𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞

eighteen

I avoided Zimo the following days. Zuo Ye must've noticed because he sat beside me during lunch.

"Aren't you supposed to be chasing Xukun?" Yanchen teased as I hit his shoulder.

I glared at him, "Don't be rude to my brother,"

I once asked Yanchen about when our plan is ending but he only replied with soon. I don't even think he's doing anything to get his girlfriend back. If I keep this up, I might get hurt.

"Jiejie," Zuo Ye whispered. "Did you and Mo-ge had a fight?"

I frowned, "No. We just had a misunderstanding that's all."

"Did he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Don't play dumb, jie. You know what I'm talking about,"

"Why are we whispering?" Yanchen suddenly said, from beside me.

I sighed, massaging my forehead again, "I swear, the amount of headaches you give me is limitless."

Yanchen shrugged, "I was just curious. We're in one table. You two are talking and I'm practically invisible here."

"Why don't you play with your friends?" I asked.

"Ruibin's helping Lifen at the council and Xiao Gui is busy flirting over there."

I noticed he didn't mention Huba. "What about Xingjie?"

Yanchen raised his eyebrow, "We're not on speaking terms."

I almost forgot Zuo Ye was sitting in front of me. I faced him, "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

.·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·.

"Xingjie!" I waved my hand at him. He was talking to someone in the soccer field.

"Hey, Mingzhu, what's up?" He asked as he walked towards me.

"Is Yanchen mad at you or something?"

Xingjie shrugged, "I don't know? All I know is he's not talking to me."

I frowned, "I'm sorry, Xingjie. Because of me, your friendship with Yanchen is ruined."

Xingjie laughed, ruffling my hair, "It's not your fault, silly. He'll get around. Someday."

"But you two were close friends,"

He was about to say something when Ruibin arrived, "Have you seen Yanchen?"

I shook my head, "I left him in the canteen. Why? Is there something wrong?"

Ruibin looked at Xingjie then back at me, "Nothing. I forgot, he's not the one I'm looking for."

"Are you sure? I can call for him if you want -"

"No!" Ruibin cut me off. "It's okay. I'll probably see him later then."

He bid his goodbye and I realized I don't feel awkward around him. My heart doesn't beat that fast anymore and I forgot how many days it has been since I saw him last.

Do I not like Zheng Ruibin anymore?

.·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·.

"Where do you want to go first?" Yanchen asked me, caressing his thumb on my hands.

We were at the amusement park and right now we're alone. Yanyu decided to dragged Kaihao around while Ruibin and Lifen suddenly disappeared.

I looked at our intertwining fingers and bit my lip. I should stop this act before it gets any worse. But there's something inside me that tells me not to let go yet.

"Hey," He said, turning me around as he put his hands on my shoulders. "What's wrong? You're losing your touch, you know?"

I tried to show him my faint smile, "I'm okay. Let's go?"

We played a few games, with Yanchen winning me a stuffed panda from the basketball game. It was almost dark out, so we decided to ride the ferris wheel.

"You seem out of yourself, Mingzhu. Are you sure you're okay?" Yanchen asked, sitting beside me.

"I'm fine," I muttered, hugging the panda.

He was quiet but in a matter of seconds he flicked my forehead which earned him a few hits from me. "What was that for, you dimwit?!"

Yanchen chuckled, seeing my annoyed face. "That's the Mingzhu I know and love,"

I stopped hitting him when he said the L word. He also widened his eyes, realizing what he said.

I slowly sat back down, "W-what did you just say?"

"I- I don't know," Yanchen answered, moving a bit away from me as to not make it awkward. He pointed outside, changing the topic, "Look, fireworks."

I picked up the panda that fell on the ground, and scooted closer. My eyes sparkled seeing the beautiful lights in the sky.

Little did I know, Yanchen was smiling like a complete idiot while looking at me.