𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

41: His Girl

"I like you, Jia Li. I really like you."

Zhuo Zhi's eyebrows slightly furrowed at what he heard, yet he managed to maintain a calm demeanor.

Currently, the team had hidden themselves behind the huge trees, standing too close to each other. Qiao Chen had proposed the idea of eavesdropping since they were all curious how she and Jing Wu knew each other — well, even he, himself, was curious, too. However, Zhuo Zhi disagreed with the suggestion, wanting to respect the girl's privacy. He remembered how they both made an agreement that they'd be honest with each other if they were going to make things work. But that didn't mean telling everything. Of course, he proposed the thought that if she wasn't comfortable enough to share her problems, then he wouldn't force her to tell him. But rather, he'd let her tell him whenever she's ready.

Jia Le also disagreed, which was quite surprising since he's usually one of the first who'd get curious about who his sister associated herself with. Zhuo Zhi then concluded that perhaps Jia Le knew what happened between Jia Li and Jing Wu.

But alas, the boys pulled him to eavesdrop with them despite his and the Golden Partners' decline of the suggestion. Zhuo Zhi found himself staring at his girl, wondering how could Jing Wu ever hurt her. There was this sudden protectiveness washing over him that made him want to protect Jia Li. He was shocked as an understatement at the revelation of learning that she was bullied before — add to that was the downfall of her friendship with Jing Wu.

And now, the guy suddenly had the guts to confess to her out of nowhere.

He didn't want to deny that there was this worry within him about losing Jia Li. Never had he ever experience jealousy building in himself. But maybe it was because he had the reassurance that Jia Li reciprocated his feelings. However, he also had doubts, considering how she knew Jing Wu longer than him. So, there could be a slight chance that she would change her mind.

Albeit that, he pushed himself away from the group, leaving them to stare at his retreating figure confusingly.

Jia Li's eyes trailed after Jing Wu's slumped figure, walking away until he disappeared from her sight. She released a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in. Somehow despite what happened earlier, Jia Li felt a bit lighter, knowing that they were both in good terms now and were willing to mend their friendship. It'll probably take a while but at least there's progress.

She gripped her sling bag and turned around, fishing out her phone to text Xing Zi, who she suddenly remembered she was meeting with. But as Jia Li looked up, her lips parted as the team stood in front of her minus Si Yang. They all were sporting unreadable expressions, which made her conclude that they had probably heard her conversation with Jing Wu. She bit her lip as she ran her gaze on each of them, stopping at Jia Le, who she was nervous of regarding the incident earlier. Her eyes also repeatedly ran over the guys, confused at why Zhuo Zhi wasn't with them.

Sighing, Jia Li mumbled, "I'm guessing you guys saw what happened."

"Jia Li," Qiao Chen said. "Are you okay?"

A nod was her answer. Jia Le immediately walked to her and flicked her forehead, glaring, "You brat, why didn't you tell us you were being bullied before?"

Her hand flew to her forehead, rubbing away the pain as she yelped, "It wasn't that much of a big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Jia Le burst, gesturing with his hands. "Bullying is a big a deal. And the fact that it happened to you of course it is a big deal to me and to our parents. Imagine what could go on if they hadn't transferred you."

Da Yong stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Jia Le, calm down."

He huffed and crossed his arms, still glaring at Jia Li, "I hate you for lying about being treated alright when it wasn't the truth."

"Sorry," Jia Li mumbled. "I promise, I won't lie again."

Jia Le's eyes softened, "Next time, tell me when you're not okay, alright? I've always been ranting out my frustrations to you, but I never asked about yours."

"Getting sentimental aren't we?" Jia Li teased but nonetheless agreed with her brother.

"You're ruining the moment!" Jia Le whined to which the others chuckled. "But really, next time tell me, okay?"

"Dully noted." She nodded as her brother embraced her, ruffling her hair messily. The rest watched the two siblings goof in front of them. Jia Li straightened up herself and frowned, "Where's Zhuo Zhi by the way? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

Lu Xia blankly replied, "Your boyfriend walked away when Ji Jing Wu confessed to you."

"He's not my boyfriend." Jia Li mumbled hesitantly, knowing that they hadn't talked about that yet.

Jia Le turned to her, "I thought I told you to never lie again?"

"I'm not lying."

Zhi Ming fixed his eyeglasses, raising an eyebrow, "Based on the excessive amount of PDA you guys show each other, it is impossible to say that you two are not in a relationship."

"We're not- we don't even-" Jia Li stuttered, internally cursing as her cheeks heated. When had they even showed PDA? She groaned and waved a hand at them dismissively, walking away, "You know what, I'll just go look for him."

The others laughed at her embarrassment as she walked around the park. She found Zhuo Zhi seated on a bench, playing with his phone. Jia Li bent forward, surprising him from behind. "Hi." She greeted and propped her elbows on the back of the bench.

"Hey," he pivoted his body to face her, raising his eyebrows with his usual smile.

"Lu Xia told me you walked away after Jing Wu confessed." Jia Li pursed her lips.

Zhuo Zhi's eyes widened and he turned away, facing ahead, "No. I actually walked away because I didn't want to eavesdrop in your conversation with him."

She hummed, pretending to accept his excuse and drawled, "Sure. Just so you know, I told him I'm with someone else already." He nodded, covering up his relief by keeping up his usual collected self. "But I agreed on being friends with him again."

Again he nodded, no words coming out from him. It wasn't until she let silence interfere that Zhuo Zhi spoke up, "I didn't know he was the old friend. How are you feeling after talking to him?"

"A bit lighter." She smiled. "Although we didn't intentionally agree to meet up and discuss it, talking to him made things clearer. He apologized sincerely and that's what I was just waiting for since he's such a hard-headed person and refused to acknowledge his mistakes. It won't be instantly okay but at least we had managed to start again fresh."

"Do you mind talking to me about it?" Zhuo Zhi smiled at her.

Her eyes glimmered as Jia Li grinned at him, "I won't mind now as long as there's iced coffees, sweet treats and perfect scenery when I tell the story."

He chuckled at her, pinching one of her cheeks, "You and your love for iced coffees. I still wonder how you're able to sleep at night after drinking three to four cups of it a day."

"That's my secret and I'm not supposed to share it." Jia Li wiggled her eyebrows, trying to calm down her inner self as his face came close to hers.

"Come on, let's go back to the group before your brother sends a search party. Then we can plan out when you'll get your iced coffee." Zhuo Zhi chuckled, pulling away to stand up and hold out a hand for her to hold.

Jia Li grinned upon hearing her favorite drink, pulling him along with her to the direction where she left the group. Zhuo Zhi laughed at her giddiness, letting his girl pull him.

His girl? Maybe soon.