Chapter 374 - 198: Still Staying Out Overnight?
Chapter 374: Chapter 198: Still Staying Out Overnight?
Shen Yuan stopped in his tracks. Her words seeped into his heart like the early autumn sun.
He looked down at their elongated shadows overlapping on the fallen leaves. The tightness in his throat suddenly dissolved, and his voice became light. "What do you want to eat? My treat."
"Anything’s fine." Li Zhi twirled a strand of long hair that had been tousled by the wind, her eyelashes gilded with pale gold in the twilight glow.
"You decide."
"Then how about we get some clay pot?"
After Shen Yuan made the decision, Li Zhi nodded lightly. "Okay, sounds good."
The place they were going to eat wasn’t too far from their residential complex.
Right in front of the complex was a commercial street, and past that were two shopping malls.
The first floor of the mall was where the restaurants were.
By the time they entered the commercial street, the sky had gradually darkened.
The neon lights began to flicker on. The scent of food mingled with the cool air, and the lights from the shops elongated the shadows of pedestrians bustling by.
Shen Yuan was turning his head to discuss clay pot flavors with Li Zhi when a familiar, boisterous voice suddenly erupted from the crowd behind them. "Shen Yuan! Sister Li!!"
Shen Yuan and Li Zhi stopped and turned around at the same time.
They saw Zhou Shaojie waving at them from between Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu.
Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu stood next to Ah Jie, looking at Shen Yuan with teasing smirks.
"What a coincidence! You guys are out to eat too?"
"Yeah, we were just about to get some clay pot over there," Shen Yuan replied, glancing at the three of them. "What about you three? Out hunting for food as a group?"
"Yup!" Ah Jie nodded vigorously. "We’re gonna eat, then go online, then head home."
Ah Jie and the others, just like Shen Yuan and Li Zhi, all lived in the city, so they could just go home at night.
"Wanna join us?" Ah Jie asked, looking at Shen Yuan expectantly.
"The five of us, that’s a perfect five-stack!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shen Yuan immediately raised a hand to cut him off, a look of disdain on his face. "Who said anything about a five-stack? I’m not going to an internet cafe. If you’re just going online, why don’t you just grab some Shaxian and be done with it? Go any later and you won’t even get a spot."
Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, the three of them immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
"HISS— He’s got a point!"
With that, the three of them turned to look at Shen Yuan.
"No time to explain, we’re outta here!"
As he watched their figures disappear from sight, Shen Yuan pursed his lips.
"You used to go to internet cafes all the time too, didn’t you?"
Li Zhi’s calm voice sounded from beside him.
Shen Yuan’s brow twitched. "That was in the past. I haven’t been in a long time, okay?"
Li Zhi nodded slightly, her tone puzzled. "Why? You obviously have a computer at home, so why still go to an internet cafe?"
"It’s just the fun of hanging out with friends, I guess. Besides, the experience of playing together offline is actually better than playing online."
Li Zhi blinked. "Why?"
Shen Yuan looked at her. "It’s easy to explain. Let’s say you and I were playing a game together. Would you rather play side-by-side, or with me at my place and you at yours?"
Li Zhi felt she was starting to understand.
"I see."
A smile curved Shen Yuan’s lips as he continued, "It’s like traveling. I can go by myself, but the feeling of going alone is definitely different from going with someone else."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yuan turned his head and his gaze met Li Zhi’s clear, bright eyes.
At that moment, a distinctly teasing smile was playing on the young woman’s lips.
That smile was like light dancing on the water’s surface on an early autumn evening, a sly glint swirling in the depths of her eyes.
Li Zhi tilted her head slightly and asked, feigning ignorance.
"Oh? Then why don’t you tell me, what exactly is so different?"
The end of her sentence rose slightly, and her gaze locked onto Shen Yuan. She had a look that said, ’I’m waiting for your explanation,’ clearly intending to call out the vague, ambiguous undertone of his last statement.
Hearing Li Zhi’s question, a completely unabashed smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face, and he met her sly, questioning gaze head-on.
"What’s so different?"
Shen Yuan tossed the question back at Li Zhi, his voice filled with a kind of self-assured excitement.
"For example, right now—" He lifted his chin, gesturing toward the bustling commercial street and the flow of people behind them, where lights were gradually illuminating the scene.
He gently nudged Li Zhi’s arm with his elbow, his tone one of pure happiness. "Going to dinner with you, I feel especially excited. It feels like the food at that restaurant will taste even better."
Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, his eyes sparkling, the smile in them completely undisguised.
Li Zhi was taken aback for a moment, then a curious glimmer appeared in her eyes. "Oh? Is that so? Will it really taste better?"
The young woman tilted her head, blinking slowly. Her expression was a mixture of serious inquiry and childlike anticipation, as if she were questioning a monumental secret.
Shen Yuan nodded. "Of course it will."
Li Zhi suddenly lifted her chin and let out a soft hmph. "Hey, I’m telling you, don’t you try to sweet-talk me with empty words. If I don’t think it’s good..."
She paused, shaking her small fist in front of Shen Yuan. Her tone suddenly shifted, her words carrying a veiled threat.
"Then our plans to go out this weekend... well, they might be up in the air~"
The moment Li Zhi’s words fell, Shen Yuan’s smiling eyes suddenly lit up like stars being ignited in the night sky.
"Really?!"
The word burst out of Shen Yuan, his voice laced with incredulous surprise.
Looking at Li Zhi’s playful expression—a mix of a small threat and hidden pride—the joy in Shen Yuan’s heart exploded like a firework.
The faint hint of a smile on his face instantly blossomed, transforming into a giddy excitement fueled by immense anticipation.
"I guarantee it’ll be delicious! Absolutely delicious! I’ve had my eye on this place for a while, the food is definitely incredible!"
Shen Yuan patted his chest, speaking with absolute certainty.