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

Chapter 275: Chapter 167: Let’s Take a Walk in the Complex

He couldn’t help but chuckle, a familiar, mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Well now, who was it just a minute ago saying they were going to eat me out of house and home? Is this all you’ve got?"

"Hmph! If I can’t finish it, I’ll feed it to the dogs!"

With that, Li Zhi, puffing her cheeks in a huff, shoved the paper cup into Shen Yuan’s hands.

Shen Yuan: ?

Though the pretty girl was acting fierce, her eyes darted toward the cup of meatballs. When she glanced at her favorite fish roe lucky bags, a nearly imperceptible flicker of regret and longing appeared in her eyes.

Shen Yuan, however, didn’t stand on ceremony. He speared a lucky bag with his skewer and popped it into his mouth.

Watching him chew effortlessly with a look of pure satisfaction, Li Zhi quietly swallowed.

The moment she did, the uncomfortably full and bloated sensation in her stomach intensified.

Li Bao couldn’t help but raise a hand and gently press her stomach. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her little face scrunching up in discomfort.

She forced herself to look away from how heartily Shen Yuan was eating, but she could still clearly hear the sound of his chewing right next to her.

’The smug satisfaction of her "successful revenge" had long since evaporated. All that remained was the misery of having stuffed herself to the point she had to give up on the rest of the delicious food—a suffering entirely of her own making.’

Seeing the pained expression on the pretty girl’s face beside him, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but try to comfort her. "Hey, how about I eat a little slower? We could walk around the complex for a bit, and you can eat the rest once you’ve digested some?"

Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, Li Zhi took out her phone and looked at the time.

9:42.

It was still early.

As long as she got home before 10, there would be no problem. Even a little later would be fine.

Li Zhi stared at the time on the screen, her fingertip unconsciously tracing the edge of her phone case.

The heavy, bloated feeling in her stomach was genuinely uncomfortable, making it difficult to walk.

’Even if I went home now, I’d still have to wait for this to pass.’

Shen Yuan’s proposal echoed in her mind: stroll around the complex and eat the rest after her food had settled a bit.

The suggestion was perfectly reasonable, and it would help ease the discomfort in her stomach.

But...

’How could I not know what Shen Yuan is really after?’

Yesterday, they had been truly exhausted. All they could think about was getting home, showering, and crashing into bed.

There was no energy left for things like holding hands.

But now...

"Who... who wants to wander around outside with you!" Li Zhi blurted out.

But as soon as she said it, she peeked at Shen Yuan. Her bravado had clearly deflated, and her gaze drifted evasively to the cup of meatballs in his hand.

Shen Yuan smiled at her reaction. ’What a little glutton.’

"The walking is to help your food settle, not to be with me."

Shen Yuan raised the cup. "Do you want to waste it?"

Li Zhi pressed her lips together. "No. Wasting food is shameful."

With that, Li Zhi stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She lowered her head slightly, and under the harsh lines cast by the streetlamp, the tips of her ears glowed with a faint, almost imperceptible pink.

The two continued walking toward the residential complex.

A few moments later, they entered the complex, one walking behind the other.

As she listened to the evening breeze rustle through the leaves of the plane trees, Li Zhi’s voice came out so softly it was nearly carried away by the wind.

"...Then... we can walk for a little while."

"Okay! Let’s go!"

Shen Yuan led the way through the main gate, with Li Zhi following him onto the path.

Li Zhi fell silent, her pace much slower than usual.

They strolled slowly along the footpath, as if they were truly just walking off their meal.

Shen Yuan slowed his pace to match hers. The hand closer to Li Zhi hung naturally at his side, while the other held the paper cup.

The young man kept a short distance from the girl’s side, close but not too close.

The warm, yellow path lights stretched and shrank their shadows, making them cross and sway beneath the silhouettes of the trees.

The night air, cool with a hint of autumn, carried away the lingering aroma of the oden. It also seemed to ease some of the uncomfortable tightness in Li Zhi’s stomach.

At this hour, the complex’s garden was quiet and serene, the silence broken only by the soft sound of their footsteps.

Shen Yuan would occasionally spear a meatball that was starting to get cold. Li Zhi would pretend to casually glance over. When she saw him chewing contentedly, she would unconsciously swallow, then quickly avert her gaze, pretending to be interested in the distant shadows of the trees.

After a few minutes, Shen Yuan asked, "Ready to eat yet?"

Li Zhi checked in with her stomach and shook her head.

The pretty girl pouted. "Still can’t," she said unhappily.

Shen Yuan nodded without another word and continued walking along the path.

The time quietly ticked over to 9:50.

Li Zhi’s delicate brows furrowed as she looked down at the few lonely meatballs left in the paper cup in Shen Yuan’s hand.

The heavy feeling in her stomach hadn’t subsided in the slightest.

The pretty girl puffed out her cheeks, her voice listless and tinged with resignation. "Forget it... I really can’t eat any more... Shen Yuan, you can have the rest."

Hearing this, Shen Yuan let out a cheeky laugh. "You should’ve said so sooner!"

Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Shen Yuan decisively speared the meatballs and popped them into his mouth one after another.

Shen Yuan, of course, had a much bigger appetite than Li Zhi.

He had digested those few slices of tofu long ago.

Shen Yuan’s cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed with the characteristic casualness of a teenage boy.

He even made sure to offer a critique. "Hmm... a little cold, but the flavor’s still good."

In less than two minutes, he had completely polished off the meatballs in the cup.

Shen Yuan smacked his lips in satisfaction and tossed the empty cup into a nearby trash can as they walked past.

A sudden silence fell, wrapping them in a comfortable, wordless peace.

Shen Yuan’s gaze landed on Li Zhi’s face as his arm began to subtly drift closer to the girl’s hand beside him.

The hand that had just finished off the meatballs reached out quietly in the dim light, filled with a bold yet tentative sense of anticipation.

The small, drifting movement of his arm finally culminated in actual contact.

Shen Yuan’s fingertips tentatively brushed against the back of Li Zhi’s hand, which was hanging by her side. They carried the slight chill of the autumn night, along with the warmth radiating from his own palm.

The instant he made contact with her soft skin, his fingers didn’t hesitate. They slid down smoothly, naturally closing around Li Zhi’s hand.

Li Zhi’s body seemed to jolt slightly at the sudden intimacy, her arm tensing almost imperceptibly.

But to Shen Yuan’s surprise, the stiffness vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Li Zhi kept her eyelids lowered, her gaze still fixed on the blurry shadows of the trees cast by the streetlights at her feet, as if nothing had happened at all.

She didn’t move.

She didn’t try to pull her hand back as he might have expected, nor did she put up even a token struggle.

Her hand—slender, faintly warm, and with a lazy softness that came from being full—simply lay there quietly in his palm.

After a moment of initial tension, the girl’s fingertips, as if testing the waters, gently curled and came to rest against the back of Shen Yuan’s hand like a butterfly closing its wings.

Not a word was spoken.

Even the wind seemed to fall silent.

The apprehension in Shen Yuan’s heart instantly settled, grounded by the pliant, accepting weight in his palm.

He couldn’t help but tighten his fingers slightly, enclosing her soft hand more firmly in his.

A tacit warmth spread through the silent air, an understanding far clearer than any spoken confirmation.