Chapter 248: Chapter 158: The Passcode to Li Zhi’s Home (Part 3)
She suddenly stepped on Shen Yuan’s instep, her jade-like arch flexing stubbornly in the cold air.
"The door bounced open on its own because you’re so shameless!"
The girl’s voice suddenly rose in pitch, and the morning glow filtering through her earlobes turned them a deep, agate red.
"So, may I come in now?"
Li Zhi took a half-step back, clearing a path for him.
Just as a triumphant smile spread across Shen Yuan’s lips, Li Zhi suddenly kicked at his knee, but the tap was as light as a cat’s paw.
"Alright, alright, time for breakfast. After we eat, it’s time for homework."
Li Zhi watched Shen Yuan walk into the room and let out a loud hmph.
"You can just put the food on the dining table. I’m going to go brush my teeth and wash my face."
"Yeah, go ahead."
It wasn’t until he placed the breakfast on the table that Shen Yuan suddenly realized something.
The boy stiffly turned his neck to look toward Li Zhi’s bedroom and swallowed hard.
In the en-suite bathroom, Li Zhi was spitting mint-flavored mouthwash into the white porcelain sink.
The cool cotton towel had only been on her eyelids for three seconds when she suddenly felt that the way the loose fabric across her chest was shifting wasn’t right.
A bead of water seemed to trace a path down her temple in slow motion.
Her fingertips hesitantly brushed against the front of her pajama top. The unusual texture of the cotton sent a jolt through her spine.
"...Shen Yuan, you dumbass..."
Her lips, still slick from the mouthwash, suddenly pressed together as a blush crept up her face.
’Good thing it’s autumn now.’
’My pajamas are cotton. If I were still wearing my old silk ones...’
’I don’t even want to think how embarrassing that would have been!’
"It’s all that dumbass Shen Yuan’s fault! Rushing me, rushing me, always rushing me!"
Li Zhi quickly finished getting dressed.
In reality, all she did was add one more layer. She was at home, after all.
Besides, if she changed her whole outfit, that dumbass Shen Yuan might notice.
Li Zhi was quite proud of her little scheme.
But she had no idea that Shen Yuan had, in fact, already noticed.
So when Li Zhi came out, still in her pajamas, Shen Yuan shot bolt upright.
For a moment, Shen Yuan didn’t even know how to look at her.
As Li Zhi pushed open her bedroom door and stepped out, she immediately sensed something was off. Shen Yuan looked flustered; his panicked gaze swept across her chest, still clad in cotton pajamas, before hastily dropping.
Li Zhi instantly knew what was going through his mind.
The girl leaned in close, challenging his evasive gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!"
Overwhelmed by her sudden peachy scent, Shen Yuan leaned back, his back hitting the chair with a thud. His eyes darted around in a panic, unsure where to look.
Li Zhi’s still-damp fingertips suddenly snagged the drawstring of his hoodie. "Dumbass Shen Yuan."
Her words carried a minty coolness from having just brushed her teeth. She enunciated every single syllable. "I. Am. Wearing. One!"
Her final proclamation landed right next to his ear, each word trembling with humiliated fury.
As if to prove her point, Li Zhi even slipped a hand into the collar of her top.
The next second, an elastic strap snapped back against her skin with a crisp sound.
"Pervert! It’s a seamless one!"
As she let go, the drawstring on Shen Yuan’s hoodie swung through the air in a mortifying arc. Li Zhi caught a glimpse of the blush that spread from the base of his ears all the way to his collarbone.
"Hmph!"
Li Zhi sat down across from Shen Yuan and picked up a breakfast crepe.
"Get your mind out of the gutter! If you ever dare to imagine... that stuff again..."
The pretty girl shook her fist at him.
The boy swallowed hard, his nod tense and jerky.
"Hmph! Dumbass Shen Yuan!"
With that, the pretty girl lowered her head and took a bite of her breakfast crepe, her long hair falling forward to hide her bright red ears.
During breakfast, they both tacitly avoided the subject.
The morning’s little interlude quietly faded away as they ate.
After breakfast, Shen Yuan cleared the table, and then the two of them went to the study.
"You can sit at my dad’s desk."
Li Zhi pointed to Old Li’s desk and asked, "How much homework do you have left?"
This homework had actually been assigned back during the sports meet.
Shen Yuan had finished some of it during the sports meet, but because he was competing in the 3000-meter race, he’d lost half a day of study time and still had some left to complete.
"Two worksheets."
Li Zhi nodded. "If you’re quick, you can get it done this morning."
It was still early, just past 6:00 AM. That left a full five hours until 11:00 AM.
That was more than enough time for two worksheets.
Besides, these weren’t the kind of draining monthly exam papers. They were just worksheets designed to reinforce concepts after a review, so the whole thing was basically just going over what they’d already learned.
Shen Yuan quickly picked up his pen and got to work.
As for Li Zhi, she took out her own practice sheets.
The pretty girl had more free time during the sports meet, so she had finished her homework long ago.
If Li Zhi weren’t so demanding of herself, she would have started playing games by now.
The pretty girl opened a music app, and the computer automatically connected to the Harman Kardon speakers that Old Li had bought with his private stash of money.
Piano music drifted from the speakers, echoing through the study.
Shen Yuan’s knuckles rested against his rapidly moving mechanical pencil, and his scratch paper was soon crawling with physics equations.
He would occasionally frown, chewing on the end of his pen as he stared at a problem. Then, after a sudden flash of insight, the tip of his pen would scratch across the worksheet.
Meanwhile, next to Shen Yuan, Li Zhi leisurely filled the electric kettle and set the temperature to 30°C.
Only after she had done all this did she nod in satisfaction.
She was the very picture of relaxation.
"If you want water, help yourself. Snacks are in the usual spot."
Shen Yuan heard her and nodded, but didn’t say anything in reply.
It wasn’t until the kettle beeped, having reached its set temperature, that Shen Yuan noticed a cup of warm water had appeared on his desk.
Shen Yuan glanced at Li Zhi beside him; the pretty girl was now pouring water for herself.
"Thanks."
Li Zhi just nodded, not saying a word.
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