Chapter 537 - 231: Xu Chan: Be Safe
'My daughter gets lured into your son's room, and I have to sit here while you spit tea in my face and then violently wipe it off?'
'Who did I piss off?!'
Pfft...
"HAHAHAHA!"
Old Shen completely dropped the act.
"Shen Guohao, you're dead!!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Old Li! Li Shicheng!!"
The entire living room echoed with the stifled laughter of the two ladies and the playful roughhousing of the two childhood friends.
And from behind the tightly closed bedroom door, Shen Yuan's faint pleas for mercy could seemingly be heard.
「Inside the room...」
"Mmph!!!"
Li Zhi's fair, delicate face visibly exploded in a blush, turning as red as a steamed shrimp!
She could no longer hold on to the little bit of feigned smugness and willfulness from before. Shame and anger flared up, rushing straight to her head.
"You moron, Shen Yuan!! What are you laughing at!"
"Huh?" Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, his face a mask of innocence.
But before he could say anything, Li Zhi suddenly lunged at him, aiming for his arm.
"Hiss—Ow, ow, ow! Li Bao, gently!"
"Hey! I'm not the one who said it! What's it got to do with me!"
"It has everything to do with you! Everything!"
Li Zhi's face was flushed so red it looked like it might start bleeding. The mortification made her put more strength into her grip, as if trying to vent all the shock she'd received from her own mother on Shen Yuan.
The beautiful girl didn't just pinch; her other hand started randomly pounding on his shoulder. "This is all your fault! All your fault!"
The girl wasn't very strong, but her actions were filled with utter shame and indignation.
The two of them ended up in a tangled heap in Shen Yuan's small study.
For a moment, the room was filled with the sound of ragged breaths, pleas for mercy, and noises of mixed shame and anger.
This fierce yet childish scuffle transformed into a kind of intimate, playful fight—annoying, yet tinged with a subtle, sweet intimacy that was unique to the two of them.
Watching Li Zhi, Shen Yuan couldn't help but crack up, even as he grimaced from her pinching.
"Seriously! What does your mom talking about 'safety' have to do with me!"
"Shen Yuan! You're asking for it!!!" Hearing him dare to repeat that word, Li Zhi's shame and indignation instantly went through the roof!
The beautiful girl switched to using both hands, her ten fingers like claws as she started to attack the ticklish spots on his waist.
"Don't say it! Don't say it again! How dare you bring it up! Moron!"
Shen Yuan burst out laughing as she tickled him, shrinking back. His tall frame looked a little pathetic in the cramped space between the desk and chair.
"My bad, my bad! I won't bring it up! I won't!"
Shen Yuan pleaded for mercy between laughs, scrambling to grab Li Zhi's mischievous hands.
Li Zhi wasn't about to let him off easily. Her cheeks were flushed, her fingertips dancing nimbly, vowing to make him taste the same mortification that "be safe" had brought her.
Amidst this frantic chase and evasion, a cunning glint flashed in Shen Yuan's eyes.
He timed her next reach perfectly, and instead of dodging, he abruptly met her advance!
"Ah!"
In a flash, Shen Yuan's strong hand accurately and decisively seized Li Zhi's slender wrist!
The move was crisp and clean, instantly halting all her tickling motions!
However, this was only the beginning!
With her wrist clamped down, Li Zhi instinctively struggled to pull back, but she was held fast by an irresistible force.
Shen Yuan didn't just stop at grabbing her. Using the momentum of her lunge and his own superior strength, he went with the direction of her struggle and cleanly crossed and pinned both her wrists behind her back!
"Huh?!"
Li Zhi's short gasp was cut off before it could fully escape as she was forced backward.
Shen Yuan's movements didn't pause for a second.
After capturing her wrists behind her back, he fluidly pressed down with his arm!
Li Zhi felt a powerful yet skillful force travel up from her restrained wrists, causing her to involuntarily stumble half a step and lose her balance.
In that split second, the world seemed to spin. Li Zhi was spun slightly and found herself half-pushed, half-guided back into the chair!
"Oof!"
A muffled grunt escaped Li Zhi's throat.
The back of the chair hit her back.
It didn't hurt, but it brought a distinct feeling of being firmly restrained.
More importantly, Shen Yuan didn't loosen his grip on her wrists just because she was seated.
He immediately leaned forward, one hand still firmly holding Li Zhi's wrists pinned behind her, while his other hand swiftly braced itself on the armrest beside her!
His tall figure loomed over her like a mountain, instantly forming an incredibly oppressive enclosure.
Li Zhi was completely pinned to the chair!
The hard back of the chair was behind her. To her side was the invisible barrier formed by his arm braced on the armrest. Before her was the overwhelming presence of his body, just inches away. And from her wrists came the real, inescapable pressure of his grip.
The bedroom fell terrifyingly silent, with only the sound of their now-labored breathing clearly audible.
Shen Yuan's chest rose and fell slightly, his gaze fixed on the beautiful girl's eyes, which were wide with astonishment and vexation.
His warm breath brushed against the stray hairs on her forehead, carrying a clean scent unique to him and a barely perceptible tremor.
Li Zhi was forced to tilt her head up. Her clear eyes, which usually held a cunning glint, were now wide like a frightened deer's.
The original blush on the girl's face deepened, spreading like a fiery sunset across her cheeks and neck, all the way to her small earlobes.
She subconsciously tried to twist her wrists, but the struggle was futile, only emphasizing her powerlessness and highlighting the tense stalemate between them.
Li Zhi could clearly see the triumphant smugness in Shen Yuan's eyes, though it was still tinged with a hint of nervousness and the thrum of post-impulsive action.