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

Chapter 272: Chapter 166: Li Zhi’s Hairpin (3)

After all, in his memory of Li Zhi from her college days, he recalled her wearing a pearl hair clip.

Since Li Zhi was still wearing that kind of hair clip in the system’s timeline, it must have meant she liked them.

And as for pearls, Jiyang just so happened to be a source for them.

’I’ll ask Sister Shui. She should know someone in that business.’

Small towns had their advantages.

A network of connections was a very convenient thing to have in a small county town.

And his Eldest Female Cousin’s network was even better, of course.

So, the moment the bell rang for the lunch break, Shen Yuan bolted out of the classroom.

Watching Shen Yuan’s hurried figure, Zhou Shaojie was just about to ask if he wanted to go to the bathroom when he saw Shen Yuan heading toward the teachers’ office.

"Huh?"

Ah Jie watched, confused, as Shen Yuan’s figure disappeared out the front door.

"Did that guy go to the supermarket?"

The break was only fifteen minutes long, which was theoretically enough time to make a trip to the supermarket.

But hardly anyone ever did.

Shen Yuan raced to the office door and peeked inside.

His Eldest Female Cousin was at her desk.

Yang Yishui looked on as Shen Yuan strode energetically up to her.

"What is it?"

Shen Yuan leaned forward slightly, planting his hands on the edge of the desk. He spoke in a rush, "Sis! Help me out!"

A placating smile spread across Shen Yuan’s lips. He lowered his voice, but it couldn’t hide his excitement. "Our Jiyang produces pearls, right? You must know a reliable source, don’t you?"

Yang Yishui gave Shen Yuan a puzzled look. "What for?"

Seeing Yang Yishui’s questioning gaze, Shen Yuan quickly added, his eyes full of earnestness, "My mom’s birthday is coming up, you see. I was thinking of getting her a birthday present."

"Ohhh—"

Yang Yishui drew out the sound, a wry smile on her face.

"Is that so?" his Eldest Female Cousin deliberately dragged out her words. Seeing Shen Yuan’s expectant gaze, she continued, "Sure, I can do that. What do you have in mind?"

"How about a necklace? What do you think?"

Yang Yishui nodded. "That works. What’s your budget?"

"One or two thousand?" Shen Yuan asked tentatively.

Hearing this, the other teachers in the office couldn’t help but look up at Shen Yuan in surprise.

"You must have some New Year’s money burning a hole in your pocket."

Yang Yishui shook her head and then asked, "Anything else?"

"How about a hair clip, too?"

"That works. I’ll send you some style options later, and you can pick the one you want."

Shen Yuan nodded eagerly. "Styles that are a bit more youthful would be best."

At Shen Yuan’s added request, Yang Yishui, who was tidying up her desk, paused for a moment.

His Eldest Female Cousin’s gaze lifted from her desk. She shot Shen Yuan a sidelong glance, her eyes filled with a dawning understanding and a flicker of amused curiosity.

Their eyes met, and Shen Yuan could read a lot in his Eldest Female Cousin’s meaningful gaze.

’She’s definitely seen right through me.’

A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on Yang Yishui’s lips. She didn’t call him out on it, nor did she press him on whether it was really a birthday gift for his mother.

Instead, she simply added, "You’re right, my aunt really should have a more youthful hair clip."

Shen Yuan broke into a brilliant smile and nodded repeatedly.

"Alright. I’ll show you some styles in a day or two. You should head back now, class is about to start."

"Thanks, Sis! I’ll treat you to milk tea tonight!"

Yang Yishui nodded, her mission accomplished.

After Shen Yuan left the office, a slightly confused Zhou Ruolan, who had been standing to the side, commented, "That Shen Yuan is quite a filial son."

Yang Yishui nodded, clenching her jaw so tightly she didn’t dare utter a single word, terrified she might accidentally burst out laughing.

As for the afternoon classes, Shen Yuan already had a pretty good idea of what was coming during lunch—exams.

There hadn’t been any exams the previous weekend because of the sports meet.

The weekly test was an ancestral tradition, not to be broken except in special circumstances!

So, the tests from last week were being held this week instead.

And they would be testing straight through the evening self-study session.

Shen Yuan felt numb as he watched the Chinese language exam papers being passed down the rows.

"The evening self-study session is only three periods. They can’t possibly test us on two subjects, right?"

Ah Jie gave a dry laugh. "I doubt it. After all, the Chinese exam alone could take me all three periods."

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhou Ruolan announced from the front of the room, "You’ll be writing the essay, too."

Ah Jie chuckled again, turning to Shen Yuan with a bitter smile.

"What did I tell you?"

"Just get to it. This is torture."

What does it feel like to take exams all day, you ask?

It’s the feeling of your brain completely shutting down.

Even someone as energetic as Shen Yuan was overwhelmed by this level of mental exhaustion.

Even a top student like Li Zhi felt a little drained.

So much so that on the way home, neither of them had any energy for their usual banter.

All they felt was overwhelming exhaustion.

"Go take a shower and get to bed early. I’ll call you at the usual time tomorrow."

Shen Yuan said to the weary-looking girl in the hallway of their apartment building.

Li Zhi nodded and replied gently, "You too. Don’t stay up doing practice problems tonight. Get some sleep."

"Got it."