off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ twenty four

University, as interesting and knowledge-filled as it was, was one of the most stressful parts of Audrey's life. Somehow, in each of her classes, she had the feeling she was being judged. Not on her competence, but on her worth as a person, on her character as a famously rich girl who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Even in such a prestigious university, she still managed to feel like the odd one out. That probably said more about her than it did about the others. Though many of her classmates were cordial, even friendly, she still had this gnawing feeling that they weren’t looking at her for who she really was.

But Yanmei was different. Not only did they come from similar backgrounds, there seemed to be unspoken understanding between the two. They'd met through their brothers, and right away, that had set the tone for their friendship. Audrey had been relieved when the spotlight had shifted to Ricky, whereas Yanmei was constantly trying to take it back from Hao. They were in fundamentally opposed situations, and in a way, that was exactly what joined them together.

It was easy to talk to Yanmei. Audrey knew she would always be faced with her snark and sarcasm, rather than diving too deep into sensitive subjects. Today, the two had met while leaving campus, and Audrey had felt so relieved to finally be able to talk to someone.

"The assignment is due in a couple weeks, and I'm feeling a bit stressed out about it."

Yanmei snorted, keeping her handbag close. "I can see why. If it was only designing, it would be fine, but actually making it seems like a hard task."

"Oh, but Taerae's been helping me a lot. He's really inspired me. That reminds me, I need to shop for new fabric. We’re having the first fitting soon."

Hearing Taerae's name, Yanmei's eyes narrowed. Audrey was not nearly focused enough to pick up on the slightly mischievous moue on her friend's face. She simply kept walking, already imagining which colors would look best on her model.

"You two seem to spend a lot of time together," Yanmei said slowly, exaggerating every word. She knew Audrey wasn’t very good at picking up on people's intent.

A small smile stretched her lips, as she nodded. "Yes, I'd say we’re good friends! He's been really nice to me. And he has surprisingly good fashion sense, believe it or not."

Even with Yanmei's obvious implication, Audrey had completely missed the intended meaning. Yanmei sighed. It seemed she would need to be a tad more direct. Or else Audrey would go on a tangent on whatever type of socks Taerae wore. She'd already had to live through that one once, never again.

"I mean, it's kind of strange that he's helping you so much, though. Don't you think he might have feelings for you?" Yanmei almost punctuated her words with an overplayed wink, but she trusted Audrey to get it on that one.

Audrey turned to her, eyes blank, blinking slowly as she continued walking. That stare told Yanmei everything she needed to know. Of course, Audrey hadn’t even considered a single time that maybe a guy could be interested in more than her fashion sense. She'd had suitors lining up for her ever since she’d started university, but hadn’t even noticed their intentions once. She was either really insecure, or hadn’t looked in a mirror in years.

Finally, after a few seconds of processing the question, Audrey chuckled. Her laughter felt like an anvil dropping on Yanmei's head.

"Of course not, we’re just friends. I don't think I'm his type of girl, anyway," she said nonchalantly, none the wiser.

Not his type? Now where had she gotten that? Audrey had everything. Not only was she absolutely beautiful, she was sweet to a fault, protective and caring, and was so passionate about so many topics that you could never get bored talking to her. It seemed like any guy would be happy to have a girlfriend like her. Taerae didn’t seem particularly dumb, either. Surely he'd noticed her charms.