The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

66: As Hot As I Am

The air that evening was cool and fresh, courtesy of the forest trees that were planted near the Home. If I took a whiff, I could catch the thick scent of smoke rising from the mini barbeque pit. With the weight of the chilled soda cans in my arms, I staggered out the open doors of the building and carried them to the long wooden table where everyone was crowding around, buzzing with excitement. A light draft rustled the ponytail I had bunched my hair up in, letting the smoke drift away.

"Let me help?" The weight of the twelve-pack soda lightened considerably all of a sudden. I turned my head to my left to see Zhuo Zhi's face beside mine, a casual smile playing on his lips as our eyes connected. My breath hitched in my throat for the briefest second as that similar electrical spark was passed between us again.

Zhuo Zhi chuckled at my reaction and turned his face away from mine. Before I could breathe properly again, he had already taken the strap of the twelve-pack away from my hand and was lugging it away. I stood rooted to the spot, my mind refusing to function normally. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I pinched the soft inner side of my elbow to let the pain drag me back down to reality and marched towards Zhuo Zhi.

"Thanks, Senior," I said politely, falling in step with him. We approached one of the foldable tables by the side of the barbeque pit to unload the drinks. On the table were dishes of raw meat and vegetables that were yet to be cooked.

Zhuo Zhi let out a soft laugh. "Anytime, Yue En," he smiled. He slipped his fingers around a soda can and handed it to me. "Let's go." He motioned towards the long wooden table where everyone was already taking their seats.

My own fingers encircled the soda can Zhuo Zhi gave me, the coldness of it seeping beneath my fingertips. I returned a small grin of my own, feeling a faint flutter in my stomach as we walked back to the table.

"Yue En, over here!" Ai Qi waved me over to sit. I was sitting opposite Xing Zi while sandwiched between Qi Ying and a Yu Feng member whom I vaguely recognised as Shi Tie Nan, the quiet boy with the white bandana adorned with patterned black dots wrapped around his skull. I exchanged a silent nod with him as I pulled my chair out and took a seat.

My eyes trailed over to Zhuo Zhi. While I was seated at a more centralised part of the long table, Zhuo Zhi was at the far end, taking a seat between Xing Long and Si Yang. Si Yang, as captain, was seated at the end of the table while Xu Zi Ping was at the other end. I averted my eyes away to avoid Zhuo Zhi catching my gaze.

There's definitely something wrong with you, Yue En. You're always acting too quiet and nervous around Zhuo Zhi.

I'm still working on un-liking him!

Looks like it isn't working well, is it?

Everyone was already taking their food from the dishes laid out, all eager to satisfy their hunger. I picked up the chopsticks of my own and clipped some pieces of chicken onto my plate.

Out of nowhere, we heard a sharp scraping of chairs on the rough ground. We turned our heads to see Qiao Chen standing up from his seat, catching our attention. "It's way too boring right now! How does a game sound to you guys?"

"Okay!" Jia Le raised his fist in the air, grinning. "I'm in!"

"Count me in too!" Ai Qi's hand shot up eagerly in the air after Jia Le's.

A game? That sounds fun.

I also lifted my hand in the air, my chopsticks still clenched in my fist. "Mm!" I said, my mouth too full of chicken to speak coherently.

"That's settled!" Qiao Chen had a wide smile on his face at our enthusiasm. "Let's play truth or dare."

"That's for elementary school kids!" One Yu Feng member yelled scornfully.