revenge romance • zhou xinyu

36 . fake?

when xinyu arrived, you let her in without a word, and the atmosphere immediately felt tense. you both sat down in the living room, both waiting for the other to say something and fill the awkward silence. xinyu fidgeted, trying to find the right way to start.

"i, uh... sohyun told me you're mad," xinyu finally said, breaking the silence.

"sohyun told you?" you raised an eyebrow.

"yeah, she said you were upset because of the double date." xinyu hesitated, searching your face for any sign of how to approach this. "i didn't realize... i thought we were just, y'know, having fun."

you leaned back, crossing your arms. "fun for you two maybe," even you were surprised about how sharp it sounded. "but it wasn't fun watching you and sohyun basically ignore us all night. you were so busy trying to 'win' that you didn't even notice how awkward me and nakyoung felt."

xinyu opened her mouth to respond, but you continued before she could say anything. "i get it, xinyu. you and sohyun have a history, but this is exactly why i didn't want to go in the first place. it just ended up being a whole mess and you didn't even notice how i felt."

xinyu felt her chest tighten. "i didn't mean to ignore you. i thought you were having fun too—"

"how could i when you weren't even paying attention to me?" you cut her off, voice rising slightly. "the whole point of the date was to prove we were together but i literally just sat there while you smiled in sohyun's face the whole time."

"i'm sorry," xinyu said softly. "i really didn't mean to make you feel like that. i just... i don't know, i got caught up in proving sohyun wrong, and i didn't think about how it would affect you. i'm really sorry about that."

"it's not just about the date, xinyu," you said after a moment, your voice quieter now. "it's about everything. i feel like you're still so focused on sohyun even though you told me you didn't care about her anymore."

xinyu looked down at her hands, feeling the weight of your words. she wanted to defend herself, but deep down, she knew you were right. she'd been so caught up in trying to make sohyun jealous that she hadn't thought about how it affected you. the plan to fake-date was supposed to be a means to an end, a way to get their exes back, but it was clear it had gotten messier than that.

"i know," xinyu admitted quietly, almost like she didn't want to say it out loud. "you're right. i've been so focused on sohyun that i haven't even thought about what this is doing to you." she took a deep breath, looking up at you. "but i swear, it's not that i still care about her like that. i guess... i just wanted to prove something to her."

you were silent for a moment, arms still crossed but your gaze softening, "prove what, though?" you asked, leaning forward just a little. "that you're over her? that you're happy with me? 'cause if that's what you were trying to do, then it didn't feel like it."

"i wanted to prove... that i'm fine without her," xinyu said, her voice barely above a whisper. "but also that i'm better off with you." the words came out before she could stop herself.

you blinked, caught off guard by her sudden honesty. it was something about the way she said "with you" that made your heart flutter, but you tried to ignore it, pretending you hadn't noticed. you both sat in silence staring at each other for a second longer than necessary.

xinyu, realizing what she had just implied, quickly added, "i mean, as part of the plan, obviously. to make sohyun see that i've moved on."

you nodded slowly, "right... but maybe you're focusing too much on her. you're not supposed to seem like you still care about her."