Chapter 422 - 208: Under the Desk, Two People’s Hands
Chapter 422: Chapter 208: Under the Desk, Two People’s Hands
A desperately held-back yawn came from the desk behind, accompanied by the slight scrape of a chair.
The air crackled with pent-up energy, transitioning from absolute silence to the noisy prelude of eager anticipation.
The air was filled with the rustle of packing and sighs of relief as the evening study session drew to a close.
It was as if the tension was about to reach its peak.
RING RING RING—!!
The shrill, piercing dismissal bell, like a spell breaking a binding curse, shattered the room’s restraint!
"School’s out!!"
Almost before the bell finished ringing, Ah Jie’s signature grating voice was the first to erupt, accompanied by the sharp SLAP of a book hitting a desk.
Like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, his cheer instantly set off the entire classroom!
"Woohoo! I’m outta here, outta here!"
Yang Ze haphazardly shoved his science review materials into his backpack, yanking the zipper shut with a harsh ZIIIIIP.
"I shall take my leave!"
"Go, go, go! It’s freezing!"
"Late-night snack at the cafeteria?"
"Duh! Been waiting forever! I’m starving!"
"Chaaarge—!"
"Hurry your ass up! What are you dawdling for? If we’re late, it’ll be fucking gone!"
A cacophony of voices mixed together, flooding the room like water from a burst dam.
The moment the door opened, the stuffy air that had accumulated over the course of the evening study session immediately dissipated.
Figures blurred as hurried footsteps shuffled through the narrow aisles, stirring up gusts of cold wind.
As usual, Li Zhi didn’t rush Shen Yuan.
However, Shen Yuan had just finished solving a difficult chemistry problem and was emerging from his state of Concentration.
Shen Yuan let out a long sigh, the surrounding clamor seemingly washing away some of his fatigue.
"Let’s go."
Once Shen Yuan had packed his bag, the two of them got up and left the classroom.
The December chill, like a predator lying in wait, instantly bit into everyone’s skin.
The wind, like an ice-laced knife, wormed its way into collars and cuffs, forcing everyone to instinctively pull their necks in.
The moment they stepped out of the classroom, Li Zhi couldn’t help but recoil from the cold, instinctively burying her chin deeper into the soft, fluffy trim of her collar as if to block out a sliver of the biting wind.
As Shen Yuan stepped out of the classroom, he felt the beautiful girl beside him flinch.
Watching her shiver, Shen Yuan’s hand, which had been casually tucked in his pocket, slid out. With a practiced ease, he reached over and deftly caught Li Zhi’s hand before she had a chance to put it in her own pocket.
Their skin touched.
Shen Yuan immediately felt the chill of her hand.
Li Zhi’s eyes flew wide.
’It was one thing when no one was around yesterday! But with so many people in the hallway now, how does this douchebag dare!’
Just as Li Zhi subconsciously opened her mouth to say something, Shen Yuan gave her a gentle tug, pulling her forward.
"Come on."
No reason given. He didn’t even bother with the "I’m warming your hand" excuse this time.
Walking beside Shen Yuan, Li Zhi’s first instinct was to pull away, but...
’...it’s so warm...’
She subconsciously lowered her head, not daring to look at Shen Yuan at all.
A wave of intense embarrassment, mingled with warmth, radiated up from their joined hands.
But her small hand, held tightly in his, gradually relaxed. Eventually, it rested quietly in his grasp, soaking up the only source of heat that could dispel the winter night’s chill.
And so, hidden by the clamor and moving through the swirling, cold stream of students, they walked out of the school gates against the homeward-bound tide.
The winter night’s wind was even more biting than it had been during the day, chilling them to the bone.
It was a southern cold, the kind that seeps through your clothes and deep into your body.
Under the dim yellow glow of the streetlights by the school gate, the crowd of students quickly dispersed, each heading home.
Even the aroma from the late-night snack stalls seemed to have congealed in the cold, growing much fainter.
Shen Yuan tightened his grip on Li Zhi’s hand, then simply slipped her hand into his own pocket.
He turned his head to the side, his gaze falling on the tip of her nose, red from the cold, and her tightly pursed lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
He slowed his pace. His voice, tinged with an almost imperceptible huskiness, sounded clearly beside her ear.
"Still cold?"
Li Zhi was bracing herself against the headwind. Hearing his question, her immediate, stubborn instinct was to reply, "Not cold."
—Just as she had countless times before.
But as she opened her mouth, the brief but incredibly vivid memory from the previous night in her neighborhood flashed through her mind without warning.
The image of Shen Yuan pulling her into a tight embrace without a word of argument.
That solid warmth, which felt as if it could steam the chill from her very marrow, came rushing back to her memory, so clear it felt as if it were happening all over again.
The comfort of that warmth chasing away the chill, that brief yet addictively secure embrace...
That secret sense of dependency and shyness seemed to creep up on her again.
’But this is right at the school gate!’
Li Zhi subconsciously wanted to refuse.
But just then, she felt a weight settle on her shoulder!
Shen Yuan didn’t even wait for her answer. He let go of her hand, and his arm came up, effortlessly and expertly replicating his move from the previous night!
His arm swept behind Li Zhi’s back, his palm landing firmly on her other arm!
Then his arm tightened, and an immense, warm strength washed over her as he once again pulled her whole body even more snugly into his solid embrace!
It was like pulling a shivering kitten from the cold wind and settling it in the warmest spot right next to the stove.
Shen Yuan lowered his head, his chin brushing against Li Zhi’s long hair.
He hunched over slightly, looking down at the beautiful girl in his arms with an expression that clearly said, ’Aren’t you going to praise me?’
"Tsk. See? You’re so cold you can barely speak, aren’t you?"
"I knew you were still cold!"
"Look at me, being so considerate. You didn’t even have to say a word."
His tone was so matter-of-fact, as if he hadn’t just performed an intimate act but had done something as simple and natural as handing her a cup of hot water.
’This... this douchebag!!!’
Li Zhi snapped her head up to meet Shen Yuan’s unnervingly bright eyes.
She wished she could stomp hard on his foot right then and there and shove him away.
But the deep-seated craving for warmth coiled around her limbs like vines, leaving her unable to move.
Any impulse to struggle was defeated by the comfort of being enveloped in his warmth.
Ultimately, under Shen Yuan’s watchful gaze, Li Zhi could only bury her face deeper into her collar, even pulling up her hood.
It was as if she could block out his infuriating, smiling face that way.
"Let’s go."
The words had barely left Shen Yuan’s mouth when a muffled thump—one carrying both indignation and helpless resignation—landed squarely on his chest through their thick clothes.
"Douchebag!"
The wind howled on, and pedestrians hurried past.
No one knew that in this small world of their own, the girl’s heart was hammering with shyness, only to be silently soothed by the domineering yet soul-deep warmth.
Feeling the weight and warmth in his arms, the smile on Shen Yuan’s lips deepened, and the last vestiges of fatigue from the evening study session seemed to melt away with it.
Nestled closely together, they walked step by step through the crisp, cold winter night.