Be Passionately In Love

"Nannan, Dad—"

Xu Zhi sighed, offering a casual smile. "Dad, you could've told me earlier. It's really okay."

Xu Guangji's smile froze, leaving him somewhat flustered. "I was planning to tell you after some time—"

The hallway was bustling with injured patients being wheeled in. Doctors rushed back from all directions to assist, swiftly changing into white coats and hurrying toward the emergency room. The scene was both heart-wrenching and intense.

Not wanting to get in the way, Xu Zhi quickly said, "It's fine. I’ll head back first. Next time, invite Auntie over for dinner so we can properly introduce her."

Director Wei nodded gently with a warm smile. "Alright, thank you, Xu Zhi."

When Xu Zhi returned home, she found a lonely bowl of wontons sitting on the kitchen table. She exhaled a long, weary sigh.

In the quiet, empty room, the clinking of the bowl and spoon echoed as Xu Zhi ate alone in the dim light. She hadn’t turned on the lights, and the moonlight streaming through the window faintly outlined her slender figure—like a lone winter plum blooming in the snow, appearing desolate yet resilient.

Suddenly, a sharp knock shattered the silence.

"Bang bang bang—bang bang bang!"

"Xu Zhi! Xu Zhi!"

Startled, Xu Zhi hurried to the door and found Cai Yingying standing there, panting heavily in her pajamas, frantic. "You're home! Why aren’t you answering your phone?"

Xu Zhi blinked. Her phone was in her room—she’d left in such a hurry earlier that she hadn’t grabbed it. Plus, after all the recent strategizing with Old Xu, both their phones had been on silent mode, rendering them practically useless at home. It was only when she’d been about to eat the wontons that she noticed his phone glowing on the table, realizing he’d left it behind.

Xu Zhi stepped aside to let Cai Yingying in, watching as she clumsily kicked off her shoes. "What’s wrong? I just took my dad’s phone to him. There was a fire at a school—your dad rushed back too, didn’t he?"

Cai Yingying looked like she wanted to strangle her, her voice nearly cracking. "Do you have any idea how frantic Chen Luzhou has been trying to reach you?!"

Xu Zhi’s eyes widened in realization, and she immediately dashed to her room to grab her phone. Cai Yingying trailed behind, struggling into slippers while talking through her stuffy nose, her voice strained with urgency. "If Old Cai hadn’t just given my phone back, he wouldn’t have been able to reach me either. Zhu Yangqi said he’s already booking a flight—call him back right now!"

Xu Zhi hadn’t been worried at first, thinking a quick call to explain would suffice. But when she picked up her phone and saw the call log glaring back at her—

Missed Calls (45)

Her heart instantly clenched, as if something had lodged itself there. The long-dried riverbed of emotions slowly began to fill again, swelling until it pressed heavily against her chest, leaving her uneasy and restless.

When her phone lit up once more, Xu Zhi snapped out of her daze and answered immediately. "Where are you?"

On the other end, the caller seemed caught off guard by the sudden connection. There was a long pause, his breathing slightly ragged. Only after hearing her voice did he steady himself. After a moment, he finally exhaled deeply, his tone icy. "The airport."

Without hesitation, Xu Zhi fired back, "You have a competition coming up—are you out of your mind?""Why didn't you answer my calls? There's a limit to throwing tantrums, okay?" His voice was clearly suppressing anger, hoarse as if sparks were flying. Xu Zhi could imagine how cold his arrogant face must be right now—more chilling than summer's iced beer, making her heart tremble.

Xu Zhi had meant to explain, but being scolded like this, something lodged in her throat. She feared any words might reveal unnecessary emotions.

"...I'm really done." His voice dropped so low it seemed like helpless muttering to himself.

Xu Zhi swallowed hard, steadying her breath before asking softly, "What time's your flight?"

"One-thirty."

"Don't push it. The competition's soon. If bad weather delays your return, all your recent efforts will be wasted."

Silence.

Xu Zhi pressed, "Chen Luzhou, what are you nervous about? Worried I'll break up with you?"

Still no reply. His breathing came in uneven bursts like a young beast freshly calmed, while airport boarding announcements played faintly through the receiver.

After a long pause, he finally spoke wearily: "I don't know how to say it... Maybe it's been too long since I saw you. Lately either I'm busy or you are—we haven't properly talked in ages. I was genuinely afraid something happened. When you didn't pick up, I kept wondering if those people from before came looking for you again."

"It's a society governed by law now," Xu Zhi chuckled.

"Murderers still exist."

"I was at the hospital earlier."

A beat. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"Nothing serious. My dad took an emergency case and forgot his phone. I went to deliver it, then ran into his... girlfriend. Got delayed coming back."

"Fuck—" he blurted, "I thought you were actually jealous—" then belatedly processed her words. "Your dad's... girlfriend?"

Xu Zhi exhaled heavily. "Yeah. He found someone. So Chen Luzhou, you're all I have now. As long as you don't mention breaking up, we won't."

The silence stretched before his voice came through, earnest and solemn:

"Wait for me at home. I'll come back right after the competition."

Xu Zhi smiled. "I'm fine, really. I'm happy for him."

"I understand."

Those two words—I understand—nearly choked her up. They carried similar yet different voids, but he comprehended them all.

Before hanging up, Xu Zhi added, "But I'm a little mad now. You yelled at me earlier. Chen Jiaojiao, you should change your name to Chen Fierce."

"I panicked. Tell you what—hit me when I get back. However you want. If I make a single sound, I don't deserve to be your boyfriend. Deal?"

"Do moans count?" Xu Zhi teased.

Chen Luzhou got flustered, coughing. "...Don't start. There's a kid drinking milk next to me."

Xu Zhi burst out laughing. "You're watching someone breastfeed?"

"Bottle-feeding!"

Grinning, she relented. "Gotta go. It's late—hurry back."

After hanging up, her phone buzzed twice—Chen Luzhou had sent her a location pin.salt: [The apartment I rented is just two buildings away, unit 903. The passcode is your birthday and mine. I only took a few clothes with me and haven't cleaned up yet, so it's pretty messy. You can throw everything out if you don't like it, or redecorate however you want. If you ever feel uncomfortable at home with the new auntie around, you can stay at my place. But don't overthink it—trust your dad. There will always be a place for you in his home.]

Xu Zhi: [You just want a free interior decorator, dressing it up with such noble words.]

salt: [I'll pay you. Girlfriend rates—double.]

Xu Zhi: [Can I roll around wildly on your bed then?]

salt: [Just don't pee on it.]

Xu Zhi: [Do you really think I'm a dog?]

salt: [Even dogs aren't allowed. But paralyzed Xu Zhi can.]

Xu Zhi: [...]

**

When Chen Luzhou returned to the apartment Zhu Yangqi rented, the group was enthusiastically eating self-heating hot pots. Hearing the door open, they exchanged puzzled glances—who could it be at this hour? Seeing the familiar figure enter, their chopsticks froze mid-air. "Did you miss your flight?"

Wang Yue and Li Ke were both there. Chen Luzhou took off his mask and tossed it into the trash, then removed his coat and threw it on the sofa. After washing his hands, he went straight to boot up his laptop. "Let's get started. We need to finish the competition early—I have to get back to spend time with her."

Wang Yue took one last bite of beef before setting down his chopsticks and heading to his computer, chewing as he spoke indistinctly, "Good timing. I was just about to go over Professor Bai's revision notes. Even though it's an American competition, most participants are actually Chinese students—about 95% of the teams are from Chinese universities. So everyone's thought processes are probably similar, meaning we'll need to innovate within these conventional frameworks."

Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, thinking. "Innovation can easily backfire. Last year's Outstanding Award paper was actually pretty standard—I think it was about fingerprint recognition. We'll finalize our topic later. For now, let's focus on fixing the issues Professor Bai pointed out."

Wang Yue hummed in agreement while clicking through files on his computer. "By the way, did that senior student under Professor Liu approach you before the break?"

Still searching for specialized English terms in academic papers—the translation workload for this competition was heavier, though at least they could reference materials—Chen Luzhou lazily acknowledged with another "Mhm."

Wang Yue continued, "You think Professor Liu is trying to poach you? I heard in previous years, some teams switched advisors after the campus competition."

The campus competition was essentially a selection process. Professors sometimes extended offers to high-performing students—accepting was optional, and most did, given the resources advisors could provide.

After finishing his word search, Chen Luzhou handed the materials to Li Ke before glancing casually at Wang Yue. He kept his response vague. "Something like that. I told her I'd already registered with an advisor.""You signed up after the holiday—" Wang Yue suddenly realized what it meant. Having a well-connected professor at school often made things smoother in many ways. But Chen Luzhou hadn’t chosen to take that shortcut. A warmth surged in Wang Yue’s heart, and he muttered sheepishly, "Thanks."

Li Ke glanced at him and chuckled, "Ah, kids these days are so easily moved."

Chen Luzhou was reviewing the 2013 MCM problem on heat distribution in rectangular and circular pans, thinking how dull the topics were. Hearing Wang Yue’s bashful self-touching moment, he couldn’t help but smirk dismissively. "Cut the sentimentality. By the way, the MCM problem might require independent translation."

Wang Yue had previously expressed concerns about his English dragging the team down and hesitated to join the competition. Li Ke had strongly persuaded him, boasting about their "English genius" who’d handle the translation. Only recently did they learn the problem might need individual translation.

"A bit worried, honestly."

Chen Luzhou compiled a document of recent MCM terminology and sent it to him. "This should cover it. Doubt it’ll be an issue."

Li Ke suddenly interjected, "Professor Bai suggested we focus on recent biological prediction topics—improving ecosystems through global modeling. Lately, MCM seems keen on global biology and climate. Has the schedule come out? Whatever happens, we stick to it strictly. No getting bogged down on any single problem."

Wang Yue: "You’re the one who needs to control yourself."

Chen Luzhou grinned but stayed silent.

...

For days, the trio worked around the clock, barely leaving the table except for a few hours of sleep. Zhu Yangqi sometimes woke up late at night to find Chen Luzhou and Wang Yue still hunched over their laptops, researching. He sighed wistfully, "Li Ke really is a sleepyhead. Lucky him. Look at these two—what dedication."

By the time Li Ke groggily opened his eyes, dawn had broken. Chen Luzhou and Wang Yue had already gone to bed, leaving him to finish their remaining tasks.

That year, New Year’s Eve fell on February 8th. A rare light snow dusted Qingyi just before the holiday—too light to settle on the ground, only barely coating rooftops like a thin white blanket.

As a lifelong southerner, Cai Yingying seized this meager snowfall as her annual chance for a snowball fight, dragging Xu Zhi downstairs to join her.

After experiencing a proper snowball brawl in Beijing, Xu Zhi had lost interest in such feeble snow. That earlier fight had left her with a grounded certainty—Chen Luzhou had truly entered her life. That boy brimming with romance, idealism, and a seize-the-day spirit.

"When are they coming back?" Cai Yingying scavenged for snow, barely scraping together a handful from tree branches.

"Not sure. Heard they haven’t booked tickets yet. Beijing’s hit by a blizzard—doubt they’ll get flights. Latest by the third day of the New Year, probably."

"Is Zhu Yangqi coming too?"

"Would that tagalong stay behind?" Xu Zhi leaned against a tree, watching Cai Yingying with amusement. "Why do I feel like you’re awfully concerned about Zhu Yangqi?"Cai Yingying ignored her, staring at the tree. The snow clung to its trunk like a head of white blossoms, stirring a memory that surged forth. "Do you think this tree might have a gold necklace like the one in Chen Luzhou's tree? Hahaha—"

With that, she shook the tree vigorously. Snowflakes mixed with leftover leaves cascaded down in a flurry, generously scattering everywhere.

"Hey! Cai Yingying!"

She laughed so hard she nearly toppled over, heedless as she kept shaking the tree. "Gold necklace! Gold necklace!"

The memory was indeed sweet.

Then the two of them went home with bird droppings all over their heads.

Dean Cai was pasting Spring Festival couplets at the door when he turned and saw the two covered in a mess of white splotches. Disgusted but unable to resist, he leaned in for a sniff before recoiling instantly. "Cai Yingying! Xu Zhi! Did you two go bird-nesting again?! How old are you?!"

Cai Yingying whispered mysteriously, "You don’t get it, Old Cai. There are gold necklaces in bird nests. I’ll let you in on a secret—whenever you pass by a phoenix tree, especially the ones near our building, you should reach in and check."

"Lunatic!" Dean Cai muttered to himself as he continued hanging the couplets. "What kind of creature did I raise?"

Xu Guangji, hearing the commotion, rushed out of the kitchen wielding a spatula, staring at Xu Zhi in disbelief. "You went too?"

Xu Zhi answered honestly, "There really was a gold necklace."

Xu Guangji didn’t take it seriously. "...It’s fine. Even if you’re dumb, Dad will still take care of you. Go wash up and get ready for dinner."

During Chen Luzhou’s math competition, his phone was practically silent. Hearing there was network monitoring, Xu Zhi didn’t dare disturb him and usually messaged Zhu Yangqi instead.

Xu Zhi: [Are you guys coming back before or after New Year’s?]

Little Follower: [Hard to say. His competition ends around New Year’s Eve, and I heard they have to analyze something afterward. We haven’t booked flights yet—we’ll decide once they’re out of the school.]

Xu Zhi: [Is the snow heavy in Beijing?]

Little Follower: [Not too bad for now. Some roads might be closed, but otherwise it’s fine. We’re mostly worried about flights getting canceled. If we can’t make it back before New Year’s, we’ll definitely be back by the third day.]

Xu Zhi: [On the third day, my dad’s taking me back to our hometown for New Year’s visits.]

Little Follower: [Worst case, you’ll see him when school starts. You’ll meet eventually—missing him that much?]

Xu Zhi: [Never mind. Can’t be bothered with you.]

On New Year’s Eve, as usual, Old Cai and Cai Yingying celebrated at their house. Old Xu prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner, while Dean Cai generously brought out his treasured aged wine. "This was brewed the year Yingying was born. I originally planned to open it on her wedding day, but given how she is, who knows when that’ll be? I decided not to torture myself—let’s drink!"

Cai Yingying nibbled on their snacks and said meaningfully, "I’ll find a boyfriend next year just to show you."

Old Cai scoffed, ignoring her as he clinked glasses with Old Xu. After a sip, he smacked his lips and mused, "I don’t know why, but even though our numbers haven’t changed this year, it feels a little different from before."

Old Xu: "Yingying improved so much this semester—your mindset’s shifted."

Old Cai: "True." He turned to Cai Yingying. "Dad doesn’t ask much of you—just get into a decent university. I don’t need 211 or 985, just a regular first-tier school so I can arrange a hospital job for you later. At least make your diploma presentable."Cai Yingying: "I don’t want to go to the hospital. My dream is—"

Old Cai: "Your dream is to change the world. I know."

Cai Yingying: "I’ve changed it now. My dream is to be a beautiful teacher."

Old Cai: "Fine, at least it’s a dream. You’ll contribute your little brick to the grand edifice of our nation’s education."

The dinner table was lively, with sharp words flying back and forth, neither side yielding.

Xu Zhi glanced down at her phone—no messages, no WeChat. She wondered if the competition still hadn’t ended.

After dinner, they sat on the sofa, watching the annual grand tradition with keen interest. The host’s voice was as exuberant and polished as it had been for the past decade—

"This Spring Festival, Beijing was hit by a heavy snowstorm. Many of our hardworking brothers, dedicated to building our nation, couldn’t return home to reunite with their families..."

Old Cai and Old Xu watched with relish, occasionally bursting into laughter. "So funny."

Xu Zhi and Cai Yingying, however, remained expressionless throughout. As midnight approached, though firecrackers were banned in the city, some still managed to set them off—just not as boisterously as in previous years. Back then, the explosions had drowned out the TV entirely.

Now, the noise was much more subdued, but faint crackles still echoed sporadically outside the window. Xu Zhi looked out at the dazzling lights burning across the city’s skyline, like a colossal stone dragon tearing through the heavens.

Dean Cai was finally lulled to sleep by the Spring Festival Gala, slumped on the sofa and snoring loudly, though the sound was drowned out by the hopeful crackle of firecrackers outside.

Old Xu had gone to the hospital to deliver some food—Director Wei’s son was hospitalized with a broken leg and hadn’t even gotten a proper New Year’s Eve meal.

On the TV, the hosts were counting down to the new year with passionate enthusiasm.

Cai Yingying turned to Xu Zhi and asked, “Want to go downstairs and set off some fireworks?”

Xu Zhi shook her head. “The neighborhood doesn’t allow it.”

“Not the kind that shoot into the sky,” Cai Yingying clarified, gesturing with a big, sweeping motion. “A lot of my classmates have been playing with these steel wool sparklers lately—you just spin them around in circles, and they’re really pretty. Come on, let’s go! You can film me, and I’ll upload it.”

Xu Zhi glanced worriedly at Old Cai. “Is he gonna snore himself to death? I’ve never heard anything this loud before.”

Cai Yingying waved it off. “It’s fine. Still better than your dad’s power drill.”

Xu Zhi laughed and shot back, “Yours is the power drill.”

Cai Yingying grabbed Xu Zhi’s hand and tiptoed downstairs, dragging her along.

There was an open space in the courtyard, but a few people were already there, gleefully tossing down firecrackers that popped and crackled.

Xu Zhi barely had time to ask where they should set up when she heard Cai Yingying call out from the stairwell, “Alright, I got her down here. You owe me two meals.”

For a split second, Xu Zhi thought Cai Yingying had actually sold her out—until a familiar, lazy voice chimed in, dead serious as if negotiating a human trafficking deal:

“She’s worth at least ten.”

Only then did she notice the figure leaning against the wall in the dimly lit stairwell, a suitcase discarded beside him.

Now that she looked closer, the people playing with firecrackers seemed familiar too. As she turned, they waved at her, still tossing firecrackers and cracking jokes.

“Xu Zhi! Bet you’ve been dying to see him! I didn’t mean to keep it from you!” That was Zhu Yangqi, grinning like his scheme had worked.

“We’re giving him back to you! Rushed all the way here without even a sip of water.” That was Li Ke, looking just as relaxed and amused.

“Chen Luzhou said if he didn’t come back before New Year’s, he’d cut ties with these two.” That was Jiang Cheng—surprisingly, he was here too.

Every face bore the same teasing, youthful smiles. For some reason, Cai Yingying felt her eyes prickle at the sight of a love so fiercely protected by everyone. Though, when she looked at Zhu Yangqi, her eyes stung for a different reason—what was with this hulking guy? So hard on the eyes.

While Cai Yingying went over to greet Zhu Yangqi, Xu Zhi couldn’t help but step into the shadows to get a better look at him.

Chen Luzhou was wearing a white tracksuit, the zipper pulled all the way up, with a long black down jacket draped loosely over it, reaching his knees and left open. Rarely seen like this, now he was really here in front of her. If not for the sound of Zhu Yangqi and the others still popping firecrackers, Xu Zhi’s brain might have taken a moment longer to process it.

It was strange—before seeing him, she had thought she was fine. But the second she laid eyes on him, all that suppressed heartache and frustration welled up uncontrollably, and before she knew it, her arms were reaching out to hug him.Like a small boat drifting and swaying on the vast ocean for days, just when she felt most helpless, someone grabbed the rope that led her ashore.

Chen Luzhou instinctively reached out and pulled her into his embrace, as if sensing her distress. His hand gently stroked the back of her head.

"Sorry I came back late."

"Happy New Year, Xu Zhi."

"There's something I wanted to tell you in person—my home only has a place for you, no one else."