Chapter 293 - 173: You Put It On For Me
Watching her flustered yet defiant display, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle, his eyes practically overflowing with amusement.
"What are you laughing at! Give me back my sock!"
The words had barely left Li Zhi’s lips when Shen Yuan dangled the pure white cotton sock from his fingertips.
The moment she reached out to snatch it, he flicked his wrist, cupping the sock in his palm and hiding it behind his back. He used the motion to lean forward, looming over her huddled figure.
"What’s the rush?" he chuckled, his breath brushing against the flushed tip of her ear. "Weren’t you the one who took it off?"
"I... I didn’t! Give it back!"
Li Zhi held her hand out in front of Shen Yuan, her earlobes burning so red they looked as if they might bleed.
"Nope."
Li Zhi refused to give up, lunging for it again.
"You dumbass, Shen Yuan! Give it back!"
Sitting in her chair, she lunged forward from the waist, her fingers clawing like talons toward the wrist Shen Yuan had hidden behind his back.
As Li Zhi lunged to snatch the sock, the legs of her chair scraped shrilly across the floor.
Her entire upper body was suspended in the gap between the edge of the bed and her chair, her fingertips a hair’s breadth from Shen Yuan’s wrist.
But Shen Yuan, as if expecting this, raised the hand clutching the sock high into the air.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leaned back against the headboard. His raised right knee perfectly intercepted her lunge, creating an impassable barrier.
"You want it that badly, huh?"
Shen Yuan dangled the pure white cotton sock from his fingers, his gaze dropping to the girl who was now leaning forward from her own momentum.
To keep her balance, Li Zhi had to brace her hand on Shen Yuan’s raised knee. The skin on the back of her hand was stretched white from the strain of her awkward, half-lunging, half-kneeling pose.
"It’s called returning it to its rightful owner!"
With that, Li Zhi lunged with all her might.
She lunged with impressive force, but Shen Yuan was one step ahead. Just as her fingertips were about to brush the sock, he agilely slid off the bed and whipped his hand back. Li Zhi lunged into empty air!
The hand that had been braced on his knee suddenly found only empty air. Losing her support, her body pitched forward uncontrollably, and she flew from the chair onto the bed like an arrow from a bow.
The plush mattress bounced with a soft thud. Li Zhi tumbled into a pile of soft blankets, her cheek brushing against the cool sheets and her hair falling messily across her forehead.
By now, Shen Yuan had landed neatly on the carpet beside the bed. He stood looking down on her, that same teasing smile still playing on his lips.
"What’s the rush? I told you I’m not in a hurry to return it."
He dangled the pure white sock from his fingertips, deliberately waving it in front of her.
Li Zhi pushed herself up on her arms from amidst the bedding, glaring at Shen Yuan with a mixture of humiliation and fury.
She shifted into a kneeling position in the center of Shen Yuan’s bed. The sheet, pinned beneath her legs, only served to accentuate her slender figure.
"Shen Yuan! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!"
She snarled through gritted teeth, the bedsheet crumpling in her fist.
Shen Yuan stood at the bedside and shrugged, a look of pure innocence on his face. "You’re the one who lunged at me."
Seeing his shameless act, Li Zhi’s anger exploded.
Her gaze fell upon the goose-down pillow by the headboard. Without a second thought, she snatched it up and hurled it at Shen Yuan with all her might.
"Go to hell, you dumbass!"
The pillow whistled through the air. Just as it was about to hit Shen Yuan in the head, he caught it with ease.
A moment later, Shen Yuan’s grinning face peeked out from behind the pillow.
"Missed me! Heh, you can’t hit me!"
Twirling his pure-white trophy, a cunning smile played on Shen Yuan’s lips.
Suddenly, Shen Yuan darted to the edge of the bed. Before Li Zhi could react, he swung the pillow and gave her a light tap on the head.
THWAP! The blow wasn’t heavy, but the sound was sharp and full of mockery.
Li Zhi froze on the spot.
Her eyes were wide with astonishment; it seemed she hadn’t expected him to actually strike back.
After a brief, stunned silence, the sparks of humiliation and fury erupted.
Li Zhi snatched the other pillow off the bed.
"Shen Yuan! You’re dead!"
"Take this!"
The pillow practically flew at Shen Yuan, carried on a gust of wind.
The teasing glint in Shen Yuan’s eyes never faded as he took a quick half-step back, raising his hand to parry.
WHUMP!
The pillows collided, the muffled impact exploding between them.
Cat fur clinging to the pillows flew through the air, and the sudden commotion startled the two kittens, who stared at the pair in shock.
"Quick on the counterattack, huh, Young Master Li?"
Shen Yuan laughed, shaking the cat fur from his bangs, then suddenly snapped his wrist in a sharp counterattack!
The pillow swung in a vicious arc toward Li Zhi’s side.
Li Zhi quickly brought her own pillow up to block the blow.
In an instant, pillows were flying everywhere as the two launched into a full-blown battle.
"You dumbass, Shen Yuan! Give me back my sock!"
She swore as she swung, her bare feet leaving scattered imprints on the mattress. Her pale calves tensed like bowstrings with every blow.
"You’ll have to beat me first!"
Shen Yuan taunted her, his pillow meeting hers with a soft THWUMP as he blocked her advance.
The two forces clashed violently between the plush fabric.
In an instant, pillows were flying. Feathers and stray cat fur danced and swirled through the air, as if a fluffy blizzard had erupted in the room.
"Give it back!"
Li Zhi’s shouts rang out again, but this time, the humiliation in her tone was being replaced by a clear note of joy.
The girl shouted, her cheeks puffed out, as she gathered all her strength to whale on Shen Yuan with her pillow.
Watching Li Zhi, the amusement in Shen Yuan’s eyes was practically overflowing.
"Looks like you’re having fun, huh?"
He teased her, but his own assault suddenly grew faster and heavier!
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
Shen Yuan’s pillow strikes rained down on Li Zhi like a sudden squall.
He deliberately aimed for spots that were hard for her to defend, each swing whistling through the air.