Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Relationship
Ji Pei pushed the wheelchair, and Bai Yin followed behind them, carrying a thick stack of books in her arms.
Bai Yin was puzzled. Professor Jiang had never brought textbooks or reference materials before. Why did she suddenly ask her to bring them today? Could it be because Ji Pei said she was coming to class to listen, and Professor Jiang was afraid she wouldn’t understand, so she brought these books?
Bai Yin felt delighted, thinking that Professor Jiang was indeed responsible and thoughtful. She hadn’t been wrong about her, and she decided to stick with her from now on!
Jiang Xianhan naturally wasn’t thinking too much. She just wanted Ji Pei to push her wheelchair. Sometimes, having a very responsible assistant around was a bit of a hassle, preventing her from enjoying her alone time with Ji Pei.
The public lecture classroom was on the third floor. Ji Pei had attended class there several times before, so she was familiar with the route. Before getting into the elevator, Ji Pei couldn’t resist leaning into Jiang Xianhan’s ear, her voice extremely soft.
“Professor Jiang, please, you absolutely must not call out my name later. I don’t know anything.”
Jiang Xianhan’s lips curved. “You answered so well last time. It would be a shame not to have you support me this time.”
Ji Pei bit her lower lip, her entire face crinkled up. “That was only because I happened to be on that page.”
“Hello, Professor Jiang.”
“Professor Jiang.”
Several students greeted Jiang Xianhan, their eyes filled with shock. They turned around and started whispering.
“Why is Professor Jiang in a wheelchair?”
“It looks like Professor Jiang broke a leg.”
“Did Professor Jiang become a vegetable?”
“…”
The rumor had twisted and morphed. The story of Professor Jiang, who had a broken leg from a car accident and still came to school to teach in a wheelchair, had already spread on the school’s confession wall, garnering countless comments.
Ji Pei had graduated over a year ago, but she hadn’t deleted the school’s confession wall app. She would click into it daily when bored to see the latest jokes. When she saw something absurd or amusing, Ji Pei would screenshot it and send it to Ye Wenzhu, and the two would criticize it together. The person they complained about the most was Xie Zhen, because she often led her clique to isolate Ye Wenzhu. However, Ye Wenzhu never doubted herself. She enjoyed herself throughout those years in school. After graduating, she used her savings to open a flower shop, becoming her own boss and enjoying a leisurely life.
There were only thirty seconds left until class started. Ji Pei pushed Jiang Xianhan out of the elevator on the third floor. The silent wheels rubbed against the floor. Ji Pei grew increasingly nervous as she neared the classroom. She desperately wanted to hand the wheelchair over to Bai Yin, but Bai Yin was clutching a heavy stack of textbooks.
If she actually did that, what would Jiang Xianhan think of her? Would she think Ji Pei disliked her and didn’t want to push her in? It was just pushing a wheelchair. It wasn’t like she was committing a crime like human trafficking. Why was she so nervous? She wouldn’t go to jail.
Thinking this, Ji Pei breathed a sigh of relief, but Jiang Xianhan noticed it.
“Why are you sighing?”
Ji Pei: “…”
She could even hear that?
“Nothing. I was just marveling that Professor Jiang, you are truly…”
The classroom door opened from the outside. Ji Pei’s words stopped abruptly when she saw the magnificent sight of a packed classroom.
Jiang Xianhan’s lips curved. “I am truly what?”
“Charming.”
From the moment Ji Pei pushed the wheelchair in, she felt countless eyes fixed on her and Jiang Xianhan. She felt goosebumps rising. Ji Pei quickly surveyed the surroundings, bent down slightly, and whispered, “Professor Jiang, there are no seats left. Maybe I should just…”
Jiang Xianhan didn’t answer Ji Pei. Instead, she turned to Bai Yin.
“Bai Yin, lock the door from the inside.”
Ji Pei: “…”
She never thought she’d encounter a forced transaction just to attend a class. Now she was trapped.
Ji Pei positioned Jiang Xianhan at the podium and was about to walk to the back when the professor called her name. Jiang Xianhan stared at Ji Pei’s tall back, expressionless. “There are still seats in the front. Where are you going?”
Bai Yin happened to turn on the podium’s speaker system, and Jiang Xianhan’s words echoed throughout the classroom. Ji Pei received even more curious stares. She wanted to burrow into a mouse hole.
Bai Yin moved a small stool to the side of the first-row desk and smiled. “Student Ji Pei, hurry and sit down. Professor Jiang is about to start the lecture.”
Ji Pei tried her best to minimize her presence. She sat down obediently, but unfortunately, the seat she took was the focal point of the entire classroom’s attention. I should have worn a hat and a mask.
Jiang Xianhan gave her a satisfied look, opened the PPT, and began her lecture.
Ji Pei felt like she was sitting on hot coals. The gazes piercing her back made her feel uneasy, so she decided to greet the student next to her.
“Hello, classmate. Could you possibly scoot over a little?”
The girl had been staring at Ji Pei since she walked in. Now that Ji Pei spoke to her, she started stammering.
“Y-yes, I can.”
Jiang Xianhan’s gaze was sharp. She saw the girl, whose ears were red and hidden by her hair, scooting over and lightly cleared her throat twice.
“No whispering is allowed in my class.”
Ji Pei knew Jiang Xianhan was talking about her, so she tightly pursed her lips and scooted further inward. She had no book, not even a notebook for taking notes. Ji Pei thought about pulling out her phone and opening the memo app, but remembering this was Jiang Xianhan’s class, she put the phone back in her bag.
Seeing everyone around her taking notes, Ji Pei felt out of place. Taking advantage of Jiang Xianhan not looking, she leaned in to the girl next door again.
“Classmate, could I borrow a piece of paper, and a pen too?”
The girl with the golden hair nodded, took out a pencil case from her bag, and was about to tear off a piece of paper for Ji Pei.
But Jiang Xianhan suddenly took out her green notebook and a black pen and placed them in front of Ji Pei.
“Pay attention.”
Ji Pei: “…”
She gave the girl an awkward smile. “Thank you, I have one now.”
Bai Yin, seeing this, grew even more admiring of Jiang Xianhan. Thinking she had such a great role model, her heart blossomed, and she felt like she would gladly work for Jiang Xianhan for free.
Whispering started behind her. Ji Pei heard it clearly.
“Who is that girl? Is she Professor Jiang’s relative?”
“I don’t know. Professor Jiang seems to be paying extra attention to her. Could she be her sister?”
“Possibly. They look somewhat alike.”
Ji Pei glanced at her wristwatch. There was still more than an hour until class ended. She had to remain calm.
She started examining Jiang Xianhan’s notebook. The cover was green, with Arabic script on it, looking a bit vintage. When the notebook was opened, the first page was blank. However, the notebook had clearly been used frequently. Jiang Xianhan had filled half of it with dense notes. The handwriting, besides Chinese, was all in English. Ji Pei read silently and realized it was a compilation of quotes from Western Philosophy History.
Jiang Xianhan’s handwriting looked delicate at first glance, but a closer look revealed its powerful and beautiful strokes, with the spirit of a scholar. Her Chinese calligraphy was beautiful, and her foreign language script was equally neat, almost like print. Ji Pei flipped through the pages, forgetting to take notes. She noticed Jiang Xianhan’s gaze subtly sweeping over her, and thought the professor was reminding her to take notes.
She picked up the pen and began transcribing, realizing she was struggling to write neatly. She started imitating Jiang Xianhan’s handwriting, stroke by stroke. After writing half a page, Ji Pei smiled with satisfaction. Then, on a whim, she turned to the first page of the notebook. She originally intended to write Jiang Xianhan’s name, but the first character she wrote turned into Ji. After writing her own name, Ji Pei chuckled smugly, thinking, It’s so beautiful, Jiang Xianhan will definitely love it.
“…”
Ji Pei’s hand, holding the pen, paused. She stared at the two characters, stunned.
This… this seemed to be Jiang Xianhan’s notebook.
Ji Pei quickly made eye contact with Jiang Xianhan at the podium, then guiltily lowered her head.
I’m done for.
She seems to have caught me messing around.