❦ ♪

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO : like the past

"i miss you."

❦ ♪

— hao pov.

ricky

so is it TRUE
she kissed your forehead and cheek
and you hugged in the span of ten
minutes

.. yeah

ONMMGND how was it

good UNFORTUNATELY
i couldn't be bothered to like argue back
and it was actually kinda calming so

Aww mei making moves

she was only just comforting me

me when i lie

shut up

anyways FAKE ASS are you feeling
better now?

yeah i slept for a bit and then just ate
at her house

are you gonna sleep over?

fuck no
sooo let me come to your house

okay bff

she's going to sleep now

i'm surprised she's not begging you
to stay LMFAOOO

nah she just said if you want you can
go to rickys now it's pretty late

Sobbing why is she nice for once

idk but it's nice to experience😊

OKAY THE PROGRESS IS PROGRESSING
ZHANGMEI IS GETTING TOGETHER

no

wait did she tell you about her bday
party plan yet

no

OH well i'll tell you if she's
already asleep

i'm walking downstairs

did you even say bye to her

yes

did you kiss

NO???

did she kiss you

umm she hugged me again and said
something nice.. that's it

And you're not gonna tell me

if i tell you you'll get the wrong idea

i've been getting the wrong idea
since you first met SOO tell me

she hugged me and said that i can
always come to her when i'm sad abt
my parents and that i can come over
to her house anytime

Wow😭😭😭😭😭cong😭😭😭
rats😭😭😭😭😭😭kms😭😭😭

she was just being nice shut up

Boy i'm not letting you in

WHAT

i'll let you in if you text her
tomorrow morning

No

go back home

no

TEXT MEI

FUCK YOU

❦ ♪

timeskip — the next morning (hehe)

mei (ew)

hi

HELLO BF

hii

how are you?

good i'm at ricky's

YAY are you planning on going
back there yet??

no not yet
i'll probably stay for a week unless
they like threaten me to come back

well that's good i think you really
needed time away tbf

yeahhh um
thank you btw

omg since when were you nice to me

IVE BEEN NICE TO YOU FOR THE
PAST WEEK ACCEPT IT BITCH

DAMN SORRY HUSBAND

no
anyways
thanks i guess it was actually really nice
and i felt way better afterwards

aww was it my kisses

girl

ok sorry🙄🙄🙄
you're welcome though it was nice

ew i can't believe we're being nice to
each other omg

IJBOL do you want me to start telling
you how much i hate you again

yes

ok ummm
i hate (liking) you

what

bye!!!

?????

you should say hbd to hanbin x
it's his birthday

❦ ♪

timeskip — monday

— mei pov.
- 3rd person.

after the whole hao thing, the two agreed to act as normal in campus since they didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea of being more than friends. they had to keep up the 'rival' title for as long as they could, even though they didn't really feel like it anymore.

just earlier, all students had to take the monthly evaluation exam earlier than usual as headmaster kim was too busy attending loads of meetings that mei didn't know about.

mei had also managed to let hao give her the key to their studio now, letting her be there whenever she wanted. and since it's been a while she actually had been in the room, she was doing all of her catch up work in there.

she sighs. the past week has been exhausting for her and she's barely done anything. it was only monday and she found out that she didn't have to do a task with hao tomorrow which means she has to be in campus more unlucky for her.

all she could think about was just having a day for herself and maybe going back to how she was when she was in her old university; some disobedient annoying bitch who drinks on university days.

the only reason she does give a shit now is the whole rankings in this school. back then, she could be first with no effort since nobody could beat her. but now she's with hao, she felt her confidence slowly fall.

especially after the exam earlier, she doesn't even want to think about the exam anymore and how she did. she just wanted to rest.

she groans in frustration. "i fucking hate this." she complains, taking her phone out and wasting no time to quickly call renjun. "he better answer me."

once she sees that renjun answered, she smiles. "huang renjun i have an idea." she tells the boy, and his sigh was heard straight away.

"girl what do you want i'm in the lounge room.." he whispers. "i'm studying."

mei rolls her eyes. "your parents are out of town right?" she asks, and renjun hums. "can i come to your house later for a cheeky drink?".

"mei it's a fucking monday and you want to get pissed??" renjun laughs quietly, probably from how full the room might've been. "why?"

"for fun." she shrugs. "i feel shit and i just need something, even for a bit. pleasee??" she begs her best friend – and knowing the two were always quite irresponsible as teenagers, she hoped he'd say yes.

"okay yeah fine, but you're not sleeping over." he sighs. "and i'm not getting too drunk i actually want to come into campus tomorrow."

she smiles to herself. "great then, we'll meet after our last lecture?" she asks.

"yes. now piss off girl i want to finish this work." he complains, making mei chuckle.

"okay bye!!" she says, renjun saying it back before the call ends. and just in time, she hears the studio door being unlocked.

she looks to her left and makes eye contact with hao. "oh, hi." he gives her a small smile. "what are you doing here?"

"working." she replies, turning back to the pieces of paper scattered on their desk. music was quietly playing from the computer and the boy looked over her, his hands resting on the back of the chair. "hm, do you need help?"

mei scoffs. "i'm smart enough, you know." she jokes, even though she honestly has no clue what was on the paper in the first place.

"suit yourself." he shrugs, walking to sit onto the sofa. "is your profile picture still me?" he asks as he comfortably lays back.

mei coughs. "yes but it's only because i'm too lazy to change it."

"lazy?" the boy questions. "you can't do three clicks?" he chuckles. "i think you may be obsessed with me."

mei rolls her eyes. "fuck off." she says before looking back down at the paper. she genuinely couldn't be bothered to write a music essay on rhythms. "what the fuck."

"what now?" the boy asks, looking up from his phone. "already stuck, top student?" he teases.

mei turns to the side to glare at him. "can you help me with my essay?"

"wow, what a way to make me do work when i came here for a break." he sighs. "do i need to?"

"well since i did help you from being sick and depressed then i think you should help me with my essay right?" she reasons, looking at him with an exaggerated smile.

he scoffs. "fine whatever, move." he demands, trying to move the girl off of the chair, which she does. he looks down at the essay question and then up at the girl. "you can't do this?"

"i can, i just can't be bothered." she shrugs, crossing her arms. "so it would be GREAT if you helped me."

"woww, getting me to do your essays now?" he says in a sarcastic voice. "soo top student of you."

"just do it before i kiss you." she says, pointing down at the paper, making him chuckle. "that's what i thought."

"okay okay my bad." he says, "so you do understand it right?"

mei shrugs. "i took a glance and couldn't be bothered."

"well i'm not going to write it for you, our handwriting is too different. i'll just help you with planning." he says.

"yeah okay." she shrugs, about to walk to the sofa but she quickly gets pulled back by hao.

"you aren't going anywhere." he chuckles. "i'm here to help you." 

mei tries to move away. "no please this is too much effort." she begs, trying to pull herself away from the desk and the sight of the essay question.

hao manages to secure her right next to him by the waist. "stop moving. i'll tell professor lee you're trying to cheat."

mei rolls her eyes. "fine okay." she acts annoyed but she was exploding on the inside from his hand placement that actually never seemed to move. her right hand rests on the back of the chair and he smiles.

hao then begins to explain how to plan her essay, writing some key notes down and asking her a few questions for a good ten minutes. mei felt like killing herself but she would still want to hear his voice so she didn't complain.

"so do you understand what i mean?" he asks, looking up to the girl, his left arm still resting around her waist. when she doesn't reply or look at him she squeezes her waist jokingly. "hello?"

mei stopped zoning out to look at him, and from the way he was looking up at her she felt her stomach do somersaults from the bare minimum of eye contact.

mei doesn't know how she still can't talk but her eyes were so set on the boy she couldn't even recall what he asked her a few seconds ago. "uhh,"

hao tilts his head a little and cups her face using his free hand. "are you sick?"

"n... no." she stammers, feeling herself grow hot from his hand. "what did you ask again?"

he chuckles before bringing his hand back down. "i thought you were paying attention, mei."

"um," she pauses, yet he was still staring up at her with a look she couldn't read at all. "stop looking at me."

the boy laughs, "why? am i making you nervous or something?" he asks, fully turning to the girl.

"stop because i might actually kiss you, look away." she blurts out, mentally cursing herself straight after speaking her thoughts.

hao snickers. "okay then, but pay attention at least." he says, looking back down at the full page of notes.

❦ ♪

another time skip — that evening

mei's slaves
10+ members

fucj i tjink i liek hznaghao

donghyuck:
are we supposed to act shocked

haknyeon:
mei bestfren wdym you think...
you DO like zhanghao

chenle:
bros in love

i reallty resly like hin oh mytogd

renjun:
sorry me and mei sre drinkinh gsshy

yangyang:
how are you drinking on a monday
evening you fucking weirdos

xiaojun:
IM SAYING LIKE

Idk but IM SAUING I LIEK HZANGHAO.

renjun:
Shes crying ovre hoe

yangyang:
HOE LMFAOOOO

haknyeon:
why is she saying this WE KNOW

xiaojun:
what happened to the in denial until
he likes me back

no i laurv tjat man i wnat to give him the
world and all offff my money

donghyuck:
LMFAOOO???

jaemin:
well there goes our yunji and mei
theory

i reall relelsy ewally erely like him
i tjink it's morthan wantign to kiss
jim now i wntnto DATE HIM

jeno:
is this girl actually drunk confessing
to us about liking hao like we didn't
know this already

nO BUT I GENEHRINYL LIKE HUM
SERIUSRELY I REJLY KIKE HIM

ricky:
we know!!!!!!!! you've said
this many times now!!!

NO. YOU DNOT KNW OKYS.

ricky:
LMFAOOO

jeno:
girl really said kys😭😭😭

i msmiss him
im goign to temxet him

ricky:
good luck with that!!

jaemin:
WAIT STOP SHE MISSES HIM AWW

renjun:
SJES CRYINGFNJES

haknyeon:
watch hao reply with "Aww i miss
you too my little meionnaise bottle
🥺🥺💕💕💕❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰"

donghyuck:
GET OUT

❦ ♪

hao
@zhangha00

haoooooooooooooooooo

hi mei
why are you texting me on insta

i miss yoy

sorry what?

fan we hganf out tomrooew
i really missnu

umm are you drunk😭😭

i wnan kiss u

girl
not this shit again
you already told me today

i missnyuo sad emoji

it's a fucking monday why are
you drunk we have school tomorrow

grrrrrrrrrr
im nto
coming in.

what why

I will be HUNGOEVER
omg cba we amhang out aft

you wanna hang out tomorrow?

Cinemmovie
movie movie star
Cn we see a mocie Plz

ummm
hopefully you're still gonna be down
tomorrow because yes i do NOT want
to go home

whereu at

ricky's house

U COULDV JSUT STAYED WITH ME
😭😭😭😭💔💔💔😭

i couldn't you literally told me
TO GO TO RICKYS

sad emojixs
Hi send a picture for porood

he's asleep

of U IIDOOT

why

BECAUSE I SAF SO

ok don't fall in love though cutie

helpp
HELLO
OHMYGDIFGNRBF
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🔥🔥💕💕❤️😜
I AM IN LVOE WITD U
Hey lol (wjiv top studnet play&)
can i mkae this my progke pcitr

LMAO
NO???

— mei has saved an image from hao.

LMFAOOO ur gonna kys when u
wake up i swear

Look atym profil pcitur

OH MY GOD MEI CHANGE IT NOW
THIS IS YOUR MAIN INSTA ACC

NOOOOO
Dont tlel mr to to DO

mei istfg you will regret this when
you wake up please change it

later xxx

change it NOW your thousands of
followers can see omg😭😭

why cnat i skoww ofd my boyfrid

...

ur so fien u knwo that rg

i do know that actually

WOW glad u knwo!
so did u actuslg csll me pretty

what

doha
HAHAHAHA DOHA
it's alrij😅urilrf rjejrnnf
anywz
adoah
doah

what did she tell you

ucnle hoa called u pittry
prett

.

I KNWE IT
U DID DDITN U

no!

Kys i hat u
i miss u 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

okay bipolar queen

say it back manfwrjrror

no!!

AM INNOTING TO U

what xx

hao do u like anhody

um why

askign for a friend innit!

i don't

oh
ok
:(

wait why

are yu sur u sont liedk sanyone

why are you sad though?

why dont u liek em hao

wdym..?

WHY DNOT U RUCKDIDNG LIKE ME

i didn't say i didn't like you

btu like u saif u dont liek anyoen

oh uhhh
i don't

im devatsted

why??😭😭

notjing i jsut wwnay u to like me

do u actually like me tf
LOLLL

hao i miss you😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

wowwww do you really??

yed COME HERE

girl hang out with renjun

no i wsnt yoy

you what

i
want
u

mei what the fuck did you drink

NOTJING

there's no way you go from begging me
to do your fucking essay to drunk begging
me to come to you

IJBOLL
espect me to eb at ricksy door

WHAT

❦ ♪

hanbin<3

Hi

oh hii

HNAabib hiiii

??? are you drunk LMFAO
also i got your birthday package
thank you sm it's so cute i love it

I DESIJGED TJAT HOODIE AND I
BOUGTHT THAT HAMSTET FOR U
IAND I BOT G U THOSE RINGS I HOP
U LIEKD IT!!!

i did very much😭😭

so u liek ti aYes

i love it!! i'm gonna wear it when
i arrive and i'm with the hamster
too HAHAHA

lmy t tjats so cuteeee
send a pictuj for prof

ur so cyte im gonns kil myself wow

don't do that😭😭

omg in so sda now

aw why??

i msis how close we eere
besties yuo knwo like we usef to hgna out
a lot nooooooooooo tjis is sad

mei we can always hang out again
you know that right??😭

i miss us

huh?

hnabin i miss u actualhy

you miss me?

yed

awee i'm not in the city rn though

:( ok
no one misses me

what
i miss you

REAKLY???

yes i always do

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹Omg
chat he maisws mme

LOL
you should rest you have uni today

Not comign in IJBOL

oh neither 😭😭

HNABIJNNNN we shlud met upnson

WE SHOULDD it's been so long

YAY

wait a second
is that hao in your insta pfp??😭

LMG YASSSS TJATS ME

LMAOOOO STOPP LMFAOO

❦ ♪

— mei has unblocked yunji.

yunji
@yunjeez

Go fuckignklil yourfelf jealos ass hoe

girl wtf

u wann bea me so BAS

bye
are you drunk

yef
NO

not you suddenly unblocking me
to tell me to kms😹😹😹

as i shlod
u actuajjy want ti be mr so bad
fkicing sly birch

i would never want to be you

i see u stlaking my profild dumb itch
jsut becais i liek hao

u like hao?

yse
ficking idito
wjat kidn of quedtoo n is that

god they never should've sent you
away because 💀💀

i amso glsd that i literfaly tooo hao from u
obsessed BITCH

i don't even like hao like that
i'm not obsessed

em when i lie:
i know ur lsat rnak but u dnot ned to make
me laugh ljke that😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

don't bring my rank into this you
fucking weirdo

slay last placr u tell me Hwat to do!!

mirae fuck off

U LIT RALLY WNATED TO TLAK TO
ME DO TALK THEN.

i have nothing to say anymore

me #OMW to kiss hao

you fucking wish you would

he claed ME prett yactually Kys

no he didn't

suddenlt jr mastermind
Slay glir u knwo ur knowlesdhe!

omg fuck you

NO IJBOOLLLLLL

piss off
you and your hao pfp

J
E
A
L
O
U
S

okay
you're so fucking annoying no wonder
youngjae never liked you

Ok queen yiu hda a crush on me at
One piont anzayw

i didn't
that was a fucking kiss

Ok
jys
k
ys
get yoru bluebrry vape away

LOL WHAT
i don't vape

Ocngrats for lying

i'm not but okay
piss off man

Yuor obsessed wit me u canr be sayign
piss of tO ME

omd

Byebye

— mei has blocked yunji.

❦ ♪

mei's spotify playlist
10+ members

donghyuck:
why is there two haos on the gc

HWERE

donghyuck:
oh it's just you ffs

yujin:
OMG IJBOL MEI YOUR PFP

hao:
Umm

jiwoong:
did you force her or something

At was nt Choice

gyuvin:
it was her choice

hanbin:
LOLLL THAT'S HILARIOUS

❦ ♪

yutarrrr

PICK
EM
PU
PLZ

bitch wtf
it's 2am on a tuesday why are
you drunk

Balls
i miss my boyfrdn

which one

WDA TO I MEAN SWITCH ONE?????!
?!?!!,:&/@/&: ZSNAGHAP

right sorry zhanghao
you at renjun's?

yse i jsut fought yunji

WHAT

elsaayy REYNA 😋😋
gusto kogn mamatay si yyunji

why the fuck are you speaking
tagalog

DI KO ALAM LFMAOAAO

mei istg what is going through
your head rn ur pissed

BAKLA IKAW

wtf did you just call me

PIC ME UP ALRED.

ok but are you injured
did you have an actual fight

noONLINE bibmo

wtf!

NOO YM GOGOE TEAJSLATE IS GONE

so did you just argue on text

oui

.. okay

PCICIC ME UPPPPP

god god okay you irresponsible
girl i'm omw

❦ ♪

"can i not sleep at home my parents don't know i'm drunk." mei asks, drowsily looking at yuta who sighs. "please."

"where are you trying to stay?" he asks the girl.

"i'll go to ricky's house." she says, pointing at the house not too far from her own. "let's go."

yuta sighs again before guiding her out of the car and out of the gates. he makes sure the front camera doesn't show that they're here and he tries to walk the girl to ricky's house.

"are you sure they're awake?" he asks the stumbling girl. but as he looks up the front lights are already open. "oh."

mei holds onto the wall for support as she fails to walk in a straight line into ricky's gates. thankfully they were open and the two could just walk in.

mei tried to knock on the door but her hands were too weak. "yuta knock for me." she orders.

the boy laughs before knocking loudly on the door. and almost immediately, a shadow was scene through the window and as it grew closer, it was recognised to be ricky.

the door opens, and ricky laughs at the sight of the two. "why is she knocking ay my door?"

"because–" she shouts.

"her parents don't know she's drunk. is it alright if i leave her here? you can bring her back in the morning." yuta cute the loud girl off.

ricky nods. "yeah, my parents aren't home anyway." he says. he then takes the girl into his house as yuta thanks the boy before walking away.

"who was it?" mei hears a voice, and recognises it as hao's.

"oh my–" she squeals.

ricky puts his hand over the girl's mouth, knowing she would speak. "neighbour." ricky says, dragging mei into the boy's living room.

hao was on his phone as the two walked in, not even noticing the fact ricky brought someone else. "did you know mei changed her profile picture to me?"

ricky giggles as he takes his hand off of mei's mouth and lightly pushes mei onto the sofa, right next to hao.

the boy looks to his side and almost gasps as he sees the girl. "ow ricky you fucking bitch that hurt." she shouts annoyingly.

"i'm going to um, make some food. sleepover?" ricky laughs, running out of the room to leave the two alone.

hao still didn't know what to say. "how the fuck did you even get here?" he laughs, lifting mei up.

the girl seemed to be more lethargic than a minute ago, and her eyes were begging to close as she wraps both of her arms around the boy's neck.

hao awkwardly sits there, trying to move the girl's hair out of her face since they were really close. but then to his surprise, she rests her head onto his lap, causing her to accidentally pull his face towards hers.

hao panics and gently removes her hands from his neck. "um, what the fuck." he says to himself as the girl stays completely still.

"i'm sleeping." she announces. hao curses under his breath and takes a pillow next to him and gently moves it underneath her head which was previously on his lap.

ricky walks back in with snacks and he almost bursts out laughing. "oh my god i'm gonna fucking wee myself that's so cute."

hao rolls his eyes. "bro she just fell onto me." he complains quietly, pointing at the girl who was now passed out.

"looks like you're going to have to take care of a hungover mei tomorrow then." ricky shrugs, sitting on the opposite side of the sofa.

"no, i'm going to uni tomorrow." hao says.

"ummm, no." ricky laughs. "you will take care of her, since you're soooo boyfriend material right?" he blinks at the boy who scoffs.

"i think i care about my uni life more than this bitch." he says.

"wow, denial is a river in egypt." ricky sighs teasingly, taking his phone out. "her and her hao profile picture is so cute though."

hao slaps ricky's arm jokingly. "fuck off. where's her phone i'm changing it."

"nahh. let her see it in the morning." ricky says. "looks like hanbin already saw it, though." he snorts, showing hao messages from his phone.

❦ ♪

— ricky pov.

future dropouts
10+ members

hanbin:

hanbin:
creasing

yujin:
AINT NO WAY

yujin:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

jiwoong
NOOOO OMG

taerae:
DTOP IM FUCKNG CRYING
THATS SO FUNNY

matthew:
do you think hao's seen it

gyuvin:
i'm betting mei's networtj he forced
her to do it

gunwook:
LMFAOOOOO

matthew:
someone get hao online LMFAO

he's w me rn guys
he's seen it

hanbin:
what did he say about it

"zhangmei"

gunwook:
WHAT

yujin:
NAWWWW

I DID NOT
THIS IS HAO I DID JOT SAU TAHT

gyuvin:
IM IJBOLING

yujin:
yass hao zhangmei supporter!!!

hanbin:
yk mei's drunk right..

jiwoong:
on a MONDAY????

taerae:
that's so silly LMAO

gyuvin:
aww that's so cute

gyuvin:
she def drunk texted him

jiwoong:
oh for SURE

she did text me - hao

hanbin:
oh she texted me too

matthew:
🧍‍♀️

❦ ♪

sorry this is a really short filler socmed chapter since i really didn't know what to write besides the texting parts,, but i promise cute zhangmei normal writing next HEHE

not mei almost kissing twice LMAOOO

not this only being 3500 words when my usual is 4500+ 😅😅😅😅