Chapter 3: Falling Too Deep in Love
Shen Xi looked a bit troubled. Even though she had accepted the fact that she had turned into a woman, she wasn’t ready to jump straight into wearing dresses.
“Big Brother, do you have a spare shirt?... Uh… Can you lend me one?”
Gu Hanling’s cold, indifferent eyes flickered with confusion. He had no idea what was going on with this woman today. She wanted to wear his clothes? And… what did she just call him??
…………………………………
At the Villa’s Dining Room.
Gu Hanling and Shen Xi sat facing each other, but with a good three or four meters of distance between them. Butler Wang stood beside Gu Hanling.
In her past life, Shen Xi had never had a girlfriend, so she didn’t realize that her current outfit, a loose shirt paired with casual sweatpants, had a certain lazy, effortless charm, like a girlfriend casually wearing her boyfriend’s clothes.
The oversized shirt draped over her slender frame, one side slipping slightly to reveal a fair shoulder, giving off an unintentional hint of seductiveness.
Opposite her, Gu Hanling maintained his usual cold and distant expression, but compared to before, his gaze lingered on Shen Xi for a moment longer.
For some reason, she looked much more pleasing to the eye than before.
But just as he was starting to process this thought, his eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief.
Butler Wang immediately turned his head away to avoid suspicion.
The reason?
Shen Xi had casually placed her ‘extra baggage’ on the table.
She felt lighter and more comfortable. Completely forgetting that there were two grown men sitting right there with her.
But, to be fair, she still wasn’t fully aware of what it meant to be a woman.
Shen Xi swallowed hard as she stared at the extravagant spread of French cuisine in front of her, looking straight out of a five-star restaurant.
The only problem?
The portions were tiny. She could finish each dish in a single bite.
Still, she didn’t devour her food like she would have in her past life. Instead, she forced herself to eat like a proper lady, chewing slowly and carefully.
She thought she was doing a pretty good job acting elegant and composed.
But for some reason, both Gu Hanling and Butler Wang were looking at her strangely.
"It seems Madam enjoys today’s dishes,"
Gu Hanling said, setting down his utensils. He took a napkin and wiped the corner of his lips, his polite smile cold and distant as ever.
From what he remembered, the original Shen Xi was extremely strict about her diet. She only ate a tiny amount each day to maintain her figure. But today, she had eaten several times more than usual.
Shen Xi was confused.
How can you work hard without eating enough?
She pretended to be slightly annoyed.
"My date got interrupted, of course I have to eat more to comfort my wounded heart."
She put on a heartbroken expression, her small hand resting on her slightly full stomach.
She only ate like… a third of what she usually would, but she already felt stuffed. This original body’s stomach must be tiny…
Realizing she might have overdone it, Shen Xi put down her utensils.
"Madam seems to care quite a lot about that person," Gu Hanling said, his tone completely indifferent, though there was a hint of teasing in his eyes.
"Of course!" Shen Xi declared dramatically. "Jingyan and I grew up together! We’ve known each other since we were kids! I love him so much I can’t help myself!"
She carefully watched Gu Hanling’s expression.
As expected, his smile remained polite, cold, and distant. Not a hint of jealousy or displeasure.
But his eyes seemed to be silently saying, ‘How pathetic.’
‘Okay, okay, my acting skills are top-notch. I’d make a great actress!’ Shen Xi thought to herself.
After all, this big-shot sponsor didn’t like clingy women.
If she played her part right, stayed obsessed with someone else, Gu Hanling would have no reason to keep her close.
Perfect.
All she needed to do was endure for two years, and she’d walk away with hundreds of millions.
She’d be a rich, independent person!
Even if she could never go back to her old life, even if she was stuck as a woman forever. As long as she had money, she’d be fine.
At the end of the day, being rich is better than being a corporate slave, no matter where you are.
She had struggled her way out of a poor mountain village in her past life, enduring countless hardships. Because of that, she was more open-minded than most and could adapt quickly to any situation.
Just then, Shen Xi's phone rang.
Speak of the devil...
It was a message from Shi Jingyan.
[Last night, Yueyue was almost in trouble. Was it your doing?]
[Xixi, I know you like me a lot. But don’t think that just because I used to have a little bit of affection for you, you can do whatever you want. This is my final warning.]
A whole long-winded paragraph followed, but Shen Xi barely skimmed through it. The moment she saw him calling her "Xixi," her stomach churned, and she almost threw up the expensive French cuisine she had just eaten.
She scoffed.
Tch. She was the one who saved Lin Yueyue, and here she is, wishing she could stay as far away as possible from these two lunatics.
Getting too close to the main characters of a messy drama like this was never a good idea.
Her slender fingers tapped swiftly across the screen, typing out a reply:
[Don’t call me 'Xixi'! Don't flatter yourself. I love my husband very much now. No matter what I did before, from now on, I’ll stay far, far away from you. Bye-bye!]
On the other end, Shi Jingyan stared at the screen, his gaze fixating on two words, ‘love’ and ‘husband.’
His mind flashed back to the previous night, the moment he lost control and pinned Shen Xi beneath him. The warmth of her soft body, her breathtaking face, the delicate skin beneath his touch…
Back in college, the most he had ever done was hold her hand.
If the Gu family hadn’t barged in last night… things would have already gone further.
The mere thought of the Gu family sent a chill down his spine. That powerful, untouchable man was terrifying. But then he reassured himself. Shen Xi and Gu Hanling didn’t actually have real feelings for each other.
His eyes shifted to the woman sleeping naked in his arms, Lin Yueyue.
A woman from an ordinary background. Compared to Shen Xi’s elegant charm, Lin Yueyue lacked the same presence, but she was sweet, innocent, and completely dependent on him. She was exactly the kind of woman he wanted.
Even though Lin Yueyue had been frightened last night, he couldn’t control himself. And at some point during the act…
The woman beneath him started to look like Shen Xi.
The overwhelming sensation made him finish embarrassingly fast.
"It was that woman! She was trying to seduce me on purpose. This wasn’t my fault!"
With that excuse in mind, he picked up his phone again and replied,
[I know you're just trying to provoke me. But ever since you left for abroad, everything between us has already been ruined beyond repair. The one I love now is Yueyue.]
He hit send.
[Your number has been blocked.]
Shi Jingyan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It took him a long moment to regain his composure, before his lips curled into a mocking smirk.
"Playing hard to get again? Does she really think this will make me pay more attention to her? How ridiculous."
Meanwhile, Shen Xi had blocked his number immediately after sending her message.
The moment she looked up, she met Gu Hanling’s cold gaze as he walked toward her with the butler.
Thinking about the fake love confession she had just sent, she felt a little guilty.
Love? Yeah, right.
The only thing she loved was the 200 million payout.
She didn’t just want to stay far away from Shi Jingyan and Lin Yueyue. She also wanted to keep her distance from this intimidating, pressure-inducing man standing in front of her.
As someone who had been a man in her past life, she understood one thing very well. No man is immune to lust.
She was beautiful and had a great figure. What if one day Gu Hanling lost control and forced himself on her?
She could only tearfully bid farewell to her dignity .
The butler gave a polite bow, his signature warm smile still in place.
"Madam, allow me to escort you to the door."
"The security guard just informed me. Your younger sister is waiting outside the villa to take you back to the Shen family."