Chapter 420 - 208: The Hands of 2 People Under the Desk
Chapter 420: Chapter 208: The Hands of 2 People Under the Desk
"We’re relying on our own body heat, alright?"
As they walked along a path at school, Shen Yuan took advantage of the dim light and reached for Li Zhi’s hand.
His fingertips had just brushed against her cool skin as he tried to slip his hand into the wide pocket of her coat.
SMACK! A crisp, loud slap suddenly rang out. The back of Shen Yuan’s hand took the hit squarely.
Shen Yuan snatched his hand back in pain and shot the girl beside him an aggrieved look.
Li Zhi’s expression remained unchanged, as if she wasn’t the one who had just delivered that swift, precise, and ruthless slap.
Seeing Shen Yuan’s expression, the girl lifted her delicate chin even higher, her beautiful eyes holding a hint of anger and an extremely clear warning.
"Dumbass, try that again and I’ll break your claws, then leave them to freeze into popsicles for everyone to see!"
The complaining from Yang Ze and Ah Jie seemed to stop for a second.
Shen Yuan dejectedly stuffed his reddened hand into his own pocket, pouting and muttering under his breath.
"Can’t I even hold your hand to warm up a little..."
In return, he received an even colder glare and a contemptuous snort from Li Zhi.
The group trudged on, cursing the goddamned cold weather, weighed down by post-exam fatigue but driven by an urgent need for the hot food awaiting them in the cafeteria.
Their figures blended into the crowd—silhouettes stretched long by the dim yellow streetlights, mingling with the billowing cold air. The wind carried more complaints about the bone-chilling winter and the clamor of footsteps hurrying toward the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was brightly lit.
A thick layer of condensation coated the huge glass windows, insulating the room from the cold wind outside and trapping the warmth and rich aroma of food within.
"Haaaah—I’m alive again!" Ah Jie let out a long, exaggerated sigh, rubbing his frozen face.
"This god-awful weather isn’t fit for humans. Sister Li, you just go find a seat. Let this punk Shen Yuan handle the line!"
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at Ah Jie.
Ever since Li Zhi had given Ah Jie’s fluffy fanfic the title *Silent Reading*, Ah Jie had become her devoted follower.
Shen Yuan slapped Ah Jie on the back. "You think I need you to tell me? Go get in line! If your Sister Li gets hungry because you’re late, she’ll be the one beating you up!"
A short while later, Shen Yuan and Ah Jie returned with dinner for the group.
"Let’s eat, let’s eat!"
Even though the cafeteria was a refuge from the wind, the food would still get cold fast if you didn’t eat quickly.
Yang Ze took a big gulp of hot soup. "Yuan, how’d you find the math test?"
Shen Yuan nodded. "It felt alright. A bit easier than the last joint exam. Everything went pretty smoothly."
As he said this, Shen Yuan casually glanced over at Li Zhi.
But Li Zhi didn’t take the bait, simply continuing to eat her food in silence.
Nearby, He Zhiyu took small bites of her food, her large eyes darting back and forth between the two. She suppressed a smile, pretending to be oblivious, but inwardly, her heart was bursting with sweetness.
Zhuo Peipei glanced at He Zhiyu, getting the feeling her friend was keeping some juicy gossip to herself lately.
Just then, Chen Mingyu’s voice cut in.
"By the way, isn’t next Saturday Christmas? The streets are starting to look pretty festive. You guys have any plans?"
Ah Jie chuckled dryly. "What plans can we have on a Saturday? It’s not like the school gives us the day off or plans any activities."
Shen Yuan nodded. "You’d be better off praying Old Zhou doesn’t schedule a full day of exams for us that Saturday."
"HSSS—"
The air he sucked in felt exceptionally cold.
Yang Ze quickly changed the subject. "Oh, right! Isn’t the New Year’s Gala the week after next?"
At the mention of the New Year’s Gala, everyone’s eyes lit up.
The annual New Year’s Gala was always a lively event.
Not because the performances were spectacular, but because it was just plain fun.
Watching familiar classmates and teachers perform, seeing a side of them you’d never normally see—that was the best part.
"Speaking of the gala, Sister Shui’s singing performance has pretty much become an annual tradition."
Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.
Yang Yishui was twenty-eight. She’d been working at the school for five years and had sung at the New Year’s Gala for all five of them.
When she first started her career, she was full of enthusiasm. Now, she realized she must have been out of her mind to have signed up in the first place.
The performance was so well-received that she was now forced to sing every single year.
Yang Yishui felt like she was on the verge of being featured in the school’s admissions brochure.
"Too bad," Ah Jie sighed. "We’re seniors now, so signing up for an act is out of the question for us."
The gala acts required rehearsals, and what senior had time for that?
So it was mostly left to the first and second-year students.
Of course, seniors *could* sign up, but their homeroom teacher would almost certainly veto the idea.
Unless your act was so good that it impressed your homeroom teacher, there was basically no chance it would make it to the stage.
So it was a common understanding that seniors didn’t perform at the New Year’s Gala.
But beyond the entertaining acts, the most important part of the New Year’s Gala was the New Year’s holiday that came with it.
What else could a senior hope for but a holiday to catch their breath?
Ah Jie sighed. "I kind of miss how it felt to be up on stage. Too bad Old Zhou would never let us."
Yang Ze turned to look at Ah Jie, his gaze turning icy.
Noticing Yang Ze’s glare, Ah Jie gave an awkward smile, shrank back, and fell silent.
Shen Yuan blinked.
Zhuo Peipei explained, "I don’t know if you remember, but last year Ah Jie and Yang Ze performed a crosstalk routine. It was actually pretty good."
Shen Yuan thought for a moment. He seemed to recall something like that.
"But did you know? Ah Jie went off-script and started improvising. If Yang Ze hadn’t been so quick-witted, it would’ve been a total disaster."
"But wasn’t it a big hit?"
Before Shen Yuan could even voice his confusion, Yang Ze cut in, his voice full of indignation.