Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 27.1

Chapter 27.1: Counterattack

Seeing the bl00d beads on the back of Jiang Xianhan’s hand coagulate, Ji Pei looked down, silent, like a child who had done something wrong.

Jiang Xianhan gently stroked her head, running her hand softly over her warm scalp. “It’s nothing. It’s just a little scrape.”

“Why am I always so unlucky whenever I’m with you?” Ji Pei pouted, vigorously sniffing. “Last time, I caused you to sprain your ankle and go to the hospital. This time, I caused you to be scratched by a cat.” She grasped Jiang Xianhan’s uninjured hand, sobbing, “Are we truly incompatible based on our birth charts?”

Jiang Xianhan thought Ji Pei would say something self-reproachful, but she didn’t expect her to bring up birth charts. “Where did you hear that? What ‘incompatible birth charts’?”

Ji Pei’s voice was hoarse. “Don’t dismiss it. I felt like I would bring you bad luck, and it was confirmed today.”

Jiang Xianhan patiently comforted Ji Pei, explaining in a gentle voice, “These are all possible sudden events. They would have happened even if you weren’t beside me.”

Ji Pei held Jiang Xianhan’s distinctly jointed fingers, shaking her head. “No. I’m going to hire a fortune teller in a few days to calculate our birth charts and see if there’s a way to resolve it.”

Jiang Xianhan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but since she couldn’t change Ji Pei’s mind, she could only go along with it. “Alright. We’ll have it calculated properly then and see how to resolve it.”

The emergency bell called Jiang Xianhan’s surgical number. Ji Pei stood up before her, holding Jiang Xianhan’s wrist as they walked toward examination room number two.

The female doctor, wearing a mask, smiled and looked at Jiang Xianhan as she extended her hand. “Well, isn’t this Professor Jiang? How did you get scratched by a cat?”

Jiang Xianhan looked up, meeting the female doctor’s eyes. After seeing the ID badge on her chest, she said calmly, “By a cat at the school.”

Xue Qingfang narrowed her eyes, rinsing the wound on the back of Jiang Xianhan’s hand with saline and squeezing out the bl00d. While Xue Qingfang performed the treatment, Ji Pei stood behind Jiang Xianhan, watching anxiously, but she didn’t see Jiang Xianhan even frown. Ji Pei stared intently at Xue Qingfang’s hands as she dressed the wound. She couldn’t help but reach out her right hand and place it on Jiang Xianhan’s shoulder. She leaned over, whispering into Jiang Xianhan’s ear, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Jiang Xianhan gently shook her head. “It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt much.”

Xue Qingfang was wearing gloves and holding tweezers. Her attention was initially focused on Jiang Xianhan. She almost didn’t notice the girl standing behind her, who looked young, perhaps in her early twenties at most. Her gaze quickly swept over the girl’s hand resting on Jiang Xianhan’s shoulder, and the lower half of her face, hidden by the mask, revealed an “auntie smile.” “Oh, a friend brought you here?”

Jiang Xianhan’s lips curved. “No, my girlfriend.”

Xue Qingfang, holding a cotton ball soaked in iodine with the tweezers, almost jolted and stuck the tip of the tweezers into the wound after hearing that. Her pupils constricted. She looked up at the girl behind Jiang Xianhan, who quickly retracted her hand, and said in shock, “Didn’t you say you were a staunch single-life advocate?”

Jiang Xianhan said expressionlessly, “That was before.”

Xue Qingfang took another iodine-soaked cotton ball to wipe the wound, then lifted her eyes to glance at the girl behind her again. Nice figure, slender waist, long legs, perfect golden ratio. Especially her face, Xue Qingfang had seen countless pretty faces in her four or five years of practice, but she was still taken aback by the girl in front of her. She was both comfortable and beautiful to look at. Although she didn’t show much expression, she looked like a painting standing there. It was a shame she wasn’t a celebrity. No wonder Jiang Xianhan, the single-life advocate, suddenly changed her mind. It seemed there was a reason. Indeed, in the face of absolute beauty, the single-life principle was nothing.

Jiang Xianhan’s face was completely cold, and she suddenly reminded, “Have you looked enough?”

Xue Qingfang quickly withdrew her gaze. Everyone appreciates beauty. Why can’t I look at her when her girlfriend is so good-looking? However, she wouldn’t dare say such a thing to Jiang Xianhan’s face, or she would surely be verbally annihilated by her sharp tongue.

The wound wasn’t very deep. It was just that Jiang Xianhan’s skin was thin, which was why a slight scratch could break the skin and bleed. Although Wang Erhu had been vaccinated, due to her frequent trips outside the school to fight other cats and the increased presence of bacteria on her, Xue Qingfang suggested getting a preventive vaccine would be best.

Ji Pei carefully supported Jiang Xianhan’s right hand, her face full of guilt and distress. “We should go get the vaccine now.”

Xue Qingfang removed her gloves and washed her hands. She almost rolled her eyes out of their sockets at the sight. Jiang Xianhan noticed Xue Qingfang’s gaze and grabbed Ji Pei’s wrist. “Let’s go now.”

Ji Pei turned back and smiled at Dr. Xue. “Thank you, Dr. Xue.”

Xue Qingfang nodded cheerfully. “Mhm, mhm. Take care on your way.”

The intern cleaning up behind Xue Qingfang saw her smiling continuously and couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, why are you so happy?”

Xue Qingfang laughed and teased, “The person I just bandaged is an old classmate of mine. Back then, she swore she was a staunch single-life advocate. Who would have thought that at over thirty, she’d fall for a twenty-something girl?”

After leaving the hospital and getting into the car, Ji Pei carefully buckled Jiang Xianhan’s seatbelt and instructed her to keep her hand slightly raised to avoid rubbing the wound. “How is it? Does the wound still hurt a bit?”

“A little, but it’s not very painful. It just looks scary.” Jiang Xianhan touched Ji Pei’s shoulder. “You heard Xue Qingfang. I have thin skin, that’s why I bled so much.”

Ji Pei drove Jiang Xianhan to get the vaccine. Hearing Xue Qingfang’s name, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why was that Dr. Xue staring at me so much?”

Jiang Xianhan knew Ji Pei would ask this. She smiled and said, “She was probably too curious about you.”

“She also mentioned you were a ‘staunch single-life advocate.'” Ji Pei couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Jiang Xianhan, is this really your first relationship?”

Jiang Xianhan looked surprised. “Do I look like I’ve dated a lot?”

Ji Pei turned to look at her and shook her head. “You really don’t.” Ji Pei wanted to say, Your seductive techniques don’t look like a relationship novice at all. Is there really someone so naturally gifted in this world, or are highly educated people like Jiang Xianhan all so good at playing around?

The moment she finished speaking, Jiang Xianhan’s left hand reached out and rested on Ji Pei’s thigh. Ji Pei was already used to her teasing. She held the steering wheel with one hand and grasped Jiang Xianhan’s hand with the other. Jiang Xianhan said insincerely, “It hurts so much.” Ji Pei thought, Stop pretending. The injury is on your right hand. But soon, she realized who was to blame for Jiang Xianhan’s cat scratch. Feeling guilty, she had no choice but to let Jiang Xianhan have her way.

She gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Jiang Xianhan’s hand began to shift position from her thigh, resting on Ji Pei’s lower abdomen. “My hand is so cold. I want to put it inside to warm up.”

It was a shameless, despicable, and unreasonable request, yet Ji Pei couldn’t refute it. When she didn’t say anything, Jiang Xianhan took it as a tacit agreement and contentedly slipped her left hand inside. Ji Pei tensed her abdomen and sat up straight. It really is cold.

After getting the vaccine, the tumultuous day was mostly over. At past four in the afternoon, Ji Pei held Jiang Xianhan’s hand as they walked out of the vaccination center. The doctor instructed her not to shower for a few days and not to touch the injection site. If she felt uncomfortable, she should have someone help her wash her body, taking care not to touch the injection site. If she experienced slight headaches, fever, nausea, or vomiting, it meant she was experiencing side effects, and she shouldn’t worry.

A faint stinging sensation came from the injection site on her left arm. After the shot, Jiang Xianhan’s arm was sore. She leaned against the seat, motionless. She didn’t have the strength to feel Ji Pei’s abs anymore. Seeing Jiang Xianhan finally settling down, Ji Pei felt both relieved and secretly fortunate.

“Did you remember everything the doctor said? You absolutely can’t shower these days, and you can’t lift heavy objects with your left hand.”

Jiang Xianhan said, “But I shower every day. I have germophobia.”

Ji Pei: “…” I saw you rolling around with Wang Erhu and getting covered in fur. Why didn’t you mention your germophobia then?

“Then, when you shower… be careful… not to touch it. What if it gets infected…”

“You are my girlfriend. Shouldn’t you help me wash my body?”

The moment she said that, Ji Pei’s face flushed. She argued softly, “We only got together yesterday. You want me to shower you already? That’s not right…”

Jiang Xianhan took pleasure in making Ji Pei blush. “Why not? We’ve kissed and touched. All that’s left is to…” Before she could say the words “go to bed,” Ji Pei glared at her with a look of reproach.

“Don’t say it!”

“So easily embarrassed. Do you want to see what you said to me on the phone before?” Jiang Xianhan made a move to open their chat app. Ji Pei almost sprang out of her seat.

“You… turn that off… Jiang Xianhan!”

Jiang Xianhan saw Ji Pei’s ears were red enough to drip bl00d and contentedly put away her phone. “What, brave enough to say it but not admit it?”

“You started it all!” Ji Pei gritted her teeth. “Who asked you to say those things to me every day? I’m influenced by bad company. You’ve led me astray.”

After bickering with Jiang Xianhan for a while, Ji Pei thought of the fleeing Wang Erhu and couldn’t help but say, “My cats at home are better. Even though they’re naughty, they’re friendly to everyone they meet.”

Jiang Xianhan smiled. “Two? Are they both yours?”

“Yes. One black, one white. I gave them a combined name: the Black and White Fiends.”

“Why not ‘Oreo Sandwich’?” Ji Pei hadn’t expected Jiang Xianhan to think of something so sweet. It seemed she must have been a little princess with a pink heart when she was young, but she became corrupted as she grew up.

“They are too mischievous. They often break things and frame my dog. They’re like little demons.”

Jiang Xianhan: “I heard you mention your dog. It’s a Golden Retriever, right?”

“Yes. Despite its size, it’s constantly being framed by the black and white pair.” Ji Pei almost laughed thinking about the things those two had done. “Last time, they broke a mirror and were afraid of being scolded, so they called Egg Yolk Pie over and framed him. Luckily, I found out in time and almost punished an innocent dog.”

Halfway through the drive, Ji Pei suddenly turned and stopped by the roadside. She looked at the confused Jiang Xianhan, feeling a little shy, and said awkwardly, “How about you come to my place? We… um…”

Jiang Xianhan knowingly asked, “What for?”

Ji Pei blushed, explaining, “To see my cats and my silly dog. Didn’t you say you were interested?”

Any fool could understand such a roundabout but obvious hint. Jiang Xianhan pretended not to understand and smiled. “That sounds lovely. Can I sleep at your place tonight?”

“That…” Ji Pei hesitated, touching her hot face and holding onto Jiang Xianhan’s hand, unwilling to let go. “Let’s go first and see…”

The moment Ji Pei brought Jiang Xianhan home, she realized she had forgotten someone. She forgot that Ji Fan would be coming home to eat and sleep. But since the words had been said and the car was already turning onto the road, she decided to throw caution to the wind. At worst, she would send Ji Fan to a hotel tonight.

This was Jiang Xianhan’s second visit to Ji Pei’s home. The moment the door opened, a flurry of hurried meowing erupted. Ji Pei heard the originally rough cat meows become increasingly high-pitched and smiled, telling Jiang Xianhan, “See, that’s how they are. As soon as they see me, they turn into little clinging cats. When they’re fighting, their meows could lift the roof.”

She took out a pair of new slippers she had prepared, too embarrassed to look Jiang Xianhan in the eye. “Wear this pink pair. I just bought them.” Ji Pei had wanted to do this for a long time. She had specifically bought new slippers yesterday, thinking they would be convenient for Jiang Xianhan to wear when she came over.

Jiang Xianhan saw that Ji Pei was wearing light yellow plaid slippers and made a surprising comment. “Why aren’t they a couple’s set?”

Ji Pei: “…” “Well, I forgot. We can buy a new pair tomorrow. Just make do with these for now.”

Ji Pei put down her bag and squatted on the floor, petting Charcoal’s head. Two seconds later, Ji Pei thought, Oh no. She hadn’t washed her hands after touching the other cats or changed her clothes. Sure enough, Charcoal rubbed against her palm and thigh, catching a strong scent of stray cat, and instantly bristled.

“Aowu!” “Aowu! Aowu!” The two cats arched their tails toward Ji Pei, clawing at her pants leg, letting out sharp cries that made Ji Pei’s ears hurt. Their expressions, actions, and cries seemed to be fiercely protesting that their human servant had gone out to flirt with other stray cats and hadn’t destroyed the evidence of her infidelity.

Jiang Xianhan stood by the door, watching Ji Pei soothe the two fierce, fat cats. She smiled silently, only to be almost knocked down by the large Golden Retriever that darted out the next second.

“Watch out!” Ji Pei hugged Egg Yolk Pie, pulling him back. “Calm down!”

Ji Pei had a face full of dog hair. Jiang Xianhan changed into her slippers and walked toward the sofa. Egg Yolk Pie wanted to rush up and have Jiang Xianhan pet its head, but Ji Pei grabbed his leg and tightly held him. “Behave!” If Jiang Xianhan hadn’t been injured and vaccinated, Ji Pei wouldn’t have stopped her dog. She knew Egg Yolk Pie’s nature and knew that with a dog its size, even a slight push could cause Jiang Xianhan a secondary injury.

The two black and white cats were indeed very affectionate. They weren’t afraid of the stranger. Instead, they jumped to Jiang Xianhan’s side, rubbing their heads against her arm. “What are you two doing!” Ji Pei quickly walked over and held the two clingy animals away. “Go play over there. This sister is injured and can’t play with you.”

Jiang Xianhan looked at Ji Pei with interest. Hearing her call her “sister,” the smile on her lips grew wider. “What did you just call me?”

Ji Pei closed the cats and dog in a room and poured Jiang Xianhan a glass of warm water. “What?”

“The way you addressed me just now. I want to hear it again.”

Ji Pei’s face instantly turned red. “Jiang Xianhan, why do you always split hairs? I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Jiang Xianhan held the water glass and took a shallow sip. “What, is it that hard to call me that?”

Ji Pei stood in front of her and whispered two words, then immediately ducked into the bathroom. She had been out for most of the day, touching so many dirty things, and hadn’t washed her hands yet. Plus, she had just poured water for Jiang Xianhan. Ji Pei washed her hands and walked out, taking Jiang Xianhan’s water glass and pouring her a new one.

Jiang Xianhan sat on the sofa, her posture elegant, but the words coming out of her mouth were anything but. “I didn’t hear you just now. Say it again.”

“Sis…” Ji Pei licked her lips, swallowed several times, opened her mouth, but couldn’t bring herself to say the embarrassing word. In this situation, with Jiang Xianhan staring at her and asking her to call her “sister,” how could she possibly say it?

Jiang Xianhan smiled understandingly. “Alright, I’m not teasing you anymore. Come sit and rest.” Ji Pei lowered her guard, thinking Jiang Xianhan had truly turned over a new leaf, and obediently sat beside her.

“The doctor said you shouldn’t touch… Ah!”

A dizzying sensation came over her. Ji Pei was pressed down onto the sofa by Jiang Xianhan’s right arm. She tried to struggle but found Jiang Xianhan was completely still. Seeing Ji Pei’s eyes wide and round, Jiang Xianhan laughed. “Don’t push. I’ve studied Sanda. You can’t push me over.”

Ji Pei: “…”

Even with the injury on the back of her hand, Jiang Xianhan’s fingers were still very agile. She lifted Ji Pei’s collar and saw the hickey she left yesterday had deepened in color. The corners of her eyes curved upward. “Nice. The mark I left is still there. Well preserved.”

Jiang Xianhan stared at the pouting Ji Pei, clamping her thighs around Ji Pei’s to prevent her from escaping. “If you won’t call me ‘sister,’ a kiss as compensation is also acceptable.”

“Jiang Xian…”

Ji Pei’s mouth was completely blocked. Her resistance was futile, so she obediently opened her mouth. “Mmm…” Ji Pei turned her head, breathing heavily, but Jiang Xianhan quickly cupped her chin and forcefully kissed her back.

The wet, unmistakable sound of the kiss pierced Ji Pei’s eardrums. Her face was burning hot. Jiang Xianhan used her tongue to trace and outline her teeth and the roof of her mouth. Ji Pei’s scalp tingled, and she finally decided to counterattack actively. She pressed the back of Jiang Xianhan’s head, bit her lower lip, and kissed back even harder. Their teeth clacked together. Ji Pei grew more and more excited, wanting to switch positions and pin Jiang Xianhan beneath her.

However, her rationality quickly took over. Jiang Xianhan had injured both arms. What if she crushed her? Forget it. I’ll let her have this one.

After kissing for an unknown length of time, Ji Pei’s head was spinning. She wrapped one arm around Jiang Xianhan’s waist, pulling her closer. Jiang Xianhan, catching a rare breath, revealed her current state with a hoarse voice. “Good kiss. You’ve improved.”

Suddenly praised, Ji Pei felt like a wagging tail had sprouted behind her. She continued to prove her rapid improvement with action.

Just then, the sound of the key code being entered suddenly rang out, and the sound of the door opening and Ji Fan’s voice speaking began simultaneously. Ji Pei instantly sobered up.

Oh no! Ji Fan is home!

Ji Pei, pinned down on the sofa, and Jiang Xianhan, pressed against her, simultaneously looked toward the front door. Ji Pei pushed Jiang Xianhan’s shoulder, but the other woman refused to get up. Ji Fan’s voice grew clearer. “My sister is off carousing somewhere again. No one’s home…”