Chapter 554 - 234: I’ll Wait for You Until You’re 35 4
Shen Yuan's arm seemed to linger on her soft warmth, his knuckles remaining tense, unwilling to let go.
But Li Zhi pinched him harder. "Shen Yuan!"
Li Zhi's flustered and annoyed prompting finally made his arm loosen slightly.
He took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the torrent of emotions surging in his chest. Only then did he slowly, reluctantly, let go and pull back a little.
Just as Li Zhi was about to straighten up with a stern face, ready to pretend he had just been having a one-sided freak-out, she looked up to shoot the dumbass a vicious glare.
Li Zhi froze completely.
The afternoon light slanted through the window, illuminating the side of Shen Yuan's lowered face.
The lines of his face were drawn tight.
What made Li Zhi's heart feel like it had been squeezed by an invisible hand was the wet track of a tear winding down from the corner of Shen Yuan's eye, standing out starkly against his pale skin.
The tear track had not yet dried, and it refracted a glimmer of light.
'Shen Yuan... was crying?'
The suppressed trembling she had felt when he buried his face in the crook of her neck... now had a tangible explanation.
This wasn't the fake crying of a joke, or an exaggerated pout to get his way. It was the mark left behind after a dam of real emotion had broken.
Shock and a pang of heartache instantly overwhelmed all her previous annoyance.
Li Zhi stared at the boy before her, who so rarely showed such a vulnerable side. The fierce expression she had prepared froze on her face. Her lips parted slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word.
She subconsciously pulled out a tissue and reached for the tear track. Her clear eyes, unblinking, were locked on Shen Yuan's face, filled with unconcealable shock and confusion.
'Li Zhi didn't understand what Shen Yuan was carrying in his heart.'
'Why would a single sentence from her be enough to make him cry?'
"You dummy, why are you crying?"
Shen Yuan shook his head. He covered her hand with his, pressing the palm that held the tissue firmly against his damp cheek.
The soft, warm skin of her palm pressed against his tear-stained cheek, like a hot brand on ice.
"It's nothing..."
The boy mumbled, the words muffled. He rubbed his nose against the pulse in her wrist, greedily inhaling the scent of peach that clung to her fingertips.
When he looked up again, the turbulent undercurrent in his eyes was replaced by his familiar smile, as if the glint of moisture had been nothing but a trick of the light.
"I'm just too happy, that's all."
In the lingering chaos, the heavy classroom door was thrown open with a CREAK.
Old Zhou stood at the door, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes, magnified by his glasses, swept across Classroom 305 like a searchlight, finally locking onto Ah Jie, who was still clutching his head and wailing.
His brow furrowed, and his mouth pressed into a severe line.
"Zhou Shaojie!"
"I could hear you yelling from my office!"
The large lab fell deathly silent in an instant.
Ah Jie flinched, shrinking into his collar. He shot a pleading glance at Yang Ze, who was snickering beside him, only to be met with Yang Ze's reddening face as he suppressed his laughter and gave a slight shrug.
Old Zhou's gaze was sharp, softening not one bit at Ah Jie's cowed posture as he scanned the room coldly.
"Don't think you can relax just because your final exams are over! Look at the wall! Look how many days are left until the college entrance exams!"
Old Zhou withdrew his gaze from Ah Jie and addressed the entire class, his voice level but filled with absolute authority.
"Class starts in five minutes. When I come back in, I expect to see you all studying the way high school seniors should be."
With that said, Old Zhou turned on his heel without another glance at anyone and slammed the door shut with a BANG. The sharp sound was like an invisible ruler, rapping sharply on every student's last nerve.
In the sudden silence, the sound of the door's hinges turning was especially grating.
After a few seconds of eerie silence, a collective, muffled sigh of relief swept through the classroom, like survivors of a catastrophe.
Shen Yuan and Li Zhi, who had just been immersed in the feeling of going official, quickly exchanged a look, as if the two people clinging to each other moments ago had been someone else entirely.
Shen Yuan raised a hand and casually touched the side of his face where Li Zhi had just wiped away his tears. Then, he quickly pulled a physics worksheet from his bag, his movements deliberately stiff.
Li Zhi ducked her head even lower, forcefully scribbling a crooked formula in her notebook as if trying to etch all her embarrassment and Ah Jie's untimely howl into the very paper.
Ah Jie slumped onto his desk, giving Yang Ze a pained smile.
The chill in the science building seemed to seep deeper into their bones, creeping up from the soles of their feet to their calves.
Outside, the gray-white sky hung heavy.
In the vast space of Classroom 305, the only sounds were the scratching of pens on paper and the silent countdown to the next bell.
Before long, the bell for class rang.
During what should have been their winter break, the high school seniors began another ordinary day of grinding for the college entrance exams.
Meanwhile, at Li Zhi's home, Old Li was sitting at his desk playing a game when his phone suddenly chimed.
He put down his mouse. "What's Old Shen sending at this hour? What is it?"
Old Li muttered to himself and glanced at his phone.
What greeted him was a screenshot from Old Shen.
Old Li narrowed his eyes and tapped the image open. In an instant, the father's gaze was riveted to the screen, his pupils constricting slightly.
A boy and a girl stood side by side under the lights, awkwardly forming a large heart above their heads and a smaller one over their chests. Their gazes were locked, and the unique shyness and affection of young love practically burst from the screen.