Chapter 304 - 177: Li Zhi Buries Herself Under the Blankets Again
The moment Li Zhi grabbed Shen Yuan by the collar, his whole body went stiff, like a cat being picked up by the scruff of its neck.
Meeting the girl’s chilly gaze, Shen Yuan shook his head frantically. "No! Absolutely not! Li Bao, you’ve got it all wrong!"
Shen Yuan’s hands shot up, his panicked eyes scanning Li Zhi’s questioning face as he gave an awkward smile.
’This is good. This is just right.’
Li Zhi’s grip didn’t loosen, but an imperceptible curve flickered across her brow.
The girl’s face still held a friendly smile, and her warm breath brushed against Shen Yuan’s cheek. "Oh? Is that so?"
At that moment, He Zhiyu, who had already finished packing up, was watching this "tense" little drama between the childhood sweethearts, a sugary-sweet smile on her face.
’There they go again. I’m so happy.’
Shen Yuan nodded repeatedly, trying to make his eyes look incredibly sincere. "In my eyes and in my heart, there’s only you, Li Bao!"
Watching him desperately trying to explain, a hint of imperceptible smugness and amusement appeared in the girl’s eyes, and the cold curve of her lips relaxed slightly.
Seeing the subtle change in her expression, Shen Yuan thought he saw an opening, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Li Bao?"
Li Zhi smiled sweetly, pulled Shen Yuan closer, and leaned in toward his ear, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You’d better be!"
The moment he heard those words, Shen Yuan’s pupils dilated, and his heart felt like it had been viciously squeezed!
His mind went blank with a BUZZ.
’What does that mean? What does she mean, ’You’d better be’?!’
’Li Zhi... She responded!’
’It wasn’t a question, not a taunt... it even had a hint of... acceptance?’
This response, sweet but coated in shards of ice, left Shen Yuan more flustered than a direct interrogation would have.
Shen Yuan hadn’t expected Li Zhi to react like this at all.
A wave of disbelief mixed with intense heart palpitations instantly overwhelmed his thoughts.
Before Shen Yuan could even sort out his thoughts, the beautiful girl in front of him suddenly pulled back and casually straightened his wrinkled collar as if nothing had happened.
"Alright, time to go home!"
With that, Li Zhi stood up and tossed her schoolbag to Shen Yuan.
"Let’s go!" the beautiful girl said nonchalantly, then turned and walked out of the classroom.
As she turned, the pearl hair clip she wore caught the light, illuminating Shen Yuan’s dazed face.
Out of Shen Yuan’s sight, the corners of Li Zhi’s mouth curved up slightly, and a faint pink blush quietly spread across her earlobes.
Shen Yuan grabbed the schoolbag and hurried after Li Zhi.
Clutching both of their bags, Shen Yuan jogged a few steps to catch up, falling into step beside her on their familiar route home.
Under the night sky, although Li Zhi’s long legs carried her at a fast pace, she didn’t actually pull away from the person beside her.
In fact, the girl was, intentionally or not, keeping pace with the boy.
The two walked side-by-side without talking.
Shen Yuan still had one schoolbag on his back and another on his front, his hands resting on the one before him.
After they had walked for a while, Shen Yuan’s mind was still stuck on Li Zhi’s "You’d better be," his heart feeling as if it were being scratched by a kitten’s paw.
He stole a glance at the beautiful girl’s lovely profile, summoned his courage, and pretended to clear his throat nonchalantly.
"Li Zhi."
Shen Yuan’s voice trembled slightly, his fingers fidgeting with the strap of the schoolbag. "That thing you said just now... were you serious?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Yuan’s heart felt like it was caught in an invisible fist. His gaze secretly shifted from her earlobe to her cheek, waiting for the slightest change.
Li Zhi’s steps faltered for a moment, and she turned her head slightly to look at Shen Yuan.
"Of course not."
The beautiful girl huffed lightly, her tone laced with its usual petulance, but the corner of her mouth uncontrollably twitched upward.
With that, she quickened her pace, taking several fast steps forward to try and put some distance between them.
"Besides," her voice drifted back on the wind, tinged with a deliberately cool tone, "who you like, Shen Yuan, or who’s in your heart... that’s none of my business!"
Shen Yuan stood stunned, watching Li Zhi’s retreating back as she hurried forward. The feeling of being scratched by a kitten’s paw in his heart suddenly transformed into a warm current.
Breaking into a run, Shen Yuan quickly caught up to Li Zhi.
"What if the one I like is you?"
Li Zhi’s steps came to an abrupt halt. She spun around, a flash of panic crossing her eyes before it was quickly covered by a shell of ice.
A faint crimson blush quietly spread across her cheeks, like cherry blossom petals freshly bloomed and tinted by the dawn.
Although her shyness was suppressed, it leaked out through her slightly trembling lips and her darting gaze.
"Wh-What’s it got to do with me?! Who said you could like me?!"
The girl’s voice was deliberately raised, but the end of her words trembled as if losing strength, like the sound of a bell shattered by the evening wind.
As soon as the words were out, Li Zhi whipped her head away, her slender fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Without another look at Shen Yuan, she began to hurry forward in a fluster.
Shen Yuan stood where he was, his gaze following Li Zhi’s hasty, fleeing back, a smile unknowingly forming on his lips.
It was a light and triumphant smile, like that of a cat that has succeeded in stealing a taste of honey.
The churning warm current in his heart instantly filled his chest, nearly overflowing.
With this thought, Shen Yuan no longer hesitated. He strode forward, once again breaking into a jog to catch up.
The schoolbags bounced lightly against him, but his steps were as light as if he were walking on the spring breeze. In the blink of an eye, he was right beside Li Zhi again, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her.
Seeing Shen Yuan catch up out of the corner of her eye, Li Zhi turned her head away and let out a soft huff.
But before Li Zhi’s mood could shift, she felt a light scratch on the back of her hand.
The beautiful girl whipped her head back to glare at Shen Yuan.
Under the streetlight, her wide, almond-shaped eyes shimmered with the watery light of faint anger, but the crimson on her earlobes had quietly spread to the side of her neck. "We’re not even at the neighborhood entrance yet! Do you want to lose those paws of yours?"