Chapter 175: Chapter 133: One of Us Is Definitely Shipping ’Defend and Steal’ (3)

At these words, Zhang Yuyan’s eyes widened. She shot Shen Guohao a glare and whined, "I don’t care! I lost a Haidilao meal to him! An entire Haidilao meal!"

"Alright, alright, don’t be mad. I’ll treat you," Shen Guohao said, chuckling as he tried to comfort her.

He then leaned close to Zhang Yuyan’s ear and whispered, "Later, after Shen Yuan goes to sleep, we’ll go out for a late-night snack."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuyan’s gloomy expression instantly brightened. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded eagerly in agreement.

"So when are we going? Let’s go soon. If it’s too late, we’ll have to stay up all night," Zhang Yuyan asked, unable to wait.

Old Shen thought for a moment and replied, "Let’s wait a bit. That dumbass kid just got back. We’ll get caught if we go out now."

Zhang Yuyan seemed to agree with Old Shen’s reasoning and nodded thoughtfully.

With parents like these, one could only imagine what Shen Yuan himself was like.

Shen Yuan was completely unaware that his parents had already decided to go out for a late-night snack.

Even if he had known, given his personality, it was nothing a red envelope from Old Shen couldn’t fix.

Shen Yuan was actually quite easy to placate.

After seeing the campus confession page still hadn’t been updated, Shen Yuan turned his attention to the task.

’I’ll finish the last hour of my workout first and worry about other things later.’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’I’ve been working on this task for so long. Finally, I can finish it!’

Shen Yuan’s "exercise" wasn’t exactly a proper workout, however.

He flopped right onto his bed and started doing yoga.

Cat-Cow pose.

Time flew by as he stretched and played his game.

Shen Yuan was having a great time.

An hour later, a crisp sound rang out in Shen Yuan’s mind.

"DING!"

[Task Complete!]

[Squeeze in time to exercise during your free time from work and study over the next two weeks.]

Total Exercise 10h, Reward: 2,000 yuan.

Total Exercise 20h, Reward: Increased arm strength.

Total Exercise 30h, Reward: Increased leg strength.

Total Exercise 40h, Reward: Increased waist and abdominal strength.

Total Exercise 50h, Reward: Core enhancement.

Current Progress: 50h. (Completed)]

Shen Yuan glanced at the system panel, then looked down at his body.

Shen Yuan: ?

’So?’

’I don’t feel anything at all?’

’Shouldn’t there be some kind of soreness?’

’Aren’t my muscles supposed to be, like, pumping up?’

Shen Yuan quickly hopped off the bed, and as he did, he immediately noticed something was different.

’That felt... really easy?’

But before Shen Yuan could give it much more thought, his phone rang.

Flopping back onto the bed, Shen Yuan saw a video call request from Li Zhi.

The moment the screen lit up, Li Zhi’s lovely face appeared. Wisps of hair by her ears were still damp with steam from the bathroom, catching the warm light of her desk lamp in a faint golden halo.

"It updated."

As she spoke, her fingertip gently tapped the camera, making the image on the screen tremble slightly.

Her fingertip was as smooth and lustrous as white jade. In the camera’s light, her porcelain skin glowed with a faint, post-shower pink, reminiscent of a budding peach blossom.

Shen Yuan’s gaze was instantly captivated. He lurched closer to the screen, his nose nearly touching it, as if trying to feel her presence through the small display.

"Should we read together online? Or..." He deliberately dragged out the word, jerking his thumb suggestively toward his door with a smirk. "The Wi-Fi signal over here is especially good, you know."

Li Zhi ignored his insinuation, pulling a light comforter over her legs and wrapping them up tightly. The hem of her nightdress rippled like a wave.

The tips of the beautiful girl’s hair, dark as silk, fanned out over her nightdress, brushing against her fair skin and releasing a faint, sweet scent.

"Dream on," Li Zhi’s voice was crisp and firm, leaving no room for argument.

She glanced at the time.

"It’s eleven. I’m going to sleep right after I finish reading the update."

Hearing Li Zhi’s words, the look of expectation in Shen Yuan’s eyes vanished as if swept away by a cold wind.

His shoulders slumped slightly, and his previously excited tone deflated. "Fine..."

His sullen tone made a small chuckle escape Li Zhi’s nose.

Her beautiful eyes danced as she looked at Shen Yuan on the screen with a faint, teasing smile. "I think you’re going to lose," she said softly.

"Huh?"

Shen Yuan looked as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. His eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" His voice jumped an octave, and he leaned back dramatically as if to put distance between himself and such an "absurd" claim.

"How could I possibly lose to you when it comes to enjoying this cutesy stuff? Everyone here knows I, Shen Yuan, am famous for not having a sweet tooth!"

His voice was filled with confidence, completely certain of his "unsweet" nature.

Li Zhi snorted. "Fine. Then I won’t be sweet to you next time."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t do that!"

Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi with a serious expression, which suddenly broke into a grin. "You’re the exception. I love your brand of sweet."

"Oh? And why is that?" Li Zhi asked, teasing him.

The air suddenly fell silent, and the low hum of their electronics became audible.

The expression on Shen Yuan’s face froze for a second.

Under Li Zhi’s watchful gaze, Shen Yuan averted his eyes to a small kitten off to the side and mumbled:

"Because... because I just do, that’s why."

Seeing him like that, Li Zhi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing you. It’s no fun. Let’s read first. It’s only ten thousand words, so it should be a quick read."

The words had barely left her lips when Shen Yuan’s voice cut in.

"It’s a twenty-thousand-word update."

"Oh,"

Li Zhi said nonchalantly, "Then we’ll just have to read for a little longer."