Liam’s eyes briefly flickered down to her lips, which gleamed from her usual burgundy lipstick. He would be lying if he claimed to have never thought about saying “screw it” and kissing her. He knew that she tasted sweet, from their previous kisses but he was just a little less prevalent than his fear of ruining what they shared together now.

”I guess I just don’t think of myself that way,” Liam admitted. The only girl that he was interested in captivating was her, and it didn’t seem like he had that effect on her. Regardless, he was just happy that they were close. Things could be worse.

Without her, he’d probably be locked up in his apartment most of the time without much drive but to work and survive. She encouraged him to get out of the house and have some fun every once in awhile, which he was grateful for. He hated that he needed that extra push just to put himself out there, but it was nice of her to always encourage him.

”You’re humble. You know… Dong Yishan was interested in you at a time,” Ying Sheng commented, her eyes shifting to the porch quickly, like she had shared a secret that she wasn’t supposed to tell.

Liam’s eyes widened in shock, not expecting to hear that from her. He didn’t feel like he was really Dong Yishan’s type, which seemed to be louder, wilder party boys. She was pretty and funny, but she wasn’t entirely his type either.

”At a time?” He chuckled, wondering what eventually turned her away. Was it his refusal to drink more than five shots in a night or his social awkwardness?

Ying Sheng lightly pressed her teeth into her bottom lip as she shrugged.

”Until we became roommates,” she replied before unraveling herself from his arm. She turned to him with a small smile, her eyes seeming to search his.

”Oh, yeah. Probably would be weird if we got together or something,” Liam chuckled lightly, figuring that was what she was meaning.

Ying Sheng’s small smile seemed to wilt a little, but she laughed instead.

”Right… totally weird,” She murmured beneath her breath as she clasped her hands together behind her back.

Liam didn’t know why she was acting so strange. Had he said something to upset her? He took a step closer to her, offering her a small smile.

”You good?” He asked her, feeling nervous to ask, but he cared too much about her to not ask. He didn’t want her to be upset over anything.

Ying Sheng parted her lips to reply, but she paused, a weak smile crossing her lips instead. She nodded and reached out to take his arm again.

”I’m fine. I could use another drink, though. How about you?” She asked him, her eyelashes batting slowly as she gazed up at him.

Liam had a feeling she was avoiding saying what was on her mind, but he wasn’t going to push her. Whenever she was ready to talk, she knew where to find him. He was always close by.

”Sounds good,” Liam replied as he led her back to the house.

Dong Yishan ,Han Zigao, and Zhao Li had moved inside into the kitchen already, taking the drinks from the porch with them. Their chatter and laughter echoed throughout the house as Liam and Ying Sheng found their way inside, heading to the fridge to dig out two more wine coolers to sip on throughout the night until they could break themselves away.

”I was wondering where you two snuck off to together,” Dong Yishan smirked at them as she curled up on one side of her beige polyester couch next to Han Zigao and Zhao Li.

”Just took a walk,” Liam replied with an innocent smile. He already knew what Dong Yishan was teasing at, and it didn’t help that his cousin and his friend were giving him knowing looks. He figured that since he was rooming with Ying Sheng that their friends figured they were together, which wasn’t the case. Unfortunately.

He supposed that it didn’t help that Ying Sheng and him were super close too. They did nearly everything together because they had the same interests and never seemed to grow tired of being around each other. Their friends could think whatever they wanted to, but he wished they weren’t so obvious about it. He just didn’t want to hear Ying Sheng’s insistent denial of liking him in that way.

”That was a long walk,” Zhao Li chuckled as he swept a few strands of his brown hair back, eyeing Liam and Ying Sheng as they moved to sit on a smaller loveseat across from their friends. A coffee table with their drinks on it separated them.

”Aw, were you guys so bored that you had to time us for entertainment?” Ying Sheng fake pouted at them as she rested her back against the cushion of the couch.

Liam smiled to himself at her attitude, feeling his heart start to speed up a little. He liked how much of a bite she had. She was tough

”Well, we were waiting for you because we were going to play tipsy Connect Four,” Dong Yishan mused as she reached under the coffee table to pull out the game box from the underlying shelf. She slid it onto the surface of the coffee table with an excited smile. “Pick your partner!”

Ying Sheng’s face brightened at the sight of her favorite drinking game, one that she never denied playing. It was fun, fast-paced, and competitive, which was everything that she seemed to enjoy. She turned to look at Liam with an excited smile before a sheepish look crossed her face.

Liam realized that she probably thought that he wasn’t up to playing. However, he knew how much she liked this game, and he could admit that he liked watching people play it. It wasn’t the typical type of game he played because it wasn’t on a screen, but he figured he could give it a try. They were already a team anyway.

”Come on, let’s do it,” he told her with a nod. He had to get over his anxious edge sometimes. If he messed up, he could easily blame it on the alcohol. Besides, anything that he did, Dong Yishan would somehow outdo.

Ying Sheng flashed him a grateful smile as she nudged his shoulder with hers. She turned back around with a competitive look on her face.

”Got my team. Which are you going to pick? Can’t aim for his own good or sore loser?” Ying Sheng giggled under her hand as she looked between the other boys.

Dong Yishan looked over at the boys with an unimpressed expression, a sigh breaking from her.

”You guys play against each other, and I’ll take the winner for my teammate.”

Liam smirked as he watched the boys prepare for their own game, his eyes soon breaking from the scene to look over at Ying Sheng . He still couldn’t help but wonder what was on her mind earlier.

She only acted shy like that every once in awhile, and she typically didn’t reveal what she was thinking about. All that he could do was wait and see. He had thoughts of his own that he hadn’t revealed to her yet, but maybe that would eventually change the closer they gravitated toward each other.