Chapter 223: Chapter 149: Your Sweetness Comes With Encryption
——Love is the only thing that can transcend the dimensions of time and space.
The silhouettes of the two of them were pinned to the mottled wall by the beam of light. Li Zhi’s fingertips, which had been resting on her knees, unconsciously curled into the folds of her school uniform.
Li Zhi swallowed unconsciously, her slender neck turning slightly to avert her gaze.
Amid the waves of organ music, Shen Yuan saw her lips move.
"The probability?"
"0.01."
Shen Yuan repeated, "0.01%."
Li Zhi pressed her lips together.
That 0.01% possibility was like the black hole Gargantua, pulling her heart into a turmoil as relentless as the giant waves on Miller’s planet.
"That’s still pretty low."
In the dim blue light of the projector, Shen Yuan suddenly turned and leaned in close to Li Zhi.
He propped his elbow on the edge of the desk, the fabric of his uniform rustling softly as he shrank the distance between them until they could hear each other breathe.
He gazed at her side profile, bisected by light and shadow. His voice, wrapped in the waves of organ music from the speakers, sounded like a cosmic echo arriving from across the fifth dimension.
"It’s not low."
As the geometric shadows of the tesseract on screen stretched across Li Zhi’s pupils, she instinctively clutched the hem of her uniform. A brilliant smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face.
"The magnitude of the probability isn’t what matters. What matters is whether you choose to stay silent."
The upward tilt at the corners of his eyes perfectly matched the memory Li Zhi had of his sly smile as he used a rock to carve a heart into the stone slab under the old tree.
Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan, her gaze slightly lowered.
"Don’t expect me to congratulate you on your ’major discovery’."
She abruptly turned her head away, and the dim blue light from the screen cast a pearlescent sheen on the cute way her nose crinkled.
A small huff from her was lost in the swells of the organ music.
Just then, Ah Jie’s urgent voice reached their ears.
"Holy shit! Chen Mingyu, go for it! I already fucking did!"
Before Ah Jie could finish, Shen Yuan slapped him on the back and threatened in a low voice, "Quiet down! Be careful or Old Zhou will throw you out!"
As Ah Jie smiled sheepishly, a series of question marks popped into He Zhiyu’s head.
’Wait...’
’Why does their conversation feel like it’s in code?’
’What’s with the 0.01%?’
’And what’s that about choosing to stay silent?’
He Zhiyu stared blankly at Shen Yuan and Li Zhi, at a loss for words.
’Damn!’
’Why the heck is this romantic moment encrypted?’
’Why can’t they just be straightforwardly sweet like before and shove the fluff right in my mouth?’
The little author in her was indignant.
After all, He Zhiyu could tell one thing for sure from Li Zhi’s expression.
Li Zhi was clearly enjoying this latest sweet moment even more than the previous ones.
He Zhiyu was furious!
She felt like someone had stuffed a piece of candy in her mouth, but the problem was, she had no idea how to get the wrapper off!
’This won’t do. I’ll have to go discuss this with Zhuo Peipei after evening study hall.’
’I can’t just swallow this without understanding what it means!’
’She, He Zhiyu, might be in the Kissing Association, but it’s not like she’ll just swallow any old fluff they give her, okay!’
The bell signaling the end of evening study hall rang just as Cooper returned to the Saturn Space Station to visit Murphy.
The moment the bell rang, everyone’s focus immediately shifted from the movie to leaving for the day.
The movie immediately went from Little Sweetie to Madam Niu.
Short of the teacher holding them back, nothing could stop the students’ mad dash to get out of school!
After Shen Yuan finished his classroom duty, he walked home with Li Zhi.
Walking under the streetlights, the dim yellow light made the street look a bit hazy. Shen Yuan’s voice seemed to pass through this halo of light and clearly reach Li Zhi’s ears.
"They’ll probably start going over the exam papers tomorrow, and the results will be out the day after." Shen Yuan’s voice held a hint of anticipation, as if he were full of confidence about the soon-to-be-revealed scores.
Li Zhi’s pace remained steady, and her voice was as calm as ever. "What are you trying to say?"
Shen Yuan turned to look at Li Zhi. Under her gaze, his smile bloomed, as brilliant as a spring flower.
"Are you nervous?"
Shen Yuan’s question was a bit abrupt. His gaze remained fixed on Li Zhi, as if waiting for her answer.
The corners of Li Zhi’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile. "Nervous? What are you on about? There are only two outcomes: win or lose. I can accept either."
Shen Yuan nodded in agreement with her answer. "Good."
A hint of satisfaction colored his voice. "I’ve already decided what I want if I win."
Hearing this, Li Zhi’s brow furrowed slightly.
"You’re pretty confident."
"Of course." Shen Yuan said, striding ahead. His voice drifted back on the evening breeze.
"Want to hear what I want?"
Li Zhi nodded.
"First, I want to eat a bowl of Xishi Tofu that you make. As for the second thing..."
Shen Yuan paused for dramatic effect. "I also want to see you wear that dress again."
The seriousness in Shen Yuan’s words instantly pulled Li Zhi’s thoughts back to that moonlit night.
It was as if she could feel the satin from that night wrapping around her wrists again, the cool touch of the halter dress against her skin crawling up her spine.
She lowered her gaze to the tree shadows dancing in the sidewalk cracks, and for a moment, it felt as though the moonlight was etching their silhouettes deep into her memory.
"You haven’t even won yet, and you’re already daydreaming!"
Li Zhi suddenly sped up and walked past Shen Yuan, the ends of her hair flipping in a haughty arc on the night breeze.
Moonlight seemed to travel through time and space to land on her trembling shoulders, making it seem as if the black dress, long since tucked away in her closet, was now silently shimmering with the light of the Milky Way.
Shen Yuan watched her back, a brilliant smile on his face.
He hurried to catch up to Li Zhi and whispered in her ear, "The dress is enough. We can skip the black stockings."
"Die, you pervert!"
Shen Yuan beat a hasty retreat toward their apartment complex, laughing all the way.
Li Zhi finally let out her frustration at her front door, seizing an opportunity to give Shen Yuan a kick.
It made Shen Yuan yelp in pain.
...
Steam from the shower fogged the mirror.
Li Zhi, wrapped in a bath towel, stood before her closet. As she was about to take out her pajamas, her gaze couldn’t help but fall on that halter dress.
"He wants to see it again... Dream on!"
Li Zhi huffed at the empty air and reached out to stroke the long dress.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind.
"You look good in this dress."
Li Zhi was startled by the voice that had suddenly appeared.
Her gaze shot to the nearby wall. Realizing Shen Yuan wasn’t in the room, she jerked her head back and took a half-step away, slamming the closet door shut with a frustrated violence that sent the hangers clattering.
The tips of her ears were crimson. She stubbornly tilted her chin up at the empty air, as if trying to convince an invisible audience.
"I was just checking for any snags, not because I was going to wear it."
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