"So... Brother, is the strawberry sweeter, or am I?"
Li Zhi's voice was soft and gentle, yet it was like a thunderclap wrapped in honey, exploding right beside Shen Yuan's ear and striking the very center of his wildly pounding heart.
It felt as if that single sentence had stolen the very breath from Shen Yuan's lungs.
In his perception, the world instantly shrank until only the slyly smiling, expectant face before him remained.
Her clear eyes reflected the lights of the classroom ceiling, sparkling brightly as she waited with Concentration for his answer.
The only sound in his ears was the frantic, drum-like pounding of his own heart.
"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!"
Each beat was faster than the last, making his eardrums buzz and nearly drowning out all other sounds.
He felt his cheeks burn like ignited coals, the heat spreading from the tips of his ears all the way down his neck.
