LABICTTS_ARCHIVE C13:CHAPTER 13

 LIKE A BOAT IT CIRCLES TO THE START

Chapter Thirteen: The Fight

As Zhou Xiao was just about to reach the dormitory building, Zhao Fanzhou finally caught up with her. He grabbed her wrist, slightly out of breath. “What’s going on with you?”

“Let go. I don’t want to talk to you right now.” What was with the grabbing? Did he think they were in some cheesy soap opera?

“Can you at least give me a reason?”

As if she needed one—she was just pissed off, okay? She was being unreasonable, hormonal maybe, so what?

“You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder all evening. Isn’t that reason enough? And how about this—taking a call from another girl while you're with your girlfriend and walking away to talk? Is that a good enough reason?”

“When did I give you the cold shoulder? I was just thinking. And I stepped out to take the call because it was too loud inside. Jia Yichun is just my neighbor!”

“Neighbor? I’ve had enough of your so-called ‘neighbor.’ You’re a hell of a lot gentler with her than you are with me. Whatever—I'm done arguing. Just let me go.”

“How long are you going to keep harping on about her? I’ve told you—we grew up together. She’s like a sister to me.”

“Oh please. Other than the time I randomly ran into you two on campus, when have you ever tried to introduce me to your precious ‘sister’?”

He paused. “I thought… you wouldn’t want to meet her.”

 

The truth? He didn’t want them to meet.

 

(eun: tsk tsk!! dude! don't be a red flag!!) 

“You know what, forget it. I said I don’t want to talk to you, so why are you still holding on? Let go. I’m going back.”

He hesitated, then let her go. “Let’s talk when you’ve calmed down.”

Ugh. Why was he always so obsessed with talking things out? If he loved talking so much, why didn’t he get paid for it?

She gave him a sharp glare, turned, and stomped up the stairs—each step like she was smashing his face with it.

Zhao Fanzhou stood there fuming. She was the one who showed up late. She had been off spending the afternoon with some pretty boy, and she was planning to see him again tomorrow

 

What the hell was she so mad about? Women really were impossible sometimes. He sighed and turned away. He had more urgent things to deal with.

---

The dorm lights were already off. Zhou Xiao checked her phone again—still no texts, no missed calls. She slammed the power button in frustration.

So that was it, huh? Two whole days and he hadn’t tried to contact her. Were they playing some twisted game of who-cares-less? Couldn’t he at least try to patch things up? It wasn’t like she’d done anything that awful. Sure, maybe she’d hung up on him… and yeah, maybe she’d bitten him. But still, he was a grown man—was a little bite going to kill him?

She tossed and turned in bed, drawing loud sighs and rustling blankets.

“Zhou Xiao, are there fleas in your bed or what?” Tao Ling grumbled from the bunk below.

She’d been snappy with everyone lately, and out of sympathy, the others had just been letting it slide. Earlier that morning, she’d nearly gotten into a shouting match with Xiaolu.

Zhou Xiao mumbled, “Sorry,” and forced herself to lie still.

But Tao Ling wouldn’t let it go. “You should at least consider other people’s feelings. Just because you can’t sleep doesn’t mean the rest of us have to stay awake with you…”

“Are you done yet?” Xiaolu suddenly snapped. “You think just because everyone’s cutting you some slack, you can take it out on us?”

“What’s your problem, huh?” Tao Ling’s voice rose in pitch.

“Enough, both of you!” The dorm leader tried to interject.

“She started it—going on about her damn nap and smashing her phone because of a ringtone. Then she broke my cup this morning and didn’t even say sorry—just told me it was my fault for leaving it too close to the edge. And this afternoon she knocked over your clothes and didn’t even bother picking them up… You think we owe it to her to keep putting up with this?”

“I never asked you to put up with me!” Tao Ling shouted, voice cracking. “I’m just… I’m not okay right now.”

“Oh spare me the tears,” Xiaolu bit back, her voice also starting to tremble. “What, am I bullying you now?”

If Zhou Xiao weren’t so tired and annoyed, she might have grabbed some sunflower seeds and settled in like she was watching a live drama.

“BOTH of you shut up!” The dorm leader—usually the softest-spoken one of the group—finally snapped. “Tao Ling, you’ve been way out of line. It was your boyfriend who messed up, not us. We were the ones who bought your morning-after pills, who stayed up with you crying, who took you to the hospital… What more do you want from us? And Xiaolu, yes, she’s been difficult—but after everything she’s been through, cut her some slack!”

If the atmosphere weren’t so tense, Zhou Xiao might have applauded. That was legendary. Dorm leader just pulled a Martin Luther King.

After that, the room finally fell silent. No one said another word. Each of them lay awake, stewing in their own thoughts, until eventually, sleep crept in and smothered the tension—for now.

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