Chapter 404 - 205: Li Zhi, I...
Chapter 404: Chapter 205: Li Zhi, I...
He looked at the girl so close before him, and the plan he’d long suppressed surged forth like a spring tide bursting its banks.
"Li Zhi..."
Shen Yuan took a deep breath. The air, crisp with the scent of the mountain forest, could not cool his boiling blood.
His voice trembled visibly.
Shen Yuan stared into her eyes, as if to etch this moment into the depths of his soul.
"...I..."
The word he had been nurturing for so long, a word heavier than all the formulas combined, was on the tip of his tongue.
His cheeks burned slightly with excitement and nervousness, his fingertips curling unconsciously.
It was as if the world had faded away, leaving only the person before him and the keyword about to escape his lips—a word that would define their future together.
However, just as the word was about to break past his lips—
A soft, cool hand shot up like lightning and, not too hard yet not too softly, covered Shen Yuan’s mouth with unerring precision!
"Mmph...?!"
The rest of Shen Yuan’s words were choked back down his throat, leaving only a short, startled grunt.
His eyes flew wide open. All the emotions he had been building up stalled instantly, replaced by sheer, blindsided confusion.
He could clearly feel the delicate texture of her palm, its slight coolness, and a thin sheen of nervous sweat pressed against his lips—an undeniable, irrefutable interruption.
His gaze moved up, meeting Li Zhi’s eyes.
Where was the shyness or emotion he had expected?
In its place was an expression Shen Yuan knew all too well: a look of faint disdain, barely concealed beneath a forced composure.
Her cheeks were still flushed, even more so than before, the blush spreading from the roots of her ears down the side of her neck like a plum blossom blooming vividly in the snow.
But the glare she was giving him was so familiar.
’The tsundere has taken over.’
Shen Yuan’s brain instantly crashed.
He couldn’t comprehend this sudden "gag order" at all.
’Haven’t we already cleared the air?’
’Don’t we have a tacit understanding?’
’Wasn’t she the one who just calmly said she didn’t need a Bodhisattva’s blessing?’
’So why... is she reacting like this now?!’
The air seemed to freeze between her palm and his lips.
Li Zhi quickly glanced around. After confirming no one had noticed their little episode, she seemed to let out a small sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted.
But the hand over Shen Yuan’s mouth showed no sign of relaxing.
Seeing Shen Yuan’s expression switch instantly from deeply affectionate to a dazed "who am I, where am I?" look...
Li Zhi finally couldn’t keep her composure.
Or rather, she found a perfectly logical excuse to break the bizarre situation.
And to hide her own drumming heartbeat and the blush that felt like it was setting her face on fire.
The girl cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound as normal as usual.
"What are you looking at?"
Her voice was intentionally a little sharp. "Is your homework done? Since we’re not praying anymore, let’s go back!"
Shen Yuan: "...?!!!"
"Hey! What are you standing there gaping for!"
Li Zhi’s voice was deliberately sharp, a bit of fierceness used to mask her discomfort. "Did you forget why we’re going back to school tomorrow?"
Shen Yuan, still in a daze, subconsciously followed her train of thought. "Huh? Back to school? To copy homework?"
Li Zhi shot him an exasperated look, as if he were a paramecium. "Moron! The joint exam scores! They’re coming out tomorrow!"
That finally pulled Shen Yuan out of the previous atmosphere and back to reality.
"Oh... scores..."
He replied, his mind still circling around the unfinished confession.
’This stupid temple... It’s totally useless!!’
Just then, a sly glint appeared in Li Zhi’s eyes, as if she was looking forward to what she was about to say.
"Hey, moron Shen Yuan,"
She paused, meeting Shen Yuan’s still-confused but slightly hopeful gaze, and said, "This joint exam, do you think you can get a 650?"
Shen Yuan frowned slightly, then shook his head. "Math was too hard. After finishing it, I’m not even sure if I can get a 640."
"Ohhh—"
Li Zhi drew out the sound, then said to Shen Yuan in a very serious tone, "Then do you remember something I said before?"
"Huh?"
Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi.
Her gaze held its familiar mockery, but it also seemed to contain a profound... reminder?
As if silently stressing: ’Think carefully before you answer.’
Shen Yuan blinked, and a fragment of a memory from long ago lit up in his mind.
It was from a long time ago, after his Eldest Female Cousin had accused him and Li Zhi of dating. It was something Li Zhi had blurted out.
—"Me, date a stray dog? Even if I were to date someone, I’d at least find someone who could score a 650!"
For her to bring up that number now, with such a faint, subtle hint in her question...
But before Shen Yuan could think too much about it, his own joint exam score came to mind.
’Oh, well...’
’This is what I get for not studying hard enough.’
The mountain breeze swept past, lifting the loose strands of hair at their temples. After a brief silence, Li Zhi seemed to decide that standing here continuing to "discuss scores" was a bit silly.
Her brow furrowed slightly out of habit. "Let’s go."
The girl turned naturally and took the first step down the mountain path.
One step, two steps.
Just as Shen Yuan subconsciously lifted his foot to follow, he saw the girl ahead of him stop abruptly.
Li Zhi turned slightly to look at him, raising the same hand that had covered his mouth moments ago.
Her fingers were spread, palm facing him, suspended in mid-air.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, dancing as tiny specks of light on her slender, fair fingers.
—It was a silent yet crystal-clear invitation.
He stared dumbly at the hand hanging in the air. Nothing needed to be said.
Shen Yuan instinctively reached out, his hand covering hers, tightly enveloping her cool fingertips.
Their fingers interlaced perfectly, the warmth of their palms instantly mingling.
The moment he took her hand, Li Zhi’s fingers curled almost imperceptibly before relaxing again, lying docilely in his palm.
She gave their clasped hands a little shake, as if to urge him on.
"Let’s go, moron. Time to go home."
"Yeah..."