Crush on the One and Only(1)

Author: Fei Chang Xiang Shui Jiao

1

On the day I drafted the divorce agreement, Zachary Jay became famous overnight. He topped the Twitter Trending list, and photos of him flooded the screen on Instagram.

Without glancing at the divorce agreement, Zachary rolled up the agreement sheets and gave me a soft knock on the head.

"Eva Jones, you're really silly."

His eyes were slightly bloodshot because of the all-night program recording.

"What? I'm just afraid that as a married man, your career in showbiz will be affected!" I rubbed my head helplessly.

"I'm a songwriter, not a prostitute." Zachary threw his coat on the couch and said, "I'm fine with it if you want a divorce. But I'm afraid you'll be in trouble when someone finds it out."

Zachary's words reminded me that it was not a good choice to put myself in the eye of the storm by divorcing at this juncture.

But it was not appropriate for me to be with Zachary.

Zachary's mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer some time ago, and her only wish was to see Zachary get married before she died.

The Jay and Jones families used to live opposite each other, and I used to sit next to Zachary at high school, and thus I was very familiar with him.

But we didn't like each other and argued all the time. We often got punished by teachers for quarrels during class.

It was even weirder that our class teacher suspected we were in a relationship, so she consulted our parents about how we behaved.

The teacher told them about our puppy love and minor spats.

He suggested the parents communicate with us to help us solve problems with each other so that we could behave better in class and have a better relationship.

Zachary's mother said, "There's no such need. They will be fine. Eva is a good girl, and I'll be happy if she becomes my daughter-in-law. "

The teacher then awkwardly turned to my dad. "Mr. Jones..."

But my dad just smiled, "I believe in Zachary. He can handle it. I'll tell Eva not to stir up trouble in class anymore."

Our teacher was speechless.

Some of our classmates heard their conversation and spread it throughout the class. Zachary had just returned from basketball training when he heard it, wet hair sticking to his forehead with his eyebrows revealed.

He pulled up his top to wipe the sweat off his face. Tiny beads of sweat slid down his Adam's apple, soaking his collar.

His tall figure in front of the table emanated manly charm.

I looked up at him as he said with a faint smile, "Eva, an arranged marriage is not feasible!"

I rolled my eyes and threw my notebook at his face, "Don't worry, I'll marry anyone except you."

……

Five months ago, it rained heavily that day.

Zachary appeared with his eyes red at the door of my house, drenched. He panted, "Hello, do you know who I am? Marry me."

I looked at him blankly, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out.

"It's urgent. I'll tell you later." Before he could finish his words, the door was closed by him.

In the car, Zachary told me everything from beginning to end, and then we became a temporary couple.

But Zachary's mom was not stupid. She asked us to get our marriage certificate the next day.

My parents had liked Zachary for a long time, so they approved of our marriage immediately.

Zachary became despondent since his mother had passed away.

Before his mother's death, he could stay in his studio all day, but he had never stepped into it in the past two months.

Coincidentally, Charles Wells, Zachary's college classmate and also the director of a talent show, couldn't afford enough judges for the show due to insufficient funds, so he contacted Zachary.

At first, Zachary refused to appear on the show because he was just a behind-the-scenes songwriter.

He finally agreed after continuous gentle persuasion from Charles and me.

However, he was henceforth trapped in the biz.

2

I should have left Zachary's house after his mother's funeral, but he was in low spirits.

I feared he would do something stupid, so I had to stay with him.

Fortunately, after he was hired as the show's judge, he became active in his work again. So it was time for me to leave.

Just as I was about to leave his house with my suitcase, my phone rang. It was from Zachary.

"Eva, I need you to pick me up at the TV station."

"But now I..."

"Shouldn't you be responsible for me? It was you who persuaded me to be here." His voice was hoarse, which was different from usual.

I suddenly felt uneasy. "Okay, I'll be right there. Send me the detailed address."

Unexpectedly, Zachary's address was not the TV station but the hotel next to it.

He was waiting for me in the hotel's underground parking lot. He pulled his black cap very low over his face, but I could still recognize him at a glance by his sharp jawline.

"Zach." I waved at him.

He quickly walked toward me, then pressed all his weight on me as if he was about to collapse. I could feel his hot body temperature even through my sweater.

"Have you got a fever?" I helped him into the car with great difficulty and then reached out to feel his forehead. It was terribly hot. He looked blank with his cheeks red.

"Let me take you to the hospital." I bent down to fasten his seat belt.

He refused as his slightly hot breath brushed past my ear and messed up my hair, making me itch, "No, let's go home."

"But you're burning up."

I turned around and found that we were so close to each other, so I leaned back a little. He suddenly held the back of my head as his lips fell toward mine.

He loosened his grip when the distance between our lips was not more than an iota. The veins on his neck bulged, telling me he was suffering.

"I don't have a fever. Let's just go home."

He pushed me away and closed the car door.

I spread out my hands and saw my palms covered in sweat.

Not a fever? So what was it?

When we got home, I opened the car door and saw that Zachary's face and neck had turned scarlet.

I had barely helped him into the house when he shook me off and tottered to the bathroom in the master bedroom.

I looked at his wobbly body and quickly followed him. "Zach, do you... need help?"

Caught off guard, I was pulled into his arms and bumped into his sturdy chest. Then, my chin was clasped as his soft lips fell on mine, sweeping away the oxygen bit by bit like a hurricane.

My mind went blank as if fireworks were blooming in my brain.

He finally let go of me. His eyes were red and his grip on my shoulders tightened before loosening.

His heavy breathing pounded on my heart, overwhelming me.

He laughed at himself and said, "How can you help me?"

Before I could react, the bathroom door was closed and locked.

It sounded chaotic inside. I could do nothing but listen nervously outside the bathroom.

Later, there was the sound of running water. It was so long that I couldn't help knocking on the door. "Zach, are you okay?"

A tall figure suddenly appeared at the door, scaring me so much that I took two steps back.

Zachary came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel. His hair dripped with water, his eyes were still red and his face and lips had lost color.

He avoided me and walked straight to the bed. He closed his eyes and fell heavily onto the bed.

"Zach, your hair is still wet. You'll get a headache!" I hurriedly walked over and pulled him up.

He opened his eyes and glimpsed at me, then silently fell back to the bed.

I sighed and said, "Get up. Let me dry your hair."

Zachary turned his gaze at me. "The hairdryer is in the bathroom."