Chapter 448 - 214: The So-called Sense of Ritual

Chapter 448: Chapter 214: The So-called Sense of Ritual

He Zhiyu practically skipped home. She tossed her schoolbag onto the sofa and pounced on her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

He Zhiyu: "Peipei!! Breaking news! This is huge!! Zhizhi held Shen Yuan’s hand! She initiated it!! Right out in the open!!"

Zhuo Peipei: "?"

Zhuo Peipei: "Huh?"

He Zhiyu: "After school, after you guys left, when Zhizhi and Shen Yuan were about to head home, Zhizhi grabbed his hand! And she had the sweetest smile on her face!!"

Zhuo Peipei: "AHHHH!!!! What did I miss?!"

At the same time, the class group chat was blowing up.

[Senior Year, Class 15]

Sun Xiansheng: "@everyone Urgent announcement! Li Zhi held Shen Yuan’s hand! I repeat! They held hands!"

Sun Xiansheng: "[Image] (Li Zhi looking up at Shen Yuan)"

Yang Ze: "?? What did I miss?"

Ji Ningning: "Li Zhi’s ears are so red!! Is this really the Painful Sacrifice I know?!"

Chen Mingyu: "That’s nothing. They held hands from the classroom to the cafeteria this afternoon. Shen Yuan was grinning like a total idiot!"

Ah Jie: "I can confirm. That sly dog Shen Yuan even said something like, ’I’ve held her hand since we were little.’"

He Zhiyu watched the ensuing string of question marks and broke into a wide grin.

The little author quickly switched back to her chat with Zhuo Peipei.

He Zhiyu: "Peipei, I bet they’re going to get mobbed the second they walk into the classroom tomorrow!"

Zhuo Peipei: "(rubbing hands gleefully) I’m ready with my front-row seat to enjoy the show! Do you think Zhizhi will get so embarrassed she kicks Shen Yuan out of the classroom?"

He Zhiyu: "I’ll bet you a dime Zhizhi will pretend nothing happened, but Shen Yuan is definitely going to get torn apart by everyone!"

The winter night outside was silent, the light from her phone screen illuminating He Zhiyu’s grin that stretched from ear to ear.

’Tomorrow is definitely going to be a day for the class history books.’

...

Just as the motion-sensor light flickered on at the sound of footsteps, two figures stepped out from their respective doorways almost simultaneously.

With his schoolbag slung over one shoulder, Shen Yuan looked up just in time to see Li Zhi, head bowed, adjusting the collar of her uniform.

She looked up at the sound. The moment their eyes met, the searing memories of the previous night came flooding back.

The tips of Li Zhi’s ears instantly flushed red. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her bag strap, but she forced a glare. "What are you looking at?!"

Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His eyes swept over her lower lip, indented with teeth marks, and he suddenly strode forward.

Li Zhi’s breath hitched. She shot him a quick, low-voiced warning, "Old Li is in the living room. Behave yourself if you don’t have a death wish."

Shen Yuan immediately straightened up.

He was absolutely certain that if he tried anything, Old Li would materialize in front of him in the next second, no summoning from Li Zhi required.

’Just one of those overprotective father horror stories.’

The moment the elevator doors began to slide shut, Li Zhi suddenly reached out and grabbed the tips of Shen Yuan’s fingers as they hung by his side.

Her palm was cool from the morning air, but she forcefully threaded her fingers through his.

"So scared of Old Li, huh?"

Li Zhi tilted her head to look at him, the morning light through the elevator glass casting flecks of gold on her eyelashes. Her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

"What happened to all that courage from last night?"

Shen Yuan was caught completely off guard by her directness. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he was about to retort, but she suddenly leaned in closer, her peach-scented breath brushing against his ear.

"Don’t worry—"

She gave their intertwined hands a little shake, a triumphant glint in her eyes. "He’s not going to pry open the elevator doors to get you now, is he?"

The numbers on the elevator display began to change. Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi’s tense fingers, which refused to let go, and suddenly let out a low chuckle.

He deliberately used the pad of his thumb to caress her flushed knuckles. "Are you trying to embolden me? Is this your way of telling me I can take things a step further?"

"Idiot!" Li Zhi snapped, whipping her head away, but a coral blush crept up the back of her neck.

The hand interlocked with his pinched the web of his thumb in retaliation, but her body betrayed her, leaning ever so slightly against his shoulder.

Under the dim sky, the silhouette of the school gate came into view.

Shen Yuan unconsciously tightened his fingers, gripping Li Zhi’s hand more firmly.

Li Zhi felt the increased pressure on her hand, and her lips curled up slightly. "Hey, idiot, are you trying to challenge the authority of the Dean’s Office?"

’The Dean’s Office had been hunting down young couples at the gate for ages now.’

Shen Yuan reflexively started to let go, but Li Zhi tightened her grip, refusing to release him.

She tilted her face up, the morning breeze rustling the loose strands of hair at her temples. Her eyes danced with a mischievous light. "Scared now? You were pretty brave in the stairwell last night, weren’t you?"

As she spoke, she deliberately swung their intertwined hands.

Shen Yuan looked into Li Zhi’s sparkling eyes, then suddenly leaned down close to her ear. "Want to make a bet? Let’s see if the teachers from the Dean’s Office can even spot us while it’s still this dark."

As he spoke, his thumb began to rub suggestively against the web of her hand.

Li Zhi immediately jutted out her chin. "As if I’m scared!"

Despite her brave words, her body betrayed her as she shrank back slightly behind Shen Yuan.

Her subconscious movement made Shen Yuan let out a stifled laugh.

"You’ll just draw more attention to us acting like that! You look as guilty as a thief."

"Who looks guilty?!"

Li Zhi lightly punched Shen Yuan’s arm. "I’m telling you, I’m doing this to protect you! Who do you think the teachers are going to give a harder time to? Me, a top-three student, or you?"

Shen Yuan chuckled. "I have a feeling they won’t give either of us a hard time."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than they arrived at the school gate.

In the dim morning light, a steady stream of students trickled through the school gate.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi instinctively adjusted their pace, melting into the small groups of students around them.

Li Zhi ducked her head slightly, letting the fringe of her hair fall forward just enough to hide the red tips of her ears.

Shen Yuan, for his part, stared straight ahead as if nothing was amiss, though the tight line of his lips betrayed a hint of nervousness.