"Is Bai Yang talking to a girl?" Qiao Chen asked in disbelief.

At the sound of his voice, both Bai Yang and the girl turned their heads in our direction. When my eyes landed on the girl's face, I realised she was very pretty. She had a small, heart-shaped face with light pink lips and a thin nose, large eyes staring at us like a curious puppy. Her raven-black hair was long and let down all the way to her elbows. Even the way she dressed made her seem freshly charismatic: A white and black laced shirt and flared jeans. Her clothing gave her an alluring charm but her rosy face made her look like a wise yet optimistic person.

My eyes caught on the most interesting point about the girl-- she had a grey-and-white striped kitten held in her arms. The kitten was stained with dirt and grime, but owned eyes sparkling with wonder and curiosity.

Bai Yang, however, looked distinctively annoyed at our appearance. Gritting his teeth, he marched towards us. "Why are you two here?"

"We came to look for you, idiot," I made a face at Bai Yang the moment he asked the question. "You're supposed to be practising for your Nationals, Bai Yang, not out here flirting with girls!"

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Bai Yang raised his voice, on the verge of yelling. "I was looking for the damned tennis balls when she came across the Home!"

Denial much? I hid a grin before Bai Yang could notice and went up to the girl. "Hey. Sorry that this big dolt had to come and interrupt your lovely day."

"Yue En!" Bai Yang roared behind me.

The girl giggled. "No trouble at all. Is he your schoolmate?" she asked as Qiao Chen ran up to us to join in the conversation. "Are all three of you schoolmates?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Qiao Chen gave a dramatic sigh as he gazed over to Bai Yang, then over to me. I shot him a poisonous look and he just raised his eyebrows nonchalantly.

"High school, I assume?" The girl smiled as she glanced at Qiao Chen and Bai Yang in their Yu Qing tennis tracksuits. "I miss my days in high school."

"You're in college?" My jaw dropped. "You look so young-- not to offend you, of course."

"Damn, Zhang Bai Yang!" Qiao Chen grinned mischievously, swinging an arm over his shoulder. "Getting all the older girls now--"

"I would like you to shut up," Bai Yang shrugged Qiao Chen's arm off and pinched his ear between his fingers. 

"Ow! Don't pull my ear like that!" Qiao Chen yelped.

I shook my head and turned back to the girl as the two boys continued to bicker. "Again, I apologise for these two immature kids that I have to call my schoolmates. What's your name?" I asked, smiling brightly.

The girl smiled back. "I'm Yang Xuan."

"Not to come off as rude, Yang Xuan," I said, "But how did you happen to come here? The Tennis Home is pretty remote and far from the main city."

"Oh," Yang Xuan nodded in understanding. "I work as a volunteer at an animal shelter. I got a call that some unsterilised stray cats were roaming around the area, so I came to check it out. That's why I have him." Yang Xuan lifted the kitten in her arms a little higher. The kitten was watching the two boys arguing, seemingly interested in their chaos.

"Ah, I see why now," I said. I turned my head to glare disapprovingly at the two boys. "Bai Yang! Qiao Chen! Behave!"

The boys paused in mid-fight, Qiao Chen trying to push Bai Yang's face away while Bai Yang holding Qiao Chen's arm, about to twist it. They dropped their hands in an instant. Qiao Chen was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck while Bai Yang looked at his shoes, suddenly interested in them.

Yang Xuan chuckled at their behaviour. "Anyway, I should leave now. Bai Yang?"

"Hm?" Bai Yang's head lifted at the sound of his name.

Yang Xuan gave him a radiant smile. "Thanks for helping me find him. The kitten," she said gratefully. "I wish you all best for the Nationals?"

I nodded. "Thank you, Yang Xuan. Bye-bye!"

"Bye!" Qiao Chen waved, grinning.

Yang Xuan's eyes twinkled at us bidding her goodbye, before turning back to Bai Yang, "Bai Yang, I see you like cats a lot, don't you?"

Bai Yang's eyes widened to the size of saucers in horror, and he glanced nervously at us. "I... uh..."

"Come work with me at the shelter sometime, mhm?" Yang Xuan offered, nodding one last time at us. She turned away while carrying the kitten in her hands, walking back down the road.

"Let's go back in," I nudged the two boys and we walked back down the path back to the courts. 

Qiao Chen had a massive smile on his face. "Some game you've got, Bai Yang!"

"I told you to shut your mouth!" Bai Yang fumed as he hit Qiao Chen in the shoulder with a tennis ball in hand.

"Ooh," I wiggled my eyebrows, joining in. "Spill. How did you meet her?"

"Like she said!" Bai Yang threw his hands in the air in annoyance. "I saw the kitten playing with the tennis ball, then she came across the Home and told me she was trying to find stray cats for the shelter."

"And boom!" Qiao Chen clapped his hands, skipping ahead of us. "You two found a common interest."

"And sparks fly," I added on, mimicking the sound of a mini firework, dancing around Bai Yang. I enjoyed the sight of him being worked up at our words. "Don't forget to invite us to the wedding."

Bai Yang bolted up to Qiao Chen and held his neck between his forearm and bicep, then used his other hand to grasp my shoulder. "Both of you stop talking right now. There are no sparks between me and her. Nothing. Understand?"

"Ah ah ah ah ah. Let go," I winced in slight pain, slapping at Bai Yang's huge hand on my shoulder while Qiao Chen struggled out of Bai Yang's hold. "We get it we get it, okay?"

Bai Yang loosened his grip on both of us and I stumbled forward. Qiao Chen coughed once, rubbing his neck. After a pause, he nodded and made a motion of zipping his lips. "Mm!" he saluted Bai Yang with his mouth closed.

Bai Yang scoffed and swung his racket over his shoulder, marching towards the gate to the courts and leaving us behind. Qiao Chen and I exchanged knowing looks and grins, before running to catch up with Bai Yang.

"Aye," I tapped on Bai Yang's shoulder. "But do you think she--"

"Not another word about her, remember?" Bai Yang hissed in irritation.

I held my arms up in surrender. "I swear, it's not about the sparks!" I defended. "But do you think she's pretty?"

"Why should I answer to you?" huffed Bai Yang as he strode through the wired gate, Qiao Chen and I tailing behind.

"Just answer me!" I frowned, speeding up to be walking in front of him so he couldn't avoid my eye contact. "She's pretty. You can't deny that,"

"Average," Bai Yang replied shortly, marching over to our court to leave the balls back in the machine basket.

I poked his arm. "Come on! She was definitely pretty. Wasn't she, Qiao Chen?" I waited for a reply from Qiao Chen but it never came. I turned around and stood beside Qiao Chen. "Qiao Chen?"

"What did you ask?" Qiao Chen asked in quite a breathless voice, his attention somewhere else.

"Do you think Yang Xuan is pretty?" I asked half-heartedly, already knowing who Qiao Chen had his mind on now.

In the distance, where the Yu Feng boys were running laps around the court, Xing Zi stood at a corner with a clipboard in her hand. I peered at Qiao Chen's face, who was gazing at Xing Zi, mesmerised.

"Not even half as pretty as Xing Zi," Qiao Chen said with a goofy smile on his face.

Bai Yang groaned in disgust behind me. I sighed and hit the back of Qiao Chen's head lightly. "You can dream about her tonight when you sleep. Get back to training before Senior Yan comes back and makes you drink that poisonous juice all of you somehow dread."

☆ ☆ ☆

Seriously though, get somebody who looks at you the way Qiao Chen looks at Xing Zi. 

Zhou Zi Xin as Yang Xuan:

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~ Snowy ♡