Midway through their conversation, Xu Zhi was still playing with his hair.
“I wasn’t thinking yesterday when I saw your mother with my father,” she said.
“At that moment, the focus was on your father. It didn’t matter who my mother was.” He rarely let himself go like this – his eyes held an unusual spark, his gaze restless, his movements uninhibited. His usual restraint and shyness had completely vanished.
Xu Zhi realized he was right. Under such a huge shock, losing sight of what mattered was easy. She softly asked, “Did you learn about your mother during summer break? Is that why you came a month late?”
“Yes. Things were chaotic at home. Chen Jishen refused to divorce, and my mother…” He paused. “She threatened suicide. Chen Jishen was terrified – he’s superstitious and can’t stand the sight of blood. When he called me, my mother had already cut her wrists several times and was lying in a pool of blood. I was so scared. If my mother had died, it might have ruined my life forever. After all, she did it partly for my sake.”
Xu Zhi expressed surprise with an “Ah,” but given their current intimate position, her voice came out differently than intended.
He mischievously mimicked her tone with a teasing “Ah?” His attitude was provocative and smug. That surge of sympathy she’d felt instantly vanished – she wanted to kick him. He was becoming increasingly unrestrained.
“So you spent that month taking care of her at the hospital?” Xu Zhi asked.
Chen Luzhou hummed in agreement. “She stayed for over two weeks. I didn’t dare contact you then. Plus, you had just moved to Beijing and needed to adjust to your new environment. Everything was a mess on my end, and I didn’t want you to worry. I planned to find you after handling everything. Not seeing you or hearing your voice was manageable, but that day when I called you, hearing your voice only made me miss you more. Every night was unbearable.” He propped himself up on both hands and looked down between them, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “I thought I was going crazy then. One night I dreamed you had found a boyfriend in Beijing. I woke up furious but couldn’t reach you. I wanted so badly to call and yell at you.”
“Chen Luzhou, you’re insane,” Xu Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. “Then why didn’t you tell me about your mother later?”
His eyes still held that unspent passion. “At the start of school, we weren’t officially together. If I had told you all this, it would have seemed like I was trying to gain your sympathy to make you be with me. I didn’t want that – none of it was your responsibility. After we got together and you gave me that gift, I felt even less able to tell you. My girlfriend is so caring – how could I burden you with this?”
Xu Zhi poked his temple, jabbing at his head while enunciating each word, “What do you mean ‘that’ gift?”
He laughed as his head bobbed from her poking, letting her continue while giving her a meaningful smile. “Well, it was the first time a girl built a house for me.”
“Oh really? Have other girls given you gifts before?”
“Can’t remember anymore.”
“Oh.”
Chen Luzhou pinched her cheek. “I’m kidding. Never received gifts from anyone else.”
Xu Zhi remained unmoved, ignoring him.
“Hey—” he said with an exasperated laugh, propping himself up with one hand while poking her cheek with the other. “Hey—are you jealous?”
Lying on her back, Xu Zhi thought for a moment before saying, “A guy who pursued me before gave me a motorcycle. Thinking back, it’s quite a shame.”
He laughed dismissively, glancing down as he moved slowly, speaking in a casual, careless tone: “You’re not very convincing.”
Xu Zhi looked down to find his eyes. “It was cool though.”
“Trying to provoke me?” Chen Luzhou grew impatient, using one hand to pin both of hers above her head while his other hand roughly pinched her waist, even giving her a bite.
“I meant the motorcycle! The motorcycle was cool!” Xu Zhi was ticklish and tried to dodge while laughing, but her hands were firmly pinned down. She was like a fish nailed to a cutting board with chopsticks, completely helpless and at his mercy.
Her stomach was flat without any excess flesh. When she laughed, her abs became visible, creating a beautiful curve, with elegant contours deeply etched into her sides.
Chen Luzhou kissed his way downward, looking up at her when he paused. Xu Zhi realized what he was about to do.
Her heart fluttered wildly, almost stopping from the excitement.
He was wild that day, with a practiced and perfectly measured abandonment that nearly drove her crazy. This time there was no water play, no passionate splashing sounds, but the waves still mercilessly pulled her into the sea.
“Chen Luzhou, how do you even know how to do this?”
“I told you before – there’s nothing Chen Luzhou can’t do.”
They both laughed, the night stretching long, their affection even longer. Some seek kindred spirits in high mountains and flowing waters, while others find heaven’s will in muddy lowlands.
It must be heaven’s will.
It had to be.
When Xu Guangji was knocked down, that’s exactly what he thought – this is heaven’s will! Oh, mother! My newly bought aged wine! Didn’t even get to taste it.
*
Xu Zhi received the phone call while reading with Chen Luzhou at home. They were preparing to get back into study mode with school starting soon.
As soon as she hung up, she rushed to the hospital with Chen Luzhou. When they arrived, they found Xu Guangji and Director Wei’s son each with a stiff plastered leg hanging in the air, while Director Wei sat between them peeling oranges.
Old Xu turned his head to see Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou, cheerfully greeting them with a beaming face: “You’re both here! Perfect timing – come have some oranges. Director Cai bought them, supposedly imported from Vietnam.” He was as relaxed as if he were on vacation.
Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou exchanged glances. After greeting Director Wei, they approached the bed. Xu Zhi lifted her father’s elbow to check – apart from his ankle, there were no other injuries. “Dad, how did you fall again? Maybe you should get your head checked. Frequent falls could indicate a brain problem.”
Xu Guangji had just put an orange segment in his mouth when Director Wei interrupted before he could speak: “It’s not his brain that’s the problem – it’s his ears. He didn’t hear the horn when someone honked, and got hit by an electric bike.”
Xu Zhi looked around the room, asking hurriedly: “Where’s the rider?”
Director Wei gestured with his chin: “Let them go. Just a delivery driver – your dad didn’t want to make things difficult, so he accepted some compensation and let them leave.”
Xu Guangji added contentedly: “Director Cai can get it covered by work injury insurance anyway – it happened on my commute.”
That afternoon, old Cai was doing his rounds in neurosurgery downstairs, and Director Wei had gone on duty. Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou stayed at the hospital to keep company.
Wei Lin had spent the entire morning reading only twenty pages of a manga, forgetting the previous page as he read the next, constantly flipping back and forth while mumbling in confusion: “Huh? Who’s this character? Did they appear before?”
Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi sat in the walkway between the two hospital beds, with Xu Zhi perched on her father’s bed chatting with him. Chen Luzhou’s tall frame lounged casually in the chair, occasionally noticing when Wei Lin’s water cup was empty while he was absorbed in reading, and refilling it without comment.
Wei Lin didn’t notice at first, but after unconsciously flipping through forty or fifty pages, he finally realized his water cup never seemed to be empty. He suspiciously lifted the cup to check its bottom, wondering if it was connected to running water. The next second, catching Chen Luzhou’s profile in his peripheral vision as he chatted with Xu Guangji, Wei Lin suddenly understood. He coughed and said a lukewarm “thanks.”
Chen Luzhou turned back, glanced at him, and smiled, his tone equally casual but more mature and magnetic: “Don’t mention it.”
Teenagers always want to measure themselves against those two or three years older, especially when the other person is handsome.
Wei Lin initially thought this guy was too good-looking and probably a player, but he turned out to be quite nice. Looking at him now, his chest seemed well-proportioned – probably impressive without a shirt, given his broad shoulders and straight back. Being handsome with a good body, and notably tall – no wonder he could attract beautiful women! Wei Lin unconsciously looked down at his chest, puffing it out – not bad, but he still needed to work out and grow taller by at least 182cm.
“Big brother, how tall are you?” Wei Lin couldn’t help asking.
“185cm without shoes,” Chen Luzhou, having gone through this phase himself, understood the younger man’s mindset. “You’re quite tall yourself, aren’t you?”
“I’m barely 181cm. 185cm is my ideal height. Brother, do you have any advice?” Wei Lin had already switched to the familiar form of address, even more naturally than with Chen Xingqi.
Chen Luzhou thought for a moment, leaning back in his chair with legs spread, and offered sincere advice: “Play more basketball. I played every day in my first and second years of high school. The third year was busy with exam prep, so about three times a week. When I started high school, I was only 182cm, but by graduation, I reached 185cm.”
Wei Lin immediately pulled out his phone: “Here, add my WeChat. When you come back with Sister Xu Zhi during breaks, let’s play together.”
Chen Luzhou glanced at Xu Zhi, smiling as he reached for his phone in his pocket: “Sure.”
Just then, old Cai finished his rounds downstairs and burst into the room, dramatically slapping the work injury assessment form on Xu’s bedside table: “Can’t file it!”
Xu Guangji was startled: “Hey, didn’t you say this morning it could be covered?”
Old Cai held his head in exasperation: “How was I supposed to know you took Songbai Road? That’s not even on your regular commute route! Why did you go all the way around there? Work injury claims only cover your regular commute route.”
Wei Lin swayed the manga in his hand somewhat guiltily: “Uncle Xu seems to have gone there to buy manga for me.”
Xu Zhi instinctively glanced at Chen Luzhou. Such situations would inevitably arise in the future, but in the early stages of a blended family, everyone needs time to adjust. Her father would now go out of his way during his commute to buy books for another child, not just for her alone.
These emotions weren’t exactly complex – Xu Zhi just felt she needed time to adapt to this new reality.
Xu Guangji protested: “How is Songbai Road not part of my commute?”
Old Cai: “You went all the way to Tianhe District, my old friend.”
As they continued arguing, suddenly there came a measured knock on the hospital room door, and someone leisurely strolled in.
“What’s all the commotion about?”
Director Cai turned at the sound, his face brightening. The old men exchanged pretentiously formal handshakes and meaningless pleasantries before he asked: “Old Fu, what brings you here?”
Old Xu remained unexpectedly silent, glancing at Chen Luzhou beside him.
Fortunately, the latter maintained his usual cold demeanor, though his typically curved lips were now tightly drawn, his face expressionless.
Fu Yuqing placed a bag of fruit and nutritional supplements on the tea table by the door, saying: “I was about to handle some business downstairs. Old Xu mentioned his fall, so I came to check on him.”
Fu Yuqing was tall, standing elegantly refined among the pot-bellied, multiple-child-having middle-aged men. He truly stood out like a crane among chickens, even more radiant than Director Cai.
Xu Zhi held Chen Luzhou’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze while whispering, “It’s okay, we’ll just ignore him.”
However, except for the completely unaware Director Cai and Wei Lin, everyone else’s expressions were unusually serious and awkward. The atmosphere was strangely tense, even Xu Guangji’s face showed discomfort.
Fu Yuqing looked between the young couple and old Xu, sensing something amiss: “What’s wrong? Xu Zhi, why aren’t you greeting Uncle Fu? Not even a Happy New Year? Still want your red envelope?”
You’re going on about Happy New Year while our group hasn’t had a peaceful New Year thanks to you.
Xu Guangji knew his daughter was fiercely protective. She always sided with family over reason, and in this case, even reason was on Chen Luzhou’s side. Xu Zhi clearly wanted to stand up for Chen Luzhou, but Fu Yuqing had always shown her great affection since childhood, so she was probably conflicted, caught in the middle. But obviously, her boyfriend took precedence now – her lips remained tightly sealed, refusing to say a single word to Fu Yuqing.
Xu Guangji sighed, about to say something to ease the tension, when he turned to see Chen Luzhou casually lounging in his chair, smiling as he teased Xu Zhi, appearing completely indifferent. He laughed lightly: “What’s wrong? Don’t want the red envelope?”
Fu Yuqing sensed something was off, though he did not yet realize his current predicament. He pulled out a red envelope from his suit’s inner pocket, holding it crossed-armed against his chest, maintaining his smile: “What’s going on here? Is Xu Zhi’s boyfriend so controlling now? Does she need his permission even to greet someone? Come on, tell me, do you have something against me, or what?”
Fu Yuqing had never liked Chen Luzhou, ever since their first meeting at the resort. He thought the boy was even more difficult than his troublesome brother – his brother was simply foolish, but Chen Luzhou was completely fake proper, truly a scoundrel.
Chen Luzhou ignored him, immediately dropping his relaxed posture as he stood up coldly from the chair, saying to Xu Guangji, “Uncle Xu, I’ll head back first.”
Xu Guangji nodded, giving him a complicated look, only saying: “Alright, Xu Zhi, go with him.”
After they left, Fu Yuqing stared at Chen Luzhou’s retreating, inexplicably angry. “Was this kid raised properly? Does he understand basic manners?”
Xu Guangji, with his leg suspended, gave Fu Yuqing a meaningful look. After hesitating for a long moment, he slowly said: “Old Fu, his name is Chen Luzhou.”
Fu Yuqing’s smile barely clung to his lips as he turned back: “And?”
Xu Guangji let out the longest, most complicated, helpless sigh of his life. From Lian Hui’s tone when she contacted him yesterday, he knew this couldn’t be kept secret forever – it was just a matter of who would tell him. If Lian Hui brought Chen Luzhou to find him and told him herself, given their personalities, they might have had a vicious argument right in front of Chen Luzhou, inflicting a bloody, gut-wrenching wound on the boy. Better for him to tell Old Fu – maybe he’d take it better.
Xu Guangji looked out the window, thinking that if he and Qiudie had known about this back then, they might have taken the child in to raise, and everything could have been different.
Removing his glasses, Xu Guangji rubbed his eyes wearily and said: “Old Fu, he’s Lian Hui’s biological son.”
The last trace of Fu Yuqing’s smile vanished, his eyes freezing as if doused with ice water. His usually refined, smiling face instantly transformed into something like a corpse left in the wild for days – pale, ashen, and grotesque. He stood completely still.
*
Walking out of the hospital, Xu Zhi reached for him: “Chen Luzhou, don’t think too much about it. When he finds out later, he’ll regret it terribly.”
Chen Luzhou had processed all his emotions that night with Xu Zhi. Now he felt only calm. No matter what, that man was just a stranger to him, and they would never have any connection in the future. He didn’t want to waste emotions on him – something he’d learned from Xu Zhi. He smiled faintly: “You’re the one who shouldn’t think too much. I’m fine. I’ve always considered him dead – he’s just recently become a zombie, so I’m a bit unused to it.”
Xu Zhi sighed in relief, reaching for his hand: “That’s good. I was worried you wouldn’t know how to face him.”
“He’s just a stranger,” he smiled softly.
They walked hand in hand along the street, with school starting soon and many students and workers already having left town. Most shops had reopened, and there was even an elderly craftsman making sugar art by the roadside – something Xu Zhi hadn’t seen in years. Without hesitation, she pulled Chen Luzhou over and ordered two pieces.
Xu Zhi watched, mesmerized, as the elderly craftsman, well past seventy, skillfully scooped sweet syrup from his copper pot with a small ladle. His experienced hands created intricate designs on the stone plate, each pause artistically precise. She couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation.
As a child, Xu Zhi loved sugar art. Knowing this, Old Xu would often take detours after work to buy her different designs, then bounce through the front door mysteriously—
“Darling! Today it’s the dragon and phoenix!”
To keep Lin Qiudie from discovering she’d eaten candy, Xu Guangji would come home ten minutes early, giving her time to eat and brush her teeth.
“Darling! Today it’s a little peacock!” Xu Guangji would proudly whisper in her ear, “I specially asked the master to make one with spread feathers! Nobody else has that!”
“Darling! No peacocks today! Today it’s a soaring eagle!” He’d sometimes make a comical flying gesture.
“Darling! That craftsman wasn’t there today! Daddy went to Songbai Road to get this for you!”
“Daddy, the ones from Songbai Road taste better! I want those from now on!”
“Alright!”
“Daddy, the shortbread from Songbai Road is so delicious too!”
It was a local specialty, filled with dried meat, crispy and flaky – perfect as a snack. Songbai Road’s version was the most distinctive and authentic. Besides sugar art, shortbread was young Xu Zhi’s favorite treat, making Songbai Road the most delicious street in her childhood memories.
But back then, Xu Zhi didn’t know that Songbai Road was halfway across Qingyi City from her father’s hospital.
…
After getting the sugar art, Xu Zhi took one lick and found it too sweet. She casually handed it to Chen Luzhou, saying wistfully, “Ah, the things we loved as children, we don’t like anymore when we grow up.”
Chen Luzhou held her hand with one hand and her sugar art with the other, not eating it but holding it steady. He glanced down at her, understanding what she meant. He smiled, his lips maintaining their curve whenever he looked at her, and asked casually, “Feeling uneasy?”
Xu Zhi shook her head as they strolled, street lights alternating between dim and bright overhead.
Swinging his hand vigorously as they walked, Xu Zhi gave a bitter smile, tilted her head back with a self-consoling sigh, and said: “It’s not that. I just need time to adjust. Two strangers suddenly entered our lives, changing our habits and routines. My dad used to go to Songbai Road just to buy me shortbread and sugar art; now he goes there to buy manga for Wei Lin. But thinking about it, my dad was alone here – when he had a fever, there might not have been anyone to even pour him water, and he needed to hire a caregiver when hospitalized. My feelings are selfish.”
The street remained as bustling as ever, cars wedged wherever they could fit. The alley winds still carried that damp, briny smell. People hurried past – some walking dogs, others pushing strollers, elderly men playing animated games of chess at the park entrance. The vegetation flourished, everything renewed, new people fresh as snow, old ones like dreams, year after year.
…
In the unlit bedroom, they continued talking.
“When we go back, we can’t be so…”
“Hmm?” His gaze was confused and distant.
Xu Zhi grabbed a pillow from beside the bed and threw it at his head, breathlessly saying, “I mean, when we’re back in Beijing, we need to study properly!”
He reached for something in the bedside drawer, kneeling beside her, smiling as he unwrapped it, maintaining a surprisingly serious expression that completely contradicted his actions. The perfect picture of a scoundrel in gentleman’s clothing.
“Let’s not go back to Beijing. Starting tomorrow, you shouldn’t come to see me every day either. We should cool things down a bit.”
“Chen Luzhou!”
“What did I say before coming in? Said we’d just study tonight, no kissing.”
“What’s wrong with just a kiss?”
Chen Luzhou couldn’t help laughing, hands propped on either side of her head, his eyes hiding an unprecedented, meaningful tease as he deliberately whispered in her ear: “You tell me what’s wrong? Hmm? Want to try something different today?”
Try what different, Xu Zhi rolled her eyes at him.
The next moment, Xu Zhi let out a surprised cry as she was lifted. She lay against him as Chen Luzhou leaned back, his hands on her waist, gentle waves washing over them.
The room suddenly grew quiet, waves lapping softly against the shore, sometimes urgent, sometimes gentle. The scorching mist seemed to evaporate all moisture from their bodies. She was like a fish thirsting for water, head tilted back, breathing in small gasps.
They stopped talking, eyes locked in endless intensity.
She discovered that once Chen Luzhou let loose, he completely lost all propriety.
Xu Zhi nearly cried out, “Chen Luzhou!”
He looked up, suddenly alarmed, immediately stopping to hold her close, stroking her head soothingly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, did it hurt?”
Xu Zhi truly couldn’t describe the feeling, tearfully: “It’s not that, I just can’t explain it.”
“Did you…?”
The young man leaned casually against the headboard, smiling, his gaze direct and unrestrained.
Xu Zhi felt her ears burn and her heart race as she pinched him: “What about you?”
“Not yet,” Chen Luzhou reached over to check his phone’s time, turning to show her, his expression arrogant yet amused, “It’s still early, isn’t it?”
Xu Zhi sighed, reaching to stroke his hair, gently smoothing it with the same tenderness she’d use to pet a dog.
He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, leaning against the headboard, dodging slightly with a laugh, “What am I, a dog?”
“Chen Luzhou, how are you so handsome?” Xu Zhi pinched his chin – clean-shaven, with smooth lines.
“Not as good-looking as you,” he tilted his chin down cockily, saying mischievously, “Why don’t you look down?”
“You rascal!”
“I meant to look at my legs.”
“Why look at your legs?”
He leaned back, lifting her again, hands on her waist, slowly and tenderly, “Your boyfriend has a pair of seemingly healthy legs that, barring accidents, should last another sixty years.”
“And then?”
Xu Zhi looked down at him – his recently cut hair made his handsome features even more striking. Waves crashed from all directions, and she gasped as his muffled, urgent breathing mixed with the sound of passionate waves, “Whether it’s Songbai Road or Baisong Road, let him go.”
“Xu Zhi, I am yours.”
*
Those days, Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou would visit the hospital during the day, then walk home slowly in the evening, lingering hesitantly at the doorway, looking at each other awkwardly, gazing everywhere but at each other before both letting out deep sighs.
After multiple declarations, stern warnings, and resolute decisions.
“Remember, today we’re just studying.”
“Whoever doesn’t study is a puppy!”
“Whoever kisses first is a puppy!”
“Deal! It’s promised!”
But they never learned.
Xu Zhi: “Ah!”
Chen Luzhou: “Don’t be so loud!”
…