The talk of a blind date was quite an exaggeration. In reality, it was just that a child of one of his mother’s colleagues at the TV station was also preparing to study abroad. They happened to choose the same continent. Since Chen Luzhou was a boy, and the two families knew each other well, he was asked to look after the girl. Chen Luzhou couldn’t refuse this request, so he sat nonchalantly at the dining table. However, he never once raised his eyes throughout the entire meal, not even glancing at what the girl looked like. His WeChat kept buzzing incessantly, and despite several glares from Lian Hui, he showed no signs of restraint.
Meanwhile, Zhu Yangqi watched as Xu Zhi and Chen Xingqi engaged in a battle of wits, constantly updating Chen Luzhou on the situation via phone.
Cr: [Where did Xu Zhi take him?]
Zhu Yangqi: [To a foot massage parlor. Xu Zhi said his feet stink so badly she couldn’t bear to enter the room. Chen Xingqi’s face turned green with anger. Can you imagine anyone daring to be so dismissive of him in your family?]
Cr: […Youngsters’ bodies are growing, it’s normal to be a bit smelly. Why go to a foot massage parlor?]
Zhu Yangqi: [Aren’t you on a blind date?]
Cr: [Are you sick? I told you it’s not a blind date, I’m just asked to look after someone.]
A moment later, Zhu Yangqi received another message.
Cr: [When she heard I was going on a blind date, did she not say anything?]
Zhu Yangqi: [She did say something. She asked if you still want this business. She’s waiting to take over. Didn’t you two go drinking last night? Nothing happened?]
Take over my ass.
Cr: [Just chatting, split the bill, couldn’t be more platonic. Satisfied? Ask again and I’ll block you.]
At the dining table, the parents from both families continued their small talk, making plans to visit Liverpool together during the station’s holidays to see their children and do some sightseeing. The young lady beside them blushed at their words, feeling as if this was a blind date. She wasn’t sure if she was reading too much into it, but her mother’s words seemed to hint at something. However, she already had a boyfriend, though she hadn’t dared to tell her parents yet. Her boyfriend had also decided to go to Liverpool with her. At the moment, she could only secretly glance at the handsome young man beside her, surprised that even the aunt’s son was so good-looking.
Chen Luzhou had barely touched his chopsticks. He stopped responding to Zhu Yangqi and casually opened Xu Zhi’s WeChat. The latest message was still the one he had recalled, and she hadn’t replied or asked what he had withdrawn.
With a cold expression, he stared at his phone under the table, his fingers flying over the keypad. He was used to the 26-key layout, so he typed quickly with both hands.
— Don’t you have any feelings at all? For me.
After typing, he stared at it expressionlessly for a long time but still didn’t press the send button.
Until Madam Lian Hui called him, Chen Luzhou sighed somewhat wearily, deleted the message, and obediently responded, “Hmm?”
Madam Lian Hui put down her chopsticks, “Your father’s back. Uncle Liu had to take Director Yang back to the station for an emergency meeting. Drive to the airport to pick up your father, and drop off Huihui at the subway station on the way. She’s meeting friends to go shopping this afternoon.”
A roundabout way to get to the point, Chen Luzhou thought. So his father was back, and his mother wasn’t trying to set him up on a blind date just yet. Chen Luzhou stood up unhurriedly, “Alright, come with me.”
“Then, Mom, Aunt Lian, I’m leaving,” the girl stood up shyly.
“Go on, come back early.”
Chen Luzhou slowly drove out of the underground parking garage. After get
Ting in the car, Huihui didn’t initiate any conversation with him, continuously texting someone instead. As they neared the subway station, the person on the other end urgently called her. It was a male voice. Huihui hurriedly said she’d be there soon and hung up.
“Boyfriend?” Chen Luzhou asked.
Huihui hadn’t expected him to talk to her, “Um, yes. Please don’t tell my parents. We’re planning to go to Liverpool together, so you don’t need to worry. Once we’re there, I won’t trouble you.”
Chen Luzhou felt he should explain. He slowly pressed the brake at a red light, casually resting his elbow on the car window, glancing at her, “What happened at the dining table wasn’t about you. It’s an issue between my mom and me.”
“Aunt Lian is quite nice,” Huihui said, “She’s quite proud of you. She often tells my mom and others at work how excellent you are. My mom says she just acts tough but has a soft heart. When I saw how tense things were between you earlier, I thought your relationship was strained. But you can tell she cares about you a lot.”
“I know.”
“Are there many handsome guys and beautiful girls in your high school? We went there for a ball game before. Your gym is huge.”
Chen Luzhou released the brake and drove through the green light. He felt the conversation was heading in an odd direction, so he just gave a noncommittal “Mm” and ended the topic.
Huihui wanted to say, “Should we exchange WeChat–“
After passing the traffic light and turning a corner, they were at the subway station. Chen Luzhou promptly stopped the car at the roadside. He casually jerked his chin towards a boy standing on the sidewalk with a backpack, holding a phone, his neck craned as if waiting for someone. Without bothering to check if it was her boyfriend, he abruptly cut her off, “Is that your boyfriend?”
Of course, it wasn’t. Huihui’s boyfriend was waiting for her at the Starbucks in the mall. But she sensed that Chen Luzhou didn’t want to add her on WeChat, and this was just a polite way of refusing. She didn’t explain, just silently opened the car door and got out.
…
On the way to the airport, the neatly trimmed greenery on both sides of the road whizzed past Chen Luzhou’s window. He followed the airport signs, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief. What Zhu Yangqi said was wrong.
He didn’t like taboos, nor did he seek thrills, and he certainly wasn’t interested in other people’s girlfriends. He truly only had feelings for Xu Zhi.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
After what Zhu Yangqi had said that day, he thought he might be that perverted and had spent a long time searching online.
— Is it a disease to be unable to resist someone else’s girlfriend?
He didn’t come to any conclusion, but he did find a guy sharing his experience of unrequited love online. Neither he nor the girl acknowledged their feelings, and it eventually developed into a friends-with-benefits situation. They even slept together, but the girl never gave him a proper relationship status.
Chen Luzhou thought to himself, that if Xu Zhi ever treated him like that, he’d probably never speak to her again. But he never imagined that he would later become quite diligent in pursuing her. Of course, that’s a story for another time.
Chen Jishen’s flight was delayed by half an hour. Chen Luzhou leaned rather inelegantly against the car door for half an hour. When he finally heard the distant sound of rolling suitcases, he straightened up lazily from the car door and called out, “Dad.”
Chen Luzhou had always been sweet-tongued since he was young.
Especially when he first came to live with them. After all, he was already over six years old then. Chen Jishen was worried that he might not be willing to call them Mom and Dad in this unfamiliar environment, so he kept telling him it was fine to just call them Uncle and Aunt. But to Chen Jishen’s surprise, Chen Luzhou called them Mom and Dad right from the start, which startled Chen Jishen greatly. He was truly delighted and couldn’t stop grinning all night, telling Lian Hui that Chen Luzhou was his eldest son.
Chen Jishen had always treated him as his own. Whatever Chen Xingqi had, Chen Luzhou had too. Many things Chen Xingqi uses now were hand-me-downs from Chen Luzhou. Chen Jishen knew he liked watching movies. Back then, the family wasn’t as well-off as they are now. One year, when they went on a trip to Spain, Chen Jishen learned that Chen Luzhou hadn’t bought the audio equipment he wanted because he had used the money to buy an easel for Chen Xingqi. So Chen Jishen gave up buying a suit and instead bought the audio equipment for him. Lian Hui said he was crazy, a suit could be worn for ten years, but how long would this audio equipment last?
Chen Jishen smiled and said, “It might not last ten years, but if it makes our son happy, I’ll buy it.”
So that time, when Chen Luzhou told him he was going abroad and said, “Don’t worry, you’ve raised me for so many years, I’ll still take care of you and be there for your funeral,” Chen Jishen thought he was severing ties with them, which was why he got angry and slapped him.
No one spoke in the car. Secretary Wang sensed the strange tension and pretended to be on a phone call the entire journey. Chen Luzhou indeed had a strong character, which Chen Jishen felt he had cultivated. He didn’t think it was a bad thing; a boy with a strong character would be less likely to be easily defeated when facing setbacks in the future.
But Chen Luzhou’s character was so strong it could probably be used to make a potent herbal soup. After so many days, he hadn’t made a single phone call.
“What have you been busy with lately?” Chen Jishen anxiously looked at his phone, then out the window, before finally settling his gaze on his son’s face.
Chen Luzhou was driving, merging onto the elevated highway. His expression was much calmer than his father’s as he casually replied, “Accompanying Chen Xingqi painting at the resort.”
“…”
“Luzhou,” Chen Jishen paused before deciding to break the deadlock, “Dad didn’t mean to that day–“
“Mm, I know. You don’t need to apologize,” Chen Luzhou said sincerely. The car was quiet and cramped, with only the rhythmic ticking of the turn signal. “I was indeed out of line that day. I understand your and Mom’s concerns. I don’t feel there’s anything wrong. You’ve been so good to me for over a decade. If I can’t even agree to this much for you, it wouldn’t be right.”
“When you come back,” Chen Jishen said seriously, “Dad will put the riverside villa in your name.”
The car slowly turned into the underground parking garage. Chen Luzhou skillfully parked in the underground lot. Looking in the rearview mirror while reversing, he laughed carelessly, “We’ll see. Who knows, I might find a girlfriend in Liverpool and settle down there.”
The villa’s front door was pushed open. Seeing the two of them enter with a harmonious atmosphere, Lian Hui felt relieved. The villa’s air conditioning was set low. She stood up from the sofa, taking the briefcase from Chen Jishen’s hand. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders; that blanket was always with her, regardless of the season. She said softly to Chen Luzhou, “I heard you coughing this morning. Did you catch a chill up in the mountains? I just had Zhang Ayi make a pot of snow pear soup in the kitchen. Go have a couple of sips.”
“Okay.”
He had just sat down but lazily stood up again.
As soon as Chen Luzhou entered the kitchen, Madam Lian Hui followed him in. She saw him leaning against the Western-style counter, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the bowl, drinking the soup directly from the rim in a slovenly manner. The words “Drink slowly, be careful it’s hot” that was about to leave her lips changed to, “Can’t you behave properly? Will your hand fall off if you use a spoon?”
Chen Luzhou sighed, pulled out a spoon from the drawer, and said shamelessly, “Mom, I won’t even watch Sichuan opera face-changing performances if you’re not in them.”
“Stop being glib.” Madam Lian Hui wanted to come in and explain, “I didn’t arrange for you to go on a blind date with Yang Huihui. I tricked you into coming back because I wanted you to have a good talk with your father. He hasn’t been able to sleep well for several nights.” Who knew it would coincide so perfectly with Director Yang bringing his daughter over for a visit?
Chen Luzhou sipped the soup leisurely and looked at her, “Your temper is so hot, want me to pour you a bowl?”
“What did your dad say to you when he came back?”
“Nothing much, just said that when I come back to China, he’ll put the riverside villa in my name. I said we’ll see, I might not plan to come back.”
Lian Hui, who was adjusting her shawl, paused slightly. When Chen Luzhou said this, his eyes were too calm, like a dead pond. She felt an inexplicable panic in her heart. She had always known that this son of hers had a shrewd heart beneath his carefree appearance. He always seemed to go with the flow, but he processed all his emotions internally.
“We never said you couldn’t come back. Why are you castrating yourself here? We never intended to drive you out of the family. Your father meant for you to stay abroad for a few years, and when you come back, we can arrange a job for you. There are plenty of positions in your father’s company now, you can take your pick when you return. You know that what you can easily get now is something others might not achieve even after a lifetime of effort–“
“And then what? You’ll arrange a suitable girlfriend for me, and my life will be all neatly arranged by you like this? Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to come back, it’s that I can’t see hope and freedom when I’m with you, do you understand? I know you’ve been very good to me from childhood, but now I finally understand what it means that all the gifts bestowed by fate have already been priced in secret. Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for all along?”
Lian Hui felt her brain was like an old, worn-out tape recorder, turning sluggishly. By the time she reacted, Chen Luzhou had already left. Only the bowl he had just drunk from remained on the empty counter. Perhaps because he hadn’t finished the pear soup, she only felt her lips were dry and tight, and her heart ached. What still echoed in her ears were his parting words.
“So, Mom, even if you decide not to let me go abroad, I’ve decided to leave anyway. Because I can’t possibly be like a dog, guarding the door for you.”
**
Before returning to the resort, Chen Luzhou called Zhu Yangqi to ask what he should bring up. At the time, Zhu Yangqi was playing landlords with Xu Zhi and the others, his face covered in white strips, a playing card clenched between his teeth. He was slowly calculating the cards in his head when he received the call. He mumbled, “Bring a few packs of noodles, and don’t forget your brother’s water. Buy whatever else you want.”
Chen Luzhou was in the supermarket, the same one he had visited with Xu Zhi before. It was quiet and almost empty. He held the phone while browsing the alcohol section, a black baseball cap on his head. He tilted his head back, his gaze wandering lazily over the shelves as he picked and chose.
He remembered a fruit wine he had drunk before in Spain.
“Where are the two of them?” he casually asked as he picked up a bottle of wine and glanced at its origin.
Zhu Yangqi had finally called the landlord and was planning to make a big move to win back everything he had lost earlier. He was in no mood to talk on the phone, so he simply tossed the phone to Xu Zhi without a word, “Here, you talk to him yourself.”
Xu Zhi looked at the name displayed on the phone screen, “Cy Zhou,” before vaguely holding the phone to her ear, “Chen Luzhou?”
“Mm.”
Chen Luzhou had picked up two bottles of wine and was at the checkout. His baseball cap was pulled low as he half-jokingly replied, “Which one?”
Xu Zhi immediately thought of the nickname he had saved for him, realizing he was looking for trouble. “The ‘short-circuited’ Luzhou.”
“Then never mind. I was just going to bring you a bottle to try,” he replied with a smile.
Xu Zhi shot back, “It’s a winding road, and all paths lead to Rome!”
As he pushed the door open, his mood brightened considerably, though he still remarked, “It’s getting late.”