Music to my ears - Zhuo Zhi

Chapter 28 - Help

On a Sunday morning, Zhuo Zhi was in his room pacing a hole into his floor, conflicted.

It was going to be Xiǎo Yu's birthday in just a few weeks, and Zhuo Zhi was still unsure as to what he should get him. (small)

If only he hasn't been so focused on his personal life..

Because Zhuo Zhi was so preoccupied the past couple of weeks, time has completely flown past him, and getting a birthday present had just slipped his mind entirely.

Thankfully, Xiǎo Yu wasn't home right now to see Zhuo Zhi panic, otherwise he'd probably tell him to not worry about it, that his birthday isn't that big of a deal. (small)

But to Zhuo Zhi, it was a big deal. His brother only got one birthday a year, and he wanted each one of his to be memorable. He cared for Zhuo Yu, that much was obvious to just about everyone. And he wanted Zhuo Yu to know how much he cared.

Even though, and especially since Zhuo Zhi truly sucked at picking gifts.

Sighing, Zhuo Zhi sat at his desk, putting his head into his hands. Would it be.. okay if he asked for Zhihao's advice, since she was now so close to his brother? Should he?

There was no way he was going to contact Guan Yue though, that was for sure.

Zhuo Zhi picked up his phone, scrolling through his and Zhihao's text threads. Lately he had been very brief with his responses, so it wouldn't be a surprise to him if Zhihao said no. Honestly, he expected a no from her, it would be very understandable.

Was it even worth a shot?

Zhuo Zhi stared at his phone, hard. All he had to do was send a quick text, no biggie. And if Zhihao said no then it wouldn't be the end of the world right? Surely Zhuo Zhi would be able to come up with a present idea all by himself.

Even so, a little help wouldn't hurt.

Zhuo Zhi spent the next 10 minutes carefully crafting out what he should write to Zhihao.

Zhuo Zhi:
Hi.
It's been a while sorry.
I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime soon at the mall.
I've been having a block on what to get Xiǎo Yu for his birthday and figured you might be able to help.
If not, that's fine. I don't mind either way.

(small)
There. He sent the texts. Now he just had to wait.

Although he had closed out of his text messages and clicked the off button so that his phone would light up when he got a message, Zhuo Zhi couldn't help but press the on button every few seconds to casually (obsessively) check his messages anyway as he waited.

The minutes seemed to stretch into hours as Zhuo Zhi would busy himself, taking out papers to work on, his laptop to type with, and so on.

But he never strayed from his seat, as if he was glued down to where he could easily access his phone frequently.

It was an eternity (two hours) later when Zhuo Zhi finally got a text message back. Diving for his phone, he immediately read through Zhihao's response.

Zhihao:
oh sure
when's a good time

Zhuo Zhi:
Would in an hour be fine with you?

Zhihao:
okay yeah
see you then :)

Zhuo Zhi let out a breath he hasn't realized he was holding. Despite his low expectations, Zhihao still said yes. Well that was easy.