Chapter 586 - 240: The Eve of New Year’s Eve
Chapter 586: Chapter 240: The Eve of New Year’s Eve
Inside, Li Zhi leaned her back against the cold door, covering her burning face.
She hurried into her bedroom, opened the closet, and pulled out an off-white turtleneck sweater to change into. She checked herself in the mirror repeatedly, making sure the collar completely hid the red mark on her neck.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuan, who had just arrived home, was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, tugging at the collar of his black sweater. His fingertips caressed the hickey Li Zhi had left, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he pulled the collar up to his chin.
’Hidden and safe.’
During dinner that evening, just as he’d hoped, Zhang Yuyan and Old Shen didn’t notice anything unusual. They simply asked what Shen Yuan and Li Zhi had been doing at home.
Shen Yuan and Li Zhi both gave their parents the same answer.
Doing homework.
’Yep, we were doing homework!’
’What’s wrong with a young couple’s kind of homework?!’
The sheer conviction about homework, something unique to high school seniors, immediately convinced both sets of parents.
Li Zhi didn’t go over to Shen Yuan’s house that night, staying home to keep her parents company instead.
’The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I can’t just keep sneaking next door all the time.’
’He’s only my boyfriend, and I’m already out of the house all day!’
’What would happen later on?’
The living room was warm and cozy. Old Li was sitting on the sofa with his wife, watching TV.
Li Zhi was curled up in a nearby armchair, holding her phone, her fingers flying across the screen.
A sweet smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.
Old Li glanced up at her, a gentle, knowing, and indulgent expression on his face. He asked casually, "Zhizhi, what are you smiling at? Are you chatting with that Shen Yuan kid again?"
She was engrossed in the messages from Shen Yuan on her screen. At the sudden sound of her father’s voice, especially his mention of Shen Yuan, she felt as if her little secret had been exposed, and her face instantly flushed red.
She almost shot up from the armchair, her voice quick and flustered. "No, I’m not! Stop guessing! I... I was watching a funny video!"
Old Li and Xu Chan watched their daughter’s attempt to act calm. Their eyes met, and knowing smiles bloomed on both their faces.
Li Zhi noticed her parents looking at her, and her cheeks burned even hotter. She sprang up from the armchair. "I’m not going to watch TV with you anymore!"
Before the words were even out, she had turned like a startled fawn and dashed back to her room, slamming the door shut with a BANG.
"Hmph! It’s all that idiot Shen Yuan’s fault!"
Li Zhi looked at her phone. In her message history was a photo Shen Yuan had taken.
It was a picture of her sleeping, snuggled in his arms. She was curled up in his embrace, looking completely unguarded.
"Selaan! You took a candid picture of me!"
Her finger hovered over the text box for a long moment before she finally just sent an [Angry Kitty] sticker.
She flopped onto her bed and pulled the covers around herself. They had only just parted, but the second hand on the wall clock seemed to be stuck in syrup, ticking by with agonizing slowness.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was lying on his back on his bed, holding up his phone. He kept opening the photo, zooming in and out.
The mark Li Zhi had left on his neck seemed to burn faintly, making him grin foolishly at the ceiling.
But as he smiled, he grew antsy. There were still a full twelve hours until he could see her again tomorrow!
But time always passes. The next morning, as soon as their parents had all left for work, Shen Yuan eagerly rushed over to Li Zhi’s house.
To Shen Yuan’s pleasant surprise, Li Zhi hadn’t chosen to wear a turtleneck like him. Instead, she had on a crewneck sweater.
He could tell she had just changed into it.
Her hair was still up in a high ponytail, and the hickey on the side of her neck, not yet faded, was clearly visible.
However, when her gaze shifted to Shen Yuan, Li Zhi paused.
The guy who had been wearing just a thin sweater yesterday was now bundled up snugly in a turtleneck.
She understood his intention.
He was hiding the mark she’d left on his neck when she was angry yesterday, just as she herself had done that morning.
Now, however, Li Zhi was the one putting hers on full display.
A mischievous smile crept onto Li Zhi’s lips.
She tilted her head, deliberately staring at where the turtleneck constricted his neck. Lightly tapping the conspicuous red mark on her own, she spoke in a voice laced with teasing sweetness.
"What are you doing? What’s there to hide... from me?"
Her teasing made the tips of Shen Yuan’s ears burn, but he forced a calm expression and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
He suddenly reached out to cup the back of her neck, his thumb brushing—as if by accident—over the faint red mark he’d left there. He chuckled softly.
"Well, if a certain someone hadn’t picked such a conspicuous spot to leave her mark. And then told me not to let our parents see it."
Shen Yuan looked into her eyes. "And now you’re blaming me for it?"
Li Zhi trembled at his touch. Just as she was about to retort, Shen Yuan suddenly ducked his head, his lips lightly brushing against the skin of her collarbone exposed by the sweater. He complained in a muffled voice.
"Wearing a crewneck on a day this cold... Classmate Li Zhi, you’re up to no good."
Li Zhi flinched as if zapped by electricity and shoved him away. Glaring, her cheeks flushed, she demanded, "Selaan! What do you think you’re doing?!"
Shen Yuan stumbled back a step but didn’t bother hiding his intentions. "I want to leave a hickey of my own."
"Get lost!"
Li Zhi glared at him. "Enough nonsense! Don’t even think about anything else today! We have to do our homework!"
Seeing her bristle like an angry cat, the smile in Shen Yuan’s eyes deepened. "I know, baby."
He drew out his words, adding slowly, "...I promise it won’t get in the way of the important stuff."
Li Zhi’s face instantly flared red.
Obviously, she’d caught his hidden meaning.
"Don’t kiss me there, you pervert!"
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi were in his study doing homework. As for everything else...