Fate Led Me Here {SOULMATE A.U} {Liu Yuxin x Reader}

SC. 42

Y/N's POV

"Keke, they burnt the potatoes again!"

"Then just don't eat them, Fanfan."

It's now lunchtime and for the first time in the past few days, we are spending it all together in the cafeteria. Although there's no denying that everyone is still pressured and tensed about the upcoming finale, I think it's a lot less today. It's because all the eliminated trained would be arriving later today. Everyone is excited to see everyone again.

I snapped out of my thoughts as Lin Fan let out another complaint about how her potatoes were burnt. What's funny is that she's complaining about it but still continues to eat them. I continued to eat and as I chewed, my eyes stopped on Yuxin. Every now and then, her cheeks would puff out as she ate and it reminded me a lot of the pictures her mom had shown the past day.

"Hmm, what?" she asked out as she turned and saw me staring at her.
"Nothing... you look cute," I answered and grinned as I saw how blood rushed up to her face.

"Security, we have another simp here!" Keyin yelled out and pointed at me, making me let out a small laugh.

"I hate you guys. You're making me feel more single and alone!" Anqi complained and proceeded to hug herself and glare at us.

I grinned before turning to Yuxin who was still red in the face. I teasingly nudged her, making her turn to me with a slight jut on her lips. The sight made my grin widen before I placed a few more pieces of chicken onto her plate. Her cheeks puffed but she ate them nonetheless.

These days, I found myself having too much teasing her around. In a way, it kind of became my destressing mechanism. I don't think she minds it too much anyway as all she does is grin shyly and flush. Besides it isn't like my teasings are things that will make her feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. It's just simple things like smothering her from time to time like how she does to me.

It wasn't long before we were all finished with lunch. most of us decided to just hang around in one of the practice rooms while some chose to go back to their dorms and sleep. The entire walk, I kept my arms linked with Yuxin's, mindlessly fiddling with her sleeves as I listened to Lin Fan's continuous stories.

"Is something wrong?" Yuxin asked as we sat down a little away from the others and at the corner of the room. She flipped her hand over and gripped mine as she looked at me in slight concern.

"Hmm? No, I'm okay. Why?" I asked back with a small smile and she shook her head.

"I don't know... you're acting a bit different these days. Not that I hate it or something but it's making me feel as if you're doing it for some reason you're not telling me." She let out a small sigh before resting her head at the crook of my neck.

I paused for a moment. I guess I've been acting clingier these days. It's all because of... everything to be honest. As we draw closer to the finals, I can't help but think of the 'what-ifs'. What if I don't make it with her on the debut lineup? For sure, no matter how we try, we won't have as much time for each other anymore as we get pulled into many different directions.

"I just... wanna make things last a bit longer..." I quietly admitted as I fiddled with the silver chain on her wrist. "Just in case you know..."

"Just in case what?" she whispered and pulled away. When I hesitated, she scooted closer and gave me a questioning look.

"Just in case we don't debut together," I said and as her brows started meeting, I spoke again. "But just in case," I emphasized with a small smile.

I honestly thought that she'd go ahead and argue with me but to my surprise, she let out a sigh and went back to having her head resting on my shoulder. This time, I was the one looking at her in confusion.

"If we don't debut together. I don't think I'd want to debut at all." I heard her mumble.
"Hey, you can't say that. That's crazy!" I scolded and poked her side.

"But you're right. If we don't debut together that would mean that we can't do the things we do anymore. We won't have much time with each other on top of all things."

I bit my lips. I shouldn't have said anything at all.

"We'll make things work, Xinxin. We'll always find a way. Besides, this is all just a what-if..."

With that, I rested my head against hers. My hands remained fiddling with her hands as I proceeded to watch the others. Some of them were up and about, practicing for their performances and joking around. For moments, I remained just watching them. Yuxin was quiet and based on the deep, rhythmic pattern of her breaths, I could tell that she was already out.

But that also meant that I wouldn't be able to get up as well. I would have just gone ahead and taken a nap, too, but I found myself unable to do so. Instead, I felt hungry or more like craving something sweet. At that moment, nothing sounded better than a cold tub of strawberry ice cream, and that crazing only seemed to grow as seconds passed by.

"What's up with the long face?" I looked up and saw Anqi standing over me with an amused look.
"I want ice cream," I huffed with a small huff, causing her to laugh.
"I'll go and get you some, but knowing me, I'll get tempted to eat, too, and I'm trying to lose weight."

I sighed and turned away from her as she walked back to where Shuxin was practicing with Xiaotang and I tried to weigh my options. Waking Yuxi up is definitely not one of those. I know how important it is for her to sleep. Even though we don't practice together as much, I still know how much and hard she's working and practicing for the final stage. I don't want to disturb her just because of ice cream.

But as much as I tried, the craving didn't disappear from my mind. Instead, the feeling of having to use the restroom started washing over me, too. With pursed lips, I scratched my head. Slowly, I started to shift around, unblinking my arm from Yxin and as carefully as I could, started to maneuver her so that she was instead leaning against the wall on her other side,

Once sure that she wasn't waking up, I finally stood up.

"Where you goin'?" Lin Fan called out from where she was sprawled out on the floor.

"Bathroom. Tell Yuxin if she wakes up, okay?" I said and when she nodded, I headed towards the door.

The hallway felt so empty without all the cameras and staff filming our every move. It also made the whole aesthetic strangely scary. Like those hallways I see in movies which are all lit in bright white light that would suddenly go off and then flicker back on and BAM! the monster is smack in front of you.

I quickly shook those thoughts out of my head. It's not a good idea to scare myself this time.  was about to round the corner when I stopped short. A figure was already standing at the end of the hallway. I swallowed What are the chances that it's a ghost? It didn't help that whoever it was, was wearing an all-white dress and her jet-black hair reached past her waist. I really shouldn't have gone alone. I watched dreadfully as the figure slowly started to move.

"Eh, Y/N? Y/N!"

My eyes widened as I realized who it actually was. "Yiwen!"

The smile on my face was wide as I quickly jogged to where she was. The two of us letting out squeals and shrieks as we jumped around in a hug.

"Oh, my god. I didn't even recognize you!" I said as I pulled away from her.
"It's the hair," she replied and ran a hand through it. "Anyway, how have you been? You know, I spent everyday voting for you guys."

"We're good. the others are in room 8 hanging around. You should go there."

"Ah, so that's why the dorms were empty. I was starting to think everyone just vanished."

"Anyway, it's really nice to see you again, but I really need the bathroom first," I said and gave her a sheepish grin. "I'll catch you later!" I called out before quickly running away.

"Nice to see you too!" I heard her yell back.

When I made it to the bathroom, I didn't waste a second to run into the nearest stall and relieve myself. Seconds later, I went out and started to wash my hands. I let out small hums as I ran my hands under the water. I was already rinsing the soap out when I heard the door creak open. Curiously, I looked up to see who it was through the mirror. I froze.

"Ma Shujun..."

~