01
Li Ke and Zhang Yu only officially started dating in their junior year. At the beginning of their relationship, they always invited Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi along on their dates. Chen Luzhou was reluctant to accompany them; Li Ke was too competitive, trying to outdo him even in dating. Chen Luzhou couldn’t be bothered to deal with him, but Li Ke believed that everyone had seen how Chen Luzhou treated Xu Zhi over the years. The girls had set him as the benchmark for boyfriends. Now that Li Ke finally had a new status, he naturally wanted to compete with Chen Luzhou.
“Zhang Yu sent me a WeChat message saying Li Ke wants us to go watch a movie tonight,” Xu Zhi sighed after reading Zhang Yu’s message, speaking to Chen Luzhou, who was simulating stock quantification on his computer nearby.
At that time, he had just joined Professor Liu’s lab and was doing stock quantification for several companies with some senior students. He was quite busy.
“What movie?” Chen Luzhou asked casually while typing, amid his busy work.
“A Dog’s Purpose.”
“…” Chen Luzhou cursed, “Not going.”
Who knows what Li Ke was up to?
Seeing his resolute attitude, Xu Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, with a “you little coward” expression on her face. She put down her phone and asked him knowingly: “Scared?”
“Whose side are you on?” Chen Luzhou leaned back in his chair, dropping the mouse, and glanced at her, slightly annoyed.
“Alright, alright, we won’t go,” Xu Zhi coaxed him, immediately showing her loyalty. Without hesitation, she picked up her phone and declined the invitation, “I’ve replied, I’ve replied.”
Li Ke wouldn’t let him off so easily. He was relentless, seizing every opportunity to compete. Although Xu Zhi usually brushed him off with a few words, they had a mutual understanding on this matter: they absolutely wouldn’t let the other become Li Ke’s “comparison tool.”
Moreover, all these tricks and strategies Li Ke used to compete, like “Zhang Yu talked with me on the phone for three hours last night” or “she made me handmade cookies over the weekend,” were all things he and Xu Zhi had done before. If Chen Luzhou really cared and competed seriously with him, Li Ke would probably be drained.
Chen Luzhou thought it was all child’s play, typical of someone who just started dating, with hormones surging, and too much free time on their hands.
If he wanted to brag, just the big “hoe” Xu Zhi gave him back then would be enough to brag about for years.
Chen Luzhou didn’t have time for this nonsense.
But Xu Zhi had quite a bit of free time and chatted with Li Ke for a while.
Li Ke: “Want to make a bet?”
Xu Zhi was incredibly resolute, loyally refusing to bet on Chen Luzhou.
Xu Zhi: “No”
They had bet once before. That time, when they went to an amusement park, before entering, Li Ke confidently said that Chen Luzhou would not ride the roller coaster. He had always disliked such thrilling rides, just like when Feng Jin asked him about racing cars, Chen Luzhou had cautiously said he wouldn’t, as it was too dangerous. It wasn’t that Chen Luzhou was afraid; he simply didn’t like it. When Xu Zhi asked him what he wanted to play at the amusement park, Chen Luzhou pointed his chin towards the merry-go-round in the luxurious children’s meal area and said, “That one.”
Li Ke raised an eyebrow: “I’m telling you, he won’t ride the roller coaster.”
Xu Zhi thought for a moment and said to Li Ke with determination: “Let’s bet 500 yuan. I’ll get him on the drop tower.”
Li Ke immediately agreed, as if money was falling from the sky, “Let me tell you, Xu Zhi, your boyfriend can be a dragon at any time, but in a place like this, he’d rather be a worm. You don’t know, haha, he’s afraid of heights. Even the roller coaster is a stretch, let alone the drop tower. Are you trying to kill him—”
Xu Zhi looked at the drop tower in the distance, with its screaming riders, unmoved and cold-hearted, “Are you betting or not? Why so much talk?”
Li Ke wanted to persuade her a bit more.
Xu Zhi: “Five to one odds. If he doesn’t go up, I’ll give you 2,500.”
“It’s a bet!”
As soon as the words were out, Xu Zhi immediately pulled Chen Luzhou to buy tickets without another word.
Li Ke was stunned and hurriedly chased after them with Zhang Yu, trying to brainwash Chen Luzhou, calling him by his nickname affectionately, “Hey, grass, aren’t you afraid of heights… We’re not risking our lives for 500 yuan, are we?”
Chen Luzhou was being pulled by Xu Zhi, and although he didn’t look very willing, he still followed along. He spared a moment to give Li Ke a lazy glance, “Who said I’m afraid of heights?”
Li Ke racked his brains to remember: “Wasn’t it during our class activity at the amusement park last time? The class monitor said he asked you to ride the roller coaster, and you said you were afraid of heights—fuck!”
… After a long silence.
Li Ke belatedly realized and cursed loudly: “…You bastard, not a single word of truth from your mouth, huh!”
Chen Luzhou remained unmoved. Xu Zhi had already gone to queue at the drop tower ticket booth. He looked at the drop tower, with its riders going up and down amidst screams, and wasn’t interested. He couldn’t be bothered to defend himself and only whispered in Li Ke’s ear, “Surrender for half the price, 250?”
Li Ke cursed inwardly, “…”
That time, they didn’t even get on the drop tower, and in the end, Chen Luzhou swindled him out of 250 yuan.
So he was at it again, determined to win back that 250 yuan.
Li Ke: “A Dog’s Purpose. If he cries, I’ll give you 1,000.”
Xu Zhi was very resolute: “No betting. If he cries, I’ll have to comfort him. Too troublesome.”
Li Ke: “I’ve taken a screenshot. I’ll send it to Chen Luzhou and tell him you find comforting him troublesome now.”
Xu Zhi, even more impatient: “Add a bit more.”
Li Ke: “…1,500. Can’t go any higher. His tears aren’t pearls, you know.”
Xu Zhi: “Deal.”
Just as she sent it, she turned to see Chen Luzhou holding a glass of milk he had warmed for her, staring at her coldly, “Selling me out again?”
Xu Zhi tossed her phone on the table and leaned back in her chair, reflecting insincerely for a moment before sighing and continuing to read her book: “Can’t help it. I didn’t want to bet, but he offered 1,500.”
Chen Luzhou: “…”
Of course, Xu Zhi still couldn’t understand Li Ke. “Why does he always try to compete with you?”
What else could it be? Chen Luzhou knew Li Ke’s little intentions all too well. He just wanted to show Zhang Yu who the most reassuring man in the world was.
Chen Luzhou had always been one to help others achieve their goals, so he could only tearfully accept this 1,500 yuan.
However, Li Ke didn’t expect that he would lose both the bet and face. After watching the movie, Zhang Yu posted about her moments.
Zhang Yu: “If I’m guilty of anything, I hope to be punished by law, rather than watching ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ where the entire cinema is crying their eyes out, while my boyfriend asks me, ‘If a dog can remember its owner’s scent across three lifetimes, how long do you think the owner went without bathing?'”
Xu Zhi: …
Chen Luzhou: …
Zhu Yangqi: … Why does someone like this have a girlfriend?
02
While the couple had been on several dates, Zhu Yangqi was still a naive and impulsive youngster. He sent a WeChat message to Chen Luzhou, asking if Cai Yingying was trying to hook him.
Cai Yingying got into Sichuan Normal University the following year. Whenever Zhu Yangqi had free time, he would travel to Sichuan. Occasionally, during holidays, Cai Yingying would come to Beijing. The two would bicker and play around, but never mention anything about their feelings. As time went on, even Zhang Yu, who hadn’t known them for long, understood what Cai Yingying was hesitant about. But the thick-skinned Zhu Yangqi remained oblivious, constantly bothering Chen Luzhou.
Coming out of the school cafeteria, Zhu Yangqi called.
Leaving the lab, Zhu Yangqi called.
Going with Professor Liu for corporate research, Zhu Yangqi called.
Kissing and flirting with Xu Zhi, Zhu Yangqi called.
They could only stop. Xu Zhi wrapped herself in the blanket and obediently rolled to the side, glancing at him, and signaling him to answer the phone. Chen Luzhou couldn’t stop anymore. He grabbed the phone, turned it off, and tossed it onto the bedside table with a thud, intending to continue his hard work.
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll show up at the door later?”
As soon as she finished speaking.
The doorbell rang leisurely.
Xu Zhi looked at him innocently, wrapped in the blanket: “…”
Chen Luzhou was both amused and annoyed. He reluctantly got out of bed, grabbed his pants, and put them on. “…Your mouth, I’m truly impressed.” He also grabbed her clothes and pants from nearby and tossed them onto the bed. “Put these on before you come out. I’ll go open the door.” Then, he stood up straight, hands in his pockets, looking down at her lying on the bed, his feet still trying to slip into the scattered slippers at the foot of the bed. He laughed and said rather casually, “Promise me something, next time we buy a house, let’s not tell him the address, okay?”
Xu Zhi looked at him longingly and said sincerely, “Can you buy one first?”
“Can you not be so money-hungry?”
“Can you hurry up and make money?”
“Aren’t I making money now? Who was it that nobly lent our wedding savings to Li Ke for his startup?”
Bringing this up made Chen Luzhou feel annoyed. He sat on the edge of the bed, pinching her nose and not letting go for a long time.
Xu Zhi remained stubborn, refusing to breathe, and said in a muffled voice, “I’m investing.”
“Oh, you’re still upset?” Chen Luzhou pinched her cheek.
Naturally, Xu Zhi didn’t dare to retaliate. The two had argued about this matter once before. During that time, Chen Luzhou only replied with two-word messages on WeChat: “Oh,” “Mm,” and “Understood.” Xu Zhi mostly knew he was angry because she had invested the money without hesitation. That sum included Chen Luzhou’s scholarship money and aerial photography income from the past few years, as well as Xu Zhi’s scholarship and project shares. Overall, Chen Luzhou’s contribution was slightly more.
Xu Zhi knew he was saving for their wedding fund and wanted to contribute her share, so she added her money without a second thought. However, at the end of 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread, Li Ke’s project hit a roadblock. Many partners backed out, forcing the project to stall. Xu Zhi knew that Chen Luzhou had written the early project proposals and couldn’t bear to see his efforts go to waste. So, she suggested lending their wedding savings to Li Ke to help him out of the crisis.
At the time, Xu Zhi had done the math. Chen Luzhou had just started his graduate studies and might pursue a doctorate afterward, so they probably wouldn’t be able to marry anytime soon. If they kept the money in the bank, the interest over a few years wouldn’t amount to much. It seemed better to invest directly, as they both trusted Li Ke’s abilities. They just hadn’t anticipated encountering such a natural disaster and human calamity, which wore away their youthful enthusiasm. It wasn’t just Li Ke; Xu Zhi, who had been busy with project preparations at Li Ke’s studio, was quite discouraged as well.
Chen Luzhou wasn’t entirely against lending the money. When the project was in its initial stages and Li Ke needed additional funds, he provided them. He was relatively well-off at the time; Lian Hui had suddenly transferred one million yuan to his account. He had a good guess about who it was from, but he hadn’t touched or returned the money. He had thought that if Li Ke needed it, he could lend him some from that sum.
He just hadn’t expected Xu Zhi to suggest using their wedding fund first.
So, on that occasion, he couldn’t help but ask coolly, “This time it’s Li Ke, what about next time? Is marrying me so unimportant that whenever someone runs into trouble, I have to step aside?”
How could these two matters be related? If they were planning to get married tomorrow, she certainly wouldn’t have lent the money. After all, their finances weren’t stable yet; he was still studying, and Xu Zhi was doing an internship. Marriage was still a distant prospect. The money would just be sitting there anyway.
Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment, thinking that Chen Luzhou’s way of thinking was indeed different from others – so sensitive yet adorable.
After some thought, she felt he wasn’t entirely wrong, so she readily changed her tune: “Then shall we not lend it?”
“Did I say we shouldn’t lend it?” He was displeased again.
Xu Zhi laughed, “Then what do you want?”
“Can’t you just comfort me a bit, damn it!”
Xu Zhi ended up laughing and falling into his arms. “Chen Jiaojiao, you are… adorable to death.”
“I’m not an idiot, I know we don’t need that money right now, but it’s our wedding fund. You’re lending it out so casually, I have the right to be upset, don’t I?”
“I know. That’s why I said if we urgently needed the money, I definitely wouldn’t lend it. But since we don’t need it, lending it to him to help out is like depositing it with Li Ke. I told him he must return it before we get married. He swore to me, saying he’d give up his head if he didn’t repay.”
“Right, and I’ll carry his head to our wedding.”
“…”
…
Though they said this, the pandemic’s impact on the industry over those years was severe. Chen Luzhou was spending every day in the lab with Professor Liu, working on sandbox simulations and risk budgets for various companies. The risk assessments they did for companies close to Professor Liu were mostly pessimistic. Some were laying off employees, others were suspending operations. The fledgling studio’s prospects weren’t as bright as Xu Zhi had imagined.
Xu Zhi’s loyalty touched Li Ke, but it couldn’t move heaven and earth. Li Ke’s project was still barely surviving, on the verge of collapse at any moment.
But Xu Zhi believed that while Li Ke might be a bit amateurish in romance, he was a competent businessman. Investing with him wouldn’t lead to losses. She also firmly believed that Li Ke was a potential stock.
Chen Luzhou ignored her; this girl had gone crazy with the desire to make money.
“Whether it’s a potential stock or not is beside the point. I warned you back then to stay away from business-savvy provincial top scorers, remember? You kept making bets with him. One day, you might lose everything.”
Xu Zhi hugged her quilt and laughed, kicking him lightly. “Go open the door! Why does it sound like you’re jealous of me and Li Ke? Chen Jiaojiao.”
Young Master Chen declared he had never been jealous and didn’t quite understand the feeling.
Xu Zhi couldn’t stop laughing.
The jealous one was Zhu Yangqi. As soon as he entered, he gulped down a bucket of water, but it couldn’t quell the waves of sourness rising in his heart. He vented his frustrations to them, his tone bordering on ferocious. He pounced on Xu Zhi and asked fiercely, “Xu Zhi, tell me honestly, does Cai Yingying have something going on?!”
Xu Zhi had just finished tidying up and gone to the living room. She saw them sitting on the sofa with serious expressions. Hearing this, she looked bewildered, glanced at Chen Luzhou, then turned back to Zhu Yangqi. Just as she was about to speak, Chen Luzhou interrupted.
He was leaning on the sofa with a cold expression, clearly not in the mood to humor anyone. He snatched the water glass from Zhu Yangqi’s hand, refusing to let him drink, and placed it on the side table. His tone was equally unfriendly and impatient: “If Cai Yingying has something going on, why are you being fierce with her? Can’t you speak nicely? Taking out your anger on my girlfriend? Want me to kick you out?”
If it were any other time, Zhu Yangqi would have immediately put on his usual smiling face. But now, with his heart burning with anxiety and having drunk quite a bit, his face was swollen like a pig’s liver, and he couldn’t bring himself to say nice words. He could only silently suppress his anger.
Xu Zhi walked over, shook her head at Chen Luzhou, and sat on the armrest of the nearby sofa to ask Zhu Yangqi, “What’s wrong with Yingying?”
Chen Luzhou’s eyes were fixed on Zhu Yangqi. Zhu Yangqi calmed down a bit and said, “I confessed to her a few days ago. She said she needed to think about it. These past few days, she’s not answering my calls or replying to my WeChat messages. What does she mean by this? I’ve had enough. Anyway, to her, I’m just a backup plan.”
Xu Zhi couldn’t comment on this matter. Yingying had always been a girl with her ideas. After the incidents with Zhai Xiao and a certain online dating experience, she developed a fear of men. Even though everyone around her was dating, she had no desire to be in a relationship. Although she often said she wanted to find a boyfriend, she was afraid to do so. Zhu Yangqi had been dropping hints to her over the past few years, both openly and subtly. He knew that Cai Yingying hadn’t moved on, so he never pressured her, thinking he would confess after she had sorted out her feelings.
Who knew that this wait would last four or five years?
In the meantime, they had one big argument where they both said harsh words to each other. Later, when Cai Yingying came to Beijing to visit Xu Zhi, she and Zhu Yangqi lost touch. They barely communicated for two years. Later, because of Xu Zhi and Chen Luzhou, they inevitably had to meet. Whenever Zhu Yangqi saw her, he would speak sarcastically, deliberately saying things she didn’t want to hear to provoke her. Any remaining goodwill Cai Yingying had for Zhu Yangqi was destroyed by his actions.
Before they knew it, years had passed with them bickering like this. For Cai Yingying, perhaps they were more suitable as friends.
“I made it clear to her: either we get together, or we stop contacting each other completely.”
Chen Luzhou and Xu Zhi exchanged a glance. Chen Luzhou leaned his head back on the sofa, looking at the ceiling. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Well, when we get married, I’ll send you an invitation. You can just give us a red envelope. No need to come in person.”
Zhu Yangqi: “Are you even human?”
Chen Luzhou, still looking at the ceiling, smiled lazily without saying anything.
Xu Zhi then said, “So you still don’t understand? Because of my relationship with Chen Luzhou, you two can never completely cut ties. You’ll always have to see each other. Unless Chen Luzhou cuts ties with you first.”
Chen Luzhou gave her a surprised look.
Zhu Yangqi: “See, my brother is the first to disagree—”
But Chen Luzhou looked at Xu Zhi indifferently, “Hey, how did you think of the same thing as me?”
Zhu Yangqi: “…”
Chen Luzhou: “No choice, my girlfriend only has this one best friend. I have many friends. Without you, I still have Keke, Jiang Cheng, and worst case, Wang Yue counts as one too. Recently, when I went on a research trip with Professor Liu, I met someone interesting. He’s old enough for me to call him uncle. Come to think of it, I don’t want Li Ke either.”
Zhu Yangqi: “You aren’t human.” A definitive statement.
Chen Luzhou glanced at him sideways and chuckled heartlessly, “You’ve known that for a long time.”
However, as Zhu Yangqi rambled on all night, the supposedly heartless one still sat on the sofa in his human skin, listening to him until the end. Xu Zhi was too sleepy and went back to the bedroom to sleep, but she could still faintly hear them talking in the living room.
“When I saw you and Xu Zhi back then, I thought my brother was so miserable. I never imagined I’d be even more miserable than you.”
“You are miserable, but I’m not.”
“…”
“Xu Zhi is very good to me.”
“…”
“Has anyone built a house for you?”
“…”
“How many birthdays do you celebrate in a year? Xu Zhi celebrates two birthdays for me every year. Oh, sorry, I forgot, you only have a birthday every four years.”
“Can you shut up?”
“Can you lower your voice?”
“No, that’s the sound of my heart breaking.”
“…”
Xu Zhi sighed. Why bother? Everyone knows he speaks harshly, yet they still go to him for comfort.
“You just asked if I was serious. What did you mean by that?” Zhu Yangqi asked.
“Exactly what I said.”
“Then what do you consider as being serious? Like how you are with Xu Zhi? I really can’t do that. You’ve always been the type to think a lot and act cautiously since we were young. I’m not as good as you in this aspect. If Cai Yingying is going to judge me by your standard with Xu Zhi, then I think she’s being unreasonable. Zhu Yangqi is Zhu Yangqi. I have my own merits, okay?”
He laughed softly, his voice reminiscent of that afternoon when they first met on the third floor of the high school building – cool yet at ease. Yes, at ease. Xu Zhi could never quite describe his current state, but it was just that – at ease. Like an unrestrained breeze, rippling the calm surface of water, yet remaining clean and clear:
“What are you thinking? Why bring up me and Xu Zhi? What I mean is, if you haven’t thought it through, don’t pursue Cai Yingying. She’s hesitant because of my relationship with Xu Zhi. Without us, she might have agreed to you long ago. Cai Yingying is different from Xu Zhi. Xu Zhi has always had clear goals. She fell in love with me at first sight, though she won’t admit it-“
“Shut the fuck up! She fell in love with your mother at first sight! Idiot.”
He clicked his tongue, “Are you annoying on purpose?”
“You were the one who fell for her at first sight. That night, you had ulterior motives, don’t think I don’t know. That power bank – you deliberately left it behind, hoping she’d come to find you again, right?”
“…”
“I learned it from you. So later, when I had dinner with Cai Yingying, I deliberately left my wallet behind.”
“And then?”
“And then I lost my wallet.”
“……”
03
It was October 2021. The pandemic was still ongoing, even unpredictable, but the economy was recovering. People had grown accustomed to wearing masks when going out. The world seemed to have changed, yet nothing had changed. Everyone was still full of enthusiasm for life.
Li Ke’s project finally showed some progress. As soon as he made his first bucket of gold, he immediately sent Xu Zhi the first dividend, far exceeding the amount she had initially lent him. Of course, this was work, and they still occasionally made harmless small bets, such as:
“Guess if Zhu Yangqi, who hates coriander so much, would force Chen Luzhou to grow coriander if he had money?”
“How many Chinese knots can you tie with a pound of rice noodles?”
“Can Dynamic Man still release dynamic light waves after taking a shower?”
…and so on.
Li Ke was determined to win back that 250 yuan.
However, the amount grew day by day, far surpassing 250 yuan.
Zhu Yangqi studied stage design. After graduation, he had grand ambitions. He shamelessly sent several resumes to the email of a famous domestic director, which sank like a stone. Then, after being tricked into being a foot model for a few days by someone claiming to be a famous director with many viral works, he obediently used the money his father gave him to open an art studio in Beijing at a prime location, right on the street with a high flow of people. Zhu Yangqi was speechless about his father’s decision. Who opens an art studio on the street? Aren’t they usually in office buildings?
Old Mr. Zhu casually replied, “I’m afraid you won’t have any business.”
Well, business wasn’t bad. The first customer was an 80-year-old lady.
Zhu Yangqi patiently explained, “Ah, Grandma, this is an art studio, not a nail salon. We don’t do nail art.”
“It’s not that I can’t do it, we just don’t offer that service.”
…
“Well, if you know how to do it, you can do one for me,” the old lady was very casual, slowly rolling her electric wheelchair to Zhu Yangqi’s front, “I have a friend too, you can do it for both of us. I saw the photo on your door, isn’t that nail art?”
“That’s body art!”
“Whatever,” the old lady turned to call someone behind her, “Meilan! This young man does nail art!”
Zhu Yangqi: “…”
A tall, handsome man followed her in, even Zhu Yangqi was stunned. Dressed all in black, black shirt and trousers, looking decent, with a magnetic voice. At first glance, he didn’t seem particularly striking, but the more you looked, the more handsome he appeared, almost as handsome as Chen Luzhou. Especially those eyes, clean and clear, and his voice was crisp. He was quite polite too, “I’m sorry for the disturbance.”
Then he pushed the old lady out.
The old lady was reluctant, “Li Jinyu! I want to get my nails done.”
“They don’t do nail art.” “Then what do they do?”
“They paint, didn’t Ye Meng just call you?”
“No, my phone’s out of battery.”
“Really? Your phone’s out of battery, your wheelchair’s out of battery, and you still come out to get your nails done. Can you watch fewer live streams?”
“You dare talk to me like that. Meilan is glued to her phone all day, why don’t you say anything to her?”
“Fine, you two can wait for Ye Meng’s lecture together when we get back. I don’t want to deal with it. Let me get you in the car first, then I’ll go buy some crabs for Ye Meng next door. She needs energy to scold people, right?”
“Li Jinyu!!!!!!”
Although she was cursing, the old lady’s eyes were full of laughter.
Zhu Yangqi didn’t know who they were, but he could vaguely sense there was a story behind them because the man had a scar on his wrist. His skin was so fair, and his wrist so thin, that the raised scar tissue was quite noticeable.
Had he attempted suicide?
Maybe he was overthinking. This might just be his empathy as an artist.
Of course, as a foodie, his empathy was also strong.
Yes, it’s crab season again.
Zhu Yangqi licked his lips hungrily, missing the crabs from Qingyi.
Zhu Yangqi immediately shouted in the group chat.
Zhu Yangqi: “Want to go back for crabs?”
Li Ke immediately replied: “Sure, but I bet Chen Luzhou won’t make it back.”
Zhang Yu: “You see Xu Zhi paying attention to you?”
Xu Zhi: “How much do you want to bet?”
Li Ke: “Everything you won from me last time.”
Zhu Yangqi: “Which time was that?”
Zhang Yu: “The one about whether Dynamic Man could still release dynamic light waves after getting wet from a shower, and how much white wine Grandpa from Cherry Merry Muffin could drink.”
Zhu Yangqi: “…Is there an answer to that?”
Zhang Yu: “Yes, they watched both these anime series completely, analyzed all the details, eliminated all possibilities, and Xu Zhi won.”
Zhu Yangqi: “…”
Xu Zhi: “Alright, I’ll bet. I bet Chen Luzhou definitely won’t make it back.”
Li Ke: “…”
Indeed, he couldn’t make it back that month. Chen Luzhou was so busy he didn’t even have time to reply to WeChat messages. The research project in the lab was endless, and he occasionally had to go on business trips with Professor Liu for investigations, inevitably involving social engagements. Professor Liu had high expectations for him. Whether Chen Luzhou pursued a doctorate or not didn’t matter to him, because even before finishing his master’s degree, many well-known companies were already trying to recruit him, offering very generous packages. He was in high demand.
Chen Luzhou was one of those people whose name could still be heard occasionally on the main campus even after graduating from his fourth year.
So, how could Xu Zhi not feel the same way? Chen Luzhou, both in appearance and personality, hit all her sweet spots.
Although Zhu Yangqi and Li Ke said he was 100% love-brained, he never fell behind in scholarships, postgraduate recommendations, and various competition awards.
He won the F Prize in the American Mathematical Contest in Modeling in his freshman year.
In his sophomore year, he participated in the mathematics competition and the Shing-Tung Yau Competition. He seemed to be the only student who had won all five major awards.
…
Even at A University, he still stood out.
Although his mouth was a bit sharp, he was always soft-hearted towards her, and straightforward.
In their third year of high school, Tan Xu helped her review, and Xu Zhi was very grateful. She also once took his sudden temper and complaints for granted.
“Xu Zhi, it’s me who’s helping you review. Without me, could you have achieved this score?”
“It’s me! It’s me who’s helping you!”
“Who’s to blame if I don’t do well? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Can’t you ask about problems you can’t solve during the day?!”
“Xu Zhi, I sacrificed so much time to help you review, and this is your attitude now?”
“Teachers are just biased against poor students. Xu Zhi, you’re lucky to be my deskmate, otherwise, you’d be getting lectured like Cai Yingying right now.”
Sometimes Xu Zhi couldn’t even tell if this person was excessively insecure or extremely arrogant, not willing to let anyone take advantage of him. His most glorious two years were when he transferred to Ruijun. He was the top student at No. 1 High School, easily coming first in exams, with competition certificates plastering the display cabinet.
But Tan Xu hated people riding on his coattails. He didn’t want anyone to benefit from his success, and if someone did, he’d remember it for life.
Tan Xu always thought that Xu Zhi had shamelessly and without dignity benefited from his success.
Because of this bit of “light,” Xu Zhi had been numbly enduring all his verbal abuse and attacks.
To be honest, at that time she hadn’t awakened, didn’t understand anything, and was even confused, mistaking her gratitude towards him for affection, until it was worn away by him.
Until she met Chen Luzhou, it was that boy from Yifeng Lane who made her understand what feelings were, and what liking someone meant.
It turns out that truly liking someone isn’t shameful.
It turns out that truly liking someone can also be dignified.
Even if you’re willing to put down your dignity, he’ll help you pick it up, smiling and asking, “What are you doing?”
This was Chen Luzhou, that boy from Yifeng Lane who always had the upper hand.