Chapter 350 - 190: You’re So Greedy, Shen Yuan
The afternoon light filtering through the window cast a warm, golden hue. As they looked at each other in silence, the thick, sticky layer of awkwardness in the room seemed to slowly dissolve and dissipate.
Time trickled by in the quiet, unspoken understanding.
Shen Yuan glanced out the window. "...Looks like it’s almost time for dinner."
His voice was much calmer than it had been that afternoon, carrying a sense of ease that comes after weathering a storm.
His words made Li Zhi notice the passage of time as well. The intense emotional rollercoaster from earlier felt like it had happened a long time ago.
She nodded, a little dazed, her fingers relaxing slightly. "Now that you mention it, I am getting a little hungry."
Just then, a voice called out from outside the room.
"Zhizhi! Time for dinner!"
Zhang Yuyan’s voice reached their ears clearly.
Li Zhi paused, her gaze falling on Shen Yuan’s face as if to say, ’How come she didn’t call for you?’
Shen Yuan smiled faintly, but his face clearly showed a hint of resignation. "My mom doesn’t use my name when she calls me for dinner. If she does, it means I’m in big trouble."
As everyone knows, when a parent calls you by your full name, you’d better hope you haven’t done anything wrong.
Hearing Shen Yuan, a glint of amusement flashed in Li Zhi’s eyes. She then said to him, "Come on. Help your majesty up for dinner!"
"At your service!"
Shen Yuan’s grip on Li Zhi’s hand tightened ever so slightly before he pulled her up to her feet.
As they heard the sounds from the living room, the day’s commotion finally settled down. All that remained was a relaxed atmosphere unique to the two of them, with just a trace of the earlier subtle tension.
Just as they were about to walk toward the door, Shen Yuan suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at Li Zhi.
A hint of anticipation touched the corners of Shen Yuan’s lips as he asked, "Am I getting a tip today?"
Li Zhi froze for a second before the corners of her eyes crinkled into a smile. The last remnants of that subtle tension were instantly swept away by her amusement.
She pinched the back of Shen Yuan’s hand lightly, her crisp voice holding a merciless rejection. "You moron. In broad daylight? Dream on!"
With that, Li Zhi patted his hand lightly and pulled her own out of his grasp.
"Let’s go, let’s go, hurry up and eat. Stop letting your mind wander, or Aunty might give you a spanking!"
"I know, I know."
Amid laughter, they walked out of the room one after the other.
The clatter of bowls and chopsticks from the living room mixed with the aroma of food. When Li Zhi caught the scent, her eyes lit up.
"Ooh, braised pork belly."
Shen Yuan glanced at Li Zhi in surprise. "You’ve got a sharp nose."
"Hmph! Of course!"
Shen Yuan smiled as he looked at Li Zhi’s proud and pouty expression.
The moment Shen Yuan appeared in Zhang Yuyan’s line of sight, his mom issued a command.
"Yuan, go get Zhizhi a bowl of rice."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan turned to Li Zhi. "How much do you want?"
"One bowl."
Shen Yuan nodded, his eyes casually scanning the dishes on the table.
Braised pork belly, shrimp...
’Great. Looks like the resident shrimp-peeler is about to log on.’
Sure enough, after Shen Yuan had eaten half a bowl of rice, his mom’s gaze fell upon him.
’I really want to say that peeling shrimp will make my hands smell fishy, and Li Bao will be grossed out when I try to hold her hand later.’
But he couldn’t bring himself to say it, so he obediently began to peel the shrimp.
Still, it was clear that Zhang Yuyan was quite invested in her son’s romantic life.
Although she always talked about him not dating, she had the biggest smile on her face after seeing Shen Yuan and Li Zhi holding hands.
Shen Yuan obediently started peeling the shrimp. His movements were practiced, and despite a hint of resignation at being "forced online," he still worked cleanly and efficiently.
He placed the shelled shrimp one by one, hanging them over the edge of the dipping sauce bowl. As time went on, a chain of shrimp gradually formed along the rim, on the verge of slipping into the sauce.
Li Zhi was taking small bites of her food. Seeing the pile of shrimp grow, she gently nudged Shen Yuan’s elbow. "Hey, that’s enough. You should eat some of them yourself."
Shen Yuan lifted his shrimp-covered hands slightly. "They’re already messy anyway, so I might as well finish the rest. If you think it’s too many, why don’t you feed one to me? You can count it as my tip."
Li Zhi paused for a second before the corners of her eyes crinkled up into a smile.
Without another word, she picked up the chopsticks Shen Yuan had set on the table, grabbed a shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and held it steadily to his lips.
"Open up."
Shen Yuan’s eyes sparkled, but he obediently opened his mouth and took the shrimp.
"Thanks."
Li Zhi huffed softly and quickly pulled her hand back. "There’s your tip."
"Yes, yes. Thank you for the tip, Li Bao."
Shen Yuan’s parents, sitting across the dining table, took in the whole scene.
The piece of food Zhang Yuyan had just picked up with her chopsticks hovered in mid-air. Her gaze shifted back and forth between her son, who was focused on peeling shrimp, and the girl with the slightly proud and pouty smile. Finally, she gently nudged her husband’s leg under the table.
Old Shen stopped chewing and followed his wife’s gaze, just in time to see Shen Yuan chewing the shrimp, the corners of his mouth turned up in a faint smile.
Their eyes met silently in the air for a moment. A single glance was all it took for them to know what the other was thinking.
The faint clinking of bowls and plates continued in the living room as the aroma of the meal filled the air.
After dinner, the two of them helped briefly clear the dishes, gave the cat its anti-inflammatory medicine, and then got ready to go to school.
"Aunty, Uncle, we’re heading to school now."
Wiping her hands, Zhang Yuyan poked her head out of the kitchen, her gaze lingering for a moment on the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder. "Alright, be careful on the way! Shen Yuan, remember to take an umbrella. It might rain tonight."
"I know—"
Shen Yuan replied in a drawn-out voice as he grabbed an umbrella from the cabinet by the door.