Chapter 512 - 226: Li Zhi: Which Is Sweeter, the Strawberry or Me?

Chapter 512: Chapter 226: Li Zhi: Which Is Sweeter, the Strawberry or Me?

Shen Yuan froze once again.

It felt like something was lodged in his throat. He swallowed hard, again and again, before finally finding a gap in the roaring in his ears to squeeze out a few broken syllables:

"G-Great... It looks great!"

He nodded vigorously, once, then again.

"It’s beautiful! Li Bao! Really beautiful! Incredibly beautiful!"

He looked as if he wanted to pile on every beautiful word he could think of, adding clumsily but sincerely:

"S-Super... super cute...!"

Hearing Shen Yuan’s answer, Li Zhi’s lips pressed together, trying to suppress a smile that bloomed anyway.

She gently bit her lower lip, and the tips of her small ears visibly flushed a shade of crimson.

"You’ve got good taste! Silly brother!"

The beautiful girl muttered under her breath, hiding her burning cheeks in the fluffy collar of her down jacket, but she still held onto Shen Yuan’s arm tightly.

The elevator descended smoothly.

Shen Yuan’s mind felt like it was soaking in warm honey.

Li Zhi’s shy yet sweet "silly," and that resounding "brother," spun and roared in his ears again and again.

He didn’t even know how he’d walked down the street or passed through the school gates.

When Shen Yuan came back to his senses, he found himself standing at the foot of the academic building.

’Holy shit?’

’How did I get here?’

Shen Yuan stood frozen in place, his pupils slightly dilated, his eyes filled with confusion.

The cold wind swept fallen leaves past his feet, carrying with it the icy edges of reality.

The warm, sweet scent and the shimmer of pearls that had seemed to cling to his sleeve just a second ago were suddenly replaced by the bustling reality of campus, the transition seamless yet utterly surreal.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Shen Yuan looked toward the voice, blinking instinctively.

The Li Zhi before him still had the same twin-pigtail hairstyle, but her expression was now completely different from before.

It was as if the cute girl who had called him "brother" had never existed at all.

Just a moment ago, the lingering echoes of tender, dreamlike whispers and sweet endearments remained, but now they seemed to have been completely blown away by the cold wind, leaving only the slightly puzzled face before him.

"N-Nothing."

Shen Yuan took Li Zhi’s hand. "Let’s go. Back to the classroom."

With that, Shen Yuan pulled Li Zhi toward the classroom.

But he didn’t notice the mischievous, triumphant glint in the eyes of the girl beside him.

The two of them walked side-by-side down the brightly lit hallway of the academic building, went up the stairs, and arrived at the door to Class 15.

Shen Yuan looked at the closed classroom door, pushed open the front door, and led Li Zhi inside.

Inside the classroom, Ah Jie was holding a cup, about to get some water.

When he saw the two of them, especially the moment his eyes landed on Li Zhi, he froze as if someone had hit a pause button, his eyes flying wide.

Ah Jie’s gaze was locked on Li Zhi’s playfully swaying pigtails, and the commotion behind him abruptly ceased.

Yang Ze, who had been about to go get water with Ah Jie, froze mid-motion, his hand still poised to grab his cup.

Nearby, Zhuo Peipei, who was scrolling through her phone with He Zhiyu, let her mouth fall open into a silent "O".

Chen Mingyu, who had been buried in his practice problems, seemed to sense the sudden stillness and looked up toward the door.

When he saw Li Zhi, the pen in his hand drew a sudden, long, meaningless curve on his scratch paper and stopped, frozen.

For a moment, the area at the entrance of Class (15) and just inside fell into an eerie silence.

Nearly every gaze was focused on the girl standing next to Shen Yuan, her twin pigtails swaying gently with her steps, her expression composed, even carrying a faint, imperceptible trace of smugness.

Her sweet outfit, a stark contrast to her usual cool aura, and especially the transformation of her signature high ponytail into this pair of cute pigtails, was as shocking to the students of Class 15 as seeing an iceberg suddenly burst into flower.

Ah Jie opened his mouth, finally finding his voice. "S-Sister Li?... Y-You’re..."

He Zhiyu snapped out of it. "Oh my god! Zhizhi! Pigtails! You’re just too... too cute today?!"

"That hairstyle... is a killer!"

"Pigtails are the best!"

Li Zhi felt the storm of gazes from all directions. She couldn’t maintain her usual Painful Sacrifice persona at all!

Being stared at like an "alien" by so many people, even Li Zhi felt a trace of unprecedented embarrassment.

But when she chose this outfit today, Li Zhi knew it would definitely shock everyone in the class.

Forget her classmates in Class 15; even Old Li and Xu Chan were startled when Li Zhi came out dressed like this.

So, Li Zhi had been mentally preparing herself the entire way here.

All that mental preparation was finally paying off.

Li Zhi quickly recovered from her embarrassment.

As for Shen Yuan, he was actually quite thick-skinned. The stares had no effect on him; in fact, they made his heart swell with a sudden, overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

But Li Zhi was his one true weakness.

His childhood sweetheart was just too good at this.

Amidst the class’s frozen stares and low gasps of surprise, Shen Yuan led a struggling-to-stay-calm Li Zhi down the aisle toward their seats.

Finally seated, Zhuo Peipei and He Zhiyu, who sat in front of them, kept turning back, their eyes filled with irrepressible surprise and amusement.

Li Zhi pretended not to see, stuffing her backpack into her desk, but she could feel her cheeks were still slightly hot.

Shen Yuan also put down his backpack, then handed a box of strawberries to Li Zhi.

"Here. My mom wanted me to bring these for you."

Li Zhi nodded and took the strawberries. Looking at the plump, red berries, a brilliant prank idea instantly formed in her mind.

The beautiful girl opened the box, picked out a strawberry, and naturally brought it to her lips. Her pearly teeth parted slightly, and she took a small bite.

Instantly, sweet juice flooded her mouth, carrying the rich fragrance unique to winter strawberries.

The girl squinted her eyes in satisfaction, the corners of her mouth curving up in a happy arc.

"Mmm... so sweet."

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly reached the ears of Shen Yuan beside her.

Then, Li Zhi turned her head to look at Shen Yuan.

She held out the half-eaten strawberry, still bearing her teeth marks and the faint trace of her lips, in front of Shen Yuan.

"Here, have a taste. It’s really sweet."

Seeing Li Zhi’s action, He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei in the front row instantly widened their eyes.

The gesture was too natural, and far too intimate!

’Sh-sh-she! How can she do that so naturally!’

’Wait, Shen Yuan, how can you just eat it so naturally too!’

’What in the world did you two do over New Year’s?!’

Shen Yuan leaned forward instinctively and, from Li Zhi’s hand, took the half-strawberry she offered into his mouth.

The delicate, soft flesh of the fruit burst between his teeth. The intense sweetness instantly filled his taste buds, even overpowering the faint, delicate sweetness she had left on the strawberry.

"Mmph..."

Shen Yuan mumbled a response and quickly swallowed the fruit, feeling the sweetness spread from the tip of his tongue all the way to his heart.

Li Zhi watched him eat it intently. Only then did she pull her hand back, a slight stickiness from the juice remaining on her fingertips.

The beautiful girl tilted her head, her follow-up question laced with a smile. "So? Is it sweet?"

Shen Yuan nodded forcefully, a smile almost instantly spreading across his face.

"Sweet! The one Li Bao gave me... is especially sweet."

In the front row, He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei exchanged a knowing glance. Nearby, Ah Jie, who had just taken a sip of water, choked violently, letting out a series of earth-shattering coughs.

But just when they thought the whole thing was over, they heard Li Zhi’s voice again.

"Well... brother, which is sweeter? The strawberry, or me?"