Chapter Text
He had her number.
He knew her classroom number.
He knew her unfortunately real cousin.
And yet, Ka Ren Yue, Jinshi, the swishy purple-haired prefect of Class 2-A, was still loitering at her flower shop every day after school, without fail. Honestly, it was beginning to grate on her nerves. Surely, this man had a job of some sort that he needed to attend to? Or extra curricular? Anything at all that would get her out of this constant attention seeking behaviour.
Maomao liked her routine, thank you very much, and she didn’t appreciate Jinshi trying to be a part of it without submitting a formal application. Or just plain asking.
“Hey, loser,” she called over to Lahan, who flinched in surprise. “I’m going to clock out.”
Lahan furrowed his brow at her, though he made no move to stop her as she untied her apron. “Any particular reason?” he asked. “You okay? You know we won’t pay you after, right?”
Maomao stared at him for a moment, dead-eyed. “I understand,” she said flatly. She hooked her apron onto the wall and grabbed her backpack, waving behind her without looking. “I’m going through the back. See you tomorrow, nerd.” She faintly heard a goodbye in reply, but she didn’t bother thinking about it too much as she started walking.
Fucking Ka Ren Yue. Maomao wished that he could just keep to himself and not bother her at work every day. To his credit, he kept it just to the workplace and not at school, but he had her number, she gave it to him willingly, so he could at least act like it.
But no. A week and a half later, no texts had come from the number that she got from Lahan. Maomao didn’t really understand; if you went out of your way to ask for someone’s number, wouldn’t you use it?
Well, at least he wasn’t harassing her over text, too. That would’ve gotten old quick.
Maomao sighed heavily and plopped down at the counter at the cafe, prompting Meimei to come pat her head and coo at her while Joka made her a cup of tea.
“What’s wrong with you?” Joka asked, sliding the cup over to Meimei, who gently scratched Maomao’s head to alert her of the tea’s presence. “Aren’t you still on shift at the Green House?”
Maomao took a weary sip of her favourite tea, taking in the soft scent of jasmine as the steam clouded over her eyes pleasantly. “There’s this guy,” she began, and immediately cut herself off when she spotted the amused looks her sisters exchanged. “No, it’s not like that. I haven’t even said anything yet other than the fact that a boy is involved.”
Meimei quickly composed herself. “Sorry, sorry,” she said. Maomao could see her smile from her eyes, and seethed internally for all of a singular second. “Go on, Maomao.”
Staring into her tea, Maomao considered things. “He’s a classmate of mine,” she eventually said. “Well, he’s in Class A. He’s friends with Lahan, or something, and he… well, he intrigued me at the start. His name reminded me of something, so I wanted to find out more about him. And then, for whatever reason, he did the same thing to me and found me at the flower shop. And then he asked for my number and never used it.” Maomao stirred her tea, watching the liquid swirl around the cup. “I don’t understand this situation. He just sits there outside the shop, looking like a lost puppy until I go out and visit him on my break. Then, he can’t shut up, talking about his day and stuco and then, worst of all, he asks me about my day! There’s nothing interesting about my day!”
Maomao heard Pairin’s understanding hum from beside Joka. “Maybe he’s just interested in how you are,” she said, sliding over a halved pretzel on a plate. “He’s your age, right? Boys your age don’t know how to communicate.”
“You’d think someone that looks like that would be good at communicating his wants,” Maomao grumbled, taking a vengeful bite of pretzel. “What do I even do about him? Kicking him out would be… bad for business. Befriending him seems like a hell of a lot of work. Avoiding him seems like the only good option.”
Meimei laughed gently. “Well, you could try avoiding him for the time being. Or text him, let him know that he doesn’t need to bother you in person every day if he wants to talk to you.”
“Word it nicer, and you’ll still have a customer,” Joka added. “Unless you do like talking to him on your breaks?”
“It’s… complicated.” Maomao exhaled. “He’s not bad when he’s genuine. And it kind of does… spice up my day.”
But I’m tired, she wanted to say. The more I talk to him, the worse my dreams get. And then I wake up with the worst fucking headaches, like period cramps in my brain. It’s getting to the point where I’m worshipping Tylenol like a god.
“So what’s the problem?” Pairin prompted. “He makes your life interesting. He’s not a dick. He doesn’t feel like a creep, right?”
“… No,” Maomao admitted grudgingly. “But I still want to avoid him for a little while. I can clock in here for a little while, right? Just for a little bit. I promise I’ll talk to him later, I just… don’t wanna deal with it right now.”
Meimei and Pairin glanced at Joka, who shrugged and tossed Maomao an apron.
“You better text him tonight,” Joka warned. “Or I’m sending you back out there.”
“Cruel. But thank you.” Maomao slipped the apron over her head, heading over to the sink. Now, I just have to figure out how to lie and make it look like I texted him so I can keep avoiding him and everything will be fine! I should probably feel bad about doing this, but also, he’s just some guy who’s pestering me because he’s bored, so I don’t care.
Maomao washed her hands slowly. There was a quiet, rational part inside of her that was arguing in favour of Jinshi. He didn’t do anything wrong other than be a little too enthusiastic about talking to her. He was nice, respectful, albeit a little clumsy. He listened to her.
When was the last time someone your age listened to you other than Shisui and Xiaolan, huh? You have a total of two friends. Maybe it’s time to get another one.
But it’s not like he actually wanted to be friends with her, right? Jinshi was a shiny, sparkly, good looking teenage boy. Once his curiosity either wanes or gets satisfied, he’ll move on. There’s no point in getting attached to some guy who’s probably going to dip in and then out of her life in a flash. Maybe he just wanted to get dirt on Lahan. Maybe he wanted free flowers. Hell, maybe he just wanted attention and thought that she would give it to him a little better than everyone else. How was she supposed to know?
You could stand to give him the benefit of the doubt, you know.
Maomao shook the thought off. He’ll stop paying attention to her if he can’t find her. She was sure of it. Nothing about her was worth waiting around for.
Yes, she’d avoid him for a little bit, and then he’ll leave her alone.
Simple.