Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Agony
At half past two in the afternoon, Ji Pei was jolted awake by a nightmare.
She raised her wrist and checked the time. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, meaning she had experienced such a long dream in just half an hour. Ji Pei stumbled downstairs, her legs feeling weak.
She went to the kitchen, poured a full glass of ice cubes, added cold water, and sat on a chair, sipping it slowly. Before this, Ji Pei had already washed her face with cold water, trying to fully wake herself up.
Wang Ma, who was adding groceries in the kitchen, saw Ji Pei drinking cold water and couldn’t help but say a few words.
“You young people just don’t take care of yourselves. The temperature is dropping sharply in this weather. What if you catch a cold drinking cold water?”
Ji Pei smiled. “I’m drinking some cold water to refresh myself.”
Wang Ma wiped the water off the table with a rag and continued, “Didn’t Professor Jiang have class at half past three? Miss, why are you up so early?”
Ji Pei felt a little guilty. She took a sip of ice water. “I couldn’t sleep. I came out to sit for a while. I haven’t been back for a long time, so I’m not used to the bed.”
Ji Pei had only been bringing food to Jiang Xianhan for the past two days, but Wang Ma could actually cook. Ji Pei had forgotten about this. She glanced at the refrigerator, which was fully stocked by Wang Ma, and thought that if this was the case, she wouldn’t need to bring food anymore.
Ji Pei casually asked, “Wang Ma, what do you think of Professor Jiang?”
Wang Ma smiled broadly. “This is the first time I’ve met someone like Professor Jiang. At first, she looked cold, so I thought she would be difficult, but she’s actually very easy to talk to. She has a very good temper.”
If even Wang Ma, who had only met her for two days, said so, it meant Jiang Xianhan was genuinely a good person. She had no airs, didn’t look down on people, and treated everyone equally.
After Wang Ma finished tidying the kitchen, Ji Pei sighed, put down her glass, and began to question her life.
Why did I dream of Jiang Xianhan?
Why did I substitute Jiang Xianhan’s face for Winter Sun’s?
Could it be that her subconscious mind was at work, feeling too guilty for Jiang Xianhan’s sprained ankle, and that’s why she dreamed of her? But why that kind of dream? Was it a wet dream? No…
Ji Pei sat on the sofa, clutching her phone and regretting everything. She pressed the glass of ice to her cheek, opened her chat history with Winter Sun, and held her hair, looking distressed. She wanted to chat with Winter Sun, but under the current circumstances, Ji Pei put her phone down.
The solid, cold ice cubes ground against her teeth. Ji Pei viciously bit and swallowed the ice, pushed open the door, and walked out into the garden. It was late autumn, and the red maples were ablaze.
As soon as Ji Pei stepped out, she was hit on the head by a falling leaf. She held the red maple leaf, but when she turned it over, a large spider was crawling on the back. Startled, she fiercely flung it away.
“…”
Sure enough, when you’re having bad luck, the probability of picking up a leaf and finding an insect on it must be 100%.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Ji Pei went to Jiang Xianhan’s bedroom door, raised her right hand, and prepared to knock. She had actually been standing at the door for ten minutes, trying to prepare herself mentally.
Just as she was about to knock, Wang Ma appeared behind her without warning and whispered, “Miss, are you going to wake Professor Jiang?”
Ji Pei’s heart pounded a few times. She quickly stepped behind Wang Ma and said, “Wang Ma, could you please wake Professor Jiang up for me?”
She then ran off, leaving a confused Wang Ma standing there. That’s strange. I saw the young lady pacing by the door ten minutes ago, hesitant to knock and go in. Did they have an argument?
Lost in thought, Wang Ma knocked on the door and woke Jiang Xianhan.
When Jiang Xianhan woke up, she didn’t see Ji Pei, which surprised her. However, she quickly realized that Ji Pei had no obligation to stay by her side constantly.
Wang Ma pushed Jiang Xianhan’s wheelchair out and to the garage, where Jiang Xianhan finally saw Ji Pei sitting in the driver’s seat. The other person was slumped over the steering wheel, staring blankly ahead until the passenger door opened, and she finally reacted.
“Professor Jiang, be careful.”
Ji Pei glanced at Jiang Xianhan. This time, she didn’t hold the professor’s hand as before. Instead, she grabbed the sleeve of her coat, trying to minimize physical contact with Jiang Xianhan.
Jiang Xianhan had already sensed the slight distance from Ji Pei. Everything was fine this morning. How could she be a completely different person after a nap?
“What’s wrong? You don’t look well. Did you have a nightmare during your nap?”
When Ji Pei heard the words “dream,” she felt a small electric current run through her body. She desperately wanted to open the door and jump out of the car to escape. However, she was an adult. Dreaming wasn’t some unspeakable thing. Why was she so afraid of Jiang Xianhan?
Ji Pei took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to make her expression look natural. “Yeah, I had a nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep after I woke up.”
Seeing Ji Pei’s current state, Jiang Xianhan could tell at a glance that she was feigning confidence, trying to cover her guilt. She was still young; she couldn’t hide anything on her mind.
Jiang Xianhan’s lips curved slightly. In this state, a single glance from Ji Pei was enough for Jiang Xianhan to guess what she was thinking. Ji Pei was subconsciously resistant, not even wanting to touch her hand. Before going to sleep, she had said she would wake her up at three, but Wang Ma woke her up instead.
The lady doth protest too much. Jiang Xianhan guessed that Ji Pei must have dreamed about her. She didn’t know the specifics of the dream, but the fact that Ji Pei was so evasive and couldn’t look her in the eye suggested she felt guilty and that the dream was not entirely innocent.
Jiang Xianhan turned her head and secretly looked at Ji Pei, who happened to turn her head away with an exaggerated movement at the same moment. Even more suspicious. Jiang Xianhan now knew that Ji Pei had likely dreamed about something related to her, which was why she was avoiding her. But what was even more endearing was that despite her intense psychological turmoil, Ji Pei was still willing to drive her to school.
Jiang Xianhan placed both hands on her lap and swung her right foot slightly, which was caught by Ji Pei, who was turning to look at her.
“Professor Jiang, you shouldn’t move your foot.”
Jiang Xianhan smiled. “Actually, I’m much better. I think I’ll be able to walk very soon.”
Ji Pei followed up on Jiang Xianhan’s words. “Then I won’t come in a few days.”
The smile on Jiang Xianhan’s lips gradually froze. She wanted to slap herself. Why did she have to say something like that?
The two remained mostly silent on the way. Ji Pei appeared focused on driving but was actually a nervous wreck. She felt she was being unfair to Winter Sun, yet she couldn’t just ignore Jiang Xianhan.
The car slowly entered the campus, and she parked the Porsche in the same spot as this morning. Just as she braked and was about to unbuckle her seatbelt, Jiang Xianhan’s left hand slowly reached out towards Ji Pei, her body leaning to the left.
A faint scent wafted over. Ji Pei saw the professor’s fingers in the rearview mirror, and her pupils contracted sharply. Ji Pei gripped the seatbelt tightly, like a cat ready to explode, trying to give a fierce swat to the hand reaching toward her.
A breeze seemed to gently brush past her ear. Strands of hair tickled Ji Pei’s earlobe. Before Ji Pei could react, Jiang Xianhan pinched a tiny white feather and smiled.
“You had a feather stuck in your hair.”
“Thank you.”
Ji Pei whispered a thank you, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out of the car faster than a sprinting rabbit. Jiang Xianhan saw the back of her ears flush red and smiled knowingly.
Hmph. A child is so easy to tease. I haven’t even done anything yet.