Chapter 93: Chapter 90: A 10-Minute Date is Still a Date

"If you’ve got brain damage, you can go to the nurse’s office. Maybe there’s still hope for you."

Even though Li Zhi’s words were obviously sarcastic, Shen Yuan acted as if he hadn’t noticed at all. He kept his serious expression as he looked at Li Zhi and continued speaking:

"I’m being completely serious. Do you want to walk home together tonight?"

Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan’s earnest expression, feeling a bit suspicious. She wasn’t sure if he genuinely wanted to walk home with her or if he had some other motive.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "No, I mean... what exactly are you getting at?"

Seeing her reaction, Shen Yuan immediately explained excitedly, "It means walking home together! Let’s go together!"

After saying this, Shen Yuan immediately put on a fawning expression. "Come on, just say yes! Just nod your head, say ’mm-hmm,’ ’okay,’ ’sure’—anything that means you agree!"

"Please! This is really important to me!"

With that, Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi, his eyes filled with hope.

Li Zhi’s cheek muscle twitched slightly. Clearly, the beautiful girl was doing her utmost to restrain her emotions.

’This kid... maybe... forget it. He’s a moron.’

"Mama!"

Li Zhi finally snapped.

’This damn moronic high schooler will stop at nothing to get what he wants!’

To prevent Shen Yuan from doing something even more insane, Li Zhi quickly nodded.

"Fine, fine! We’ll walk home together tonight!"

Hearing Li Zhi’s words, Shen Yuan immediately jumped up, grabbed the beautiful girl’s hand, and bowed.

"I can’t thank you enough."

Li Zhi quickly snatched her hand back and wiped it on Shen Yuan’s school uniform.

"Get lost!"

"You got it!"

Li Zhi watched Shen Yuan return to his seat, chanting silently in her head.

’He’s a moron, he’s a moron, he’s a moron, he’s a moron...’

’Don’t stoop to a moron’s level. The bigger person just has to let it go, I guess!’

Li Zhi comforted herself.

Meanwhile, having gotten Li Zhi’s agreement, Shen Yuan was brimming with confidence. He would complete the mission right after the evening self-study session and make a cool 5,000 yuan!

’I hope the system keeps proving its worth!’

For the rest of the time, Shen Yuan focused his attention on the test papers.

One test paper after another—all homework assigned by his various subject teachers.

Even though they were all just half-sheets of homework, it still took a lot of time.

It took him one lunch break and one PE class, but Shen Yuan finally finished the three test papers that had been handed out in the morning.

This meant Shen Yuan only had homework for two more subjects left.

As for his English homework, Shen Yuan’s default policy was not to do it.

The last time was just a gesture for Teacher’s Day and for his Eldest Female Cousin.

The afternoon classes were no different from usual.

After class, another barrage of test papers descended.

You had to admit, the school had an endless supply of paper.

But the good news was that no teacher came to take over their self-study period today. Perhaps they figured that since the first round of review had just begun, they should let these little brats catch their breath.

Once they were done catching their breath, it would be time to face the true third-year high school life.

Shen Yuan didn’t really care; he was Vigorous and Full of Energy anyway.

He could even skip his afternoon nap and still last the whole afternoon, but he’d get sleepy during evening self-study.

Shen Yuan’s usual method was to sleep when he was tired.

After all, without good energy, you can’t have good study efficiency.

’He was sleeping now so he could study better later!’

...

Shen Yuan didn’t have dinner with Li Zhi. He was dragged away by Ah Jie and the others to look for the cafeteria’s special fruit dishes.

And, as luck would have it, they found stir-fried strawberries with celery.

A red and green combo—total crap.

Naturally, the taste of the dish was also hard to put into words.

After dinner, Yang Ze asked, "By the way, how’s the second phase of the Holy Grail War going?"

"We’re tallying it up. The main thing is to count up the people from each faction; calculating the average score is easy. It’s just that there’s been too much homework lately. It’ll probably be done by tomorrow."

As one of the organizers of the Holy Grail War, Ah Jie was not only part of the Coca-Cola faction but also responsible for tallying the results.

As he spoke, Ah Jie looked at Shen Yuan. "Yuan, your win rate is pretty low."

Shen Yuan shrugged nonchalantly, holding his Assam milk tea. "Perfect. I’ve had too much Assam anyway. I was looking to switch things up."

"Come over to my side, Yuan! Coca-Cola, you never get tired of it!"

Chen Mingyu immediately retorted, "Screw you! Iced black tea is the undefeated legend!"

"Coca-Cola!"

"Iced Black Tea!"

Watching the two of them argue, Shen Yuan and Ah Jie shook their heads in unison.

"Childish!"

"So childish!"

Just then, a familiar voice drifted through the air.

"You have the nerve to call other people childish?"

Shen Yuan turned his head and saw Young Master Li.

Young Master Li and He Zhiyu were just heading back to the classroom after eating in the cafeteria when they saw the four of them.

"How am I childish?" Shen Yuan asked.

"You’re always calling ’Mama, Mama.’ You tell me if that’s childish or not."

Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched.

’My own move was used against me.’

...

On a street dotted with lampposts, Li Zhi walked with a light step, an irrepressible smile on her face. From time to time, she would glance at the late-night snack stalls by the roadside. The halos of the streetlights danced on the tips of her hair, coating her silhouette in a soft, warm glow.

Shen Yuan had his hands in his school uniform pockets. His expression was calm, but he consistently matched Li Zhi’s pace. Their shadows stretched and shortened on the stone-paved road.

As they passed their usual oden stall, the rising steam carried a fragrant aroma. Shen Yuan paused and asked tentatively, "You really don’t want a skewer of meatballs?"

Li Zhi glanced at him, her lips twitching slightly. "Did a certain someone not hear me say I’m full?"

Shen Yuan immediately let out an exaggerated sigh, but when he caught the sly glint in the girl’s eyes, he suddenly burst out laughing.

The evening wind started to pick up.

The tips of the beautiful girl’s hair brushed against Shen Yuan’s face, making it feel itchy.

"A typhoon’s coming."

Shen Yuan had already seen the news that a typhoon had formed. This morning, the news was updated: the typhoon was expected to make landfall in Zhejiang Province around noon tomorrow.

In recent years, typhoons passing through the Zhoushan Archipelago always seemed to get slapped away.

But this typhoon was making landfall from the south.

It wasn’t passing through the Zhoushan Archipelago; it had gone around it.

Li Zhi nodded. "Remember to bring an umbrella tomorrow."

"So I can experience the feeling of taking off?"

Shen Yuan was about to say this, but the thought that the two of them were on a "date" made him immediately nod in agreement instead.

"Oh, right. Remember to bring a jacket. You get cold easily."

"I know. I’m not a child," Li Zhi said, displeased.

"Oh, come on. You’d throw a fit just for an ice cream cone, and it’s not like you don’t have the money."

Li Zhi tilted her head up and huffed. "What do you mean, throwing a fit? That’s called acting. Don’t you get it?"

Shen Yuan didn’t reply, his gaze fixed quietly on Li Zhi.

Li Zhi felt the tips of her ears burn under Shen Yuan’s gaze. She subconsciously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but the warm light of the lamppost happened to illuminate the faint blush on her earlobe, leaving it nowhere to hide.

The girl’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. She suddenly grabbed her backpack strap and swung it at Shen Yuan, the hem of her school uniform tracing an arc of embarrassed anger in the air.

"Your gaze is so perverted!"

Her voice was half a pitch higher than usual, and as the tips of her hair brushed past Shen Yuan’s nose, they brought a gust of citrus-scented wind.

Seeing the backpack swinging at him, Shen Yuan dodged repeatedly.

"Can you really blame me? Li Zhi, search your heart and tell me, can you really blame me?"

"So you’re victim-blaming now, are you?!"

Li Zhi continued to swing her backpack at him without mercy.

Besides, her backpack only contained test papers. It was light and didn’t have much weight, so it wouldn’t hurt even if it hit.

SNAP!

Shen Yuan caught it with both hands, gripping the backpack firmly.

’Bare-handed blade catch!’

Shen Yuan yanked the backpack towards him, but he had overlooked one thing: Li Zhi hadn’t let go.

The girl stumbled two steps forward.

Shen Yuan was about to reach out and steady her, but he saw that she had already leaped back half a step like a startled deer, her cheeks shimmering like pearls in the moonlight.

"You... Why did you pull so hard!"

Looking at Li Zhi’s accusing expression, Shen Yuan scratched his head.

"S-Sorry."

"Hmph!"

Li Zhi turned and walked towards her residential complex.

The moment she turned, the blush on her ears was hidden by her long hair, just as the sound of her hurried footsteps masked her racing heartbeat.