The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

70: Let Go of Me, You Doofus

We both dodged behind the tents and made it to the back of the house successfully, my last balloon clutched firmly in my hand. Ai Qi turned the knob of the tap and began to refill her gun.

"Do you have any more guns?" I asked Ai Qi as I got ahold of our only remaining bucket of water balloons.

Ai Qi cocked her head to the bushes nearby. "I hid it there in case the boys might find it and use it against us."

I rummaged through the leaves of the bush and easily found the water gun Ai Qi was talking about, already heavy with water. Without a word, Ai Qi and I hauled the bucket of balloons back to the campsite together, a gun each in our other hand.

Suddenly a violent spray of water washed over us, soaking my hair and letting it cling to my skin. "Hey!" I screamed, coughing away the water that had gone into my mouth. Both Ai Qi and I let go of our bucket and began shooting water at anyone in my line of sight.

Another balloon was thrown straight at my stomach and I spotted Si Yang throwing balloons at both me and Ai Qi in rapid succession. I was already numb from the icy water but I felt more energised than ever. "Charge!" I hollered, and Ai Qi and I sprinted towards Si Yang and began firing water from our guns at him.

As childish as our guns might have looked, they could still shoot water strong enough to hurt slightly. "Ah!" Si Yang shouted in surprise that both of us had attacked him at the same time. With one more balloon in his hand, he threw it in my direction where it hit my chin. The cold water splayed out and I gasped, dropping the gun as water splashed into my eyes and my already soaked hair.

I wiped the water away from my face and found myself watching Si Yang with his arm wrapped around Ai Qi's torso. He had pulled her towards him until her back was against his chest, firmly enough so that Ai Qi couldn't struggle out of his grasp. Si Yang had a sly grin on his face as he leaned down to whisper something beside Ai Qi's ear. Her cheeks flushed with colour and she was half-laughing, half-yelling at him to let go while attempting to push his arm away but to no avail.

I smirked to myself at the scene unravelling before my eyes and almost made the decision to leave Ai Qi to fight this battle by herself, until I eyed the abandoned hose on the ground some metres away from me. Wanting revenge on my brother, I snatched up the hose and aimed it at the pair, making sure the water mostly landed on Si Yang.

"Holy mother--" Si Yang let out a bellow at this sudden spray of water, his grip loosening on Ai Qi as she fell to the ground, unharmed. I grinned evilly and continued to direct the hose in Si Yang's direction, making him yell in protest.

At that moment I felt three harsh blows behind me; two on my back and one on my shoulder. I dropped the hose, startled at this ambush as I whipped around to see my attackers being Zhuo Zhi, Jia Le and Da Chi.

"I'm gonna get you for that, Seniors!" I screamed, and on cue, the three boys began to dash away in separate directions.

I grabbed a water balloon from the bucket hastily and went after Zhuo Zhi, who was the closest to me and the easiest to run for. Dodging past the Yu Feng members, I flung my balloon at Zhuo Zhi, but it missed, landing just at his ankle.

Wasted.

"Gah!" I exclaimed indignantly as Zhuo Zhi turned around to make a childish face at me, which made me smile in amusement. The time he took to turn around unavoidably slowed him down as well, giving me an advantage. We both rounded behind a tent where we were hidden from anyone's sight. One of the Yu Feng sleeping bags had ended up outside of its tent somehow, now dripping wet.

Using all the strength I could muster, I grabbed the ends of that sleeping bag from the ground and swung it towards Zhuo Zhi, who was ready to launch his last balloon in his hand at me.

I had wished for the sleeping bag to hit Zhuo Zhi's body and at least catch him off guard, but unexpectedly Zhuo Zhi caught it with his free hand, strong enough to hold it back and withstand its force.

Even before a gasp could escape my lips, he yanked the sleeping bag towards him, expecting me to lose my grip on it, but my stubborn hold on the sleeping bag caused me to be dragged along with it. The surprise was evident in both our eyes as I was about to ram into Zhuo Zhi's chest.

I let go of the bag too late and was already losing my balance as I tipped towards Zhuo Zhi. Panicking, I bent my elbows and held my forearms up before I collided with him. Zhuo Zhi had dropped his balloon and released the sleeping bag, reaching an arm out to catch me by my waist before I fell. I felt his arm hook around my torso as he pulled me towards him, barely catching my breath.

Deja vu, much?

My body pressed up against his, the only thing between my chest and his was my arms held up between us. The world was muted now-- I couldn't hear the screams and hollers, I couldn't feel the cold water trickling down my back. Everything was blurred like the background in a photoshopped picture, and the only thing clear to me was Zhuo Zhi's face gazing down at mine. Water dripped from the bangs of his black parted hair onto his collar. His distinct jawline, his sharp nose, his arched eyebrows, his perfect pink lips. His eyes-- god, his beautiful eyes-- reflected in the light of the rising sun were a light chocolate brown.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a cheeky smirk. "I've got you now."

My heart pounded so wildly I could hear it in my ears. "Let go of me, you doofus." My voice was barely audible as the words fell from my lips. I was already bewitched, mesmerised by his eyes, drowning in their brownness.

It almost felt surreal when Zhuo Zhi lowered his face until it was just inches away from mine, whispering in a husky voice, "This is what you get for waking me up."

My stomach erupted into a flutter of butterflies and my heart leapt at that simple sentence of his. There was nothing more that I wanted-- to be held in his embrace and relish in his warmth for eternity.

It was like a pulling force was placed between us then. Zhuo Zhi was tipping his head further towards me. I stood on my toes to close the distance. We were magnets of opposite poles, the attraction undeniable.

I held my breath.

Then a gush of piercingly, bitterly freezing water was dumped on top of me. It was as if an entire lake of liquid ice was deposited on my head. I shrieked as I felt Zhuo Zhi's arm loosen from my body and I stumbled back in shock, my body rigid with cold.

I heard maniacal laughter behind me and I whipped around furiously to face our ambushers-- Bai Yang was holding a pile of balloons in his arms while Qiao Chen had in his hand a bucket, water dripping from it.

That son of a gun!

"Qiao Chen!" I screamed, scrambling to my feet. "Bai--"

Bai Yang threw another balloon at my thigh before I could finish my sentence. They both cackled at my dismay and scurried away.

"Get back here you bastards!" I yelled, leaving Zhuo Zhi behind and picking up the balloons on the floor that Bai Yang had dropped and chased them on their tails. I sent another balloon flying at Qiao Chen, which hit the back of his shoulder.

"Watch out!" Bai Yang shouted mockingly, then aimed another balloon at me. I gasped and dodged away in time, ready to launch another balloon when I noticed the colour draining from Bai Yang's face.

I spun around and dropped my balloons in horror. The balloon Bai Yang had thrown at me and missed, had landed just next to a pair of track shoes-- more specifically, Coach Qi's shoes. Her shoes were damp with water that had splashed out from the balloon. My eyes trailed up to her face, her eyes burning with annoyance.

"All of you!" Her voice rang like death bells around the campsite. "Stop acting like little children right now or you all are going to fall ill before your competitions!"

☆ ☆ ☆

I feel like I overdid describing Zhuo Zhi's facial features 💀💀 but DANG look at the chemistry between them though.

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~ Snowy ♡