HomeBe Passionately in LoveChapter 42: Scumbag's Quotes

Chapter 42: Scumbag’s Quotes

Xu Zhi filled out her first choice for university with three majors at A University: Architecture, Landscape and Garden Design, and Urban Planning.

After completing her application, Xu Zhi argued with Old Xu because he wanted to buy her a new phone. Xu Zhi felt it was unnecessary and thought the money would be better spent on next month’s mortgage payment. Old Xu felt his role as a father was being undermined. Without hesitation, he put down the dishes he was washing and lectured her, “I know what you’re thinking.

You think this reward is materialistic, don’t you? But to be honest, I was planning to buy it for you right after your exams. Your cousin said there would be new models in a few months, so I thought I’d wait for those. Besides, my daughter ranked in the top 30 in the city. What’s wrong with rewarding her with a new phone? How is that materialistic? I’m not just getting you a new phone, I’m buying you a laptop too. If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to your cousin. Don’t be so pretentious.”

Xu Zhi wasn’t being pretentious at all. Her current phone was fine and still usable, so why change it? However, she did want a computer, so she said, “Buy me a computer instead. I can use this phone for another year and change it next year.”

Xu Guangji thought that was acceptable. He finished drying the dishes and put them back in the cupboard. He remembered the phone call he received from the homeroom teacher that morning and said, “Your Teacher Qu said that with your scores, you’d be the top student in other cities in our province. It’s just that our city is particularly competitive.” At this point, Xu Guangji turned around and gave her an impressed look, “I only learned today how outstanding the students in our Qingyi City are. Out of the top 100 in the province, 81 are from our city. I saw in the parents’ group chat that there’s a class where 34 out of 35 students applied to A or B University.”

“Yeah, that’s from No. 1 High School. Almost all of the top 100 in the province are from their two experimental classes,” Xu Zhi leaned against the kitchen doorframe, head down, replying to Cai Yingying’s WeChat message. Her score was quite surprising; she had never broken the 400-point barrier before, but her college entrance exam score went over 400 points. It was just above the second-tier university admission line. Old Cai was overjoyed—any undergraduate degree would do, at least there would be a chance to take the civil service exam in the future. But Cai Yingying didn’t see it that way. She thought it was better to attend a good vocational college than a low-ranked third-tier university. She wanted to go to Shanghai Maritime Vocational and Technical College, but Old Cai adamantly refused. Cai Yingying was complaining to her—

Little Dish: I envy Zhu Yangqi. With the same 400 points, he can get into the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. Can you believe it? He can get into a first-tier university. I checked, and we need at least 600 points to get into the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts.

Xu Zhi replied: The struggles of art students are beyond our imagination. I heard Chen Luzhou say that Zhu Yangqi smokes a pack of cigarettes for every painting he does.

Little Dish: No wonder his smoking habit is so bad. When we eat hot pot, he goes out to smoke now and then.

Xu Zhi: You two had a hotpot together?

Before Cai Yingying could reply, Old Xu finished washing the dishes and passed by her side, wiping his hands on his apron. He carried the leftover dishes into the kitchen and casually asked, “That boy you mentioned before—Chen Luzhou, he’s from No. 1 High, right? Which class is he in? How many points did he get?”

Xu Zhi didn’t know which class he was in. At first, she wasn’t curious, and after learning that he didn’t do well, she didn’t dare to ask more. When Tan Xu first transferred, he had that air of superiority typical of No. 1 High students, but Chen Luzhou didn’t have it. Zhu Yangqi occasionally showed it, so Xu Zhi initially thought he was an art student and his grades might be even worse than Zhu Yangqi’s. Later, when Chen Luzhou said he wasn’t an art student, she didn’t think much of it. After hearing his score, she guessed he must be one of the top students in the regular classes, but probably not one of the geniuses from those two experimental classes.

“He got 713 points,” Xu Zhi said, opening Chen Luzhou’s WeChat to ask if he had any recommendations for a cost-effective computer.

In the past, hearing such a score would have impressed Old Xu, but after learning his daughter’s score, he felt that 713 was somewhat lacking. In his view, this person’s relationship with Xu Zhi was somewhat “unclear.” Of course, he hoped Chen Luzhou’s score would be higher than his daughter’s.

So, Xu Guangji unconsciously said, “That low?”

Xu Zhi immediately looked up from her phone and cautioned him, “Dad, don’t say that outside. If you talk like that, people will think I got the top score in the province.”

Xu Guangji closed the refrigerator door, feeling somewhat elated. He looked at her proudly and said, “Your Teacher Qu said that even the top scorer in the province only got around 750. Our score structure is different from other provinces, but even with an 810-point total, not many people can score 750. Your score is excellent, and Dad is proud of you.”

Xu Zhi smiled, about to say, “You’re too kind.” Xu Guangji quickly followed up, seizing the moment to remind her, “So, Dad suggests that you don’t need to rush to make certain friends now. When you get to university, you’ll find you might meet more outstanding people.”

Xu Zhi, not sure if she fully understood, nodded absently while scrolling through Chen Luzhou’s recent WeChat moments, “Of course.”

Chen Luzhou had taken on a photography job and went to Shanghai the day after helping her choose her university preferences. Afraid of disturbing his work, Xu Zhi hadn’t contacted him much these past few days. Chen Luzhou had only posted one moment yesterday and hadn’t been active since.

The photo seemed to be taken in a park. An elegant old man stood playing a violin in a spacious pigeon square. On a stone bench by the fountain sat an old lady holding a bouquet of fresh roses, applauding and looking lovingly at the old man who had his eyes closed, immersed in his violin performance. Whether it was Chen Luzhou’s skill in capturing the atmosphere or the existence of such enduring love in the world, one could see the shyness of an 18-year-old girl in the eyes of an 80-year-old woman.

There were already two replies below, from Zhu Yangqi and Cai Yingying respectively.

Cai Yingying shared the same feeling, “Aww, I can see the coyness in the old lady’s eyes. I probably only smiled that coyly when I was just born.”

Zhu Yangqi replied directly to Cai Yingying, “Not true, you were quite coy when we had hotpot. You had to wrap the beef in lettuce leaves, and if not lettuce, then cabbage leaves. What’s the deal? Can’t eat it unless it’s wearing clothes?”

Cai Yingying seriously replied: “That’s called gastric deception. Wrapping it in vegetable leaves is to trick the stomach into thinking I’m just eating a piece of vegetable. This way, it won’t alert the fat in my body, making them realize they shouldn’t grow unnecessarily. You don’t understand, Xu Zhi taught me this.”

Zhu Yangqi replied to Cai Yingying: “Why don’t you just eat shit then? That way, you can skip metabolism altogether.”

Chen Luzhou also rarely replied with a comment.

Cr replied to Cai Yingying: “You believe what she says?”

Xu Zhi looked at the reply time below, it was a minute ago.

Xu Zhi replied to Cr: “Have I ever lied to you? Come on, give an example, let’s see if I can defend myself.”

Chen Luzhou was probably busy and didn’t reply immediately. Xu Zhi wasn’t in a hurry, but Zhu Yangqi, always stirring up trouble, replied to Chen Luzhou’s moment, “Quick, quick, you two fight it out!”

Unfortunately, Chen Luzhou refused to engage in this debate. He didn’t reply at all.

Seeing Xu Zhi nod, Xu Guangji nodded satisfactorily and took out half a watermelon left over from yesterday from the refrigerator. He shooed her out of the kitchen, “I’ll make you some watermelon juice. Want to mix in some papaya?”

“No, thanks.” Xu Zhi kept glancing at the WeChat moments, but still no reply.

Xu Guangji cut the watermelon with a crunch, and suddenly remembered, “Oh right, your Teacher Qu called me this morning and said that the TV station might want to interview you in a few days. Do you want to go shopping with Cai Cai this afternoon and buy some new clothes?”

Xu Zhi was stunned, looking up from her phone, confused: “Interview?”

Only then did Xu Guangji realize he had forgotten to tell her. He quickly took out his wallet from his pocket, gave her 500 yuan, and said, “Yes, an interview. I forgot to tell you just now. They said the TV station is doing a program this year and wants to interview the top 30 students in the city for a college entrance exam special. Take this money and go to the mall this afternoon.”

Xu Zhi hadn’t touched the 5,000 in her account, but she didn’t dare refuse, fearing that Old Xu would find out she had won 5,000 from street racing. She took the money and put it in her pocket, muttering, “I do need to go to the mall.”

While Xu Zhi and Cai Yingying were choosing camera lenses at the mall, Xu Zhi received a phone call from the radio station to schedule the interview for Thursday at 3 PM at the Broadcasting and TV Center. By the time she hung up, Cai Yingying was already engrossed in a conversation with the salesperson, her eyes wide with shock, “So you’re saying just one lens costs thirty to forty thousand yuan?”

The young man also looked regretful and politely nodded at her, feeling it was expensive too, “Yes, many Hasselblad lenses are more expensive than the cameras themselves.”

Cai Yingying did the math—that meant Chen Luzhou’s camera and lens together would cost over 100,000 yuan. How rich was his family? Cai Yingying knew Chen Luzhou looked like a rich second-generation, but she didn’t expect him to be this wealthy.

“Isn’t there anything slightly cheaper?” Cai Yingying persisted, following the young man.

The young man was helpless and apologetic, “No, the cheapest is still around 20,000 yuan.”

They asked about other brands, but none had lenses compatible with Hasselblad. Xu Zhi felt desperate too, realizing for the first time how unattainable the world of the wealthy was. Cai Yingying’s legs were weak with exhaustion. As they were going down the escalator, she leaned on Xu Zhi’s shoulder and said weakly, “You might as well offer yourself to him. I don’t want to shop anymore, I’m exhausted. Chen Luzhou is something else. I’ve never seen a guy so extraordinary.”

Xu Zhi wanted to ask what was so extraordinary about him.

He still hadn’t replied to her message, and she didn’t know what he was busy with.

Cai Yingying found a small stool by a milk tea shop and sat down, massaging her legs and whining, “Zhi Boss, I want some milk tea.”

Xu Zhi: “I’ll go buy it for you. I’ll also get a power bank for Chen Luzhou. You wait here.”

Xu Zhi had only walked a few steps when she ran into a familiar face. She suddenly remembered that the mall was near Yifeng Lane, and there was a popular library upstairs. Tan Xu used to love reading there. Moreover, this library had a special service called “Time Capsule,” which was once all the rage on WeChat Moments, with countless people sharing letters they had stored in this time beehive. She and Cai Yingying had a falling out once and hadn’t spoken for a long time. In the end, they both coincidentally walked into this store, staring at each other at the entrance for a while before bursting into laughter, instantly breaking the ice.

Tan Xu had probably just finished reading upstairs, still holding a stack of test papers. He looked skinny and haggard, his eyes dull. His white shirt was wrinkled, completely losing the spirited look he had when he first transferred from No. 1 High. He blended into the crowd, unremarkable and gray. So when Tan Xu didn’t call out to her, Xu Zhi didn’t recognize him and walked right past.

Tan Xu originally didn’t intend to call out to her, but Xu Zhi’s attitude made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. He spoke coldly, “Pretending not to know me so quickly?”

Only then did Xu Zhi notice him. She stared for a moment to confirm before sighing, “No, I’m not wearing my glasses. I didn’t recognize you.”

It was the weekend, and the mall had a parent-child activity, making it especially crowded. Children were jumping around everywhere, and some outgoing kids occasionally tugged at Xu Zhi’s legs as they passed by, wanting her to play with them. Laughter and joy filled the entire mall. Xu Zhi found it quite strange; she had never been popular with children. In the past, when she went out to study with Tan Xu, no children would approach them. No matter how lively the occasion, they always sat alone in a corner.

People’s auras seem to change, or rather, they’re easily influenced. She remembered that the last time she came to the mall was to eat bullfrog with Chen Luzhou. He was particularly attractive to children, or rather, who wasn’t he attractive to? Watching him tease kids every time, he seemed to have a knack for it. Those kids would cry out loudly in frustration but still wanted to play with him. At first, Xu Zhi thought it was because he had a childlike heart, but later she realized it wasn’t that at all. It was that his sharpness was tempered with good manners, his coldness always retained a trace of gentleness. Even if he started out teasing people sarcastically, thoroughly enjoying himself, in the end, he would always smile and say, “Here you go, here you go, it’s all yours.” So what you always felt from him was sweetness.

Cai Yingying had just received her milk tea when she saw Xu Zhi and Tan Xu sit down nearby. Zhu Yangqi sent her a WeChat message.

Zhu Yangqi: Where are you shopping? Chen Luzhou won’t be back until the day after tomorrow. Why don’t we invite Xu Zhi for a night out? My treat.

Little Dish: We’re at the Yifeng Building. Why don’t you come over now? You might catch some drama.

Zhu Yangqi: Sounds good, but what drama?

Cai Yingying secretly took a photo and sent it. Xu Zhi happened to be lowering her head to drink milk tea, her slender white neck exposed. Tan Xu’s face was fully visible in the frame. He seemed to notice Cai Yingying taking the picture, his eyes looking directly at her.

Cai Yingying pretended to be taking a selfie, making a peace sign next to her cheek, then sent the photo to Zhu Yangqi, who immediately replied.

Zhu Yangqi: Wait for me.

The mall was noisy. Tan Xu shifted his gaze from Cai Yingying, his face perpetually pale and weak. Though his facial features were smooth, probably due to too many late nights, his muscles seemed slack, and he looked worn out. He looked at Xu Zhi and said, “My parents went to school yesterday and asked Teacher Qu about your score. It’s indeed very high. Even if I hadn’t underperformed, I couldn’t have scored that high. With the elective subjects, the most I could have scored was just over 710. Don’t worry, my parents won’t trouble you. I’ve explained everything to them. I was the one who initially offered to help you. Failing the exam was my problem. This year, I indeed had some attitude issues.”

Xu Zhi felt that Tan Xu was often a gentle person. Otherwise, when he first transferred, they didn’t have much in common. If not for his mental imbalance, his future would have been brighter. “What are you planning to do? Repeat the year?”

Tan Xu didn’t answer her question, instead continuing, “Teacher Qu showed me your score curve for this year. I realized your mentality was indeed good. You improved by 20 to 30 points almost every time. The third mock exam was already easy, and you still managed to score 40 points higher in the college entrance exam. Anyway, congratulations on ranking first. With your score, you could even enter the experimental class at No. 1 High. You’re going to A University, right?”

“Yes, I applied for Architecture.”

“I’m sorry,” Tan Xu suddenly said, his eyes not avoiding hers at all, staring directly at her, “I shouldn’t have thrown away your mother’s necklace that time, and I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you. I always thought you were who you were because of me, that you should follow me—”

Xu Zhi couldn’t help but interrupt, “Tan Xu—”

“Let me finish,” Tan Xu hadn’t touched the milk tea in front of him, his eyes fixed on Xu Zhi, “We can’t even be friends now? In our senior year, whenever you called, no matter what time at night, I would crawl out of bed to explain problems to you. I don’t mean anything else, I just want to ask, are we still friends?”

As soon as Zhu Yangqi arrived, he sat down hurriedly opposite Cai Yingying, his eyes fixed on Xu Zhi. Cai Yingying couldn’t help but look at him suspiciously and cautiously ask, “You don’t like our Boss Zhi, do you?”

Zhu Yangqi’s mind was full of ‘you idiot’, but he only asked, “What’s the situation? Tell me.”

Cai Yingying poked at the tapioca pearls at the bottom of her cup, absentmindedly saying, “I don’t know, probably talking about university applications.”

Alarm bells immediately went off in Zhu Yangqi’s head, “What? Does Tan Xu want to apply to the same school as her? That can’t be right. Didn’t I hear from Chen Luzhou that Xu Zhi applied to A University? Didn’t Tan Xu fail the exam?”

The next second, he hid his phone under the table, sent the picture, and quickly typed a blind message.

Zhu Yangqi: Why don’t you ask Jiang Cheng what score Tan Xu got? Don’t let him apply to Xu Zhi’s school.

A reply came back quickly.

Cr: You think A University is a vegetable market? Anyone can get in?

Zhu Yangqi: What if he knows Xu Zhi is going to Beijing and applies to a school in Beijing? That’s enough trouble for you.

This message went unanswered for a long time. Zhu Yangqi thought he might be busy again, so he waited a while. When there was still no reply, he impatiently sent a question mark.

The result showed that your message was rejected by the recipient.

Damn coward, can’t even handle this much psychological pressure.

Xu Zhi couldn’t say they weren’t friends. After all, the memories of fighting side by side were still vivid. She hoped more than anyone that Tan Xu could perform well in the college entrance exam and get into a good school. Even though everyone now knows that Tan Xu’s mistakes were mostly due to his attitude problems, ten or twenty years later, when memories fade and classmates talk about it again, it might not be so simple. Casual gossip over tea might turn into, “Back then, there was a male classmate who, to help improve a certain female classmate’s grades, ended up not getting into a prestigious university himself. Isn’t that a case of a beauty causing trouble?” Such stories aren’t unheard of.

She didn’t want to bear this blame, nor did she want to hear that anyone’s future was related to her. So Xu Zhi was silent for a moment before asking Tan Xu, “What was your original goal? A University?”

Tan Xu smiled weakly, his lips pale: “What, are you going to help me in return?”

“You probably don’t need my help, right? Tan Xu, with your abilities, getting into any school isn’t a problem. What went wrong this year, only you know clearly,” Xu Zhi had been lowering her head drinking milk tea since she sat down, always looking thoughtful as she listened to him speak. Now, for the first time, she seriously met his eyes, her gaze clear and determined, “If your original goal was A University, then I hope you can get into A University next year.”

Tan Xu was stunned, looking at her without speaking.

“Someone once told me, that if the wall in his heart collapses, he’ll build a stronger castle. If the sun no longer rises, he’ll try to light up all the lamps. Although it sounds cliché, I think people should have this kind of unyielding spirit. No matter what your parents say, the decision is always yours. If you want to repeat the year, then repeat it.”

They sat from afternoon until evening. A light rain started falling outside the mall, the streetlights tinting the raindrops yellow, neon lights outlining the buildings.

After Tan Xu left, Xu Zhi went back to find Cai Yingying, only to discover Zhu Yangqi was there too. “When did you arrive?”

What about him?

Zhu Yangqi grumbled, looking at her sideways: “What were you talking about for so long?”

“Persuading him to repeat the year.”

“…?” Zhu Yangqi, as someone who had repeated a year, said, “Be careful, persuading someone to repeat might make you reincarnate as a pig, sister.”

Xu Zhi sighed, finishing the last sips of her milk tea, and said, “It’s not persuasion. He wants to repeat himself, but his parents are worried about the cost. They said renting that senior year building for another year would cost 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. With other miscellaneous factors, they told him to just go to an ordinary first-tier university. Are you two still going to hang out? If so, I’ll head home.”

Cai Yingying instinctively looked at Zhu Yangqi, thinking it wouldn’t be good for them to be alone, and said, “No, why are you going home so early?”

Xu Zhi helplessly waved her phone and said, “Interview script, they just sent it to me.”

She left, leaving Cai Yingying and Zhu Yangqi staring at each other. Cai Yingying looked disgusted, while Zhu Yangqi awkwardly brushed his bangs, pretending to lower his head to drink milk tea.

This annoyed Cai Yingying even more, and she snatched it back, “That’s mine!”

“…”

The interview was on Thursday. On Monday, Xu Zhi returned to her hometown with her grandmother and stayed in the village for a few days.

Those days, Xu Zhi sat by the rippling river, the gentle sound of water in her ears, watching the sun slowly rise from the west and then leisurely set behind the mountain peaks. Time passed quickly in the mountains, where it was quiet and the mountain breeze blew across the land with an invigorating force. She went from studying Marxist philosophy to Lu Xun’s “A Madman’s Diary,” but still couldn’t erase that shadow from her mind.

She sighed deeply, looking at the tall, clear mountain ridge in the red sun, remembering how Chen Luzhou crouched in front of her to tie her shoelaces, his broad shoulders, only showing the top of his fluffy, messy head.

These days, he’s probably having a great time in Shanghai, meeting lots of new friends. Otherwise, why hasn’t there been a single message?

So she posted a moment on WeChat.

Xu Zhi: “Scumbag’s quote: Whether the moon is full or not doesn’t matter, I will always be by your side.”

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