7: Living With a Parasite

2K 81 24
                                    

"If that young lad can call you good at tennis, it's probably something worth believing."

Even the Coach believes in Lu Xia's talent with so much confidence. It isn't a bad thing, because it is true that Lu Xia is a literal tennis genius. But, how can everyone believe him that easily when he says I'm good at tennis? I only have the above-average tennis skills, why is everyone taking Lu Xia so seriously?

"Of course!" Peng Xiang agreed with Coach Qi. "We have to watch Yue En play one day, just to make sure Lu Xia isn't lying to our faces,"

"That's kind of pressuring, honestly," I admitted, "Having people watch me play. I'm probably not going to live up to your expectations, just so you know."

"Yue En, have a bit more faith in yourself!" Ai Qi encouraged. "No one is going to laugh at you, even if you do badly, which I doubt so,"

She's got a point. 

"Alright, Qi Ying, Peng Xiang, Ai Qi, Yue En," Coach Qi addressed to all of us. "I need to have a meeting with the two captains, who are waiting outside right now, so I'd appreciate--"

"Okay, Auntie, we will leave now," Qi Ying chuckled, and she ushered us out of the lounge. As we got outside, I spotted Si Yang at the corner of my eye entering the building.

I check the time on my phone. 5.17 pm. "Hey, it's late and I'll be leaving now," I told the girls. "Thanks for all your help today. Qi Ying, Peng Xiang, if you guys ever need help with any cheerleading stuff, you can always find me and Ai Qi,"

"Yes!" Ai Qi agreed along with me.

"I will," Peng Xiang said. "Come on, Qi Ying, we still have our bags in the classroom. Bye, Senior Ai Qi and Yue En!"

We waved to the juniors as we separated our ways. Ai Qi and I were headed towards the entrance of Yu Qing, towards the bus stop.

"Thanks so much for everything today, Ai Qi," I said gratefully to her beside me. Truly, today would not have been as disastrous as I had expected it to be if she hadn't come up to me this afternoon.

We both sat on the bench, waiting for the bus to arrive. The sky was forming a beautiful light orange hue as the time passed. The light breeze tousled my hair playfully as we talked.

"As I said, I expect all of my kindness to be repaid sooner or later," Ai Qi joked. "Ugh, but I've never been this satisfied as today in weeks."

"Satisfied?"

"Mhm," Ai Qi said. "I made a new friend, I took her around the school for a tour, I got you a spot in the cheerleading team, and most importantly," Ai Qi wiggled her eyebrows. "We got to see Si Yang twice today,"

I laughed as she did too. "Seriously, you have to stop obsessing over him though," I told her, while the bus pulled up before our stop. We stood up and boarded it, taking our seats at the back.

"It's not an obsession," she scoffed. "I see him every day in the corridors, either way. Also, did you see him play tennis earlier?"

"Yeah," I said. "Although he would have done so much more impressively if he had used his left hand,"

"You're an avid reader of 'Tennis Monthly', aren't you?" Ai Qi asked.

The Love Score || Zhuo ZhiWhere stories live. Discover now