IMPROVISE

Improvise: to create music spontaneously.

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Yang Liu was overcome with extreme anxiety this afternoon. Ever since he was talking privately with Zhou Yongliang this afternoon in the school lobby, his feelings had become erratic, like a boat being swayed by the waves in the middle of the ocean. He still could not believe Zhou Yongliang's confession which he said was unusual.

"He must be just kidding. He must want to prank me," the tall guy continued to convince himself while lying on his bed.

Zhou Yongliang's confession earlier was like lightning in broad daylight for him. Indeed, many guys admired his good looks, some of them also envied his God-like face, but Zhou Yongliang was the first guy who confessed to him directly.

It was true that Yang Liu had noticed the new student's gaze from the start. As a creature that had superpower abilities, Yang Liu was indeed sensitive to his surroundings. He had high sensitivity, so he could notice when someone was staring at him secretly.

But, he had never interpreted Zhou Yongliang's gaze as a gaze that was filled with love or something like that.

He thought Zhou Yongliang had another intention behind his gaze, but it turned out that he was wrong. The new student bravely confessed his feelings this afternoon. Brave, loud, and without a doubt. Yang Liu couldn't believe that an innocent-looking boy like Zhou Yongliang could do that.

"I don't know why, but I sensed an oddity in his confession. I should be more careful with that boy," he continued his monologue.

The new kid didn't show any signs of liking before. Yes, except for one sign that the brown-haired guy often stared at him in secret.

"The way he stared at me is annoying like hell! That's bothering me so much! I should've thrown the ball harder to give him a more serious warning."

Yang Liu wanted to brush the incident out of his mind, destroying everything that was bothering him. The young guy was disgusted, but strangely, he could not forget the taboo confession. The words that the boy had uttered seemed to haunt him, giving him a fear that he had never felt before.

'What's wrong with me?'

The young Yang looked at the clock on the wall of his room. It was thirty minutes past five. That meant, in half an hour he had to arrive at the convenience store where he worked part-time. He had to face a bitter reality that he would also meet Zhou Yongliang in half an hour.

'What should I do when I meet the strange boy?'

It felt like Yang Liu wanted to play truant as he was reluctant to meet the human who was sassily stirring his mind since this afternoon. But, the convenience store's manager would definitely not tolerate his absence. He was so fortunate when the manager gave him a day off on the full moon night, and he was sure that the same opportunity wouldn't happen again in a short period of time.

Choosing to put all personal worries aside, Yang Liu finally got out of bed and immediately got ready to go to work. The boy had taken a shower earlier, so now he only needed to prepare his backpack.

The preparations were done in a few minutes, and he was ready to go. He didn't need to be in a hurry, but it was better if he arrived early so that the manager wouldn't doubt his sincerity and would give him a positive score. Yang Liu realized that sometimes he needed to be a pushover to survive in this cruel world.

The slender young man was now standing in his apartment. Not long after, he started closing his eyes. He concentrated his mind before successfully teleporting to a relatively hidden spot near the convenience store where he worked.

In just a matter of seconds, Yang Liu's tall body vanished from his apartment, then appeared in a narrow, dark alley that he had frequently visited.

No need to linger, Yang Liu then walked out of the alley. He then turned to the left and walked on the sidewalk. He didn't need to walk for long before he arrived at the store where he worked.

With a little hesitation, Yang Liu pushed open the glass door and stepped inside.

"Welcome!"

The young guy frowned slightly at the sudden sound of the greeting. Behind the counter, Zhou Yongliang was smiling sweetly at him. It was not even 6 PM yet, but the brown-haired boy was ready at his usual post. And, no one knew why did the young guy cheerfully greet Yang Liu like that.

Opted to be indifferent, Yang Liu promptly headed for the staff room. He then took off his jacket and put it into the locker. After that, he then took out the vest uniform in the locker and put it on his body. When he was ready, he then walked out of the staff room.

"Excuse me."

Suddenly, he heard the two words as he closed the door to the staff's room. He thought that it was a voice that belonged to a customer who came to the store and needed his help. Immediately the tall guy turned around, but suddenly his brows furrowed when he saw someone who just uttered the two words.

"Do you have a lighter?"

The question made Yang Liu's brows sink even deeper. "No," he simply answered the question.

"Then, how did you manage to set my heart on fire?"

Yang Liu did not understand why suddenly Zhou Yongliang—yes, the person who had been talking was Zhou Yongliang—gave him such a cheesy pick-up line.

'The kid must have taken it from the internet,' he thought.

He should have done a little spontaneous improvisation to be more creative. That pick-up line was so boring.

Yang Liu just stared at Zhou Yongliang coldly, completely unfazed.

"Do you have a map?" Zhou Yongliang spoke again, and Yang Liu knew so well what was he going to say next. "I need a map because I—"

"I was lost in your eyes."

Zhou Yongliang's mouth gawked, his thin lips opened and closed several times like a fish in an aquarium. He seemed at a loss for words after Yang Liu cut his cheap pick-up line.

"You…" Zhou Yongliang gazed at Yang Liu in disbelief. "Are you returning my feelings?" He continued while keep staring at the taller boy with his diamond-like eyes.

Yang Liu laughed softly at Zhou Yongliang's extremely stupid question.

What? Yang Liu laughed? Zhou Yongliang was shocked again because it was the first time he had seen and heard Yang Liu's laugh.

His laughter was not very manly, it even sounded like the sound of dolphins wanting to mate. But, thanks to the laughter that managed to exit from his pink lips, Zhou Yongliang for the first time detected the presence of a dimple on the left of Yang Liu's cheek. Suddenly, the shorter guy smiled.

The smile made Yang Liu came to his senses, and he quickly changed his expression. Now he was back to his cold expression.

"Stop dreaming," Yang Liu said coldly. "I was just guessing the sentence you wanted to say. You got that line from the internet, right? Such a cheap pick-up line!"

After finished speaking, Yang Liu immediately left Zhou Yongliang. He chose to arrange several packets of snacks on the snack shelf. He didn't realize that Zhou Yongliang was still staring at him until now with a smile on his face. Or maybe, he realized it but chose to be indifferent.

"The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on[1]."

Yang Liu could also hear Zhou Yongliang's whisper, but he ignored it.

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Footnote:

[1] The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on: from a Chinese idiom "Luò huā yǒu yì, liúshuǐ wú qínɡ" that means "One side is willing, yet the other one remains indifferent." (usually of unrequited love).