Early the next morning, Xu Zhi and Fu Yuqing were having coffee in the café adjacent to the main hall. She showed him the paper rose folded by Chen Luzhou, asking, “Do you think he enjoys crafting or not?”
Fu Yuqing was contentedly rolling walnuts in his palm with his eyes closed. “Why are you studying him?”
Xu Zhi rested her chin on her hand, toying with the paper rose on the table. “Just curious.”
Fu Yuqing: “Did that Chen Luzhou boy give you this thing?”
Zhu Yangqi, exhausted from being tormented by children all night, came down to buy two cups of coffee. In his drowsy state, he thought he heard Chen Luzhou’s name, assuming it was an auditory hallucination. Yawning, he looked around and was startled to see two familiar figures.
Xu Zhi, absorbed in contemplating whether he liked crafting or not, hadn’t heard Fu Yuqing’s question. She absentmindedly asked, “Can you tell this is a paper rose?”
Fu Yuqing finally opened his eyes and glanced at it disdainfully. For some reason, he always seemed to look down on this boy’s creations: “Isn’t this a dinosaur? Look at that long tail.”
Xu Zhi: “See? I said it was indistinguishable. Yingying insisted it was a paper rose!”
…
Zhu Yangqi returned with the coffee to find Chen Luzhou awake, bare-chested with broad shoulders, wearing only loose-fitting sweatpants. He was lazily leaning against the headboard, one leg bent, intently watching a CBA basketball game.
The room was a standard double, with two beds separated by a square wooden nightstand. Zhu Yangqi walked over and placed the coffee on the nightstand. Chen Luzhou glanced at it with his peripheral vision, muttered a thank you, and immediately returned his attention to the game.
Zhu Yangqi rubbed his hands on his thighs, staring intently at Chen Luzhou. After a while, he spoke with a forced smile: “So you finally made a move, huh?”
Chen Luzhou, still leaning back, picked up the coffee and grunted, “Yeah, couldn’t hold back anymore.”
Zhu Yangqi was taken aback by his nonchalant attitude, feeling like he’d been worrying for nothing: “What’s next then? Straight to home base? Or just playing around?”
Chen Luzhou put the coffee back, chuckling, “How is that home base? At most, Yi Jianlian might score a few more three-pointers.”
Zhu Yangqi’s expression fell flat: “I’m talking about Xu Zhi! Who cares about Yi Jianlian!”
Chen Luzhou furrowed his brow, looking perplexed. He pointed his chin towards the TV: “I’m talking about the game. Yi Jianlian only started playing in the second half and scored eighteen points.” Then he paused, silently reaching for the remote to lower the volume. “What about her?”
Zhu Yangqi: “She told Cai Yingying and Old Fu that you folded a paper rose for her. You’re so reckless! Has she even broken up with her boyfriend? And here you are, messing around.”
Chen Luzhou sighed, looking heart-wrenchingly exasperated. He glanced at Zhu Yangqi, holding the remote, “Weren’t you the one on the bus saying you’d help me steal her away?”
“Can’t you give me some mental preparation?” Zhu Yangqi said, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.
Chen Luzhou didn’t dodge. The pillow hit him squarely in the chest, but he seemed unfazed. He picked it up and tossed it back casually. “Alright, it wasn’t a paper rose. It was a paper airplane. Weren’t we bored waiting for the documents yesterday? She was just standing there, so I found something to do. Otherwise, it would’ve been awkward. Besides, you know how clumsy I am. Apart from playing basketball, I’m useless at everything else. I can barely fold a paper airplane.”
Paper rose? Dream on.
“I was just teasing her yesterday,” he said, getting out of bed and grabbing a t-shirt. He slowly pulled it down, gradually covering his toned abs with their small, mountain-like bumps. “By the way, was Cai Yingying there too?”
Zhu Yangqi: “I think so.”
“Then help me ask Cai Yingying if Xu Zhi is free.”
“You’re going to ask her out yourself?”
Chen Luzhou was preparing to shower. After searching through his suitcase and not finding any underwear, he realized he might not have packed any. Hearing Zhu Yangqi’s question, he irritatedly picked up a pillow and threw it at him, his tone cold and exasperated: “If I don’t ask her out, who’s going to buy water for you guys down the mountain!”
Chen Luzhou himself didn’t care much; any water was fine for him. When he was young in the orphanage, conditions weren’t this good, and they drank tap water directly. His obsession with cleanliness was different from Zhu Yangqi’s; he developed over time, while Zhu Yangqi’s and Chen Xingqi’s were pathological. They even had an obsession with water.
He calculated that they’d probably be staying in the mountains for another half month. Chen Xingqi insisted on painting here, saying the scenery was beautiful and the environment serene. Even though the boss’s temper was a bit sour, it was still tolerable. He adamantly refused to leave, suggesting their parents could send water. Chen Luzhou hated it most when Chen Xingqi called their parents for every little thing when they were out. Besides, his mother was too busy to take care of him now. The Cultural and Natural Heritage Day was coming up, which was the second biggest event for their TV station, being a cultural program. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let Chen Luzhou accompany him here; it was to keep Chen Xingqi from bothering her.
Chen Luzhou had searched around yesterday and found there was no food delivery service nearby. No wonder Old Fu’s temper was so bad; he had a monopoly here. He still decided to go down the mountain to buy water himself, once a week, just two trips. But he needed someone to guide him, and he had to borrow a car from Old Fu. Chen Luzhou could guess with his toes that Old Fu had a car, he just didn’t want to lend it to him. If Xu Zhi didn’t intervene, he probably couldn’t even borrow the car.
Cai Yingying replied to Zhu Yangqi that Xu Zhi had agreed and they’d meet in the lobby downstairs later. Looking at the simple reply on his phone, Zhu Yangqi felt a bit nostalgic and sighed, “This girl is so easy to meet up with. Is she always this free? Just says she’ll come out when asked. The playboys I used to know were all so busy. It was impossible to meet them on the same day. They felt it was an insult to them.”
Chen Luzhou didn’t think Xu Zhi was a player, so he didn’t respond to him. Only when he was about to leave while putting on his shoes, did he casually ask Zhu Yangqi: “Why did Tan Xu transfer schools later?”
Zhu Yangqi opened his computer to play some games. Looking at the slowly brightening screen, he lit a cigarette for himself and said: “Wasn’t it because he got into a fight with those guys from Lego that time? That game you guys played was so frustrating, everyone felt upset. Although our results were disqualified, many girls still thought what Tan Xu did was pretty cool. But Tan Xu kept getting cornered by the Lego guys during that period. Feng Laogou… you know, my middle school buddy, actually kind of your little fan, helped him settle things.”
Feng Jing and Chen Luzhou had barely met, but Feng Jing probably, like Chen Luzhou, had heard countless mentions of each other’s names from Zhu Yangqi’s mouth. Especially Feng Jing, who was still at No.1 High School, had an aura around this name. Because Chen Luzhou was the only one in their grade who got directly admitted to the No.1 High School without even taking the high school entrance exam.
It was said that he was headhunted by the vice principal of No.1 High School from another province. Chen Jishen had been doing business in other provinces for those years, and Mrs. Lian Hui was afraid he might mess around outside, so she let Chen Luzhou accompany him. Firstly, to supervise, and secondly, Chen Jishen himself was quite reluctant to part with his child. Moreover, the educational resources in that province were indeed better than in Qingyi at that time, it was considered an educational powerhouse. So they transferred Chen Luzhou away.
However, later the college entrance exam policy in that province changed. Those without local household registration were not allowed to take the exam or had limited conditions. Chen Luzhou had no choice but to transfer back. The vice principal of No.1 High School had a personal connection with Mrs. Lian Hui and knew that her eldest son had been outstanding since childhood. When he heard that he was coming back, he immediately looked at his three years of middle school transcripts. Indeed, he was impressive. Even in the top-notch educational province and in an elite middle school selected from hundreds, his grades were still among the best. So he immediately came to their door with various favorable conditions to recruit him.
So, although they had never met, Feng Jing always thought Chen Luzhou was super awesome. However, Chen Luzhou felt that Feng Jing’s fan status might have been somewhat exaggerated by Zhu Yangqi. This guy had always been known for his exaggeration, regardless of whether the boast held up or not.
“Then what?”
As Chen Luzhou asked, he stood with his hands on his hips in front of the bed, randomly thinking, should he bring a bag? Girls seemed to like carrying bags that couldn’t even fit a phone when they went out. The sun was so strong outside, maybe he should bring a bag for her to put an umbrella in.
“That bastard Tan Xu wasn’t grateful at all. He got beaten up like that and didn’t even call the police, and even blamed Feng Jing for meddling,” Zhu Yangqi continued, oblivious to his dilemma, taking a drag of his cigarette. “We were puzzled too, wondering how someone could be like that. Later we found out how vicious this guy was. The next few times he got beaten up, he secretly had someone record videos. About half a month later, he produced a psychological assessment report for depression, along with the videos, and reported it to Lego’s teachers. The videos were also posted on the forum, and as public opinion fermented, the principal of Lego took it very seriously and expelled those students.”
“…”
“Later, in an unintentional moment, Tan Xu accidentally let slip to Feng Jing that the psychological assessment report was forged. Feng Jing is just too straightforward. He could have pretended not to know, but he directly reported it to the teachers. Tan Xu’s mother then made a scene at the school, insisting that Feng Jing was slandering, saying that Tan Xu had depression. In the end, Feng Jing was forced to transfer schools. Not long after, Tan Xu somehow transferred away too. To this day, many girls still think Tan Xu left unjustly. Anyway, we boys all know that Tan Xu likes to PUA girls and is especially good at playing the victim role.”
…
When Xu Zhi came downstairs, Chen Luzhou was leaning against the fish tank in the lobby, talking on the phone. His shoulders were broad and strong, and the round little fish seemed to be swimming back and forth on him. She didn’t dare to disturb him and stood far away, waiting for him to hang up first.
Chen Luzhou seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He looked back at her, the phone still at his ear, not hanging up. He jerked his chin towards the outside, meaning – Let’s go, what are you dawdling for?
Chen Luzhou hung up the phone and only then noticed that Xu Zhi was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, with no accessories on her body except for her mother’s necklace. Forget about a bag and umbrella, if possible, she probably wouldn’t even want to wear shoes. Because on her feet were still the disposable slippers from the resort.
Probably following Chen Luzhou’s line of sight, Xu Zhi also looked down at her feet, only then realizing belatedly: “Ah, sorry, I forgot to change. I was just playing cards with Cai Yingying, and when I heard you were looking for me, I came down. Do you mind? If you don’t mind, I can just go like this.”
Chen Luzhou thought to himself, are you used to being PUA’d or what? What do I have to mind? As long as your feet don’t hurt, it’s fine.
“Let’s go,” he said softly.
Fu Yuqing had just come down from the tea mountain. Chen Luzhou finally understood how this Old Fu made money – he was in the tea business. Fu Yuqing had his tea room, like an old Chinese medicine cabinet, with a whole wall of neatly arranged tea compartments.
Fu Yuqing, acting unbecomingly for his age, sat sideways on the edge of the tea table. Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi sat on the sofa watching him meticulously arrange five small cups. He was extremely particular – the distances between the cups had to be consistent, the patterns had to be the same, the side with characters facing front, the floral side facing back, all in perfect order. His obsessive-compulsive disorder was quite severe.
Chen Luzhou wanted to ask how long this symptom had persisted. If it’s really bad, maybe he should go to the hospital.
Xu Zhi whispered to him: “There’s logic behind this.”
What?
Xu Zhi said: “Because one side has characters, and the other side has chrysanthemums. Uncle Fu says that everything must follow the principles of nature, so the chrysanthemums should be at the back.”
Principles of nature, the human body…
“…” It took Chen Luzhou about three seconds to react. Even sitting, he was still half a head taller than Xu Zhi. His legs were slightly spread, hands naturally and loosely hanging between them. His expression was exasperated, his eyes deep as he glanced at her for a while, wanting to say, what kind of people do you hang out with?
Xu Zhi was also looking at him. His eyes were very beautiful, black and bright, standard peach blossom eyes. The corners of his eyes were clean and upturned, with a kind of clean and lively spirit.
Their eyes met without hesitation, an indescribable feeling. It was like duckweed on the water’s surface, a thin layer lightly floating on the water, natural yet tightly attached. It felt as if there was a current gently flowing in the air.
At that moment, a vague thought suddenly popped into Chen Luzhou’s mind.
Why don’t you break up with him?
On what grounds?
They should be considered friends now, right?
It seems they’re not even that. At most, they just know each other’s names.
Fu Yuqing had neatly arranged everything and asked in their direction: “Do you know how to drink tea?” Directed at Chen Luzhou.
I guess so, a little. Apart from collecting some not-so-proper videotapes, Chen Jishen also liked to hoard some tea every year. They also had a tea room at home that was even grander and more luxurious than this. However, judging from the overall layout of the room, Fu Yuqing was well-versed in the tea ceremony. Chen Jishen was probably just a nouveau riche trying to appreciate some cultural sentiment.
Chen Luzhou wanted to say I don’t drink tea, I’m here to borrow a car. If you insist on me drinking something, that’s fine too.
The two sat properly at the tea table. Fu Yuqing fiddled with the walnuts in his hand and suddenly asked a question that almost made Chen Luzhou spit out his tea.
“Have you ever done any advertisements?”
He had been asked this quite often. When Chen Luzhou was at summer camp training before, he was often asked at the subway entrance –
“Handsome, have you ever done any ads?”
“Handsome, are you interested in doing advertisements? Can I get your contact?”
“Handsome, do you do nude modeling? The pay is generous, you know.”
And so on, countless past experiences…
But Fu Yuqing was acting unbecomingly for his age. Being asked like this by him, Chen Luzhou felt a sense of offense and flatly refused: “I don’t do ads.”
Fu Yuqing: “Why won’t you? You have the means. I can pay you, and I can even lend you a car.”
Chen Luzhou glanced silently at Xu Zhi, his eyes reflecting a sense of unvoiced grievance, before coldly responding to Fu Yuqing: “I’m not at a point where I need to rely on my body to make money.”
Fu Yuqing: “…”
Xu Zhi: “…Uncle Fu, we want you to use your drone to shoot an aerial advertisement for his tea mountain.”