Chapter 588 - 241: The Silly Boy at Li Zhi’s Doorstep
Chapter 588: Chapter 241: The Silly Boy at Li Zhi’s Doorstep
Shen Yuan clutched his phone, running on pure instinct as he bolted down the stairs of Shen Ming’s house and out of the yard.
He was like a runaway colt, galloping toward the Li Family’s small house nearby—the home of Li Zhi’s grandparents.
But in the short time it took to get there, that initial rush—the desperate need to see Li Zhi at once—was doused with cold water the moment he stood before the Li Family’s familiar, wrought-iron gate. His momentum had all but vanished.
The silhouette of the small house grew distinct in the winter morning light. Festive red lanterns and spring couplets hung by the door, radiating a thick New Year atmosphere.
Shen Yuan stopped a few steps from the main gate, his feet seemingly nailed to the ground.
A cold gust of wind swept past, rolling a few withered leaves across the ground and making Shen Yuan shudder.
"My brother must be tired..."
The message Li Zhi had sent, along with that sly smiling emoji, still lingered in his mind. Its intimate, teasing sweetness had been the very thing that spurred him to run over.
But now, staring at the closed gate before him, that impulsive courage receded like a tide, leaving behind nothing but the helplessness of a barren shore and a strange, guilty conscience.
The turtleneck sweater around his neck seemed to be growing warm, concealing the "evidence" she had left behind.
An image of Old Li’s gentle yet perceptive gaze flashed uncontrollably through his mind, and for no reason, his heart began to beat a little faster.
He subconsciously touched his neck, as if the hickey might materialize through the fabric of his sweater.
’Should I go in?’
’What would I even say to Old Li and Aunt Xu?’
’"Hi, Aunt Xu. I’m here to hang out with Li Zhi?"’
’It’s New Year’s Eve, and their family is having a reunion. What kind of person just shows up out of the blue?’
’"I was just passing by and thought I’d come see Grandmaster Li and Grandma Li?"’
’That’s so pathetic!’
’Just call for Li Zhi to come out?’
’Li Zhi would definitely come out, but what if she isn’t the one who opens the door?’
For a moment, Shen Yuan felt like a thousand tiny people were fighting in his head as all sorts of possible conversations and awkward scenarios flooded his mind.
He could even imagine the subtle smirk that might appear on the faces of Li Zhi’s family after they opened the door, as if to say, "Oh, we knew it would be you."
The young man’s cheeks quietly warmed. A novel sense of bashfulness, mixed with the conspicuous guilt of someone with something to hide, took a firm hold of him.
His usual devil-may-care attitude, the one he always had around Li Zhi, had completely vanished. He suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet.
He stood in the cold wind, facing the Li Family’s closed gate. His fingers curled and uncurled. He raised his hand several times, wanting to touch the cold metal, but pulled it back every time.
He was like a grade-schooler who’d been told to stand outside the principal’s office, with no idea what he’d done wrong.
A figure seemed to move in the yard. On pure reflex, Shen Yuan took a step back into the shadows by the wall, holding his breath.
Then he realized how ridiculous he was being. He let out a heavy sigh and frustratedly ran a hand through his hair.
That "I’d brave a mountain of knives and a sea of fire just to see her" energy he’d had when he rushed out had completely evaporated, leaving only a chaotic heart that had been sobered by reality.
His gaze drifted over the closed windows, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure, yet terrified she might actually see him in this pathetic state.
The wind rustled the tassels on the lanterns, making a soft SHUSH that actually made him jump.
Go?
...Can’t bear to.
Go in?
...Don’t dare.
And so Shen Yuan remained pinned a few steps from the Li Family’s gate, unable to advance and unwilling to retreat, like an awkward statue forgotten by the world.
The little theater in his mind had already staged a thousand rounds of the play "The House Visit That Ended in a Disastrous Waterloo," yet he had completely exhausted his courage before even taking the first step: ringing the doorbell.
"Shen Yuan? What are you doing out here?"
A resonant, elderly voice, tinged with a hint of confusion, suddenly rang out from above the courtyard wall, startling Shen Yuan so badly he almost leaped into the air.
He whipped his head up to see Grandmaster Li leaning out of an open second-floor window, a teacup in his hand.
His white eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he looked down, mystified, at the young man hesitating in the cold wind outside his gate.
In that instant, Shen Yuan felt his mind go BUZZ as his face flushed hot.
’It’s over, it’s over!’
’Busted! And by Grandmaster Li, of all people!’
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was clogged. His mind went blank. All the excuses he had prepared—and all the ones he hadn’t—were stuck in his throat.
Time seemed to freeze.
Shen Yuan froze in place, his face tilted up, staring wide-eyed at Grandmaster Li in the window. His expression was a perfect picture of the awkward helplessness of being caught red-handed.
The cold wind blew past, and what little courage he had managed to summon scattered completely. He wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
From the window, Grandmaster Li’s cloudy yet sharp eyes took in Shen Yuan’s guilty and nervous appearance.
He looked at the boy’s flushed cheeks and his tongue-tied expression. He seemed to understand everything in an instant. He paused in surprise, then shook his head with a helpless sigh.
’This hopeless, silly boy. What’s he doing standing at the gate like a door god?’
The old man took a sip from his teacup, cleared his throat, and his robust voice carried clearly from the second-floor window straight down to the living room below. "Zhizhi! Come on out! There’s a silly boy waiting for you at the gate!"
The shout was loud and carried a barely perceptible hint of amusement, shattering the frozen air inside and outside the courtyard like a stone dropped into a calm pond.
Silly boy?
Shen Yuan felt as if he had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. He was completely stunned.
Grandmaster Li’s resonant call of "silly boy," laced with undisguised amusement, cut through the cold wind and drilled straight into Shen Yuan’s ears.