Chapter 599 - 242: Home? Which One?

Chapter 599: Chapter 242: Home? Which One?

His gaze was as peaceful as the night, yet it made Li Zhi feel as if he had already seen through everything and was just quietly waiting for her to speak.

"Um... Sister Shui said," Li Zhi felt her voice waver as she quickly tried to organize her thoughts.

"She’s taking me and Shen Yuan to the city for fun. We’ve already set off the fireworks, and there’s nothing else to do here anyway..."

Old Li’s gaze lingered for a moment on the tips of her ears, which were red with nervousness.

Li Zhi’s heart leaped into her throat.

"Heh."

After a moment, Old Li finally chuckled. His smile was gentle and ordinary, carrying a sense of understanding and indulgence.

Like a gentle breeze caressing the water’s surface, he didn’t pierce the thin paper screen of her lie.

"Alright," Old Li said, setting down his teacup, his voice as calm as ever.

He paused, his gentle eyes on Li Zhi, and continued in a natural tone, "In that case... remember to come home early."

"Okay! I will!"

Li Zhi nodded emphatically. Her cheeks were still burning, but the taut string in her heart, pulled tight by her lie, quietly loosened with Old Li’s acceptance.

A warm current flowed through her heart, a mixture of relief and an even deeper sense of bashfulness.

"I’m heading out now!"

After saying goodbye to her grandparents, Li Zhi walked out the door.

The beautiful girl practically flew as she turned, pushed open the courtyard gate with a soft CLICK, and threw herself back into the cold night.

The moment she stepped out, Li Zhi saw Shen Yuan waiting by the gate.

When Shen Yuan saw Li Zhi come out, he immediately reached out his hand to her.

The girl naturally placed her hand in his, their fingers interlacing.

"Let’s go find Sister Shui."

As for Shen Yuan’s family, he’d naturally managed to fool them quite easily.

The moment Ms. Zhang Yuyan saw Li Zhi, she pulled out a huge red packet.

Shen Yuan looked at its thickness. ’That’s not the amount you give to a regular junior!’

’That’s more like what you’d give a daughter-in-law!’

’It’s even more than what she gave me!’

Shen Yuan had to admit it: he was jealous.

Yang Yishui, however, was watching all this with great amusement.

"I get the feeling that even reporting this to the dean’s office would be useless now."

In the car, Yang Yishui looked at Shen Yuan in the passenger seat and couldn’t resist teasing him.

Shen Yuan shot his Eldest Female Cousin an eye-roll. "Just focus on driving."

"Hey! You made me take the fall and now you’re getting fierce with me? Dammit, Shen Yuan, I’m gonna lose it on you!"

Yang Yishui said viciously, "Later, I’m telling Li Zhi’s dad!"

"No, no, no! Sis, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I’ll buy you bubble tea, lots and lots of bubble tea!" Shen Yuan instantly backed down.

"Bubble tea isn’t enough! Send a red packet! 200!"

"Fine, fine, fine! 200 it is!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Shen Yuan sent Yang Yishui a 200-yuan red packet!

’Are you kidding me? Am I, Shen Yuan, the kind of person who’s short on 200 yuan?’

’With Brother Tongzi around, a mere two hundred is nothing!’

’Hmm...’

’Wait, has Tongzi gone silent recently?’

’Whatever. It’s the New Year. I’ll let it have a vacation, too.’

"Sent!"

Shen Yuan briskly transferred the red packet to Yang Yishui, his voice tinged with a bit of swagger.

’A mere two hundred yuan? Piece of cake.’

Yang Yishui’s phone hadn’t even finished announcing the receipt of the money when a very light cough came from the back seat.

"Ahem—"

The sound wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear inside the car.

Shen Yuan subconsciously turned his head toward the sound.

In the back seat, Li Zhi sat ramrod straight, her head turned slightly to gaze at the hazy stream of streetlights passing by.

The neon lights from outside seemed to make her cheeks look even more delicate, and her elegant jawline was set in a subtle, almost imperceptible curve.

Shen Yuan’s gaze instantly caught the sight of her slender fingers resting on the seat, the knuckles unconsciously curling slightly.

Her fingertips pressed lightly into the soft seat fabric before releasing, betraying a trace of their owner’s subtle mood.

Shen Yuan’s heart stirred.

’Oho?’

’Is my Li Bao... jealous? Or... covetous?’

The realization hit Shen Yuan in an instant.

A knowing smile flashed in the young man’s eyes.

’Tsk, is this supposed to be difficult?’

Without another word, his fingers flew across his phone screen.

A few seconds later, a crisp, custom notification, DING-DONG~, rang from the phone in Li Zhi’s hand.

The girl’s shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly as she subconsciously glanced down at the screen.

On the screen, a WeChat red packet had popped up from [Dumbass Selaan], complete with a cute little heart emoji and the note "Exclusively for Li Bao."

That soft cough, like the most eloquent punctuation mark in the night, was gently erased by this transfer notification with its exclusive response.

Li Zhi accepted the red packet and her eyes immediately widened.

520?!

’You motherf...’

Li Zhi wanted to teach Shen Yuan a lesson right then and there, but with Yang Yishui present, she decided against it.

The beautiful girl silently picked up her phone and sent a red packet back to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan’s phone buzzed. He glanced down and immediately saw the red packet notification from Li Zhi.

Shen Yuan’s eyebrow twitched. He almost held his breath as he tapped on it.

The moment the number popped up, Shen Yuan’s brow shot up!

521.

The return gift for a 520 was a 521.

One yuan more than his, a little more ardent.

And unlike his, which had a teasing "exclusive" label, hers was more like a silent, solemn reply.

Shen Yuan put down his phone. He didn’t childishly add a few more yuan and send another red packet back.

He slowly raised his head and turned to look at the beautiful girl behind him.

Outside the car window, the lights and shadows of passing streetlamps swept through the car in mottled patterns, like a flowing river of stars.

Beams of warm, yellow light flashed across Li Zhi’s profile.

The girl still held her pose, head turned to the window, but the line of her jaw showed a forced composure.

However, in those fleeting flashes of light, Shen Yuan clearly saw the corners of her pursed lips curve into a tiny smile.

The light and shadow flashed past, hiding that sweet, revealing expression back in the darkness.

The weight of that "521," along with that fleeting, sly curve of her lips, was seared heavily onto the tip of Shen Yuan’s heart.

...

The car came to a steady stop at the entrance of a familiar residential complex.

The warm yellow halo of a streetlight enveloped the complex’s entrance, the crisp winter night air mixed with the faint, distant smell of firecracker smoke.

"End of the line! For our two distinguished guests~"

Yang Yishui turned her head, her voice thick with teasing, a standard "auntie smile" on her lips.

The Eldest Female Cousin’s eyes darted back and forth between Shen Yuan and Li Zhi. "Get out slowly, now. Don’t want to crease your newly received year-end bonuses."

A blast of cold air instantly rushed in through the open car door.

Li Zhi instinctively shrank back, pulling up the collar of her down jacket.

"Thanks, sis! Put the bubble tea on my tab!" Shen Yuan replied smoothly, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

As Li Zhi was about to get out of the car, Yang Yishui’s smiling admonition followed her.

"Hey, Shen Yuan, take it slow, the roads are slippery at night..." She paused deliberately, her tone full of mischief, "...safety first, you know!"

The second part of her sentence was clearly suggestive, and Li Zhi’s face, which had just calmed down, instantly flushed crimson again.

"Sister Shui!!" the beautiful girl whined in embarrassed annoyance, quickly scrambling out of the car.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan asked Yang Yishui over his shoulder as he got out, "What are you doing later?"

"None of your business! This big sister is going to find herself a pretty boy!"

Shen Yuan gave Yang Yishui a huge eye-roll. "Just be careful you don’t get bitten by the dog."

Yang Yishui immediately shot him a double middle finger. "Get lost!"

Shen Yuan just laughed and slammed the car door with a BANG, which served as his reply.

The car immediately started up again. Its red taillights drew a striking line down the street, quickly blending into the distant lights of countless homes and festive neon signs, leaving only the faint hum of the engine to dissipate in the cold air.

At the entrance to the complex, only Shen Yuan and Li Zhi were left, standing side by side.

The biting night wind lifted a few stray strands of hair from Li Zhi’s cheek. Shen Yuan turned to look at her, naturally taking her cool hand in his and lacing their fingers together.

"Haaah— We’re finally... home."

Li Zhi gently exhaled a small puff of white breath and looked at Shen Yuan. "Mhm, we’re home."