Chen Luzhou had always been this way since childhood. If he could solve a problem with words, he would never resort to physical action. Most of the time, men fight for the thrill of it, not for any particular outcome. Once the fight is over, they feel satisfied. But Chen Luzhou never participated in such mutually destructive affairs, mainly because he feared getting hurt. Any visible injuries would earn him a scolding from his mother.
However, boys at that age were at their most impulsive, their blood boiling with aggression. How could they not get into fights? So on several previous occasions, when Jiang Chengzhu and the others got into conflicts on the basketball court, knowing that Young Master Chen was a “mama’s boy” who only listened to his mother, they automatically excluded him from their brawls. Before things got physical, they would strip off their jackets and toss them to him in unison, telling him to stay on the sidelines and watch their belongings like a good boy.
The heavy rain had just subsided, leaving few pedestrians on the street. Even onlookers were scarce. Puddles of rainwater shimmered on the ground. Chen Luzhou sat sprawled on a vendor’s chair, nonchalantly enjoying Xu Zhi’s nail care service. He glanced at the artistic-looking man and said lazily, “Aren’t you leaving yet? Do I need to call the police?”
He was protecting her.
The woman apologized to Xu Zhi without even saying goodbye to the man. She slung her bag over her shoulder and left immediately.
The artistic man glared fiercely at Chen Luzhou before hurrying after her.
Chen Luzhou watched until their figures disappeared at the end of the long street before turning back, satisfied. He instinctively tried to withdraw his hand, but Xu Zhi firmly pulled it back, focusing on applying nail polish to his ring finger. “Don’t move, I’m almost done.”
“You’re painting them?” Chen Luzhou complained reluctantly but kept his hand still.
The stall had only two folding desk lamps. The incandescent light illuminated his fingernails clearly and cleanly, revealing long, distinct knuckles and neatly trimmed nails. It would be a shame not to paint such beautiful hands, Xu Zhi thought enthusiastically. As she carefully applied the nail polish, she said, “Of course, this was your request.”
Chen Luzhou narrowed his eyes and leaned in to examine her eyes under the lamp light. He clicked his tongue and said, “Why do I feel like you’re repaying kindness with ingratitude?”
“Not at all,” Xu Zhi smiled, knowing she had to humor his young master’s temperament. She pleaded sweetly, “Just one nail? Please? I haven’t had any customers today.”
Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a long while before asking vaguely, “Is it easy to remove?”
“Very easy to remove, let her paint one!” chimed in the middle-aged sister selling stockings and underwear next door, smiling at the two of them.
“…Fine, just the ring finger then,” Chen Luzhou conceded.
Xu Zhi nodded, “How about I paint a ring design?”
“That works.”
“Is black okay?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Just then, a hungry voice interjected, “Chen Luzhou, did you bring your phone?”
Chen Luzhou turned towards the voice and realized that Cai Yingying had also set up a phone screen protector stall nearby. He was about to decline politely, saying he never used screen protectors.
“Why don’t you let Yingying apply a screen protector for you?” Xu Zhi suggested without looking up, focused on searching for ring designs on her phone.
Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, sighed, and tossed his phone to Cai Yingying, telling her to apply whatever she wanted. He turned back to Xu Zhi and said sarcastically, “You really know how to make the most of everything, don’t you? You won’t pack up until you’ve squeezed me dry, huh? Should I call Zhu Yangqi and the others over to support your business?”
“I learned it from you,” Xu Zhi replied casually, still not looking up as she searched for similar pattern stickers in her box. “You tricked me into worshipping the fertility goddess, and I haven’t settled that score with you yet.”
“Oh? Then why haven’t you come to settle it?” he asked, somehow managing to sound righteous despite his provocative tone.
“Busy,” she replied simply.
“Busy with what?” He didn’t believe she was too busy to even send a WeChat message. He sneered, “You just use me as a chatbot, only thinking of me when you have questions, right?”
“Hey, I offered to pay you, but you didn’t take it,” Xu Zhi defended herself innocently. Still focused on her task, she used tweezers to carefully select a ring shape from the small boxes of decorative items. She asked him casually, “Do you want a diamond ring or a plain one?”
“Whatever,” he replied coldly.
“Let’s go with a plain one then. Diamond rings require attaching crystals.”
Chen Luzhou felt indignant, “What, you think I can’t afford it?”
Xu Zhi paused and looked up at him, confused, “No, I just thought you wouldn’t like something so sparkly.”
“Let’s do the diamond ring,” he insisted, clearly determined to prove her wrong.
“Alright,” Xu Zhi smiled, preparing the nail polish. “Give me your hand.”
…
“It’s freezing, Xu Zhi! What are you doing?” Chen Luzhou jerked his hand back as soon as she touched it, startled by the cold.
Xu Zhi remained focused on her task, “Don’t move, I’m just disinfecting with alcohol.”
Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, one hand still in her grasp, and observed her coolly. “Your hands are so cold.”
Xu Zhi kept her head down, concentrating on his ring finger. She murmured a soft “Mm-hmm” and explained, “My palms were sweaty earlier, so I rinsed them in cold water.”
Chen Luzhou watched her intense focus, her eyes almost buried in her work. He thought Xu Zhi sometimes resembled those abstract painters’ most cherished old oil paintings—possessing the most exquisite techniques and structures, yet full of mysterious colors.
Her hair was soft and fine. As she painted his nails, the loose strand falling across her forehead occasionally brushed against the back of his hand, light as goose down, gently swaying like a spring breeze, teasing him almost imperceptibly.
Are you doing this on purpose? Hm?
Just as Chen Luzhou had this thought, Xu Zhi, seemingly finding it bothersome, wordlessly tucked that loose strand behind her ear.
Chen Luzhou: “…”
The street was originally quite empty, and Chen Luzhou was quite at ease with getting his nails done. But he had forgotten one crucial detail: this night market street had just opened, and the local TV station had been conducting interviews and public opinion surveys here recently. Producer Lian Hui had been working overtime on this project.
So when he heard the stocking vendor kindly remind Xu Zhi and Cai Yingying that the TV station people were coming and to be mindful of cleanliness and trash to avoid being filmed—lest the Urban Management Bureau come to shut down their stalls in a few days—Chen Luzhou didn’t think much of it at first.
It wasn’t until he heard a familiar click of high heels behind him, along with Driver Liu saying, “Director Lian, I’ll park the car first. Call me when you’re ready, and I’ll come pick you up,” that he realized the situation might be a bit awkward.
This street was originally intended to be a leisure and cultural street, but the government ultimately approved it as a night market street, mainly because Qingyi had a large young population who might prefer this type of fast-paced, consumer-oriented night market.
Lian Hui’s TV station recently had a special program focusing on the lifestyles of local young people in Qingyi. However, the first few episodes hadn’t been well-received, so today, having finished a meeting early, she decided to come conduct a public opinion survey herself, hoping to find some inspiration.
Lian Hui only recognized Chen Luzhou as she was getting out of the car. At the same time, Chen Luzhou, hearing the commotion, instinctively turned his head and spotted her too. His tall figure, sitting on a vendor’s chair in the middle of the night market street, stood out conspicuously. He looked at her with a shocked expression, but when Lian Hui realized what he was doing, her surprise turned to outright shock. She stood rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.
…
The two young reporters beside her, oblivious to the awkward situation, didn’t recognize that this was the star student son their producer Lian often proudly mentioned. They only remembered Director Lian’s emphatic words from the car ride earlier:
“Let me tell you, this is not how we should be doing news nowadays. ‘Freshman girl gets plastic surgery for boyfriend, gets scammed into nude loans, and still ends up rejected by boyfriend’—who wrote this? Did you think I wouldn’t read the original draft? The girl got plastic surgery for a competition, it had nothing to do with her boyfriend. Why did you change it like this? What’s the point, of getting more clicks? Stop always focusing on what girls do for others, focus on what girls are doing,” Lian Hui had said. At this point, she had glanced casually out the car window, not seeing who was there. With the quick wit of a UC Shock Department graduate, Lian Hui continued, “Look, ‘Cold male god gets manicure for love, his relationship with the vendor is actually like this’—that would get more clicks than your story. What era are we in? Stop making everything girls do about men. Change your perspective—a boy getting a manicure in public to please a girl, now that’s a headline for today.”
So when Chen Luzhou found himself surrounded by microphones and intense camera flashes, he knew there was likely no easy escape.
He cleverly called out “Mom” to the stiff figure behind him, his tone casual and unconcerned.
Click, click. All the camera flashes suddenly stopped, and the microphones were lowered.
Everyone turned to look at Lian Hui, whose mouth twitched uncharacteristically.
“That’s enough,” Lian Hui said, her usual grace faltering, her voice uncharacteristically stumbling as she rubbed her forehead. “He’s… under a lot of academic pressure. Um, I just heard there’s a dog that bit someone at the intersection. Go ask it why—I mean, go see how serious the situation is.”
…
Once everyone had dispersed, Lian Hui finally walked towards Chen Luzhou. She wrapped her shawl tightly around herself, her high heels clicking crisply on the ground as she carefully avoided the shimmering puddles. Elegant and noble, she resembled an ice flower or a desert wild goose—in short, her entire being, along with the well-maintained, gleaming Hermès handbag on her arm, exuded a regal air that was completely at odds with this street.
Xu Zhi was reminded of Lin Qiudie, but Madam Lin Qiudie lacked such elegant grace. She often wore a construction hat and ate with a face full of dust on the construction site, always covered in grime. She was even rough and careless, her only delicate side showing when she helped sew clothes. When Xu Zhi was young and mischievous, her clothes often got holes. Most of the time, it was Old Xu who mended them, but occasionally Lin Qiudie would help. However, she was always clumsy, rubbing each stitch one by one, blowing on her fingers after each stitch. She was endearingly simple.
Lian Hui didn’t notice the gaze fixed on her from the side. She walked straight to Chen Luzhou, adjusting his collar. “Why are you wearing so little? Aren’t you cold? Is your cold any better?”
Madam Lian Hui rarely wore short sleeves, regardless of the season. She was prone to feeling cold, so she always worried that Chen Luzhou and the others might be cold too, always feeling that the boys seemed to be wearing too little. Even in this situation, where other parents might have scolded him, her first concern was whether he was cold or not.
“It’s fine, I’m not cold,” Chen Luzhou replied.
Madam Lian Hui took his hand to examine it. Men’s manicures weren’t uncommon these days. There was a boy at their station who was genuinely enthusiastic about men’s manicures, painting all sorts of strange colors on his nails. She didn’t like it, but she knew Chen Luzhou’s personality—he was probably just playing around with some girl. So she didn’t dwell on it, instead turning her attention to Xu Zhi.
However, she was well aware that Chen Luzhou had promised her he wouldn’t date anyone domestically, so he wouldn’t mess around. Plus, this was the first time her usually indifferent son had shown any sign of weakness towards her. So Lian Hui didn’t embarrass him too much, only saying casually, “Come home tomorrow, I have something to discuss with you. Remember to wash this off your hands, don’t let your father see it.”
Cai Yingying suddenly understood why Xu Zhi had been so insistent earlier. Chen Luzhou’s mother’s voice was identical to Auntie Lin’s. Even though Madam Chen looked very gentle and spoke softly and methodically, for some reason, she gave off an oppressive, suffocating feeling that was impossible to resist.
This suffocating feeling lingered long after the lady had left. Cai Yingying felt that the air still had that stagnant taste, congealed like paste, impossible to stir no matter how hard one tried. She also suddenly understood why Zhu Yangqi always said Chen Luzhou was a mama’s boy. She wouldn’t dare to resist either. Wrapped in love’s sugar-coated bullets, who could refuse?
…
“The moment she sees him, it’s all ‘Aren’t you cold wearing so little, my precious son?’ Then in the next breath, it’s ‘Remember to wash that off your hands.’ She doesn’t respect Chen Luzhou at all. In the end, it’s just because he’s adopted. Chen Luzhou must have been in a bad mood when he left, he even forgot to take his phone with him.”
On their way back, Cai Yingying vented to Xu Zhi. Seeing that Xu Zhi didn’t respond, she continued her monologue, looking up at the full moon, “Ah, the results come out tomorrow. I’m so nervous. I’m afraid Old Cai might drop dead on the spot. Although he’s not qualified to be a father, compared to Chen Luzhou’s mother with her obvious expectation of repayment for her kindness, I still prefer Old Cai. At least he’s relaxed and comfortable.”
Moonlight spread a bright silver carpet on the ground. The wind whispered gently in her ears, and the leaves in the alley rustled softly. This bluestone path still carried the familiar damp smell of a rainy southern city. The cat on the wall meowed softly, begging for food. The broken tricycle in the corner remained unrepaired. Xu Zhi didn’t know why, but the more she saw these familiar sights, the more unfamiliar her current emotions felt.
“Yingying,” Xu Zhi suddenly stopped.
Cai Yingying stopped too, looking confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Give me Chen Luzhou’s phone,” she said.
The alley cat was still meowing. The streetlight cast a soft glow on the bluestone path, like a fluffy white carpet guiding her in that direction.
“Are you going to find him?” Cai Yingying handed over the newly screen-protected phone.
As soon as she finished speaking, a loud “boom” of thunder rolled across the sky. People in the alley hurriedly closed their windows one after another. Even the birds in the trees flapped their wings and retreated to their nests, and the cats scampered back into their wall holes, scared out of their wits.
Cai Yingying looked up at the sky, concerned about Xu Zhi’s knee. “It’s about to pour. Xu Zhi, will you be okay walking?”
“I’ll go slowly, it’ll be fine. You should head home first,” Xu Zhi said.
“Remember to go home, don’t stay overnight at his place. If Old Xu finds out, he’ll chop him up!” Cai Yingying warned.
“Cai Yingying!” Xu Zhi exclaimed.
Cai Yingying laughed with an enthusiasm that outshone everyone else, shouting and jumping on the bluestone path. She called out, “Xu Zhi, do you know what it means to like someone? It means that even on a rainy day, which you despise, you’d still go without hesitation to deliver a phone to them!”
Xu Zhi retorted, “Cai Yingying, shut up!”
“I won’t, I won’t! I just won’t!” Cai Yingying kept bouncing, her triumphant laughter echoing through the alley until it abruptly stopped—
“Hey, Xu Shu.”
Xu Guangji was holding a birdcage, his expression stoic as he asked, “Who is she delivering a phone to?”
Cai Yingying quickly responded, “A customer who loves manicures. She was getting her nails done at our place today and accidentally left her phone behind.”
“A woman?”
“Is there such a thing as a male manicure customer, Xu Shu? You’re really funny.” Cai Yingying chuckled awkwardly.
Author’s Note: A few days later, when Chen Luzhou went for a follow-up check, Xu Guangji caught sight of his ring finger.
Xu Guangji: … A customer who loves manicures? Interested in my daughter? Time to confront him. Chen Luzhou, it’s you, isn’t it?
Chen Luzhou: I admit it—I’m purely passionate about manicures.