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You wake to the sound of loud banging on your door, and it feels as though your measly dorm room could fall apart at any given second with the way it shakes under the violent vibrations. You aren't that bothered by it, though— you go through this every other day— and you drag your feet to the door to swing it open.
You aren't surprised to see your best friend at the other side, his lips contorted into an annoyed purse. "Took you long enough," Chenle huffs as he shoves his way inside, and you roll your eyes, trailing after him.
"I was taking a nap."
"Some nap you were having," he mumbles, letting himself flop on your bed, limbs sprawling out over the entire twin mattress. There goes your chance of going back to sleep.
You opt to sit on your swivel chair instead, turning to face him. "What's up? I thought you had classes till evening today."
"I do. I just couldn't be bothered to go. My dad is pissing me off, man," he groans, and instantly you know why he's here in the first place.
Chenle comes from a rich family, and with that hails a life of luxury and... parties. You aren't as well-off as him, so obviously you couldn't really relate, and the closest thing you have to even remotely experiencing his life is through the stories he would tell you. Often times, it would just be him complaining about how boring his father's elaborate parties were and how much better it would be if you were there with him.
You really wish he would stop saying things like that. The tooth-rotting crush you have on him is already bad enough as it is, and you didn't need him to feed in to your delusions even more. You're trying to come to terms with the fact that you were in love with your best friend, but Zhong Chenle, ever so naïve, is making it quite difficult to do so.
He had once explained to you the reason behind the balls he would attend, it primarily being for his family to network in the industry, but you know that there's a little more meaning than just that. Apparently, his father is hard at work in finding a partner for him, eager to marry him off to another rich heiress so he could expand the family business. You never knew that arranged marriages still existed in this day and age, and it's clear that Chenle clearly isn't on board with his father's ideology (just as much as you are), considering none of his matchmaking attempts has ever deemed successful. It makes you wonder why no girl has managed to capture the heart of your best friend. You've heard that rich girls are also very pretty.
"My shift starts in an hour, though. You can stay till then."
"Oh, right, I forgot," he murmurs, sitting back up. "Well, I gotta go, anyways. I have a test tomorrow."
"Why come, then?" You mumble under your breath. Crush or not, you're still annoyed at the fact that he had interrupted your nap.
"Don't act like you don't want me here, dear Soomie." He grins, pinching your cheek. The action causes you to blush— you could only hope he doesn't catch it. "Bye!"
