The first thought that flashed through Chen Luzhou’s mind at that moment was that if she asked again, he might agree. Fortunately, in the next second, the stern and antiquated face of Xu Guangji appeared in his mind, instantly enlightening him. He also realized it had been a while since he last reported to Dr. Xu.
“If I had known you were this type, I wouldn’t have even let you kiss me,” Chen Luzhou leaned against the door, looking down at her coldly, and said, “The phrase ‘give an inch and take a mile’ is perfectly embodied in you.”
Xu Zhi immediately raised her head and kissed his chin, looking at him with a challenging gaze, then kissed his lips again.
“Really? Can you resist? Chen Luzhou, I can see that you have feelings for me.”
They both knew, to some extent, about the fatal attraction between them that made their hearts race. How could there be no feelings? To be honest, when they were together, there was nothing else left but feelings. However, because they happened to meet at this most unstable age when their futures were uncertain, they didn’t know if these feelings could or should become the stakes for betting on each other’s future. No one dared to gamble.
“You have feelings, so you play with me like this,” Chen Luzhou felt annoyed when he heard the words “boyfriend,” with a smoldering fire in his heart. The hand around her waist suddenly tightened, and he lowered his head, pressing his warm breath against her neck. Xu Zhi was forced to tilt her head back. His hair seemed to have been cut recently, not as soft as before, the stubble scratching her neck like vigorous grass on a summer lawn that had just been trimmed, but buried lazily in her neck without any intimidation, he said, “If you keep teasing, I’ll leave a hickey on your neck, and you can wait to be beaten by your dad when you get home—”
You see how good he was at this.
Xu Zhi wasn’t afraid at all, instead, she looked at him with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation. Chen Luzhou completely surrendered, so he just… touched her. Whether it was because it was the boy’s first time giving someone a hickey and he didn’t know how to control it, or because the girl’s skin was sensitive, Xu Zhi’s skin turned red at the touch. Chen Luzhou was dumbfounded at that moment, realizing he had accidentally left a hickey.
“Will your dad beat you?” He gently scratched Xu Zhi’s neck, finding it had turned red.
“No,” Xu Zhi said with a smile, her arms around his neck, “But he will beat you.”
Chen Luzhou laughed, frank and nonchalant: “It’s fine, I have thick skin. As long as your dad doesn’t beat you.”
After that, he refused to kiss her no matter what she said. Later, after Xu Zhi’s soft persistence and pecking him a couple of times, he half-heartedly gave in.
Xu Zhi secretly glanced up at him. Perhaps because Chen Luzhou was too handsome, even though he didn’t look like someone who strictly adhered to propriety, he was indifferent and clean, natural and open. Even when she sat on his lap kissing, he remained controlled and calm, coldly resting his hand with bulging veins to the side. That demeanor always made people’s hearts itch.
Xu Zhi had heard that people whose veins easily bulge either have varicose veins or are… well, in that aspect. Or maybe he was very skilled but didn’t do anything. Every time they kissed, it was her who initiated, he seemed to have never taken the initiative to kiss her. This was either an explosion in silence or impotence in silence.
Originally, Xu Zhi had planned to search online for details about the movie “Cartucho” that day, but she found that phone monitoring was outrageous now. She suspected that she and Chen Luzhou had been recorded, as the Q&A forum automatically recommended a post to her — “Are there boys who don’t touch breasts when kissing?”
She was about to click in and reply, “Yes.” Then she saw a definitive top-voted reply below —
Anonymous user: “No.”
Xu Zhi suddenly remembered that in her senior year of high school, Cai Yingying had complained to her about accidentally stumbling upon the class beauty and their honest-looking class study committee member arguing in a small grove. She was thinking about whether to go and mediate, but as they argued, the two suddenly embraced and started kissing. The study committee member even put his hand inside the class beauty’s clothes… Since then, Cai Yingying could never look at the honest study committee member the same way again.
Xu Zhi silently sighed, feeling emotional. She thought he was proper, but didn’t expect him to be this proper. She was about to sarcastically ask, “Chen school hunk, how can you manage to be both a player and so proper?”
Suddenly, there was a series of heavy, urgent knocks on the door—
“Chen Luzhou!”
“Open the door, you jerk, you scumbag.”
“Chen Luzhou! Your old man is here.”
At that time, they were still kissing, with Xu Zhi’s hands around his neck. Hearing the decisive and intense knocking on the door, they both paused simultaneously, their breaths intertwined and inseparable, unable to part for a moment, their breaths hot and heavy. Originally, Chen Luzhou wanted to pretend he wasn’t home, but probably because he had pretended too many times before, Zhu Yangqi was certain he was home, shouting outside, “Chen Luzhou, I know you’re home, I even heard you fart!”
Damn it.
It was the sound of Xu Zhi accidentally kicking the shoe cabinet while they were kissing earlier.
So, Xu Zhi had to get off him, sighing, “Open the door, welcome the guest.”
Chen Luzhou made a sound of agreement, glanced at her neck, and asked, “Should I get you a band-aid?”
Xu Zhi said okay, so Chen Luzhou straightened up from the door, not rushing to open it for Zhu Yangqi. Instead, he looked at Xu Zhi deeply with resignation and called out to the door indifferently, “Wait at the door, I’m putting on pants.”
Zhu Yangqi responded with an “Oh.”
But Chen Luzhou forgot that Xu Zhi was still there, so when Zhu Yangqi entered, he saw the two of them sitting fully dressed on the sofa, at opposite ends, watching TV with mutual respect, as if separated by an uncrossable Milky Way. Xu Zhi even politely greeted him, “Hello, Zhu Yangqi.”
Chen Luzhou, as usual, was not polite: “What are you doing here?”
Zhu Yangqi was confused, “Didn’t you ask me to come watch the game?”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
He had forgotten that he indeed invited Zhu Yangqi to watch the game today.
Xu Zhi had just put a band-aid on her neck, which Zhu Yangqi recognized immediately, “A hickey, right?”
Xu Zhi was completely stunned, “You…”
Even Chen Luzhou, holding the remote control and leaning on the sofa, looked at Zhu Yangqi with shock.
Zhu Yangqi chuckled, with a face that said “You guys don’t know this,” and began to explain: “The girls in our class, sometimes they come to class with this kind of thing on. But you know our disciplinary teacher, Old Gas Tank, he’s so experienced in catching early love. He says for a little scar on the neck, don’t bother with a band-aid. Usually, if you’re injured in this position, you should either be in the hospital or using gauze. Who the hell uses a Band-Aid? Later, under his guidance, the couples in our class never leave hickeys on the neck anymore. So, Xu Zhi, can you tell me which inexperienced idiot left a hickey on a girl’s neck?”
Xu Zhi: “…”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
The scene was silent for about two minutes. Xu Zhi stood up to leave, and Chen Luzhou casually tossed the remote to Zhu Yangqi, saying, “I’ll walk her home, you watch for a while.”
Zhu Yangqi appeared calm at the time. When the door opened again, Zhu Yangqi had somehow found a confetti tube, probably left over from when a teacher at No. 1 High School got married and Chen Luzhou was forced to be a groomsman. He didn’t even look to see who had entered the foyer, hiding around the corner of the living room. Hearing the door gently close, with a loud “Bang!” he twisted open the confetti tube without a word, followed by a “Whoosh!” as he unexpectedly jumped out of the living room like a monkey coming down from the mountain, “The young master Chen is finally in a relationship—”
“…”
The smile on Zhu Yangqi’s face gradually disappeared, and he blurted out instinctively: “…Huh? Mom? Ah, no, Aunt Lian.”
**
The moon hung quietly and flawlessly in the sky as if nothing had happened.
From Chen Luzhou’s home to Xu Zhi’s was not far, just two streets, about a twenty-minute walk. It was still early when they checked the time, the streets were brightly lit and bustling with people, so the two had been strolling along the way, entering interesting shops to browse for a while. They had just passed a scent museum, and Xu Zhi immediately buried her head in search. Chen Luzhou asked what she was looking for, and Xu Zhi looked up at him and said she was looking for a scent that could cover the smell of his shower gel. Then she found a pungent perfume that smelled a bit like garlic, which made Chen Luzhou frown as he smelled it. The salesperson enthusiastically came over and introduced it regardless of its quality: “This is our current best-selling light milk and fresh grass scent in the store.”
Light milk and fresh grass… but it smelled very pungent, like the scent of grassroots mixed with soil on a rainy day.
When Xu Zhi heard “light milk and fresh grass,” milk grass, seemed very suitable for him. Without a second thought, she bought it. Chen Luzhou initially thought she would use it herself, but as soon as they left the store, she gave it to him, imperiously instructing: “Wear this perfume whenever you see me from now on.”
Chen Luzhou turned around, holding the bag, ready to go back: “…Then I’ll go back and exchange it for another bottle. The sea salt scent from earlier was fine.”
Of course, Xu Zhi wouldn’t allow it. She made an excuse about wanting to eat candy from across the street and dragged him away.
Chen Luzhou naturally couldn’t resist her and walked her to the apartment building. They finally stopped under the plane tree at the entrance, its dense and lush foliage like a giant umbrella, sheltering them in the patchy moonlight. With Chen Luzhou’s silhouette added, Xu Zhi felt doubly protected and particularly safe.
Xu Zhi pointed to the windows upstairs, most of them open, with one tightly shut. She reluctantly told him, “That window with the pot of gardenia is my room. Because gardenias can only be grown in aluminum pots, it’s not very attractive. When it’s not flowering season, it looks bare and ugly. The auntie next door always thinks I’m trying to grow scallions unsuccessfully and asks every few days if I still want the pot, if not she’ll take it back to wash her feet.”
Xu Zhi sighed and continued, “Later, when the gardenia bloomed, because our floor is so high, many of my classmates who came to my house before couldn’t see clearly what flower was planted at my door. So they told others, the house with an aluminum pot with a few socks stuck in it is mine.”
Chen Luzhou couldn’t help laughing and calmly pointed upwards, “That round head above the socks must be your dad, right?”
Xu Zhi glanced up and indeed saw Old Xu’s obscure face. She turned back hurriedly and said, “I won’t ramble on, I’m going up first.”
Chen Luzhou made a sound of agreement, preparing to leave once she went up. However, Xu Zhi, standing inside the building entrance, secretly waved at him again. He helplessly put his hands in his pockets and walked over. Xu Zhi pulled him into the dim stairwell. Chen Luzhou held the bag of perfume in one hand, the other lazily in his pocket, as she dragged him to the stairs.
They were both chewing the candy they had just bought, which was almost melted. Chen Luzhou leaned against the stairwell wall, his mouth still containing the last bit of residue, chewing slowly and leisurely. He looked down at her teasingly and asked, knowing full well: “What’s up?”
Xu Zhi curiously asked, “What candy is in your mouth?”
“Cherry.”
“You’re lying.”
Chen Luzhou leaned against the wall speechlessly, glancing at her for a long while before laughing and looking away, saying, “If you want to kiss, just say so. Anyway, whatever I say, you always want to verify it yourself.”
“…”
Just as Xu Zhi was about to speak, she saw Old Xu mysteriously standing behind them. She jumped away from Chen Luzhou in fright, “Dad—”
Chen Luzhou instinctively turned around and indeed saw Xu Guangji’s familiar face. But this time he wasn’t wearing a white coat, so his face looked more ordinary and plain. Standing in such a dim stairwell, he almost didn’t recognize him.
As socially adept as Chen Luzhou usually was, at this moment he was also inexplicably tongue-tied, not knowing how to address him. Calling him Dr. Xu might let Xu Zhi know he had privately visited her father’s department, calling him uncle seemed like he was hiding something. Xu Guangji looked at Xu Zhi and said, “I was wondering why you were taking so long to come up, hiding here chatting about what? What needs to be personally verified?”
Fortunately, he had only heard half of it. Xu Zhi sighed in relief, “Nothing, I asked him to take photos for me today, just need to verify the photos again.”
Xu Guangji looked at Xu Zhi skeptically and said, “Then you go up first, I need to have a word with him alone.”
Xu Zhi said “Oh” and glanced at Chen Luzhou before going upstairs. Perhaps she was too nervous and didn’t ask what her dad and Chen Luzhou had to talk about. When she realized something was off, she sneaked back, stealthily crouching at the second-floor staircase to listen. They probably had talked about a lot before, but Xu Zhi only heard her dad earnestly advising him—
“…You haven’t come for a follow-up this month, ah? You young people just don’t take it seriously. This deformity rate issue is serious if you consider it serious. I had a patient before, just like you, who didn’t pay much attention when he was young. Now he’s about to get married and came for a check-up, suffering terribly. I’m not trying to scare you, but you should come back for follow-ups when you need to. Don’t think you’re fine just because you’re young. Use your hand more these days, every three to five days, and come back for a check-up. Don’t delay anymore, listen to me.”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
Xu Guangji was originally joking with him, but ever since that patient came back and went through various puncture examinations, wailing so loudly the entire department could hear, out of professional ethics as a doctor, he couldn’t help but worry a bit for this handsome young man Chen Luzhou. So when he spotted someone who looked like that boy from upstairs, he rushed down without hesitation to remind him to come back for a check-up.
When he went back upstairs, Xu Zhi was leisurely sipping a cup of coffee and casually approached him, asking quietly, “Dad, does Chen Luzhou have some kind of problem?”
Xu Guangji had just changed into his slippers. He looked at her impassively while leaning against the wall and said, “Girls shouldn’t concern themselves with such things. Are you hungry? Go reheat the dishes, Dad will chat with you while we eat.”
Too many things have happened at home recently. Because of the fraud incident, Xu Guangji had to go to the police station from time to time to check on the progress of the fraud case while working. Plus, it was the plum rain season, and grandmother had gone back to the countryside to clean up the house. So there were only the two of them at home. But Xu Zhi had been busy working part-time jobs to earn money during this time, so even after the admission notice was issued, the father and daughter hadn’t found a chance to have a good talk.
Xu Zhi reheated the dishes, and Xu Guangji patted the table, gesturing for her to sit down, clearly intending to have a heart-to-heart talk with her. He didn’t oppose his daughter dating, and after inquiring a bit about Chen Luzhou from Old Cai during this time, he felt that the boy was quite good in various aspects.
So he hadn’t thought about how to give his daughter a hard time on this issue. In terms of education, he and Old Cai had always believed in one principle: it’s better to guide than to block. Moreover, at their age of passionate youth, how could those feelings of adolescence possibly be suppressed just by a few words from them? However, since some issues had already occurred.
Let’s face it and guide it onto the right path. For children of this age, you can’t completely shut them down, nor can you let them run wild.
When Xu Zhi saw Old Xu take out the bottle of Wuliangye that had been drunk for half a year from the refrigerator, she instantly realized that tonight would be a tough battle. Sure enough, Old Xu asked while pouring the liquor: “You’ve been going out at night to see Chen Luzhou recently, right?”
Xu Zhi said, “No, didn’t I tell you? I’m tutoring outside.”
Xu Guangji was very perceptive, his eyes behind the glasses flashing a hint of coldness: “That’s not right, I remember you were tutoring in the Chunshan area, how come you come back from Yifeng Lane every night? Those are two different directions.”
“I was eating with friends there. Aren’t you eating at the cafeteria every night? There’s no one cooking at home, so I went to eat in the city center,” Xu Zhi said.
Xu Guangji made a sound of acknowledgment, sipping the Wuliangye in small mouthfuls, and said, “Alright, I’ve neglected you during this time. From tomorrow on, let’s have dinner at home. Come back right after your tutoring job, and don’t go out at night.”
The living room light was on, and the two foxes were calculating each other, but the old ginger was spicier. The little fox sighed, realizing that honesty might be the best policy, “…How about you ask me again?”
Xu Guangji had originally planned to talk to her about the future, about their life ideals. After all, both she and Chen Luzhou had good grades. If they worked hard, they would surely make a name for themselves in China in the future. So even after entering university, they couldn’t slack off. The economic foundation determines the superstructure.
Most importantly, Xu Guangji had a bit of a selfish motive. Chen Luzhou was a local, so if they got married in the future, his daughter would still be nearby. Otherwise, like that widower in his workplace, not only was he alone, but his daughter had married abroad and hadn’t come back for over a decade. He didn’t even have anyone to talk to during festivals, which was truly pitiful.
Xu Guangji happily repeated the question: “So you’ve been out with Chen Luzhou recently at night?”
“Yes, we’re dating, but we’re about to break up. He’s going abroad soon,” Xu Zhi could only say this. She couldn’t say they were just playing around, that would make Old Xu faint.
Xu Guangji, who usually wouldn’t waste a drop of alcohol, spilled it all. Without a word, he rushed into the kitchen and came out with a knife, “Is that scumbag’s house in Yifeng Lane?!”
Author’s note:
Zhu Yangqi: Chen Luzhou, run quick! I just got stabbed at your house…