Chapter 247: Chapter 158: The Passcode to Li Zhi’s Home (2)
Suddenly, a smile appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.
"Ah, whatever. I’m not going to think about it anymore. Time for a shower."
While Shen Yuan was in the shower, Li Zhi was leaning against the bed. Her back rested on the cool, soft headboard, and the delicate arch of her foot unconsciously brushed against the velvet bedsheets.
It was as if the strength of Shen Yuan’s massage in the dark still lingered, the searing touch of his hand still branded on her ankle.
Suddenly, the RRRIP of tearing fabric echoed in her ears, and her toes curled inward like startled shellfish.
Li Zhi suddenly looked down at her foot. The residual warmth was like an unextinguished cigarette butt, scalding her skin beneath the wrinkled sheets until a peach-like blush bloomed.
"Pervert... idiot Shen Yuan..."
The girl snatched the silk duvet and covered her flushing cheeks. Her pearly teeth bit back the soft words spilling from her lips, but her earlobes colored like the sunset glow as the memories returned.
The soft fabric absorbed the stray hint of a smile that escaped her lips, but it couldn’t muffle the thunderous pounding of her heart.
’It was just a bet... that’s all...’
Her muffled complaint, escaping from the pillow, was as soft as melting cotton candy. But her hand gently closed in the air, as if grasping something tangible.
"Hmph! I don’t like it at all."
But the moment the words left her mouth, Li Zhi’s hand froze in a certain position—the very shape it had taken when her fingers were intertwined with Shen Yuan’s.
Li Zhi must have been truly exhausted today, because it wasn’t long before she fell asleep in bed.
In the dark room, the torn black stocking was now draped over the edge of the laundry basket. Like a shed snakeskin, it was a reminder of the powerlessness she felt when her weak spot had been seized.
The sleeping girl kicked out a leg, just as she had kicked Shen Yuan earlier.
A late-October morning breeze brought a chill to the windowsill. As the clock struck 5:10 AM, the phone by her pillow vibrated on schedule, shattering the silence. The two words "Shen Yuan" dancing on the screen illuminated the girl’s tightly shut eyelashes.
"Hello...?"
A sleepy, nasal voice, still warm from the blankets, seeped through the receiver. Li Zhi’s curled-up fingers unconsciously tightened on the embroidered pillowcase, like a feline whose deep sleep had been disturbed.
"Li Bao, time to get up," Shen Yuan’s voice came through the phone.
"Mmm..."
"I’m going to buy breakfast now. By the time I get back, I want to see you out of bed. Otherwise..."
Shen Yuan paused before his voice continued, "...I’ll have to give you a little good morning kiss."
"...Idiot."
The curse, thick and syrupy like hot cocoa, was lost in the dial tone. A CREAK from the bed springs revealed that someone had just flopped back into their pillow.
As Li Zhi turned over under the covers, the leg of her pajama pants traced a lazy arc through the wrinkled sheets.
Shen Yuan looked at the disconnected call and shook his head with a smile.
He headed out to buy breakfast.
Before leaving, Shen Yuan glanced at his parents’ bedroom. After a moment, he dismissed the idea of waking them up for breakfast.
’Better not be an idiot about this.’
Before heading out, Shen Yuan slipped his medal into his pocket. He might as well complete the task while he was at it.
The late-October mornings were starting to get cool.
After buying breakfast on the way toward school, Shen Yuan headed back toward the residential complex.
By the time Shen Yuan stood at Li Zhi’s front door ringing the bell, carrying two steaming breakfast crepes and soy milks, Li Zhi had only just sat up in bed.
Hearing the doorbell, a resentful expression crossed Li Zhi’s face.
"How is this idiot so full of energy?!"
Li Zhi really didn’t want to get up, but soon, a video call request from Shen Yuan popped up.
Looking at the name on her phone screen, Li Zhi sighed in resignation.
The moment the video call connected, Shen Yuan’s face appeared in front of Li Zhi.
"Hee hee, Li Bao, are you up yet?"
As soon as he spoke, Shen Yuan saw Li Zhi with a face full of morning crankiness, and her headboard right behind her.
"Hey! You little lazy cat, still not up?"
Li Zhi rolled her eyes at Shen Yuan. "Shut up! Don’t you have any idea why I can’t get up? It’s all because of you..."
Li Zhi’s words came to an abrupt halt.
Shen Yuan blinked and said with a smile, "Li Bao, that line sounds a little suggestive."
The next second, a sharp rebuke came through the video.
"Shut up, you pervert!"
After saying that, Li Zhi hung up the video call.
Soon, Shen Yuan heard the shuffling of slippers from behind the door.
After the sound of a lock turning, the main door to Li Zhi’s home opened.
The security door had just been pushed open a crack when the aroma of breakfast crepes invaded, carried on Shen Yuan’s arm as he held the food up high.
The young man smiled, drawing out his words, "Good morning, Li Bao—"
"SLAM!"
The door was slammed shut, and Li Zhi’s voice came from behind it.
"Wrong password!"
Seeing Li Zhi act like this, a mischievous smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face.
"Oh—"
He deliberately dragged out the sound, then said, "The password is... ’Shen Yuan is the most handsome’!"
"Shut up, you narcissist!"
Shen Yuan smiled, patting the door lightly as he continued to talk nonsense. "Then try... ’childhood sweethearts’?"
At the sound of his knock, Li Zhi’s mind suddenly flashed back to their intertwined fingers in the study last night. The tips of her ears turned red, as if dyed by the morning glow.
"Wrong!" Li Zhi’s voice came again.
"Oh! Then I know."
Shen Yuan leaned closer to the door and deliberately lowered his voice. "The password is, ’Shen Yuan likes Li Bao.’"
The sound of the lock turning resonated with the door frame as the girl suddenly pulled it open.
But what greeted Shen Yuan was not Li Zhi’s face, but her slipper.
The beautiful girl brandished the slipper at Shen Yuan. "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Li Zhi stood on one foot on the cold floor tiles, her hair still fragrant with a peach scent. A crimson blush climbed from her pale, delicate instep all the way to her earlobes.
Shen Yuan chuckled. "But the door opened, didn’t it?"
Hearing Shen Yuan’s retort, Li Zhi’s body instantly tensed. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the slipper. Under the entryway light, the tiny specks of moisture clinging to her eyelashes could be seen trembling with her rapid breaths.
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