Chapter 414 - 207: It Seems You’ve Been Captured
Chapter 414: Chapter 207: It Seems You’ve Been Captured
The girl tried to put on a stern face and glare at him, but her cheeks warmed uncontrollably.
It wasn’t obvious in the dim light, but she alone could feel the warmth.
"Who... who wanted you to warm me! Selaan! Let go!"
Shen Yuan grinned cheekily and tightened his grip. He even gently caressed the back of her hand with the pads of his fingers, feeling the faint chill quickly vanish into his palm.
"Let’s get going."
Shen Yuan pulled Li Zhi along, his steps light as they descended, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
It was as if the sense of accomplishment from solving an impossible puzzle couldn’t compare to the satisfaction of holding her small, cool hand.
In the end, Li Zhi couldn’t pull her hand away and could only let him lead her firmly down the stairs.
The biting wind still howled through the stairwell, tugging at the hems of their clothes.
The girl lowered her head slightly, looking at her hand, completely enveloped in Shen Yuan’s large, warm one.
The stiffness in her fingertips was truly melting away.
Shen Yuan’s hand was very warm.
An eighteen-year-old boy, frighteningly full of vigor.
She finally stopped struggling.
’My boundaries keep getting lower and lower.’
From the residential complex to the road opposite it.
After their trip to Hang City, the time she and Shen Yuan held hands to and from school grew longer each day.
It started on the road across from the complex, stretched bit by bit to the late-night snack stalls, and then all the way to the corner by the school gate.
And now, they were holding hands right on school grounds.
Li Zhi buried her face deeper into her collar, trying to hide her racing heart and the smile that was secretly forming on her lips.
She stole a glance at Shen Yuan’s profile and muttered under her breath, in a voice so quiet only she could hear, "...Jerk."
Her voice was soft, completely devoid of any real bite.
In the dim stairwell, only their tightly clasped hands stood against the biting cold outside, sharing a warmth that was theirs alone.
The two walked out of the academic building side by side.
A blast of cold air made Li Zhi instinctively hunch her shoulders, the tip of her nose instantly turning red.
Shen Yuan squeezed her hand a little tighter. His fiery palm, like a small furnace, enveloped her cool fingertips.
"Why don’t you hide behind me?"
Li Zhi shook her head. "No, this little bit of cold is nothing."
’So stubborn.’
Shen Yuan shook his head. "Dress warmer tomorrow."
"I know, I know."
Li Zhi shot Shen Yuan a glare. "You’re so naggy, just like a mother hen."
Shen Yuan just smiled and, still holding Li Zhi’s hand, stuffed it into his jacket pocket.
This brought Li Zhi even closer to him.
The campus path was deserted and silent on this winter night, with only a few overhead streetlights casting dim, yellow halos in the cold mist.
Shen Yuan led Li Zhi by the hand, their steps falling into a natural rhythm as they walked toward the school gate.
The light in the guardhouse was on. Behind the window, the elderly security guard, bundled in a thick coat, was dozing. He merely lifted an eyelid at the sight of the young couple holding hands.
He’d seen his fair share of "hard-luck lovebirds" from the third year returning late.
"Old Zhang!"
Hearing his name, the old security guard looked up at Shen Yuan.
"So late?"
Shen Yuan smiled faintly. "Studying."
Old Zhang shivered. "Be careful on your way home. Don’t catch a cold."
"Got it."
Not long after they left the school gate, a breeze drifted over, carrying a mixture of sizzling grease and the pungent aroma of cumin.
The smell from the late-night snack stalls was the same as always.
Li Zhi’s steps naturally slowed, her gaze drifting toward the oden stall.
As she smelled the food, she swallowed instinctively.
"Hungry?" Shen Yuan asked, looking down at Li Zhi.
Li Zhi’s gaze lingered on the oden for a moment. She took a small sniff of the tempting aroma before finally shaking her head.
"No."
Li Zhi then added, "I don’t want anything. Let’s go back."
With that, Li Zhi gave Shen Yuan’s hand a tug.
Of course, Shen Yuan understood what she meant.
A knowing smile threatened to break out on Shen Yuan’s face.
He gave Li Zhi’s hand a squeeze, and they quickened their pace, walking straight ahead without a second glance.
In the cold wind, their clasped hands became a single, steady source of warmth.
At some point, their regular nighttime snack routine had been replaced by simply holding hands.
There was something comforting about this childish, unspoken agreement to "rather go hungry than let go."
The winter night was bleak, but the two figures walking close together were like a pair of intertwining warm currents, flowing silently along the cold path home.
Leaving behind the lively, human warmth of the snack stalls, the two entered their familiar residential complex.
The lamplight, filtered through the branches of tall trees, became even more fragmented, casting their huddled-together shadow on the empty complex road.
The bone-chilling cold seemed even more intense here; wind whipped up in the open spaces and snaked right down their collars.
Shen Yuan still hadn’t let go of Li Zhi’s hand.
Walking beside him, Li Zhi had almost unconsciously leaned half her body into his side, trying to shield herself from the headwind.
Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, then let go of her hand. As Li Zhi watched in confusion, he very naturally raised his arm.
His warm hand traveled up her arm, went around her back, and came to rest on her other side.
Then, with a gentle but firm pressure, it came to rest on Li Zhi’s other slender arm.
With this motion, his arm was now naturally wrapped around her.
Li Zhi’s body tensed instantly, like a startled cat. "You..."
Before she could say more, Shen Yuan tightened his arm, pulling her more snugly against him.
Their bodies, separated by layers of winter clothing, were now gently pressed together.
The warmth radiating from Shen Yuan’s body was like a huge, protective net, instantly enveloping Li Zhi.