I'm in Senior Year, and the System Says I'm Going on a Blind Date with My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 260: Chapter 162: Your Hand Is Too Slippery, I Can’t Stand Steady

Li Zhi’s eyes flew wide open when she heard Shen Yuan. She clearly hadn’t expected him to bring this up.

"You! Why would you bring that up?" Li Zhi’s voice trembled slightly.

Shen Yuan shrugged. "Didn’t a certain someone agree to it? Since you gave your approval, why shouldn’t I talk about it?"

His tone was faintly mocking. Li Zhi’s expression darkened.

The beautiful girl glared at Shen Yuan, momentarily at a loss for words.

After all, she had given her tacit approval when Yang Ze and the others took Shen Yuan away for "questioning."

Just then, Shen Yuan took a sudden deep breath and said slowly, "Besides, do you know what Yang Ze said?"

Li Zhi’s attention was captured. "What did he say?"

Shen Yuan fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "He said, ’It’s not always a knife that gets stuck in you from behind.’"

Li Zhi sucked in a sharp breath.

’Okay, that threat is actually pretty terrifying.’

"But that’s no reason for you to keep holding my hand."

"I want to hold your hand."

Carried on the evening breeze, Shen Yuan’s voice drifted softly into Li Zhi’s ears.

Those unexpected words made the girl’s eyes go wide in an instant.

She glanced around in a panic. Students were walking past them in small groups.

"I-in... in public, you... are you insane?!" Li Zhi’s voice trembled as she tried to pull her hand out of Shen Yuan’s grasp.

But Shen Yuan’s hand was locked firmly around her wrist, giving her no chance to escape.

"If you... if you keep this up..."

Li Zhi glared at Shen Yuan, but her words caught in her throat when she saw the sparks reflected in the depths of his eyes.

Those tiny sparks of light seemed to travel down through their intertwined palms, searing her pulse like a flame. The rest of her sentence was swallowed back as if she had been burned.

Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan, took a deep breath, and said softly, "Can we hold hands when we get back to the complex?"

Her tone held a hint of a plea.

Shen Yuan said with a straight face, "No backing out."

No sooner had he spoken than her wide-leg pants brushed against his, followed by a light kick to his shin.

"Mood-killer!"

Li Zhi tilted her head back, trying to look fierce, like a hissing kitten.

"Do I look like someone who’d go back on their word?!"

Shen Yuan nodded. "Sometimes, you are."

"You!"

Just as Li Zhi was about to blow up, Shen Yuan released her hand.

"But I’ll probably fall for it every time anyway."

"Ugh~ Next time you’re going to use a cheesy pickup line, give me a heads-up so I can prepare myself."

Though her words were full of disgust, her eyes were brimming with laughter.

The pools of light from the streetlamps grew farther apart on the concrete path. As Li Zhi watched their apartment complex draw nearer, her fingers unconsciously clenched the corner of her knit cardigan.

The evening breeze rustled the folds of her wide-leg pants, and Li Zhi subconsciously glanced at Shen Yuan beside her.

The girl began to pray. ’I hope he forgot about the hand-holding promise.’

Shen Yuan glanced at Li Zhi’s hand, a smile spreading across his face.

As the automatic gate slid open, Li Zhi’s eyelashes fluttered nervously.

Seeing Shen Yuan walk through the gate first, Li Zhi hesitated for a moment.

"You could still leave through the underground garage, you know. But if you dare go back on your word..."

A pleasant smile appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.

"Hmph! Who’s running away! I was just lost in thought!"

Li Zhi quickly swiped her key card, hurried through the gate, and stopped in front of Shen Yuan.

Mottled tree shadows and warm yellow ground lights mingled at the complex entrance, creating a river of stars on the ground.

The girl stood before the young man with her chin tilted up, saying haughtily, "I wasn’t going to run!"

A few strands of Li Zhi’s hair swayed gently against the shoulder of her cardigan.

Shen Yuan held his hand out to her, a playful look on his face.

SMACK!

Li Zhi slapped his hand away. "Perv! Since when is it your place to make the invitation?"

With that said, under Shen Yuan’s watchful gaze, Li Zhi held her own hand out to him.

"Hold my hand!"

Under the night lights, the blush on the tips of the girl’s ears instantly took on the rich hue of peach wine. Her lowered lashes cast dappled shadows on her eyelids,

but she refused to look away from the gaze fixed upon her.

Shen Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile as he gently placed his hand against hers.

"As you command."

As the warmth from their slowly connecting palms seeped through their skin, the sounds of the night were instantly drowned out by the pounding of her heart.

The young man’s thumb gently brushed against the girl’s slightly cool knuckles. Sensing Li Zhi’s tension, Shen Yuan subtly lowered his wrist, guiding her arm down.

In the process, her slender fingers naturally slipped between his.

The veins on the backs of their hands crisscrossed, like two vines intertwining in the twilight.

The ground lamps blended their two figures into the mottled shadows of the sycamore trees. The silhouette of their interlaced fingers swayed on the walkway in front of her apartment building.

As they walked, Li Zhi suddenly felt Shen Yuan’s thumb trace the web of her hand, sending an electric jolt straight up her spine. Startled, her grip tightened abruptly.

"OW, OW, OW!"

Shen Yuan yelped.

Li Zhi scolded, "Perv! I said you could hold my hand, not grope me!"

"I didn’t!"

"Bullshit! You think I can’t tell whether you touched me or not?"

Shen Yuan argued stubbornly, "It’s because your hand is so smooth! My thumb slipped."

Hearing Shen Yuan’s excuse, Li Zhi snorted. "I think someone’s just got a dirty mind!"

"Well, I couldn’t get a firm grip," Shen Yuan mumbled.

"Then get a better grip next time!"

Shen Yuan nodded eagerly.

After shooting Shen Yuan a glare, Li Zhi relaxed her grip, once again letting him lead her along the community walkway.

A moment later, Li Zhi’s voice rang out in the quiet community garden.

"Did it slip again?"

Shen Yuan nodded. "I’ll try my best to get a better grip."

"Hmph!"

The girl snorted. "Then hurry up and try harder! And stop trying to take advantage of me!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt the pad of Shen Yuan’s thumb rubbing repeatedly against the web of her hand.

"Perv."