Chapter 427 - 209: That Night, Li Zhi Didn’t Leave

Chapter 427: Chapter 209: That Night, Li Zhi Didn’t Leave

But what was the truth?

When Shen Yuan wasn’t around, Li Zhi rarely brought up getting ice cream.

Only when Shen Yuan was present would Li Zhi mention ice cream.

If Shen Yuan refused, Li Zhi would get angry at him.

The kind of angry that was completely unnoticeable.

The soup in the copper pot continued to bubble and boil. The rising steam, carrying the teenagers’ boisterous laughter and chatter, drifted up and misted the glass window.

Shen Yuan watched Li Zhi take small scoops of ice cream. The way her tongue inadvertently licked away the creamy foam from the corner of her lips made the winter chill fade into background noise.

Suddenly, Shen Yuan really wanted some ice cream.

After they had finished the first round of food and were waiting for the next batch to cook in the pot, Ah Jie suddenly clicked his tongue.

"Man, I’m telling you, time really flies."

Ah Jie’s voice was particularly clear against the bubbling sound of the copper pot.

"Feels like just yesterday we were getting sunburned during military training, or acting all high and mighty on stage at the sophomore New Year’s gala. Feels like senior year just started, but in the blink of an eye... we’re already heading for finals? And a new year is about to start?"

His words were like a pebble tossed into the hot broth that had just settled.

Yang Ze paused with his chopsticks, looked around at everyone, and nodded, his voice a little dazed.

"It really has been fast. Just one thing after another, nonstop."

Chen Mingyu nodded. "Especially after the first round of review started, it’s just been a mad dash. Every day it’s just test papers and studying. It’s making my head spin."

"Yeah, it’s exhausting."

Everyone felt the same way.

"Speaking of which... I’ll be stepping down and passing the torch next semester."

Zhuo Peipei clicked her tongue. "I can finally get rid of this ’association president’ title."

"Found a successor yet?" Ah Jie asked tentatively.

Zhuo Peipei nodded. "Yep. A younger girl from Class 16 of the sophomore year. She’s pretty good."

"Congrats. We’ll hold a retirement ceremony for you when you step down."

"Oh, get lost!"

Listening to his friends’ conversation, Shen Yuan subconsciously glanced at Li Zhi beside him.

Her calm, focused profile was framed by the steam rising from the hot pot, making Shen Yuan involuntarily think about everything that had happened over the past few months.

He zoned out for a moment.

Ever since that day in August, when the system appeared while he was getting rid of Corpse Qi behind the classroom, the trajectory of his life had changed.

Reconnecting with Li Zhi, adding her back as a friend, starting to walk home together again.

The changes over these few short months had come so fast, it was like someone had hit the fast-forward button.

From trading barbs at the beginning, to her now wheedling for ice cream and defending him when others teased them.

The girl had gone from being full of disdain at the start, to... actually, that hadn’t changed. She was still disdainful from time to time.

’Had their relationship twisted and turned, only to arrive at a place that even he now found incredible?’

Shen Yuan let out a soft breath, watching the white steam from the pot gradually dissipate into the air, as if he were witnessing a hazy and beautiful dream.

From his current perspective, Shen Yuan suddenly felt like he was living inside a memory fragment.

In an instant, a few faded frames flashed before his eyes, only to vanish one by one.

The thin mist of memory was shattered by the present moment.

’Speaking of which, Brother Tongzi has been awfully quiet lately. I wonder what he’s up to.’

’I don’t know what my 35-year-old self is doing either. Hurry up and trigger a quest for me, you bastard!’

Perhaps it was because Shen Yuan’s curse had been particularly nasty, but the moment that thought crossed his mind, the system’s voice sounded in his head.

"DING!"

[As high summer approaches, you’re at a reunion with your high school classmates when you’re suddenly asked about Li Zhi. They’ve heard you and Li Zhi have recently gotten back in touch.]

[You look at these familiar faces and think back to the day you and Li Zhi traveled to Hang City. The smile on her face that day was especially charming.]

[Beauty is undefeated by time, but you and Li Zhi aren’t getting any younger, and you both understand what’s in each other’s hearts.]

[That night, Li Zhi didn’t leave.]

[Although nothing happened, you feel it’s time to tell Li Zhi how you truly feel.]

[Go confess your feelings. Tell her what’s in your heart and sound the horn of victory. Reward: To be determined based on the confession process.]

Shen Yuan: ?!!

Huh?!

’That night, Li Zhi didn’t leave?!’

Shen Yuan’s whole body trembled, and his mind went completely blank!

’That night?!’

’That day?!’

’My 35-year-old self... and the 35-year-old Li Zhi?!’

A rush of hot blood surged to his head.

Shen Yuan felt his fingertips go numb. A huge sense of absurdity and an indescribably intense shock washed over him!

’No way...’

’You freaking...’

’What gives you the right?!’

’Damn it!’

’Shen Yuan, you freaking deserve to die!’

’Oh, nothing happened...’

’Then you really are useless.’

Shen Yuan subconsciously glanced at Li Zhi beside him.

’If Li Zhi hadn’t gone home that night, what would I have done?’

’Alright, I’m useless too.’

Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, and suddenly... he completely understood.

He understood.

He understood why nothing had happened that night when he was thirty-five.

He understood why, even now at eighteen, his heart pounded like a drum just imagining a scene alone with her, yet he could also clearly predict what the outcome would be.

It wasn’t cowardice, nor was it indifference.

Quite the opposite.

It was precisely because this girl in front of him—from her first babbles in the cradle to her bright, vibrant presence beside his desk—her image was already deeply etched into the very fabric of his life.

She was his childhood sweetheart, his fated rival, the secret tremor and tacit understanding hidden in his heart, and the person his 35-year-old self would still know best after every twist and turn.

She wasn’t a fleeting landscape, nor a flower to be plucked so carelessly.