My Online Lover Lives Next Door (GL) - Chapter 5

“Sister won’t lie to me.” Lu Yao’s words were like stirring up an anthill, immediately causing Jian Fanxing to react strongly.

Jian Fanxing looked serious. She looked at her good friend and said, “Yaoyao, I know you have a bias against my sister. You’re afraid she’s lying to me, but that’s because you’ve never interacted with her. I won’t force you to think like I do, but I ask you, can you not speak badly about her in front of me? Please?”

Seeing how much Jian Fanxing was defending her online girlfriend, Lu Yao sighed. Her friend was too deeply involved. She had no choice but to compromise. “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything. I’ll make sure to keep my mouth shut, okay?”

Only then did Jian Fanxing smile.

“By the way, do you mind if I stay at your place for a few days?” Lu Yao suddenly asked.

Jian Fanxing: “…Stay over?”

Seeing Lu Yao’s curious big eyes, Lu Yao nodded. “Yeah, I want to stay at your place for a few days. It’ll be good for us to catch up.”

And also to meet the new neighbor Jian Fanxing kept talking about.

She was beautiful, and her voice sounded exactly like Jian Fanxing’s online girlfriend. So… replacing that online girlfriend should be possible, right?

The more Lu Yao thought about it, the more she felt like she had to do this. She had to pull Jian Fanxing out of her online dating trap.

Lu Yao was quick to act. Less than half an hour after ending their video call, she arrived at Jian Fanxing’s door with her bags.

Seeing Lu Yao carrying so many bags like she was moving in, Jian Fanxing laughed. “Yaoyao, are you sure you’re only staying for a few days? You look like you’re planning to live here permanently.”

“Can’t I stay longer?” Lu Yao raised an eyebrow, unhappy with Jian Fanxing’s question. “But don’t worry, I know when to leave. When you get a girlfriend and need space, I’ll make myself disappear. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

As Jian Fanxing helped Lu Yao bring her luggage inside, she seriously corrected her. “Yaoyao, I already have a girlfriend.”

An online girlfriend doesn’t count! A real girlfriend has to be someone you can see and touch, Lu Yao thought.

But she didn’t argue. She just followed Jian Fanxing into the house with her bags.

As soon as they entered, Lu Yao noticed a gift box placed on the shoe cabinet.

“UK? Fanxing, did you win the lottery?” Lu Yao picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a bracelet with a star charm. Her eyes lit up. “Wow, what a beautiful bracelet! And it has a star pendant—classic UK brand.”

“How much did it cost?”

Hearing this, Jian Fanxing looked at the bracelet in Lu Yao’s hand and the box beside it. She quickly grabbed it back and put it away.

“Don’t touch it. Someone gave it to me.”

“Someone? Who? Your online girlfriend?” Lu Yao asked curiously.

Jian Fanxing shook her head and looked down at the gift box in her hands. “It’s a welcome gift from my new neighbor.”

A UK bracelet as a welcome gift? Lu Yao’s eyes lit up. “Fanxing, is your new neighbor rich?”

Thinking of the expensive designer chair she had seen, Jian Fanxing nodded. “Probably.”

“Rich, good-looking, and with a voice like your online girlfriend’s… Fanxing, maybe you should move on? Your new neighbor seems way more reliable than your online girlfriend.” Lu Yao concluded.

“Yaoyao…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking.” Seeing that Jian Fanxing was really getting upset, Lu Yao quickly shut her mouth.

Noticing Jian Fanxing picking up the gift box and preparing to leave, Lu Yao asked curiously, “Fanxing, where are you going?”

“To the neighbor’s place.” Jian Fanxing pursed her lips and said seriously, “I didn’t realize it was a UK bracelet when I accepted it. It’s too expensive—I can’t keep it.”

Even though she had wanted this bracelet for a long time, she had only just met her neighbor. Their relationship wasn’t close, or maybe it wasn’t even at a normal neighbor level yet. She couldn’t accept such an expensive gift without feeling guilty.

Besides, a bracelet is something she would rather receive from someone closest to her.

Lu Yao understood Jian Fanxing’s personality and didn’t try to convince her to keep it. She just said, “I’ll go with you.”

She also wanted to see how beautiful this new neighbor was.

He Qing had just finished her bath when she heard a knock at the door.

Opening it, she saw Jian Fanxing standing outside. A flicker of light flashed in her eyes, and her usual expressionless face softened into a faint smile. “Do you need something, little… sister?”

Unlike the professional and powerful image He Qing had during the day in her work outfit, she now wore casual pajamas. The intimidating aura from earlier was gone, replaced by a gentle and approachable vibe.

Jian Fanxing was stunned. She hadn’t expected to come at such a bad time. Especially when she looked directly at He Qing, she noticed the delicate collarbone exposed outside her neckline.

On her collarbone, there was a small tattoo. It looked like… a star?

Why would she tattoo a star there?

Jian Fanxing got lost in thought and forgot she was here to return something.

Seeing that Jian Fanxing wasn’t speaking and was even staring in a daze, He Qing frowned slightly.

Lu Yao was also stunned. Even without makeup, He Qing had the look of a fairy-like beauty. A cold, elegant fairy.

Her friend was seriously lucky.

And yet, she was still obsessed with her online girlfriend?

Lu Yao, feeling frustrated, nudged Jian Fanxing’s arm and whispered, “Fanxing, do you know what wasting a good opportunity means?”

Jian Fanxing snapped out of it and ignored her friend. She held out the gift box toward He Qing.

“This… I’m giving it back to you,” Jian Fanxing said.

He Qing’s gaze darkened. The gentleness from earlier vanished, replaced by a cold and pressuring presence.

“Why? You don’t like it? But you told me before that you did. Or… is it not the gift you don’t like, but me?” He Qing’s mood worsened.

She didn’t take the box and simply said, “No need to return it. If you don’t like it, just throw it away.”

Then she closed the door.

Jian Fanxing stood there, stunned. “???”

Turning to Lu Yao, she asked blankly, “Yaoyao, did I say something wrong?”

Lu Yao shook her head. “No, you didn’t say something wrong. You misunderstood something.”

Judging from He Qing’s reaction, Lu Yao was sure Jian Fanxing’s love life was about to get interesting.

After all, giving such an expensive gift was not something an ordinary neighbor would do.

He Qing was clearly expressing interest in Fanxing—choosing a bracelet with a star charm was way too obvious.

But Fanxing was too focused on her online girlfriend to notice.

Sighing, Jian Fanxing looked at the gift box, conflicted.

He Qing had told her to throw it away, but could she really do that? Definitely not.

“Don’t overthink it. If you feel bad, just give her a gift in return,” Lu Yao suggested.

“What should I give her?” Jian Fanxing asked.

“You.” Lu Yao blurted out.

Jian Fanxing: “???”

“Ahem.” Lu Yao laughed awkwardly. “I meant you should choose something yourself. That way, it’ll show your sincerity.”

He Qing went back inside, her face serious as she opened her WeChat chat with Jian Fanxing.

“Do you like me?” He Qing sent a message.

Jian Fanxing and Lu Yao had just arrived home when they heard the phone notification. Jian Fanxing picked up her phone and, seeing that it was a message from her older sister, immediately beamed with joy.

“Of course, I like you!” Jian Fanxing quickly replied.

On the other side, He Qing’s expression softened a little. But when she remembered that Jian Fanxing wanted to return the gift she had given her, her face darkened again. She asked once more, “Do you really like me?”

Jian Fanxing frowned instinctively at the message. Something felt off. Her sister had never asked her this kind of question before.

Sensing her lover’s uneasiness from across the distance, Jian Fanxing thought for a moment and then asked, “Sister, what’s wrong? Is work too stressful? Or did something happen?”

He Qing: “…Mm.”

I thought the reason you didn’t want to accept my gift was because you don’t like me, He Qing thought.

But when she typed it out, the message Jian Fanxing received was: “I thought the reason you didn’t want me to return to the country was because you don’t like me.”

Jian Fanxing hadn’t expected her offhand remark that morning to trouble He Qing for so long, let alone make her feel uneasy and… hurt. Guilt and regret filled her heart instantly. She quickly replied, “No, no! Sister, I don’t dislike you, and I… never said you couldn’t come back.”

She hesitated for a few seconds, bit her lip, and told He Qing, “Actually, I want to see you every day.”

“I like you. I really, really like you.”

Seeing this confession from Jian Fanxing, He Qing finally felt at ease. The gloominess disappeared, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

“Hmm, I really like you too,” He Qing replied.

But after noticing that Jian Fanxing’s “like” was stronger than hers, she sent another message:

“Really, really like you.”

Jian Fanxing looked at He Qing’s words and instantly grinned like a fool.

Her gaze fell on the unopened gift box. She quickly took a picture and sent it to He Qing.

“Sister, my new neighbor just moved in across from me. This is a gift she gave me as a greeting.”

“I feel like it’s too expensive for a first meeting, so I didn’t dare to accept it. I wanted to return it, but… she wouldn’t take it back. Yaoyao said I could pick a gift for my new neighbor as a return present. Sister, what do you think I should give her?”