely natural, without a trace of pretense. At the time, he thought she was just playing hard to get—dismissive on the surface, yet secretly thinking he’d never meet another girl who’d wear plastic slippers on a first date. But she was so slender—her toes delicate, her waist narrow, easy to pull close with one hand when they kissed.

“Are you dating someone?” Lian Hui sat on the sofa, arms crossed imperiously, cutting straight to the point. Zhu Yangqi stood beside her like a tattling little eunuch, not daring to breathe.Chen Luzhou probably knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose. He placed the bag with the perfume on the shoe rack nearby and leaned lazily against the cabinet, letting out a sigh. His expression was indescribably sincere, though the ice cream stick dangling from his mouth made him seem a bit more nonchalant. "Do you really want to see her? Probably better not. She’d probably piss you off even more, I bet."

He wasn’t wrong. Even Zhu Yangqi, standing off to the side, thought that if his buddy really ended up with Xu Zhi, Lian Hui would definitely be furious. Her son might be rebellious in words, but Xu Zhi had defiance carved into her bones.

Lian Hui was already seething, but she was always composed. Even when burning with anger, she rarely lost her cool. She gestured to the stack of documents spread on the table. "Your study visa has been approved. I heard from Zhu Yangqi that you were planning to go to the northwest the day after tomorrow—cancel that. Next week, we’re going to London for filming. Chen Xingqi said he wants to tag along, and your father mentioned it’s been a while since we’ve traveled as a family since you started high school. Pack everything you need—we’ll transfer directly to Liverpool from London."

"You guys go ahead as a family. No need to drag me along. I’ll go at the end of the month," he said, standing there. The light above the entryway stretched his shadow long and lean, his silhouette sharp and clean. His head was lowered, the vertebrae at the back of his neck distinct, his shoulders broad yet somehow fragile. How mature could an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old boy really be? At that moment, Zhu Yangqi thought he must be quite lonely. He once read a movie review Chen Luzhou had written—later reposted by major film bloggers—that said:

"After all these years alone, what I want might be a little greedier: a love that’s fervent and unyielding, something one-of-a-kind, something that’s meant for me and no one else."

Zhu Yangqi had always thought Chen Luzhou should’ve studied liberal arts. In fact, he and their friends had once joked that the best career for him would be teaching—especially as a university professor. With his looks and that mouth of his, his classes would probably be packed. So Zhu Yangqi had always looked forward to seeing him shine in the field of imparting wisdom. But judging by how things were going, he’d probably just end up working for Old Chen and his wife, to no real purpose.

After Lian Hui left, Chen Luzhou tilted his head back against the sofa, eyes closed, resting. Zhu Yangqi quietly sat down beside him and asked, "That hickey on Xu Zhi’s neck—that was you, wasn’t it?"

Chen Luzhou kept his eyes shut and admitted without hesitation, letting out a low "Mhm."

The air conditioning wasn’t on, and sweat beaded on Chen Luzhou’s forehead, trickling down past his temples. After all the commotion, the soccer game on TV was nearing its end. Zhu Yangqi had no idea that Campus Idol Chen, who’d always kept himself pristine, had already fallen from grace, secretly carrying on with someone, reduced to a kissing tool. He turned off the TV in shock, staring straight at him. "Holy shit, what the hell is going on?"

Chen Luzhou didn’t answer, his posture unchanged. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out, guessing it was probably Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi: I want to get my ears pierced tomorrow. Wanna come?

Cr: No tutoring?

Xu Zhi: Nope. The middle schooler said they have a dentist appointment tomorrow, so they canceled.

Cr: Got it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.Xu Zhi: Cai Yingying just asked me a question about you guys, and I didn’t get it. Can you help me figure it out?

Cr: Shoot.

Xu Zhi: Suppose there’s a guy who’s liked a girl for a really long time, but then he suddenly realizes she’s not what he imagined and stops liking her. In the meantime, he’s liked other people, even fallen for someone else. But then one day, the original girl jokingly says she wants to be with him, and the guy actually agrees. What kind of mentality is that?

Cr: Let me put it this way—it’s like going to buy a pancake, waiting in line forever, only to realize you’re in the wrong line—it’s actually a steamed bun shop. Just as you’re distracted and about to go next door for waffles, the owner suddenly says it’s your turn. Are you really gonna walk away hungry? What kind of mentality? Simple—he’s just hungry. He wants to be in a relationship, no matter who it’s with.

Xu Zhi: …Damn.

Cr: Is the unlucky one Cai Yingying?

Xu Zhi: Shh, keep it quiet. She was almost in an online relationship with some guy recently, but then a girl he used to like suddenly told him she wanted to be together, and Yingying just…

Chen Luzhou instinctively glanced at Zhu Yangqi. The idiot was still sitting there, all curious about his gossip, completely unaware that his own turf was being encroached upon. Silently putting his phone away, Chen Luzhou asked, “Haven’t you been in touch with Cai Yingying lately?”

Zhu Yangqi, munching on sunflower seeds from the couch, replied with clueless innocence, “Ah, it’s a long story. The other day, I criticized her a bit while gaming, and she got so mad she said she’d enter that city-wide amateur tournament—what’s it called, the Unity Cup?—and win a prize to prove me wrong. I told her with her skill level, she wouldn’t even make it into the kiddie cup, let alone the Unity Cup. But since the competition’s coming up, she’s been practicing hard at home. Hmph, I bet she won’t last three days before crawling back to beg me to carry her.”

“…I suggest you reach out to her more often lately.” That was all Chen Luzhou could say—Xu Zhi had forbidden him from spilling the rest.

Zhu Yangqi just went “Oh,” his mind clearly elsewhere, still snacking as he asked curiously, “So what’s really going on between you and Xu Zhi?”

Chen Luzhou leaned back on the couch, arms folded behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling with a look of utter resignation. A line from One Hundred Years of Solitude came to mind.

— “Wherever they might be, they always remember that the past is a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end. Only solitude was eternal.”

Back in the orphanage, whenever someone gave him candy, he’d always think—should he eat it? If he couldn’t keep eating it afterward, wasn’t it better not to start?

Chen Luzhou lowered his hands and picked up his phone, checking it briefly. Xu Zhi had updated her Moments again—she really had a talent for comedy.

Xu Zhi: “The first rose I’ve ever received in my life.”

Below was a picture—someone had sent her a bouquet of roses. “You play cards so well.” (A screenshot from a game.)

He exited the app and sent her a WeChat message.

Cr: Did your dad ask you yet?

Xu Zhi: Yeah. At one point, he was about to grab a knife and go after you. Luckily, I managed to talk him down.

Cr: ?

Cr: Let’s not meet up tomorrow.

Xu Zhi: Chen Luzhou, you’re such a coward.Cr: It's not that I'm a coward, but murder lands you in jail, and I don't want you to lose your dad.

Cr: Is legal awareness not a thing in your family? By the way, I have something to do tomorrow morning, so I’ll pick you up in the afternoon.

Xu Zhi: ……Are you going for a follow-up check?

Cr: ?????

Cr: Does your dad need a refresher on professional ethics too?

Xu Zhi: I overheard it just now. No wonder you wouldn’t let me see. I was wondering—why would a handsome guy like you be so secretive?

Cr: It’s not what you think.

Xu Zhi: Then what is it?

Cr: ……I give up. I’m going to shower. Keep this up, and I’ll really have to teach you a lesson when we meet tomorrow.

There was a long pause before a reply finally came through.

Xu Zhi: When are you leaving?

Cr: Next week.

**

The next day, when Xu Guangji saw Chen Luzhou show up at his doorstep, he hadn’t expected him to come so soon. The anger he’d been holding back flared up instantly, making him a far cry from the reasonable man who’d given advice in the stairwell the night before: “Didn’t I tell you to use your hands more these days before coming?”

A female doctor happened to be retrieving some documents in the office at the time. Chen Luzhou coughed awkwardly and sat down in the chair across from him, mumbling, “Yeah, I did… a few days ago.”

Xu Guangji gave him a slow once-over before drawling, “Fine. Hand me your medical record.”

Chen Luzhou passed it over.

Xu Guangji glanced at him and asked casually, “Heard you’re going abroad?”

Leaning back in his chair, Chen Luzhou paused before replying flatly, “Yeah.”

The female doctor finished gathering her documents and left after a quick word to Xu Guangji, leaving just the two of them in the office. After filling out the forms, Xu Guangji slapped the medical record onto the desk and suddenly pulled out his phone. “Come here. I want to show you something.”

Chen Luzhou leaned in.

Xu Guangji placed the phone on the desk. The video showed a little girl with twin ponytails, bright-eyed and radiant. Chen Luzhou recognized her immediately as Xu Zhi—her features were almost unchanged, especially those sharp, piercing eyes that somehow still looked innocent and sincere. She stood on a podium, delivering a passionate campaign speech—

“Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zhi. Napoleon once said, ‘A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general isn’t a soldier.’ I might not be as rich as Lin Zixuan, but I’m pretty. Lin Zixuan’s money won’t be spent on all of you, but my beauty is here for everyone to see. I hope you’ll vote for me. But if I become class monitor, I also hope you’ll cooperate with me and not make things difficult.”

Xu Guangji put his phone away, grinning. “My daughter’s pretty confident, huh?”

“Yeah, confident and poised. You raised her well,” Chen Luzhou said sincerely. That was Xu Zhi, all right. He could easily imagine her as a proud little swan in her childhood.

Xu Guangji’s smile vanished. “But last night, she cried and asked me, ‘Dad, am I just… really terrible?’”

Chen Luzhou: ?

Xu Guangji pushed his chair back and dramatically clutched his chest, putting on an exaggerated display of despair for Chen Luzhou: “She said, ‘I can’t even keep a boyfriend. What kind of little bear biscuit am I?’ Honestly, I don’t even care if you stay or go. I just want to know—what does ‘little bear biscuit’ mean? Youth slang these days is truly profound.”

Chen Luzhou: ?Author's Note: Xu Zhi: I didn't even know I did that...

Chen Luzhou: I actually believed his nonsense...

200 red envelopes

Barring any surprises, there'll be a double update tomorrow. The university arc should start in about three or four chapters, definitely within five chapters. That is, if I remember the plot correctly.

Bear cookies - "Who do you think you are, little cookie?" (A reference from The Big Bang Theory)

The original quote from One Hundred Years of Solitude didn't include that last sentence.