Online Romance with an Iceberg Professor Backfired - Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Cone
Jiang Xianhan held the ice cream cone and, under the gaze of Ye Wenzhu and Bai Yin, took a delicate bite of the tip of the ice cream. It was icy, cold, and carried a sweet, fresh strawberry scent.
Ji Pei instinctively turned her head, feeling that staring at Jiang Xianhan eating at that moment was a sin. It was just an ice cream cone; who hadn’t eaten one? Although Jiang Xianhan ate elegantly and beautifully, Ji Pei had no reason to keep staring at her.
At this moment, she thought of Winter Sun, who had “banished her to the cold palace.” Ji Pei tapped her phone screen. The other person hadn’t sent her a message all day, and she wondered what she was doing now.
Based on what Winter Sun had said before, she shouldn’t be a student, possibly a staff member at A University.
A cleaner with a broom passed by her, and Ji Pei quickly shook her head, thinking, How could it be the cleaning auntie? Even someone repairing the circuits wouldn’t be the cleaning auntie.
Ji Pei was about to take out her phone and open the app to see how far away she was from Winter Sun, but the ice cream in her hand melted, dripping all over her hand.
Ye Wenzhu quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it to Ji Pei. She hastily wiped a few times, finished the ice cream in a few bites, and tossed the wrapper into the trash can.
The other two had finished, leaving only half a cone in Jiang Xianhan’s hand.
Ji Pei sometimes wondered if Jiang Xianhan was a frozen spirit. She ate slowly and meticulously. Why didn’t the ice cream melt in her hand?
Jiang Xianhan eating ice cream wasn’t the Mona Lisa; why did Ji Pei find it so fascinating?
When Ji Pei finally looked away, Ye Wenzhu and Bai Yin had already reached the school gate.
Ye Wenzhu elbowed Ji Pei in the lower back, whispering in her ear, “Let’s go buy fried skewers at the school gate. Ask Professor Jiang if she wants some.”
Ji Pei looked astonished. She turned to Jiang Xianhan, who was taking small bites of her ice cream, and her voice was very low and quiet.
“You’re paying, why don’t you ask? Why force me to do it? Ye Wenzhu, what are your intentions?”
Ye Wenzhu’s lips curved. “I’m just giving you a chance to make a good impression! You deceived her yesterday, so today you should compensate her properly.”
Ji Pei was shocked. “Yesterday? How do you know what happened yesterday?”
Ye Wenzhu tilted her head toward Bai Yin. “Bai Yin told me. She said you impersonated Ji Fan for class and got caught red-handed by Jiang Xianhan. She deducted all your participation grades, resulting in an instant fail.”
Ji Pei couldn’t help but argue. “What do you mean, instant fail? I was only…”
Before she could finish, Jiang Xianhan walked over.
Ye Wenzhu immediately fled, running to the grilled food stall queue. She stood next to Bai Yin, whispering and occasionally glancing back.
Ji Pei was so angry she gnashed her teeth. Ye Wenzhu was unreliable to begin with, but today she truly taught Ji Pei a lesson.
“Professor Jiang, Senior Bai Yin and Wenzhu are buying fried skewers. Would you like some?”
Ji Pei still gathered her courage to ask Jiang Xianhan, but she felt in her heart that an untouchable goddess like Jiang Xianhan, who didn’t seem to care for worldly pleasures, probably wouldn’t eat street food.
Sure enough, Ji Pei heard Jiang Xianhan say, “I don’t eat street food.”
Ji Pei nodded and took out her phone. “Okay, then I’ll message Wenzhu.”
The temperature had dropped recently, and Ji Pei was wearing an off-white jacket. She typed a message to Ye Wenzhu, and as she turned, she bumped into something.
She looked back and saw it was the half-eaten strawberry cone in Jiang Xianhan’s hand. The cold, melted ice cream had completely smeared onto her sleeve without reservation.
Both were momentarily stunned. Jiang Xianhan gently retracted her hand and apologized sincerely, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see where I was going.”
Ji Pei accepted the bad luck. She took the tissues Ye Wenzhu had given her and wiped a few spots, saying with a smile, “It’s fine, Professor Jiang.”
Jiang Xianhan stared at the large pink stain on Ji Pei’s sleeve. “Take it off first. I’ll wash the clothes and send them back to you.”
“…”
Ji Pei thought she had misheard, her brain waves misaligned. She blinked slowly, feeling as if the Jiang Xianhan in front of her had been possessed.
“No… no need, Professor Jiang. I can just throw it in the washing machine when I get back.”
Jiang Xianhan persisted. “I was careless and soiled your clothes. I should clean them for you.”
Ji Pei looked into Jiang Xianhan’s focused eyes and realized the professor was not joking.
But… how could she let Jiang Xianhan wash her clothes? Although the professor had indeed stained the jacket.
However, once she met Jiang Xianhan’s gaze, she nodded against her better judgment.
Although it was autumn, the temperature in B City hadn’t dropped much. Ji Pei was wearing pink rabbit pajamas underneath, with two sewn-on rabbit ears on the back. She only wore them at home and would wear a coat to cover them even when taking out the trash.
These pajamas were a matching set that Ji Fan had bought for them, insisting that Ji Pei wear them and sleep in them every night. Ji Pei hadn’t bothered to change before leaving, thinking she was just going to grab a quick bite at school and head back, so she just threw on a jacket.
Jiang Xianhan continued, “Then take off your jacket. Aren’t you hot wearing something so thick?”
She had been wondering since this afternoon. Most people were wearing short sleeves, but Ji Pei stood out in an off-white jacket.
Ji Pei awkwardly unbuttoned her jacket one by one, her movements as slow as if they were set to 0.5x speed.
“I’m not very hot.”
When she finally took off the jacket, Jiang Xianhan finally understood why Ji Pei had been so hesitant.
Ye Wenzhu and Bai Yin were buying grilled food at the school gate stall and hadn’t noticed what was happening here.
When Ye Wenzhu came back holding a grilled squid, she saw that Ji Pei’s jacket was gone, and she was wearing pink rabbit pajamas underneath.
Jiang Xianhan’s eyes fell on the two rabbit ears on the back of Ji Pei’s pajamas, and she finally understood why the girl had been so hesitant and refused to take off her jacket in front of her.
It turned out she was shy in front of her.
But these two rabbit ears are quite cute, Jiang Xianhan thought. They’re pink and tender, just like Ji Pei’s cheeks, flushed with embarrassment.
Jiang Xianhan held Ji Pei’s jacket, neatly folded it, and tucked it into her handbag.
Ji Pei stood with her back to Jiang Xianhan, took the skewer Ye Wenzhu handed her, and took a vengeful, fierce bite.
Snap! She bit the bamboo skewer into two pieces.
Ye Wenzhu looked surprised. “Ji Pei, where’s your jacket?”
She tugged on the rabbit ear on Ji Pei’s back with one hand while bringing the squid to her mouth.
Ji Pei stammered for a moment, but it was Jiang Xianhan who answered the question for her.
“It’s with me.”
Ye Wenzhu’s shock deepened. She hooked Ji Pei’s arm, pulled her close, and whispered in her ear, “Didn’t you say you have an online date? Why are you giving your jacket to Jiang Xianhan? You fickle woman.”
Ji Pei: “…”
Too lazy to explain.
The sky gradually darkened. Jiang Xianhan left the school, leaving only Ji Pei and the other two standing on the tree-lined path.
Tomorrow was Saturday, so there was no class. Bai Yin didn’t want to go home so early, so she decided to take her two newly made friends to a karaoke bar.
Ji Pei had nothing planned; her art exhibition wouldn’t start until next Thursday.
Ye Wenzhu called Chen Yingying, told her she would be home late tonight, and asked her to watch the shop before getting into Bai Yin’s car.
Ji Pei sat in the front passenger seat. All three chatted about anecdotes related to Jiang Xianhan throughout the ride.
Whenever Bai Yin mentioned Jiang Xianhan, her eyes sparkled like stars, looking very much like a devoted fan.
“You don’t know, Professor Jiang is truly a good person, even if she’s a little strict.”
Ji Pei drank her milk and couldn’t help but expose her. “I heard she was taking bl00d pressure medication for a whole semester while supervising your graduate studies.”
Bai Yin stammered. “That’s not true…”
Ye Wenzhu sat in the back seat, letting the night wind blow over her, her expression suggesting she knew the truth but wouldn’t say it.
“But Professor Jiang really is a good person. I couldn’t afford school, and she was the one who sponsored me.”
Bai Yin’s eyes twinkled with stars, looking ahead with longing. “My family was poor back then, and my parents didn’t want me to go to high school. She was the one who funded me to continue my education.”
“Later, I got into A University, and I chose Philosophy because of her.”
Ji Pei hadn’t known about this past. Her impression of Jiang Xianhan improved even more. She recalled complaining about the professor to Winter Sun and felt a pang of guilt.
She opened the app, clicked into the chat box with Winter Sun, and saw that the other person had messaged her a while ago.
Winter Sun: “I’m home.”
Ji Pei started typing on her phone.
Seasonal Wind: “My friends and I are going to KTV. What song do you want to hear? I’ll sing it to you over the phone.”
Winter Sun: “Anything you sing sounds good.”
Ji Pei smiled contentedly. She knows how to talk.
After chatting with Winter Sun for a while, Ji Pei opened WeChat, went to Moments, and cleared the few red dots.
The moment she clicked in, she saw that Jiang Xianhan had posted on Moments again.
Half of Jiang Xianhan’s body was in the frame. She was holding a watering can, watering a potted Murraya paniculata. Her fingers were long and fair. Under the warm yellow light, they looked like smooth, beautiful ivory carvings.
Ji Pei blurted out, “Does Professor Jiang have a professional photography team? Look at her Moments; the composition and everything are just stunning.”
Bai Yin looked confused. “What? Professor Jiang posted on Moments? Why didn’t I see it?”
Ji Pei showed her phone screen to Bai Yin, pointing to the latest, slightly hazy photo Jiang Xianhan had posted. “Look, she just posted it.”
Bai Yin’s eyes immediately widened. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, opened her WeChat, went to Jiang Xianhan’s profile, but there were no Moments posts.
“I really don’t have her photos in my Moments!”
She disbeliefly clicked in and out, repeating the loop countless times. After realizing the cruel reality, Bai Yin wore a mournful face.
“Professor Jiang blocked me from her Moments? Am I not her favorite student anymore?”
Ji Pei hadn’t realized the relationship between the professor and the student was so complicated. Bai Yin hadn’t done anything terrible, had she? Why would Jiang Xianhan block her from her Moments?
She patted Bai Yin’s shoulder and comforted her, “It’s okay. The fact that Professor Jiang quietly took bl00d pressure medication without letting you know already proves she loves you enough.”