Chapter 237: Chapter 155: To Shake Hands, or to Take Off Shoes, That Is the Question
Shen Yuan’s final punishment was to wash the dishes.
But even if Li Zhi hadn’t said anything, the task of washing the dishes would have fallen to Shen Yuan in the end.
Shen Yuan’s earlier behavior had simply given Li Zhi a perfect excuse.
After putting the dishes and utensils back in their place, Shen Yuan dried his hands and walked out of the kitchen.
He happened to see Li Zhi wiping the table.
Strands of her hair swayed gently with her movements. The damp disposable wipe left a trail of glistening water droplets as it slid across the corner of the table.
Shen Yuan paused by the sliding kitchen door, the faint lemon scent of dish soap still lingering on his fingertips.
Watching her, Shen Yuan finally spoke. "Hard at work, I see."
The wet wipe SLAPPED against the tabletop.
Li Zhi shot a sharp glance at Shen Yuan, her chin lifting slightly as a soft huff escaped her nose.
"This young master doesn’t need your praise!"
Shen Yuan shook his head. "No, no, no. That wasn’t praise. I’m just saying my heart aches for you."
Hearing his words, Li Zhi huffed and muttered, "Such a smooth talker!"
Shen Yuan chuckled, rubbing his fingers to enjoy the last traces of the dish soap’s clean scent. He suddenly leaned closer to Li Zhi. "So, what’s the plan for the next step?"
Li Zhi turned her head away. "What else is there to do? I’m going to rest first. You don’t expect me to change right after eating, do you?"
"Well, it’s not out of the question."
At his words, Li Zhi’s eyes widened. "You really can’t wait even a second, can you?"
"The sooner I see it, the sooner I get to enjoy it. After all..."
Shen Yuan’s voice, deliberately lowered, was laced with playful mockery. "Today’s the day we settle our bet, Li Bao. I said you had to wear it for me, but I never said you *just* had to put it on for a second."
"You!"
Li Zhi’s eyes flew open, clearly furious with what he’d said.
"You’re cheating!"
"And who was the one who gave me two wasabi bombs?"
The moment Shen Yuan mentioned the wasabi bombs, Li Zhi’s eyelashes trembled. Her previously raised chin lowered slightly, and her pearly teeth unconsciously bit down on her lower lip.
Her slender fingertips curled on her school uniform, as if grasping for support or perhaps futilely trying to hide her panic.
’Alright, here comes my payback.’
The beautiful girl’s heart was filled with thirty percent indignation and seventy percent regret, and even her breathing fell out of rhythm.
When she finally looked up to glare at Shen Yuan, the stubbornness in her eyes was like a candle flame flickering in the wind. "You... This is the only trick you’ve got!"
Before the last syllable of her words faded, Shen Yuan had already pressed forward, resting his knuckles on the edge of the dining table. "Hey! I won this fair and square. What right do you have to criticize me!"
Shen Yuan leaned closer to Li Zhi again, his voice dripping with mockery. "Eh, no way, no way? Surely someone isn’t thinking of backing out now, are they?"
A faint blush instantly spread across her porcelain-white neck, and Li Zhi’s knuckles turned a jade-like white from how hard she was clenching her fists.
The beautiful girl suddenly took half a step back, the ends of her hair flicking up in an arc just like the tail of a startled cat. "You! You’re the one who’s going to back out! I’ll wear it! So what!"
Li Zhi stomped her foot, and then her voice became muffled. "It’s just... I haven’t showered yet..."
Hearing the girl’s mumble, Shen Yuan blinked, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously.
"I... I can wait for you."
Shen Yuan pointed to the study. "I’ll wait for you in the study. Just call me when you’re ready."
"You!"
When Li Zhi heard him, a blush spread across her face like rouge bleeding into rice paper, creeping from her delicate earlobes all the way to the corners of her eyes.
The girl’s pearly teeth unconsciously ground against her lower lip, and her neatly trimmed fingertips twisted the hem of her school uniform into tiny pleats.
A weak, breathy sound escaped her throat as she tried to retort, but her words were cut short by her ragged breathing, breaking into scattered syllables.
Right now, a struggle raged within Li Zhi’s chaotic thoughts, but it all eventually boiled down to a single sentence.
The beautiful girl stiffened her neck and said with forced bravado, "Fine! You just wait!"
As the girl turned, her hair swung out in a clean arc, as if she was afraid that if she were even a moment slower, she would change her mind.
"SLAM!"
Following a reverberating slam, Li Zhi’s figure vanished from Shen Yuan’s sight.
Shen Yuan stared at the closed door in a daze for a moment before his back suddenly hit the cool back of a chair.
A long, drawn-out breath escaped him as his chest rose and fell.
’She really went and did it... that girl...’
Shen Yuan gazed at the door in front of him, his heart racing.
「Inside Li Zhi’s bedroom.」
The moment the beautiful girl closed the door, she leaned her back against it.
With her hands over her heart, feeling it pound powerfully with nervousness, Li Zhi didn’t know what to do for a moment.
’Forget it, I’ve already come this far!’
The girl unzipped her school uniform jacket and tossed it directly into the laundry hamper.
’I refuse to believe that moron Shen Yuan would dare...’
Her pearly teeth ground against her lower lip as muffled sounds escaped the beautiful girl’s mouth.
’If he dares to bully me, I’ll go tattle on him.’
In the steam-filled glass enclosure, droplets of water from the showerhead trickled down the girl’s slender shoulders.
The beautiful girl tilted her head back, facing the curtain of water directly. Her soaked bangs clung to her face, looking just like the wings of a butterfly drenched in rain.
As the warm water flowed over her collarbones, Li Zhi slowly lowered her head.
"Moron Shen Yuan! You just wait!"
Shen Yuan hadn’t gone to the study. Instead, he was curled up on the sofa in Li Zhi’s home.
Only ten minutes had passed since Li Zhi went into her bedroom, but to Shen Yuan, time felt like it was crawling.
The rhythm of the boy’s fingers tapping on the arm of the sofa grew faster and faster. The glass of the sliding kitchen door reflected the silhouette of him frequently shifting his position.
One moment, he’d prop up his knees and pretend to scroll through his phone, even though the lock screen lit up dozens of times in five minutes.
The next, he’d be on the sofa staring at the floor, his legs shaking with a frequency that could rival a tap dancer’s steps.
Shen Yuan kept glancing in the direction of Li Zhi’s bedroom, an indescribable nervousness rising in his heart.
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