Chapter 496 - 224: Reward for a Good Performance

Chapter 496: Chapter 224: Reward for a Good Performance

The effects of Concentration were instantly apparent.

The subtle restlessness and distracting thoughts that usually accompanied his studies were filtered away, as if through an invisible film.

His thoughts were clearer and smoother than ever before, like a mirror washed clean, perfectly reflecting the meaning of every formula and every phrase.

Outside the window, the winter sun silently shifted its angle, casting changing patches of light on his desk.

The tip of his pen glided across the paper with a soft, rhythmic RUSTLE.

He broke down a complex math problem, the steps to its solution flowing effortlessly through his mind before transforming into neat calculations on the page.

The focus, catalyzed by "Vigorous and Full of Energy," was incredibly pure and powerful.

It was like an invisible force field enveloping him, shutting out the entire world.

Shen Yuan was completely immersed, forgetting he was even "testing a skill" and losing all track of time.

Before his eyes, there were only problems, analyses, and deductions...

Beside the desk, Naonao curiously padded over. It tilted its little head and looked at Shen Yuan, who was submerged in a sea of practice problems, seeming to think this human was especially different today.

San Geng, meanwhile, had fished a stray pen out of the pen holder and was having a grand time, batting it back and forth by Shen Yuan’s feet.

However, these subtle movements didn’t disturb Shen Yuan’s state in the slightest.

His gaze was locked on his book, his brain working at high speed. It was as if nothing existed but the small square of his desk—a pure ocean of knowledge.

Just as he was wholeheartedly tackling an extremely challenging final question, the screen of the phone sitting on the corner of his desk lit up silently.

A new message notification clearly appeared:

Li Zhi: "I’m on the highway! What’s my boyfriend up to?"

After sending the message, Li Zhi held the phone in her palm, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cool edge of the screen. Her gaze drifted out the window, watching the winter scenery fly past the sides of the highway.

’I wonder what that guy is doing...’

She waited for a moment, but the phone screen remained quiet. There was no instantaneous reply like she’d expected.

Li Zhi let out a soft "hmpf."

She wasn’t particularly bothered. Maybe Shen Yuan didn’t have his phone with him, or perhaps he was currently being interrogated by Uncle Shen and Aunt Zhang. With that thought, she quickly put the small delay out of her mind.

The monotonous scenery outside the window changed, and time slipped away with the rolling of the wheels.

Li Zhi leaned back in her seat to rest her eyes, occasionally making small talk with her parents.

But whenever the car bumped slightly or took a turn, she would involuntarily glance at the phone resting on her lap.

The message she had sent still sat there all alone at the top of the screen, with no notification of a new reply.

The earlier thought that ’he just hasn’t seen it’ began to quietly ferment into a subtle thread of doubt as they approached the highway exit.

’Has he still not seen the message?’

Li Zhi furrowed her brow slightly, her fingertip tapping the phone’s lock button again and again, lighting up the screen only to turn it off.

The car drove smoothly down the exit ramp, the toll booth just ahead. As Li Zhi watched the familiar scenery of the urban-rural fringe pass by, her doubt had already blossomed into mild annoyance and a faint worry.

She decisively lit up the screen, her slender fingers typing out another message with a hint of irritation.

Li Zhi: "Dumbass! Did you go missing? I’m almost there!"

After sending it, Li Zhi pursed her lips and stared intently at the phone, as if in a standoff with the "dumbass" who refused to appear, waiting to see just when he would finally surface with a reply.

But Li Zhi was wrong. Shen Yuan still didn’t reply to her message.

"It’s almost ten o’clock. Is that guy still getting chewed out?" Li Zhi frowned.

Ten-some minutes later, Shen Yuan’s phone screen lit up again.

A new message notification clearly appeared: Li Zhi: "I’m here. [Location Pin]"

Immediately after, the screen went dark.

A few seconds later, it lit up again.

Li Zhi: "Where are you? Dumbass, you’re not thinking lewd thoughts again, are you? [AngryCatFace.jpg]"

The phone screen shone stubbornly, waiting to be graced with attention.

But Shen Yuan’s mind had been completely captured by the geometric patterns and algebraic relationships before him.

He was on the verge of a critical breakthrough, all his brainpower focused on constructing auxiliary lines, understanding functional relationships, and finding the dynamic equilibrium between variables...

The screen’s faint glow dimmed and faded into complete silence.

Everything, absolutely everything, was blocked by the barrier called Concentration.

The only sounds in the room were the RUSTLE of pen on paper, the TICK-TOCK of the clock, and the soft clatter of San Geng occasionally batting at the pen.

Shen Yuan didn’t even notice the faint, satisfied smile that naturally appeared at the corner of his mouth as he conquered the difficult problem.

On this new day, the newly-minted boyfriend Shen Yuan was working hard in an unprecedented state of focus, all for the sake of a beautiful future where he might be able to "rightfully and openly kiss her back."

He was completely unaware that his girlfriend had already sent him a pile of messages!

The phone, resting on the corner of the desk, quietly awaited its master’s return from the labyrinth of knowledge.

Meanwhile, Li Zhi had already gotten out of the car in front of her maternal grandfather’s courtyard gate.

Her grandfather and grandmother came out to greet them warmly. Xu Chan busied herself chatting with the old couple, while Old Li started unloading the luggage from the trunk.

"Zhizhi, get inside! It’s cold out here!" her grandmother said, beaming as she took her hand.

Li Zhi responded distractedly, one hand secretly slipping into the pocket of her down jacket, her fingertips brushing against the cool surface of her phone.