Chapter 172: Chapter 132: Update Tonight, Don’t Be Anxious
After working on a practice test for a while, Shen Yuan stretched to relax, and his gaze couldn’t help but land on He Zhiyu in the row ahead.
He hadn’t noticed when the little author had arrived; his attention had been entirely on the practice test in front of him.
The sight of He Zhiyu made Shen Yuan think of *Defend and Steal*.
The next moment, Shen Yuan whipped out his phone, opened QQ, and navigated to the campus confession wall before tapping into its QQ Space.
Shen Yuan quickly located the confession wall’s posts.
He clicked in, only to purse his lips.
*Defend and Steal* hadn’t been updated.
Shen Yuan looked up at He Zhiyu again, then picked up his pen and poked her on the back.
The little author jumped, then turned around to see Shen Yuan’s pen poking her from behind.
The little author tilted her head. "What’s up?"
Shen Yuan grinned slyly. "Why hasn’t *Defend and Steal* been updated?"
At his words, a nearby Li Zhi quickly looked up.
He Zhiyu, however, looked utterly horrified.
’What is happening?!’
’Have I been found out?’
’I... I... I...’
He Zhiyu subconsciously glanced at Li Zhi. It was only when she saw pure curiosity in Li Zhi’s eyes, not scrutiny, that she managed to break free from the suffocating feeling of a drowning person. She dug her nails hard into her palm, forcing herself to calm down.
’No, I shouldn’t have been found out yet.’
’I have to stay calm!’
The little author took a deep breath and feigned a confused expression. "What’s wrong?"
’Her acting is terrible.’
Shen Yuan snarked to himself.
But his expression gave nothing away, remaining one of pure curiosity.
"Aren’t you in the Kissing Association? You got any inside info? *Defend and Steal* hasn’t been updated in ages!"
Hearing this, He Zhiyu inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
’Good, Shen Yuan hasn’t found me out!’
’My act just now was the right move!’
He Zhiyu blinked, and the little author shook her head at Shen Yuan. "I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything lately. I wonder what the author has been thinking."
Shen Yuan nodded emphatically. "It’s been two weeks since the last update! The author must be afraid I’ll find them!"
Hearing Shen Yuan, Li Zhi suddenly let out a soft laugh. "What’s the matter? That desperate for your fix?"
Shen Yuan turned to Li Zhi, his expression serious. "Li Zhi, I’ve said it many times. My goal isn’t to ship us, it’s to find that author!"
Shen Yuan shot a pointed glance at He Zhiyu and said, "The stuff she’s writing isn’t even as sweet as we are."
At his words, He Zhiyu’s eyes shot wide open.
"Wait... you two?"
Hearing He Zhiyu, Li Zhi immediately snatched up a vocabulary book and smacked Shen Yuan with it.
"Oh, shut up! ’Sweet,’ my ass!"
Shen Yuan reflexively ducked, covering his head.
Just as He Zhiyu was trying to find out more, Zhuo Peipei arrived.
"Well now, what’s this? The first thing I see when I get here is you getting beaten up?"
Hearing Zhuo Peipei’s voice, Shen Yuan looked up. "And whose fault do you think that is?"
"What did I do?" Zhuo Peipei asked, the picture of innocence.
"*Defend and Steal*! It’s been two weeks!"
"Oh, that? Tonight! I guarantee there’ll be an update tonight! Don’t you worry!" Zhuo Peipei patted her chest, flashing her signature Sweet Sister smile.
"Just you wait! It’s going to be a kind of sweet you’ve never imagined!"
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, now I’m intrigued!"
In reality, He Zhiyu had already sent the draft to Zhuo Peipei, who had scheduled it to post automatically.
He Zhiyu had claimed ignorance only to extricate herself from the situation.
But the little author had no idea that Li Zhi and Shen Yuan had already figured her out.
Her social death would occur whenever Li Zhi and Shen Yuan decided to expose her.
Evening self-study was the same as always.
Old Zhou would occasionally wander by, on the hunt for anyone using their phone in the classroom.
If he came up empty, he would simply try again later.
The honors class didn’t forbid bringing phones to school, but that didn’t mean you could use them during class.
The teachers didn’t care at all if you used them back in the dorm.
Shen Yuan generally didn’t use his phone during class.
Even if Old Zhou wasn’t watching him, Li Zhi was.
Besides, Li Zhi could go straight to Ms. Zhang Yuyan, which was an unwinnable nuclear option.
His trip home had disrupted Shen Yuan’s workout schedule.
He was now three hours short of completing his regimen.
So, Shen Yuan used the entire evening self-study session to work out, managing to make up for nearly two hours.
The class seat rotation, which had been postponed from Sunday due to the holiday, was happening now.
Ah Jie looked at Shen Yuan with a smile.
"Brother Yuan, could you help me sweep tomorrow morning?"
Shen Yuan’s brow furrowed. "Huh?"
"It’s my turn on cleaning duty now. I’m on sweeping," Ah Jie said with a sycophantic grin.
Shen Yuan waved his hands dismissively. "Why the hell can’t you just get up earlier and do it yourself?"
"Bro..."
"It wouldn’t matter if you called me ’Daddy.’ The one thing I won’t help with is cleaning duty."
Shen Yuan clapped a hand on Ah Jie’s shoulder. "This is your own labor, a burden you must bear yourself!"
With that, Shen Yuan took Li Zhi and slipped away.
’Are you kidding me? Do his cleaning duty for him?’
’What does cleaning duty even mean?’
’It means you’re the damn last one to leave the classroom!’
’Doing cleaning duty means getting home at least ten minutes late. No way was Shen Yuan doing that.’
The thought of Ah Jie’s dejected face after being turned down made Shen Yuan grin.
"You seem pleased with yourself."
Shen Yuan turned his head, about to flash a smile at Li Zhi, when he heard her say:
"You have cleaning duty the week after next."
Shen Yuan’s expression immediately fell.
"But it looks like your turn is short, and then it’s the National Day holiday."
Shen Yuan’s spirits lifted again.
"Wait a minute..." Shen Yuan held up a hand, signaling for Li Zhi to stop talking. "I feel like you’re manipulating my emotions."
Li Zhi nodded. The beautiful girl’s lips curved slightly as a familiar sound escaped them.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Shen Yuan’s lips twitched.
Seeing his expression, Li Zhi smiled and held out her hand.
"Shake, little Yuanzi."
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes at her, then clapped his hands together twice. CLAP, CLAP.
"ARF—"
