Chapter 546: Shen Yuan’s Official Announcement (2)
“No! No way! How can you delete this?!”
Li Zhi stomped her foot in a huff, pointing at the phone screen, her voice tinged with indignation.
“It’s hideous! What the hell were you thinking with this shot! You made me look so dazed and foolish! The overhead light makes my face look dark! You want to post a picture like this?! Delete it! Now!”
Shen Yuan, who had just been reveling in his own ‘this is brilliant’ moment, was completely blindsided by Li Zhi’s rapid-fire barrage of criticism. It was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, and he froze on the spot.
He instinctively looked up, staring blankly at the beautiful girl who was just inches away, as if he couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.
“Ugly?”
Shen Yuan repeated Li Zhi’s accusation, his expression one of pure confusion and incredulity.
He immediately looked down, fingers flying across the screen as he zoomed in on the candid shot he had just taken.
He scrutinized it with the utmost seriousness, trying to find even the slightest trace of ugliness on Li Zhi’s ridiculously beautiful face.
The light from the phone’s screen reflected in his eyes.
In the photo, the girl’s eyes were slightly wide from being caught off guard, a trace of indignant embarrassment she hadn’t had time to hide still lingering in them.
Her long, curled eyelashes were perfectly defined. The blush staining her fair cheeks—a mix of anger and the surprise of being photographed—was like the delicate tip of a ripe peach.
A few errant strands of hair clung to her cheek. Light spilled down from above, casting a faint shadow along one side of her small, delicate nose…
To Shen Yuan, the lighting didn’t make her face look dark at all.
On the contrary, it gave her features more depth and definition. That little shadow was like the work of a master painter, a carefully placed contrast of light and dark.
He looked at it from every angle—it was vivid, lively, and captured that adorable way her temper flared when he provoked her. Even the hint of annoyance in her eyes from being interrupted was captured perfectly.
‘Dazed and foolish? Where?’
‘Hideous? Where?’
The more Shen Yuan stared, the more he felt the photo was absolutely stunning. He simply couldn’t understand how she saw “dazed and foolish” or a “dark face” in it.
‘The lighting obviously gives her features such a nice texture…’
‘This expression is clearly adorable…’
‘I could seriously use this as my phone wallpaper and stare at it all day…’
Watching Shen Yuan gaze adoringly at what she considered a complete disaster of a photo, turning it this way and that, even starting to nod slightly as if appraising a priceless treasure, made Li Zhi so mad she wanted to bite him.
She pinched their clasped hands sharply.
“You idiot! Are you going to delete it or not!”
The sharp pain in his hand snapped Shen Yuan out of his reverie over the photograph.
He looked at Li Zhi’s flushed, indignant face and her eyes that were practically shooting fire. Suddenly, a stroke of genius hit him, and he instantly came up with a solution.
“Alright, alright, my bad, my bad,”
he said, raising the hand holding the phone in a gesture of surrender. His tone was placating, but his actions were incredibly swift.
Shen Yuan decisively closed the photo gallery, switched back to the camera app, and unceremoniously shoved the phone into Li Zhi’s hand.
“Here! Li Bao! You take it! Take as many as you want, until you get one you’re happy with!”
Shen Yuan’s voice was cheerful and indulgent. He even leaned a little closer to Li Zhi, the corner of his mouth lifting in a sly, expectant smile.
“Angle, lighting, expression—you choose everything! I promise I’ll be a perfect background prop!”
Li Zhi was caught off guard as the phone was thrust into her hand, her fingertips brushing against the cool metal case.
Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, which were both a bit roguish and eager to please, she froze for a moment.
She glanced down at the “weapon” in her hand, then back up at Shen Yuan’s handsome, smiling face. The anger in her heart suddenly stalled, leaving her feeling stuck.
“Dumbass!”
She retorted instinctively, but her fingers tightened around the phone.
Shen Yuan’s tactic of retreating to advance had actually made her hesitate.
‘The picture he took was a disaster, but…’
‘If I take it myself, won’t it look like I care way too much about this social media post?’
‘So embarrassing!’
However, as her gaze swept over the active camera on the screen and she caught sight of Shen Yuan’s eyes practically glued to her face…
“Hmph! I knew I’d have to do it myself!”
Li Zhi lifted her chin slightly, putting on a show of reluctance, but her fingers were already busy adjusting the angle, searching for a pose and lighting that didn’t make her face look so dark.
She held up the phone, fingers deftly swiping across the screen to adjust filters and angles. The pale light from the display illuminated her face, etched with Concentration.
Shen Yuan stood quietly to the side, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her get serious. His eyes were practically overflowing with affection.
“Even beauties have to edit their photos?”
“None of your business! And don’t move!”
Li Zhi hissed, leaning back slightly, apparently dissatisfied with Shen Yuan’s expression in the frame.
She wrinkled her nose and tried several different angles, muttering to herself, “Ngh… Backlighting is no good, overhead lighting is no good either… You dumbass, couldn’t you have found a better spot?”
After struggling for a good while, Li Zhi’s brow furrowed even deeper, her eyes showing a hint of petulant frustration.
She suddenly gave up, glaring resentfully at Shen Yuan, who was enjoying the show from the sidelines.
Just as Shen Yuan expected her to shove the phone back at him, she turned slightly and tilted her chin in his direction.
“Hey! What are you doing just standing there like a statue? Get over here! Who goes public with a relationship by posting a solo picture?!”
Her voice wasn’t loud, tickling his ear like a soft feather.
The smile in Shen Yuan’s eyes deepened instantly, as if he’d been waiting a long time for her to say that.
He didn’t hesitate for a second. In a flash, he moved in close, his warm body pressing up against hers, his shoulder resting solidly and naturally just behind her own.