The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

31: Sweet Potatoes

Moving along the school's corridor, I found myself walking towards the stairs and ascending them. I wanted to clear my mind, get some fresh air for a while. My feet brought me up to the topmost level of the school: the school rooftop. I might get caught by a teacher up here, sure, but it was nearing the end of the day anyway. What did it matter?

I inhaled the air deeply, the wind messing up my hair. I didn't come up to the school rooftop often, but when I did, I always appreciated how quiet it was here. It wasn't like the library when you were constantly surrounded by students and teachers, trapped in an air-conditioned room with everyone. But on the school rooftop, you could see how wide the sky stretches. How vast the city looked from up there. You could feel both free and tranquil here.

I noticed the shape of a person leaning against the ledge of the rooftop. His arms were propped on the top of the ledge, supporting his weight. He had head tilted slightly towards the sky as if he was in another world of his own while he focused on the clouds drifting above. The wind made his short, dark hair ruffle up gently.

I smiled a little to myself, walking towards the student. "Hi, Senior Zhuo Zhi," I grinned as I leaned on the ledge too. I imitated Zhuo Zhi's posture, staring at the sky above me, trying to see what was so amusing about it.

"Hey," Zhuo Zhi replied mildly, now glancing away from the clouds and looking ahead into the distance, where the city's high skyscrapers dominated the scene. "What happens to bring you here?"

I sighed. "I got sick of Chinese class and made an excuse to go to the washroom. To get away from it," I answered honestly. "I still haven't caught up fully with the language,"

Zhuo Zhi chuckled softly, nodding. "Same with me. I was having English classes just now, and I came up here to get some air,"

His voice sounded monotone, which was abnormal from his normally casual and free stance. I turned to look at his face. His eyebrows were knitted, his eyes distracted and unfocused. The feature that stood out the most was the absence of his usual slight smile on his lips, now replaced by a frown.

I raised my eyebrows at this. "Senior Zhuo Zhi, what are you thinking of?" I asked curiously.

Zhuo Zhi sighed, still gazing into the distance. "Not much. Just some... things that are bothering me,"

I tilted my head to the side slightly, questioning. "Do you want to tell me?"

"You don't mind, do you?"

I shook my head. "I don't mind," I answered. Zhuo Zhi looked worried and low-spirited, and I was concerned for him. Moreover, after that event some time ago when I had been upset and frustrated and he had comforted me with a hug, I felt the need to return the favour, as well.

Zhuo Zhi gave a long exhale, now turning his head a little so that he could look at me through the corner of his eye. "It's Zhuo Yu. He's unhappy with me, and he has been coming home late these days to avoid me. I'm worried for him,"

"Why would he be unhappy with you?" I asked, recalling the other day when I had been silently witnessing the brothers' argument outside the restaurant. Zhuo Yu had been shooting poisonous looks at Zhuo Zhi, while poor Zhuo Zhi just looked as if he wanted none of that fight at all.

Zhuo Zhi elaborated, "After Yu Qing won the Nationals, Zhuo Yu began getting jealous from the attention overall. He says that he cannot stand it when my name is showered with compliments every time he talks about me. He... doesn't want anything to do with me now. He complains that it was like being back under the name 'The Tennis Prodigy Zhuo Zhi's Little Brother'."

That was what Zhuo Yu was so angry about the other day. To tell the truth, if I were him, I would be annoyed too. Perhaps that was why Si Yang had told me to fake our sibling relations in the first place. So that I wouldn't just be labelled as 'The Captain's Sister'. I understood Zhuo Yu's frustrations as well. And Zhuo Zhi... I knew that he cared for his brother very much. It hurt him to see Zhuo Yu's detest towards him, avoiding him at all.