Chapter 349 - 189: Li Zhi, What on Earth Is in That Head of Yours
’All those embarrassing images that had just flashed through my mind... the ones where I’d guessed someone was ’fighting a hard battle’...’
PFFT—
Li Zhi quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and buried her head, her shoulders starting to shake uncontrollably.
An overwhelming urge to burst into laughter surged through her.
Li Zhi lifted her head, her cheeks flushed crimson from holding it in.
Seeing Li Zhi struggling so hard to contain herself, Shen Yuan said with complete resignation, "If you want to laugh, just laugh."
Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, Li Zhi finally couldn’t hold back any longer. A loud, clear peal of laughter burst from her throat, like a long-dammed flood breaking free.
The young woman collapsed onto the bed. The moment she pictured Shen Yuan staring at that "size 12 man’s foot" to put out his fire, she couldn’t stop laughing.
"Ha... haha... Shen Yuan, you pervert!! HAHAHAHA!!"
Shen Yuan stood to the side, his shoulders slumped in defeat, a bitter curve forming on his lips.
’Go on, laugh all you want.’
A strange sense of relief washed over Shen Yuan.
’Fine, call me a pervert. It’s better than her misunderstanding what I was doing in the bathroom.’
"Alright, you can stay here and laugh. I’m going to go change."
Li Zhi nodded with a laugh, then watched Shen Yuan head to the bathroom.
By the time Shen Yuan came out, Li Zhi had actually calmed down a bit.
But the moment she saw the utterly hopeless and defeated look on his face, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and start laughing again.
The young woman’s shoulders shook nonstop, her laughter tinkling like unstoppable bells leaking through her fingers.
This familiar scene grated on his nerves once again.
’That damned picture of a size 12 man’s foot didn’t just cool him down; it was more like a potent drug that had completely drained him of any stray thoughts about feet.’
Li Zhi’s laughter didn’t stop just because Shen Yuan was lost in thought. On the contrary, it seemed to be hitting its stride, evolving from sharp bursts into intermittent gasps, as if she were pouring all her strength into this fit of amusement.
After a good while, the laughter finally, slowly, died down.
The young woman sat slumped on the floor, her head resting against the side of the bed, her shoulders no longer shaking.
Li Zhi was completely limp, like a scattered pile of cotton, not even bothering to lift a finger.
’Exhausted from laughing.’
’To be honest, this was the first time Li Zhi had ever experienced anything like this.’
Shen Yuan watched Li Zhi through her entire laughing fit.
He stared at her exhausted, post-laughter state for a long moment before his own mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
Taking two steps, Shen Yuan crouched in front of Li Zhi and asked irritably, "Hey, are you done laughing? You’ve laughed yourself into a puddle."
Li Zhi heard Shen Yuan’s voice and lifted her eyelids to look at him.
She had laughed so hard just now that all her strength seemed to have been drained away; even lifting her eyelids felt like a monumental effort.
The young woman limply rubbed her head against the side of the bed and gave the slightest of nods.
’Yes, I’m done laughing, but I’m honestly too tired to say a single word.’
A flushed, dewy glow from her intense laughter still lingered on Li Zhi’s cheeks. Tiny, undried teardrops even clung to her long eyelashes, and she exuded an air of utter, languid exhaustion.
Shen Yuan shook his head helplessly.
He looked at Li Zhi sprawled on the floor, his voice softening unconsciously. "Do you want me to help you up?"
Li Zhi didn’t answer. Her body remained glued to the side of the bed like a heavy magnet, her fingertips still refusing to move.
Her feet, curled in their slippers, were completely still. She was like a melted marshmallow, silently resisting any effort to get up.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yuan sighed again. He gave up on crouching and simply plopped down on the floor across from her, propping his knees up casually and resting his arms on them.
Once settled, he fixed his gaze on Li Zhi’s face, his tone a weak accusation. "Still laughing at me? If it weren’t for how you were acting earlier, would I be in this mess?"
At his words, Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan.
Li Zhi, still limp on the floor, finally mustered a bit of strength, no longer stuck to the bed frame like a freshly melted popsicle.
She lazily used her arms to push herself slowly upright, her chest still heaving with faint, post-exhaustion gasps.
She lifted her eyelids, met Shen Yuan’s accusatory gaze, and rolled her eyes dramatically.
Her expression held the relief of surviving a laughing fit, but also three parts annoyance and seven parts disgust.
"Tch..." Li Zhi’s voice was still a little hoarse from laughing as she scoffed.
"It’s clearly... clearly your own fault!"
Li Zhi caught her breath, tilted her chin up, and said with disgust, "Selaan!"
The moment Shen Yuan heard this, he grew flustered, craning his neck to retort, "Hey! What do you mean it’s my fault! It was a normal reaction! Towards you, I—"
Before he could finish, Li Zhi, who had been sitting limply on the floor, abruptly straightened her back. She cut him off with a sharp reprimand.
"What do you mean, a normal reaction! That was just you being a pervert! And what were you about to say you wanted to do to me? Huh?!"
Shen Yuan opened his mouth, but in the end could only mumble guiltily, "I... I didn’t say I was going to do anything..."
"Hah!"
Li Zhi scoffed, then muttered under her breath, "Perverted Shen Yuan!"
After cursing him out, Li Zhi continued to pout, her cheeks puffed out, while Shen Yuan helplessly rubbed his nose, not knowing where to look.
A moment later, Shen Yuan tentatively raised his head, his gaze landing on Li Zhi’s face.
At almost the exact same instant, as if by some strange impulse, Li Zhi also looked toward Shen Yuan.
Their gazes met unexpectedly in mid-air.
The childhood sweethearts froze for a second.
Shen Yuan opened his mouth and pleaded, "Can we just pretend today’s incident never happened?"
Li Zhi shook her head decisively in refusal. "Nope. It’s unforgettable."
"Hah. Then you’re a pervert too."
Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, she retorted reflexively, blurting out, "How am I a pervert?!"
A sly smile appeared on Shen Yuan’s face. "You want to remember such a perverted incident, so tell me, doesn’t that make you a pervert?"
Li Zhi’s cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, caught completely off guard by the sudden accusation.
She feigned composure, her voice a mix of frustration and indignation. "Th-That’s still because of you! H-He who touches pitch shall be defiled! You’re a bad influence on me!"
Seeing the young woman like this, Shen Yuan couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips, followed by a short laugh that escaped his throat.
Seeing his expression and thinking about her own flustered defense, Li Zhi’s forced anger finally broke, and she let out a "PFFT" of laughter herself.
They looked at each other at almost the same time, their gazes meeting mid-air, seeing the lingering awkwardness and unspoken understanding in each other’s eyes.
Just then, Shen Yuan, still sitting on the floor, suddenly extended his left hand.
Li Zhi’s gaze fell on his hand, a trace of residual wariness in her voice. "What for?"
Shen Yuan wiggled his wrist, his fingers twitching slightly. "A handshake to make peace. We’ll call this Chapter closed."
Looking at Shen Yuan’s palm, Li Zhi smiled softly, as if letting go of the last little bit of awkwardness, and the corners of her mouth curved up into a small arc.
She slowly raised her right hand and gently placed her fingertips into his palm.
Shen Yuan immediately closed his fingers, enveloping her soft hand.
The young man’s palm had light calluses and a cool dampness, as if not yet fully dry. But his grip was very light; it felt less like a grasp and more like he was simply cradling her hand.
And so they held hands, neither mentioning letting go, and neither making a move to pull away.