After finishing their meal, they returned to the car. Xu Zhi eagerly reached for her phone to scan Chen Luzhou’s WeChat QR code. Chen Luzhou thought to himself, “Look at how impatient you are,” while pulling up his QR code and tossing it into the storage compartment. As he gazed at the large cinema sign in the underground parking lot, he almost blurted out, “Since we’re already here, why don’t we watch a movie first?”
“Let me add a note,” Xu Zhi said while sending him a friend request, confirming, “All three characters are your surname, right?”
That’s how Zhu Yangqi had introduced him earlier, saying all three characters were his surname. Hearing Chen Luzhou’s affirmative grunt, Xu Zhi instinctively typed in “Chen Lu Zhou” without giving it much thought. Then she remarked, “It’s tough to add you on WeChat.”
Chen Luzhou turned away from the car window, leaning back in the driver’s seat with one hand on the steering wheel. He picked up her phone that had just scanned the QR code, accepted her friend request, and swiftly typed in Xu Zhi’s name with one hand. Tossing the phone back, he started the car, his actions flowing seamlessly without pause. “Come on, don’t act smug when you’ve just gotten lucky.”
Xu Zhi nodded, “I did indeed get lucky, but you were the hardest to add.”
Chen Luzhou’s hand paused briefly as he shifted gears, glancing at her, “What do you mean I was the hardest?”
“Last time when I went to Africa with my father for a conference, seriously, I had an easier time communicating with Africans than with you. They immediately gave me all their social media accounts, even their short video accounts, asking me to like and follow them.”
“… Conference in Africa?” Chen Luzhou had just driven out of the underground garage. “What does your father do?”
Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then changed the subject, “Just a regular job. By the way, your brother gives you 800 yuan a day, what does he have you do?”
Chen Luzhou felt her train of thought was truly impossible for ordinary people to follow. “Eating, drinking, and sleeping companionship. Why, are you interested?”
Xu Zhi’s phone rang at that moment. It was Cai Yingying asking if she was back yet. While replying, she said, “If your brother is willing, I wouldn’t mind, as long as he pays well.”
“Dream on,” Chen Luzhou rolled his eyes, “How can you be so thick-skinned?”
As the car turned out of the underground garage, he caught sight of a popular bubble tea shop with a long queue. He glanced down and asked her, “Want some?”
Xu Zhi followed his gaze, saw the long line, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. She wanted some but was too full. She sighed, “I want to earn some money too. Do you have any leads?”
“No leads, but coincidentally, I’ve got a money-making idea recently.”
As Chen Luzhou spoke, he parked the car by the roadside and picked up his phone. Xu Zhi thought he was going to show her his money-making plan, but he ended up ordering two cups of bubble tea.
“Aren’t you full?” Xu Zhi asked.
Chen Luzhou thought to himself, “I’m just too full of it, and you’re still playing dumb when you’ve nearly torn through the paper window.”
Chen Luzhou leaned back in the driver’s seat, one elbow resting on the car window sill, his face expressionless as he glanced at her, “… I bought two cups, are you drinking or not?”
“I’ll drink,” Xu Zhi simply wanted to hear about his money-making plan and didn’t want to argue further on this point. “Tell me about your idea?”
Chen Luzhou slightly raised an eyebrow: “Are you interested?”
You have ulterior motives, don’t you? Reaching out to my business so quickly?
“Of course,” Xu Zhi immediately said, “I’m about to start university, I can’t always rely on my family, right? I know a senior who’s impressive. She started her own business right after graduating high school and earned her first bucket of gold in just two short months during the summer break. While others were still begging their parents for more monthly allowance, she was already paying salaries to others.”
“That is pretty impressive.”
Chen Luzhou might be aloof, but he had always been generous in acknowledging others’ excellence.
Xu Zhi nodded, then suddenly sighed, “But it’s a bit of a pity later on. Because she earned so much money, she felt that studying wasn’t interesting anymore and dropped out in her sophomore year. Then she met her current husband, and now her marriage is in trouble and her career has taken a nosedive. Men are really scary.”
Chen Luzhou gave her a look that said, “You have the nerve to say that,” glancing at her.
You, with your seamless transitions, aren’t in a position to say such things.
“You probably can’t participate in this project of mine,” he said.
If I let you into my business now, how am I supposed to manage in the future?
“What project?” Xu Zhi asked.
Chen Luzhou checked his phone for the bubble tea order status – still 10 people in queue. He locked his phone, and as the midday sun was glaring, he slightly lowered his seat and leaned back, closing his eyes as if resting. His head tilted back, Adam’s apple prominently visible, looking quite clean-cut and ascetic, but his words were quite bold: “Chat companionship.”
Xu Zhi looked at him in shock: “Nude… chatting?” Then, slowly and scrutinizingly, she scanned him from top to bottom, “Can I buy a five-yuan preview first?”
Chen Luzhou turned his head to look at her: “…”
With that imagination of yours, even a frog passing by would have to clarify, “I’m not a toad.”
Xu Zhi was still quite curious, “Can you make money from this?”
“You want to do it to make money?” Chen Luzhou picked up his phone and aimlessly scrolled through it, asking her coolly.
“If it’s just chatting, sure, who can’t talk? If it’s nude chatting, I’d have to think about it.”
“This is something you need to think about?”
Xu Zhi couldn’t tell from his tone whether he meant she must do it or must not do it. After all, she was quite interested in making money with him, he seemed like someone who could earn a lot, given his many skills.
Xu Zhi: “For now, I won’t do it.”
Xu Zhi firmed up her resolve, hmm, won’t do it.
Chen Luzhou: …
When the bubble tea arrived, Chen Luzhou lowered the car window to receive it, passing one cup to Xu Zhi. Seeing Xu Zhi take it without looking up, her eyes intently focused on playing Fight the Landlord with Cai Yingying on her phone, Chen Luzhou leaned back in the driver’s seat, his gaze coldly glancing at her, thinking, “You just have to use WeChat to talk? Can’t you talk now?”
As a result, the entire journey passed in silence.
Chen Luzhou didn’t drive particularly fast, passing through the verdant mountains of Canran Siji, the brimming and soul-stirring vast sea, and the fluffy cotton candy-like white clouds jostling in the sky, hiding gentle emotions. He had never found these sceneries particularly lush before, but throughout the journey of picturesque landscapes, Xu Zhi didn’t look up or speak, fully concentrated on figuring out how to keep her Rocket to the end of the card game.
“You have nothing to say?” he asked.
Xu Zhi finally looked up from her phone, “Huh? What should I say?”
“Didn’t you say earlier that you had something to tell me?”
Xu Zhi made an “oh” sound, played a Three, and looked at him suspiciously, “Didn’t Zhu Yangqi tell you? Cai Yingying made plans with him for a late-night snack, why don’t we all talk together later?”
You aren’t afraid of others knowing!
Chen Luzhou parked the car back in Fu Yuqing’s backyard, thinking about whether to ask Fu Yuqing to advise her not to be so reckless. As luck would have it, he saw Fu Yuqing coming out of the tea room, holding the leash of his inseparable dog, thundering into the phone: “Well, you tell him, I’m just running a guesthouse, not a police station. His wife comes here to cheat with a mistress, and I’m supposed to stop them for him?”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
**
When Chen Luzhou went upstairs, Zhu Yangqi was discussing the location for the late-night snack with Cai Yingying. Although the resort wasn’t large, it offered a wide variety of cuisines. Fu Yuqing was undoubtedly someone who knew how to enjoy life. Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, Hangzhou cuisine, and even Northeast Chinese stew were available, with the restaurant supplying dishes based on the ingredients of the day.
Unfortunately, today was Sichuan cuisine day, and all four of them didn’t eat spicy food very well.
Chen Luzhou was okay, but the other three would stick out their tongues at the mere sight of chili. So Cai Yingying suggested a change of plans: “Why don’t we go to the bar downstairs for drinks instead!”
Zhu Yangqi wholeheartedly agreed.
Xu Zhi, playing Fight the Landlord on the phone, lazily said she didn’t mind either way.
The three of them had created a dinner group chat at some point and had added Chen Luzhou too. His phone was just lying on the bedside table, vibrating numerous times, but he didn’t look at it, too lazy to even lift an eyelid. He seemed to be asleep, not even wearing a shirt, exposing his broad, smoothly contoured back as he lay motionless on the bed.
But Zhu Yangqi knew he wasn’t asleep.
The three were still in a voice chat in the group, and Zhu Yangqi asked Xu Zhi: “Did you take him out to plow fields? Why does he come back as tired as an old ox?”
“Shut up, Zhu Yangqi.” Someone finally spoke up, face half-buried in the pillow, voice muffled.
Xu Zhi, still playing Fight the Landlord on her end, kept playing bomb cards and said: “I don’t know, but he seemed to have a great time playing with the little girl.”
Chen Luzhou, lying on the bed, rolled his eyes in exasperation, thinking, “You still have the energy to be jealous.”
He lazily stretched out his hand, picked up the phone from the bedside table, and wordlessly tossed it to Zhu Yangqi.
“Help me charge it, the plug is on your side.” His voice sounded genuinely tired.
Zhu Yangqi casually asked, “You didn’t bring a power bank?”
“Lost it who knows where long ago,” he said.
Zhu Yangqi made an “ah” sound, “Didn’t you lend it to Xu Zhi that day?” He called out to Xu Zhi in the group chat, “Hey sis, did you return Chen Luzhou’s power bank?”
Xu Zhi was a bit confused too, unable to recall, “That night, I think… I returned it?”
Chen Luzhou, still lying on the bed with his eyes closed, lazily interjected, his voice clear, “No—”
Xu Zhi thought carefully. At the time, she had followed Chen Luzhou to pay the bill and casually unplugged the power bank. After paying, she didn’t go back, instead following Chen Luzhou to his place to bake sweet potatoes. In the end, Cai Yingying and Zhu Yangqi closed up the shop, but they both said they hadn’t taken it.
“Then it must have been left at the shop. I’m sorry, I’ll buy you a new one,” Xu Zhi said.
“Don’t buy it, he buys so many power banks it’s all the same, they all disappear after a few days anyway. Alright, no worries, he’s got money. So, we’re set for tonight, see you later.”
Zhu Yangqi hurriedly wrapped up and exited the voice chat. After hanging up, he climbed down from the bed to use the bathroom. While lifting the toilet lid, he spouted off to Chen Luzhou outside: “You see, this approach is the same as that girl who used to chase you, right? Borrowing your power bank and pretending to forget to return it, isn’t this just an excuse to see you again?”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
Zhu Yangqi finished using the toilet and came out. Seeing no response, he picked up a pillow and threw it at Chen Luzhou, “Stop playing dead, I know you never sleep during the day.”
Chen Luzhou finally decided to turn over. He picked up the pillow, and lazily sat up, leaning against the headboard, his eyes searching around, “Got any cigarettes?”
Zhu Yangqi pulled out a pack of his treasured double-burst cigarettes from the drawer and tossed it to him, his expression incredibly surprised, “Didn’t you smoke?”
Chen Luzhou leisurely tore open the packaging, pulled out a cigarette, and put it between his lips. He rummaged through the drawers for a lighter but couldn’t find one. He casually picked up the matchbox from the bedside table, slowly pulled out a match, and struck it languidly, “Never tried, let’s see.”
Almost becoming the other woman, what’s left that I can’t do?
Zhu Yangqi clicked his tongue.
“She broke up with Tan Xu,” he added as he lowered his head to light the cigarette.
Zhu Yangqi was stunned, dragging a chair over in a panic, “You bastard, don’t tell me you stole someone’s girlfriend?”
Chen Luzhou was annoyed too, glancing at him as he extinguished the match, “No, but I almost said something. I don’t know why, but with her, I just find it… hard to refuse.”
“What do you mean by ‘hard to refuse’?”
“I can’t quite explain it, cough cough—” Chen Luzhou was completely inexperienced with smoking. After two puffs, he was choking badly, as if he’d inhaled cat hair. His chest was itching, and he coughed again, “How the hell was I supposed to know I’d be this bothered by her now? She even has a boyfriend.”
Zhu Yangqi: “It’s not her you’re bothered by! You’re bothered that she has a boyfriend!”
Chen Luzhou didn’t respond. He stubbed out the cigarette, vowing never to smoke again—it was unbearably difficult. Zhu Yangqi quickly snatched it away, “You’re wasting it, man! This is my last pack, and I still have two paintings to submit!”
“You’re disgusting,” Chen Luzhou was exasperated.
Zhu Yangqi continued smoking, calmed down a bit, and said, “Although Xu Zhi is indeed very pretty, especially looking clean and intelligent.”
That’s what they call the most popular look now, the pure yet seductive appearance, right? Zhu Yangqi remembered the term.
“But there have been girls who pursued you before who were no less beautiful than her. You even rejected Gu Yan so decisively,” Zhu Yangqi analyzed systematically. “What’s different about her compared to other girls? There’s only one thing—she has a boyfriend.”
Chen Luzhou looked up at him, “And then?”
Zhu Yangqi sighed, feeling his analysis was spot-on: “So, what you actually can’t resist isn’t her, but this feeling—this excitement, this taboo, this secretive sensation. Chen Luzhou, this is a sickness! You need treatment!”
“…Get lost.”
**
The bar at Fu Yu Resort was sparsely populated, a pure relaxation music bar with an impressive selection of wines. However, there were no resident singers because the resort was too remote, and given Fu Yuqing’s temperament, no one was willing to come so far to work for him. So, occasionally, when Fu Yuqing was in the mood, he would go up and sing a couple of songs himself.
Fortunately, he wasn’t in the mood today.
Xu Zhi and her friends arrived early. The bar had only a few lazy patrons, with just a few ambiguous, flickering mood lamps intimately nestled in the corners. The music gently settled into various cocktail glasses, and they immediately felt immersed in the atmosphere.
Before coming, Cai Yingying had blocked Zhai Xiao. After that night, they hadn’t been in contact for a long time. Zhai Xiao had pursued her for two days without any follow-up. Today, he suddenly posted photos of Chai Jingjing on his Moments. Cai Yingying had initially wanted to ask him why, but after countless times zooming in on Chai Jingjing’s photos and even having professionals remove the beauty filters, Cai Yingying suddenly fell silent. She didn’t even dare to question him anymore. Although Cai Yingying felt this was shallow, at her age, it was indeed heartbreaking. Chai Jingjing was so beautiful and could even attend the same university as him. This was a huge blow to Cai Yingying!
“I want to repeat a year,” Cai Yingying ordered a mojito, watching the fluorescent green mint leaves floating on the surface, and said to Xu Zhi, “I want to get into the same university as Zhai Xiao and Chai Jingjing. I want to show Zhai Xiao that I’m no worse than her.”
“Yingying, I support you if you want to study hard,” Xu Zhi knew Cai Yingying too well—she would act on every whim. She sighed, “But I think finding someone to beat him up would be quicker and more satisfying.”
“Beat who up?” Zhu Yangqi’s voice came from behind.
“A scumbag,” Cai Yingying replied without turning around, downing her mojito. Seeing only him, she asked, “Where’s Chen Luzhou?”
“He’s with Old Fu, discussing the tea mountain photoshoot,” Zhu Yangqi pulled out the chair opposite and sat down, greeting with a smile, “Long time no see, Parrot Sister.”
Cai Yingying was already upset, and hearing this, tears welled up, “Xu Zhi!”
Xu Zhi was still playing Fight the Landlord, having won back all the game coins the old lady had lost. Without looking up, like an emotionless gaming machine, she pretended to threaten Zhu Yangqi: “Don’t provoke her, or I’ll have Uncle Fu come sing a couple of songs.”
Zhu Yangqi: “…”
“That’s right,” Cai Yingying also retorted, “Zhu Yangqi, do you have a secret crush on me? Otherwise, why didn’t you greet Xu Zhi?”
Zhu Yangqi: “I did greet her. You’re the parrot, she’s the sister.”
Cai Yingying: “Zhu Yangqi, are you asking for death?”
Zhu Yangqi stopped joking, “Alright, don’t cry over a guy. When you get into a good university, you’ll discover an even crueler reality—those better than you won’t be interested in you, and you won’t be interested in those worse than you. So you’ll be forever single. The best solution is not to go to university, not to see the world, then we won’t be hurt by worldly matters.”
“Bah, then why don’t you burn your art certificate first?”
Zhu Yangqi smiled thick-skinnedly, holding the menu and looking back. He happened to see a tall, familiar figure entering from the door. Honestly, even for Zhu Yangqi, who spent every day around Chen Luzhou and should theoretically be aesthetically fatigued as a good friend, he was still occasionally stunned by Chen Luzhou’s appearance, like today.
Nothing was particularly different, but his eyebrows seemed more striking, his features clearer and more delicate, his contours smooth, his hair soft—everything more pleasing to the eye than usual.
He had washed himself squeaky clean, presenting himself on a silver platter.
To be honest, Chen Luzhou hadn’t deliberately dressed up. He had just gotten his pants dirty while helping Chen Xingqi pack up his painting supplies, so he went back to take a shower. It was just a shower; he didn’t even blow-dry his hair. So he felt he was still being restrained. Not giving her too much face.
However, Xu Zhi wasn’t giving him any face at all.
From the moment he sat down, she hadn’t looked up at him once, remaining intently focused on playing Fight the Landlord on her phone. She had been playing all day, her style crude, even fierce. If her cards were good, she would play to the maximum in one round, directly zeroing out the other two players’ happy beans. If her cards were bad, she would play passively. Understanding dawned—she was purely helping others earn happy beans. He used to help Chen Xingqi earn happy beans the same way. Playing to the maximum in one go.
No one spoke. Xu Zhi concentrated on playing for beans, Cai Yingying was immersed in post-breakup emotions and couldn’t pull herself out, Chen Luzhou just leaned back without speaking, and Zhu Yangqi pulled out his phone and furiously texted Chen Luzhou.
Dad: I feel like this atmosphere is a bit off.
Cr: When did you change your WeChat name?
Dad: Never mind when I changed it. I’m just curious now, what exactly does she want to tell you? Is she going to say, “I broke up with Tan Xu, can I pursue you now?” Or is it “You’re rich, right? Can you lend me some money?” I strongly suspect it’s the latter.
Cr: Change your name back, or I’ll block you.
Xu Zhi finished playing for beans and sent the account back to the old lady. She finally put down her phone and noticed that her view across the table was obstructed—someone had sat down. “Oh, you’re here.”
She casually glanced over. Black clothes, black pants, clean-cut yet casual. A black baseball cap on his head accentuated his smooth contours. With the brim shading his eyes, they seemed unusually deep, not as cool as usual. Just leaning there, his chest broad and flat, exuding a sense of security. Indeed slender, very handsome. Suddenly, she could understand Chen Luzhou’s occasional narcissism. A boy like this must be quite popular at school. If not swarmed by admirers, there would be a long line of girls pursuing him.
Chen Luzhou tossed his phone on the table, “…Been sitting here for ten minutes.”
Xu Zhi made an “oh” sound, “Want something to drink? I just ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. This tea doesn’t taste good at all.”
Chen Luzhou couldn’t be bothered to explain to her that Long Island Iced Tea wasn’t tea, it was alcohol.
Xu Zhi had been thinking all along about how to explain this matter in a way that would be convincing to Chen Luzhou. But sometimes people are like this—you can imagine a scene in your head a hundred times, but often when it happens, it turns out to be a completely different hundred-and-first version. But no matter what, at least she had to make Chen Luzhou’s mood pleasant; that way, it would be easier to tell the story.
“What kind of music do you like?” Xu Zhi asked.
“Whatever.”
“Then you should have a drink. I’m afraid you won’t be able to listen if you don’t drink a bit for this matter.”
“Just say it.”
“Alright, I’ll say it then.” Xu Zhi glanced at Cai Yingying beside her.
“Mm.”
Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, looking at Xu Zhi with an unchanged expression. On the contrary, Zhu Yangqi’s heart was pounding. It was as if he could see Cupid slowly drawing back an arrow, the shaft quivering, but not knowing where it would be fired. He was inexplicably more nervous than Chen Luzhou.
If this arrow hits the heart, so be it. He’d congratulate them. But if it shoots elsewhere, he decided he’d beat up Xu Zhi for making his buddy even start smoking.
“Wait a minute.” Zhu Yangqi suddenly spoke up.
All three turned to look at him. Even Xu Zhi looked over in confusion. Chen Luzhou, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, impatiently tilted his head slightly, thinking, “What’s it to you? What are you waiting for?”
“My shoelace is loose. Let me tie it first.” Zhu Yangqi put on a stance as if he were about to hear some big gossip.
“…You’re sick,” Cai Yingying wouldn’t humor him. As soon as Zhu Yangqi bent down before his hand could even touch his shoelace, Cai Yingying blurted out, “Xu Zhi just wants to meet your mom, by any means necessary.”
So, she still wants to be his girlfriend.
Chen Luzhou shifted uncomfortably, slightly adjusting his cap brim. He coughed, and feeling that wasn’t obvious enough to show his hesitation, he coughed heavily again. “What do you mean by ‘any means necessary’?”
“It means that if you say she has to be your girlfriend to meet your mom, Xu Zhi would agree,” Cai Yingying said.
Chen Luzhou: “…Xu Zhi, you think I’m interested in you?”
How the hell did you come to that conclusion?
Xu Zhi hurriedly said, “No, there are some things I can explain to you later. I tried to add you on WeChat purely because I just wanted to meet Auntie once. If you think it’s inconvenient, that’s fine, but I’m not so narcissistic as to think you’d be interested in me.”
As she spoke, Xu Zhi pushed her phone with WeChat open towards him, “Look, I haven’t bothered you since adding you on WeChat, right? I don’t have any other intentions towards you. I haven’t even opened any photos in your Moments.”
Because opening them was very slow, with little loading circles, it indeed showed she had no interest in him.
But Chen Luzhou only noticed the name she had saved him as—Chen Lu Zhou.
Chen Luzhou tossed the phone back: “The ‘Lu’ in ‘twists and turns’, thanks.”