Chapter 424 - 209: That Night, Li Zhi Did Not Leave
Chapter 424: Chapter 209: That Night, Li Zhi Did Not Leave
She screamed silently in her heart, ’AHHH!!! This is what I want to write! Defend and Steal is so sweet!!! Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly it!!!’
The young author felt like a master shipper who’d just gotten her hands on top-secret, firsthand material, so happy she could faint.
...
After their meal, the group poured out of the cafeteria and were instantly enveloped by the frigid outdoor air.
"HISS—" Ah Jie instinctively shrank his neck, clutching his collar tightly with both hands, nearly burying his entire face in it.
The gloomy aura hanging over him was more biting than the outdoor chill. The high spirits he’d had after the science composite exam were nowhere to be seen. His feet dragged, his shoulders slumped, and he muttered endlessly.
"My heart... it’s colder than this godforsaken weather."
Ah Jie’s voice held an obvious note of despair, a stark contrast to his usual joking tone.
Beside him, Yang Ze patted his back sympathetically, while Chen Mingyu wore an expression that said, ’You’ll get used to it.’
In sharp contrast was Shen Yuan, who walked ahead of them.
The young man’s posture was ramrod straight, his stride filled with the unique relaxation and confidence that comes after finishing an exam.
The cold winter wind seemed unable to shake the certainty radiating from him.
Under the lights, an almost brazen smile played on his lips, and his eyes were startlingly bright.
"Brother Jie, relax. It’s not a big deal," Shen Yuan’s voice was clear and carried an obvious cheerfulness, even a hint of a punchably smug teasing tone.
He turned his head, his smile growing even more brilliant in the light. "So what if you bombed the English exam? It’s not like it’s the first time. You should be used to it by now."
Ah Jie responded to Shen Yuan with an international gesture of friendship.
Li Zhi walked quietly beside Shen Yuan, listening to the boys’ banter. The usual disdain or teasing was absent from her bright eyes; instead, they clearly reflected the bold profile he cut at that moment.
That vibrant, confident radiance was very much to Li Zhi’s satisfaction. Her delicate chin seemed to dip in a barely perceptible nod before she quickly turned away.
Zhuo Peipei noticed the difference in Ah Jie’s and Shen Yuan’s states and shook her head with a smile.
He Zhiyu, however, was covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, her large eyes darting back and forth between Shen Yuan and Li Zhi, clearly savoring another sweet moment.
In the night, the figures of the group of teenagers were stretched long by the dim yellow streetlights.
The cold wind whistled through the bare branches above them, yet it couldn’t disperse the two starkly different emotional currents within the group.
The group returned to the academic building. As they passed the third-floor office, Shen Yuan thought of Li Zhi’s small hands, red from the cold.
"You guys go on ahead. I need to borrow something from Sister Shui."
Without waiting for a reaction, Shen Yuan turned and pushed open the ajar door of the faculty office.
The office was lit, filled with a mix of warm air and the scent of paper and ink.
Their homeroom teacher Old Zhou’s desk was empty. His Eldest Female Cousin, Yang Yishui, was engrossed in her phone.
Hearing the noise at the door, Yang Yishui looked up. Seeing it was Shen Yuan, a trace of confusion appeared on her slightly weary face.
"What do you want?"
Shen Yuan had a clear objective and headed straight for Yang Yishui’s desk.
His eyes were sharp; he immediately spotted the jacket draped over Yang Yishui’s lap, and under it, the distinct shape of a hot water bottle bulged out.
Shen Yuan looked at Yang Yishui and plastered an ingratiating smile on his face, but his movements were as fast as lightning.
Before an ominous premonition could even form in Yang Yishui’s mind, her lap suddenly felt cold. Shen Yuan had already snatched her hot water bottle.
"Hey, you!"
Caught completely off guard, Yang Yishui instinctively tried to protect her hot water bottle, but it was already in Shen Yuan’s hands.
Clutching the toasty heat source, Shen Yuan ignored his Eldest Female Cousin’s stunned expression and spoke rapidly, "It’s freezing in the classroom! Your office has heating, what do you need a hot water bottle for! What a waste of resources!"
Before his voice had even faded, he had already slipped out of the office door like an eel.
Leaving Yang Yishui in the office, staring blankly at her now-empty lap.
’Her freshly filled hot water bottle... she hadn’t even gotten to warm herself with it for ten seconds...’
"Motherf..."
Yang Yishui clenched her fists.
’If the damn office heating actually worked, would I even need a hot water bottle?!’
’That damned Shen Yuan!’
’So he’s trying to impress someone with my stuff, is that it!’
’Nope. This is unacceptable. I feel so wronged.’
Yang Yishui pulled out her phone, found Zhang Yuyan in her contacts, and quickly made the call.
"Auntie! Shen Yuan is bullying me!"
The Eldest Female Cousin had gone to tattle.
But Shen Yuan was completely unaware of this.
Then again, even if he had known his Eldest Female Cousin was going to tattle on him, Shen Yuan probably still would have snatched the hot water bottle from Yang Yishui.
’Let her tattle. It’s not like I stole it for myself; I stole it for Li Zhi!’
’His heart ached thinking about his Li Bao’s little hands getting cold while studying during the evening self-study session.’
’Ms. Zhang Yuyan, you can just figure it out yourself. Whose hands are going to freeze, Yang Yishui’s or Li Bao’s?’
Clutching the hot water bottle, which still radiated Yang Yishui’s body heat, Shen Yuan returned to the classroom door with a light spring in his step.
He took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and, met by a dozen pairs of curious eyes that hadn’t quite recovered from the cold, walked straight to his seat.
Li Zhi was already seated, getting ready to do some final organizing before the evening self-study session began.
She looked up and saw Shen Yuan striding over, clearly holding a hot water bottle with a pink, fluffy cover.
’That style, it had to be Yang Yishui’s.’
Before Li Zhi could fully process the situation, Shen Yuan had already sat down in his seat.
Without any hesitation, and ignoring the gazes of Ah Jie, Yang Ze, and Chen Mingyu that had instantly locked onto him, Shen Yuan directly stuffed the toasty hot water bottle into Li Zhi’s hands.
"Here. Keep warm."
His movements were swift and decisive, carrying a strange sort of frankness. His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for the few people nearby to hear clearly.