I'm in Senior Year, and the System Says I'm Going on a Blind Date with My Childhood Sweetheart

In the afternoon sunlight, the shadows of the trees danced across the hems of their clothes.

Shen Yuan had one hand in his pocket, casually kicking a pebble out of his path. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he was taking in the girl’s every expression.

"What are your plans for National Day?" Shen Yuan asked Li Zhi.

Li Zhi was looking down, walking in a straight line by following the cracks between the paving stones. The stray hairs at the nape of her neck bounced lightly with each step.

She looked up at his words and stated decisively, "Reading, petting the cat, and training the dog."

Shen Yuan chuckled. "We’re in public. Don’t make me act up."

Li Zhi immediately threw her hands up. "I surrender! My bad. Just don’t act up."

’She was genuinely afraid Shen Yuan would start doing his cringey bit and call her "Mommy" in front of everyone.’

’It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it, but Li Zhi still couldn’t handle it.’

’That kind of thing was fine to say in private... maybe.’

Pah!

’He couldn’t say it in private either!’

’She wasn’t into that kind of weird dynamic!’

"Is that how you surrender?"

Shen Yuan’s expression turned serious as he chided, "It’s common knowledge that you have to show your feet when you surrender!"

The words were barely out of his mouth before Li Zhi smacked him on the head.

"Is this really the time to be revealing your kinks, Selaan!"

Shen Yuan clutched his head and let out a pained cry.

"Hey, I was trying to have a serious conversation! You’re the one who started with the dog training talk."

Li Zhi rolled her eyes. "Look who’s talking. You were the one acting up, and now you’re blaming me?"

Shen Yuan gave a slightly awkward smile, then cleared his throat. "Uh, but seriously, I have to go out on the 2nd. I probably won’t be back until nighttime."

Hearing this, Li Zhi raised an eyebrow and asked, "What for?"

Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment before giving a half-true answer. "Just to hang out. I’ve been feeling a little stressed lately, so I want to go relax and clear my head. Want to come with me?"

He watched her with a tentative gaze as he spoke, though deep down, he knew she would definitely refuse.

And just as he’d expected, Li Zhi didn’t even hesitate before shooting him down:

"Nope. I’m not stressed, so I don’t need to clear my head. If you ask me, you’re just not confident about your scores on the monthly exam, so you’re trying to run away from it. Decided to just throw in the towel, have you?"

Her tone was laced with mockery, clearly unimpressed by his excuse.

’The Painful Sacrifice, as sharp as ever.’

Shen Yuan scratched his head in resignation. "No, it’s not like that. I’m actually pretty confident about the exam this time."

"Oh? Is that so?" Li Zhi clearly didn’t believe him. She stopped walking, turned, and stared directly at him.

Shen Yuan looked away, his tone shifting to one of frank honesty. "Er... to be honest, I’m mostly just going to miss your cooking. Hehe."

Li Zhi froze at his words, her steps coming to an involuntary halt. Her once-suspicious gaze grew even more intense.

She stared right at him, as if trying to discern something from his expression.

After a long moment, the beautiful girl finally spoke. "Why do I get the feeling that you have an agenda with all this studying?"

Her tone was tinged with doubt and uncertainty.

"What do you mean?" Shen Yuan asked, looking at her in confusion.

Li Zhi just tossed her head, her long, waterfall-like hair carving a graceful arc through the air.

The beautiful girl scoffed. "I’m not telling you! If I did, you’d just put your guard up! But you’re definitely up to something, either way."

Shen Yuan shrugged.

’Fine, don’t tell me. It’s not like I don’t know my own motives.’

"Oh, right. Speaking of which, do you have a goal for the college entrance exams?" Shen Yuan asked.

Li Zhi nodded without a moment’s hesitation. "Of course! I don’t know if I’ll be able to achieve it, but you’ve always gotta have a goal."

"Oh? And what’s that?" Shen Yuan asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Qingbei, of course!" Li Zhi’s voice was full of aspiration. "Then ideally, I’ll go to grad school and then take the civil service exam."

Shen Yuan nodded repeatedly as he listened, showing his approval.

But before Shen Yuan could offer his own opinion, Li Zhi was already rambling on.

"When it’s time to study for the grad school entrance exam, I’ll make a post on Xiaohongshu titled, ’The Grad School Grind.’ Once I get in, I’ll change the title to ’A Girl’s Experience in Grad School.’ Then, after I graduate, I’ll make another post titled, ’The Civil Service Exam Grind.’ And once I get a position, the title will become, ’My Life as a Woman in a Government Job.’"

’Classic. Absolutely classic.’

The corner of Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched as he listened to her plan. ’You’ve completely cracked the code for going viral on Xiaohongshu,’ he thought.

"Hehe, and if I don’t get enough views, I’ll just make a post calling you out as my cringey childhood friend. Title it: ’My fellow girlies, you know what I’m talking about!’"

Li Zhi was grinning as she spoke, full of confidence in her plan, as if she could already see her future success.

Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. "Oh, well, I guess I should thank you then! With your methods, I’m sure I’ll end up famous one way or another."

His tone was light and teasing.

Li Zhi heard this and asked curiously, "You’re not worried about whether you’d be famous or infamous?"

But Shen Yuan just laughed, unconcerned. "Hey, being infamous is still being famous. As long as it makes money, nothing else matters!"