I'm a senior in high school, and the system says I'm going on a blind date with my childho

Chapter 218 Will You Come to My House for New Year's Eve? The Kitten Misses You (Part 2, Bonus Chapter)
"A little bit of sunshine."

As Yang Yishui's voice faded, the music suddenly stopped.

A burst of jubilation suddenly erupted in the stadium, and everyone in the arena cheered.

The song has a very cheerful tone; it's the kind of song that makes you want to sway along as soon as you hear it.

The already heated atmosphere, fueled by the street dance performance, was instantly ignited by Yang Yishui, and the excitement lingered for a long time.

In this almost deafening sea of ​​revelry, enough to drown out any individual voice, Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi beside him.

The girl's cheeks flushed slightly with excitement and warmth, and her eyes shone brightly in the overwhelming sound.

When Shen Yuan asked her, Li Zhi leaned close to Shen Yuan's ear and said, "No."

Looking at the sly look on the girl's face, Shen Yuan shook his head helplessly.

The New Year's Eve gala performances were not yet finished.

It seemed that the school leaders understood the impact this song would have on the entire venue, so the subsequent program gradually calmed things down.

As the lingering applause faded after the last performance, the stadium lights came on one by one.

The host's voice pierced through the noise once more: "Thank you to all the performers for their wonderful performances! Now, please welcome all the performers to the stage tonight—"

The applause surged like a tide.

Actors dressed in various costumes filed out, stood side by side in the bright light, and bowed to the teachers and students in the audience.

The brief period of joy came to an end.

"Students, please leave the venue in an orderly manner!"

Old Zhou immediately stood up and clapped his hands loudly: "Class 15! Take your personal belongings and clean up the trash under your feet!"

The crowd began to surge toward the exit like a stream.

Ah-Jie craned his neck to look back at the stage with reluctance: "Is it over already? I haven't seen enough of Sister Shui!"

Shen Yuanli picked up two chairs and said, "I bet if you score over 120 on the English section of the college entrance exam, Sister Shui will definitely allow you to sing in the classroom."

Ah Jie chuckled and said, "Then let's forget about it."

As the noise gradually subsided and the teachers urged them on, the students of Class 15 joined the departing crowd.

The chill of the winter night seeped in again through the open door, but it couldn't suppress the lingering warmth and boisterous echoes inside the stadium.

As they left the gymnasium, the crowd dispersed into smaller streams, flowing towards their respective classrooms.

The hustle and bustle of the recent grand event contrasts subtly with the noise on the school road at this moment.

After arriving at the classroom, Lao Zhou arrived quickly.

"Alright, stop whispering," Old Zhou said, clapping his hands as he stood by the podium. "Pack up! Day students, hurry home; boarding students, head back to your dorms. It's getting late!"

The classroom was instantly filled with the joyful anticipation of the end of the school term.

"Li Bao, have you got everything?"

Shen Yuan casually picked up Li Zhi's schoolbag from the desk and slung it over his shoulder—his schoolbag was already on his back.

Li Zhi nodded: "Let's go."

Shen Yuan naturally took Li Zhi's hand and waved to A-Jie and the others: "Let's go!"

OK! Bye-bye! See you tomorrow!

"See you tomorrow!"

The two of them joined the larger flow of people leaving the classroom, carrying their schoolbags, and heading home.

Under the dim streetlights, the shadows of the boys and girls were elongated. The cold winter wind still blew, but the lingering passion of that grand party and the anticipation of the holiday seemed to have quietly dispelled the deepest chill.

Tomorrow is the New Year's Day holiday.

The hands clasped together beneath their sleeves conveyed a reassuring warmth, dispelling the chill of the winter night.

As Shen Yuan walked along the quiet section of road leading to the residential area, his heart inexplicably quickened.

He gently squeezed Li Zhi's fingertips, speaking as if casually, his voice mingling with the sound of their light footsteps: "Li Bao, how are you planning to spend New Year's Eve tomorrow? Staying home or..."

As Shen Yuan spoke, his gaze naturally fell on the girl's profile illuminated by the light beside him.

Although the question wasn't finished, Li Zhi could clearly hear the probing in it.

The girl didn't stop walking, nor did she even turn her head. She only curled her fingertips in his palm and spoke in a light, airy voice, revealing no particular emotion.

"No arrangements have been made."

She paused for a moment before finally turning her head. Her clear gaze swept over Shen Yuan's slightly tense jawline, and a playful smile curved her lips.

What about you? What are your plans?

This casual rhetorical question was like a pebble thrown into a still lake, causing Shen Yuan's Adam's apple to bob involuntarily.

The fingers clasped tightly under the cuffs tightened even more instantly.

The cold wind of the winter night seemed to hold its breath at this moment, freezing the boy's arrangement, which concealed turbulent thoughts, and the girl's seemingly unintentional inquiry, in the middle of the way home shrouded by the dim streetlights.

After waiting for a while and seeing no response from Shen Yuan, Li Zhi said to him, "If you don't have any plans, I think I'll just spend the time with my parents."

The night breeze rustled through the treetops, and the streetlights cast long shadows of the two people standing very close together.

Shen Yuan paused almost imperceptibly, his grip on Li Zhi's fingers tightened unconsciously, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"That... that..."

His voice was a little more erratic than before, with a noticeable stutter. His gaze drifted into the distance, then quickly swept over Li Zhi's ears, which were slightly red from the cold wind.

Li Zhi's clear eyes held a silent question.

Shen Yuan felt a burning sensation from that gaze, and hurriedly looked away. A slight heat crept into his ears, and his speech became hesitant and stuttering.

"Well, it's New Year's Eve, the first year that Sangeng and Naonao have been living at our house..."

He took a breath, as if he had finally mustered up some courage, but his voice became even lower and lower, almost blending into the wind: "Do you want to come to my house and keep... keep them company? They must miss you a lot, you haven't come much lately."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yuan felt his cheeks burning and almost immediately turned his face away, not daring to look at Li Zhi's expression.

Looking at his nervous expression, with his ears turning red, Li Zhi felt a mix of exasperation and amusement.

Ha, you idiot Shen Yuan, you even know how to use Sangeng and Naonao as shields... How despicable.

If someone wants to say something, they should just say it directly, instead of using the kitten as an excuse!

This clumsy excuse and cover-up is simply awful.

The girl silently complained to herself, but a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips without her even noticing.

Using a kitten to "seduce" her was a truly clever tactic.

Li Zhi realized that it had been a while since she had visited Shen Yuan's house, and she missed the two little ones quite a bit.

"Li Bao?"

After waiting a few seconds without receiving a response, Shen Yuan felt increasingly anxious. Finally, he couldn't help but turn his face slightly to the side and ask with a mix of trepidation and eagerness, "Are you coming?"

Under the streetlights, Shen Yuan saw Li Zhi slightly turn his head and glance at him.

His gaze held a knowing look that seemed to see right through him, mixed with a hint of helpless indulgence.

In the end, she said nothing, only nodded slightly at him.

"Ah."

This light, airy syllable is like a pebble thrown into calm water.

Shen Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

It felt as if my chest was instantly filled with something hot yet light, almost bursting out of my throat.

His throat tightened involuntarily, and a low, suppressed breath escaped from his nose, as if the beginning of a silly laugh had been forcibly suppressed.

Hearing Shen Yuan's forced, silly laugh and the undeniable grip between his fingers, Li Zhi felt another silent grumbling in his heart.

"Hmph, idiot Shen Yuan... getting so excited..." "Using the midnight commotion as a shield, how stupid!"

"It was clearly your own idea!"

Even the wind on a winter night seems a little gentler.

Shen Yuan felt his steps were exceptionally light, as if he were walking on clouds.

The girl's shallow breaths, carrying white vapor, drifted in the halo of the streetlights, mingling with his slightly disordered breathing.

Seeing the uncontrollable smile on Shen Yuan's face, Li Zhi's own lips also curled up.

In fact, Li Zhi knew one thing very well.

She doesn't have any New Year's Eve plans at home.

Mr. Li and Ms. Xu probably watched the New Year's Eve show for a while and then fell asleep; they were too lazy to stay up all night for any New Year's Eve activities.

Of course, even if her parents have plans for New Year's Eve, what does that have to do with her?
Is she going to be a third wheel?
Li Zhike didn't think she had such a hobby.

The girl quietly turned her head and glanced at the boy beside her, whose lips were slightly pursed as he suppressed his excitement and whose eyes were sparkling.

Forget it.

Just consider it keeping the kitten company.

Shen Yuan was just an afterthought.

The intertwined fingers beneath their sleeves concealed their unspoken understanding and the youthful joy of their first victory, all hidden in the darkness of the night as they returned home.

……

Last night's hustle and bustle, like a splendid yet distant dream, swirled away and disappeared into the cold air.

The classroom was filled with the warmth of a fireplace and the excitement of the previous night.

Despite having faint dark circles under his eyes, Ah Jie was unusually excited, slamming his textbook on the table while looking at the people around him.

"How are you spending New Year's Eve? Want to go out and watch the fireworks?"

"No, no, no, there are too many people, it's no fun. I'm not the kind of person who likes crowds." Chen Mingyu waved his hands repeatedly.

Yang Ze nodded: "I want to go back to the countryside."

"Huh? How disappointing?"

Yang Ze spat on the spot: "I'm just going back to the countryside, not dying. See you in the canyon tonight, I'll show you what a true king is."

"Come on, come on, who isn't a king now?!"

"Alright, let's play in the canyon all night tonight. Whoever chickens out is trash."

Listening to A-Jie and Yang Ze's conversation about New Year's Eve, Shen Yuan's gaze unconsciously fell on the figure beside him.

Honestly, using a kitten as an excuse to lure Li Bao to his room for New Year's Eve is a bit like giving up entirely.

At least come up with a decent reason!
What's the difference between this and my cat being able to do backflips?

However, Shen Yuan really didn't expect that Li Bao would agree so easily.

Perhaps, she just needed a reason.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuan's gaze softened even more as he looked at the beautiful girl.

Li Zhi seemed to sense Shen Yuan's gaze as well, and turned his head to give him a warning look.

"What are you looking at! You idiot!"

Hearing that voice, which carried its usual tone of disdain, Shen Yuan smiled helplessly.

Is this the same person who called me "brother" in a sweet, delicate voice yesterday?!

In the classroom, the discussion about plans for New Year's Eve was quite exciting, but it was quickly interrupted by a bell.

The morning was still filled with exams.

The chemistry class representative, carrying a stack of test papers that smelled of ink, began mechanically distributing them row by row.

The eyes that had just been sparkling with the light of a holiday instantly dimmed, as if shrouded in gloom.

In the warm classroom, the air seemed to solidify into lead, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

The anticipation was like the dazzling fireworks of last night, leaving only the pungent smell of gunpowder after the brilliance faded.

The sound of exam papers being flipped through replaced the previous clamor about New Year's Eve. The crisp sound of the exam papers hitting the desk became the only rhythm at this moment.

Her once straight back slumped slightly, and her tight lips betrayed a silent resistance.

Regardless, classes will begin before the official holiday.

Li Zhi twirled the pen between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the chemistry exam paper in front of him.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath and resignedly wrote his name and student number on the test paper.

The holiday for high school seniors really did start with exams.

After the brief revelry, the cold reality and the even colder exam papers are the battlefield they must face now.

The chilling afterglow of the morning's chemistry exam lingered as the test papers were collected one by one, and an invisible constraint seemed to loosen as well, the air beginning to flow quietly.

The afternoon sky was a grayish-white, typical of winter, and the cold wind occasionally rattled against the windows.

The last exam was on biology. When the class representative in the last row collected the last paper, the oppressive silence was like a string stretched to its limit, waiting for a signal to release it.

Soon after, a familiar figure walked into the classroom.

In an instant, all the figures in the classroom who had been slightly slumped in their chairs bounced up as if a switch had been flipped.

The gazes that were previously fixed on the clouds drifting outside the window now seem to be drawn by a magnet, focusing "whoosh" onto the classroom podium.

An irrepressible longing permeated the air.

Old Zhou cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping from the back row to the front like a searchlight, and dozens of pairs of eyes immediately responded with excited expressions.

"You've finished the exams, right?"

Old Zhou breathed a sigh of relief: "We have a three-day holiday for New Year's Day. I'll be in the classroom on time before evening self-study on the 3rd."

Old Zhou's voice was measured and deliberate, each word striking the quiet air like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil.

Suppressed exhalations echoed simultaneously from several corners.

Many people's breathing quickened for a moment, and their backs straightened even more.

Old Zhou seemed oblivious to the dozens of almost tangible gazes he was receiving, and continued to leisurely assign tasks.

"Relax for one day on New Year's Day, that's about it. Ah, there are only ten days left until the final exams. I hope you can be a little more self-disciplined."

"Take all your holiday homework home, or I won't find out someone copied it on the 3rd!"

Finally, Old Zhou looked around the room, at the restless students, and finally uttered that command that sounded like heavenly music at that moment.

"Alright, time for vacation—"

"Whoa!!"

The moment the words fell, it was like a gate being successfully breached.

The rising and falling sounds instantly drowned out Lao Zhou's following words, "Be careful on the road," which were submerged in the waves.

The cheers erupted like boiling water.

At the same time, the entire teaching building of Jiyang Middle School began to cheer.

The figures in the classrooms of the first, second, and third years of high school surged toward the door at a dazzling speed, carrying with them a tremendous kinetic energy eager to rush toward freedom, and merged into the equally surging crowd in the corridor.

The chilly afternoon air of winter seemed to be briefly ignited by the restless passion of youth.

　28 chapters still owed

　　
　
(End of this chapter)