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

Chapter 270: Chapter 166: Li Zhi’s Hairpin

Beneath the bright lights of the school supermarket, a chilly draft emanated from the freezer.

Shen Yuan stood before the freezer, his eyes zeroing in on the most expensive item inside.

A crafty and expectant glint flashed in his eyes as Shen Yuan turned to Li Zhi beside him. "Li Bao, it’s not every day you treat, so I’m in the mood to try something special."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhi saw Shen Yuan point to the most expensive ice cream. "That one. We have to make the most of this happy occasion!"

Li Zhi, who had been trying to decide what to get, heard him and her delicate brows furrowed. She shot him a sharp look.

"You’re pushing it."

Shen Yuan, however, was completely unfazed by Li Zhi’s rejection.

The boy’s face immediately broke into his usual, roguish grin—a look both shameless and cheeky.

"Hehehe..."

Still grinning, Shen Yuan leaned slightly toward Li Zhi, his voice softening and his words drawing out as he began to deploy his "weapon."

"Oh, come on, Zhizhi—"

Seeing that she was unmoved, Shen Yuan immediately switched nicknames.

"Li Bao, come on, you’re treating for once! Just let me splurge this one time, okay? Just this once? Please?"

Just as Shen Yuan was relentlessly pestering Li Zhi, several other students nearby in the supermarket happened to witness the scene.

In truth, the beautiful girl’s looks had long been attracting a lot of attention.

Ever since her photo appeared on the campus confession wall after the sports festival, Li Zhi had quickly amassed a number of fanboys among the first-year students.

"Hey, you guys, look. Isn’t that girl the upperclassman from the confession wall?"

"Holy crap, it really is her! Damn, she’s even prettier in person."

"But what’s the deal with that guy?"

"She seems so cool and aloof. There’s no way she’d fall for a tactic like that, right?"

"Plus, a grown guy whining like that is just gross!"

Just as this group was judging Shen Yuan’s actions, convinced his tactic would never work, the unexpected happened—the corners of Li Zhi’s lips actually curved into a slight smile!

This subtle change left the first-year students completely dumbfounded. They exchanged stunned glances, at a loss for words.

Li Zhi couldn’t help but find Shen Yuan’s shameless, relentless wheedling a little amusing.

And when she remembered doing the exact same thing in this very spot, the sharpness in her eyes finally softened.

Shen Yuan watched her expectantly and leaned in a little closer, his voice still cloyingly sweet. "So~ is that~ a yes~?"

Watching his expectant face, his roguish smile, and his attempt to "dismantle" her resolve with that cloying tone, a subtle, unconscious smile played on Li Zhi’s lips.

With what might have been a small eye-roll or a helpless sigh, her accusation that he was "pushing it" finally gave way to indulgence.

In the end, Li Zhi gave in.

"Let me make one thing clear," she said. "I’m the one buying it, so I get the first bite. If it doesn’t taste good, *then* I’ll give it to you."

Shen Yuan nodded eagerly. "No problem, no problem! That goes without saying."

"Go ahead and grab it. Get yourself a cone, too."

Holding the two ice creams, Shen Yuan followed Li Zhi to the checkout counter and got in line.

The first-year students who had been watching from the sidelines were now completely slack-jawed. They looked at one another, their faces masks of utter disbelief.

"Uh... but... I thought people said she was really cool and aloof?" one of the students stammered.

"Yeah, this is really weird..."

"Don’t tell me... that guy is her boyfriend?" another student guessed.

One student sighed. "Man, it’s true what they say... all the pretty upperclassmen are already taken."

"Yeah, the upperclass girls belong to the upperclass guys, and the underclass girls *also* belong to the upperclass guys."

"And maybe the underclass guys, too..."

"The struggle is real..." In the end, the students all sighed in unison.

After Shen Yuan and Li Zhi left the supermarket, Li Zhi took the expensive ice cream from his hands.

The beautiful girl looked at the ice cream container in her hands with Concentration, murmuring with some confusion, "I wonder what makes it so expensive."

With that, Li Zhi opened the lid of the ice cream.

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but lean forward slightly, his eyes fixed eagerly on her every move.

He was dying to hear the verdict from his "sponsor."

Li Zhi glanced at his expectant, slightly comical expression and arched a delicate eyebrow.

She scooped up a heaping spoonful. "This one bite costs as much as a whole popsicle."

Under Shen Yuan’s intense gaze, Li Zhi brought the spoonful of expensive ice cream to her lips.

Well...

You get what you pay for.

It was ice cream, yes, but the moment it entered her mouth, her tongue registered the rich, dense creaminess of its ingredients. A complex aroma of milk and caramel instantly bloomed on her palate.

But after lingering for a moment, this richness didn’t resolve into a pleasant aftertaste. Instead, it settled into an unexpected, cloying sweetness, so thick it felt like it would never dissolve. It quickly overwhelmed her entire palate, becoming almost sickeningly sweet.

The hand Li Zhi was holding the spoon with paused.

On her beautiful face, the expression that had briefly relaxed in pleasant surprise from the first taste was quickly overlaid by something more subtle, almost imperceptible—perhaps astonishment, perhaps disdain.

Li Zhi lowered her gaze to the ice cream, as if re-evaluating the true price of this "luxury."

After a few seconds of silence, Li Zhi looked up to meet Shen Yuan’s still-expectant gaze.