The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

91: Why Are You So Wet?

♡♡♡

"Here," Zhuo Zhi pushed the door of his apartment open, ushering me to get in quickly. 

I stepped through the door and took my shoes off, placing them on the bottom shelf of the shoe rack. I winced as I saw water dripping from my shoes and forming a tiny puddle on the tiled floor. "I'm, uh, sorry for making your floor wet,"

"That's fine, it can be cleaned up later," Zhuo Zhi waved me away, placing his shoes next to mine. "You should take off your socks too. Uh... here, slippers," he said, pulling a drawer to take out a pair of red indoor slippers. "My mom's pair is the smallest, just wear these."

"Your mom's?" I choked out.

"Yeah, just wear these. I'll be at the back for a second," Zhuo Zhi noted before turning out of the hallway and disappearing out of my sight.

I swallowed nervously and bent down to peel my soggy socks off, laying them out on the shoe rack to dry for a bit. I hesitated, stupidly staring at the pair of slippers Zhuo Zhi had laid out for me.

His mom's slippers. 

I groaned in frustration, trying to get the thought out of my head. What's there to be worried about, anyway? Zhuo Zhi's mom won't ever know I wore her slippers. I bit my tongue as I wiped my feet haphazardly on the doormat in an attempt to get it as dry as possible, then put on her-- the slippers. 

Just as I was about to walk out of the hallway Zhuo Zhi reappeared, holding a thin brown towel, his damp hair sticking to his cheeks. "Here, Yue En, dry yourself with this first."

My eyes caught onto Zhuo Zhi's figure, who had the right half of his body soaked to the bone. His shirt and shorts clung to his body tightly, their colours a now shade darker from the water. Rainwater dripped from his hair and clothes onto the floor at every breath he took.

Does he seem like he's-- shivering?

"Senior, how did you--" I rushed up to him anxiously. "Why are you so wet?"

"I'm fine," Zhuo Zhi said, pushing the towel into my arms, his eyes darting around uneasily like he was hiding something from me.

Something clicked in my head as realisation dawned on me. "Senior, the umbrella wasn't big enough to fit both of us. You-- did you lean the umbrella more towards my side to keep me dry?"

Zhuo Zhi's tongue ran over his lips as he averted his eyes away from me. "I..."

"You're gonna get sick, Senior Zhuo Zhi!"

"I won't," Zhuo Zhi said, nodding lightly and keeping his gaze on the ground like a scolded child. "My immune system is strong enough."

It felt like my heartstrings were pulled when I saw how pitiful of a state he was in-- he got himself wet from the rain for me, and now I was here lecturing him for doing so. I sighed, "You idiot, immune system or not, you're having the semi-finals soon and you are not risking your health."

"Yue--"

I punched his shoulder lightly, shutting him up. "Wait here for a moment. Which room is yours?"

Zhuo Zhi looked up, his eyes twinkling with curiosity, looking amused as to what I was up to. "The door at the end on the left."

I walked past Zhuo Zhi into his living room, rubbing my hair with the brown towel he gave me. The living room looked pretty cosy yet stylish. The left of the room had a round table with a white marble top had a tray of mugs placed on it close to the wall. I turned to my right to see a broad white sofa with chequered cushions arranged in a neat row. A wide flat-screen TV settled on top of a mahogany cabinet just opposite the sofa, and in between was a glass coffee table. The large sliding windows had thin white curtains draped over them, and on the ceiling was a glass chandelier.

Holy damn.

I restrained myself from stopping right then and there to gawk at Zhuo Zhi's apartment and went straight into the corridor where the rooms were. The door at the end on the left. I marched down the corridor, passing the other rooms until I reached the said room and kicked the door open.

My eyes inadvertently roamed around his room. In the centre of his room was his bed, its headboard pushed to the wall. A plain grey carpet lay under the bed. Beside the door was a bookshelf stacked with an array of novels, school textbooks and tennis equipment, and next to the shelf was a modest-looking study desk. His room was quite simple and airy. I walked over to his cupboard and took a guess at which drawer held his clothes.

"Oh, crap," I muttered and quickly slammed the drawer shut when I saw that it contained his underwear. Heat began crawling up my neck. Pretend I never saw that. I opened the drawer above it and thank god, inside it was his shirts and home-shorts. I grabbed the topmost shirt and shorts out of his drawer, then opened the third drawer to find his bath towels. I snatched one by random and ran out of Zhuo Zhi's room, closing the door behind me.

I dashed back into the living room to see Zhuo Zhi waiting for me, standing in one spot with his arms crossed over his chest and an entertained grin on his lips. "I invite you to my house as a refuge for a few hours, and now you're racing around like you own the place."

I shoved the towel, shirt and shorts into his chest. "Shut up and take your shirt off."

Zhuo Zhi's eyes grew as wide as saucers and my heart dropped when I comprehended my bold-sounding statement. I jumped away from Zhuo Zhi and stammered out a string of words. "NO! Wait, Senior, I mean-- I don't-- just go change your clothes before you catch a cold!" I practically screamed out the last word in desperation to get my point across. "Uh, I'll-- I'll get some warm water," I quickly added before Zhuo Zhi could get a word in.

My eyes darted around the living room to find whichever room looked most like the kitchen and they landed on a small doorway next to the round table. I scrambled through the doorway and slammed my hand on the light switch until the kitchen flooded with yellow light.

I just need to get away from Zhuo Zhi.

I was breathing hard but I didn't know why. I rested my arms on the counter to catch my breath, the counter's cool surface on my skin. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

You are a complete idiot, Mu Yue En.

☆ ☆ ☆

I'M SCREAMINGGG THIS IS PROBABLY GONNA BE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHAPTERS.

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~ Snowy ♡