The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

24: Whose Side Are You On?

"Whose side are you on, Yue En?" Da Chi asked, smiling, daring me to answer. I had never seen this side of Da Chi before, but it was fun to see him having a playful side too.

I stroked my chin dramatically with the hand still holding onto the tape rolls, my other hand grasping onto my racket. I looked from Da Chi to Jia Le, smirking, "Senior Da Chi,"

"That's right," Da Chi nodded, a triumphant grin on his face. "Hand the tapes over to me, please,"

"I haven't finished!" I laughed. "I was saying, Senior Da Chi, I'm sorry but I'm with Senior Jia Le on this one,"

Da Chi's face dropped, his expression priceless as I thrust the tape rolls back to Jia Le, who was punching the air and making a face at Da Chi. Da Chi lunged at Jia Le, attempting to snatch the tapes back when one of the books he had been carrying in his arms fell to the floor with a clatter.

I bent down to pick it up. "Here," I said, passing it back to Da Chi, but not before getting a glimpse of the name on the cover page. "Wait... your name isn't Da Chi, Senior?" I asked, confused. "It's Chi Da Yong?"

"Da Yong is my real name," Da Chi clarified, taking the book from my hands gratefully. "But the team calls me Da Chi,"

"And I like that name loads more," Jia Le piped up, grinning. "It's a nice nickname-- don't you think, Yue En?"

"I like it too," I agreed, smiling. "Anyway, I'm too used to calling you Senior Da Chi to change it to Da Yong now,"

"I wouldn't mind if you called me Da Chi, either," Da Chi nodded. "Hey Yue En, are you free for the rest of the afternoon?"

"Why?"

"We are going over to Lu Xia's to study," Jia Le answered. "If we don't do well for our exams this term, Coach Qi says that we cannot participate in the Nationals,"

"We'll bring you there," Da Chi said. "Qiao Chen and Bai Yang have been telling us how good your studies are and you have helped them a lot, along with your friend Ai Qi,"

My eyes widened. "Whoa, Seniors," I said, "I... uh... it's a little awkward for me to go there, isn't it? It's Lu Xia's house and all, and I'm not that close to the team either..." I lowered my eyes and clenched my left fist in one of the pockets of my hoodie nervously.

Besides, having a study session with a whole group of boys... yeah, it would definitely get awkward for me.

"Relax, Yue En," Jia Le says. "Qi Ying is coming too, if that's going to help persuade you,"

"It'll help your studies too, having a bunch of seniors to ask for help from," Da Chi added.

It seemed like the two seniors wouldn't let me have my way. Like they said, since the session wasn't exclusive to only the tennis members, and that I could finish my homework there, it was a good opportunity to go. Besides, I wanted to see Lu Xia's current home as well.

"Okay, okay, I'll go," I grinned, earning a smile from both Jia Le and Da Chi. "Let's go pay for our stuff first, hm?"

♡♡♡

"Wow," I breathed in amazement, admiring Lu Xia's house as Da Chi, Jia Le and I entered through the gate. This kid has an entire garden, a patio and an outdoor lounge... is that a tennis court at the back? My jaw was probably on the floor as I took in the details of Lu Xia's home. I had never been to Lu Xia's overseas home before when we were both studying abroad, so I had no idea that he was this rich.

I was still in awe and shock when we stepped onto the patio, where Zhi Ming, Xing Long, Zhuo Zhi, Lu Xia and Qi Ying were already seated around short tables on the floor with their worksheets and books out. "Hello everyone!" Jia Le called out cheerfully as he took a seat at the table where Xing Long sat at.