Chapter 336 - 185: Li Bao is a Bad Woman
Shen Yuan chuckled softly, then shook his head. "That definitely won’t happen."
Seeing the smile on Shen Yuan’s face, Li Zhi huffed and turned to open her front door.
"Alright, I’m heading back. You should get some rest, too. Don’t wear yourself out."
Shen Yuan nodded. "Don’t worry. When you come over tomorrow, you’ll see a Shen Yuan who’s alive and kicking."
Li Zhi rolled her eyes. "You’d better be. That would make my life a little easier."
As she finished speaking, Li Zhi walked out the door.
Shen Yuan just stood there, watching as Li Zhi walked to the apartment across the hall and took out her keys.
Only after the girl’s figure had vanished from sight did Shen Yuan snap out of his daze.
He slowly closed his door. The soft CLICK of the lock seemed to shut out the warmth and bustle from the hallway, returning him to his own private space.
Back in his bedroom, Shen Yuan leaned against the cool wood of the door.
He felt something gently swelling and surging in his chest, like a freshly opened bottle of soda, countless tiny bubbles scrambling to the surface.
The air in the bedroom seemed to hold the faint scent of peaches from Li Zhi, or perhaps it was just his imagination.
But the hollow of his shoulder, where her forehead had briefly rested, was now strangely warm, a clear reminder of that momentary, very real touch.
’You worked hard today.’
The light yet firm touch of the girl’s hands as she hugged his arm, the gentle concern hidden in her muffled voice as she leaned against his shoulder, the flustered pitter-patter of her footsteps as she turned to leave with a hint of triumphant smugness...
All these fragmented moments, like ignited sparks, went SNAP! in his mind, exploding, intertwining, and replaying without warning.
At first, his lips were tugged upward ever so slightly, pulled by an irrepressible sweetness.
But then, the curve of his smile spread rapidly, like ripples on water after a stone is tossed in.
In the end, Shen Yuan’s tightly pressed lips could no longer hold it in, breaking into a silent grin.
"Hehe."
The smile was a bit foolish at first, as if he were still immersed in a profound sense of unreality.
But soon, as the memories grew clearer and warmer, the smile spread unreservedly across his handsome face.
Finally, a low, husky, and breathy chuckle escaped his throat.
"Hah..."
Meanwhile, in the room next door, Li Zhi had thrown herself onto the soft duvet on her bed.
She buried her entire body in the blankets, her cheeks instantly burning as if they’d been set on fire.
"Mmmph..." A muffled whimper escaped from under the covers.
’What just happened?’
’She! Li Zhi! Actually! On her own initiative! Hugged Shen Yuan?!’
The thought exploded in her mind like a clap of thunder, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
She shot up from the covers, her face beet red, and took several deep breaths, trying to let the cool air extinguish the heat on her face, but to little effect.
"Why... why did I do that?"
She groaned in frustration, covering her burning cheeks with her hands. She could clearly feel the astonishing heat through her fingertips.
"It’s all his fault! It’s all that idiot Shen Yuan’s fault!"
Li Zhi tried to shift the blame to Shen Yuan, but another voice rang out even more clearly in her heart.
’You’re the one who raised your arms and hugged him!’
"Aaaah! Stop it, stop it!"
Li Zhi abruptly rolled over and smashed her face back into her pillow, letting out a wail of mortified frustration as she kicked her legs against the sheets.
"...Damn it..."
Li Zhi buried her face in the cool pillow, but suddenly, a strange feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart.
’It’s almost like... I’m leaning against Shen Yuan’s chest again.’
The moment that thought appeared, Li Zhi completely freaked out.
"Li Zhi, are you an idiot?!!"
In the room, Li Zhi’s breathing was erratic, punctuated by occasional sighs of frustration that spoke of the endless ripples disturbing the lake of the young girl’s heart.
This palpitation gradually subsided into the night.
After washing up, Li Zhi lay in bed, fiddling with her phone.
After seeing Shen Yuan’s "good night" text, the girl’s gaze couldn’t help but fall on the photos he’d sent earlier.
Looking at the two candid photos Shen Yuan had taken of her, a slight smile curved Li Zhi’s lips.
"You damn idiot..."
Putting her phone aside, Li Zhi snuggled under her covers.
「The next morning.」
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting several warm bands of light on Li Zhi’s bedroom floor.
The pretty girl crouched in front of her wardrobe, before an open drawer.
The drawer was filled with socks.
Subconsciously, she picked up a pair of plain white cotton socks, the same kind as yesterday.
The soft feel of the pure cotton between her fingers almost instantly brought her thoughts back to last night.
"...Mmm."
A blush crept silently up to the tips of Li Zhi’s ears.
She clutched the white socks in her palm, but her gaze couldn’t help but drift to another pair of white socks beside them.
Li Zhi’s eyes lingered on them.
It was a pair of white "ice silk" socks with a ruffled lace trim, the kind meant for summer.
Compared to the plain cotton socks in her hand, this pair was much thinner.
So thin that, when worn, they would be translucent enough to reveal the pink flesh of the soles of her feet.
Subtle details usually hidden by ordinary cotton socks, perceptible only by touch, would become faintly visible beneath this thin veil.
The girl pursed her lips. She couldn’t help but recall Shen Yuan’s words from yesterday—that brazen, "might as well go all in" confession—and a smile appeared on her face.
"If I wear these... would that perverted foot fetishist Shen Yuan start drooling?"
The mere thought of that image sent a jolt of electricity from her spine to the back of her head.
"No, no, that’s way too cringe."