Xu Zhi had already made herself quite clear – kissing without being in a relationship was thrilling, but regardless of relationship status, she indeed liked him. However, if things stayed as they were between them, she wouldn’t be satisfied. Regardless of whether there was a future, at least for now, she wanted to continue playing this game with him.
But if time were to rewind, and she didn’t yet know that Chen Luzhou was the top scorer, and hadn’t experienced being outclassed during that TV show recording, she wouldn’t have known that he was that famous academic star from Yi Zhong, whose competition awards could wallpaper an entire city. Even among that dazzling, unreachable group of people, he still stood out, unparalleled in his brilliance.
If their beginning and interactions had been just with Chen Luzhou, the ordinary top student from the senior year review building, perhaps Xu Zhi might have said, “Why don’t you be my boyfriend?” But now, she couldn’t possibly say those words first.
Xu Zhi had never been one to belittle herself and rarely felt inferior. Or rather, from childhood to adulthood, no one had ever made her truly feel inferior. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have uttered that classic line that’s still remembered today: “You’ve all witnessed my beauty.” Only when facing Chen Luzhou did she experience feelings of inferiority for the first time.
The feeling was as if she thought she had the upper hand, thought the game had just begun, only to discover that the other person wasn’t even on the same server as her. She had no way of knowing how many people more outstanding than herself he had encountered along his journey.
If she were to take the initiative to define their relationship now, she would feel uncomfortable. She felt a step behind, and could even imagine how insecure that “Xu Zhi” who dated someone like Chen Luzhou would become. That wasn’t the ending she wanted for this story.
Old Xu had always told her that liking someone is easy, but liking someone more outstanding than yourself is difficult. Especially when a person has an independent soul, liking someone more outstanding becomes even more challenging.
So, Xu Zhi felt that just enjoying the moment was enough. Being able to “play” with Chen Luzhou for a while wasn’t a loss, right?
*
“You’re just letting her have her way?”
As soon as Chen Luzhou got home, Zhu Yangqi was idly sprawled on the sofa with his legs crossed, playing a team game. He conscientiously muted his microphone before speaking, as Jiang Cheng and a newly acquainted girl were on the other end.
Chen Luzhou entered, changed into slippers, and shuffled over. He immediately closed his eyes and tilted his head back on the sofa, looking utterly exhausted. His Adam’s apple, as cold as the tip of an ice blade, rolled languidly up and down. After a long while, he finally said, “She just wants to play with me, purely and simply.”
Zhu Yangqi, lying on the single sofa, glanced at him from his game, clicking his tongue twice before sarcastically remarking, “Come off it. You’re enjoying it. But I think Xu Zhi is more carefree than you and more clear-headed. She’s not the clingy type. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, don’t think too highly of yourself. Who knows, once you’re gone, she might just happily continue dating as before. I don’t think she’s the type who can endure loneliness. You think you’re Yang Guo or something, that everyone who sees you will ruin their life for you?”
Chen Luzhou inwardly mocked himself, thinking, “I’m more like Xiaolongnü, getting forcibly kissed all the time.” With this thought, he suddenly opened his eyes and lazily kicked the single sofa where Zhu Yangqi was sitting, asking nonchalantly, “Am I ugly?”
Zhu Yangqi:?
Zhu Yangqi paused for about half a second, waiting for his skill to cool down, then with lightning speed, grabbed the pillow behind him and unhesitatingly hurled it at Chen Luzhou, saying, “Get lost.”
Chen Luzhou hadn’t tidied himself up much today. His face still had injuries and couldn’t be washed, and he hadn’t shaved for two days, leaving him scruffy. On his way back, when he was buying water at the convenience store, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and was shocked by his ugliness. He originally hadn’t planned to show his face or let her know that he had paid for the movie. If it weren’t for Cai Yingying not paying much attention to the movie, Xu Zhi probably wouldn’t have discovered him tonight.
Just as Chen Luzhou thought of this, he received a call from Xu Zhi. He got up to take the call in his bedroom. Seeing his mysterious behavior, Zhu Yangqi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking, “Go ahead and play, you two play all you want. As if I care to eavesdrop on your phone call. What can a couple in the ambiguous phase even talk about? It’s not like I’ve never been through this before.”
Chen Luzhou went in and closed the door, leaning casually against the edge of the desk with one leg half-hanging. His gaze wandered over the violin on the wall, reminding him of the night he helped her choose her major. Her voice on the phone was clear and calm, unlike him, whose heart was still in a hot mess from her kiss.
“Are you home?” Xu Zhi asked.
Chen Luzhou crossed his arms, absentmindedly looking at the violin he hadn’t touched in years, thinking with iron-willed determination that he should find time to play a piece for her. He just couldn’t believe she could see him off at the airport so happily. He gave a low “Mm” in response.
She said “Oh,” then continued, “I’m having a late-night snack with Yingying and the others. Want to join?”
Chen Luzhou frowned slightly, not quite understanding who she meant. “The others?”
“Zhai Xiao and his girlfriend,” Xu Zhi said.
“That guy who collects stars?” Chen Luzhou recalled Xu Zhi complaining about him once.
“Mm-hmm.”
He chuckled, half-jokingly saying, “That’s quite an interesting combination. What were you thinking? Aren’t you afraid they might start fighting?”
“We just bumped into them while having a late-night snack. Zhai Xiao’s girlfriend probably knows a bit about Cai Yingying, don’t know what she’s up to, but she insisted on inviting us along. Yingying just impulsively agreed,” Xu Zhi sighed helplessly, then asked quite politely and sincerely, “I’m afraid they might start fighting later. If you’re not asleep yet, could you trouble yourself to come over and help me stop them?”
“I can’t hold Cai Yingying back,” he played hard to get.
“No, I mean stop me. Zhai Xiao was just badmouthing you.”
“…”
Zhai Xiao naturally couldn’t have imagined that the “arrogant pretty boy” from Yi Zhong, whom he and Cai Yingying had been complaining about on WeChat for a year, would later become the “ambiguous love interest” of Cai Yingying’s best friend.
Chai Jingjing had initially agreed to be with him because she saw Cai Yingying’s chat records on his phone. Later, Cai Yingying sent him messages a few times. Once, when he was arguing with Chai Jingjing, he accidentally let it slip. Out of a man’s desire to show off, he mentioned that Cai Yingying had sent him WeChat messages, implying, “Chai Jingjing, you don’t need to be so arrogant, there are plenty of people who want to be with me.”
How to put it, it’s a man’s inherent flaw. Sometimes seeing women fighting over you gives a secret thrill, so when Chai Jingjing suggested having a late-night snack with Cai Yingying, although he felt awkward, he couldn’t resist the petty and vulgar self-satisfaction in his heart and agreed.
So, when the few of them sat down sparsely, the awkward atmosphere was overwhelming. However, he arrogantly thought of himself as the only link connecting these girls, so he had to start the conversation. But he had nothing to say, and talking about school matters inevitably led to Chen Luzhou.
When Xu Zhi returned after hanging up the phone, Zhai Xiao hadn’t moved an inch from his chair, his posture unchanged, maintaining a self-perceived “innocent” appearance. He sat on the chair, pouring water for Chai Jingjing while talking non-stop about other people’s gossip—
“He’s always been quite a scumbag. That thing with Gu Yan, he thinks others don’t know about it? Gu Yan was torn apart by people, but he didn’t say a word. I wouldn’t believe it if they hadn’t dated.”
“But Gu Yan has always been a public bus anyway, everyone knows. For those planning to enter the entertainment industry, any guy who gets involved with her is a player.”
Zhai Xiao had also brought a male friend with him. Because there were no empty seats at this hour, the boss gave them a table for ten. A few of them sat scattered in the empty spaces. Xu Zhi’s original seat had an empty spot on the left, but when she returned from the phone call, the seat next to her was taken by a guy wearing glasses and a polo shirt, so she went around to sit on Cai Yingying’s other side.
The polo shirt guy hadn’t said anything, only speaking when Zhai Xiao pointed at him, saying, “I don’t know, the academic genius from Zongshan District, I’m not very familiar. I only know his friend from the art department.”
Cai Yingying had never realized before how insufferable Zhai Xiao was. When she was chatting enthusiastically with him on WeChat during senior year, she only thought he was a bit arrogant and liked to put others down to elevate himself. At that time, she liked him and thought, well, everyone has flaws, there’s no such thing as a perfect guy in every aspect.
But insulting Chen Luzhou was one thing, after all, they didn’t know much about the affairs between men. But why did he have to disparage girls?
Xu Zhi was also shocked. She couldn’t believe that in this day and age, someone would still use “public bus” to describe a girl. Sometimes it’s because women keep making things difficult for each other that these men become so arrogant and vulgar.
At that moment, she locked her phone, clearly unable to listen anymore, impatient. She was speaking to Chai Jingjing, but her eyes were direct and sharp as she slowly scanned Zhai Xiao from top to bottom, much like inspecting a cabbage—
“I once heard some experienced elders say that when looking at boys, you don’t need to look anywhere else, just check if their buttocks are perky or not. They say boys with perky buttocks can run fast, so when they’re old and there’s a big sale at the supermarket, they can be at the front of the line grabbing eggs… But looking at Zhai Xiao’s buttocks, I’d say they’re not up to par.”
Just as her last words fell, Chen Luzhou’s hand had just touched the handle of the private room door. Behind him, Zhu Yangqi’s eyes unconsciously drifted down to Chen Luzhou’s buttocks—
Chen Luzhou: “…”
Zhu Yangqi slapped him, “I’ve always said you run fast, right!”
Author’s Note:
Chen Luzhou (counting on his fingers): I’ve already planned out my daily routine for when I’m 80. Get up at 8 AM to play violin in the small park, then at noon, I still need to go to the supermarket to grab eggs…