𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

30: Rejected Feelings

The night was still young as the two began walking in a leisure pace with no destination. Tall trees stood on both their sides, its leaves rustling from the hushed whispers of the cool breeze. The moon glowed above them in perfect circle, accompanying them. The stars twinkled over the horizon, adding light to the blanket of darkness. Their stroll consisted of silence; no conversations, no laughter — just the sound of their shoes stepping on the open road. However, their silence felt a bit awkward, not to mention because of their sideway glances at each other. Although the boy seemed too calm and collected in the exterior, his obvious glances at her made his shyness a little visible.

Jia Li kept swinging her arms as she walked, avoiding to catch any of his glances. She roamed her eyes around, zeroing at the area of tennis courts that they had reached. She halted in her steps as she gazed at the empty court, reminiscing the first time she met the team. Zhuo Zhi, who had walked a few steps ahead, suddenly noticed that she wasn't by his side anymore. He turned to see her standing, staring at the wide space with a smile on his face. His gaze fixated on her side profile, mesmerized at how pretty she was. Her half-braided hair was softly flying behind her, except for her bangs that she oh-so-very much protected. He noticed how her eyes shrank whenever she smiled, making him feel a different feeling within him. Zhuo Zhi momentarily froze as Jia Li turned to him, smiling, taking his breath away.

"You look like you've been traumatized, Senior." She chuckled, walking back to him. "Are you all right?"

Zhuo Zhi blinked, regaining back himself, "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you want to play tennis or something? You were staring at the court for a while."

"Oh, just my thoughts wandering around." Jia Li shrugged.

They both went quiet for a moment until Zhuo Zhi asked, "Do you play tennis, Jia Li?"

"I won't say I play tennis," she stated carefully. " But I do know some basic moves from Jia Le and Da Chi."

"Then let's play." Zhuo Zhi grinned and sauntered off towards the empty court.

"Wait, what? Now?" Jia Li stumbled on her words, blinking multiple times as she followed after him. She watched in amusement as Zhuo Zhi managed to find spare rackets, lying alone on the bench. He handed one to her, which she accepted with a suppressed smile. "Why does it feel like we're stealing something that isn't ours?" Jia Li asked, running her fingers along the racket's strings.

"It's called borrowing not stealing." Zhuo Zhi answered, flipping his racket. "You should really fix your dictionary. Your use of words tend to exaggerate."

Jia Li rolled her eyes at his joke, "I'm just being realistic, Senior." She walked over to the other side of the court as Zhuo Zhi prepared to serve, "Take it easy, okay, Senior? I ain't no opponent nor rookie player."

Zhuo Zhi only chuckled and served, which Jia Li easily returned. She knew he wasn't fully playing, considering he was playing against her. Yet, she felt grateful that he wasn't showing off his skills or making the game too difficult for her.

For a while, only the sound of balls bouncing back and forth was heard until Zhuo Zhi began asking questions out of nowhere, "What's your favorite color?"

Jia Li went confused at first but proceeded on playing, "Um, I'd say blue and black."

"Favorite subject?"

"Math and English."

"Hobbies? Besides photography."

"Um, baking and cooking."

"Cellphone or camera?"

"Both. Can't choose."

Before Zhuo Zhi could ask another question, Jia Li huffed and let the ball flew past her. She sighed and furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Where are all the questions coming from, Senior?"