The stairwell was too dark. Chen Luzhou, afraid she couldn’t see his expression clearly, reached for his phone only to realize he hadn’t brought it. So he took Xu Zhi’s phone, turned on the flashlight, and mimicked her earlier action by shining it on his face. He leaned towards her, trying to let her see his expression clearly, almost wanting to tap her forehead with the light. “Friend, I don’t recommend choosing your school based on train ticket prices.”
Xu Zhi smiled, keeping her phone pointed at Chen Luzhou’s face. In the pitch-black stairwell, this proximity magnified his features countless times, making them look even more exquisite. His angular contours were distinct and smooth, and the light source falling into his eyes, which were brighter than stars, was stunningly beautiful. Looking at him, she said with utmost sincerity, “Your eyelashes are so long.”
With one shoulder against the wall and the other against the door, they faced each other. Although he had withdrawn his hand and folded his arms across his chest, Xu Zhi’s flashlight was still pointed at his face. He didn’t seem to mind, just looking down at her with a slight tilt of his head. “Why are you talking about eyelashes when I’m here?”
Xu Zhi sighed, “Can you understand the heart of a poor student?”
“You, a poor student?” Chen Luzhou raised an eyebrow. “Excessive modesty is just hypocrisy, friend.”
“We met too late,” Xu Zhi said. “You can ask Cai Yingying if you don’t believe me. In my first year of high school, I was only ranked in the twenties in our class. Back then, forget about Qing University, my goal was just to secure a spot in the top two. I never even thought about 985 or 211 universities. My dad would have thought our ancestors’ graves were on fire if I could get into an ordinary first-tier university. So when the scores came out this time, my dad still didn’t believe it. He went out drinking with Uncle Cai, that’s why I snuck out to find you.”
Xu Guangji even asked if it could be someone with the same name. Xu Zhi had to match her exam registration number and ID number for him again before he dazedly went out to find Cai Binhong.
Xu Zhi continued, “Besides, I’ve checked. A University might not be a problem, but I’m worried about the risk with A University’s architecture department. I don’t want to be reassigned to a different major. Just now, a senior student explained the volunteer application process to me. She said, for example, if A University’s admission score is 720, then my file would be taken by A University. Then it enters the major-specific admission process. What if the architecture department’s admission score is 740? If I still don’t agree to be reassigned to a different major, I’ll miss out. She said that even though there are five volunteer choices, the college entrance exam follows a one-time application principle. Once the first application fails to get admitted, it means the first batch of volunteer applications is over. I’d have to wait for the second batch, and I’m afraid by then, T University’s architecture department might already be full. So the senior student suggested that T University would be a safer choice, but I could try for A University.”
That explanation didn’t clarify anything.
This year’s scores were a bit higher than usual. By normal standards, Xu Zhi’s score would be in the top ten in Zongshan. So after congratulating her and checking the provincial rankings, he felt a bit uneasy and specifically checked A University’s official website for her. After some thought, he said, “There’s a big difference between the Department of Architecture and Architecture-related majors. Take A University for example. Under the School of Architecture, besides the Department of Architecture, there are many other architecture-related majors. I just checked for you, and all their architecture-related majors combined recruit over 30 students from our province each year. Do you specifically want the Department of Architecture or just architecture-related majors?”
“What I want to study is—”
Before she could finish, there was a faint sound of a door closing upstairs. Followed by unhurried footsteps coming down from above their heads, accompanied by voices, “Tomorrow I’ll go to his school and see. What did you say that girl’s name was, Xu Zhi, right? I want to ask the teachers how many points she scored!”
The two downstairs suddenly looked at each other. Xu Zhi recognized the voices; they should be Tan Xu’s parents.
The footsteps grew closer, heartbeats pounding like drums in their ears, and the rustling of leaves outside the window sounded fearlessly loud.
Because someone was coming down, the motion-sensor light on the second floor was on. Xu Zhi saw the shadows of two middle-aged people slowly descending the stairs. As the shadows grew larger and were about to appear around the corner, her view was suddenly obstructed.
Chen Luzhou had his hand against the wall behind her, his head lowered, completely shielding her. Xu Zhi felt that familiar yet strange scent of sage invades her nostrils again, with little people dancing on her heart, stepping on it with each footfall. She looked up into his eyes, meeting his gaze. The dim light from the second-floor motion sensor cast a hazy glow behind them, blurring their vision and outlines, but their breathing was clear, with varying intensity, and warm.
Chen Luzhou’s sense of propriety was impeccable. Though his head was lowered and his eyes were on her, the distance wasn’t close. However, from behind, it looked like a young couple in love, kissing.
Tan Xu’s parents walked by, snorting disdainfully, “What kind of people live in this building? Xu Xu must have been corrupted by these people. I said we shouldn’t have transferred schools. Young people these days are shameless!”
“I didn’t agree to let Xu Xu come here in the first place. You were the one who insisted the education here was better.”
“So it’s my fault now, is it? Do you know how hard it was to raise our son to this age…”
Their voices gradually faded, along with their footsteps. The second-floor motion sensor light went off again, plunging the stairwell back into silent darkness, with only a few cicada chirps remaining.
“They’re calling you shameless,” Xu Zhi said, leaning against the wall.
Chen Luzhou, probably feeling his good intentions were misunderstood, seemed to have forgotten he was still in a kabedon position. He hadn’t moved away, just lowered his head to look at her with an extremely speechless smile. “Me? Shameless? Hm? Whose romantic debt is this? You have the nerve to call me shameless?”
“You mean Tan Xu?” Xu Zhi expressed with difficulty, “I don’t know how to explain, but it’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?” His gaze was meaningful.
“When he first transferred here, he was in a bad state. At that time, my dad’s depression was also severe. I was worried sick every day that he might commit suicide, and my grades dropped from the twenties to fortieth in the class. Tan Xu was my deskmate, so we talked a lot. One day, as I was fretting over my test papers, he asked if I wanted to get into a good university. I said, of course, only a fool wouldn’t want that, so he said he’d help me. Later, Old Qu, our head teacher, saw my grades improving and paired us up as a study group. In a spiritual sense, he was once my good teacher and honest friend, and he helped me a lot. But later, after he realized he couldn’t score higher than me, he started acting strange.”
Chen Luzhou was looking at her with deep eyes, about to ask how he acted strange.
“Creak—” Their door opened, and Zhu Yangqi’s head poked out. “Damn, did you run off with the delivery guy or what—”
As the door opened, light spilled out from the crack, and the faces of the young man and woman suddenly became clear in the darkness.
Chen Luzhou had one hand against the wall, and the arm holding the takeout bag instinctively raised to shield Xu Zhi’s face. He was about to say it wouldn’t kill you to wait when Zhu Yangqi caught sight of the scene and quickly closed the door. A faint “Sorry, you two, didn’t mean to interrupt” could be heard from the crack.
Zhu Yangqi closed the door, still recovering from the shock, patting his chest. But his mind was replaying the scene he had just witnessed.
How to put it, Chen Luzhou was just amazing at creating atmosphere. If the air around them could be collected, Zhu Yangqi thought it would probably be sweet.
In the corridor, Xu Zhi had her phone flashlight on. The air had cooled a bit. Chen Luzhou was leaning back against the door, one hand lazily propped against the door panel to prevent it from being recklessly opened again, the other hand holding the takeout. He was hesitating whether to invite her in, but worried about Zhu Yangqi’s loose talk. “Want to come in and hang out?”
Xu Zhi asked, “Who else is there?”
Chen Luzhou thought for a moment, “People you know. Feng Jin, Zhu Yangqi, and a couple. Just ignore them.”
That doesn’t seem right, Xu Zhi said, “Never mind, I should probably go back.”
He didn’t insist, just smiled, his attitude casual, “Up to you. I was thinking of using the computer inside to help you check the majors.”
“In that case, let’s go in.”
Chen Luzhou straightened up and used his fingerprint to open the door. As he was opening it, he kept looking at her, not even glancing at the fingerprint lock, and asked her leisurely, “That day in Linshi, were you waiting for me?”
Xu Zhi didn’t expect him to suddenly ask this, but she didn’t hide anything and said directly, “Mm, you tricked me into worshipping the Child-Giving Guanyin. Shouldn’t I come to settle accounts with you?”
“Then why didn’t you wait for me?”
“The receptionist said you were taken away by the police station, so I went to the police station to look for you. Then I saw you with a beautiful woman in an ancient costume. I thought you had other filming arrangements, so I left first.”
With a beep, the door opened. Chen Luzhou said nothing and closed it again, his hand propped against the door panel. He took a light breath, probably feeling speechless. He pressed his lips together, gave her a faint sidelong glance, then burst out laughing, “I give up.”
Forget it.
The next second, he opened the door again, and his voice changed, annoyed. He jerked his chin indifferently towards the inside, “Get in.”
Xu Zhi made a sound of acknowledgment.
Inside, the scene was quite lively. They were playing cards. The couple Chen Luzhou mentioned seemed like conjoined twins as if they had grown onto each other. The girl was either sitting on the boy’s lap or leaning on his shoulder, occasionally feeding him a grape or a bite of banana, and kissing from time to time.
Jiang Cheng hadn’t noticed there was an extra woman in the room. As soon as Chen Luzhou came in, he told Xu Zhi to wait for him in the bedroom. There was a partition between the living room and the entrance hall, so no one noticed when Xu Zhi walked past. Zhu Yangqi did notice, but seeing it was Xu Zhi, he instinctively helped Chen Luzhou hide her away. After all, Jiang Cheng had been getting too close to Tan Xu recently, and Zhu Yangqi had a feeling that if this continued, Jiang Cheng would eventually switch sides, and Chen Luzhou might even fall out with him.
“How are things with Tan Xu recently?” Zhu Yangqi asked tentatively.
Jiang Cheng was focused on arranging his cards, slotting them in, “Tan Xu? Don’t know, his parents are here recently, can’t even get him to come play basketball.”
“You should be careful—” Zhu Yangqi wanted to warn him, but the next second, a bottle cap unexpectedly hit him on the head. He looked up to see Chen Luzhou with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the edge of the dining table waiting for the water to boil, looking at him coldly, seemingly telling him to shut up. The bottle cap hit accurately and hard, bouncing silently onto the sofa the next second, disappearing among the pillows without disturbing anyone else.
Zhu Yangqi felt it was indeed inappropriate. Tan Xu hadn’t bothered them recently, and speaking so rashly could seem like sowing discord. If it was for Xu Zhi’s sake, it would make the girl seem like a femme fatale, which wouldn’t be good for her reputation either. He felt he was meddling again. Alright, I won’t interfere.
Jiang Cheng looked at him suspiciously, “Be careful of what?”
“Be careful of Feng Jin, he’s got four twos in his hand.”
Feng Jin yelled in anger, “Damn it, Zhu Yangqi, your skill at peeking at other people’s cards has improved again, huh?”
Zhu Yangqi smiled contemptuously: “I don’t need to peek at yours. With your card-holding technique, it’s like watching my grandma arrange flowers, a stack here, a poke there. Look at these four lined up neatly, if that’s not a bomb, what is it?”
“…” Seeing through everything, so observant. Feng Jin was so angry he mixed up all his cards.
Zhu Yangqi rarely had a moment to feel proud, unaware that all this was told to him by Chen Luzhou. How could he be so meticulous? He had known Feng Jin for so long and didn’t even know he used his left hand for both eating and playing cards. Chen Luzhou figured out his style after playing cards with him just once. He even said Feng Jin was left-handed.
Such a smart and attentive person, sigh.
As soon as Chen Luzhou entered the water, Xu Zhi asked him, “Are they in the honeymoon phase?”
Referring to Jiang Cheng, Chen Luzhou handed her the water and went to turn on the computer. After some thought, he said, “It’s been about a year, I guess? I saw him bring her to play basketball last summer.”
“And they’re still so lovey-dovey.”
Chen Luzhou pulled over a chair and placed it beside her, glancing at her, “What do you mean? Should they break up after a year?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never dated, but according to the experience of some senior students around me, they say that if a relationship lasts more than a year, it’s hard to still feel that heart-fluttering sensation.”
“Is that so?” Chen Luzhou looked at her doubtfully.
She spoke as if she knew it all, “Mm-hmm, some decisive ones just break up. The indecisive ones drag it out without mentioning breaking up, waiting for the other person to bring it up. This way, they feel less guilty and can find the next one with a clear conscience.”
Chen Luzhou made a sound of acknowledgment. He had never dated, so he didn’t know if relationships were that short-lived. He didn’t offer an opinion, so he casually picked up the mouse and clicked open a webpage. However, he found that when he clicked on the search box, it automatically showed previously searched terms.
Injured while playing ball, morning wood not as hard as before—
Xu Zhi, sitting in the chair next to him, almost instinctively looked towards his—
Chen Luzhou grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered himself, dividing it equally, as if not willing to let her take any advantage. He gave her a cold glance, “Where are you looking?”
Author’s Note:
Xu Zhi: “Stingy.”
Don’t try to match it with real institutions, I really can’t calculate it anymore, my head is balding.
Two hundred red envelopes.
Tomorrow’s update will be very early, probably around noon. I might take a day or two off later, as I have to go on a business trip out of town. My cough still hasn’t improved, and I don’t know if I’ll be caught and quarantined. Don’t worry, if I’m quarantined, I’ll bring my computer.
I’ll give you a heads-up, if I take time off, I’ll make it up with double updates during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
PS: This story isn’t that long, but it’s not short either, about the same as my previous ones. Everything that needs to be written will be there. Don’t worry.