Chapter 583 - 240: The Eve of New Year’s Eve
Chapter 583: Chapter 240: The Eve of New Year’s Eve
Her consciousness floated upward slowly, as if from the bottom of a warm spring.
Li Zhi was woken by a peculiar sense of pressure and warmth.
The winter morning sun, slipping through a gap in the curtains, had already shifted across the room, carrying the lazy warmth of the afternoon.
The soft light painted her closed eyelids, casting a hazy, reddish glow.
First came sound.
A steady, powerful heartbeat pulsed against her eardrum—thump after thump, solid and warm, like the most dependable rhythm.
Next, the clearer, longer sound of breathing, carrying a young man’s unique, crisp scent, fanned evenly across the crown of her head and her temples.
Then, touch.
Her cheek wasn’t resting against the cool, soft pillowcase she expected, but against the warm fabric of clothing.
With each breath, that warmth seeped through a thin cashmere sweater, making her cheeks burn.
A heavy arm was wrapped around her waist from behind.
The pressure wasn’t constricting, but it held a certain weight—a possessiveness that declared its presence, caging her securely in a firm, warm embrace.
Her body was almost perfectly nestled in his arms. Her cheek was pressed against the young man’s broad chest, and one of her legs was propped against his bent knee.
And her own hand could feel a patch of warm skin.
Her eyes darted around a few times beneath her eyelids before Li Zhi finally opened them completely.
The first thing she saw was Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple and his smooth jawline, just inches away.
From this angle, all she could see were his slightly pursed lips and the gentle flare of his nostrils as he breathed.
Her heart felt as if something had nudged it, and then it began to pound, hammering against her ribs as if trying to break free from its close proximity to that warm chest.
She was instantly wide awake!
The memories from before she fell asleep came rushing back like a tide.
From snuggling up to adjust her position, to gradually relaxing into a deep slumber... ’Wait, I actually fell asleep just like that?!’
’And I’ve been sleeping in Shen Yuan’s arms this whole time?!’
The heat in her cheeks suddenly skyrocketed, and her body instinctively tried to pull away.
But the arm around her waist, as if with a mind of its own, tightened the moment she moved. The muscles in his arm tensed faintly beneath the fabric.
"Mmm..."
A low, muffled hum came from above her head.
Shen Yuan’s chin unconsciously nuzzled the soft crown of her head, and his arm tightened again, pulling her deeper into his embrace.
This unconscious, instinctive reaction made Li Zhi freeze. She even forgot to struggle, feeling only the tips of her ears burning hot enough to catch fire.
She didn’t dare move again. All she could do was hold her breath and try to shrink into herself, her cheek forced even more tightly against the spot over his heart, its vibrations sending her into a panic.
She carefully shifted her eyes to look at Shen Yuan’s still-sleeping face.
The young man’s eyes were closed, the corners of his lips curved into a faint, relaxed smile. He was sleeping soundly.
Gone was his usual flashy, roguish attitude, stripped of the passion and triumph he had when awake. The Shen Yuan of this moment had his sharp edges softened, leaving only pure tranquility.
The daylight traced the profile of his handsome face, making it look exceptionally clear and gentle.
In that instant, Li Zhi’s heartbeat miraculously began to synchronize with the steady one beating against her ear.
A wave of immense shyness, intertwined with another, indescribable warmth, rushed through her, threatening to drown her.
’I... I’ve been lying in his arms like this, sleeping for... most of the morning?!!’
Naonao, who was on the bed, seemed to have been disturbed by Li Zhi’s stirring. The cat lazily lifted its head, its beautiful eyes looking over.
Its gaze fell upon the snuggling couple with a calm, almost accustomed air, before it lowered its head and curled back up to doze.
Li Zhi felt the heat from her cheeks spread all the way to the base of her neck. She could even feel the hickey he’d left there burning hot.
She wanted to flee immediately, to break free from this suffocating embrace, but she was held back by a strange sense of softness and a greedy desire for more.
In the end, she only dared to let out a tiny, whimpering sound, a mix of shame and vexation, from between her teeth:
"You stupid jerk... you’re squishing me..."
That faint whimper brushed against Shen Yuan’s consciousness like a feather.
The arm around Li Zhi’s waist reacted before his brain had fully woken up.
It unconsciously tightened its grip, almost domineeringly pulling her soft, struggling body deeper into his embrace as his chin nuzzled the top of her head.
A sleepy mumble came from above her. "Ngh... don’t move..."
His voice was low and raspy, as if veiled by a layer of languid gauze—a tone unique to someone not yet fully awake.
Li Zhi’s body went rigid in an instant, and she held her breath.
She could clearly feel the vibration in his chest. His steady breathing had been interrupted, but it soon became long and deep again, as if he were about to slip back into his dreams at any moment.
After a few seconds of breathless silence, the heavy chin resting on her head moved slightly again, and warm breaths began to fan regularly across the whorl of her hair.
She tilted her head slightly, trying to ease the excessive tightness around her neck so she could breathe more easily.
Her slight movement was like the last leaf falling onto a calm lake.
The rhythm of Shen Yuan’s rising and falling chest suddenly changed.
A slightly heavy exhale, tinged with the confusion of just waking up, puffed against the top of Li Zhi’s head.
Then, the arm holding her tight suddenly relaxed its grip. His knuckles slowly uncurled, the embrace no longer a restraint but a loose, light drape.
The hand at her waist moved upward with morning laziness. The pads of his fingers, separated by the soft cashmere, gently caressed the sensitive skin between her slightly protruding shoulder blades.