𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝 ➝ Zhuo Zhi

35: Split Up

Zhuo Zhi was comfortably lounging on one of the benches situated in the hallways. His head was facing down and his fingers were rapidly pressing on his phone's screen, playing games to pass time. When Jia Li came out of her father's room, Zhuo Zhi quickly stood up, tucking his phone inside his pocket. Jia Li smiled and glanced at him, still holding the doorknob behind her and leaning against it, "Hey."

"Hey," Zhuo Zhi repeated. "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath, "Yeah, I was just...surprised with what just happened today."

"I'm sorry," he frowned which made Jia Li snap her gaze to him. "I didn't mean to invade your family's privacy."

"I'm not mad if that's what you're implying." She let out a short chuckle. "I just didn't think you'd really ask their permission. I thought you were just bluffing."

Zhuo Zhi placed a hand on his chest, pouting, "I feel offended how you have little faith in me." Jia Li shrugged and let go of the doorknob, suppressing a smile. He took both of her hands in his, running his thumbs across it. "But really, whatever your family revealed to you about what I told them, it's all true. I'm serious about my feelings for you, Jia Li."

Jia Li squinted her eyes at him, "You know, I actually never had any guys asking permission from my family to date me."

His eyes widened in disbelief, "Really? I thought you had a lot of admirers in your previous school, considering you're pretty and intelligent."

"I was more of hidden under the shadows there." Jia Li answered, refusing to acknowledge the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Nobody knew of my existence or background except for my teachers and...an old friend."

Noticing her discomfort when she spoke about her old friend, Zhuo Zhi cheekily smiled, "So I'm the first?"

She chuckled at him, "Yep, you're the first guy to admit his feelings for me and the first guy to ask for my family's permission to date me."

He remained smiling, letting go of her other hand and resting the other on her cheek, his thumb gently caressing it, "I won't say I'm lucky, but I'll keep on being your firsts. Let's go on a date after the match, yeah?"

"A date?" Jia Li asked to which he hummed in response. "But the competition is getting fiercer, don't you need to focus on practicing?"

"True," Zhuo Zhi agreed. "But sometimes, we all need to take a break from training. And I consider being with you is my rest. So, will you go on a date with me?"

"Okay." She mumbled shyly before Zhuo Zhi pulled away and held her hand, walking through the hallways.

-☆-

The practices continued on for the remaining days before Yu Qing's match against No. 6 High School. However, on the day of announcing the qualified players against No. 6 High School, Jia Li was surprised that Jia Le and Da Yong were split up from being the first tennis doubles. Da Yong's name wasn't in the list, which meant he was going to be benched. But right beside her brother's name was Zhuo Zhi's, who was supposed to be their second singles player. She watched how Jia Le and Da Yong were awkwardly glancing at each other, explaining to the team that it was Coach Qi Na's idea to split them up.

She frowned at how the Golden Partners were slipping apart.

"Hey," Jia Li called for Zhuo Zhi when he was taking out his racket from his tennis bag. He hummed and turned to her with a smile. "Please take care of Jia Le. I don't know what's going on between him and Da Chi, but I'll find it out." Zhuo Zhi followed her line of sight that was worriedly looking at her brother and Da Yong. "Take care of yourself, too."

"Of course." He smiled then jogged away to practice with Jia Le.

When the competition day arrived, Jia Li stood beside Peng Xiang and Qi Ying, who were with the other cheerleaders, waiting for Yu Qing's arrival. And when they passed by, Jia Li shrunk as the screams grew louder, deafening her ears. Peng Xiang and Qi Ying were grinning widely.

"This is the best configuration." Peng Xiang stated proudly. "I will not look at any other guys anymore." But when the No. 6 High School players passed by, wearing plain white with sleeveless shirts that revealed their broad shoulders and buffed body figure, Peng Xiang's eyes were trailing after them.

Qi Ying and Jia Li turned to her in amusement, "Didn't you just say you won't look at any other guys anymore?"

Peng Xiang stuttered but her eyes spoke otherwise, "I was just judging them. It's too much, wearing sleeveless shirts in broad daylight." Jia Li chuckled, shaking her head before ushering them to find some seats in the bleachers.

Unlike Yu Qing, who wore serious faces when they entered the court, the players of No. 6 High School were smiling widely, wearing their clean white uniforms when they sat down. Jia Li watched with a smile at how energetic that school was, gathering in circles with their arms around each other as they chanted cheers for themselves.

The first players to play were Qiao Chen and Xing Long to which Jia Li immediately adjusted her shutters knowing how fast and aggressive Xing Long could play. Unlike with Bai Yang, Qiao Chen seemed more calm as a pair with Xing Long, agreeing with whatever strategies they came up with, which supported their coordination well and let them win the game.

When the next doubles match was called to prepare, Jia Le and Da Yong stood up at the same time and Jia Li could feel their awkwardness with each other despite her position being far from them. Zhuo Zhi was sitting on the bench between them, watching the two. Da Yong suddenly realized Zhuo Zhi was now Jia Le's pair and not him. Zhuo Zhi stood up holding his racket, placing a hand on Da Yong's shoulder to reassure him then followed after Jia Le to the court.

They've been partners for too long, it's hard to just adjust seeing your partner playing with another person. Jia Li frowned to herself as she watched Da Yong sit down, worriedly looking at her brother.

True to his word, Zhuo Zhi took care of Jia Le. From her camera lenses that were zoomed in, Jia Li could see how Zhuo Zhi and Jia Le coordinated with each other. Even if her brother wasn't paired with Da Yong, she could still see how he was able to execute great moves that went well with Zhuo Zhi's. However, because of Jia Le's weak stamina, he began recharging in the middle of the game, leaving Zhuo Zhi to hold the fort all by himself. Jia Li watched with anticipation. Through the past games, all she had seen supporting Jia Le while he recharged was Da Yong. But he perfectly knew when to act whenever her brother started recharging. So seeing Zhuo Zhi in Da Yong's stead made her worry if he could still hold on.

As if sensing her worry, Jia Le suddenly recharged faster than the previous matches, swinging his racket to return the ball before Zhuo Zhi could reach his limit. This sudden action surprised their opponents and they watched as the ball flew down between them, resulting to Yu Qing's victory. Zhuo Zhi stood proud behind Jia Le, breathing heavily. Jia Li sighed then grinned, glancing at Da Yong, who left the game in deep thought.

Jia Li sighed, her eyes trailing after him, Why is their partnership split up more complicated than relationship break ups?