Chapter 513 - 227: Killing the Single Dogs

Chapter 513: Chapter 227: Killing the Single Dogs

"So... Brother, is the strawberry sweeter, or am I?"

Li Zhi’s voice was soft and gentle, yet it was like a thunderclap wrapped in honey, exploding right beside Shen Yuan’s ear and striking the very center of his wildly pounding heart.

It felt as if that single sentence had stolen the very breath from Shen Yuan’s lungs.

In his perception, the world instantly shrank until only the slyly smiling, expectant face before him remained.

Her clear eyes reflected the lights of the classroom ceiling, sparkling brightly as she waited with Concentration for his answer.

The only sound in his ears was the frantic, drum-like pounding of his own heart.

"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!"

Each beat was faster than the last, making his eardrums buzz and nearly drowning out all other sounds.

He felt his cheeks burn like ignited coals, the heat spreading from the tips of his ears all the way down his neck.

The sweet taste of the half-eaten strawberry hadn’t fully faded, but now it was completely overwhelmed by a different, surging sweetness.

The image of the girl’s charming smile, intertwined with that lingering echo of "Brother," possessed an unstoppable lethality.

Shen Yuan felt as if something was strangling him, his throat tight and dry. For a moment, he couldn’t make a sound.

’Sweeter than the strawberry?’

’This is a killer question!’

’No matter how sweet the strawberry is, how could it be sweeter than the mischievous yet incredibly alluring smile on her face?’

’Sweeter than the innocent, cute act she’s deliberately putting on right now?’

’Sweeter than the heart-stopping sight of her twin ponytails resting on her shoulders?’

Shen Yuan felt as if his head had been stuffed with a whole jar of boiling honey—sticky and scalding. All his cognitive functions were completely evaporated by this sudden, violent choice of sweetness.

And in that brief silence, which felt like an eternity to Shen Yuan—

"HO—LY—SHIT—!!!"

Ah Jie shot up from his seat like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His water cup hit the desk with a CLANG, splashing water everywhere, but he didn’t even notice.

Ah Jie clutched his chest with one hand and pointed at Shen Yuan and Li Zhi with the other, his expression twisted as if he were witnessing the apocalypse and an alien invasion at the same time.

Finally, Ah Jie let out a mournful cry.

"Waaaah—"

"Ahhh!!! That’s a foul!! That’s a fucking foul, Sister Li! Why? Why must you torture us single dogs!"

Yang Ze choked on a mouthful of water, coughing so hard it seemed the world would end. Tears streamed from his eyes, but even as he coughed, he didn’t forget to join the verbal assault.

"Damn... *cough*... *cough cough*... This... this public display of affection... *cough*... is way too aggressive! Shen Yuan! You bastard, you deserve to die!"

Chen Mingyu’s pen fell to the floor with a CLATTER. Behind his glasses, his eyes were wide and round, his mouth slightly agape, looking as if his entire worldview had just been shattered.

He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei were so excited they were gripping each other’s arms for dear life, stomping their feet wildly on the spot.

"AHHHH—! Zhizhi!!! Oh my god!!"

He Zhiyu’s voice was trembling uncontrollably.

"Help! Help me! I... I’m dying from this ship!!"

Zhuo Peipei covered her face, too excited to speak coherently. "’Is the strawberry sweeter or am I?!’ Ahhh! Zhizhi, how are you so good at this!!!"

"This is too sweet! It’s sweeter than all the Sugar Text I’ve ever read!"

The back of Class 15, and even students in the surrounding seats, were completely drawn in by this nuclear-level interaction and the collective screaming that followed.

Ah Jie looked like he had suffered a devastating blow. He clutched his chest and leaned back dramatically, nearly collapsing to the floor if not for the desk behind him, letting out an off-key wail.

"Waaaargh—! You’re killing us single dogs!!! Sister Li, you’ve changed, you weren’t like this before! Shen Yuan—! You damn thief—!"

The back row of Class 15, which had only been a pocket of commotion, completely erupted into a chaotic mess of howls and wails, a delayed explosion triggered by Li Zhi’s "Brother, is the strawberry sweeter, or am I?"

The anguished cries from the "single dogs" were like a boiling ocean.

The air was thick with the lemon-sour scent of envy, jealousy, and hate, and the lingering souls of the single dogs who had been crushed by this brutal display.

And at the center of the storm—Shen Yuan—his brain was still completely fried.

The boy’s cheeks were burning. Facing the girl’s blazing gaze, he felt his fragile heart being crushed between the resentment of his entire class and the expectation in Li Zhi’s eyes.

The exaggerated wails and jeers of his classmates buzzed around him, yet they seemed muffled and distant, as if he were hearing them through a film of water.

The center of Shen Yuan’s vision was occupied by one person and one person only: Li Zhi.

A powerful impulse made him take a sharp breath, as if to draw courage from the air for his answer.

In that instant, all his awkwardness and shyness seemed to be blown away by that breath, leaving only the searing sincerity of his heart.

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze firmly locked on Li Zhi’s eyes. His voice, clearer than ever before, carried a sort of reckless honesty:

"Li Bao, of course you’re sweeter!"

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally firm.

After saying this, the boy immediately wanted to shrink back like a deflated ball. The reckless honesty he had just mustered was instantly tinged with a fresh wave of bashfulness.

This decisive answer clearly pleased Li Zhi.

The corners of the beautiful girl’s lips curled up uncontrollably. The triumphant slyness was practically overflowing, suffusing her with a lively and flirtatious charm.

Just when Shen Yuan thought the danger had passed—

Li Zhi, relentless, leaned in just a little closer.

The girl’s voice dropped even lower, her eyes filled with a teasing smile as she pressed on:

"Oh?" She deliberately drew out the sound, the end of the word rising like a little hook.

"Then... Brother, just how sweet am I?"

BOOM—!

Shen Yuan felt as if fireworks were exploding before his eyes! His brain, which had just started to cool down, began to boil all over again!