My Online Lover Lives Next Door (GL) - Chapter 28

“So? Did you break up?” Lu Feng was silent for a moment before asking.

His boss, He Qing, really had a rough love life. But honestly, Lu Feng felt that she brought it upon herself. If she had just been honest from the start and not gone in circles, would things have turned out this way?

But since it was his boss, he could only keep these complaints to himself.

Did they break up? That question snapped He Qing out of her deep despair.

Little Star was really angry, and her words just now had been harsh, hitting straight to the heart. But even so, she never actually said anything about breaking up.

He Qing calmed down and thought about it. If it were someone else in this situation, they probably would have angrily ended things. But Little Star didn’t.

She didn’t.

Did that mean that even though she was furious, she still couldn’t bear to let go of their relationship? That she couldn’t bear to leave her?

He Qing’s eyes flickered. Her hands, which were gripping the steering wheel tightly, clenched into fists before loosening again.

“Lu Feng, I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll hang up now.”

Without waiting for Lu Feng’s response, He Qing ended the call, released the handbrake, and stepped hard on the gas. The car shot forward like an arrow.

On the other end of the line, Lu Feng stared at his phone, which had just been hung up on. He muttered to himself, “Boss sounded a little… excited just now?”

Why would she be excited? Wasn’t her girlfriend ignoring her?

Lu Feng couldn’t figure it out. But then again, his boss’s thoughts were always hard to guess. Instead of overthinking, he decided to just enjoy his day and go shopping with his girlfriend.

He Qing drove fast for half an hour, trying to catch up to the car Jian Fanxing had taken earlier, but she never found it.

When she reached a traffic light at an intersection, she thought for a moment, then turned the car around and headed home.

No matter where Little Star went, she would have to come home eventually.

She would wait for her there.

Lu Yao was still at work when she got a call from Jian Fanxing. After finally dealing with her boss’s unreasonable demands, she answered the phone. Remembering her friend’s plans for the day, she suddenly felt re-energized.

“Fanxing? Why are you calling me now? Weren’t you out with Miss He today? How did it go? Did your confession succeed?” Lu Yao asked eagerly.

“It worked, but… we had a fight,” Jian Fanxing replied, her voice sounding lifeless.

“A fight? Why?” Lu Yao was confused.

Wasn’t the next step supposed to be them acting all lovey-dovey? How did things turn into an argument instead?!

Jian Fanxing moved her lips but eventually summed it up in one sentence: “It’s complicated.”

“Yao Yao, are you free this afternoon? Let’s meet up for coffee. My treat.”

Hearing how drained her friend sounded, Lu Yao knew this wasn’t just about coffee—Fanxing clearly needed someone to talk to.

Stretching in her chair, Lu Yao didn’t hesitate. “Sure. I just had a fight with my boss too. I’ll take the afternoon off and let that jerk see how much his dumb plan fails without me.”

Jian Fanxing hummed softly in response and gave her the location.

It was a café they often visited.

Jian Fanxing arrived first, ordered a coffee, and then slumped onto the table like a wilted cabbage, completely out of energy.

When Lu Yao arrived, this was the sight that greeted her.

She tossed her bag onto the table, sat down across from Fanxing, and tapped her fingers against the surface to wake her up.

Jian Fanxing snapped out of her daze, looked up weakly, and greeted her, “Yao Yao, you’re here?”

“Hey, get her a Meteorite Latte,” she called to the café staff.

Lu Yao added, “Make it iced.”

“Now tell me, what happened between you and Miss He?” Lu Yao asked.

Seeing Fanxing looking so miserable, she almost thought her friend had been rejected instead.

Jian Fanxing hesitated, her eyes darting around as if she was carefully choosing her words.

Lu Yao didn’t rush her. She knew that if Fanxing had asked her out, she would talk eventually.

After a while, Fanxing changed her posture, propping her face up with her hand and sitting up a little.

“Yao Yao, turns out she’s my online girlfriend.”

Lu Yao froze. “She? Miss He?”

Jian Fanxing nodded.

Lu Yao blinked. “Really?”

Another nod. “Really. Truer than gold.”

Seeing that Lu Yao still seemed skeptical, Jian Fanxing added, “She told me herself.”

“…Hold on, let me process this.”

Her best friend’s current girlfriend was actually her ex-online girlfriend?!

Lu Yao frowned. “If she was your online girlfriend, why did she break up with you in the first place?”

“Why didn’t she just tell you from the start?”

And if she broke up, why reveal her identity later? Wouldn’t it have been easier to keep it a secret? What kind of twisted logic was this?

Jian Fanxing thought for a moment and replied, “Maybe some habits are hard to change, so she couldn’t keep hiding it.”

Like how she had kept calling her “Little Star.”

Back when He Qing first called her that, she had asked why. He Qing had just said it sounded more affectionate. But the truth was, she was just used to it.

She had always called her that. Changing it suddenly would feel strange—and it would also make it easier to slip up.

Jian Fanxing recalled everything He Qing had done since they met: trying to make her call her “sister”, slowly changing how she addressed her, learning to peel crayfish just because she liked them, only eating one herself while giving the rest to her, taking care of her when she was drunk, even moving into a worse neighborhood just to be closer to her.

She had been trying so hard to get closer to her, yet she had never told the truth.

If He Qing had told her from the very beginning… what would she have done?

Would she have just gone along with it and gotten together? Or would they have drifted apart?

Jian Fanxing realized it would’ve been the latter.

Because He Qing was nothing like the person she had imagined. She would’ve felt like she had been hit on the head by a falling pie from the sky.

But now, even knowing she had been lied to, she was only angry. She never actually thought about breaking up.

Why?

Jian Fanxing thought hard and finally came to a conclusion.

Because it was real.

Her “sister” was someone who appeared strong and untouchable, but in reality, she had fears. She cherished their love so much that she was willing to make absurd choices for it.

As she thought, the frustration on her face faded.

Lu Yao noticed. Smiling, she sipped her coffee and asked, “So, Fanxing, what’s your plan? Want to teach her a lesson? Sleep over at my place tonight?”

Jian Fanxing hesitated, then shook her head.

“No need. I already gave her a hard time.”

First, she yelled at her. Then she stormed off, leaving her behind. She had no idea how He Qing was doing now.

As she thought about it, her anger was replaced by concern.

“Yao Yao, I need to go home,” she said, rushing off.

Lu Yao: Wow, I feel like a background prop.

Jian Fanxing took a taxi home. When her heart finally settled, Jian Fanxing hesitated in her steps.

Her sister’s car was here, which meant she was home. But after their argument, how was she supposed to face her now?

Should she act like she was still angry, or pretend nothing had happened?

But her anger had already faded. Trying to fake it again… Jian Fanxing tried to put on a pouty, angry face, but after a minute, she gave up.

She… really had no talent for acting. She just couldn’t do it!

Jian Fanxing stood at the stairway entrance, hesitating for a full half-hour. What she didn’t know was that He Qing had also been standing at the door for just as long.

Ever since she got home, He Qing had been standing by the living room window.

The window faced the entrance of the neighborhood. As long as she stood there, she would see Little Star the moment she came back.

When Jian Fanxing finally returned, He Qing noticed right away. She saw her look at the car, and He Qing saw her too. So when Jian Fanxing disappeared into the complex, He Qing walked to the door, ready to open it the moment she heard her come in and personally ask for her forgiveness.

But after waiting ten minutes, there was still no sound from outside. Growing impatient, He Qing finally opened the door and went downstairs. And that was when she saw Jian Fanxing pacing at the stairway, hesitating to go up.

She watched as Jian Fanxing walked back and forth, never stepping forward. The warmth in He Qing’s heart slowly turned cold.

She had thought Little Star had calmed down and was ready to forgive her. But now it seemed that even though she knew He Qing was home, she still refused to go upstairs. She would rather wander downstairs than see her.

She was still mad. Still holding a grudge.

He Qing didn’t dare disturb her. She just stood there, waiting as long as Jian Fanxing did.

Until, by chance, Jian Fanxing looked up, her gaze sweeping past—and their eyes suddenly met.

He Qing stood at the top, Jian Fanxing below. Startled, Jian Fanxing quickly looked away. Just as she took a step back, a voice rang from above, urgent and firm.

“Where are you going?”

Then came the sound of hurried footsteps. He Qing ran down the stairs, stretched out her arms, and blocked Jian Fanxing’s path. Her face was dark as she ordered—

“Don’t leave.”

“Little Star, I won’t let you leave.”