The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

72: Stupid at Showing Affection

I plummeted onto my bed, letting my body sink into the soft mattress. I heaved a deep sigh, my hands resting on my stomach as I stared at the off-white ceiling. "Second-last night!" I announced. "I don't wanna go back to school. Ugh..."

Ai Qi plopped herself on the edge of my bed and I felt her weaving her hands through locks of my hair like she was braiding it, and I didn't refuse her gesture. "I had fun this week. Now it's back to studying for our exams in two months," she pouted, reluctant.

"Don't remind me!" I glared playfully, swatting her hand.

I heard footsteps by the door, and at the corner of my eye, I spotted Xing Zi stepping into the room. "I'm glad we played that water prank on the guys that morning," she snickered, sitting on her bed that was opposite ours and beside Qi Ying's.

"It was a stupid prank," I stated, then let out a lighthearted laugh as I recalled that morning. "And we got into a hell lot of trouble with Coach Qi."

"Everyone did," Ai Qi giggled, and she removed her hands from my hair, letting it settle on the bed. "But thank god, no one fell sick."

"It was so worth it," Xing Zi chuckled. "Hey, Qi Ying, you look happy today."

I pushed myself off my mattress and sat up with my legs crossed to look at Qi Ying, the braid that Ai Qi had woven loosening on my back. Qi Ying's upper body was propped up against her pillow at the head of her bed, and her eyes were looking into space dreamily. Her smile was so radiant that it stretched to her eyes, a dimple visible on her right cheek.

"Whoa, did someone win the lottery?" I teased and leaned onto Ai Qi's shoulder.

Qi Ying shook her head shyly, trying to suppress her grin. Xing Zi edged closer, nudging her with a mischievous gleam on her lips. "I'll take a clever guess... Lu Xia?"

Qi Ying directed her gaze silently onto the mattress she was sitting on, avoiding eye contact with any of us. 

"Ohhh!" All of us squealed in delight at this piece of gossip, and I couldn't hide the grin on my face. Qi Ying grabbed a pillow in her hands and shoved it at Xing Zi, letting out a small giggle.

Ai Qi smiled smugly. "Qi Ying, you're a terrible liar."

"Spill," I demanded from my side of the room, anticipating. "What did that rascal do to make you look like you found weight-losing chocolates?"

Qi Ying tugged on the ends of her hair sheepishly. "He..." her sentence trailed off from there.

"Kissed you?" Xing Zi questioned.

Qi Ying buried her face in the pillow, confirming our suspicions. Xing Zi patted her head in a consoling manner, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "This is your first kiss, isn't it?"

Qi Ying looked up from her pillow and frowned. "How do you know, Xing Zi?"

"Because you're acting like it's a life crisis," Ai Qi pointed out like it was the obvious thing. "You're so cute, Qi Ying."

Qi Ying made a face at Ai Qi, the corners of her lips pulling down to mock a frown. "Don't tell anyone, please, Seniors?" she begged, pouting.

"We swear on our lives," Ai Qi held up three fingers, sitting up straight with a pretend-serious expression on her face. "But we want details," she added, wiggling her eyebrows.

Qi Ying shrugged sadly and exhaled, her mood switching from shy to befuddled. "He just... kissed me. Like that," she sighed deeply, fiddling with the edges of her blanket.

"When was it?" Xing Zi chimed in.

"That night, after the barbeque," Qi Ying said. "Before we were going to sleep. He just leaned over and kissed and told me he was going back to his tent, see you tomorrow," she groaned, falling back onto her mattress. "I'm so confused. Does he like me, or not?"

"He likes you, that's for sure," I nodded firmly, making Qi Ying glance at me in surprise and hesitation. "I know that kid well enough to confirm that. He's just stupid at showing affection," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Him initiating the kiss already shows so."

Qi Ying raised her eyebrows at me, still sceptical. "Uh..."

"I'll go talk to Lu Xia," I offered, swinging my legs off the bed and slipping my feet into my shoes already.

"Hey, hey wait-- Senior Yue En!" Qi Ying scrambled off her bed and held on to the ends of my t-shirt. "Noooo, it'll make things awkward if he knows that you know."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Awh, fine," I huffed, leaning against the wall. "But I'll always be around if you need somebody to knock some common sense into Lu Xia."

Lu Xia may be a stubborn lad, but I'm sure that with anything about Qi Ying, he will listen. I recollected how Lu Xia's eyes would dart over to Qi Ying whenever she entered a room, or how his words would catch in his throat for a second when her name is mentioned. Lu Xia might not be my brother, nor had we been extremely close in the past, but my chest still swelled with pride thinking about how much Lu Xia had matured for a girl since he had moved to China.

Qi Ying held up an 'OK' sign with her hand, giggling. Xing Zi then turned her head to look at the window on the other side of the dorm room. "The weather looks good tonight. It's a perfect night to play tennis."

"I agree!" I chirped. "You guys wanna play a bit of tennis outside? It's just 8 p.m. now."

"Nah, I'll stay in the room," Ai Qi waved her hand casually as if waving away my suggestion, stretching over from my bed to hers like a cat. She rolled on top of her bed and grasped her book from the nightstand. "It's a perfect night to be lazy."

"I agree with Senior Ai Qi," Qi Ying said, seizing her iPad and opening a sketching app to brush up on her draft.

"Let's ditch these couch potatoes, Xing Zi?" I smirked.

"I'm with you." Xing Zi stood up from her bed and slid her shoes on, jogging up to the cupboard where we had found spare rackets on day one. They were slightly dusty and a little worn, but in relatively good condition. We found a tube of five tennis balls placed on the cabinet and I took the entire tube in my hands, bringing it along with us. We were both wearing cotton shirts and shorts, and although they were not sports attire, they were comfortable. With the rackets in our hands, we walked out of the room, moving down the hallways to the backdoor.

Stepping out of the doorway, we were greeted by the still but refreshingly warm night air. The courts were illuminated by the strong white glow of lamps attached to the wired fence, creating opaque shadows under our feet. The courts that were usually dominated by shouts and yells and the thumping of tennis balls during the daytime, were now under a calming silence with only the sound of our feet shuffling on the ground.

"This court," Xing Zi remarked, patting my shoulder to halt at the third court from the entrance. It was the cleanest court, with almost no puddles of water and few dried leaves scattered around.

"Mm!" I nodded. "Front or reverse side?"

"Reverse."

I balanced the top end of my racket on the ground and whirled the handle around. The racket spun around a few times and tipped over.

Front side.

"Guess I'll serve," I grinned smugly, bending down to pick my racket up.

"Damn it," Xing Zi scoffed, tossing me a tennis ball. I blocked the ball with my racket and let it bounce once before catching it in my hands, then we moved to opposite ends of the court.

"Give it all you got!" Xing Zi shouted, her racket already grasped between her hands and in a ready stance.

I scoffed, holding the ball in my hand, preparing to toss it upwards. "No need to remind me!"

☆ ☆ ☆

The show was so PG that Lu Xia and Qi Ying didn't even kiss, and darn well they should have. Anyway in my book their kiss exists!

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~ Snowy ♡