𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

26: I'm Okay

The night was eerily quiet, no vehicles passing by in sight. Jia Li slowed down her jog, frantically searching around for her brother. She gulped, noticing that her only companions in this darkened street were the lights above the lampposts. An annoyed sigh escaped past her lips, realizing that she had lost sight of Jia Le.

Damn it, Jia Le. Where are you?

After he had stormed off from Xing Long's restaurant earlier, Jia Li quickly bid a goodbye to the team and ran after Jia Le before they could stop her. But unfortunately, her speed wasn't fast enough to catch up with Jia Le and she eventually lost sight of his figure.

Jia Li began walking, rubbing her arms as the cool breeze kissed her. Her hair swayed along the wind, its whispers sending tingles to her skin. She flinched upon hearing the leaves rustling, internally cursing herself for watching too many horror movies alone. She followed the line of the lampposts, staying under the shadows of their light. But when she reached another block, her heart dropped in fear as she heard footsteps behind her.

Panic arose within her and she momentarily froze on her spot, breathing heavily as she tried to think of ways to escape. She pretended to be unfazed at the sound of the footsteps but deep inside, she wanted to crawl under her bedsheets already and wake up from this nightmare.

She kept walking forward, eyes frantically looking around for any sight of people. When she felt the person near her, Jia Li bolted into a run. The footsteps following her began running as well, their shoes pressing hard against the pavement. Jia Li could only hope that her speed was fast enough to get away from whoever was chasing after her.

Right as she turned left at a corridor, Jia Li let out a loud gasp as someone emerged. Out of instinct, Jia Li pushed her arm forward and threw a fist at whoever that person was. She shut her eyes and stepped backwards as the person groaned and stumbled away from the shadows.

"Ow!" He groaned, his hand holding his nose.

"Senior Zhuo Zhi!" Jia Li gasped and collapsed herself onto his body, arms wrapping around his torso. Relief flooded within her upon bumping into someone she knew she'd be safe.

Zhuo Zhi stilled as she flung herself onto him. He could hear her sobbing and her body shaking against him. Her sobs were mixed with uneven pants, which made him worried. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, forgetting the pain on his nose. "What happened?"

"S-Someone was following me and I-"

His eyes shot up at the direction behind her where a faint silhouette was walking away. "He's gone now," he hushed her. They stayed like that for a moment before he began pulling her along with him as he ushered her away, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

-☆-

Jia Li sat at the edge of the bridge, hugging herself. Her knees were tucked underneath her arms as she rested her chin on them. Unable to still shake off the fear she felt earlier, Jia Li stared at the river, lips shut. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks became bloated as the tears dried on them. Her hair was secured underneath Zhuo Zhi's jacket, which he had wrapped around her after bringing her to their favorite spot.

He hesitantly offered a cup of Hot Chocolate he bought moments ago once he sat down opposite of her. Jia Li numbly took the drink, mumbling a small thank you. She sniffed its delicious aroma and sighed as her bangs flew sidewards by the wind. Both remained seated, letting silence engulf them. Zhuo Zhi was just sipping his drink, not bothering to initiate a conversation, knowing how Jia Li was still shaken up.

"I'm sorry I punched your nose, Senior." The girl spoke out of nowhere, which made Zhuo Zhi raised his eyebrows at her before chuckling.

He rubbed his nose, "It's not broken, thankfully. Did you take some boxing classes? Because that punch really hurt."

"I didn't," Jia Li sheepishly answered. "Just watched how girls defend themselves in movies."

"Seems like you've been basing your life choices through movies." Zhuo Zhi snickered, recalling how she defended her stand through what she had watched in movies when they spied on Lu Xia and Qi Ying.

"In my defense, they're applicable in life." She defended.

"Whatever you say."

Silence intervened once again. Jia Li wouldn't admit it but she kind of missed interacting with any of the team members besides Jia Le and Da Yong. These past days mostly consisted of studying and taking care of their father, who was finally being treated at the hospital after much persuasion from the two siblings. Mr. Tang protested at their suggestion to let him be treated, saying that it would be better to allocate the budget for the siblings' further needs. But as his condition worsened, his protests fell on deaf ears as the family admitted him to the hospital.

"How have you been, Jia Li?" Zhuo Zhi softly asked, breaking the silence.

That question alone made her mute, unable to respond. Her thoughts flew back to the night when their father told them about his sickness. And then to the following days when Jia Le and Da Yong started arguing, then to the time when the team was suddenly breaking apart and now, how she was chased in the dark.

Jia Li thought hard. She didn't know if she was okay after all that was happening. But one thing's for sure, she knew everyone on the team was experiencing far worse than her as they wouldn't simply leave the team without any valid reason. She hoped that the team would be able to resolve whatever problems they were facing.

"Jia Li, are you crying?" Zhuo Zhi's voice pulled her back to reality.

She sat up straight and sniffed, wiping away the tears that fell unknowingly from her eyes. Jia Li let out a nervous chuckle, "I'm okay, Senior."

No response was heard from him and Jia Li took that as a sign that he didn't notice her crying again. However, from the corner of her eye, she saw him shuffling from his position and faced her. His hand gently pulled her arm, pivoting her body to his direction.

"Senior? What-"

Zhuo Zhi cut her off by leaning her head on his chest with one hand rubbing the back of her head and an arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Jia Li didn't know how or what to do with his action. But as she felt him comforting her, she momentarily let go and allowed herself to be vulnerable, letting her tears flow down on her cheeks. She freed all the pent-up worries she bottled up to herself from each night she suppressed her cries, avoiding anyone from her family to hear her crying.

"It's okay, I'm here." Zhuo Zhi whispered, pulling her closer as if it were possible.

He didn't ask what's wrong or are you okay, but instead told her that he was there. Because that was more than okay for Jia Li, to know that someone was still there for her despite everything. Someone who knew how she needed comfort even without a reason for her to tell what was bothering her.

She wrapped her arms around him, relishing the comfort of Zhuo Zhi's embrace.

I'm okay now, Senior. Thanks to you.