Chapter 580 - 239: Li Zhi: I’m Not Ready Yet
Chapter 580: Chapter 239: Li Zhi: I’m Not Ready Yet
The small, warm body pressed against her. With each steady rise and fall of its chest, it miraculously began to smooth away the violent trembling that had wracked the girl’s frame.
Under the warm yellow lamplight, San Geng’s soft fur was haloed in a soft glow. It was like a small heart-guard, silently protecting her peace.
This non-aggressive comfort, brought by the small animal, was like a basin of icy snowmelt, completely extinguishing the last embers of primal heat stirred by instinct in Shen Yuan’s heart.
All that remained was a profound ache in his heart and a heavy sense of apology that threatened to drown him.
The stagnant air still seemed to carry the residual warmth of her terror.
Shen Yuan’s gaze shifted from San Geng’s peacefully resting little body to Li Zhi.
He drew a silent breath, practically holding it as he moved.
The soft mattress dipped as he carefully shifted closer to Li Zhi.
The young man finally stopped, barely half an arm’s length away from her.
He didn’t rush to touch her. Instead, he leaned forward slightly and, brimming with apology, gently rested his forehead against the soft crown of Li Zhi’s head.
The gesture was almost weightless, more like a tentative sigh melting into her hair.
Shen Yuan’s voice was laced with clear regret, each word landing distinctly upon the shell of Li Zhi’s tense ear.
"I’m sorry... I scared you."
The young man’s warm breath brushed against the whorl of her hair, heavy with self-reproach and devoid of any further transgression.
Li Zhi’s cheek, pressed against San Geng’s soft fur, twitched slightly.
She didn’t look up right away, but the rigid line of her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly under the young man’s penitent touch.
That cautious, gentle pressure was like a stone tossed into the lake of her heart, silently shattering the last vestiges of the stiff barrier between them.
Silence still flowed through the room, but it was no longer cold and suffocating.
The young man’s heavy breathing slowly calmed, tinged with the caution of someone who has recovered something precious they almost lost.
He sensed that slight release of tension in her body. He didn’t move any closer, but simply nestled his forehead a little more firmly against hers.
This moment of closeness held none of the earlier heat and impulse, only a heavy apology and an attempt to convey comfort.
On the pillow, San Geng’s steady purr continued, its small head comfortably pillowed on the soft rise and fall of Li Zhi’s chest.
A moment later, Li Zhi shifted her shoulders slightly, her brow furrowing.
"Shen Yuan..."
The soft call, slightly nasal and a little awkward, escaped from the girl’s lips, which were buried in San Geng’s soft fur.
Shen Yuan lifted his forehead from the crown of her head slightly, with a hint of a question.
But Li Zhi didn’t immediately look up at him. Her cheek remained pressed against the cat’s warm body, and her slender fingers curled unconsciously, their tips digging into the crumpled fleece blanket beneath her.
"...Move it..."
Her voice was muffled, laced with a barely perceptible mix of vexation and slight awkwardness.
"It’s... it’s crushing me... It’s so heavy..."
After saying this, the beautiful girl’s cheeks visibly flushed an even deeper shade of red, and even the tips of her small ears turned a translucent crimson.
As if to cover up this sudden embarrassment, she let out a soft huff, but the end of the sound held a hidden, almost imperceptible hint of coquettishness.
Shen Yuan froze for a second, then he understood what she was referring to.
He looked down, his gaze sweeping over San Geng, who was obediently lying on Li Zhi’s chest, purring with its eyes blissfully narrowed from the sheer comfort of its position.
Amidst the deep apology in the young man’s eyes, a ripple of an extremely doting smile quietly appeared, and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but curve up into a soft, gentle arc.
"Tsk, this little horny cat."
He murmured, then carefully reached out, his fingers gently covering San Geng’s small, warm, and round head.
"Come on, San Geng, come to Daddy..."
He gently slipped his fingers into the warm fur on the scruff of the cat’s neck and, with a force that was exceptionally gentle yet firm, carefully lifted the small, fluffy, warm body off Li Zhi’s chest.
San Geng didn’t seem too willing to leave its comfortable cushion, its little paws kneading the air unconsciously, but in the end, Shen Yuan scooped it securely into his own arms.
The little cat squirmed in Shen Yuan’s arms, pushing back with all four paws as his face drew near.
"Hey! You little horny cat!"
The young man suddenly whispered a quiet complaint into San Geng’s pink-tipped ear.
"You sure know how to pick a good spot to lie on!"
Shen Yuan nudged the cat’s head, his warm breath making its ear twitch.
The little cat in his arms, not understanding, let out a "MEEOWW," its heterochromatic eyes reflecting the red mark on Shen Yuan’s neck where Li Zhi had bitten him.
The young man grabbed the cat’s fleshy paw and gave it a squeeze. Finally, as if venting his frustration, he gave its belly a rough rub and mumbled the last, childish grumble into San Geng’s soft fur: "Your dad hasn’t even gotten his way yet..."
That complaint, muffled in cat fur, drilled its way with perfect clarity into the ears of the beautiful girl beside him.
Li Zhi had just taken a breath after San Geng was moved, and the blush on her face was slowly starting to fade.
Now, those words—"hasn’t even gotten his way yet"—were like a spark dropped into hot oil, instantly reigniting the vexation that had only just begun to subside!
"Shen Yuan!"
Shen Yuan instinctively flinched, pulling his neck back.
Li Zhi’s legs, which had been curled up on the bed, instantly straightened and shot out, landing a swift and accurate kick on Shen Yuan’s leg.
"HISS—"
Shen Yuan grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath of air as little San Geng took the opportunity to quickly escape from his arms.
Before Shen Yuan could say anything, Li Zhi’s voice erupted.
"You damn Selaan pervert! Is your brain filled with nothing but garbage?! Keep gloating! You do it again and I’ll kick you off this bed, you hear me?!"