Chapter 502 - 225: My Legs Are Sore (2)

Chapter 502: Chapter 225: My Legs Are Sore (2)

The smooth lines of her legs, enveloped by the soft texture of her tights, perfectly embodied the beauty of opaque black.

It was a combination of girlish, youthful energy and a hint of unwitting allure.

This was precisely the kind of sight Shen Yuan found impossible to resist.

His breath hitched subconsciously, and his heart began to race.

This was a continuation of the lasting impression left by the "reward for a good performance" from that afternoon.

Shen Yuan started to wonder what the "further reward" would be.

Li Zhi noticed his blatant stare, and a blush immediately crept up her fair neck.

She shot Shen Yuan a playfully scolding glance, but unlike before, she didn’t deliberately look away. Instead, she straightened her back slightly, her delicate chin rising just a little in a prim gesture.

"What are you looking at!" she demanded, her voice laced with a deliberate, coy imperiousness in an attempt to mask her inner flutter.

"Didn’t you get your fill this afternoon? Hurry up and study!"

Her playful scolding snapped Shen Yuan out of his momentary daze.

"The studying isn’t urgent. Let me ask you a question first. Do you want some ice cream?"

Li Zhi was startled for a moment, then her eyes curved into crescents as a delighted blush bloomed on her cheeks.

Her voice was tinged with excitement. "Yes, yes! I want some!"

Shen Yuan nodded, then turned and walked out of the room. He went to the refrigerator and took out a carton of ice cream.

But when he got back to the room, he froze for a moment.

Li Zhi wasn’t waiting by the bed. Instead, she had moved to the desk in the study, taking the seat he usually occupied.

Shen Yuan’s notebooks and pens were scattered on the desk; she had clearly commandeered his study spot for the time being.

Li Zhi’s legs were crossed, her black tights outlining soft curves under the light. She looked up, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"What, surprised? It’s easier to supervise you while you grind through your problem sets from over here." This sudden little surprise made Shen Yuan’s breath catch, and the carton of ice cream nearly slipped from his grasp.

Seeing his stunned expression, Li Zhi let out a little laugh. "Boyfriend, your ice cream is going to melt."

Shen Yuan walked closer and handed her the ice cream.

An air of sweetness silently spread through the room. It felt as if Li Zhi’s small act was quietly etching a new milestone into their daily lives.

Whenever they studied in Shen Yuan’s room, they always sat back-to-back. But now, Li Zhi was sitting right beside him. ’What does this mean?’

For one, it was a more intimate gesture.

For another, having those long legs, sheathed in thick, black tights, right beside him was a huge source of moral support!

Of course, it was also nothing short of torture.

Li Zhi ate her ice cream, her fingertips lightly tapping the desk in front of Shen Yuan.

"Shen, the ice cream has been delivered. You can start your homework now, right? I’m officially on supervision duty now, you know."

Shen Yuan answered as if waking from a dream.

Shen Yuan then took a practice exam paper from the bookshelf—Li Zhi had been the one to make him buy them, and she had done basically every paper that he had.

He spread the test paper out on the desk. As he grabbed his pen, he couldn’t help but steal a quick glance at Li Zhi’s legs—pressed together next to his own, wrapped in their thick, black tights—before finally forcing his attention to the questions.

The tip of his pen touched the paper, and for the first few seconds, his movements were still shaky with the aftereffects of his distraction.

But soon, boosted by his Concentration ability, his focus on the problems took precedence.

Shen Yuan’s gaze swept sharply over the questions, and his pen moved quickly and steadily across his scratch paper as he worked through the calculations. It was as if he and the exam were the only things in the study; everything else had faded away.

Li Zhi watched his reaction while eating her ice cream.

She had expected him to act like he usually did, stealing glances now and then at the thick, black tights she had purposefully worn. A small part of her felt a mix of smug satisfaction and shy pleasure at the thought.

However, as time quietly slipped by, Shen Yuan’s eyes remained glued to the problems. His focus was so intense that her legs, which she took such pride in, were now being utterly "ignored."

She subconsciously pressed her legs together.

But soon, that feeling of disappointment was eclipsed by another, much stronger emotion.

As she watched him work with such single-minded focus, giving it his all, she remembered the goal she had set for him—a score of 665. A gentle smile unconsciously graced Li Zhi’s lips.

His current focus was the strongest possible answer to his promise; this dedication even managed to eclipse the most fervent attractions of adolescence.

This sense of satisfaction quietly replaced her small flicker of disappointment, spreading through Li Zhi’s heart. It made her gaze soften even more as she watched Shen Yuan bent over his desk, writing furiously.

Li Zhi picked up the carton of ice cream Shen Yuan had handed her, eating it in small bites.

The cool, sweet taste melted on her tongue, cutting through the slight stuffiness of the room on a late winter’s day.

She watched Shen Yuan beside her. His brow was slightly furrowed as the tip of his pen flew across the scratch paper, making a faint, rustling sound.

His sheer, single-minded dedication was enough to keep the smile from ever leaving Li Zhi’s face.

Before long, she had reached the bottom of the carton.

Li Zhi put the empty carton down, took out a tissue, and carefully wiped her hands clean.

Then, not wanting to disturb Shen Yuan, she quietly took a stack of exam papers out of her own schoolbag—it was her homework from the New Year’s holiday.

Li Zhi hadn’t had time to do it over the last few days.

The scholarly atmosphere in the room intensified.