Music to my ears - Zhuo Zhi

Chapter 50 - Confrontation (confession)

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Wait what did you just say?" Zhihao pointed a finger at Zhuo Zhi.

"I don't know, what did I say?"

The two stared at each other but Zhihao refused to back down. It didn't matter if Zhuo Zhi was going to play dumb, she was going to pry those words back out of him if she had to.

"No I heard you, say it again!"

"Say what??"

"You and I both know what you said, just say it!"

"If you already know what I said then why would you make me say it again??" Zhuo Zhi exclaimed.

"Maybe because I want to hear you say it again!!" Zhihao matched his volume.

She suddenly became too aware of how loud the two were being, especially for being in a rowdy cafeteria at a high school full of high spirited teenagers.

"Well I don't wanna!" Zhuo Zhi stubbornly crossed his arms and turned his face away.

"Okay fine, fine." Zhihao sighed and slowly smoothed her the wisps of hair down. She inhaled deeply before changing tactics.

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Zhuo Zhi struggled to ignore how close in proximity Zhihao was to him, how prominent her smell was, how fast his heartbeat was racing. This was a mistake. He shouldn't have said anything. He shouldn't have said anything and now Zhihao would hate her forever and-

"Did you mean what you said?" Zhihao's voice cut through his thoughts which were ironically all filled with her.

Reluctantly, Zhuo Zhi met Zhihao's gaze, which flitted between his eyes as if searching for something. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and dropped her gaze before jerking his head in a singular, stiff nod.

"Yes."

Zhihao uttered a soft "oh."

Zhuo Zhi's response was simple, yet it was all she had wanted to hear. She visibly relaxed and sat back into her seat, allowing Zhuo Zhi to finally breathe normally again.

He likes me... Zhuo Zhi likes me.

Suddenly the realization hit Zhihao like a train. Helikesmehelikesmehelikesmehelikesmehelikesmehelikesmehe-

"Sorry," Zhuo Zhi apologized in a tight voice, making Zhihao's head snap up in alarm.

"What are you sorry for? I like you too!" She blurted out, in a rush to stop Zhuo Zhi's thoughts before another big misunderstanding could unfold and cause them to have a lack of miscommunication for 5+ chapters.

"Oh." Zhuo Zhi looked positively dumbfounded. "Really?"

Zhihao vigorously nodded her head in response. "Of course I do!"

"Oh."

"I just had to pause for a moment to process the idea that you like me too."

Too. Zhuo Zhi had never heard such a sweeter word in his life than too. Too, too, too. It very well had just become his favorite word in the whole wide world.

Zhihao smiled shyly at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear that you like me too everyday."

Zhuo Zhi fought back the impulse to grab his chest at Zhihao's words. Today was going to be the end of him, he just knew it. And that was absolutely a-okay with him. He could get a dozen eggs thrown at him, ruining his favorite shirt in the process, and he wouldn't be able to care less. Even if Jiale was to talk his ear off for an hour or two, and then more, Zhuo Zhi was fine with it. In fact, he was more than fine with it.