Chapter 449 - 214: The So-Called Sense of Ceremony

Chapter 449: Chapter 214: The So-Called Sense of Ceremony

Their hands were hidden beneath their overlapping sleeves, fingers tightly laced together.

The shadow cast by the school gate swept over their clasped knuckles, blending their secret intimacy into the hazy light and shadows.

A teacher from the dean’s office, wrapped in a coat, stood at the entrance, his breath forming white puffs in the air. As his gaze swept over the crowd, his view of them was conveniently blocked by a few boys who were roughhousing.

The two of them wordlessly quickened their pace, passing through the gate and merging into the surging stream of students heading for the academic building.

The dim sky and the surging crowd provided effective cover. It wasn’t until they reached the academic building that Shen Yuan and Li Zhi felt the stares they had been deliberately ignoring slowly intensify.

Furtive glances swept over them as they walked side-by-side, ultimately fixating on their two tightly clasped hands.

The faint sound of whispers could be heard.

Li Zhi’s jawline tightened unconsciously. Any playful thoughts she had of teasing Shen Yuan quickly crumbled under the intensifying focus of so many eyes.

She could even feel the back of her neck beginning to grow hot again.

But she didn’t let go. Instead, the pressure from her fingertips increased ever so slightly, digging into the web of Shen Yuan’s thumb.

Shen Yuan felt this silent warning, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. He responded by tightening his grip, as if to send a silent message to hang in there.

After climbing the stairs, the moment they reached the back door of Class 15, the feeling of being targeted by everyone’s gaze instantly peaked.

The classroom door was open, but the room was unusually quiet—even quieter than it usually was before morning self-study.

It was as if everyone had been holding their breath, waiting for something, right before they appeared.

The few students who were usually late had, surprisingly, arrived early. Among them was even Ah Jie.

The very instant the two of them appeared at the doorway, everyone’s gazes snapped toward them with the precision of spotlights.

Shen Yuan almost instantly registered this suffocating, collective salute of stares.

He could clearly see the excited, mischievous expression on Ah Jie’s face. Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu’s eyes were wide as saucers, filled with curiosity and unabashed gossip.

He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei were even more dramatic. The two exchanged a knowing glance, then grabbed each other’s arms, practically vibrating with excitement where they stood.

"Ahhh, I knew it!"

The worst part was that nearly every single gaze was precisely fixed on Shen Yuan and Li Zhi’s still-clasped hands.

Li Zhi felt the string of her composure snap under the overwhelming flood of stares.

The fleeting courage she’d felt in the stairwell last night evaporated in an instant, replaced by sheer panic.

She could clearly feel the temperature of her cheeks and ears shoot past a critical point in a fraction of a second, hot blood rushing to her head.

Her fair cheeks instantly turned red.

Her fingertips instinctively curled, a reflex to pull her hand away.

But just then, Shen Yuan suddenly tightened his grip and strode toward their seats, pulling her along.

At the same time, Shen Yuan barked at Ah Jie and the others, "What are you looking at?! You’ve got some nerve! Never seen childhood sweethearts before? Li Bao’s hands are cold, so I’m warming them up. Got a problem with that?"

"Ooooooh—"

The moment Shen Yuan finished speaking, Ah Jie was the first to let out a long, drawn-out catcall, accompanied by an exaggerated shake of his head and a mischievous waggle of his eyebrows.

That sound was like a lit fuse; Yang Ze, Chen Mingyu, and the others immediately joined in.

"Excuses! All excuses!"

"Yeah, yeah! Totally not owning up to it!"

Clearly mocking catcalls rose and fell throughout the quiet classroom, interspersed with a few laughs from people who were just enjoying the show.

"Get lost, all of you! Go read your books! You’re all seniors, and you’re still not studying! What the hell are you doing?!"

Just as Shen Yuan finished speaking, Li Zhi lifted her head.

"Exactly!"

The pretty girl stared at Ah Jie. "I’m going to quiz you on your vocabulary words later!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait, it wasn’t just me!" Ah Jie was suddenly dumbfounded.

Li Zhi huffed at him. "Well, that’s what you get for being so bad at English!"

Ah Jie was rendered speechless.

He Zhiyu watched the two of them sit down.

Although they had let go of each other’s hands to put down their bags, the air between them was so much more lovey-dovey than usual that He Zhiyu couldn’t sit still.

The budding author’s face flushed, the flames of her inner gossip columnist burning so fiercely she could no longer hold back.

She suddenly twisted halfway around in her seat, gripping the back of her chair with both hands. Her eyes were as bright as searchlights as she leaned forward slightly and asked in a low, breathy whisper.

"Hey, hey, hey! So... so you two! When did you confess?"

He Zhiyu blinked, her expression an open plea of ’Tell me the truth!’ The desire for gossip was so blatant, the words might as well have been plastered across her forehead.

As He Zhiyu spoke, a circle of people around them all perked up their ears.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi looked over at almost the exact same time.

The heat that had just begun to fade from Li Zhi’s ears instantly returned in a flush of crimson. She immediately shot He Zhiyu a glare.

"He Zhiyu! What kind of nonsense goes through that head of yours all day?"

Shen Yuan, on the other hand, looked at He Zhiyu’s ’thirsty for knowledge’ expression, blinked in surprise for a moment, and then his lips curled into a teasing smile.

Mimicking Li Zhi’s usual disdainful tone, he slowly added, "Yeah, are you running out of material for your stories?"

"Pfft—" Beside them, Zhuo Peipei couldn’t hold it in. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking suspiciously.

Hearing Shen Yuan so obviously mimicking her, Li Zhi immediately whipped her head around and shot him another fierce glare.

Her eyes seemed to say, ’And you’re just egging them on!’