Chapter 72
Chapter 72
"Zhi. It's almost been a year since you've sat next to each other. Don't tell me you STILL haven't talked to her???" Bob asked.
"But she's too pretty!" Zhihao replied as he pulled his own hair.
Bob sighed.
"Are you sure that's the reason?"
Zhihao went quiet.
"Tell me. Are you still afraid?"
"… Of course I am." He replied as he lowered his head.
Bob shook his head.
"She won't die. She has you. We'll protect her."
Zhihao scoffed.
"That's what I said last time too. And look where we are right now."
"It's not the same! You know better now. And we can prepare too! Zhi! Come on!"
"…"
"Zhi…"
"But she looks so happy without me." He smiled bitterly.
Bob sighed.
"But you don't… Zhi… Why did you choose to redo your life if you won't make use of this chance anyway?"
Zhihao paused.
"I just wanted to see her smile… And I… I don't want to take that away from her again…"
Bob shook his head and sighed.
"It's not the same, Zhi… It won't be the same…"
---
Today, Zhihao's class was preparing for the annual sports fest. They were choosing students to send to the sports committee and as fate would have it, Ying Yue and Zhihao were chosen as representatives for their class.
Right now, they were both in the classroom, preparing the details.
"And so, these five boys will be our representative for the soccer match and…" Ying Yue lifted her head to see Zhihao staring at her.
She laughed.
She had been seated next to him for almost a year now and even she could tell that he was crushing on her. While he would have a lot of awkward moments whenever he talked to her, she didn't really mind. There was something about him that just felt so familiar, so comfortable, and so warm.
"Like what you see?" She teased.
Zhihao blushed and nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I mean no! I mean –
Ying Yue continued laughing.
"Zhihao. Do you want to go on a date with me?" She asked playfully.
"I-I-I-I-
"Yes. He would love that." A voice came from the doorway.
Ying Yue turned her head and saw a beautiful girl. She had silky black hair, porcelain skin, full lashes, and plump lips.
"Xiao Yu!" Zhihao's eyes widened.
Daiyu frowned. She had been waiting for him for almost an hour now by the Zheng family car but he still hadn't shown up. So it turns out that he was here, busy being an idiot in front of the woman he liked. She sighed.
She then approached the pair and introduced herself.
"Hi! I'm Daiyu. Thank you for taking care of my idiot big brother here."
Ying Yue laughed and shook her hand.
"Ying Yue." She introduced herself and Daiyu nodded.
"How about this Saturday? He'll come pick you up at your place at two in the afternoon. You'll watch a movie, have dinner, and then he'll bring you home by eight. Sounds good?" Daiyu suggested.
Ying Yue paused before nodding her head.
"Sounds good." She smiled.
"Alright. Then he'll see you tomorrow." Daiyu smiled and began dragging Zhihao out of the room by his collar.
"X-Xiao Yu! Wait! I didn't agree to this! Why are you selling your Zhihao-gege awaaaaaaay!"
---
Inside the Zheng family car, Zhihao continued wailing.
"What am I gonna do? What am I gonna doooooo?!"
Daiyu sighed. Zhihao had been crushing on that girl since the first day she transferred to their academy. She knew because he would gush about her every day after school.
At first, Daiyu thought it was cute. Her Zhihao-gege was acting like a lovesick puppy. But now it had begun getting on her nerves. Why was he such a coward?! And to think she used to see him as her hero.
She rolled her eyes. This time, she was going to be his hero. She was determined to save his love life!
"Uncle Quan, please bring us to the barbers." She instructed and the driver replied with a nod.
"Barbers? Why?" Zhihao asked.
"I'm going to shave your head."
"WHAT?!"
---
After that, Daiyu gave Zhihao a makeover. He was already very handsome to begin with so a little touching up made him even more beautiful.
Daiyu smiled at her work proudly. Zhihao now sported a French crop, a large fluffy yellow sweater, some black skinnies, and large white sneakers.
"Cute!" She smiled and stretched his cheeks.
"My Zhihao-gege is so handsome! Now, go to your date like this and surprise her. Okay?"
Zhihao sweated nervously.
"You'll be fine! Daiyu will cheer for you! Zhihao-gege, fighting!" She raised both of her arms and smiled widely.
Zhihao laughed. He smiled at her warmly before hugging her tightly.
"Our baby Xiao Yu is the best!"
"Mmm!" She nodded.
"Now go and make me proud!"
---
The next day, as promised, Zhihao went to fetch Ying Yue at her house.
"H-H-H-H-Heeeeey." He nervously greeted her with a bouquet of yellow flowers.
Ying Yue laughed and gladly took the flowers from his hand. She noticed how much effort he had put in to his looks for today. She smiled. This idiot was really adorable.
"Let's go!" She smiled and Zhihao nodded.
Inside the car, Zhihao remained his awkward self as usual. He remained stiffly seated, his palms nervously sweating, and his mouth completely shut.
Ying Yue laughed.
"Why are you so nervous?" She teased.
"Because you're so beautiful! I mean no, I mean yes, you're beautiful but –
Ying Yue continued laughing. She smiled and held his hand. He blushed.
"Relax. There's no pressure."
Zhihao faced her solemnly. He then looked down and stared at their intertwined hands. He raised his head and a beautiful smile bloomed on his face.
"Mmm."
Ying Yue was stunned. A sense of nostalgia washed over her.
"You feel… so familiar to me." She honestly shared.
Zhihao paused before gently tucking away a stray hair behind her ear.
"Maybe we were lovers in our past lives." He said jokingly.
Ying Yue chuckled.
"Were you helplessly in love with me back then too?" She asked, playing along with his joke.
"Mmm. More than you could imagine." He confessed.
---
The rest of the date went on smoothly. While at first, Ying Yue would laugh at Zhihao's awkward responses, soon, she found out that he was much more mature than she thought. He knew most of her likes and dislikes and he treated her so gently. And his eyes, they always looked at her so warmly.
"Why?"
"Mmm?" Zhihao turned to face her. Right now, they were having dinner.
"Why do you like me?" She asked.
"… I just do." He smiled, his eyes sparkling.
"You make me happy and my heart feels full. I love it when you smile. It makes me feel like everything will be okay."
She paused before chuckling.
"Well aren't you smooth with words." She teased.
"I'm not lying." He looked at her sincerely.
"You really do make my heart full." He smiled softly
Ying Yue was stunned and a blush crept up her face.
Zhihao laughed.
"What, crushing on me now?" He teased and she pouted.
"You'll have to work harder for that to happen!"
He laughed but slowly looked down. Ying Yue noticed the change in his expression.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Mmm?"
"Why do you always look so sad?"
Zhihao paused, shocked at her words.
"You always look at me that way – happy for a second and then sad in another. What's wrong?"
"I… I don't know."
"Don't lie. Tell me."
Zhihao paused.
"I'm a sensitive guy with sensitive issues!"
Ying Yue laughed at his excuse but decided not to push him further.
---
After dinner that night, Zhihao sent Ying Yue home.
"T-T-T-Thanks for today."
She giggled at the sight of the nervous boy in front of her. She tiptoed and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Take me out again soon." She smiled.
He blushed before nodding his head vigorously.
"Good night."
"Yeah… Good night."
After seeing to it that she was safely inside her home, Zhihao left to visit Daiyu.
---
"Xiaaaaaaaooo Yuuuuuuu!" He wailed as he hugged her tightly.
"How'd it go?" She asked as she hugged him back.
Zhihao laid his head on Daiyu's lap as she sat on her bed. He then told her all about his date earlier.
"That's great! See, you can do it if you try!" Daiyu praised him.
He sighed.
"Xiao Yu." He pouted.
"What's wrong?"
"I… I'm worried." He confessed as he hugged her tummy.
"Mmm? Why?" She asked as she gently stroked his hair.
"Well…"
"Tell me. If you lie, I'll bite you!"
He stiffened, the memory of her incredible jaw strength still fresh on his mind.
"Hahahaha please spare me-OUCH! FINE! FINE! GREAT GODDESS PLEASE SPARE ME!!!"
Daiyu let go of his shoulder and huffed.
He sighed.
"I have a friend…"
Daiyu nodded, silently listening.
"He loved a girl named A. But A was his brother's girlfriend… so he tried his best to forget her. Still, he was madly in love with her and for many years, he treasured her. Finally, he met another girl named B… slowly, she helped him forget A. Every day with her was beautiful… and every day he fell for her more and more. But A… didn't like that… so she took her away…"