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

After grabbing some lunch nearby, Shen Yuan waited at the station.

While waiting for his ride, Shen Yuan took out his phone and sent a message to Li Zhi.

Meanwhile, Li Zhi was still at home, playing Stardew Valley at her computer desk, when her phone suddenly chimed with a notification. She glanced down at the screen and saw it was a message from Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan: "Want to come over to my place for ice cream tonight?"

A small smile touched the corners of Li Zhi’s lips.

’Hmph! Took you long enough to think of me, you idiot Shen Yuan! Where were you before?!’

But despite her thoughts, Li Zhi picked up her phone and replied to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan quickly received Li Zhi’s message. It was a very short reply.

—"Okay."

Seeing Li Zhi’s message, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the station.

His laughter drew the attention of the people around him. They all glanced his way before simultaneously shuffling a little farther away.

By the time Shen Yuan got back to Jiyang, it was already past two o’clock.

Before he got home, Shen Yuan stopped by the supermarket near his residential complex and bought a bunch of ice cream flavors that Li Zhi loved.

"Eh? What were you up to today?"

Zhang Yuyan looked at Shen Yuan with curiosity. When her gaze fell on the big bag of ice cream in his hand, her eyes suddenly lit up as if she had discovered a hidden treasure.

She couldn’t help but exclaim, "My boy’s all grown up! He knows how to dote on his mom now."

With that, Zhang Yuyan hurried over to Shen Yuan, a huge smile on her face, and asked, "Yuan, is all this ice cream for your mom?"

Hearing his mom’s words, Shen Yuan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he silently packed the ice cream into the freezer one by one.

Only after he’d put all the ice cream away did he slowly speak up. "You can have some, but you can’t finish it all. This is for Li Zhi."

Zhang Yuyan blinked, grumbling to herself, ’Crap, why does this feel like a preview of the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law dynamic?!’

However, Ms. Zhang Yuyan quickly adjusted her attitude. After all, she didn’t have any particularly bad feelings about the situation.

The two kids already had a great relationship; it wouldn’t be a big deal if it got even better.

Besides, Zhang Yuyan and Li Zhi’s mother got along quite well whenever they chatted.

The two mothers would even sometimes jokingly call each other "in-laws" in private.

But the words that came out of her mouth were a different story.

"Yuan, you don’t love your old mom anymore."

A hint of sadness crept into Zhang Yuyan’s voice, her face a mask of disappointment and grievance, as if the whole world had turned against her.

"My baby’s grown up, and the first person he dotes on... is another child."

She continued, her tone laced with a hint of resignation and self-mockery.

After speaking, Zhang Yuyan lightly covered her face and pretended to cry.

Shen Yuan didn’t have much of a reaction to his mother’s antics.

The corner of his mouth just twitched slightly, revealing a somewhat helpless smile.

’Mom, you’re forty-two. Your rebellious phase is dragging on a bit.’

"Mom," Shen Yuan called out helplessly. He then took an ice cream out of the freezer and placed it in Zhang Yuyan’s hand.

"If you wanted some, you could’ve just gotten it yourself."

Zhang Yuyan looked at the ice cream in her hand, her dissatisfaction growing even stronger.

"So perfunctory. Kids these days... they’re getting more and more dismissive of their parents," she grumbled, clutching her chest as if his attitude had wounded her deeply, and let out a long sigh.

Seeing this, the smile on Shen Yuan’s face immediately grew even brighter.

He quickly walked over to his mother and said gently, "Oh, my dearest mother, would you do me the honor of tasting this ice cream your son has brought for you from a thousand miles away?"

Zhang Yuyan smiled at Shen Yuan and nodded slightly in approval.

Shen Yuan took the hint, quickly unwrapped the ice cream, and carefully handed it to his mother.

Zhang Yuyan took the ice cream and took a small bite. A sweet flavor spread through her mouth.

She smiled in satisfaction and said to Shen Yuan, "Mm, this tastes great. It’s just the kind I like."

Chocolate ice cream was something that basically suited everyone’s taste.

Seeing that his mom was satisfied, Shen Yuan was about to turn and leave when Zhang Yuyan called out, "Wait."

Shen Yuan stopped, a little confused, and asked, "What’s up, Mom?"

Zhang Yuyan sat down in a chair at the dining table, placed the ice cream on the table, and said to Shen Yuan, "Yuan, you know? The way you were just now... you were just like when you were little."

Shen Yuan looked blank, not understanding what his mother meant.

"When I was little?"

Zhang Yuyan nodded and continued, "You were just like this when you were a kid. Whenever you got something good, you always thought about saving it for Li Zhi. Any toys or snacks your dad and I bought you, you’d always take them to show Li Zhi."

As she spoke, a nostalgic look appeared on Zhang Yuyan’s face, as if she had been transported back to Shen Yuan’s childhood.

"You little rascal. Back in the day, you were always pestering Li Zhi. I don’t know what happened later, but you suddenly grew distant from her."

Zhang Yuyan said this while looking thoughtfully at Shen Yuan, then shrugged helplessly. "And now look at you, you’re stuck to her like glue again."

After hearing his mother’s words, Shen Yuan blinked and said with a very serious expression, "Maybe it’s because I’ve fallen in love with studying now."

The moment Zhang Yuyan heard that, she immediately made a gagging motion.

"Son, I know exactly what kind of person you are. Your mom can see right through you."

She said bluntly, "It’s not that Mom is against you dating, but senior year is a critical time. You better study hard for me! And this isn’t just for your own sake—it’s mainly for Li Zhi. Don’t be a moron and ruin that girl’s bright future over some puppy love."

Hearing this, Shen Yuan could only sigh internally. ’Yep, that’s my mom, all right.’

’Her perspective on this is completely on Li Zhi’s side.’

"I know, I know. I’ll listen to you, okay?"

Shen Yuan quickly agreed. "But then again, whether she even likes me is still a mystery."

The moment the words left Shen Yuan’s mouth, Zhang Yuyan’s eyes lit up.

His dear old mother asked curiously, "Oh? So you’re saying you *do* like Li Zhi?"

"Hey!"

Shen Yuan shot back defensively, "Don’t just say things like that! I never said I liked her."

"Mhm, mhm, Mom gets it."

Zhang Yuyan patted Shen Yuan’s shoulder, then ambled off to find Old Shen.

"Old Shen! Old Shen! Good news!"

Hearing his mom’s shouts, Shen Yuan covered his face.

’Damn it, I can’t stay in this house a moment longer.’

Shen Yuan grabbed two chocolate ice cream cups from the freezer and headed out to find Li Zhi.

When Li Zhi opened the door for Shen Yuan, before she could even voice her confusion, he had already thrust an ice cream cup into her hand.

Feeling the chill in her hand, Li Zhi looked at Shen Yuan in surprise.

"What’s gotten into you?"

Shen Yuan’s fingers unconsciously tightened around the ice cream cup he was holding.

In an instant, Li Zhi’s figure overlapped with a memory fragment—a silhouette gazing out a window at sunset.

Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

"I just suddenly felt..."

Shen Yuan’s voice was raspy, as if sanded down, but it softened when he saw Li Zhi tilt her head in confusion.

"...that a certain dummy probably wanted something sweet right about now."

Hearing this, Li Zhi immediately glared at Shen Yuan. "You’re the dummy!"

Looking at the lively expression on Li Zhi’s face, Shen Yuan suddenly realized that everything in that memory fragment was something that, for the him of this moment, had never actually happened.

The regrets left by time were effortlessly erased for Shen Yuan.

Li Zhi suddenly saw a brilliant smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face.

"You’re right. I really was a dummy before."

Before Li Zhi could say anything, Shen Yuan spoke again.

"But not anymore."