Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Lover
Ji Pei sat on the back of Ye Wenzhu’s electric scooter, who drove her home.
Arriving downstairs in her apartment complex, she was about to use facial recognition to enter but noticed a long-haired girl in a black hoodie following her and entering as well.
Ji Pei didn’t think much of it, assuming she was another resident in the complex. She opened her phone to text Winter Sun, sending voice messages as she walked. Each message was marked as read immediately. It was 10 PM. It seemed Winter Sun was still awake, so she could go back to talking on the phone with her.
The girl in the black hoodie kept following Ji Pei. When Ji Pei turned a corner, the other girl did too. Ji Pei quickly glanced at her with peripheral vision and felt something was off. This person seemed to be following her.
A cold sweat broke out on Ji Pei’s back. She sped up, trying to lose the girl around a corner.
It’s terrifying.
Before going upstairs, Ji Pei took out her phone, ready to call the police. At that moment, the girl behind her also stepped into the elevator.
The two stood in the bright, spacious elevator. Ji Pei turned around, and the moment their eyes met, she was slightly surprised. How could such a beautiful girl be a stalker?
The girl in the black hoodie noticed Ji Pei observing her. She awkwardly pulled down the brim of her hat, clutched the bag in her hand, and averted her gaze, biting her lip.
Ji Pei’s anxiety finally subsided, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
When the elevator door opened, Ji Pei stepped out, but the girl in the black hoodie followed her out as well.
Ji Pei’s guard went up again. She stared warily at the girl behind her. “Do you live on the ninth floor too?”
The girl shook her head and explained, “I’m here to visit a friend.”
Ji Pei was filled with suspicion. If she was visiting a friend, why didn’t her friend come down to meet her? Ji Pei’s apartment complex had security access, and even the elevator required a security card. If the girl was truly visiting a friend, her friend wouldn’t just leave her to figure it out.
“Visiting a friend? Does your friend also live on the ninth floor?”
“Yes. She told me the address before, so I found my way here.”
Ji Pei rubbed her chin and continued to ask, “In that case, why don’t you message her and have her come down to get you?”
The girl whispered, “I don’t have her contact information…”
Suspicious. This girl is highly suspicious. Her words can’t be trusted.
Ji Pei promised herself this would be the last question. “Then what are you here for? I live on the ninth floor, so she must be my neighbor.”
“Her clothes were left at my place. I’m just here to return them. No other intention.”
The girl stared at her toes, not noticing the flicker of gossip in Ji Pei’s eyes.
“…”
Black hoodie, red baseball cap, plus what she had just said—she was returning a friend’s clothes—it all made Ji Pei’s imagination run wild.
“What’s your friend’s name? Maybe I know her.”
The girl’s eyes instantly brightened at the question.
“Her name is Ji Fan.”
Ji Pei almost burst out laughing, pursing her lips. She lightly coughed twice.
“Ji Fan? I know her. Wait here, I’ll text her.”
“N-no need!”
The girl stammered. “I just came to return the clothes. I’ll leave as soon as I give them to her. She doesn’t want to see me.”
Ji Pei asked, knowing the answer, “Doesn’t want to see you? Why?”
“That… that…”
The girl fumbled for a moment and handed the shopping bag to Ji Pei. “Sister, can you please help me return the clothes to her?”
Ji Pei looked surprised. “Why? You came all this way. Don’t you want to see her?”
“I accidentally made her angry. I’ll wait until she calms down before seeing her.”
Ji Pei took the girl’s shopping bag and nodded. “Alright, I’ll help you return the clothes to her.”
The girl was extremely grateful. “Thank you.”
She then opened the elevator door and kept saying thank you as she stepped inside.
Once the elevator door closed, Ji Pei smirked, a knowing smile appearing on her face.
It seems this girl is the online date Ji Fan went to see yesterday.
Ji Pei had inadvertently scrutinized the girl from head to toe. Good figure, slender waist, long legs, a face like a celebrity, answered every question, and was very polite and well-mannered. She seemed like a reliable person.
In short, Ji Pei’s first impression of this Gu Nian was quite good.
She carried the shopping bag and entered the passcode. By the light, she saw that the bag Gu Nian used to hold Ji Fan’s clothes was a Chanel shopping bag, the expensive kind.
Ji Pei sighed softly. The moment she stepped into the living room, she was startled by the huge bouquet of roses.
Ji Fan was sitting in front of the roses, playing a hand-clapping game with her dog, Snow Mochi.
When she saw Ji Pei return, she stood up and said, “Sister, someone delivered a bouquet of roses tonight. I signed for them.”
“Who sent them? Is there a name?”
Ji Fan shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s probably a surprise for you. I was afraid Coal Ball and the others would ruin the flowers, so I’m guarding them here.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“They sent roses, so it must be a surprise! If I called you, wouldn’t I ruin the surprise?”
Ji Pei pointed at Ji Fan. “You, you…”
She handed the shopping bag to Ji Fan. “Here, a girl asked me to give this to you. Open it and see what’s inside.”
Ji Fan took it with a confused look. When she saw the familiar jacket, she bit her lower lip and said stiffly, “That person gave this to you.”
Ji Pei stood behind her. “What do you mean, that person? She has a name, Gu Nian.”
Ji Fan pulled out the clothes and threw the shopping bag to Ji Pei.
Ji Pei looked down and saw a letter inside. She quickly took it out. “There’s this too. Don’t forget it. Hurry up and open it.”
Ji Fan snatched the letter, turned, and walked away, muttering, “Who writes letters these days? So old-fashioned…”
“…”
She’s been spoiled rotten since childhood.
Ji Pei didn’t bother with her. She walked to the roses and found several had been damaged, bitten by some mischievous little creature. The two cats and one dog were quietly squatting nearby. Ji Pei knew they had been “educated” by Ji Fan.
The bouquet of roses was arranged in the shape of a heart, with a card in the very center, signed Winter Sun.
Ji Pei had received many such flowers before, with all sorts of names, but this was the first time she had seen such beautiful handwriting. Many of her former suitors bought flowers at Ye Wenzhu’s shop, and most asked Ye Wenzhu to write the card for them. Every time, Ye Wenzhu would secretly call her to prepare her for it.
But this time…
Ji Pei smiled with a hint of shyness, as if it was the first time she had ever received roses.
She sat in front of the bouquet, her cheeks tinged with a soft red, seemingly reflected by the fiery color of the roses. Ji Pei touched her face; it was hot.
She took out her phone to message Winter Sun. She planned to type it out, but unexpectedly, she immediately received a call from Winter Sun.
“Hello.”
Ji Pei opened the fridge, took out a bottle of whiskey, and sat down at the small bar, mixing herself a deep blue cocktail.
“Did you receive the roses?”
Winter Sun’s voice instantly sent a pleasant tingle through Ji Pei.
She leaned on the bar, staring at the cocktail she had mixed, her voice sounding a little hoarse. Perhaps it was from singing too hard at KTV today, or perhaps it was because of the roses and Winter Sun on the other end of the line.
“I received them.”
Ji Pei took a sip of the slightly sweet drink, resting her chin in her hand. She asked, puzzled, “But why did you send me roses?”
Winter Sun’s tone held a hint of lighthearted pleasure. “Is it wrong for me to send my lover roses?”
Lover.
Goosebumps erupted all over Ji Pei’s body. She swallowed unnaturally, even her breathing becoming slightly uncontrolled. Her current state was like having too much fake alcohol: rapid breathing, fast heartbeat, and numb limbs.
Is this alcohol poisoning?
Ji Pei ground her teeth. Darn whiskey!
Her tolerance for alcohol had never been great; even a little made her tipsy.
Ji Fan came out to get milk and saw Ji Pei’s phone screen lit up, sitting at the bar and drinking silently. She couldn’t help but walk over.
“Sister? What’s wrong? Someone sent you flowers, so why do you look heartbroken?”
The edges of Ji Pei’s eyes were as red and vibrant as if smeared with rouge. Her eyes were misty. She glared at Ji Fan threateningly and said through clenched teeth, “Grown-up business is none of a child’s business. Go back to your room.”
Winter Sun heard their conversation and asked, “Who was that talking to you?”
“My sister. The one I told you about yesterday, the unlucky kid who insisted I take her class for her and ended up failing.”
Ji Pei’s voice held a hint of pleasure. “My dear, let me tell you.”
Winter Sun gently hummed in affirmation.
“Well, my sister’s elective professor, I ate dinner with her today and found that this person…”
Ji Pei paused, struggling to find appropriate words in her alcohol-soaked brain.
Winter Sun: “What about her?”
The other person’s tone seemed to carry a hint of eagerness and anticipation, but Ji Pei was a little drunk and didn’t notice.
“I didn’t have my card, and she paid for me. She’s actually quite nice.”
Winter Sun: “She paid for you?”
Ji Pei: “Yes. I treated her to ice cream before I left. Her teaching assistant said she doesn’t eat ice cream, but I didn’t believe it.”
“Then when will you treat me to ice cream?”
Ji Pei narrowed her eyes, staring at the lit-up phone screen. “Then when will you let me see you?”
“I’ve been busy lately. I’ll come see you next month.”
“You promised. It’s a deal. If you don’t come next month, I might fall for someone else.”
Winter Sun said earnestly, “You are a woman with a partner now. When you’re out, don’t get too close to other women, and definitely not men.”