When Xu Zhi arrived at the tea room, Fu Yuqing was chatting idly with Chen Luzhou. He was sitting in the same spot as last time, with the drone by his feet. The room was filled with the swirling smoke of sandalwood incense, a wisp of blue curling around the two of them. As Fu Yuqing poured tea for him, he casually asked, “You’re the same age as Xu Zhi, right?”
Chen Luzhou leaned back against the chair, demonstrating his knowledge of tea etiquette. When Fu Yuqing poured his tea, he knew to press his five fingers together into a fist, palm down, and gently tap the table three times in thanks. Looking down at his cup, he asked, “What year was she born?”
Fu Yuqing set down the teapot and thought for a moment. “1997, I think. Born in early July. What about you?”
Oh, a Cancer, Chen Luzhou thought.
“She’s a few months older. I’m November,” Chen Luzhou said, taking a sip from his cup.
“Oh, so you should call her ‘jiejie’ (older sister).”
Chen Luzhou almost choked, with half a mouthful of tea stuck in his throat. Yeah right, he thought, as if she qualifies as my ‘jiejie’.
“You should be taking the college entrance exam this year too, right?” Fu Yuqing asked, unusually amiably, rolling walnuts in his hand. “Where are you planning to go to university? Study photography?”
Chen Luzhou glanced instinctively at the drone on the floor and smiled, “No, it’s just a hobby. I’m planning to study abroad.”
“What’s so good about going abroad? You young people nowadays are too obsessed with foreign things,” Fu Yuqing said, his eyes crinkling at the corners – a common trait among middle-aged men. He caught sight of Xu Zhi walking in and immediately called out, “Xu Zhi, perfect timing. Tell him how many good universities we have here in China.”
As Chen Luzhou was thinking why do I need her to tell me, he turned around carelessly. Sure enough, someone was standing behind him. He rolled his eyes internally and looked away. How come I run into her everywhere? It never ends. He finished his tea and, without explaining, said to Fu Yuqing, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now. I need to edit the footage. I’ll send it to you in a few days.”
Fu Yuqing didn’t insist on him staying and collected his teacup. “Alright then.”
However, after Chen Luzhou left, Fu Yuqing astutely remarked to Xu Zhi, “I don’t think that boy likes you very much. He was chatting quite happily with me just now.”
Xu Zhi was a bit confused. She looked back in the direction Chen Luzhou had left and said, “Oh. We’re not close anyway. Besides, studying abroad or not is a personal choice. You shouldn’t always think people are worshipping foreign things.”
Fu Yuqing changed the subject: “What about you? I heard from your dad that you did well in your exams. Have you decided where you want to go to university?”
Xu Zhi sighed, “If nothing unexpected happens, it’ll probably be Qing University. I never thought about going elsewhere, mainly because it’s troublesome. By the way, Uncle Fu, would you like to try doing a livestream?”
“Livestream?”
Xu Zhi explained, “Yes, it’s called ‘village streaming’ now. It’s to promote agricultural development. You could livestream tea picking and tea roasting. It would help broaden your sales channels.”
“Do I look that desperate for money?” Fu Yuqing poured out the cooled tea and put a cigarette in his mouth. “Your little head is always thinking about making money. Can’t you think about something else?”
“I’m just trying to help you out,” Xu Zhi said, curiously trying to take a cigarette from Fu Yuqing, who swatted her hand away without mercy.
“Help out? You’ve got your eye on my business. You should learn from Chen Luzhou. A young man like that, his thoughts are much richer than yours. He’s so romantic, always taking photos of flowers, grass, chickens, and ducks. I’ve never seen him ask me for money. At your age, you should be talking about dreams and the ocean, not rushing to discuss money with the boss.”
“You just don’t want to pay him,” Xu Zhi saw right through him. “That’s not right. He worked hard all day taking photos for you. You should pay him.”
“He didn’t even ask for it,” Fu Yuqing skillfully deflected, teasing Xu Zhi. “What are you grumbling about?”
In the room.
Chen Luzhou opened his computer to start editing the footage. However, he hadn’t brought his other computer, so this one could only do rough cuts. Chen Luzhou had to spend money to buy new software. While waiting for it to download, he took the opportunity to lean back in his chair and rest for a bit. Meanwhile, Chen Xingqi’s face had turned green with anger, planted firmly in the chair next to him like a potted plant, refusing to leave.
Chen Luzhou sprawled in his chair, legs spread wide, watching him for a while. Seeing Chen Xingqi’s eyes turning red from holding back, he finally reached out symbolically to pat the back of his head, offering a half-hearted consolation, “Alright, alright. No matter how angry you are, it won’t change anything. These are the only photos I have in my camera.”
“You big liar!”
“Mm, I was wrong,” he said without sincerity, opening the software and quickly entering a string of passwords. “Go tell your mom when you get back. Let her give me a good scolding.”
He was fearless, knowing that neither Mom nor Dad would do anything to him, so he could bully Chen Xingqi as much as he wanted. Chen Xingqi was on the verge of tears, his whole body tense. “If you want to teach me a lesson, just hit me. I thought you were being nice and taking me out for a photo shoot. You made me get bitten by mosquitoes all over the mountain, and I almost got bitten by a snake.”
“Next time, try to control your temper a bit, and I won’t mess with you. And stop exaggerating,” Chen Luzhou said lazily, arms folded, glancing at him. “I told you, that wasn’t a snake. It was just a shed snakeskin.”
“Then what about all these mosquito bites? I’m itching like crazy.”
“Didn’t you bring any medicine?”
“I only brought mosquito repellent. Who knew we’d be working in the fields? Damn, the mosquitoes on that tea mountain are vicious. It’s like I’ve been hit with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. My whole body is itching.”
“Let me see,” Chen Luzhou pulled him over and lifted his arm to look. “Go take a shower first. I’ll ask around and see if anyone has some medicine.”
Chen Xingqi caught on, “Are you just using this as an excuse to chat up that girl?”
Chen Luzhou pushed his hand away and leaned back in his chair, tapping the keyboard to open the software. “It’s none of your business who I talk to.”
“You’re so shameless, bro. Your head is full of dating.”
“You asking for a beating?”
Chen Luzhou rolled up his sleeve, pretending to hit him. Chen Xingqi dodged quickly and ran off in a flash. Just as the door closed, it was pushed open again. It was Zhu Yangqi returning. “You finished shooting so quickly?”
Chen Luzhou inserted the memory card into the computer and grunted in agreement. “It’s not that big of an area. How long could it take? Where did you go?”
“I was bored, so Cai Yingying called me to play cards,” Zhu Yangqi said, collapsing onto the bed exhaustedly. After a moment, he kicked the back of Chen Luzhou’s chair. “By the way, Cai Yingying and the others were asking if you want to go take photos of the Aries meteor shower tonight around 11?”
Using me as their photographer, huh? What’s so great about an Aries meteor shower? Besides, she’s a Cancer, so why is she interested in an Aries meteor shower?
“I’m not going. I need to edit the footage,” Chen Luzhou said.
Zhu Yangqi thought for a moment. “Xu Zhi wants to see it. I think her mom was an Aries. Also, isn’t there a saying that everyone who passes away becomes a star in the sky? So she says she wants to go and make a wish.”
“She believes in that?” Chen Luzhou was skeptical.
Zhu Yangqi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and patting his belly. “Young girls are superstitious. If you’re not going, lend me your equipment. I’ll take them up to shoot.”
For a long while, Chen Luzhou didn’t respond. Zhu Yangqi only heard a few crisp clicks of the mouse as Chen Luzhou concentrated on reviewing the original footage. Just as Zhu Yangqi was about to say something else, Chen Luzhou, without turning around, threw out a sentence, “Can you ask her if she has any anti-itch medicine?”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Zhu Yangqi said, crossing his legs and seizing the opportunity to tease him. “She hasn’t added me on WeChat separately.”
Being needled about this over and over again, Chen Luzhou’s temper flared. “Are you trying to annoy me?” he snapped, tossing the mouse aside and grabbing his phone. He scrolled through his WeChat list with a blank expression. “Fine, Zhu Yangqi. Just don’t let me find out who you like in the future.”
Zhu Yangqi clicked his tongue and shook his head. Getting worked up so easily, still so young.
When Xu Zhi received Chen Luzhou’s WeChat message, she was looking for shoes to wear for watching the meteor shower that night. Her phone dinged on the bedside table, asking if she had any anti-itch medicine. As luck would have it, while rummaging through her things for shoes, she had come across her medicine bag. She dumped it out and took a photo to send him.
Xu Zhi: [Is this what you need? I only have this. My dad had someone bring it from Thailand. It smells a bit like Tiger Balm.]
Cr: [It’s for my brother.]
Cr: [Thanks, I’ll come get it. Or will you bring it tonight?]
Xu Zhi: [Tonight?]
Cr: [Aren’t you going to watch the meteor shower?]
Xu Zhi: [Oh, right. But won’t your brother itch to death? We won’t be back until midnight.]
Cr: [Are you free now then?]
Xu Zhi: [Meet in the lobby.]
As Chen Luzhou was preparing to go downstairs, Zhu Yangqi was still fanning the flames. “See? Now you have a chance to meet her.”
“Shut up,” Chen Luzhou was annoyed with him now. He was bending down to put on his shoes and threw a cushion from the sofa at Zhu Yangqi. “Why don’t you go get it?”
“No way. I want you to see her and how she doesn’t pay attention to you. I’ll enjoy that. If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you try to win her over?”
Chen Luzhou kept his head down, tying his shoelaces, his voice cold: “Win her over for what? To date for a couple of months and then break up? What’s the point? What can you do in two months? Get a dating experience card? If you keep annoying me, you can go take your photos of the meteor shower tonight.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up,” Zhu Yangqi conceded. “Don’t stand us up tonight. I want to use your photos to show off my Moments.”
“As if you need to show off.”
“Not as much as you can.”
“I’m second, you’re first.” Chen Luzhou closed the door.
Zhu Yangqi realized he was still the same as when he was younger – every time he insulted someone, he included himself. Such a childish guy.
The lobby was sparsely populated, with a few people dragging suitcases to check-in. Xu Zhi was leaning against the colorful fish tank, waiting for him. Chen Luzhou noticed that Xu Zhi seemed to like this fish tank; every time she passed through the lobby, she would go over to tease the fish. Indeed, colorful things always catch people’s attention.
Chen Luzhou looked down at himself – black clothes, black pants.
He had to cough to get her attention.
“Ahem.”
Xu Zhi turned her head and handed him the medicine. “This might not be as effective as an ointment, but we don’t have anything else. Let Chen Xingqi use this for now. If it doesn’t work, we can ask Uncle Fu later. He should have something.”
“Thanks,” Chen Luzhou felt it would be too cold to just leave like this, so he asked, “Have you had dinner?”
Xu Zhi casually replied, “Not yet. Want to eat together?”
Chen Luzhou: “…Mm.”
See, Zhu Yangqi? I told you I just can’t refuse her.