Chapter 316 - 181: The Parents Decide to Pretend They Don’t Know
Time slipped away quietly as they solved problems.
As the bell for the end of the evening study session rang, Shen Yuan put down his pen and stretched luxuriously.
He stuffed the test paper into his schoolbag, and the zipper made a soft sound as it closed.
"Li Bao, time to head home."
"Always rushing me."
After stuffing what she needed into her schoolbag, Li Zhi tossed it to Shen Yuan. "Since you’re in such a hurry, you can carry it."
"As if I don’t carry it for you every time," Shen Yuan said, standing up with both schoolbags.
The lights of the academic building were still bright, and the two of them followed the flow of people down the steps.
The early autumn wind swirled up a few fallen leaves that brushed past their feet. Their shadows stretched long and then grew short under the streetlights.
They walked in silence through the school gates and rounded a familiar street corner.
Smelling the familiar aroma drifting from the street, Shen Yuan paid it no mind.
In truth, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi hadn’t been getting late-night snacks much after their evening study sessions recently.
First, late-night snacks were a waste of money. Second...
’Then again, the main reason was that getting a late-night snack would cut into their already limited hand-holding time.’
You could get a late-night snack anytime, but if he didn’t hold Li Bao’s hand today, he would have to wait until tomorrow.
Appetite and attraction are only natural.
Shen Yuan decisively chose the latter.
As they walked, the outline of their residential complex came into view.
Traffic streamed past on the road, blinding high beams slicing through the darkness.
Shen Yuan halted before the worn crosswalk, his gaze sweeping over the speeding wheels.
Almost at the same time, his knuckles twitched slightly. His right hand reached to his side, firmly enveloping Li Zhi’s hand, which was dangling by her sleeve.
Shen Yuan had long since broken her rule of "only holding hands inside the complex."
Now, the rule was "we can only hold hands until we get to the other side of the street from the complex."
As the light across the street turned green, Shen Yuan’s knuckles tightened slightly, and he led Li Zhi onto the crosswalk.
After crossing the road, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi stepped into the shadows of the trees at the entrance of their complex, hand in hand.
The halos of the streetlights spilled onto the stone-paved road, their shadows swaying blurrily. All around was the rustling sound of the early autumn night wind.
Just then, a car pulled up and stopped beside the complex entrance.
As the car came to a stop, two figures stepped out.
"Pop the trunk."
After Shen Guohao spoke, he went to retrieve a suitcase from the trunk.
As the trunk closed, the wheels of the suitcase made a soft rumbling sound on the concrete.
Zhang Yuyan was just about to gripe to Old Shen about something from their trip when she turned her head and saw two familiar figures at the complex entrance.
Under the dim yellow light of the streetlamp, two shadows nestled closely together. Even the swaying tree branches couldn’t entirely separate their silhouettes.
Zhang Yuyan recognized one of the figures instantly.
That figure was definitely Li Zhi.
As for the one next to Li Zhi, he looked pretty familiar too.
Just then, Old Shen’s voice sounded beside Zhang Yuyan’s ear. "Isn’t that Li Zhi?"
Zhang Yuyan nodded. "It has to be. She’s wearing a school uniform, and she’s so tall. There’s no one else like that in our complex besides Zhizhi. The one next to Zhizhi... that must be Shen Yuan, right?"
Old Shen frowned and nodded. "Looks like it."
As the two of them watched, the two figures in the distance passed through the complex gate, and then their hands naturally clasped together.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuyan’s heart skipped a beat. She almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her from the fatigue of their trip.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and instinctively grabbed Shen Guohao’s arm. Her voice was hushed, thick with shock and uncertainty.
"Old Shen! Old Shen, wait... Why are they... Why are they holding hands?!"
As she spoke, Zhang Yuyan’s eyes were glued to the two under the streetlight, afraid they would disappear into the shadows at any moment.
"I see them, I see them."
Shen Guohao followed his wife’s urgent gaze. When he made out the distant, blurry, yet intimate scene, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes as well.
"Ah Ming, you can head back first! Your sister and I have something to take care of!!"
After Old Shen hastily said this, before he could say anything else, Zhang Yuyan was already grabbing his arm and pulling him without another word into the shadows by the complex gate.
"Go, go, go! Let’s get closer, let’s get a better look! Am I... Am I seeing things?"
Zhang Yuyan’s voice was a mix of astonishment, but more so, it was filled with joy and an urgent need for confirmation.
Old Shen carried the suitcase, not letting the sound of its wheels give away their position.
Using the cover of the trees and the dim light, the married couple stealthily approached the two figures, who were completely unaware they were being watched.
In the dim yellow glow, the boy and girl’s elongated shadows melted together on the ground, appearing exceptionally clear.
When she got a clear look at their profiles, Zhang Yuyan’s breath caught in her throat.
"It really is them..." Zhang Yuyan’s voice was so low it sounded like it was being squeezed from her throat, filled with incredulous shock. "Shen Yuan and... Li Zhi?!"
Shen Guohao also saw them perfectly clearly.
He watched his son hold Li Zhi’s hand with incredible naturalness as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, strolling leisurely through the complex’s garden.
Their backs exuded a kind of intimacy and tranquility that they had never shown in front of them.
"Old Shen, look at how naturally they’re holding hands!"
Zhang Yuyan’s voice was a mix of excitement at discovering her son’s secret and a kind of worry unique to a mother.
Although Zhang Yuyan wasn’t sure why she was feeling worried, she couldn’t shake the feeling.
The shock of seeing it with her own eyes was immense.
After the initial shock, the couple fell into an awkward, flustered state.
Zhang Yuyan pulled Old Shen’s arm, shrinking further into the deep shadows. A look of immense conflict appeared on her face as she lowered her voice and spoke quickly, "What do we do now?"