PIZZICATO

Pizzicato: pinched, plucked.

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"Why did you say that?"

"Say what?"

Zhou Yongliang tried hard not to roll his eyes. Even though he was annoyed, the other boy was still two years older than him and he had to respect him.

"You said that I will be your responsibility soon. Why did you say that?"

Hwang Jihyuk, who was driving beside him, smiled calmly while glancing at the other boy. Zhou Yongliang was acting cold toward him, but it seemed that he wasn't affected by the indifferent acts. He was still warm just like the sun that kept radiating warmth to the Earth.

"Am I wrong by saying that? I've confessed my feelings to you, so I just need to wait for your answer before we become a couple, right?"

Zhou Yongliang openly glared at the other guy. Hwang Jihyuk and his overconfidence quite surprised him. The Hwang Jihyuk he knew was a humble and soft-hearted boy. He didn't expect that the older boy could be someone like this.

"I don't like you, gege," Zhou Yongliang replied as he turned his head back to the front. "You are a good person, but I only see you as a friend."

Zhou Yongliang expected a rebuttal, but he got nothing even after he voiced his thought. He secretly peered at the older boy and found the other boy still smiling as he drove comfortably.

"I will wait for you, Yongliang. I believe that you will open up your heart to me."

The younger boy gritted his teeth. He swiftly turned his head to the other guy again and gawked at him angrily. "Why are you forcing me?" He asked in frustration. "You are Yang Liu's best friend, right? But, why did you force him to stay away from me?"

He could see the older guy flinched a bit as he finished speaking. He knew that he hit the right spot.

"I'm not forcing anyone," Hwang Jihyuk replied immediately. "Yang Liu is indeed my friend, but I have nothing to do with your issue with him. If he avoids you or wants to stay away from you, then, it's his choice."

Zhou Yongliang stared at the other guy in disbelief. He had come up with a hypothesis that it was Hwang Jihyuk who deliberately tried to separate him from Yang Liu. Even though he didn't have any strong proof, but his feelings said so. He couldn't help but feel suspicious toward the older guy.

"If you said the truth that it was Yang Liu who wanted to stay away from me, then, what's his reason? Why did he want to stay away from me?"

Hwang Jihyuk didn't instantly respond to the younger guy. The car slowed down a bit before it stopped at the red light.

"I know that you like Yang Liu, but he doesn't like you. You have to accept the reality."

Zhou Yongliang froze. The words that came out from Hwang Jihyuk's thin lips sounded cold. It felt like the words froze his heart directly and the air around him turned chilly.

"Yang Liu doesn't like me?" The shorter boy asked softly.

Hwang Jihyuk didn't give him an immediate response as his foot pressed the gas pedal again when the light turned green.

"Yes," the older guy answered not long after. "Yang Liu doesn't believe in love anymore. You can't win his heart."

Zhou Yongliang was stunned. The information that just came out from Hwang Jihyuk's rosy lips was not completely new for him. He had expected it all. He had always known that Yang Liu had closed his heart to anyone. But, he wanted to open the closed door even if it was not easy.

"Did Yang Liu tell you that he doesn't like me?"

Hwang Jihyuk looked a bit startled when he heard the younger boy's question. He was silent for a moment before he sighed and asked back, "Do you want me to prove my argument?"

Zhou Yongliang was slightly taken aback. Hwang Jihyuk looked confident all of a sudden, and the confidence squeezed his heart for a bit. What if Hwang Jihyuk told the truth and didn't lie to him?

"Yes. I need proof," Zhou Yongliang answered while ducking his head. His slender fingers intertwined on his laps nervously.

Hwang Jihyuk smiled coolly as he pulled over the car. The black sedan stopped on the side of the road, and he immediately unbuckled his seatbelt. He then fished out his phone from his pants pocket and started dialing a number. He then turned on the phone's speaker and brought the phone closer to the younger boy beside him.

Not long after, someone answered the call.

"What's up, ge?"

Zhou Yongliang's heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar voice. It was Yang Liu's deep voice that he missed the most.

Hwang Jihyuk noticed the change in Zhou Yongliang's expression, but he ignored it as he quickly responded to Yang Liu's question, "Are you home, Yang Liu?"

"I'm still in the school, ge. I'm playing basketball alone now."

Again, Zhou Yongliang felt an invisible hand pinched his heart. Imagining how Yang Liu bounced the orange ball alone made his heart feel a bit painful.

"You should've invited me to play with you," Hwang Jihyuk replied as he glanced at Zhou Yongliang. "Anyway, can I ask you something, Yang Liu?"

Zhou Yongliang's breathing hitched when he heard Hwang Jihyuk's question. It seemed that the older guy was serious to give him proof.

"What is it, ge?"

He could hear Yang Liu asked curiously.

Hwang Jihyuk stared at Zhou Yongliang intently when he asked the phone, "Do you like Zhou Yongliang, Yang Liu?"

Zhou Yongliang stopped breathing for a moment when he heard the sneaky question. His heart drumming loudly behind the ribs as he waited for Yang Liu's answer. It felt like he was in court and waiting for the death penalty from the judge.

Yang Liu took a quite long time to think, but then he softly answered, "No. I don't like him, gege."

And the death penalty finally came to Zhou Yongliang.