She Gives Too Much (GL) - Chapter 13

Li Zhi stared into Chen Xi’s mesmerizing eyes, her peripheral vision drifting to Chen Xi’s waist. Her throat tightened noticeably.

The car’s air conditioning was on, but the temperature wasn’t particularly low. Still, Li Zhi could feel the surrounding air slowly warming with each breath Chen Xi took. Li Zhi knew exactly what Chen Xi was talking about, but she pretended not to understand.

“What do I like?” she asked deliberately.

Chen Xi blinked in confusion. “Didn’t you get the photos I sent? I asked which one you liked better.”

“Since you didn’t reply, I took a guess at what the Young Miss might prefer.”

Li Zhi avoided Chen Xi’s gaze, her eyes lingering on the button of Chen Xi’s short skirt. Her voice was soft, almost petulant, not accusatory. “Just because I didn’t reply, you stopped sending them?”

So she did see them after all.

A smile flickered in Chen Xi’s eyes as she placed her hands on Li Zhi’s shoulders. “Then I’ll keep sending them next time, okay?” Her voice was soft against Li Zhi’s ear. “Until the Young Miss replies.”

Li Zhi’s lashes fluttered. The hand resting on her waist tightened, gently pushing her away.

Changing the subject, she asked with forced casualness, “What color are you wearing tonight?”

Chen Xi lowered her gaze, the corners of her eyes lifting in a sly smile. She pinched a corner of her skirt and tugged it upward.

“Black~”

A flicker of disappointment crossed Li Zhi’s face, barely perceptible. But when Chen Xi’s fingers, hidden beneath the skirt, hooked onto a slender cord, Li Zhi’s eyes lit up.

She looked up at Chen Xi, who was grinning like a fox who had just outsmarted its prey.

“It’s red,” Li Zhi said with a faint smile, the corners of her lips curving slightly. “Liar.”

Chen Xi stared at Li Zhi’s face, momentarily stunned.

“What’s wrong?” Li Zhi asked, feeling she hadn’t touched the wrong spot. “Is it not…?”

“It’s red,” Chen Xi said, her lashes fluttering. She tapped Li Zhi’s cheek with a finger, her eyes curving into crescents. “Your smile just now was so beautiful.”

Li Zhi usually wore a cool, aloof expression, maintaining an icy distance despite their physical proximity. It was as if an invisible barrier separated them, even when they were standing close.

But when she smiled, it was like the shattering of ice, the fragments scattering to reveal the genuine emotion beneath her cold exterior.

Chen Xi’s praise sounded too sincere to be mere flattery. For some reason, Li Zhi felt her ears grow warm.

“Shall we do it in the car?” Chen Xi asked.

Li Zhi shook her head. “Upstairs.”

“The car’s too cramped,” she explained.

Not enough room for me to perform, is that it? Chen Xi thought to herself, completing the Young Miss’s unspoken thought.

They got out of the car and headed upstairs. In the elevator, Li Zhi voiced her concern.

“Won’t it be uncomfortable?”

She liked how the red one looked and wanted to wear it, but just thinking about it made her imagine it chafing.

Just a single string… it must rub when you walk.

Even Chen Xi, who usually had a thick skin, felt her cheeks flush slightly at Li Zhi’s innocent question. “It looks good,” she managed to say.

She took a deep breath, her voice sounding a little strained. “If it looks good, that’s all that matters.”

Li Zhi, realizing her question was a bit inappropriate, averted her gaze.

Since Li Zhi wouldn’t look at Chen Xi, Chen Xi felt too embarrassed to look back, her eyes fixed on the flickering numbers.

“You have to tell me I look pretty later.”

“Oh, okay.”

“And be sincere about it.” Chen Xi’s neck flushed crimson.

Li Zhi had assumed Chen Xi had worn this outfit before, but now it seemed like her first time. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

Suppressing her amusement, Li Zhi turned to Chen Xi. “Alright.”

Chen Xi felt she couldn’t stay in the elevator any longer. As soon as the doors opened on their floor, she rushed out first.

Li Zhi reached out and gently tugged Chen Xi’s wrist. “Don’t get lost.”

The apartment complex was designed with one elevator per unit, making it impossible to get lost.

But when Li Zhi pulled her, Chen Xi stopped obediently, her eyelashes fluttering as she followed behind.

Even before entering, Chen Xi had suspected Li Zhi’s home might be quite large.

But when Li Zhi opened the door and switched on the lights, Chen Xi realized her imagination of a rich woman’s home had fallen far short.

Li Zhi’s apartment occupied the entire sixteenth floor—a sprawling, luxurious flat that looked to be around 260 square meters.

Leaning against the entryway, Li Zhi didn’t bother asking Chen Xi to take off her shoes. Instead, she flipped on the main lights.

The three-tiered crystal chandelier in the living room illuminated in succession, instantly transforming the space into a bright, airy expanse.

Compared to the antique elegance of the Li Family Mansion, this penthouse apartment was pure modern minimalism—vast and uncluttered.

The only flaw was its excessive coldness, devoid of any warmth or personal touch. Even the hotel suite they’d shared felt more like a home than this place.

The apartment’s decor mirrored Li Zhi’s first impression: aloof, distant, icy, and arrogant. Every detail exuded luxury and frigidity.

To be honest, Chen Xi’s cheeks had still been flushed with warmth when she entered. After taking in the black-and-white aesthetic, she felt her worldly desires had cooled considerably. Not a trace of earthly longing remained.

Chen Xi couldn’t imagine how Li Zhi felt living alone in such a massive, impersonal space every day. If she were forced to live in this soulless mansion, she’d rather stay in her dorm. This kind of “blessing” was one she’d gladly pass up.

After a quick glance around, Chen Xi returned to the entrance to take off her shoes, sighing softly. “Living here would make me feel even more constrained.”

Li Zhi hung up her bag. “Isn’t it big enough?”

There was no place better suited for her to truly shine.

“It’s huge, but it feels more like an office than an actual office.”

Working in an actual office might even be more exciting than working here.

Li Zhi was slightly taken aback, not expecting this reaction.

She had hired someone to design the room’s minimalist style years ago, thinking simplicity was all she needed.

Most of her time was spent at the company anyway, so this place was more of a place to sleep than a home.

She pulled out her phone. “Then I’ll check if there are any available hotel rooms nearby.”

“No need to go to all that trouble.” Chen Xi reached out and turned off the main lights, leaving only the small entryway light on.

Chen Xi pinned Li Zhi against the door, reached for her phone, and slipped it into Li Zhi’s pants pocket, her hand lingering on Li Zhi’s waist.

“I feel much better now,” Chen Xi murmured.

The entryway light seemed to pool in her eyes, making them sparkle like a sky full of stars.

Their gazes locked, and an unspoken tension thickened the air between them.

Finally reclaiming the upper hand, Chen Xi leaned in to kiss Li Zhi.

When the miniskirt slid off and landed at their feet, Li Zhi glanced down.

Chen Xi’s skin glowed with a luminous paleness, the thin red string tied around her waist adding a touch of seductive allure, as if painted there to emphasize the curve of her slender waist, making it impossible to resist the urge to touch.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Chen Xi asked with unwavering confidence.

Li Zhi untied the string with a flick of her finger.

“Very pretty,” she replied.

Red suited Chen Xi perfectly.

Words seemed unnecessary, exchanged instead through lingering touches and unspoken desires. Li Zhi’s ultimate compliment to Chen Xi came after their shower, when she knelt before her, her lips moving with practiced devotion.

At first, Chen Xi had found the room’s decor cold and impersonal. But as the heat intensified, all thoughts faded away.

Li Zhi’s bedroom mirrored the rest of the house in its minimalist style. Had Chen Xi not seen her neatly folded clothes stacked beside the bed, she might have thought the room was uninhabited.

This was Chen Xi’s first time in Li Zhi’s private space, apart from the Li Family Mansion.

Whether it was obsessive-compulsive disorder or simply a love for order, the Young Miss kept everything meticulously arranged.

Chen Xi, feeling a bit embarrassed, wrapped herself in a bathrobe and folded her short skirt and T-shirt into neat squares, placing them beside the Young Miss’s clothes.

“Just do whatever makes you comfortable,” Li Zhi said, emerging from the bathroom while drying her hair. She spotted Chen Xi kneeling on the bed, folding clothes. “You don’t need to copy me.”

After Li Zhi finished, she let Chen Xi go in to shower.

Li Zhi retrieved her laptop and settled on the bay window to work.

The usually quiet room was now filled with the sound of water spraying from the showerhead. Through the frosted glass door of the bathroom, Chen Xi could be heard humming softly, her voice muffled by the splashing water.

Li Zhi had initially been focused entirely on her work, but her attention kept drifting toward the bathroom.

Yet she didn’t feel annoyed. It was as if having Chen Xi’s presence disrupt her work was strangely relaxing.

For the first time, Li Zhi realized her home could actually have such a relaxed atmosphere.

If she had her way, Li Zhi would want their next rendezvous to be here again.

However, Chen Xi had made it clear that she couldn’t relax in such a cold and impersonal environment.

After a moment’s thought, Li Zhi picked up her phone and sent a message to her assistant.

When Chen Xi emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair, she saw Li Zhi working diligently.

She sat on the edge of the bed, blow-drying her hair, careful not to disturb her.

She wasn’t in the group chat. Yan Tuo and Xiao Xiao were playing an online game, completing quests together.

Unable to find Xiao Xiao in the game, Yan Tuo sent a message to the group chat.

[Brave Cat, Fearless of Challenges]

Yan Tuo: Xiao Xiao, where are you? How did you die again?

Xiao Xiao: Ugh, I just went to take a shower! How did my health bar vanish? Wait for me to respawn. Kisses

Chen Xi screenshotted Xiao Xiao’s kiss emoji and sent it privately to Yan Tuo.

Yan Tuo’s true feelings remained unclear, but her reply was undeniably smug.

What’s wrong with kisses? She’s still my wife in the game.

Chen Xi applauded her.

Wow, you’re so brave! Why don’t you say that to Xiao Xiao’s face?

My wife’s respawned. Goodbye.

Suddenly remembering something, Yan Tuo sent Chen Xi another message:

Enjoy your National Day holiday while it lasts. Once the first-year graduate military training starts, you won’t have much free time.

Chen Xi gasped.

I don’t care, I don’t care! I’m pretending I didn’t see that terrifying message.

Chen Xi saved Xiao Xiao’s emoji. Glancing at Li Zhi sitting by the bay window, she suddenly recalled their conversation in the car.

“Young Miss, it seems someone’s messaging you~”

Li Zhi looked at her phone in confusion. Only then did it vibrate.

She opened Chen Xi’s chat window and was immediately greeted by a little figure showering her with frantic kisses, the screen filled with fiery “kiss” lips.

Li Zhi glanced up at Chen Xi.

Chen Xi sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes curved into crescents, the collar of her bathrobe half-open, revealing her slender, swan-like neck.

Noticing Li Zhi’s gaze, Chen Xi deliberately tossed her hair behind her shoulder with a coquettish flourish, winked, and blew her a kiss.

“Mwah~”

A faint smile flickered across Li Zhi’s eyes as she lowered her head to text Chen Xi.

Though they were in the same room, they communicated via their phones.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too perfect, because Li Zhi blurted out something she’d been hesitating to say.

Chen Xi, I’ve rented an apartment for you—a one-bedroom off-campus.

Chen Xi hesitated, clutching her phone.

She was perfectly comfortable in the dorm and had no intention of moving out.

If she rented a place outside, it would mean living right under the Young Miss’s nose, which would be incredibly inconvenient.

Chen Xi thought of her dorm room, filled with a closet full of designer bags and brand-name clothes. She couldn’t bear to part with them.

Even if she couldn’t wear them now, she could still go back and hug them, touch them, and indulge her cravings.

Besides, Chen Xi had a vague feeling that living together might somehow change the nature of their relationship.

Her eyes darted around, searching for an excuse. “I think things are fine as they are,” she said.

Chen Xi took a deep breath and turned to Li Zhi, forcing a casual smile. “The Young Miss can call me anytime. I’m always at your beck and call.”

“Besides, the hotel won’t always be fully booked. We don’t need to waste money renting a place.”

She’s so considerate, always thinking about how to save her rich woman sister money.

Li Zhi watched Chen Xi quietly make excuses, her fingers slowly tightening around her phone.

She wanted to ask Chen Xi if she saw her as just a tool—someone only enthusiastic about sleeping together.

But the words caught in her throat, refusing to come out.

Was it because she couldn’t bring herself to confront someone with such a cheerful demeanor, or was she afraid that if she spoke up, they wouldn’t even be able to be f*ck buddies anymore?

Support She Gives Too Much (GL)