Carnivals are supposed to be fun, but in reality, they're a clustered mess of screaming children and clowns. The worst things imaginable.
"This place is terrible, I can't believe you wanted to bring Meirong here," Justin commented as he shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
"Umm, I don't remember mentioning wanting to invite Meirong to this mess fest," ZhengTing was startled by his friend's accurate guess but he tried to cover it up.
"You totally bought two tickets for me and you. Oh, how beautiful our friendship is," Justin sassed, his mouth still full of popcorn. Right then, a man dressed as a cartoon character passed by, being followed by a swarm of obnoxious kids, who were also being followed by their exhausted parents.
"Chaotic," ZhengTing remarked as the parade passed and Justin nodded in agreement.
"Oh, by the way, how are things between you and Meirong now? Did my genius plan work?" Justin asked with a cheeky grin playing on his lips.
"Things are fine, thank you for your concern," ZhengTing rolled his eyes, he wasn't falling for Justin's tricks.
"I heard she finally bought a router? Internet device? I don't know," Justin shrugged.
"Yeah, she bought one and woke me up extra early to make sure I knew about it," ZhengTing shook his head, remembering his unfortunate morning.
"You seem upset though?"
"I don't know," ZhengTing sighed.
"I can't with you two," Justin tutted, "You act as if you're in some fan fiction where everything is so unnecessarily complicated and dramatic."
"Excuse me? I don't know what conclusions are you jumping to right now but-"
"You two are so in love with each other and you don't even know it," Justin muttered as he watched his friend ramble on, a flustered blush creeping on his cheeks.
"Justin, you are hereby cancelled."
After a month of struggles and hard work, Meirong was finally able to freely enjoy internet access in her own apartment. But as she lay sprawled on her sheets, her phone streaming episodes of a random show, something felt off.
This was her, lazily watching dramas without giving second thoughts. But maybe the last weeks changed her, for she felt empty and aimless in some way. She wasn't immersed in her job, nor was she hanging out with ZhengTing. Meirong was back to the same unhealthy state she used to be in.
The woman plunked onto the bed beside her downcast daughter. She held her hand tenderly as a motherly smile graced her features.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" The woman asked her daughter who looked at her with a lost expression, "Mom, I'm... confused."
Uncharacteristically, Meirong's attention diverted from the events of the drama, and instead, the girl drowned in her own thoughts.
What would ZhengTing be doing today?
"About what my dear?" The woman massaged her daughter's shoulders soothingly, "Is it, perhaps, your feelings?"
I mean, it's the weekend. He probably went somewhere with Justin.
"I don't know," the girl moped, "I'm afraid I might ruin something irreplaceable, mom. I don't want to be selfish."
It's almost sundown though, ZhengTing usually comes back at this time.
"Sweetheart, I wish I could help you with that, but it's inevitable. All we can do is trust fate."
Will he be free to go out? I'm kinda craving ice cream...
"But the question is, is it worth risking your friendship? What will you regret if you didn't confess?"
Should I ask him? Or would it be awkward? I mean, we don't have anything to do with each other anymore...
"It will end in heartbreak anyways, mom. I wish I could just disappear, I don't want to deal with this!" The girl whined in her mother's arms.
But we're neighbors, nothing's wrong with a friendly meet up.
"Would you rather wait or try? Who knows, you might not be the only conflicted one."
But what if he declines my invitation?
"Just go for it sweetheart, just try-"
Sighing, Meirong turned off her phone as she made up her mind.
She mustered up enough courage and left her apartment, heading to the third apartment on the left. She couldn't tell if her neighbor was inside or not, so she just knocked on the door shamelessly.
To her surprise, someone answered the door. There stood ZhengTing, and a scene from a month ago replayed in Meirong's mind.
The same simple white t-shirt, black sweats and towel draped over his shoulders. The same way his damp hair fell over his eyes, untidy but beautiful. The same scent of cologne that seemed to permeate the air surrounding her.
Meirong guessed she was too resentful before to notice how attractive ZhengTing looked. Not that she never thought he did, but something about that look felt so... pleasant? Whatever it was, Meirong was not okay.
She might've stared at him more than she should've, for ZhengTing started shifting awkwardly in his place. He cleared his throat and Meirong snapped out her daze instantly.
"Uh, hi," she smiled sheepishly and ZhengTing smiled back, secretly happy to see her, "Hi."
Meirong gulped nervously, suddenly feeling the urge to turn back and dismiss it all. But something in her pushed her forward, it wouldn't hurt to socialize for once.
"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to hangout?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I'm bad at making this clear so here
Remember when, in the beginning of the story, ZhengTing and Meirong had this "deal"? Meirong using the Internet until she could buy a new one?
Yep well this deal was the thing that made them see each other every day and slowly become friends (or more wink wonk- ). But now that Meirong has her own internet connection, there is no "deal" or anything that connects them. That's why they might feel a bit... distanced? Like they don't have anything to do with each other anymore.
Yeah idk but they're getting over that dw
lame plot ik
also sorry if it was confusing but the drama scene above is basically a mix of Meirong's thoughts (italics) and the drama playing (bold and italics).
Anyways this story is nearing an end and lol any ship names?
