Chapter 456 - 215: A Good Omen

Chapter 456: Chapter 215: A Good Omen

However, Shen Yuan just held her tighter, a low laugh rumbling in his chest. "Weren’t you complaining it was jabbing you and uncomfortable? See, problem solved. Much more comfortable now, huh?"

His whispered "Much more comfortable now, huh?" was even more infuriating than if he had directly exposed what she was thinking!

Li Zhi was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it on the spot!

"Moron!! Le... let go!"

"I’m not letting go."

Shen Yuan looked at the girl in his arms and tightened his embrace.

Li Zhi glared at Shen Yuan, but in the end, still buried her face in the side of his neck.

Just then, a panicked voice, soft as a mosquito’s buzz, entered his ear.

"You idiot! What if Old Li opens the door and sees us?"

This sentence precisely hit Shen Yuan’s Achilles’ heel.

His body suddenly stiffened, as if that intimidating pressure from Old Li had already penetrated the heavy security door and enveloped him.

The slight trembling of the girl in his arms and her scorching breath against his ear were constant reminders of the danger of his current situation.

But soon, that tightrope-walking tension gave rise to another feeling within him.

"Then tell me, is there any chance Uncle Li won’t find out?"

Li Zhi lightly slapped Shen Yuan. "Moron, you think my dad goes to bed this early? He’s definitely in the living room right now!"

As she spoke, Li Zhi snuck a peek at her front door’s peephole and said to Shen Yuan in a muffled voice.

"Why don’t you check if any light is coming through the peephole."

Shen Yuan blinked, his gaze shifting slightly toward the peephole on Li Zhi’s front door.

Excellent. No light was coming through.

Shen Yuan instantly sobered up as if doused with ice water, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously.

"Looks like... no light is coming through."

The two of them froze.

The next second, a distance suddenly opened up between them.

The girl quickly straightened her messy collar and hair, her eyelashes trembling violently.

"I’m... I’m going in!"

Shen Yuan nodded repeatedly, quickly grabbing his schoolbag and turning to run to his front door.

At the same time, Li Zhi quickly opened her door, grabbed her schoolbag and the Peace Fruit, and slipped inside.

SLAM—

The door slammed shut behind her, cutting her off from the boy outside—the same one who had been so arrogant and smug just moments ago, but was now fumbling frantically with his own door.

Li Zhi pressed her back against the cool surface of the door, her heart still pounding wildly in her chest. Her rapid breaths made her cheeks burn, and even the tips of her ears felt like they were on fire.

Li Zhi turned her head to look at the peephole and discovered it had a cover...

’This...’

’Looks like I was mistaken?’

Still, Li Zhi let out a small sigh of relief.

’Being mistaken is way better than being caught by Old Li!’

If Old Li had really discovered them, Li Zhi herself wouldn’t have known what to do.

She wondered if Old Li would beat Shen Yuan up in a fit of anger.

"Zhizhi?"

Just as Li Zhi’s mind was racing, Old Li’s voice reached her ears.

He had heard the front door slam shut. At this hour, he didn’t even have to think to know it was Li Zhi.

But when it was followed by silence for so long, Old Li couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

Li Zhi’s head shot up, and she saw Old Li’s gaze locked onto her.

Old Li looked at his slightly stiff daughter standing by the door and furrowed his brow in confusion.

Li Zhi’s cheeks were flushed, as if she had just been exercising vigorously or had been battered by the cold wind.

Her usually clear and bright eyes were now filled with obvious panic, which only intensified when she saw him.

More importantly...

Old Li’s gaze shifted downward, landing on the object his daughter was clutching tightly in her arms.

It was an exquisitely wrapped gift box.

Old Li couldn’t possibly forget that today was Christmas Eve. He also couldn’t forget that Li Zhi had rarely brought home this kind of Peace Fruit from school over the years.

Even when she did, she certainly wouldn’t be carrying it in her hands, let alone cradling it in her arms.

"What are you spacing out for at the door? Why is your face so red?"

"N-Nothing! The wind... the wind outside!"

Li Zhi’s voice was a little unsteady, and she subconsciously hugged the box in her arms even tighter.

She didn’t even dare to look her father in the eye. Her movements were clearly stiff and filled with a desperate panic to escape, wanting only to hurry back to her room.

"I... I’m going back to my room now!"

Li Zhi practically fled across the living room. She could feel her father’s gaze stuck to her back like a physical object, making every step an agonizing ordeal.

It wasn’t until the moment she rushed into her room and slammed the door shut behind her that she leaned against it, completely drained, and let out a long breath.

The deep blush on her cheeks lingered, and her fingertips were still trembling slightly from the lie and her nervousness.

Back in the living room, Old Li’s expression faltered for a moment.

His gaze lingered on the closed bedroom door for a moment before slowly falling to the entryway.

His daughter’s flushed face, her clutching the gift box, her evasive eyes—all on Christmas Eve... A knowing smile slowly formed on Old Li’s lips. It was a smile mixed with a bit of sentimentality and a hint of indescribable complexity.

’That silly girl... The way she forced herself to act calm was the spitting image of her mother back in the day.’

Old Li gently shook his head, a smile blooming in his eyes, tinged with a bit of resignation and the tolerance of someone who’s been there before.

’Ah, well. The little secrets of young people... As their father, he saw it all as clear as day.’

He didn’t look at his daughter’s closed door again. He just lowered his head and smiled silently, a little more deeply this time.

"What’s wrong? What are you so happy about?" Xu Chan asked, looking at Old Li in confusion.

Old Li looked at his wife, his gaze falling on the vase in the living room.