Picture Us | Zhuo Zhi

twenty-seven

s p y i n g

In the morning, Nam hears her dad pester Xia to run errands because he's already heading out. But it's the day that he's supposed to be accompanying Qi Ying.

"Dad," Nam says once her brother leaves, "I, um-"

"Is he going out on a date?" Xiangqian asks.

"I wish," Nam quietly replies.

"What?! He's too young to be dating! You both are!" he shouts in panic.

"Uh... okay. I'm going to go out... to buy the things you wanted... Bye," Nam says as she leaves.

-

Knowing her father, Nam suspects that he'll spy on Xia, so she goes out with the intention to spy on him.

Seeing as Xia and Ying went into her uncle's bookstore, she wanders around the area a bit, knowing that it should take them some time.

Walking over a bridge, she spots none other than Zhuo Zhi and Tang Jiale.

"Hi Zhi, Jiale," she greets.

"Hey Nam," Zhuo says as Jiale waves.

"What're you doing?" Zhuo asks.

"Well, I'm... spying? on my dad and brother," she answers.

"Why?" Jiale asks.

"Well, because of... them!" she points, seeing her twin and Ying walking together. "Let's go!"

The three walk together, carefully trailing behind who Nam hopes becomes a couple, hiding behind bushes and trees occasionally.

-

As Xia and Ying stop at a park bench, the trio arrive behind a bush to see Xiangqian, Baiyang, Xiuwen, Huang, Mu, and Qiao, with the latter saying, "Lu Xia won't be a bad student on our watch."

Jiale makes their presence known, saying, "We are concerned about Lu Xia, too. How can we miss this? They can't have puppy love." Nam hides, though, and waits to reveal herself until after her dad's introduced himself to Zhuo and Jiale.

"Dad," Nam starts, making Lu Xiangqian yelp in surprise, "what happened... to the whole 'making memories' thing?"

Before he can respond, Baiyang cuts the group off. "Shouldn't we be looking at that?" he asks, pointing to the bench Xia and Ying are sitting on next to each other.

-

"What's the matter? Doesn't he really like Ying?" Qiao Chen asks aloud.

"It can't be. He must focus on his studies," Xiangqian says.

Everyone else seems to agree, but Nam wants her friend and brother to be happy, even if Xia doesn't know it. "When... a chance like this comes, he shouldn't miss it... It seems so... rare... to have two people, um... 'like' each other," Nam voices.

"Nam, I didn't know you were such a romantic," Zhuo says as he quietly chuckles.

"You both should focus on your studies," Xiangqian interjects.

Before anyone can add anything, they see Ying walk off.

"Why is she leaving? Maybe we misunderstood?" Jiale questions.

"It doesn't look like a date," Zhuo adds.

It was supposed to be, though, Nam thinks.

"Fine," Qiao sighs, "that's it. We made a mistake."

"You overreacted," Baiyang says with a scoff.

"But my son should be a gentleman. Dear audience, look over there," Xiangqian says, and the group watches Xia walk off with Ying, which causes Nam to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's it," Qiao says, "I know what to do next time."

Is he talking about Xu Xingzi? Nam wonders.

"Honestly, I was worried about my son. He always thinks about tennis. I'm happy to see that both he and my daughter have many friends who care about them," Xiangqian says before leaving.

Nam groans in embarrassment for her and her twin as her dad departs from the group.