sleepless cinderella ☆ d.sc | ✔

01

Just over a week later, and you were roused from another unproductive session of staring at your laptop screen by Chengxiao. She was dressed in a black cocktail dress, silver heels, with her makeup and hair done up. The stark opposite of your current state of sweatpants, a graphic t-shirt from high school, and greasy hair haphazardly pulled back from your face.

And she was rifling through your drawers as you watched her with confusion.

"Xiao?"

"Yeah?" She replied over her shoulder, not even looking back at you.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for your silver clutch. I have a date tonight."

"You mean the one on top of my dresser, right in front of your face?"

Chengxiao popped up enthusiastically, "Oh! Yeah, that one!"

"And why yes, you can borrow it. Thanks for asking."

"Oh please, this was Xuanyi's first."

With a noncommittal grumble, you returned to your laptop screen. Your roommate left your room, but returned only a moment later, squealing at a frequency you were sure could damage your ears soon if she didn't stop.

"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!"

"What now, Xiao? Come to take my strapless bra too?"

"No, I'm already wearing it."

You rolled your eyes, but then saw a small slip of paper in her fingers.

She held it out to you, still bouncing on her feet, "You didn't tell me you got one!"

"I got what?" You took the paper from her, eyes squinting over the unfamiliar numbers.

"Someone's number! And by someone, I mean one of the VIP lounge members! How could you not tell us that?"

Your lip was curled up in confusion as you kept reading the numbers over and over again. Honestly, you'd only looked in your clutch once since you left the lounge, and it was that night to get your phone. Therefore, the fact that you missed this didn't surprise you at all. But the fact that it was even in there didsurprise you.

"So who do you think it is?" Chengxiao sat down beside you, shoving your laptop across your bed in the process. "Ten seemed like the type, right? Or Yukhei! He really wanted you to come back. Oh, that one guy who kissed your hand? Wait, they were all pretty forward. If it was secretly snuck into your clutch then it was probably someone who was a bit shyer, right? But I mean, these are just my guesses, I wasn't up there with you. Did any of them seem into you?"

Blinking, you took a moment to fully process the relentless stream of words that had just come at you. You were still silent a moment later, trying to think of any other reason why you'd have this number and whose it was. Definitely not a VIP member's, probably some other random person from the party.

Your doorbell rang, and Chengxiao stood up with a groan, "Okay, that's my date. You better text them while I'm gone, Y/N. I want to know everything when I get back, okay?"

You numbly gave a thumbs-up before she traipsed out of your room.

Well, you were a journalist, right? And what sort of journalist wouldn't try to investigate a mysterious number they were given?

[you: hello? who is this?]

Lame, admittedly, but you couldn't think of anything else to say.

They texted back just a minute later.