as all friends do, they have a couple of unspoken rules. namely: don't you ever date my sister. turns out, as they're all meeting at this party, this rule is a lot harder to respect than they expected.
a zb1 applyfic | closed
Brand new day, same old song. With a long sigh, Yanmei closed her makeup compact, putting it down on her dresser. Yet another day she would have to put up with everyone around acclaiming her twin brother, while she would have to stay close to the walls, in his shadow.
Great, he'd won first place in a violin competition. Thousands of kids had probably done the same before him. Hell, Mozart had composed his first minuet at six! Zhang Hao had won a national competition at the big age of twenty-two, not much of an achievement in comparison. At least, that's what she was trying to tell herself.
Somehow, when she'd told their parents a week ago that her latest art assignment had earned her the top grade, they hadn’t been quick to start planning a luxurious banquet in her honor. But when it came to Hao, of course they had to lay down the red carpet and gather the whole town to give him a little pat on the back. As if he needed that. He was already earning praises left and right, surely he didn’t need a whole evening dedicated to him to feel confident in his abilities.
The door to Yanmei's room creaked open. Of course they wouldn’t knock.
"Yanmei," her father's voice resonated through her room, "are you ready? The guests have arrived."
She only looked at him through her mirror, not bothering to swivel in her chair. Her father was wearing his finest suit, his hair combed neatly. How annoying. For tonight again, they would have to play the perfect, happy family in front of dozens of people.
Adverting her eyes from his serious gaze, she ran her fingers through her hair to tidy it up. "Yes, I'm ready." She stood swiftly, patting the creases out of her dress, only to follow her father out into the corridor.
Yanmei had been given a fancy designer dress by her mother, and though she did like wearing beautiful clothes, this outfit was not comfortable in the least. From what she'd heard, this had been graciously gifted to their family by an associate of Zhang Enterprises. It was pretty, sure. But so annoyingly tight.
Without a surprise, Zhang Hao was also in the hallway, having his ridiculous bowtie adjusted by their mother. At least he'd look goofy all night — that managed to put a sincere smile on Yanmei's face. The twins' eyes met for a second, but both looked the other way, without uttering a word. He would get more than enough attention tonight, no way she would give him any of hers.
Her mother turned to her with a smile, joining her hands together. Anyone who saw her wouldn’t guess she was the mother of two adult children. Though she was now in her fifties, her face was still beautifully smooth, not a wrinkle in sight. Yanmei bit her lip. They were all so perfect, hmm?
"Yanmei, dear," her mother started with a honeyed voice, "you look beautiful in that dress. Come, we should greet the guests." She walked towards her to put a hand on her back, walking with her to the stairs. Though her mother's attention was still on her son. "Hao, you should walk ahead of us. This is your night, after all."
This was his night. And so was tomorrow night. And then the night after that. And after that. Every night was his night, and every day was his day. Yanmei should have just pretended she was sick. Though knowing her parents, they might still have forced her to attend the party.
His head held high, Zhang Hao stepped down the stairs slowly, his eyes sweeping over the crowd of guests waiting for him downstairs. When they saw him approach, they all stopped what they were doing, and started applauding.
Yanmei balanced herself with a deep inhale. How ridiculous. Dozens of grown adults, clapping for him as if he'd just saved the lives of a hundred people. Time for Yanmei to zone out. At least her friend, Narae, had been invited too. Hopefully the evening wouldn’t be so horrible. At least in her eyes, she was valuable in her own right.
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and we've reached the end of the character introductions! once again, i really want to apologize to those i couldn’t accept. i got so many amazing forms and it was an absolute struggle to choose and i wishhh i could have accepted everyone,,, thank you so much for applying nonetheless, love u <3
stay tuned for chapter one, i'll try not to take too long to write it :)
