Chapter 493 - 223: A Girlfriend’s Duty (2)

Chapter 493: Chapter 223: A Girlfriend’s Duty (2)

Even though Li Zhi deliberately wore a straight face, Old Li was her father, after all. How could he not know what his own daughter was thinking?

How could Shen Yuan have shown up here so coincidentally?

"Shen Yuan? Are you going out too?"

There was an obvious personal edge to Old Li’s words.

"Uh..."

Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The words "to see Li Zhi off" were caught in his throat.

"DING!"

The crisp sound of the elevator’s arrival suddenly pierced the silence of the hallway.

Old Li didn’t wait for Shen Yuan’s answer, pulling Xu Chan into the elevator. The couple looked back only to see their daughter still rooted to the spot.

Li Zhi suddenly exclaimed, "Oh!" then patted her head. "Mom, I forgot something!"

Before her parents could react, the beautiful girl had already spun around nimbly and touched her front door. "You guys go down first, I’ll be right behind you!"

Through the gap of the slowly closing doors, Old Li’s frowning face was obscured by the metal.

The motion-sensor light suddenly went out, leaving only the two of them in the dim hallway.

Before Shen Yuan had a chance to speak, he saw Li Zhi open her front door.

The beautiful girl turned her head to look at Shen Yuan. "What are you spacing out for?"

Shen Yuan’s heart leaped. He instantly understood her intention!

’Li Bao is creating an opportunity for me!’

Even though she said she was getting something, this was clearly a chance for a few minutes of alone time!

A warm current wrapped in immense joy surged into Shen Yuan’s chest, dispelling his earlier disappointment and the chill of the hallway.

He almost unthinkingly lifted his foot to follow, wanting to step over her threshold, even if only to breathe the same air in the same room for one more second.

However, just as his front foot landed on the doormat outside Li Zhi’s home, and his back foot was about to follow into the warm light pouring from the open doorway...

"Hey!"

Li Zhi’s crisp voice rang out, carrying a hint of disgust that said ’Are you an idiot?’ and an imperceptible smile, landing clearly in the dim hallway.

She was still standing on the edge of the shadows in the entryway, her gaze passing over Shen Yuan toward the elevator as she lifted her small chin toward the call buttons.

"What are you thinking! Who said you could come in? Selaan!"

The girl’s chiding voice was exceptionally clear in the silence, tinged with a familiar, playful imperiousness.

She raised her hand and pointed to the elevator panel at the end of the hall, which was glowing with a faint indicator light. Her fingertip traced an invisible arc in the darkness.

"Go! Press the elevator button for me. It’ll save some time while we wait for it to come up."

Shen Yuan’s advancing foot froze in mid-air. He was stuck halfway over the threshold in an awkward pose, caught between entering and stopping.

The joy and eagerness on his face abruptly froze, mixed with the embarrassment of having his intentions exposed and a trace of bewilderment that his plan had failed.

"Huh?"

He was like a machine that had suddenly crashed, his gaze following Li Zhi’s pointed finger blankly toward the distant elevator waiting to be summoned.

For a moment, his brain felt like it was stuffed with tangled yarn.

’So... she didn’t mean for me to come in.’

"Oh... oh, right!"

Shen Yuan snapped out of it and quickly retracted his foot, his face burning a little.

He let out a couple of awkward, dry laughs to cover up the embarrassment of getting ahead of himself, deflating instantly like a punctured balloon.

"On my way! I’ll go press it now!"

He replied hurriedly as he spun around and trotted, a bit clumsily, toward the elevator buttons.

In the dim light, all that was left was the back of a tall figure that, for some reason, looked rather pitiful.

Watching him obediently run off, Li Zhi’s lips curved into a silent smile. In the faint halo cast by the entryway light, she looked like a cunning and satisfied little fox, her eyes shimmering with the light of a successful prank.

’Silly Shen Yuan.’

’Did he really think he could sneak in with such a simple trick?’

’Not a chance!’

Li Zhi really had forgotten something.

When the beautiful girl walked out of her home, Shen Yuan keenly noticed an addition to her long hair: a pearl hair clip.

It was the one he had given her.

Seeing the hair clip in Li Zhi’s hair, Shen Yuan’s face broke into a brilliant smile.

That little bit of "aggrievement" in his heart vanished in an instant.

Of course, that wasn’t the main point.

She gently pulled the door shut behind her. With the soft CLICK of the latch engaging, the light from inside was completely cut off, leaving only the cold sensor light and the chill of the winter morning in the hallway.

Shen Yuan saw Li Zhi turn to face him.

The beautiful girl stood her ground, her small face tilted up slightly. Her bright, clear eyes clearly reflected Shen Yuan’s somewhat dazed figure. They held none of her usual fierceness or disdain; instead, they brimmed with a soft, undisguised anticipation.

Without a word, a hand hidden in the sleeve of her oversized down jacket moved. Then, both her arms opened toward Shen Yuan, completely naturally.

Under the pale white light, the girl’s slender figure stood before her closed door, arms opened wide to him.

This silent invitation was far more direct, far clearer than any words could be.

Shen Yuan didn’t have a spare moment to think. A grin spread across his face.

What could possibly make his heart race with more excitement and satisfaction than this moment?

He closed the distance to Li Zhi in a single large stride, moving as fast as a gust of wind. With an almost desperate urgency, he unhesitatingly opened his arms.

Beneath the cold fabric of her down jacket was the girl’s warm body.

He tightened his arms forcefully and lowered his head, nuzzling his cheek against Li Zhi.

Li Zhi’s face was buried deep in the soft, puffy fabric of his down jacket.

The girl’s breathing was slightly ragged, and the arms wrapped around his waist also held on tight.

This silent embrace in the cold hallway seemed to last for centuries, yet it was also exceptionally brief.