Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Treating Guests
The three of them sat facing each other. Jiang Xianhan was across from Ji Pei, and Ji Fan was curled up on the sofa, hugging her furry white cat.
The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, but Jiang Xianhan seemed oblivious. She placed the handbag on the coffee table in front of Ji Pei.
“Your jacket. I’ve washed it clean.”
Ji Pei smiled. She felt her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she couldn’t think of a reason why she should feel that way.
“Professor Jiang, since you’ve made the trip, and it’s dinner time, why don’t you stay and have dinner with us before you go?”
Ji Pei thought that under normal circumstances, any normal person would recognize this as a polite formality, and Jiang Xianhan would surely…
“That sounds nice.”
“…”
The answer was so immediate that it caught Ji Pei completely off guard.
Ji Pei’s smile gradually froze. She looked up at Jiang Xianhan’s eyes, slightly stiffly.
Jiang Xianhan’s eyes were exceptionally clear and held a faint smile. And it looked like she had changed into a new pair of glasses today, with silver frames.
Ji Pei was wrong…
She was horribly wrong…
Why on earth did she suggest Jiang Xianhan stay for dinner?
Ji Pei felt guilty. She glanced at Ji Fan, who was hugging the cat, and felt incredibly sorry for her sister.
Ji Fan understood her sister’s look. She dropped the cat on the sofa and stood up. “I’ll go cook right now!”
Ji Pei also started to get up, but she quickly sat back down.
After all, Jiang Xianhan was the guest, and Ji Pei had to sit here and chat with her; otherwise, it would be extremely rude.
But…
What was she supposed to talk about in this situation?
If Jiang Xianhan were Ji Fan’s high school teacher, Ji Pei could ask about her schoolwork and then talk about random things. Now, she had to power through the conversation.
“Professor Jiang.”
After saying these three words, Ji Pei cleared her throat. “Where do you live? Is the journey here very far?”
“Not really. I live in S City.”
“That’s quite a distance. It’s an hour by high-speed rail.”
Ji Pei’s WeChat notification rang. She opened it and saw a message from Ji Fan in the kitchen, asking what Jiang Xianhan wanted to eat.
“Professor Jiang, what would you like to eat? My sister will cook it.”
“Anything is fine. Home-cooked dishes are good too.”
“Home-cooked dishes…”
Ji Pei mumbled and typed on the screen.
After sending the message, Ji Pei looked up and smiled awkwardly. “Professor Jiang, Ji Fan has a bit of social phobia and is afraid of people. Please don’t mind her.”
Ji Fan was busy in the kitchen searching for recipes and cooking. She accidentally knocked over the entire salt shaker into the wok, completely ruining a pot of shredded potatoes.
Ji Pei didn’t know what was happening in the kitchen. She noticed Jiang Xianhan’s gaze fall on the small bar area on the right side of the living room and explained.
“This is a bar I built myself. I usually drink or have tea here.”
“Does Professor Jiang drink?”
“A little.”
Ji Fan was a novice cook, and it was hard to say when she would be finished, but drinking on an empty stomach was bad for health, so Ji Pei dismissed the idea of mixing a drink for Jiang Xianhan.
She found a seldom-used clay teapot, took out a Pu-erh tea cake, opened the packaging, cut a piece off with a knife, and put it in the pot.
A woman Jiang Xianhan’s age would probably enjoy tea.
Moreover, this tea cake was not cheap. It was left by her grandmother and was supposedly worth hundreds of thousands even now, originally bought for collection. A few days ago, Snow Mochi somehow jumped onto the cupboard and took a bite out of it. Ji Pei, adhering to the principle of not wasting, cut off a piece daily and brewed it.
She had no expertise in tea tasting, but when guests arrived, she had to show good hospitality.
“Professor Jiang, this is Pu-erh tea left by my grandmother. Have a taste.”
The tea was clear and bright, with a rich aroma. The moment it poured out of the spout, Jiang Xianhan smelled the fragrance. Ji Pei thought the tea color looked better this time, and the aroma was stronger, perhaps because of the clay teapot. She was usually very casual about drinking tea, just throwing a piece into boiling water and drinking it like herbal tea.
No wonder her mother, Ms. Liu Yanfen, always told her she was a pig who couldn’t appreciate fine food.
Jiang Xianhan took a shallow sip. “Good tea.”
After nearly ten minutes, Ji Fan emerged from the smoky kitchen, standing behind Ji Pei with a mournful expression.
“Sister, why don’t we just take Professor Jiang out to eat? I don’t think either of you would want to eat what I’ve made.”
“Professor Jiang is visiting our home for the first time. You, as her student, should put in some effort. Going out to eat isn’t sincere enough.”
“But…”
To prove her cooking skills, Ji Fan specifically returned to the kitchen and brought out the wok. “I originally planned to make sweet and sour pork tenderloin, but it turned into charcoal.”
Ji Pei opened the lid, looked at the charred pieces inside, stirred it a few times with a burnt chopstick, and looked astonished.
“The charcoal is good charcoal, but where’s the tenderloin?”
“…”
Seeing Ji Fan’s silent look, Ji Pei put the lid back on and hesitated. “Professor Jiang, how about we go out to eat after all?”
The three of them went to the garage. Ji Fan immediately opened the driver’s side door, ready to get in, but Ji Pei grabbed the collar of her shirt.
“You sit in the back.”
Jiang Xianhan sat in the front passenger seat and hesitated, seeing Ji Fan huddled like a quail. “How about letting her try?”
After everyone buckled up, Ji Pei turned back to explain.
“She just got her license last month. The first time she drove, she rear-ended someone’s bicycle. That person is still in the orthopedic ward at the hospital.”
Ji Fan, tucked in the back seat, dared not speak out, mumbling sadly, “Sister, you don’t need to tell Professor Jiang all the details. Don’t I have any dignity?”
Ji Pei said earnestly, “Professor Jiang, I’m afraid for your personal safety.”
Jiang Xianhan pondered for a moment. “Alright, then you drive.”
Ji Pei’s car was a purple Panamera. The interior had a faint floral scent, and there were a few fox dolls on the back seat. Jiang Xianhan’s attention was drawn to a dangling safety charm—a stuffed Siamese cat wearing clothes, with a few copper coins attached underneath.
Ji Pei noticed Jiang Xianhan staring at her Siamese cat plush charm and smiled. “This is a Siamese cat doll I crocheted myself. It came out small, so I hung it in the car as a charm. A master from Lingyin Temple even blessed it.”
Jiang Xianhan withdrew her gaze and looked ahead. “It’s very cute.”
On the way, they passed Ye Wenzhu’s flower shop, and she flagged Ji Pei down at the storefront. Ji Pei’s car was easy to spot. Ye Wenzhu knew it was hers at a glance, and the license plate was very unique.
JING A SB886
The license plate looked like a direct insult. When Ye Wenzhu drove behind Ji Pei’s car before, seeing that license plate made her want to floor the gas pedal and crash into it. It was too attention-grabbing.
The Porsche slowly stopped. Ji Pei rolled down the window and saw Ye Wenzhu walk up.
“Did you call me over for something?”
The moment the window rolled down, Ye Wenzhu nearly bit her tongue when she saw the person in the front passenger seat.
“Professor Jiang, how are you…”
Ji Pei: “Professor Jiang is visiting my home today, and we’re about to go out for dinner.”
Ji Pei motioned with her eyes for Ye Wenzhu to join them. “Wenzhu, you haven’t eaten dinner, right? Why don’t you come with us?”
Ye Wenzhu waved her hands frantically, desperate to flee.
“No, no, no! I have orders this afternoon. I’m swamped. I need to go back. You guys enjoy your time alone with Professor Jiang.”
“…”
The car window went up. Silence descended on the car for a moment. Ji Pei looked at the Siamese cat charm awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, Professor Jiang. Wenzhu is just talkative. Please don’t pay any attention to her.”
Jiang Xianhan’s tone was calm. “I won’t.”