The Sun Will Come Out (WayV)

You Jealous, Mate?

(All dialogue is in Chinese.)

Liwei loved volleyball. She didn't consider herself athletic, but she knew she could play volleyball. Liwei would spike the ball and help her team make their way to victory. The college had a program called JROTC. Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corp. Liwei and her friends were in it for four years. For them, saying their schedules were busy was an understatement. 

The school's JROTC had a volleyball team that Liwei was on. She was one of the best players. After her classes, she'd go to practice to play volleyball and march. It was a Wednesday -- the day her classes ended early -- when she practiced volleyball in the quad with her team. 

Lucas was gleefully walking out of the bookstore when he saw the group of girls and boys playing volleyball at an isolated corner in the grassy field. He spotted Liwei in the air, hitting the ball with all her strength. He smirked, making his way to one of the benches to watch. 

Lucas was visibly impressed as he watched Liwei take her team to victory in every practice match. He admired her sportsmanship, the way she congratulated and encouraged everyone. "Nice job, guys!" she would call, giving everyone high-fives.  Lucas watched intently, a smile on his face until...

Wu Xiu Ying came. 

"Xiu Ying," Liwei smiled, giving him a hug. They had gotten much closer. Every time they were together, they were laughing and smiling about something. Lucas himself had gotten closer to Liwei, but not as much as Xiu Ying. He didn't know why he felt crestfallen when he saw them together. There were even times when his blood would boil. 

"Liwei!" he called, stopping their conversation. Liwei and Xiu Ying turned around at the same time, looking at a waving Lucas. Liwei quickly approached him, Xiu Ying following behind. 

"What's Gucci, Lucas?" Liwei stopped and cringed. "I'm so sorry, Lucas. I regret saying that. What's up?" she asked with a laugh. Lucas cracked up and smiled. 

"Just wanted to say you're pretty good at volleyball. You did awesome out there."

"You were watching?" Liwei looked away shyly. "Thank you," she said. Xiu Ying wasn't paying attention to their conversation. He was paying a lot more attention to the volleyball game going on without them. 

"Sorry to interrupt," Xiu Ying cut in. "Liwei, I'm gonna join the game. See ya, Lucas." He gave a small wave and took off running to the net. Lucas was doing his best to keep his pleased look under Liwei's radar. 

"You're in JROTC?" Lucas asked after moving to the side of the bench. Liwei took a seat next to him and nodded. 

"Yeah. It's been four years now."

Lucas's eyebrows raised. "Wow. Seems fun," he said. 

"You could always join. We're always looking for new recruits. It's really fun, ya know." Liwei smiled, clapping her hands. "It'd be awesome if you joined. I think you'd like it," she said. She gave him a thumbs up before turning her attention to the volleyball game. She watched the ball go back and forth before it hit Xiu Ying in the face. 

Liwei nearly split her sides laughing, which Xiu Ying could hear. He turned and looked at Liwei from across the field. 

"I'm cackling!" Liwei called. Xiu Ying looked around before flipping her off. "Shut it!" he hollered. Liwei giggled, turning back to Lucas. 

"Stuff like this happens every day in JROTC." She smiled, shaking her head. "We're idiots." Lucas laughed, thinking about what it would be like to join JROTC. A couple of his Dominatus friends had joined, and they really liked it. 

"I actually might, now that I think about it," Lucas said. he really was considering it. "I don't have to do marching, right? I can do just sports?" 

"Yeah, of course! So, JROTC has a lot of military influence. You basically do a lot of military training, but much less intense. We have the military aspect of JROTC, which is all the marching and rifle flipping and stuff like that. Meixing? You know her?" 

"You've mentioned her before," Lucas said. 

"Yeah, she flips rifles. She's really good at it, too. So there's that. Then, there's the athletic and sports-y aspect. We have volleyball, tug-of-war, dodgeball, basketball, CrossFit, SEAL team, and running." Liwei smiled, pointing at herself with her thumb. "Yours truly, here, is in volleyball and SEAL team." 

Lucas's eyebrows shot up again. "You're full of surprises." 

"Sure am. I like to keep people guessing," Liwei said, chuckling. "Anyway, you should consider joining. I think you'd enjoy it. Plus, you seem like someone we could use, ya know? You'd fit in."

"And if I don't?"

Liwei glared at Lucas. "No negative thinking allowed in my household, understood?" she said, a finger in his face. Lucas threw his hands in the air as a sign of surrender, a laugh bubbling in his throat. 

"Xiu Ying and I will take good care of you, Yukhei," she said. The use of his real name caught him off guard for a moment, although he wasn't mad at all. It sounded nice coming from Liwei. Then he realized her heard "Xiu Ying."

"You and Xiu Ying are pretty close, ya know," he said. He was contemplating how to say his thoughts out loud. "How come we aren't that close?" he asked. He had a glimmer of pride in his eyes. 

Well done, Yukhei, he told himself. 

Wow. Smooth, Liwei mused. 

"What?" she laughed. "You jealous, mate?" Liwei playfully nudged Lucas with her elbow, not realizing that he really was by the sour expression he put on whenever Xiu Ying was around. 

"Well ... Actually, yes."