𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

40: Late Confessions

"We're friends, right?"

"Of course."

But deep down, she knew he was lying.

"You've always been getting yourself into trouble." Jing Wu softly chuckled, reminiscing the times he had frequently butt in to help her.

Jia Li's eyes softened, causing her to look down, "I didn't ask for that, but I appreciate those times you helped me."

"Ji..." His voice trailed off. Jia Li grimaced at the nickname he used to call her before. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"About what you heard that day." He answered immediately.

"What's the deal between you and that girl, Jing Wu?" Jia Li heard one of his friends ask Jing Wu when she was about to exit the hallway. School had ended for the day, and she had stayed later in her classroom to finish one of her assignments early. She was casually walking when her ears perked up at the mention of Jing Wu's name. She didn't want to eavesdrop but felt the need to, like something about it bothered her.

Jing Wu snickered, "Nothing, we're just friends."

"Really? Doesn't seem like it." One of his friends scoffed.

"Like I said, we're just friends." The way Jing Wu emphasized friends seemed weird and forced for Jia Li, like there was a hidden meaning behind it.

She heard screeching of a chair until it stopped. "Dude, you're seriously not considering her as your friend, right? I mean, come on. You know her reputation here."

Chuckling, Jing Wu lazily leaned against his desk, "Let's just say, that's the real reason why I'm her friend and always helping her. She could be an asset since her brother is in the same tennis team as Si Yang."

What the hell?

Jia Li's breath hitched. All this time, he was pretending to be her friend because he only wanted to use her in gaining information about her brother's team.

"Ah, now that's the Jing Wu we know." His friends laughed, agreeing with him.

"Oh, by the way," one of his friends perked up. "I feel like that girl likes you or something. You know, like how most girls worship the ground you walk on especially with you helping her. Why don't we make a bet?"

"A bet?" Jing Wu questioned.

"Yeah, you could play with her feelings." His friend suggested, laughing at his idea.

Jia Li swallowed thickly, feeling disappointment and hurt within herself. She blamed her naivety on these kind of things. Who would even really want to be her friend at all? What's worse was that she had already developed small feelings for him only to end up being played with.

Her hands let go of the door and she straightened up herself, purposely passing by the open window for them to see and realize that she had heard them all along.

Such a cliché high school life she lived in.

Jing Wu sighed sharply, frustration building up within him as he ran a hand through his hair, "I didn't mean any of that at all."

"I think you only apologized after that because I overheard you and your friends." She pointed out and chuckled afterwards. "How does it feel to crush someone's feelings by doing it through a bet? Does it feel satisfying enough to know that I had become another girl of yours, who eventually developed feelings for you?"

His lips parted, unable to utter out any words. He slowly casted his gaze downwards, "Do you know why I said those things? I like you, Jia Li. I really like you. I didn't want my friends to bully you as well just because I like you."

"Did you really think of me like that?" Jia Li forced a snicker, ignoring his sudden confession. "Did you really think that I'm that kind of girl who needs to be saved always? Someone who you could manipulate like an object to gain information about my brother's team? That's so low."

"Ji..."

She flinched at the old nickname he used to call her. "But I never blamed you. I never blamed you for any of that. All I blamed was my stupidity. How I was so naive and yet, I still am."

"Jia Li, I'm really sorry." He frowned, remorse written on his face. "What had happened was never my intention."

"I know," Jia Li softly agreed. "I'm not mad at you even if it took you a long time to apologize for that."

Jing Wu gulped, his usual confident facade had been wiped away. "Can we start over again? I promise, I'll be a better person. I really do like you, please, consider it."

Unlike before, wherein she would get the giddy feeling whenever she was with Jing Wu, Jia Li felt nothing. Her feelings for him had long gone and her thoughts only flew back to Zhuo Zhi. She bit her lip upon remembering him and her brother, silently grateful that they weren't here to witness Jing Wu confess to her. God knew what her brother might do to him.

"I...can't." Jia Li frowned at her old friend.

Jing Wu blinked but pursued further, "It's okay, I know it'll take time to fix the friendship we used to have before. I can wait. I'll wait, I promise. I'll wait until we're okay."

His nervous blabbering made Jia Li felt bad. But there was nothing she could do. Her feelings only revolved around Zhuo Zhi now.

"Jing Wu," she called out to which he hummed expectantly in response. "I meant it. We can start over as friends, but I can't reciprocate your feelings anymore. I'm not that same girl who had feelings for you."

"I'll still wait-"

Jia Li shook her head, "I'm with someone else already."

"Oh." It's too late. Jing Wu thought, nodding to reassure himself that it was alright. For a moment, he went mute, repeating that sentence over and over in his head. He was still in disbelief, refusing that Jia Li was with another guy already. But he also didn't want to lose her. So, he hesitantly asked, "But we can still be friends, again...right?"

She nodded as he licked his lips, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. He needed to accept that, knowing that she was with someone else already other than him. Jing Wu exhaled a shaky breath, forcing a smile to Jia Li, who saw through it. He blinked multiple times and started stepping away after a torturing silence, quietly bidding a goodbye to her.

"Thanks for accepting me again, Ji, even if it's just as a friend. I'll see you again."

And she watched him walk away from her with his head down.

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Author's Note

I know Ji Jing Wu was supposedly the antagonist here in most of your perspective. But as much as possible in this story, I wanted to avoid creating antagonists. So, I intended to only write different personalities based on what school they attend like Jing Wu and Xueer, my original character. So please don't hate them :( I already felt bad for Jing Wu confessing only to find out that the girl he likes is already taken by Zhuo Zhi.

Stay safe guys!

- r