Chapter 506 - 225: My Legs Are Sore

Chapter 506: Chapter 225: My Legs Are Sore

Li Zhi glanced at her phone.

A line of text was sitting in the search bar—Where do guys hide their secret stashes?

"A secret stash? Who’s looking for a secret stash?!"

"Whatever. Time is tight, so I’ll just check the study."

Li Zhi quickly made her decision. She would search the study!

"San Geng, let’s go check your dad’s study!"

’Hmm... could he have hidden it behind the books?’

Li Zhi began to pretend she was inspecting Shen Yuan’s bookshelf. That way, even if Shen Yuan came back, she could just say she was looking for a book to read.

Li Zhi stood on a chair, her eyes wide as she carefully observed every single book on the shelf.

She didn’t miss a single corner. She even stood on her tiptoes or climbed onto the chair to check places she couldn’t see.

However, to Li Zhi’s disappointment, every book was placed neatly, flush against the back of the bookshelf. There wasn’t the slightest gap, let alone a place to hide anything.

"Is there really nothing?" Li Zhi muttered to herself, feeling a little frustrated.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the side. "What are you looking for?"

The sudden voice gave Li Zhi a huge fright, and the young woman plopped down onto the chair.

Li Zhi whipped her head to the side and saw Shen Yuan holding a pizza box, leaning against the doorframe with an unreadable, half-smiling expression on his face.

"You..." Li Zhi’s heart instantly started racing, and she was so nervous she stammered, "How could you come back without making a sound?"

The corner of Shen Yuan’s mouth turned up slightly into a faint smile. "I did make a sound. You just didn’t hear it."

As he spoke, Shen Yuan stepped into the study and slowly approached Li Zhi.

Li Zhi’s body instinctively shrank back, keeping some distance from Shen Yuan.

Her gaze was a little evasive. She didn’t dare to meet Shen Yuan’s eyes.

"You still haven’t answered my question. What are you looking for?" Shen Yuan’s voice sounded by Li Zhi’s ear, tinged with a hint of teasing.

Li Zhi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

The young woman lifted her chin and answered with feigned composure, "Looking for a book. I was a little bored, but I couldn’t find anything I wanted to read."

"Come on, this isn’t a library!"

Shen Yuan handed the reheated durian pizza to Li Zhi, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against her warm palm.

"Eat it while it’s hot. A cold late-night snack is bad for your stomach."

Sensing Shen Yuan’s subtle move, Li Zhi deliberately scratched the back of his hand with her fingertips as she took the box, the corners of her eyes lifting in a sly arc.

The young woman opened the pizza box, a satisfied look appearing on her face as she sniffed the aroma.

She took a bite of the pizza, and the cheese stretched into a long, fine thread, clinging to her lips like a cat that had successfully stolen a treat.

Shen Yuan leaned against the desk, watching her cheeks puff out as she chewed. His gaze slid from the corners of her lips, dotted with crumbs, down to her knees, which were wrapped in black tights.

Faint creases from his earlier massage still remained there.

He suddenly realized he was staring blankly at his girlfriend’s legs. When he tore his gaze away, he met Li Zhi’s eyes as she abruptly looked up.

"What are you looking at?" Li Zhi swallowed her food and licked the durian paste from her fingertips.

Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He feigned composure and looked at her legs. "I was just thinking... can I continue with my reward?"

"In your dreams."

Li Zhi leisurely took another bite of pizza, but her eyes inadvertently caught Shen Yuan’s half-smiling expression.

The young woman snorted.

But the words that came out of her mouth were something else entirely.

"But... for the pizza’s sake, I guess I can let you massage them for a little longer."

Before Li Zhi could even finish her sentence, Shen Yuan had already leaned forward.

His warm palm gently cupped Li Zhi’s ankle, which was resting on the side of the chair. His fingertips unintentionally brushed against the delicate skin at the edge of her tights, causing an almost imperceptible shudder to run through them both.

Li Zhi instinctively tried to pull back, but his gentle yet firm grip held her in place.

"Don’t move," Shen Yuan’s voice was a few shades deeper, laced with a possessiveness that allowed no argument.

With a slight exertion of force, he steadily lifted her small leg, which was wrapped in thick black tights, and skillfully placed it back in the familiar spot in the middle of his thigh.

The slightly fuzzy texture of the tights rubbed against his cotton pants, making a faint rustling sound that was especially clear in the suddenly silent room.

Then, Shen Yuan repeated the action, placing Li Zhi’s other leg on his lap as well.

Li Zhi let out a soft huff, the tips of her ears turning an even deeper shade of red, but she ultimately didn’t struggle.

She turned her face away and took a bite of pizza, her hair falling to hide the side of her face.

Tiny pizza crumbs still clung to the side of the girl’s lips. As Shen Yuan pressed the pads of his fingers back onto the tense muscles of her calf, the crumbs trembled slightly and fell.

Shen Yuan lowered his head, his gaze falling heavily on the soft curve below the bend of her knee.

His fingertips followed the smooth line, kneading downwards with just the right amount of pressure to work out the fatigue from sitting for so long.

He could clearly feel the muscle fibers beneath his palm tense and then slowly relax. Through that mysterious and alluring black barrier, a warmth spread endlessly from the point of contact to his heart, stirring the tranquil waters within.

The young man leaned forward slightly, his posture full of a Concentration like someone tracing a priceless treasure.

Every press of his knuckles caused Li Zhi’s toes to curl and uncurl silently. The tips of her dangling, stockinged feet swayed gently with his rhythm, quietly drawing circles in the air between their mingled breaths.

Shen Yuan tentatively pressed higher, above the bend of her knee. This time, Li Zhi didn’t refuse.

But just as Shen Yuan’s hand settled on the tights—

Li Zhi’s phone screen suddenly lit up, letting out a clear, and rather mood-killing, DING followed by a vibration.

The abrupt sound instantly shattered the intimate, heavy air in the study.

Both Li Zhi and Shen Yuan froze.

The young woman instinctively tried to pull back her ankle from Shen Yuan’s grasp and sat up straight.

The blush hadn’t yet faded from her face, but her eyes cleared in an instant, now holding a trace of panic, as if she’d been caught red-handed.

She quickly grabbed her phone and unlocked it.

Shen Yuan, of course, knew who the message was from.

Li Zhi’s expression had already told him.

"My dad..."

Watching the helpless look on Li Zhi’s face as she replied to the message, the bit of disappointment Shen Yuan felt at their intimacy being interrupted was instantly replaced by a much stronger emotion.

Helplessness.

The helplessness of being unable to defy his future father-in-law.

Shen Yuan resignedly pulled his hands back and scratched the back of his head. The corners of his mouth drooped, forming a smile that was equal parts annoyed and utterly helpless.

He sighed silently.

’Old Li’s timing is just too perfect!’

’Did he install a security camera in my room or something?!’