Chapter 251: Chapter 159: In Commemoration of Li Zhi’s Outstanding Contribution to Encouraging Shen Yuan’s Progress
"Yeah."
Shen Yuan nodded.
In her bedroom, Li Zhi took the medal out of her pocket.
Under the light of the ceiling lamp, the beautiful girl examined the medal in her hand from side to side, a satisfied look on her face.
’That idiot Shen Yuan really knows what he’s doing. I almost fell for it.’
Li Zhi sat at her desk and expertly opened the bottom-left drawer.
Just as she was about to place the medal inside, Li Zhi’s brow furrowed slightly.
’Is this really the right place for it?’
Li Zhi blinked, then opened the third drawer—the second from the bottom—and placed the medal inside.
After closing it, her eyes suddenly fell on the two train tickets sitting in the bottom drawer.
"Hmm—"
Li Zhi reached out, picked up the tickets, and a sweet smile graced her lips.
’Where should I put these?’
As she thought, her gaze fell on the third drawer, but it quickly moved up again.
’I’ll just put them here.’
Li Zhi pulled open the top-left drawer and solemnly placed the tickets inside.
Next to the two tickets was a graduation photo.
Hansha Middle School, Grade 9, Class 19.
In the center of the photo, a boy was smiling brightly, and beside him stood a girl with an expressionless face.
Beneath the middle school graduation photo was an elementary school one.
Li Zhi closed the drawer and stood up, walking to her closet. Her fingertips brushed past the stacked hangers, making a soft CLINKING sound.
The beautiful girl was in a good mood today and wanted to pick out a nice outfit.
Li Zhi’s gaze first scanned the third row, where her hoodies were hanging.
The hoodies hung in the closet, their fabrics showing varying degrees of fluffiness depending on how many times they’d been washed.
Li Zhi bent a knuckle to tap the drawstring of a pink hoodie, then her gaze fell on a white skirt nearby.
But in reality, the "skirt" was actually a pair of surprisingly wide-legged pants.
"You’re the one!"
Li Zhi took down the wide-legged pants, then pulled out a white cotton blouse.
Finally, Li Zhi reached for a taro-purple knit cardigan.
The combination of white and light purple had an indescribable gentleness to it.
Li Zhi looked at herself in the mirror, and the beautiful girl pursed her lips.
’This doesn’t look like I’m going for lunch, it looks like I’m going to meet the in-...’
After making her assessment, Li Zhi quickly changed into a hoodie and sweatpants.
After changing, however, Li Zhi didn’t put the first three items back in the closet. Instead, she tossed them all onto her bed.
For Li Zhi, there was only one reason she would do this.
She planned to wear them later.
When she walked out of her room, her eyes met Shen Yuan’s.
Shen Yuan looked at her clothes and asked in a puzzled voice, "Did you change?"
Li Zhi gave him a smile, grinding her teeth together.
"Keep talking if you have a death wish."
Shen Yuan chuckled sheepishly. "My mom just called. Let’s go."
"Okay."
Li Zhi nodded, but just as she was about to move, she saw Shen Yuan extend his hand.
Li Zhi quickly pulled her hands to her chest. "In your dreams! I can’t just let you hold my hand every day!"
Seeing his attempt had failed, Shen Yuan didn’t press the issue.
Upon arriving at his home, the first thing Shen Yuan noticed was the delicious aroma of food wafting through the air.
A second later, his eyes lit up. "Whoa, Mom, did you make braised pork belly today?"
Hearing the words "braised pork belly," Li Zhi’s eyes lit up as well.
Then, Li Zhi watched as Shen Yuan headed toward the kitchen.
The young man leaned against the kitchen doorframe and started being a smartass with his mom. "Mom, you didn’t make braised pork belly just because Li Zhi is here, did you?"
Zhang Yuyan turned to look at Shen Yuan and said coldly, "You’re not allowed to have any."
"I was wrong, I was wrong! Mom, I was wrong."
Shen Yuan instantly backpedaled.
As someone who had inherited his mom’s recipe, Shen Yuan knew exactly how long Ms. Zhang Yuyan’s braised pork belly took to make.
The low-heat simmering alone took an hour and a half.
Even with a pressure cooker, there was no way to finish the dish in under half an hour.
And the key was the ingredients.
A slab of pork belly couldn’t just materialize in the house out of thin air.
After all the dishes were served, Shen Yuan quickly noticed his own rice bowl was only half-full.
After glancing at Li Zhi’s heaping bowl next to him, Shen Yuan looked at his mom in confusion.
"Your dad served the rice," Zhang Yuyan said, pointing to Old Shen.
"Your mom told me to."
"Fine, fine, fine! It looks like there’s no place for me in this family anymore!"
Shen Yuan turned to Li Zhi. "Can I go sleep in your study?"
Li Zhi shook her head. "No."
"So, getting back to what I was saying..."
Zhang Yuyan snapped, "Shut up and eat."
"Yes, ma’am."
Shen Yuan buried his head in his bowl and ate, being a total chicken.
After lunch, Li Zhi went to have some quality time with the kittens.
During that time, Li Zhi’s parents called; they must have gotten home.
But Li Zhi wasn’t in a hurry to go back. It’s not like she had anything else to do right now.
According to the phone call, her grandpa’s condition was fairly stable.
Shen Yuan stood to the side, watching Li Zhi hold both kittens and bury her face in their fur, and he was immediately consumed with envy.
’Damn it, why can’t that be me?’
At first, Shen Yuan didn’t understand why Li Zhi only came to see San Geng and Naonao every week or two, yet the two little guys were still so affectionate with her.
Later, he more or less figured it out.
It was because he carried Li Zhi’s scent, and it was usually quite strong.
Although house cats rely more on sound to judge a person’s familiarity, a little deaf cat like Naonao could only rely on smell.
And while San Geng was timid, he was also smart enough to remember Li Zhi’s scent.
Shen Yuan leaned against the bed, watching Li Zhi sit on a chair, teasing the two kittens with a cat wand.
Listening to the beautiful girl’s cheerful laughter, and to San Geng and Naonao as they scurried around the room.
Shen Yuan thought this was pretty nice.
’This is the fucking life I’ve always wanted!’
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