Chapter 14
The last time Zhou Zifang saw the words "life is hopeless" on Lu Jiyu's face was in a photo of him in third grade. The school was holding a Halloween party, and Lu Lin had arranged for Lu Jiyu to wear women's clothing. It was said that it caused quite a stir at the time because he looked so handsome in women's clothing.
Zhou Zifang teased him about this a few times later, and Lu Jiyu initially gave him a glare, but then he just let it go. This guy had a decent sense of shame, but it wasn't that high either.
Not like now.
A dying look.
Zhou Zi fiddled with the coffee in the kitchen cabinet for a long time but couldn't find the "last pack" of coffee that Lu Jiyu mentioned. "Lu Zhonger!" He shouted at him at the top of his voice, "Where is the coffee? I can't find it."
Zhou Zifang is a perfect example of what it means to perform a play by one person, and his play is particularly noisy.
There was no response from the living room.
Zhou Zifang asked as he opened the refrigerator door. Wow, the refrigerator was even cleaner than his face: "Is this refrigerator just for decoration? There's not even a hair on it."
Still no response.
Zhou Zifang reached for the last bottle of mineral water in the refrigerator and was about to unscrew the cap when Lu Jiyu's deep and gentle voice came from the living room: "Try drinking one if you dare."
Zhou Zifang tilted his head and looked around, but there was no surveillance.
"No." Zhou Zifang came out of the kitchen with an apologetic smile: "I just saw him feeling pitiful and alone in the refrigerator. Don't get me wrong."
"Aren't the Porsches and Bentleys parked on the road lonely too? Why don't you take them home?" Lu Jiyu was completely sunken in the sofa, his long legs stretched lazily under the coffee table, his head drooping listlessly to the side of the sofa, his eyes lowered, casually falling on the screen of his mobile phone. If he hadn't been tapping on the screen so fast that his fingers were about to turn red, Zhou Zifang would have thought he was dying when he saw him looking so boneless.
Zhou Zifang thought, is it really that serious?
It's just a box of condoms.
But this matter is really his fault. If he hadn't read about 29 wonderful uses for condoms on the Internet and wanted to try them on a whim, he wouldn't have caused such a misunderstanding.
He dragged a chair over to sit across from Lu Jiyu, a coffee table separating them. On the coffee table lay the rather troublesome box of condoms. Zhou Zifang coughed lightly and changed the subject: "There's really no coffee in the kitchen."
Lu Jiyu finished another round on his phone, and the glaring victory suddenly felt dull to him. Zhou Zifang heard a familiar sound and leaned over to see: "How many wins in a row has this been? You should hold back. Li Mu just asked me on WeChat what's wrong with you. You're killing like chopping melons and vegetables."
Lu Jiyu also found it quite boring. He dropped his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and sighed deeply. A hint of fatigue and indifference hung in his clear eyes. "Blame me? They're just noobs anyway."
It’s not that they are bad, but that you are not good at all.
"Are you feeling good now?" Zhou Zi put his feet down and hooked the chair to move forward: "Honestly, this is not the situation you told me last time."
He had said it before, seemingly without any desires, but now, even the smallest of issues seemed to overwhelm him. Zhou Zifang's family was strict, so he'd had few opportunities for romance since childhood. But he'd seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork. He had a cousin who was a love expert, and every New Year, Zhou Zifang would beg her to tell him love stories. Over time, Zhou Zifang's talent for romance was wasted, but he had no idea how to deal with it.
Not like Lu Jiyu at all.
Lu Lin said she was strict with him, but she was busy with work and had no time to supervise Lu Jiyu. If such a good thing happened to Zhou Zifang, he would have done whatever he wanted. Unlike Lu Jiyu, who was honest and did nothing.
"Tell your bro the truth, are you lonely this time, or are you truly in love?" Zhou Zifang had always been curious about what kind of girlfriend Lu Jiyu would find in the future. After all, this guy looked like a playboy, but he was actually very innocent.
Lonely or emotionally in place.
Actually, neither.
Lu Jiyu was a master at coaxing people, even himself. He'd buy gaming equipment worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars without a second thought. He'd book flights and hotels to go skiing the moment ski season arrived, and he'd never really skimp on his own expenses. So Lu Jiyu rarely felt lonely; he had so much to do. As for whether their relationship was truly fulfilling, that wasn't even the question. He and Jiang Wan had only known each other for a few days, so how could there be any real affection?
Seeing that he was silent, Zhou Zifang lowered his voice and put on an air of knowing a lot: "I'm telling you, love has something to do with time, or it has nothing to do with it at all. Have you ever seen a movie? In movies, the highest level of love is often determined at first sight."
Lu Jiyu scoffed. He grabbed his phone again and ordered lemon tea, choosing ice cubes and angrily asking for all-ice. He was feeling a sticky, unpleasant feeling all over his body, and he wanted something refreshing to soothe him. After placing his order, he reached for the remote control on the table and switched to the sports channel. Remembering that there was an F1 qualifying race today, he figured it was almost time.
"Movies are all lies, you're the only one who believes them."
"It's already late, why aren't you leaving? Roll aside and stop blocking people."
Lu Jiyu was annoyed by the sight of him and started to chase him away. But Zhou Zifang was naturally shameless and wasn't so easy to chase away. He was determined to analyze his boyfriend's love life thoroughly today.
"If you like it, then you like it. It's not something to be ashamed of. Why do you have to hide it from me?"
Lu Jiyu didn't really know what to say. Today's incident wasn't a big deal. But before leaving, Jiang Wan gave him a look that made him unbearable. It would be fine if she just plainly disliked him, but there was something about her look that hinted at pity and regret.
Do you think that a person will only express this kind of emotion when he or she has expectations of another person?
"So what do you think?" Lu Jiyu pulled a candy from his pocket and bit into it. His slender hands rested on the armrest of the gray leather sofa, his thin eyelids half-lidded. He stood up and shifted his sitting position. The dark blue collar of his shirt tilted slightly to one side, revealing his sharp, cool collarbone.
"Are we a good match?"
…
Zhou Zifang was speechless. After all, he was a pure man who had never been in love, yet he could ask such a question: "I'm not a matchmaker, how would I know? I have to try to know if it's suitable. Or do you want to play the role of a cold and domineering CEO, waiting for others to chase you? Lu Chunqing"
That's definitely not what it means.
Although Lu Jiyu had never been in a relationship, if he really met someone he liked, he would definitely be the one to take the initiative. But in all these years, he had never met anyone who could make him open his heart. Jiang Wan was not either, at least not yet. Zhou Zifang asked him how he felt about her, and Lu Jiyu was just curious. Doesn't all love start with curiosity? Curiosity. She often acted open-minded about this curiosity, and she was also curious about her relationship with Chen Wulin.
But curiosity is an emotion that is neither up nor down, and unfortunately he is stuck in the middle.
He didn't want to make any wild predictions. Lu Jiyu usually listened to Lu Lin's words, but when it came to matters concerning her own interests, he wasn't so easily fooled. They were family, and that bond was unbreakable. He might eventually fall in love with Jiang Wan, and they could even have a good relationship, but he knew it was unlikely they would have a future.
Besides, she might not necessarily think highly of me.
Lu Jiyu didn’t understand Jiang Wan, but one thing was certain: she was definitely not the kind of girl who could be caught up by just chasing. She was very clear-headed and knew exactly what she wanted.
So it was actually quite good to end it like this today, letting her think he was just a bohemian, a mere shell of a man. After he stayed here until the college entrance exams were over and he left, there wouldn't even be any contact between them again. A chance meeting, a meeting and a parting, were all like a fleeting cloud, never ending no matter where fate's hand took us. The next time we met, perhaps we would both have taken on a different form, water, clouds, or even a wisp of mist. In any case, when we recalled it, it would be nothing more than a hazy memory.
Summer is always hot but short.
The blood of youth is just an occasional flash of inspiration.
Lu Jiyu curled his lips, his eyes misty. "No, I just think she was sent by Chen Wulin to seduce me. Once I take the bait and fall head over heels in love with her, she'll turn around and dump me. I'd better be careful."
Zhou Zifang: "...What melodramatic idol dramas have you been watching lately?"
Lu Lin had forced Lu Jiyu to watch the melodramatic idol drama. Lu Lin always thought Lu Jiyu was too aggressive and was worried that Lu Jiyu would offend others in the future. So for a while, when Lu Lin was watching dramas to relax, he would force Lu Jiyu to join him, under the pretext of "learning how to get along with the sexes."
While other parents repeatedly told their children not to watch TV, Lu Lin was the only one who found a way to do it. Lu Jiyu had no other choice but to roll up a piece of paper and spread it across his lap, writing while occasionally glancing at the TV and accommodating Lu Lin's desire to talk. He'd watched so many shows that he'd mastered the plot. He could often predict the plot's direction, constantly spoiling it for Lu Lin. After two or three rounds, Lu Lin, dissatisfied with his meddling, stopped taking him to the shows.
The qualifying race was postponed due to heavy rain. Lu Jiyu didn't change the channel as the TV camera switched back and forth between the pit area and the track. The spectators in the stands were wrapped in colorful raincoats, but they were still in high spirits and excitedly greeted the camera. In the silence, the subtle sound of rain hitting the window gradually became clearer. The lights in the living room were not on, only the pale fluorescent light from the TV screen flickered. The whole space looked like a frame cut out of an old black-and-white movie. It was ambiguous and long. It was a pity that the person who shared this time with him was Zhou Zifang.
Zhou Zifang didn't realize he was being disliked at all. He even poked his head out and asked innocently, "Is it raining again?"
Lu Jiyu said "hmm" absentmindedly. He was always feeling a little uneasy, and this time, listening to the sound of rain, his eyes involuntarily fell on the half-burnt pot of asparagus fern on the windowsill. He initially thought it was left there by the landlord, but it turned out to be Jiang Wan's. His grandfather also liked asparagus fern, and when he was in his hometown, he would always put two pots in the front yard. Lu Jiyu watched his grandfather fiddling with these things every day, and over time he learned some basics, and sprinkled some white sugar into the flowerpot according to his memory. Apart from that, he didn't pay much attention to it. When he was brushing his teeth this morning, he found that a new branch had grown out from the right side of the root. It was weak and slender, and the leaves were bathed in the morning sun, and they were golden and hot, with a vigorous vitality.
When he moves out, should he take this thing with him or give it back to her? There's nothing going on between them, yet he seems to have some connection with her in every aspect of life.
"There's one thing I can confirm with you. It seems Jiang Wan and Chen Wulin are really neighbors."
"I don't know what it was like before, but it seems like things are just okay now." Zhou Zifang talked for a while and started to feel hungry. He crouched down and rummaged through the box under the coffee table. "It's not just that there's no coffee, but why is there nothing else to eat?"
Lu Jiyu kicked the box that Zhou Zifang had just messed up and said, "Can't you go buy food yourself if you want?"
"Is there a small shop downstairs?" Zhou Zifang was so hungry that he hung on the chair with his stomach turning over. "But when I first got here, the door seemed to be closed."
"There's a Lawson at the entrance of the alley." There was also one where Lu Jiyu used to live. Sometimes he didn't have time to make dinner for himself, so he would just buy some oden at the convenience store to make do with it.
"But." Zhou Zifang hesitated: "It's still raining outside."
"The umbrella is by the door, Master."
"You can go or not. I'm going to shower." Lu Jiyu hunched up from the sofa. He'd been sitting for too long, and the discomfort he'd felt washed over him. His shirt, where the collar and shoulders had just been soaked by raindrops, was now wrinkled and soft, drooping. He half-grabbed the collar and unbuttoned his shirt as he walked toward the bedroom.
"Then I went to Lawson."
"Don't lock the door for me when the time comes." Zhou Zifang said worriedly.
Lu Jiyu stopped at the door, slapped his hand on the door, turned around and sneered: "What kind of dog would do such a tasteless thing as locking the door? Tell me clearly."
Zhou Zifang swung the umbrella in his hand with a rather shameless smile: "Yes, it is me, Zhou Gou."
Lu Jiyu didn't hesitate to give him a look and simply turned his back and closed the door of his bedroom.
He quickly unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and threw it into the washing machine in the bathroom. He then returned to the bedroom to get a change of clothes after showering. Suddenly, his phone in the living room rang. In the quiet surroundings, any sound was particularly noticeable. Lu Jiyu's first instinct was to think that Zhou Zifang was up to something again. Only when he reached the living room did he remember the lemon tea he had just ordered. It was about time. Perhaps it was the delivery man calling, as finding addresses in this area was quite difficult.
Lu Jiyu had taken off his shirt, leaving him shirtless. His fresh, smooth skin cast a cool, delicate glow under the fluorescent light of the TV behind him. His phone had unfortunately fallen between the cracks in the sofa. He half-knelt on the sofa, bent over, and tried to retrieve it several times before finally finding it. Because he'd waited so long, Lu Jiyu didn't have time to examine the phone carefully. Naturally, he didn't notice the unusual answering interface or the all-too-familiar number, and simply pressed the green button.
"HELLO——." The voice appeared before the picture.
After a tenth of a second of silence——
"Hey, are you naked?"
Looking at Jiang Wan's face that suddenly appeared, Lu Jiyu almost threw his phone away.
The person who called her was actually Face Time——
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