Chapter 474 - 220: Li Zhi, I Like You
Chapter 474: Chapter 220: Li Zhi, I Like You
Shen Yuan knew he was done for. The image from a moment ago was impossible to drive from his mind.
Li Zhi’s outfit... those legs...
’No!’
’How could she... How could she dress like that?!’
The thick black tights clung to the slender, well-proportioned lines of her legs, glowing with a soft and alluring matte finish under the warm light.
’These were definitely not tights she just threw on at the last minute!’
’The texture, the whole outfit—an off-white sweater, a plaid miniskirt, and then those dark tights outlining...’
’This... This is completely against the rules!’
’Does Li Bao even know just how... how good she looks?!’
Shen Yuan felt like his brain had been plunged into boiling water. The moment of blankness was followed by a tidal wave of shock and ecstasy.
This was completely beyond Shen Yuan’s imagination!
He had thought Li Bao would be wearing casual loungewear, or at most... something a little cute.
He never imagined she would put so much thought into her outfit—or to be more precise, that she would be so bold!
The stunning visual and the thought she had put into it detonated in his heart like a powerful bomb. The aftershock left him completely rattled, with only the word "surprise" flashing wildly in his mind.
At that moment, Li Zhi’s face was also impossibly red.
Seeing Shen Yuan’s exaggerated pose, as if he wished he could twist his head a full one hundred and eighty degrees to "study" the wall, Li Zhi’s shyness reached its peak.
"S-Stupid idiot!" the young woman hissed, her hand clutching the down jacket so tightly her knuckles turned white.
And yet, at the height of her mortification, Shen Yuan’s flustered expression—his face as red as a boiled shrimp—and his body language—stiffening for a second before quickly looking away, unable to hide his strong reaction—struck a corner of Li Zhi’s heart like an electric current.
A thought abruptly surfaced.
’He doesn’t just seem startled. It’s more like he’s shocked and... pleasantly surprised?’
Amidst her extreme embarrassment, this realization caused a tiny, imperceptible sliver of pride—one she wouldn’t even admit to herself—to quietly surface.
Almost as if in a fit of pique, the taut string in Li Zhi’s heart suddenly went slack.
’Whatever... I’m already wearing it, anyway.’
Li Zhi took a deep breath, clenched her jaw, and with a "to-hell-with-it" resolve, she stopped trying to hide behind the bulky down jacket. Instead, she grabbed the front of the coat, pulled it wide open, and let her arms drop, allowing the long, thick garment to slide from her shoulders.
In an instant, the silhouette of her body beneath the cozy sweater—especially her long, straight legs, perfectly outlined by the thick black tights—was completely revealed. It was exposed to the warm air of the room and, just as fully, to Shen Yuan’s... peripheral vision.
Li Zhi casually tossed the down jacket onto a chair.
As soon as she’d done it, Li Zhi turned slightly to the side, her chin raised, pretending to watch San Geng and Naonao.
But the line of her profile was tense, and in the dim light, the tips of her ears glowed as if they were burning.
She said nothing, but her deliberately icy profile and heaving chest betrayed the storm raging within her.
As for Shen Yuan, he felt like he was about to suffocate.
The sight that suddenly sharpened in his peripheral vision was even more devastating than the fleeting glimpse from before.
Framed by the sweater and skirt, her uncovered figure held a pure, unconscious allure.
Without the bulky jacket for contrast, the lines of her legs appeared even more graceful and slender. The close-fitting black tights shimmered in the light like a layer of soft, mysterious armor, yet they clearly showcased every perfect curve.
After a moment, he finally realized he had been standing there like a mindless statue for far too long. He had to do something to break the deadly silence.
"Um..."
Shen Yuan’s voice was a bit hoarse. Cautiously, like a rusty robot, he finally managed to turn his stiff neck back to a normal position, but he only dared to look at the floor by Li Zhi’s feet.
"...Ahem. Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?"
Li Zhi seemed to let out a breath of relief as well; a topic of conversation would be a welcome distraction.
She finally dared to turn her head. Her gaze swept over Shen Yuan’s still-flustered face, carrying a hint of imperceptible pride and her familiar disdain.
"Stupid idiot. Only thinking to ask now? Did you lose your soul for a minute there?"
"N-No, I didn’t!"
Shen Yuan denied it reflexively, and the heat that had just faded from his ears threatened to return.
"Water? Or something else?"
"I’m fine."
Li Zhi snorted softly and glanced around the room before finally sitting down in her usual chair. Then she began calling for her kitties.
Listening to Li Zhi call for the cats, Shen Yuan’s heart gradually began to calm down.
’Calm down, calm down!’
Shen Yuan glanced up at Li Zhi.
’Okay, the visual impact is still pretty intense.’
"Do you want to watch something? A movie? The New Year’s Eve gala?"
"Whatever. I didn’t come here for you. I came for San Geng and Naonao."
With that, Li Zhi picked up Naonao and placed the cat on her lap. "Isn’t that right, Naonao? Mommy didn’t come to spend New Year’s with your stupid idiot of a dad."
Hearing her familiar tone, Shen Yuan’s heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally settled back into his chest.
He couldn’t help but quip, "When you say it like that, it sounds like we got divorced and I got custody of the kids."
The words had barely left Shen Yuan’s mouth when Li Zhi flicked her leg up, catching the cotton slipper she was wearing in her hand. The next thing he knew, the slipper was flying straight at him.
"Hey!"
Shen Yuan yelped and scrambled to the side. The slipper grazed his arm and landed on the floor behind him with a soft PAT.