In college, everyone was an adult, and fighting wasnât a big deal as long as there was no blood shed. The counselor called late at night and talked to Father Lu for a long time.
âYesâ¦.right, our familyâs He Zi is really well-behaved ordinarily. He was in a bad mood tonight, heâs lovelornâ¦if
can understand, thatâs great. â
Lu Xiuhe couldnât stand it any longer and said, âDad, if youâre going to talk on the phone, just talk on the phone. Can you not tell the whole world about this matter ah?â
âShut up, itâs not like Iâm not lying. How can I lie to the teacher?â Father Lu scolded him.
Lu Xiuhe really wanted to define again the differences between counselors and teachers for his dad.
âYes, yes, yes, thank you, teacher. Iâll tell him to go tomorrow.â Father Lu finished talking, hung up the phone, turned around, and said, âOkay, the person over there that suffered from getting hit by you doesnât blame you; the counselor asked you to go apologize tomorrow, and then itâll be okay.â
âMe apologize?â Lu Xiuheâs eyes widened, âYeah right. Why should I apologize to him? I even want him to go give Zuoâ¦. Go give my partner an apology! â
In normal times, Father Lu would definitely knock on his sonâs head, but today he just let it go. He got up and said, âItâs fine if you donât apologize. Iâll ask your mom to buy you some fruit tomorrow morning, and you take it to school. You beat someone up, so itâs not too much to send some fruit
?â
Lao San usually had a cheap mouth and loved to jabber away, but he wasnât a bad person. Lu Xiuhe thought about it and mumbled, âOkay
.â
After applying some random medicine, Lu Xiuhe went back to his room. His face was burning with pain, and he definitely couldnât fall asleep. He simply turned over and played with his cellphone.
The first thing he did when he picked up his phone was open up his Weibo side account, wanting to see how the comments were like under that influencer account. However as he flipped and scrolled around, he just found out that the influencerâs Weibo had been deleted, without even a shadow left behind. It must have been the PR team.
It was three oâclock in the morning, so Peerlessâ efficiency was pretty up there
. He just didnât know if Zuo Zhen had seen that post or not.
His heart suddenly soured, and he thought to himself, really, youâve already been blacklisted by this guy, so whether or not he saw it has shit all to do with you.
He closed the search and was going to go watch the latest episode of One Piece when he saw a special topic on the trending searches.
âHave any of you experienced being tricked while dating online?â
This line of characters stabbed straight into Lu Xiuheâs heart.
He was sure that no one else was more qualified to reply to this Weibo post!
This Weibo post was simply customized for him. If it was on some other platform, he would even add a âthank youâ before replying.
He clicked on the post and went straight to the comments. He found that some people in these comments had been tricked out of money, some had been tricked about what the other person looked like, and some had been catfished, but it seemed that he couldnât find a sympathetic take on it.
So he turned around, got up, and opened up the comment box.
âIâll talk about it too. My online partner for five months is a man, and Iâm also a man, a man as straight as steel. Some time ago, I went to his city to find him⦠when I met him in real life, heâs really handsome. â
He had originally wanted to make a long speech, but who knew that when he finished typing this line, he accidentally clicked the send button.
He clicked his tongue, just about to continue his comment in a reply, but when it refreshed, he found that someone had already replied to his comment.
[Really handsome? How handsome, a straight man aesthetic kind of handsome?]
Having a stranger listening to him pour his heart out in the middle of the night felt too good.
âNo, the kind of handsome that both men and women like. Iâm already this old, and I havenât seen anyone more handsome than him.â
These days, there were many night owls. He refreshed the page, and there was another reply below.
[Such a handsome person dates online? I donât believe it. Then what? ]
[May I ask, is he as handsome as him [picture]]
Lu Xiuhe casually clicked to open the picture.
â¦â¦it was really as if he had seen a ghost.
This was actually a street snapshot of Zuo Zhen at the airport.
âHeâs as handsome as him. Then⦠After having dated for so long, I couldnât bear to beat him up. As soon as I was ready to say bye bye to him, I was pressed up against the wall and kissed by him.â
[?]
[Ha?? What kind of turn is this? By the way, begging for a picture. ]
âAfraid of losing my connection, so not sending photos. After that, I originally had no intention of contacting him again, but I kept not being able to help it⦠I said before
, heâs so handsome, and then⦠â
Lu Xiuhe thought about how to make this matter vague.
âThen he had a fan group at our school, and I accidentally entered the fan group. Who knew that he found out about this matter, and he asked me if I was purposefully dangling him around, and said that since I donât like him, to not entangle with him anymore.â
[Really fake, heâs your online partner, so how can he have a fan group at your school? Not chatting with you guys anymore
. ]
âI guarantee, this matter is absolutely true. If I lied, may I be single for the rest of my life. â
[This person plainly catfished you, and he still has the nerve to say youâre dangling him around? And then what, you beat him up? ]
âNo.â
âI was kissed by him again.â
[â¦â¦ ]
[Youâre really unlucky. So in the end what, now it should be time for you to take some action
? If I was kissed twice by a man, I could fucking burn down his house. ]
âAh? Why do I need to take action
. If he kissed me that means I kissed him too
. Heâs that handsome, and anyway Iâm not suffering any losses. Isnât it just touching lips? â
[? ]
âAnd he was still sick then. I originally wanted to wait for his fever to go down before leaving, but he drove me awayk2026; right, I was just blacklisted by him too. â
[??]
âHis QQ and WeChat have all been deleted, our chat records for the several months have all disappeared, he wonât let me into his fansâ group, and also told me to leave his fandom. I think I am the most miserable fan in the world.â
[???]
âSo Iâd like to comment here to ask all of you, in this case, is there any way to make me and him not have such hardened relations? At leastâ¦.QQ and WeChat could get added back
. Iâll just look at his profile picture and wonât go looking for him to chat with, and that would be fine, really. â
At the end of this sentence, Lu Xiuhe got up and went to the bathroom. When he came back, he was shocked by the 100 likes on his comment.
There were already a lot more replies to his post, and the reply at the top wasââ
[Dearest, we suggest that
bend over directly. ]
ââ¦â¦â
Lu Xiuhe felt as if he had been electrified by something. He was so shocked that his thumb reflexively pressed down and locked his phone.
ââ
The next day, the other people in the dormitory, in order to make the two of them reconcile earlier, made plans for lunch at a restaurant near the school.
As soon as Lu Xiuhe entered, he saw his roommates were waving at him. Only Lao San didnât even turn his head, seeming like he was still reluctant.
He went up and put the fruit in front of Lao San. His expression was even worse than Lao Sanâs. âMy mother is giving it to you.â
When Lao San saw this foul expression, he was about to lose his temper right then and there. Lao Da saw it and quickly said, âOkay, itâs just a stupid matter, bros donât have overnight feuds. Your matter was already finished last night, donât bring it up again.â
Lao San said, âNo, you guys tell me, with this matter, who was in the right, and who was in the wrong? I said two words, and he rushed down directly to hit me? â
Lu Xiuhe took a seat, âWho the hell told you to talk about Zuo Zhen?â
âWhat about Zuo Zhen? Is he your dad
? â
Lao Da hurriedly said, âOkay
â¦â
Lu Xiuhe broke apart his chopsticks, âHeâs not my father, heâs my idol!â
As soon as these words came out, everyone around him fell quiet. The roommates all looked at each other for a while.
ââ¦â¦ Your idol? â Lao San was also puzzled, âWhen did he become your idol?â
âThese past few months.â Lu Xiuhe said, âAnyway, I wonât let you talk bad about him.â
ââ¦â¦â Lao San paused. âThen itâs still not okay since I didnât fucking know what was going on
. If you have something to say, you can just say it, but you had to lash out.â
Lu Xiuhe was too lazy to keep talking to him, so he took out his cellphone out of habit, wanting to see the chat record of the fan support group. As soon as he opened it, he saw the latest message below.
[God
, I asked the sisters in the front line, and Zhenzhen really didnât go back to Jincheng with the other team members! ]
Lu Xiuhe froze, opened the chat box just wanting to ask, found that he couldnât send his message.
[You have been removed from âZuo Zhen Support Groupâ by Big Fan]
[Big Fan: Lulu, since youâve already left the fandom, Iâll take you out of the groupchat first. Iâm afraid that the chat records will be leaked, so there are more restrictions on the groupchat now. Please understand. If you want to chat with others, I can pull you into other smaller groupchats. ]
Lu Xiuhe didnât have the heart to enter any smaller groupchats.
[Itâs okay. Um, I saw that they said Zuo Zhen didnât go back to Jincheng. Is that true? ]
[Big Fan: Yes, I went to do the airport meetup myself, but I didnât see Zhen Zhen. I asked some others, and they said that the ticket wasnât cancelled, just that the person himself didnât get on the plane. ]
Zuo Zhen actually didnât go back?
Why? It couldnât be that he was still ill and had developed problems from the fever?
He couldnât have already gone to the hospital
?
Manyang, this small place, didnât have any big events even after 180 years. He couldnât think of any other reason for Zuo Zhen to stay here.
Lu Xiuheâs thoughts were chaotically bouncing around, but his body was the first to react.
âHe Zi, where are you going?â When Lao Da saw him standing up, he thought it was strange and said, âNone of the dishes have even arrived.â
âIâ¦â¦â Lu Xiuhe paused, âI suddenly thought of a very important matter, I have to go. You guys take your time and keep the receipt. This meal will be my treat. â
With that, he ignored the calls of the people behind him, turned around, and hurried out of the restaurant.
He couldnât sit still. He planned to take a look at the hotel where Zuo Zhen was staying.
He would just ring the doorbell and run away, just to see if Zuo Zhen was still there, and he wouldnât do anything elseâ¦That way, it couldnât trouble him
.
It was noon when school was letting out, and he couldnât squeeze onto the bus at all. Lu Xiuhe took out his cellphone to call a
, when he heard someone behind him call out to him, âXiuhe?â
The voice was inexplicably familiar. Lu Xiuhe turned around and indeed saw a girl who was in the same elective course as him.
When his female classmate saw him, she immediately smiled, her eyes curving up. âWhere are you going?â
âI have something I need to do.â Lu Xiuhe replied.
âWhat something, do you need my help?â His female classmate asked.
âNo need, I can manage it aloneâ¦â
âItâs fine. I donât have anything to do at noon right now anyway.â The female classmate coughed softly.
It was actually no coincidence that she would run into Lu Xiuhe here.
She moved forward, her cheeks a little warm. âAndâ¦I happen to have something to tell you. â
His cellphone beeped, prompting him to call for a car. He asked in a hurry, âWhat do you need to tell me
, you can say it now
. I canât ask others for help on this matter, so I wonât trouble you.â
The girl froze, not clear in that moment if the other side didnât understand her or if he was playing dumb.
Lu Xiuhe waited for ten seconds and then said, âUm, the DiDi I called is here. If you donât have anythingâ¦â
Before he finished speaking, the girl put something in his arms.
âThen forget it, Iâll tell you next time
.â His female classmate said with some embarrassment. âIâll give this to you, itâs for you.â
Lu Xiuhe froze and was just about to say something, when his gaze suddenly swept onto someoneâs figure, in front of the bakery not far away.
The figure was tall and straight, the manâs neck was straight and white, and the lower edge of the hat seemed to show a little pink.
Lu Xiuheâs eyes widened.
The female classmate bowed her head and continued, âAlthough it doesnât seem to be very useful in Manyang, Iâ¦â¦â
âUm, Iâm sorry.â Lu Xiuhe couldnât wait to hear her out. He patted the girl on the shoulder and said, âIâm in a bit of a hurry, so Iâm leaving first now! If you have something, weâll talk later
. â
The girl looked up in shock and opened her mouth. She just felt a gust of wind passing by her side, and once she returned to her senses, there wasnât even a shadow of Lu Xiuhe still in front of her.
Lu Xiuhe didnât even run as fast during the college entrance examinations physical section as he did now.
He was afraid if he slowed down, that person would be gone.
That figure was in a hurry, but he didnât run as fast as he did. Lu Xiuhe finally grabbed the manâs shoulder at the corner.
The other party paused, and not only did he not stop, but his pace grew faster.
Lu Xiuhe hurried forward two steps, turned to block the man from his front, and just met the eyes of the other party exposed above his mask.
He could recognize this person even if only one eyelash was showing.
âYouâ¦â Running too fast, Lu Xiuhe was panting a bit. He looked at the person in front of him with shining eyes, âHow are you here?â
Zuo Zhenâs eyes were very calm. He only took a look at him and said, âPassing by.â
âItâs half an hour from your hotelâ¦â
âI heard that the snail vermicelli here is very delicious,â Zuo Zhen said
Lu Xiuhe only then noticed that the other party still had a plastic bag in his hand. Looking at the packaging, it really was snail vermicelli.
He had mentioned this shop to Zuo Zhen before.
âOhâ¦â Lu Xiuhe stared blankly then said, âThat shopâs peppers are especially spicy, you didnât put in too much
.â
âNo.â Zuo Zhen said, âDid you find me for something?â
âAh?â
âIf not, Iâm heading back.â
ââ¦â¦â Lu Xiuhe was silent for a long time. âNothing reallyâ¦â
âEn.â Zuo Zhen said, turning around and planning to leave.
âRight.â Lu Xiuhe said then blurted out, âIs your fever done?â
âEn.â
Lu Xiuhe said nothing again, âOh.â
After a few steps, Zuo Zhen heard the person behind him coming up again.
âZuo Zhen, wait.â Lu Xiuhe grabbed his wrist, as if he finally couldnât hold back anymore and asked him, ââ¦.Why did you suddenly delete my QQ
? â
Zuo Zhen: ââ¦â
âNo, I mean that you could let me know before you delete it, not to not let you delete it.â Lu Xiuhe said, âI⦠I just want to keep the chat records. â
âThereâs no need,â said Zuo Zhen.
ââ¦â¦â
Two big men pulling and pushing each other had already attracted a little attention from the people around them. Zuo Zhen pulled on the brim of his hat and said, âIâm going. Goodbye.â
He finished saying that and planned to leave, but the grip on his wrist by the person behind him suddenly tightened, and he couldnât break free.
Zuo Zhen turned around, his tone already a little impatient, âLu Xiuheâ¦â
He just called his name, then lost his voice.
Lu Xiuhe was staring blankly at him. The big young man with a buzzcut was so aggrieved that even the tip of his nose had turned red, and even his eyes were a bit red.
Meeting Zuo Zhenâs glossy black eyes, Lu Xiuhe only then came back to his senses. He let out an âohâ and quickly let go, âSorry
.â
He completely had no idea that his expression didnât look right. âI just wanted to tell you that there is a milk tea shop near my school. The milk tea there is very delicious. If you want to drink itâ¦â
âLu Xiuhe.â Zuo Zhen called out to him again.
âAlright
, if you donât want to drink it, thatâs fine too.â
âWhatâs wrong with your face?â
ââ¦â¦ Ah? â
âYour face.â Zuo Zhen repeated.
âOh, youâre talking about that
.â Lu Xiuhe answered resentfully, âFought with someone, got hurt.â
Zuo Zhen frowned, âDidnât you say that you were an invincible fighter back in junior high school?â
âThat was junior high school. Iâm in college now.â
âYou also know that youâre in college now.â Although Zuo Zhenâs voice was still cold, at least he wasnât turning his head and leaving. âWhy did you get into a fight?â
ââ¦â¦â
âTalk
.â
If this was normal times, Lu Xiuhe would definitely lie, but now he wanted to get back the chat record, so he weighed the matter and finally said honestly, âThat person cursed you out.â
âHim cursing me out, what does that have to do with you?â
âYouâre my ex
.â
ââ¦â¦â
Lu Xiuhe took a deep breath, âEven if you tricked me, but weâ¦for better or worse we also count as having been together, and I definitely canât listen to others talk bad about you.â
Zuo Zhen was silent for a long time, then he suddenly snorted, âThen you still really remember old feelings. Did you win or lose the fight?â
âJust, half and half
.â
Zuo Zhen stood in place and looked at the injury on his face for a while.
Lu Xiuhe didnât know what to say. The two of them were silent for a while when Zuo Zhenâs cellphone suddenly rang.
Lu Xiuhe already had lowered his head and just happened to see the caller ID. It was âAssistantâ.
Zuo Zhen didnât pick it up. He looked away, locked the screen, and said, âLeaving.â
The soles of Lu Xiuheâs feet were like stones with a weight of a thousand jin. They couldnât move any more. What other reasons did he have for keeping this person here. âOhâ¦â
After separating this time, he didnât know when he would be able to see him again.
As soon as he had this idea, he had a lot more courage. He simply raised his head and stared at Zuo Zhen, thinking that he needed to remember this entire person.
Such a good person, and he didnât know if he could meet him again in the future, so it wasnât bad to give him a few more looks.
Who knew that Zuo Zhen just stood in place, letting him look at him.
Half a minute later, Zuo Zhen raised his eyebrows and said, âLetâs go
.â
Lu Xiuhe froze, ââ¦.go where? â
Zuo Zhen said, âTo buy milk tea.â
â
: Well, it looks like LXH didnât react too badly to figuring out he wasnât straight at long last. Now to properly woo ZZ! (Also Noks isnât feeling well, so itâs just me editing here! Hopefully it still reads smoothly for everyone!)
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