Chapter 457 - 215: Good Omen

Chapter 457: Chapter 215: Good Omen

"I have a feeling we’ll need to buy a new vase soon."

Xu Chan blinked, her gaze falling on the vase.

A bouquet sat within it, flowers Old Li had just bought today.

For her.

Xu Chan smiled and shook her head. "You’re quite generous."

"Well, what choice do I have?"

Seeing Old Li’s helpless expression, Xu Chan laughed out loud.

...

Christmas Day was just as Yang Ze had predicted.

Old Zhou scheduled a full day of exams.

It was non-stop from morning till night.

Christmas confessions? That sort of thing doesn’t exist for us third-year high school grunts!

By the time the exams were over, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi were already numb.

Having experienced the benefits of his Concentration skill, Shen Yuan was now getting a taste of its downside.

The moment he tried to focus, he’d easily slip into the Concentration state.

A full day of exams was somehow even more exhausting than a full day of studying.

On Christmas Day, Shen Yuan got home and collapsed straight into bed. He didn’t wake up until past four in the morning.

The two kittens were still fast asleep, but he was already wide awake.

’What do I do...’

He murmured, his voice nearly inaudible in the silent room.

All sleepiness had long since vanished, replaced by a growing, urgent tension.

It was as if an invisible hand were clutching his heart, every beat laced with panic.

’Only six days left!’

He’d thought he was ready.

But as he watched the days burn away, the surefire confidence he thought he had began to evaporate wildly under the pressure of the approaching countdown to midnight on New Year’s Eve, revealing the bottomless anxiety underneath.

Christmas was over.

The thought landed like a cold pebble in the lake of his heart.

With it, the number "6" suddenly loomed large, pressing down heavily on his chest.

’Shit!’

Shen Yuan cursed silently, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow, which smelled of familiar laundry detergent.

...

’Can’t sleep.’

Agitation gnawed at him, like a swarm of tiny insects crawling under his skin.

Shen Yuan finally sat up and fumbled to turn on the small nightlight on his headboard. An orange halo of light immediately dispelled the small patch of darkness beside the bed.

The two cats sleeping at the foot of the bed were disturbed by the light and let out dissatisfied grumbles, but they quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

Shen Yuan leaned against the headboard, his gaze vacant, staring into the shadows in the corner of the room as if the answer to his urgent problem was hidden there.

’The classroom?’ he mouthed silently.

’No.’

He immediately rejected his own first idea.

’School will be out for the holidays by then, and the classroom doors will be locked. Am I supposed to just break in?’

’The town square?’

The next scene jumped into his mind.

A sea of people for the New Year’s countdown, brilliant fireworks... it seemed like a standard scene from a rom-com.

But he immediately recalled Li Zhi’s usual reviews of such deliberately festive chaos.

"It’s so loud," "So annoying," "I hate being crammed in with so many people."

’No, too many people and way too loud.’

Li Bao would, in all likelihood, just look disgusted and might even drag him home early.

You couldn’t build up a confession-worthy atmosphere in that kind of environment; everyone would just be celebrating the New Year.

Besides, public confessions weren’t really romantic for most girls.

After thinking it over and over, it seemed like there was only one place left.

’At home?’

’My place or Li Zhi’s?’

’Okay, first off, Li Zhi’s house is out of the question.’

’Are you kidding me?! Confessing to his precious daughter right under Old Li’s nose? That’s basically a death wish!’

The image of her father’s dark expression and a possible "physical education" session lingered in his mind. Shen Yuan subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck.

’He might even get a double dose of "fatherly education" from both Old Shen and Old Li.’

’My room?’

Shen Yuan let out a small sigh of relief.

’But... at midnight on New Year’s Eve, how am I supposed to get Li Zhi alone in my room?’

’Celebrate New Year’s together? That could be a good idea.’

’But... how exactly would that work?’

Shen Yuan rubbed his faintly aching temples.

Just settling on a location hadn’t reduced his worries at all.

’Decorate the place beforehand?’

His gaze subconsciously swept over the walls, his desk, the windowsill.

’Buy some decorative string lights? Stick some little stars on the ceiling? A heart-shaped candle array? Put on some romantic music? Play her favorite songs?’

Shen Yuan fell silent.

’Or... maybe something simpler and more direct?’

Shen Yuan grabbed a pillow, squeezing it in frustration.

As the clock struck midnight and fireworks lit up the sky, he could just give her a gentle pull. Then, against the deafening backdrop, he’d look at her profile, illuminated by the explosions of color, and clearly, solemnly, say the words...

The scene was perfect in his imagination.

’But the question is... isn’t that a little too simple?’

Shen Yuan threw himself back onto his pillow, letting out a silent wail.

’This is too hard! It’s harder than solving one of those final, killer math problems!’

’He had to find a way to get her into his room naturally, without it seeming forced, and then create a private, cozy atmosphere despite the noisy New Year’s Eve celebrations...’

’How did I never realize before that the prep work for a confession was this complicated?!’

Shen Yuan sighed.

’Maybe I should ask someone for help?’

One by one, faces flashed through his mind, until he finally settled on Zhuo Peipei.

As the president of the Kissing Association, Zhuo Peipei had read countless Sugar Texts and seen just as many confession scenes within them.

This candidate, whose theoretical knowledge was maxed out, was clearly a good person to consult.

’But...’

’Could he really count on Zhuo Peipei?’

’After all, that’s stuff from Sugar Texts. Reality is a completely different story!’