𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

14: Fairy Lights

The sun was still setting as Jia Li dragged her feet towards her favorite spot, one hand holding a cup of iced coffee; earphones plugged in her ears; phone tucked inside her front pocket; her camera bag swinging along with her free arm.

After several hours of running around the wide space of the tennis courts, chasing after different players to document their own trainings, Si Yang had finally dismissed them after suffering from Zhi Ming's Yan Juice. Jia Le had sent her a message that he and Da Yong were needed somewhere and insisted she go home ahead of them.

Her first thought was to agree, daydreaming about the comfort of her own bed. But after stopping by to buy an iced coffee, she decided that spending a few hours in her favorite spot wouldn't hurt. Besides, it had been so long since she last visited the bridge.

Instead of her usual position at the edge of the bridge, Jia Li sat cross-legged when she arrived, leaning against one of the short wooden poles supporting the rails. She fished out her Polaroid camera and began arranging its photos to keep them neatly.

"Those are some amazing photos you took."

Startled, Jia Li immediately pulled out her earphones and turned behind her, "Senior Zhuo Zhi!"

Zhuo Zhi smiled and bent down his tall figure to sit down on her right, keeping a good distance between them. He laid down his tennis bag between them and leaned by the pole as well, bending one leg in front of him. "Nice meeting you here again, Jia Li."

"I'm really starting to suspect that you are definitely a stalker now, Senior." Jia Li huffed playfully. "You're there everywhere I go."

He released a chuckle and merely shrugged, "What if I really am?"

"Now that's just too creepy." She frowned.

"Don't worry, I'm not." He reassured, staring straight ahead. "I happen to just live near here."

"So you always pass by here?" She queried.

"This is my favorite place." He answered, sending her a brief glance. "I often come here to think and just relish the peace."

A surprised expression drew on her face, "It's my favorite place, too." Jia Li smiled timidly as Zhuo Zhi faced her. "It had been my favorite since I found it, but I never got the hang of going here frequently because of studies."

Zhuo Zhi nodded in understanding, letting silence interrupt them. It wasn't an awkward silence, just a comfortable one. No words or loudness were needed to fill in the peace embracing them. Both watched as the sun finally descended and a blanket of darkness painted over the horizon. Stars began decorating the sky and the installed fairy lights along the rails of the bridge started lighting up. Zhuo Zhi watched the girl with a smile on his lips, amused at how her eyes shrunk, grinning widely at the fairy lights above her. He let her get lost in her own little world for a while.

"You like fairy lights?"

"Love," Jia Li corrected, still not looking at him. "I have some decorated in my room with photographs hanging between its spaces."

"That must be a beautiful view to see." Zhuo Zhi smiled.

"It is."

Unbeknownst to Jia Li, the beautiful view he was referring to was her. He admired how her face glowed with happiness from just seeing a simple trinket; brown eyes hiding behind her eyelashes as they shrunk from grinning widely; long waves softly flying from her back as the wind caressed their faces; her bangs slightly parted from the breeze.

She felt him staring but didn't bother to point it out. Instead, she gave him a smile and started a topic, "I heard that the team's about to compete tomorrow."

"That's true." He nodded, blinking and removed his gaze from her.

"Do you feel confident about winning?" Jia Li queried, quite interested at how his perspective was for every competition.

"I'm not." He exhaled deeply, before turning to her. "But I have complete faith in my teammates that we're going to win."

Jia Li nodded and hugged her bent legs, placing her chin on her knees, "Depending and trusting each other is what makes a team. You, nine, must be very close already. Besides Lu Xia of course since he was just recently added to the team."

"I won't say we're really that close." Zhuo Zhi cleared. "I've known the others for two years already. But I still feel like, I don't really know them at all."

Guilt instantly crept inside Jia Li. She knew how her older brother had been Zhuo Zhi's friend for a long time now and yet, he still didn't have the slightest idea that Jia Le had a sister. Being in a team would mean being open to each other. How would they then trust each other as a team if they weren't completely honest?

Should I tell him?

She gnawed the inside of her cheek, letting Zhuo Zhi's words sink within her. He noticed her sudden quietness and frowned, thinking he might have uttered something wrong. So, he diverted the topic to ease the atmosphere.

"Are you going to watch tomorrow?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Of course I am, Senior. I need to document all the matches."

"I mean, are you going to watch as someone who supports the team?" Zhuo Zhi reworded. "Not because of your photography project."

Jia Li smiled. She had already promised to herself that she was going to watch and support her brother's games. But Zhuo Zhi was a different person. Should she also support him and the rest of the team obligingly?

"Do you want me to?"

"It would mean a lot." He smiled, staring straight at her.

She quickly darted her gaze away and nodded, a weird feeling bubbling inside her, "Then okay, I'll watch. But you must win Senior. Otherwise, my efforts in cheering you would be in vain."

Pursing his lips, he nodded and wore that same collected façade, "Fair enough."

And the night fell deeper with them being oblivious about it as they allowed themselves to succumb in each other's presence.