Chapter 120: Chapter 107: Perhaps, Silence Is Because You Know the Answer

Shen Yuan smiled sheepishly at Li Zhi’s serious expression.

"Let me fix it for you."

Li Zhi said nothing, her serious gaze fixed on Shen Yuan.

The cool air from the AC brushed over her messy hair, a reflection of the girl’s own tangled feelings.

When Li Zhi didn’t react, Shen Yuan slowly raised his hand.

His fingers spread slightly, gently sinking into Li Zhi’s long hair. His fingertips slid down the dark strands, carefully gathering each lock and tucking it behind her shoulders.

As he breathed in the fragrance of her hair, Shen Yuan’s mind drifted completely away from the movie.

Li Zhi watched Shen Yuan’s throat. Just from the movement of his Adam’s apple, she could tell how flustered her childhood friend was.

Li Zhi glanced at Shen Yuan before turning her attention back to the movie.

The movie played on.

In the dim study, Oppenheimer’s graying hair on the screen formed a subtle contrast with the pearlescent sheen of Li Zhi’s black hair.

Shen Yuan, however, was completely focused on Li Zhi’s hair.

Once the last stray strand was neatly in place, Shen Yuan nodded and shifted his gaze back to the movie. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The aggressive questioning from the security committee on screen mingled with the soft rustle of movement on the carpet.

Li Zhi slowly lowered her legs. As she adjusted her posture, her knee brushed against the outside of Shen Yuan’s thigh. Her legs were so long they were almost a match for his.

This was precisely the kind of sight Shen Yuan had always loved to see.

Li Zhi reached for the bag of chips on the table and handed it to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan opened the bag and placed it in the space between them.

"Let me just lean here for a bit."

Before Shen Yuan could say a word, Li Zhi once again rested the weight of her head on his shoulder.

Shen Yuan was about to move, but then he heard Li Zhi’s voice.

"Don’t move."

Shen Yuan’s back stiffened, and he sat bolt upright.

Just like Oppenheimer at the hearing.

Oppenheimer, facing the security committee’s questions at his hearing, chose a martyr-like silence throughout the entire process, even when they forced him to confess his extramarital affair.

This was his self-punishment for creating the atomic bomb.

He sought his own redemption through the destruction of his reputation.

But it was just as Einstein said in the film.

"They’ll give you an award, a medal, pat you on the back, and say that all is forgiven. But really, they’re just rewarding themselves."

When the United States finally gave Oppenheimer his award, it was, in fact, society’s way of "forgiving" him—an act that was fundamentally about soothing its own collective guilt.

As for Oppenheimer’s inner turmoil, no one could ever truly grant him solace.

The movie ended.

The boy’s stiff spine relaxed slightly.

Their knees, separated by the fabric of their school uniform pants, brushed against each other intermittently. The cold light from the screen cast the delicate shadows of Li Zhi’s eyelashes onto her cheeks, and her hand, resting on the edge of the sofa, unconsciously tightened its grip on the plush fabric.

As the cold light of the screen died, the study plunged into a brief darkness. The whir of the air conditioner and the rustle of the chip bag became suddenly clear.

Shen Yuan’s shoulder still bore Li Zhi’s weight. A mix of citrusy perfume and body heat mingled in the space between their skin, separated only by the thin fabric of their uniforms.

Li Zhi let out a soft breath. The fingers clutching the sofa’s plush fabric slowly relaxed. She drew her knee back slightly, only to unconsciously brush it against the outside of Shen Yuan’s thigh again.

Shen Yuan swallowed, the sound sharp in the silence.

He waited for Li Zhi to speak.

Li Zhi’s gaze remained fixed on the dark screen, as if she were still lost in the film. Her voice carried a dazed, post-movie quality.

"Do you think silence can really lead to self-redemption?"

Shen Yuan slowly lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the faint glimmer of light reflecting off the snack packaging. The light seemed hazy in the surrounding darkness, as if it could be swallowed up at any moment—much like his own conflicted and uncertain feelings.

"How could it?"

"Then why would he make that choice?"

"I don’t know," Shen Yuan said, shaking his head slightly. He turned to look at Li Zhi.

His expression was a little lost.

"I only know that sometimes, silence is how you avoid making a mistake."

As his words faded, a strange stillness seemed to settle over the room.

Shen Yuan felt a slight tremor on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw that Li Zhi had turned to face him, her nose just three fingers away from his chin.

"But silence can also mean you don’t know the answer," Li Zhi said. Her voice was soft, but her words struck Shen Yuan’s heart like a hammer.

Shen Yuan looked at Li Zhi. Her eyes seemed exceptionally bright in the darkness, as if they could see right through him.

He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear, his fingers lightly tracing the curve of her ear.

"Or maybe... silence means you already know the answer."

Shen Yuan’s voice was quiet, but it seemed to echo in the silent room.

The instant his fingertips touched her ear, he felt her eyelashes flutter. Her breath hitched, suddenly audible in the three-finger gap between them, as if she’d been startled by his words.

Beneath her uniform, her shoulder blades tensed. The knee she had just moved slid back to its original position, and this time, Li Zhi was keenly aware of the firmness of his thigh.

The citrus scent swirled in the space between their necks. Li Zhi realized the sound of her own swallow was more deafening than the atomic bomb’s roar in the movie.

"Th-this is just a post-movie discussion."

As the words rushed out, Li Zhi realized her vocal cords were stretched taut as a string, her voice trembling at the end like a filmstrip caught in a projector.

The girl scrambled to get up. Her hair pulled free from his fingers, only to tangle more intimately around his knuckles in her haste.

Her hasty movement sent the hem of her uniform flying, knocking over the chip bag. The rustling sound exploded like a thunderclap in the silence.

Li Zhi was about to turn and look, but she heard Shen Yuan speak up.

"I’ll get it."

"Th-then, I... I’ll go open the curtains!"

Li Zhi’s steps toward the window were quicker than usual.

Just as she was about to pull open the curtains, she glanced back at Shen Yuan and saw that he wasn’t cleaning up the scattered chips either.

Their gazes met for a brief second before they both looked away at the same time.

"Don’t buy these again."

"Okay."

While Shen Yuan cleaned up the chips, Li Zhi turned and opened the door.

"I’m going to take a nap. You should head back soon. Just call me for dinner."

Shen Yuan nodded. "Got it."

Li Zhi left the study without looking back.

A moment later, Shen Yuan heard the sound of Li Zhi’s bedroom door closing.

Shen Yuan didn’t leave right away. He first tidied up the study, putting everything back in its place, turning off the AC, and propping the door open.

The atmosphere in the room gradually dissipated, but the memory of what had just happened was deeply imprinted on both their minds.

"I’m heading out. I’ll call you for dinner."

From her room, Li Zhi heard Shen Yuan’s voice.

A moment later, she heard the front door close.

Hearing the door close, Li Zhi felt an unexpected pang of disappointment.

The feeling startled her.

’What’s wrong with me!’

The girl shifted her position on the bed. ’What is there to be upset about!’

But the moment she recalled what Shen Yuan had said, her cheeks began to burn.

’You don’t know anything! You moron, Shen Yuan!’

’It’s all that idiot Shen Yuan’s fault!!’

Meanwhile, Shen Yuan had returned to his own room and closed the door behind him.

Shen Yuan threw himself onto his bed, burying his face in the covers.

"AAAAHHHHH!!"

Shen Yuan writhed on his bed for a while under the uncomprehending gazes of San Geng and Naonao.

"Know! Know! Know! What the hell do I know?!"

"Damn it! Shen Yuan, are you an idiot?"

"Why didn’t I just..."

Shen Yuan stopped writhing and rolled over to face the headboard.

Suddenly, Shen Yuan started to laugh.

"Such a tsundere."