Chapter 344 - 188: Master Shen, Press a Little Lighter
A faint blush suddenly spread across the girl’s cheeks, like a sunset washing over a snow-white canvas.
Li Zhi instinctively lowered her gaze, her long, thick eyelashes trembling. She didn’t dare to meet Shen Yuan’s eyes.
Her delicate toes curled inside her slippers, unconsciously gripping the soles.
She took a quiet, deep breath, forcing herself to relax her curled toes.
’It’s just a massage. What’s there to be scared of? Besides, this isn’t the first time!’
Li Zhi took another deep breath, then summoned her courage and raised her head to meet Shen Yuan’s gaze.
In truth, it wasn’t just Li Zhi. Shen Yuan was just as nervous.
After all... no matter how you looked at it, his request was, in fact, a little perverted.
’What kind of normal person thinks about foot massages all day long?’
So when Li Zhi looked at him, Shen Yuan met her gaze with a complete lack of confidence.
When she saw his own flickering, uncertain gaze, the tension in Li Zhi’s heart instantly dissipated.
’This dumbass Shen Yuan looks even more guilty than I do!’
’Hmph, what’s there to be afraid of!’
Li Zhi pressed her lips together, but before she could speak, Shen Yuan beat her to it.
"It can’t be comfortable resting like that. Why not put your legs on the bed?"
Li Zhi froze.
She drew in a sharp breath.
’This dumbass—since when did he get so bold?’
She blinked rapidly, as if trying to dispel the shock of Shen Yuan’s words.
She felt a distinct wave of heat surge from the base of her neck upward, and the nerves she had just managed to relax went taut once more.
The sense of security she’d felt from ’he’s more flustered than I am’ evaporated in an instant. In its place was a new level of mortification, brought on by him doubling down on his blunder.
"..."
Li Zhi’s mouth fell open, but her throat felt constricted, and for a moment she couldn’t make a sound. The words she’d prepared to hide her nervousness died on her lips.
She could only stare daggers at Shen Yuan, her gaze a mixture of accusation and utter disbelief that he had actually dared to suggest such a thing.
Moreover, Shen Yuan now found himself in the same state as the day before.
He decided to just go for broke.
He simply stared at Li Zhi, bold and unflinching, as he awaited her answer.
Under Shen Yuan’s intense gaze, Li Zhi finally let out a short, sharp huff through her nose, a sound laced with disdain and barely suppressed panic.
"Hmph! Pervert!"
Shen Yuan didn’t even flinch at being called a "pervert."
In the context of their relationship, that word might as well have been his name.
And sure enough, under his watchful gaze, the two feet hidden inside her slippers began to move.
Her movements were deliberately slow and forceful.
First, she irritably ground her heel into the sole of her slipper, a faint scraping sound her only protest.
After completing this "warm-up," Li Zhi finally, excruciatingly slowly, lifted her calf from the floor.
She didn’t lift it high, but her movements were so slow it was as if she were deliberately trying to stall.
The moment her foot slipped out of the slipper, her leg froze, suspended in mid-air.
The cuffs of her thin, silky socks were trimmed with a delicate, ruffled lace, layered like a blossoming flower. It wrapped snugly around her slender ankle.
The delicate frills gathered just above her arch, making the skin beneath seem all the more smooth and flawless.
Through the fabric, her heel glowed with the faint pink of a budding petal, shimmering softly under the light.
Shen Yuan’s gaze tightened as if ensnared by invisible threads. His Adam’s apple bobbed violently.
Whatever composure he’d been struggling to maintain shattered completely at the sight.
Shen Yuan took a deep breath, telling himself:
’It’s just a normal massage!’
But the dam of his rationality was crumbling. His gaze, as if with a mind of its own, remained fixed on her foot.
Her heel, visible through the sheer sock, was perfectly framed by the lace cuff.
’Damn it...’
An undeniable heat burned through his last flimsy barrier of self-deception. He finally, despairingly, admitted the iron-clad truth to himself.
Li Zhi clearly felt his gaze, so hot it was almost searing. Her heart seemed to jolt as if burned, and a flicker of indescribable panic shot through her.
His stare was too blatant; she felt as if its heat were scorching her ankle.
The feeling of being stared at with such unrestrained intensity made her panic, and she instinctively wanted to pull her foot back.
But strangely, along with the alarm, another, more foreign sensation began to quietly stir within her.
This new feeling diluted her pure mortification, making her hesitate for a split second.
Finally, under his gaze, which seemed to make the very air stand still, Li Zhi pressed her lips together.
Giving in with the same reckless abandon, she finally thrust her leg out and casually placed it on the bed.
Her foot landed silently amidst the covers, partially shielding it from Shen Yuan’s gaze.
The girl’s chin lifted slightly as she deliberately averted her gaze, refusing to look at Shen Yuan.
"Master Shen, I... I’m tired. What are you still staring at?"
Li Zhi’s voice held a hint of feigned haughtiness, but before the words were even out of her mouth, Shen Yuan saw a deeper blush flare across her cheeks, the color of ripe fruit.
"Huh? Oh! Y-Yeah, okay!"
Shen Yuan replied as if jolted from a dream, his voice dry with nervousness.
’...A proper massage... a proper massage...’
Shen Yuan silently repeated the feeble mantra in his mind, his gaze once again locking onto her perfect feet, nestled in the soft bedding.
At such a close range, the visual impact was clearer and more powerful than ever before.