Chapter 296 - 174: Can I... Hug You?
This was no simple joke, no reassuring touch. He just wanted to pull her warm, soft body into his arms and create a small space with his embrace, a world that belonged only to them.
He wanted to completely block out the overwhelming shyness and the unspoken, simmering tension in the air.
The slender, pale nape of her neck was just inches away, tempting Shen Yuan to lower his head and transmit all his feelings, his very heartbeat, to a distance where Li Zhi could feel them.
"Li Zhi..."
The young man’s gaze was locked on the bundle of blankets she was hiding under, a dryness in his throat stopping him from saying what he wanted to say next.
Perhaps it was nervousness, or perhaps it was fear.
But soon, a sudden impulse tore through all his reservations.
Shen Yuan parted his lips, his voice a bit hoarse.
"Can I... hug you?"
The tightly wrapped bundle of blankets went rigid. The tip of her ear, the only part of her exposed, was already bright red and trembled violently.
The silence of a moment ago was shattered by his direct request, solidifying and then crashing down like the roar of a tidal wave.
The shy afterglow from that endearment still lingered, and now, this even more intimate request sent an overwhelming wave of bashfulness crashing against her heart.
Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, threatening to shatter her ribs.
Li Zhi felt her ears starting to ring.
It was as if she would either melt into the blankets or spring up and flee the suffocating atmosphere.
For a long time, there was no response from under the blankets.
Li Zhi seemed to shrink even smaller, as if trying to curl her entire being into this safe little cocoon.
Shen Yuan’s gaze, the lingering memory of his touch, the blanket imbued with his scent, and now, this desire that struck right at her heart...
All these emotions intertwined, stirring up a storm in her small world.
Li Zhi wanted to run away, but deep down, a secret thrill at being wanted was quietly taking root.
After asking the question, Shen Yuan’s eyes never left her.
The figure bundled in the blankets neither moved nor made a sound of refusal or assent.
It was a silent response woven from shock, shyness, and the hesitation to give an easy answer.
Just as Shen Yuan thought she would answer with silence—
The girl before him burrowed completely into the blankets. Then, a muffled whimper suddenly escaped the bundle, as faint and delicate as a crushed feather:
"...Just hug me like this."
Her voice, muffled by the cotton fill, came out soft and sweet, yet it was like a spark that suddenly set the stagnant air ablaze.
Though it was just a few short words, Li Zhi’s meaning was perfectly clear.
Shen Yuan’s gaze fell upon the slightly trembling cocoon of blankets on the bed. The girl’s curled-up body cast a small, arcing shadow under the lamplight.
He swallowed, his outstretched arm pausing in mid-air for half a second before finally closing in with a slow, unwavering purpose.
His fingertips first brushed against the warm surface of the quilt, then his entire palm came to rest against her arched back through the soft fabric.
Her ankle, hidden within the blankets, unconsciously brushed against the side of his leg, sending a faint tremor through the fabric.
As his palm settled completely over her tense shoulder blade, he clearly felt the small body beneath the covers jolt once, then, as if all her strength had been drained, she silently sank into his embrace.
Li Zhi buried her face deeper into Shen Yuan’s blankets, her scorching breath turning to hot steam in the tiny space between them.
The moment Shen Yuan tightened his arms, all the restless, untethered emotions of the night collapsed, finally settling into this breath-stealing embrace.
Time flowed on in a silent stream of shared warmth and racing heartbeats.
Li Zhi’s body, at first tense, slowly began to soften in Shen Yuan’s embrace, her sharp edges worn down by a feeling of confinement that was simultaneously reassuring and utterly flustering.
The initial flood of shyness that had threatened to burst was seemingly tamed by his continuous embrace, subdued into tiny ripples that lapped restlessly against the inside of her chest.
This prolonged, intimate embrace caused the heat in the small space to steadily climb. The burning in Li Zhi’s cheeks didn’t fade; instead, it seemed to seep deep into her very bones.
It felt as if a century had passed, or maybe only a few dozen seconds.
Ultimately, the awkwardness born from her shyness overwhelmed the sense of security she had just gained.
Finally, within that suffocating, scorching embrace, Li Zhi couldn’t stop a question from escaping through a gap in the blankets—a question delivered in a tear-tinged, barely audible whisper.
"...Is... is that enough now?"
It was as if she couldn’t bear any more, yet also as if she were begging for permission to be temporarily freed from this sweetness.
Shen Yuan’s arms around her didn’t move an inch. In fact, the moment her muffled question reached his ears, he tightened his embrace.
"Not yet." The young man’s voice, laced with an almost raspy stubbornness, landed distinctly by her burning ear.
Those two words felt like a scorching brand, searing themselves onto Li Zhi’s already frayed, feverish sanity.
The sliver of courage she had just painstakingly gathered was instantly shattered, replaced by a surge of mortification and anger.
Through the blanket, she aimed for what was probably Shen Yuan’s chest and nudged him with her head—a pathetically weak, yet indignant, gesture.
Full of the flustered feeling of being teased and an overwhelming shyness, her voice trembled, yet she forced it higher. "Let go, you idiot! It’s hot in here!"
Her indignant little shout was like a tiny bolt of lightning, instantly shattering the thick, warm current of ambiguity between them.
Shen Yuan’s chest vibrated slightly as he let out a low, indulgent chuckle.