Chapter 447 - 213: I’m Not a Tsundere

Chapter 447: Chapter 213: I’m Not a Tsundere

Shen Yuan rolled over, burying his face in the covers that still smelled of sunshine, and let out a muffled growl.

"Shen Yuan, you’re a moron."

That moment in the hallway was playing on a loop in his mind.

Li Zhi’s face was flushed red, her bright, stubborn eyes looking at him...

So close, their breaths were practically mingling.

That look in her eyes, the vulnerable dependence beneath her feigned composure...

And the way she buried her head back in after speaking...

The more Shen Yuan thought about it, the more his chest tingled with a nagging feeling.

’Why did I just nuzzle the top of her head?!’

’And more importantly, why was I so well-behaved and held back? I didn’t even dare to ask!’

Shen Yuan thumped his head on the covers. There was no real force behind it; it was purely to vent his frustration.

’What if?’

’What if I had looked at her with *that* kind of gaze and softly asked, "Then... can I... have a kiss?"’

’Or said in an even softer voice, "Just a little kiss... okay?"’

’How would Li Zhi have reacted?’

’Would she have pushed me away like she usually does, or called me a pervert in disgust?’

’But...’

Shen Yuan’s thoughts took an uncontrollable turn.

’What if...’

’She just blushed and glared at me, then bit her lip without saying a word?’

’What if her gaze darted away a few times before she finally gave a nod so slight it was almost imperceptible?’

’It’s like earlier in the hallway, when I said I’d hug her to block the wind. She talked tough, saying, "Who needs you to keep them warm," but didn’t she stop struggling in the end?’

’And just like after school, when she suddenly took my hand, didn’t that break the unspoken understanding between us?’

’Li Bao... she was really different today!’

’From taking the initiative in the classroom, to letting her guard down and snuggling close on the way home, and then that brave declaration in the hallway and the hug where she crashed right into my arms...’

’She’s proving with her actions that the "tsundere" shell I used to tease her about is being peeled away, layer by layer, right in front of me.’

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!"

Shen Yuan buried his face deeper into the covers and even yanked a pillow over his head, trying to smother the "what ifs" and the subsequent regret that were multiplying wildly in his brain.

"Shen Yuan, oh, Shen Yuan..." he muttered to the empty air, his muffled voice laced with teeth-grinding regret. "Why couldn’t you just... ask?"

’Even if I had just tried asking...’

’Even if she’d rejected me, the worst that would’ve happened is I’d get an earful or pinched a couple of times. It would’ve hurt for a second, and that would be it, right?’

’Couldn’t I have just been a little more thick-skinned and taken it?’

’But what if...’

’What if... she had nodded?’

Shen Yuan shot bolt upright.

’Right, what were those words Li Zhi said before she left?’

’Was she calling me a moron, or was she calling me a coward?’

Shen Yuan felt like he’d missed a chance to kiss Li Bao!

The realization washed over him like a tsunami.

Shen Yuan let out a wail of anguish and fell heavily back onto the bed, covering his burning face with his hands.

"I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna die..."

’Next time!’

’Next time, I’ll ask first and be a coward later!’

’Who cares if she blows her top!’

’What if... she says yes?!’

「In the room next door.」

The heater ran silently, dispelling the winter night’s chill and enclosing the space in a soft silence.

Li Zhi sat on her bed, dressed in a set of slightly childish cotton pajamas.

Everything that had just happened in the hallway now came rushing back like a tidal wave, repeatedly washing over her feverish thoughts and burning cheeks.

Her body seemed to still retain the searing touch and reassuring tightness of crashing into Shen Yuan’s embrace.

"I! AM! NOT! A! TSUNDERE!"

’Oh my God! How did I end up shouting those five words so loudly?!’

Li Zhi suddenly buried her face deep between her drawn-up knees, the soft fabric of her pajamas muffling a whimper of despair and shame.

’I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy, I’m crazy!’

’My brain must’ve gotten caught in the elevator doors on the way up! Otherwise, why would I have lost control like that?!’

’Tsundere, my foot!’

’I was clearly refuting that moron Shen Yuan’s slanderous accusation!’

’But that method of refutation... that reckless way I just crashed into his arms, looked up, and yelled at him...’

’Where are your boundaries, Li Zhi!’

Li Zhi felt like her entire persona had shattered to pieces!

Not even a single shard was left!

The slender girl curled into a small ball in the warm light.

She could even recall the immense surprise in Shen Yuan’s eyes when she’d looked up to "declare war," along with his cloyingly sweet smile and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed...

And... after that moment, when he looked down at her, what surged from the depths of his eyes was a desire she had never seen before.

That desire nearly materialized into a scorching gaze, as if it would land upon her in the very next second.

She had practically frozen in that instant, even her breathing had stopped, like prey pinned to the spot, watching a predator’s approach.

That sudden intimacy had completely exceeded her spur-of-the-moment counterattack, leaving only instinctive panic.

’Thank God... thank God he only gently nuzzled the top of my head again and didn’t take it any further.’

’Was my panic too obvious?’

’Or... did that guy just chicken out in the end?’

Li Zhi slowly raised her head and leaned against the decorative pillow on her headboard. She let out a soft breath, her cheeks still burning.

Her clear eyes glistened, losing their usual sharpness and taking on a hint of hazy confusion.

The girl’s fingers curled unconsciously. Her fingertips trembled slightly before gently brushing across her own soft lower lip.

’We were so close then... his lips...’

Beneath the soil of her heart, which had just been consumed by immense embarrassment, a tiny sprout with a strange, sweet flavor suddenly and quietly emerged.

It was a sliver of something that even she was unwilling to investigate or admit...

Disappointment?

Or maybe, a sort of vague curiosity and anticipation?

The moment that thought surfaced, Li Zhi forcefully flung it from her mind, replacing it with an even harsher bout of self-criticism.

"Moron!"

"Li Zhi, are you an idiot?! What are you thinking!"

’I was only embarrassed because of that moron Shen Yuan!’

’How could I be having thoughts like that!’

’Shameless!’

"If he had really dared to kiss me... he’d... he’d be dead meat! That’s right! I’d have beaten him to death!"

The girl finished her vicious declaration, trying to use fierce imaginings to dispel the flutter that made her heart race and her face burn.

’But...’

Li Zhi rolled over in frustration, burying herself in the covers.

’I’m not thinking about it anymore. Time to sleep!’

Moron...

You coward, Shen Yuan!