Be Passionately In Love

After two bouts of rain, Province S experienced an earlier temperature drop than usual this year, with the weather turning cool by September. Xu Zhi left Qingyi in early September, driven to the airport by Old Cai. She and Cai Yingying sat in the backseat while Old Xu kept chattering nonstop in the passenger seat. Every time he spotted a girl prioritizing style over warmth on the road, he’d turn around and nag, "Don’t copy her when you get there. It’s colder than here, and once winter hits, you better wear your thermal leggings."

Old Cai took the opportunity to chime in at Cai Yingying, "You too—focus on your studies when you go back. Stop obsessing over makeup all day."

Cai Yingying immediately protested, clinging to Xu Zhi’s arm. "Hey, that’s your fault! If you’d made me prettier, would I even need to study makeup? If I looked like Xu Zhi, I could go out bare-faced and still have boys chasing after me."

"What, a bunch?" Old Xu’s ears perked up. "Wasn’t it just that one guy?"

Cai Yingying leaned forward from the backseat and whispered, "Is it the one I know about?"

Old Xu shot her a mysterious glance over his shoulder. "Not telling."

Xu Zhi rolled her eyes and stared out the window, leaving Cai Binhong utterly confused as he drove. "What gossip? What’s going on?"

No one answered him.

When they reached the airport, Cai Yingying finally realized the farewell was real. The two had never been apart since childhood. At the security checkpoint, amid the bustling crowd weaving between the four of them, Cai Yingying tearfully held Xu Zhi’s hand and vowed, "I’ll definitely get into a university in your city next year." Xu Zhi nodded instinctively. "I’ll wait for you."

Cai Binhong pulled a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. Xu Zhi eyed it warily. "This isn’t another IOU, is it? You still owe me the amount from my eighteenth birthday."

Cai Binhong burst out laughing, calling her a little money-grubber. "Feel it."

Whoa—it was thick. Xu Zhi gave him a surprised look, then glanced uncertainly at Old Xu, who immediately reached over to check. "No wonder this envelope looked weird—it’s a cloth pouch. Must be close to twenty grand. No way, you can’t just hand a kid this much cash."

Old Xu was ready to confiscate it, but Cai Binhong quickly blocked him. Glancing at Xu Zhi, he explained, "This was a deal we made when she was ten. I haven’t given her New Year’s money these past few years—didn’t you notice? I’ve been saving it all to give to her once she started college. Your girl’s sharp—even back then, she said New Year’s money was a scam. She wanted to manage her own money when she grew up."

Xu Zhi hadn’t expected Old Cai to actually remember. She’d long forgotten her ten-year-old words. It wasn’t until she boarded the shuttle bus that she realized she’d forgotten to thank him. She immediately sent him a heartfelt WeChat message, showering him with praise. Old Cai replied with just one line.

Dean Cai: Just one request, College Student Xu—when you start earning, buy your dad some thermal leggings first. Boyfriends can wait.

Xu Zhi replied: Deal. She recalled last night when she and Old Xu sat drinking under the dim moonlight that cast a pale glow on the potted plants by the window. The room was quiet and dark, with no lights on. She accompanied Old Xu as he watched The Legend of Snow Goddess one last time. Every time the series reached the end, where Shangguan Yan gave the Resurrection Pill to Ouyang Mingri, who in turn used it to save his father at the cost of his own life, Old Xu would be moved to tears, muttering, "What a good son, what a good son."

Yesterday was no exception. Wiping his tears, he said to Xu Zhi with his usual refrain, "See? A father is the most important."

Xu Zhi understood the underlying meaning in his words and couldn't help but laugh. She handed him a tissue. "Dad, don’t worry. I probably won’t date anyone in college."

Xu Guangji was taken aback. "Ah?" He quickly stopped his tears, took a sip of wine, and swung his leg leisurely, speaking earnestly, "But you still should. When you step into society later and face all the worldly judgments, you’ll realize that campus romance is the purest and most carefree. I suggest you give it a try."

Then, Old Xu turned to give her a meaningful look, his expression serious. "What, can’t live without Chen Luzhou?"

Xu Zhi, who rarely wore glasses, had them on today. Her prescription wasn’t strong, so she didn’t always need them. The silver, rounded frames sat on her straight, delicate nose, giving her an unexpectedly mature and intellectual air. Leaning back on the sofa, she studied the alcohol content on the liquor bottle and replied sincerely, "Not really. It’s just that I doubt I’ll meet someone like Chen Luzhou again. Plus, my major’s going to keep me pretty busy."

Xu Guangji didn’t believe it. How could anyone be that special? That kid was just a little good-looking. "Nonsense. Go out and look around first. Maybe there are plenty like him in your university—so many that you could knock out nine Chen Luzhou lookalikes with a single brick."

Xu Zhi finally set down the wine, adjusted her glasses, and joked with a smile, "Alright, I’ll take that as your blessing."

Xu Zhi had assumed she’d be the first to arrive at the dorm, but she found one bed already neatly made. As she finished unpacking and was about to head downstairs to buy some daily necessities, another girl walked in. She had shoulder-length hair, round cheeks, and wore black-framed glasses. Spotting Xu Zhi, she froze for a moment before asking reflexively, "Room 507?"

Xu Zhi nodded. "Hi, I’m Xu Zhi."

The girl suddenly turned shy and replied somewhat awkwardly, "Hello, hello. I’m Xu Gongzhu."

Xu Zhi was heading downstairs to buy supplies but didn’t invite Xu Gongzhu along since she still had a lot to unpack. Instead, she asked, "I’m going shopping—need me to grab anything for you?"

Xu Gongzhu waved her hands. "No, no, I brought everything." As she spoke, she pulled a small rice cooker from her suitcase. Xu Zhi sighed inwardly. It was their first meeting, so she didn’t feel comfortable pointing out that freshmen weren’t allowed to use such appliances—even hair dryers had restricted usage hours.

By the time Xu Zhi returned from shopping, the dorm was nearly full. Xu Gongzhu immediately introduced her to the other two roommates, still busy shaking out a bedsheet she’d just pulled from her luggage. Pointing at one girl kneeling on her bed to tuck in her sheets, she said, "This is Liu Yisi—she’s in the same department as us."Liu Yisi had a sweet smile with little fangs, still shyly greeting her, "Hello."

Xu Gongzhu glanced around and said, "Senior Du might have gone for lunch. There's another senior in our dorm, a sophomore philosophy major. Since there are few girls in our department, she got assigned here."

Before long, Du Qilan returned, carrying a crate of yogurt. Without ceremony, she handed each of them a bottle, carelessly tossing the rest into her locker—its latch already broken. Her demeanor was cool and aloof as she casually remarked, "Take some if you want."

The three chimed in unison, "Thank you, Senior."

In those first few days, the dorm atmosphere was all shyness and politeness—"thank you" here, "excuse me" there—excessively courteous. Xu Zhi noticed Liu Yisi seemed socially anxious; several times on the stairs, she'd brush past without a word, unsure how to greet them.

Xu Gongzhu also observed that Liu Yisi was shyer than the two of them. Xu Zhi thought she was just slow to warm up, though she occasionally surprised them with unexpectedly witty remarks.

Xu Zhi was busy during that period, attending an off-campus art crash course for drafting. She'd initially wanted to find tutoring or part-time work for extra cash but realized her freshman schedule was too packed. That first month shuttled between the crash course, dorm, and library.

Oh, once at the convenience store, she ran into Li Ke—also in architecture, though in civil engineering. They bumped into each other as he exited with bottled water. Xu Zhi didn’t avoid him, greeting him openly. Li Ke, ever the diplomatic charmer, split his shrewd gaze evenly between her and Xu Gongzhu through his glasses. "What a coincidence. Classes this afternoon?"

Xu Zhi nodded. "Professor Wang’s lecture."

Architecture had the highest fail rate, and Professor Wang topped the department’s fail list. Li Ke’s class also had him that semester. Glancing at the time, he warned, "Better hurry. He fails anyone late on the spot."

Xu Zhi and Xu Gongzhu exchanged panicked looks and turned to sprint off—until Li Ke suddenly called out, "Xu Zhi, coming to our class gathering this weekend?"

Xu Zhi waved without looking back.

"Who’s that beauty? Your classmate?" a guy beside Li Ke asked, eyeing Xu Zhi’s retreating figure.

"Nah, a friend’s classmate. That friend of mine is seriously impressive," Li Ke said.

"More than you? Weren’t you the provincial top scorer?" the guy chuckled.

"Way more," Li Ke admitted. "I scored 696 after excluding electives. It was the last year of curriculum reform—papers were tougher. Only one person in our province cracked 700 raw score this year: him."

After learning Professor Wang’s strictness, Xu Gongzhu made sure to arrive ten minutes early for his lectures, meticulously prepping before the mirror. Xu Zhi initially thought she had a crush on some classmate—until she watched her vigorously patting layers of powder, clouds of it puffing into the air. Xu Gongzhu justified, "Just trying to make a good impression on the professor!"

Xu Zhi, worn out waiting, finally snapped as she started on mascara: "You look like you’re trying to date him. Come on, Princess, or we’ll be late again.""Alright, alright," Xu Gongzhu hastily pressed her lips together a couple of times, snapped her powder compact shut, and grabbed a book from the table. "Let's go, let's go."

Xu Zhi: "...That's your English extensive reading book."

Xu Gongzhu let out several quick "ohs" as she swapped books, still managing to sneak glances in the mirror. "Let's go, let's go."

Though her mouth kept saying "let's go," her feet hadn't moved an inch. She continued fussing with her bangs in the mirror, probably afraid Xu Zhi would hurry her along, so she kept muttering to herself: "Let's go, let's go."

Senior Du, who had just returned from the restroom, tossed a tissue onto the table and leaned against the bed ladder. "You two dare to cut it this close for Professor Wang's class? Back in our freshman year, when we knew it was Old Wang's lecture, we'd skip lunch just to camp outside the classroom door."

"Even your philosophy department has to take Professor Wang's math class?"

"We weren't in the philosophy department as freshmen. We were in the humanities experimental class—we only chose our majors sophomore year. So first-year courses were pretty mixed."

"Is Professor Wang really that strict?"

"No choice. Old Wang follows his heart. Unless you're absolutely brilliant and don't need his exam hints, he might just skip giving them to anyone with a bad attitude."

"Let's go, let's go."

"Hurry up, you two. If Xu Zhi gets stopped for her WeChat on the way, you'll definitely be late," Senior Du said bluntly.

The start of the semester always brought more enthusiasm, especially in this male-dominated STEM school. As Senior Du put it, Xu Zhi had "walked right into a den of wolves."

For instance, during the first few days of military training, Xu Zhi had already caught the attention of many guys, including students from other departments. Even some of Senior Du's male classmates had been asking about her—whether she had a boyfriend. One day, on their way back from the library, Senior Du casually tossed Xu Zhi a note: "This is from a senior in our department. He's pretty good-looking. If you're interested, you can add him on WeChat."

When Xu Gongzhu saw the signature on the note, she got overly excited. "Jiang Yu? Isn't he the heartthrob of your philosophy department?"

Senior Du burst out laughing. "Heartthrob? More like self-proclaimed. Our department is full of handsome guys—it's hard to pick the best. But yeah, this guy is pretty romantic."

At the time, Xu Zhi was lounging back in her chair, leisurely flipping through A History of Chinese Architecture , when she suddenly remarked, "How romantic—swinging on a swing while taking a dump?"

Xu Gongzhu was stunned. "I never expected this side of you, Xu Zhi."

Then, two minutes later.

Senior Du calmly set down her phone—clearly having asked someone.

"He says he's willing to swing."

Author's Note:

This is a fictional university setting—don't associate it with real institutions.

Double update tomorrow, with longer chapters, likely around 10 PM.

This is a campus story—family backgrounds play a minimal role.

200 red envelopes for comments on this chapter.

Just a quick reminder: The "swinging while taking a dump" reference comes from earlier, when Zhu Yangqi mentioned that Chen Luzhou was so romantic he'd "even swing on a swing while pooping."