After finishing their meal, Liang Xiao accompanied Lu Ze to the subway station. Lu Ze, hands in pockets, smiled at Liang Xiao and said, “Thanks for today. No need to see me off. Can I chat with you when there’s no business in the future?”
Lu Ze asked casually, with no ulterior motives. Liang Xiao replied, “Sure.”
Suddenly, Lu Ze took two steps closer, extended a hand, and snapped his fingers in front of Liang Xiao. “Great! Xiao Ge, you’re definitely the coolest friend I’ve ever made.”
After saying this, he took two steps back, leaving Liang Xiao with a “see you” before heading down the stairs.
Liang Xiao stood in place, staring in the direction Lu Ze left for two seconds, not understanding why Lu Ze kept calling him cool and unsure how they became friends.
As soon as Lu Ze returned to the dormitory, Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin blocked him at the door. Lu Ze closed the door and leaned against it, saying, “What’s up? Catching a thief?”
The two in front of him scrutinized him. Mao Xin said, “We thought you were too drunk to come back. Not that drunk?”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue, pushed them away with a hand on each shoulder, squeezed through the middle, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Not mad anymore?” Sun Zhuoyu asked.
“Not feeling down anymore?” Mao Xin asked.
“You’ve gotten over it so quickly?” Sun Zhuoyu asked again.
Lu Ze took off his coat and said helplessly, “I haven’t really gotten over it either.”
Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin exchanged a glance, clearly expressing mutual shock in their eyes. How could someone move on from such things so quickly?
“No, Ze, don’t pretend to be strong,” Sun Zhuoyu placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, “If you haven’t moved on, there’s no need to hide it from us.”
Lu Ze looked at him strangely, “What’s going on with you? What’s so hard about breaking up?”
Seeing him like this, Sun Zhuoyu didn’t want to say much more, just gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
Lu Ze turned to Mao Xin, “Mao Mao, what’s up with him? Why is he acting so strangely?”
Mao Xin also came over and patted his shoulder without saying a word.
Lu Ze took off his coat and said helplessly, “I haven’t really gotten over it either.”
Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin exchanged a glance, clearly expressing mutual shock in their eyes. How could someone move on from such things so quickly?
“No, Ze, don’t pretend to be strong,” Sun Zhuoyu placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, “If you haven’t moved on, there’s no need to hide it from us.”
Lu Ze looked at him strangely, “What’s going on with you? What’s so hard about breaking up?”
Seeing him like this, Sun Zhuoyu didn’t want to say much more, just gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
Lu Ze turned to Mao Xin, “Mao Mao, what’s up with him? Why is he acting so strangely?”
Mao Xin also came over and patted his shoulder without saying a word.
Lu Ze, with a bewildered expression, simply ignored the two of them. He took another shower, washed his dirty clothes and sheets, and after hanging them up, he comfortably lay on the bed.
Boss Xu sent him a message: [Little handsome guy, I’ll send you some fruits tomorrow.]
Lu Ze replied lazily: [Is it the surplus from home again?]
Boss Xu: [Very clever! I purposely added a few more bananas for your girlfriend.]
Lu Ze knew she would bring this up and calmly responded: [No girlfriend anymore. You can feed the handsome guy.]
It took a while for Boss Xu to reply: [Weren’t you quite fond of this girlfriend? How come you’ve broken up again?]
Lu Ze: [What’s the point of me liking her? She doesn’t like me.]
Boss Xu replied very indifferently with a single word: [Oh.]
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. After a while, Boss Xu said again: [I’ve already packed it. Too lazy to unpack it. Share it with other classmates.]
Lu Ze sighed slightly. At first, he thought that he had overcome his frustration after that laughter, but now it seemed that he was just not that stifled; the frustration still lingered.
——
The next day, as soon as Lu Ze entered the classroom, he knew that the entire department probably already knew about his breakup with Han Jing. All eyes were subtly focused on him, but as usual, Lu Ze went straight to the back rows and took a seat.
Fortunately, he and Han Jing were in the same department but in different classes. Otherwise, he wouldn’t need to attend this class; gossiping would be more interesting.
Mao Xin whispered into his ear, “These people are more enthusiastic about gossiping than before. During yesterday’s lecture, when you didn’t show up, some people said that you couldn’t handle the break up and didn’t want to see Han Jing.”
Lu Ze nodded, “It’s not as bad as I thought. I thought it would become a rumor that I cried and drank in the dorm, got alcohol poisoning, and had to go to the hospital to get my stomach pumped.”
During the professional classes in the morning, Lu Ze couldn’t concentrate at all. It wasn’t intentional; his attention just couldn’t be focused, it kept drifting away.
At noon, he ran into a few friends with good relationships who promptly sat down next to him and encircled him, “Ze Ge, what’s going on? Have you and Han Jing really broken up?”
Lu Ze lowered his head and gnawed on a chicken leg, “Can you fake a breakup?”
“No, it’s just too sudden between you two. Weren’t things fine a few days ago?”
“Yeah, and you treat Han Jing so well. Why did she break up with you?”
Lu Ze continued to gnaw on the chicken leg, “We broke up.”
“Damn, why?”
Lu Ze was about to speak when he raised his head and saw Han Jing and Qiu Ning not far away, serving themselves at the window.
Seeing that he said nothing, the others followed his gaze. Various gasps and muffled “damn” sounds reached Lu Ze’s ears.
“What a melodramatic scene…”
“Did she see Ze Ge?”
“I don’t think so…”
They didn’t know about the situation between Han Jing and Qiu Ning, and found it awkward that Lu Ze met his ex as soon as he appeared.
Lu Ze’s gaze remained fixed on the two of them. Although he clearly knew he shouldn’t be looking, he couldn’t resist the urge. Qiu Ning was pointing to a dish, saying something to Han Jing, who smiled and then pulled her arm, moving forward.
Lu Ze suddenly lowered his head, shoved the unfinished chicken leg into his mouth, and with a forceful tug, he snapped the bone.
Holding the plate, Lu Ze stood up and said, “I’m leaving.”
After a while, Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin caught up from behind, “Where are you going?”
“Fetching a delivery,” Lu Ze replied.
“Need help?”
“No, I can manage on my own.”
After seeing his package at the courier station, Lu Ze felt a bit regretful. He hadn’t expected Xu Jingjing to send him such a large box of fruits.
Bending down to lift it, it was quite heavy, but not too much for him to handle. So, he carried the large box out by himself.
Unexpectedly, just as he walked a dozen meters, he ran into Jiang Yijie. Lu Ze called out, “Jie Ge!”
Jiang Yijie was startled, jogged over, and helped him support the box, “Damn, what’s this? Why is it so heavy?”
“Fruits, my mom sent them.”
Without waiting for Lu Ze to say more, Jiang Yijie, very understandingly, helped him carry it back to the dorm, “Did your mom know about your breakup and specially send these to help you recover?”
“Nonsense,1 “屁” literally means “fart” in colloquial usage, often expressing a dismissive or disbelieving tone, similar to saying “nonsense” or “baloney” in English.” Lu Ze said, “She sent it specifically for Han Jing. She didn’t expect me to break up with her; she’s even a little upset about it.”
Jiang Yijie laughed for a while. Lu Ze gave him a sidelong glance, and he could barely contain his laughter. Clearing his throat, Lu Ze said, “I’ve noticed that your department is quite adept at gossiping, or maybe it’s just that you and Han Jing are too famous. Anyway, the news reached me today.”
“In what version did it reach you?” Lu Ze asked.
Jiang Yijie thought for a moment and tried to reproduce it, “It’s that you and Han Jing broke up, she dumped you, and you’re especially heartbroken, suffering immense pain, drowning your sorrows in alcohol, bedridden and unable to get up…”
Lu Ze’s eyebrows furrowed, “Do people actually believe that kind of talk?”
“That last part is a bit exaggerated,” Jiang Yijie said, “but many people still believe in the heartbroken and unable to recover part. After all, these girls think that you really liked Han Jing, treated her very well, and wouldn’t handle a sudden breakup well.”
Lu Ze didn’t think that many people would believe such rumors. However, when he went to the dormitory with the box, he received quite a few sympathetic glances. Even some outgoing girls ran up to him and said, “Hang in there.”2 “加油” “jiāyóu” is commonly used to convey encouragement or support.”
Lu Ze’s complexion became darker and darker. When he passed by the supermarket entrance again, he reached the extreme point of darkness when he met Han Jing and Qiu Ning.
This time, Han Jing saw him and walked over after saying a few words to Qiu Ning.
Lu Ze stopped in his tracks, and Han Jing also stopped a few steps away, looking at his expression with some hesitation. She said, “Lu Ze… I heard from others that you are ill.”
Lu Ze immediately interrupted her, “No, I’m fine.”
Han Jing examined him carefully, visibly skeptical, with a sense of guilt for his supposed illness. Her lips moved hesitantly for a while without deciding what to say.
Lu Ze didn’t like her looking at him with that expression and coldly interrupted her, “You don’t have to feel guilty and you don’t have to believe those rumors. I didn’t like you that much, not to the point of falling apart.”
Han Jing looked surprised for a moment, then sighed in relief and asked, “Really?”
“Yeah,” Lu Ze nodded, not entirely sure what he was thinking. In any case, he smoothly spoke his mind, “Thank you. If it weren’t for breaking up with you, I might not have realized that I’m also gay. Let’s consider it even between us. Neither of us owes the other anything.”
Han Jing widened her eyes, looking at him with disbelief. The onlookers, pretending to pass by casually, were secretly eavesdropping and all equally astonished.
Lu Ze chuckled inwardly.
He would rather be criticized for being gay or a scumbag than let people think he was half-dead after breaking up with Han Jing. Moreover, he didn’t want Han Jing to pity him.
Moreover, that was just a rumor! A rumor!
Before others could react, Luze, carrying the large box, casually brushed against Han Jing’s shoulder, not looking back, and walked away.
He even forgot about Jiang Yijie trailing behind. No wonder the box suddenly felt heavier.
But… a real man never looks back!
Seven柳:
Lu Ze: Who will give me a BGM?
