Chapter 1: Online Romance

“Meow—”

A snow-white, chubby cat leaped from the bed onto Ji Pei, its pink paw pads kneading her smooth, delicate back.

“Hiss…”

It was both painful and itchy—this fat cat had gained weight again recently.

Ji Pei had just finished tying the butterfly knot at her waist when she heard the sound of the door opening from outside.

“Sis, are you in your room? I need to talk to you.”

Ji Fan, looking pitiful with pursed lips, pushed open the door. She saw Ji Pei in a low-cut, tight-waisted red dress, slightly leaning forward.

Curious, Ji Fan asked softly, “Sis? What are you doing?”

Ji Pei straightened up the moment she heard the voice. She was still holding her phone, and if you looked closely, you could see her knuckles trembling slightly.

But Ji Fan, always a bit oblivious, was entirely focused on Ji Pei’s smooth, exposed back. She’d never seen Ji Pei dressed so provocatively before.

It was stunning, though. Was she dressing up this fancy to walk some red carpet?

Ji Pei put down her phone, exited the camera app, and turned around with a frown.

“Why didn’t you knock?”

“When have I ever knocked before coming into your room?”

Ji Fan’s eyes lingered on the expanse of fair skin at Ji Pei’s chest. She cautiously asked,

“Sis, you’re dressed so beautifully—did you get a boyfriend?”

Ji Pei’s figure was top-notch, easily the best among everyone Ji Fan knew.

Growing up, Ji Fan had only seen Victoria’s Secret supermodels with figures rivaling her sister’s.

If Ji Pei hadn’t pursued painting, she might’ve been strutting the Victoria’s Secret runway by now.

Ever since childhood, Ji Pei had been fair-skinned, beautiful, and curvaceous, with countless suitors chasing her.

But Ji Fan rarely saw Ji Pei dress up, let alone in such a sultry, glamorous red gown—this was a first.

“No. Who says you need a boyfriend to dress up?”

Ji Pei adjusted her straps, slightly uneasy, and explained,

“I’m just trying on this new dress I bought.”

“It looks amazing!”

Ji Fan leaned against the wall, admiring her sister for a moment before remembering why she came. With a fawning smile, she said,

“Sis, my dear sister.”

Ji Pei opened her phone, transferred 100,000 yuan to Ji Fan’s Alipay account, and said expressionlessly, “Pocket money’s sent. Now, get out of my room immediately. Knock next time.”

“I…”

Ji Fan hadn’t come for pocket money. There was something else she found hard to say, but Ji Pei was the only one who could help her now.

“Sis, I’m going to S City this afternoon to meet someone. Can you cover my classes for half a day?”

Ji Pei narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and looked down at a nervous Ji Fan. Twirling a strand of hair with her finger, she said,

“You want me to take your classes?”

“Just this once!”

Ji Fan raised her right hand, swearing

, “I’ll do a year’s worth of housework! I’ll cook for you every day!”

Ji Pei sneered,

“If you cook for me, I won’t be far from an early grave.”

Her sister’s sharp tongue was nothing new to Ji Fan.

Ji Fan clasped her hands together, her voice soft and pleading,

“Then I’ll clean, serve tea, pour water, feed the cats and dog—and scoop their poop every day. Deal?”

Ji Pei’s lips curved into a smile.

“Deal.”

***

Ji Fan happily packed her suitcase and flew to S City that afternoon, leaving Ji Pei alone at home with two cats and a dog.

These three critters were all strays Ji Fan had brought home. She was always picking up cats and dogs instead of doing anything productive.

While Ji Fan was at school, only returning at night to eat and sleep, Ji Pei had been the one caring for these strays.

Their fur had become increasingly soft and beautiful under her care, even sprouting tufts of fluffy “garlic clove” fur.

Her phone vibrated twice. Ji Pei glanced at the screen—it was a message from a contact on that pale pink app.

The app was called Decibel. Ji Pei had initially thought it was a singing app, but after being persuaded by a friend to download it, she realized it was nothing like she’d imagined.

It was a massive lesbian dating platform!

Ji Pei wasn’t exactly straight, so she impulsively registered an account, using a photo of her cat as her profile picture.

Ever since downloading the app, she’d been getting random harassment.

The reason was simple: she didn’t want to upload a full-body photo, so she used a picture of her hand instead—which backfired spectacularly.

It was terrifying.

After filling out her zodiac sign, age, and bio, Ji Pei was automatically matched with a user named “Winter Day.”

She swore the match wasn’t her doing. At the time, Ji Pei had just finished showering, and one of her cats jumped onto her bed, pawing at the lit-up screen with its pink pads.

Somehow, they ended up matched, and things escalated quickly—they were now “soulmates.”

Ji Pei opened the app and saw it was indeed Winter Day, urging her to send a photo.

The dress felt luxurious. Ji Pei gently ran her fingers along the hem, then searched for it on her usual shopping app but couldn’t find the same model.

It was probably handmade. Winter Day had asked for her measurements and height before.

Ji Pei’s fingers tapped on the screen, sending a message.

Ji Feng: [The neckline of this dress you got me is way too low. How am I supposed to wear this out?]

Winter Day replied almost instantly.

Winter Day: [It’s only for me to see.]

Quite possessive.

Ji Pei’s fingers paused on the phone, a smile tugging at her lips. She was dying to know what Winter Day looked like.

They’d been online dating for about two weeks. The gift-sending idea had started with Ji Pei.

According to the app’s distance feature, Winter Day lived over 200 kilometers away.

Ji Pei clicked the pinned location—it was still over 200 kilometers.

She really wanted to meet her, but they’d only been dating online for so long. Was meeting up this soon too fast?

Earlier, Ji Pei had twisted her body to take a few low-cut selfies, her full chest practically spilling out. Looking at them made her blush.

These photos… she was too embarrassed to send.

But her hands moved faster than her brain. Before she could think twice, she’d already sent the photos.

“…”

Aaaah, so embarrassing!

Ji Pei screamed internally, wishing she could bounce on the floor and spin in circles. She turned off her phone and set it aside, too scared to check it when it vibrated again.

Winter Day had probably sent something blush-inducing, and she wasn’t ready to look.

Thinking about covering Ji Fan’s classes that afternoon gave Ji Pei a headache. She’d never done this before and wasn’t sure if the school’s gate would still recognize her face.

Having graduated last year, Ji Pei often visited campus and was friendly with the security guards at the north gate. Sometimes, when her face didn’t scan, they’d let her through anyway.

At graduation, banners proclaimed the school’s gates would always be open to alumni, but Ji Pei knew better than to believe that.

She took off the long dress and went to her walk-in closet, opening a hidden cabinet door at the back.

The moment it opened, Ji Pei bit her lower lip, her fair cheeks flushing faintly.

The contents of this cabinet were downright scandalous. She always felt guilty entering her closet, too nervous to open it.

These clothes were all gifts from Winter Day: a sexy bunny-eared black stockings maid outfit, a barely-there lace bra and panties, and the rest…

Ji Pei slammed the cabinet shut and picked a more casual outfit—a pink blouse and dark blue jeans.

She tucked the blouse into her waistband, accentuating her long, straight legs and slim, toned waist.

Before leaving, she grabbed a baseball cap and put it on, along with a black mask.

Soon, she took the cap off—her freshly washed hair looked terrible under it. She fluffed her soft hair into a lazy, effortless style.

Class started at 2:00 PM, so she needed to be at school by 1:30 to find a discreet spot in the classroom.

Having attended school for years, Ji Pei knew the drill: as long as she didn’t wear flashy clothes or dye her hair some eye-catching color, teachers rarely called on her.

Thanks to her four-year rapport with the security guards, Ji Pei slipped into campus easily. Seeing the youthful, vibrant faces around her, she sighed.

Once you left campus and entered the workforce, your energy got drained dry.

Her university WeChat group was still active. Opening it, she saw the former class president @-ing people for a reunion.

Ji Pei was @-ed too.

She had no interest in going. She hadn’t even memorized her classmates’ faces, and as for the class president…

She’d rather not talk about it.

***

Just after entering the campus, Ji Pei headed toward the teaching building, then realized Ji Fan hadn’t sent her the afternoon schedule.

Ji Pei: [Send me the class schedule.]

Having studied at A University for four years, she knew the layout of most buildings like the back of her hand.

Ji Fan was probably still on the plane and hadn’t seen Ji Pei’s message.

It wasn’t 1:30 yet, so Ji Pei wasn’t in a rush. She wandered to the cafeteria to buy an ice cream cone.

At 5’9”, she towered over many guys even in flat shoes, standing out in any crowd.

The cafeteria was quiet at this hour. Ji Pei held her ice cream cone and sat at a random table.

A shadow fell over her. Looking up, she met the gaze of a tall, cute guy.

His eyes were shy, lips slightly pursed, and he clutched his phone nervously. “Hi, sister, can I add you on WeChat?”

Ji Pei smiled faintly and crushed his hopes with four words.

“I’m a lesbian.”

The guy fled, looking devastated.

***

Halfway through her cone, Ji Fan’s message came through.

Ji Fan had two classes that afternoon: one major course and one elective.

Not too bad.

—Wait!

Ji Pei froze, zooming in on the schedule screenshot. The moment she saw the philosophy elective, she nearly crushed her cone.

What?

Jiang Xianhan?

The infamous, cold-blooded, merciless, unforgiving demon professor?

She was doomed.

Ji Pei had heard of Jiang Xianhan’s reputation. Her dormmates had said they were lucky to avoid her philosophy elective, where failing and retaking exams was routine.

If an elective was this strict, her major courses must be torture. Ji Pei couldn’t imagine how tense her classes were.

Rumor had it no one dared skip Jiang Xianhan’s class. Getting caught once meant retaking the course the next year—no chance for a makeup exam.

Had Ji Pei known Ji Fan was skipping Jiang Xianhan’s class, she’d never have agreed. No amount of love was worth missing a minute of that class. She’d have dragged Ji Fan to campus herself.

With twenty-three minutes until class, Ji Pei needed to head to the classroom and claim a spot. Unable to resist, she called Ji Fan and chewed her out.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was Jiang Xianhan’s class?”

“What’s wrong with her class? It’s just an elective. I heard electives are easy. Just go, Sis.”

Hearing Ji Fan’s nonchalant tone, Ji Pei nearly fainted. “But it’s Jiang Xianhan’s class…”

She lowered her voice, standing under a tree and scanning her surroundings, kicking a pebble with her foot.

“You’re a freshman. You don’t know how strict her classes are. Skip once, and you’re retaking it—no makeup exam.”

“No way, it’s just an elective. She doesn’t know me. Just disguise yourself, Sis.”

Ji Pei wanted to yank Ji Fan through the phone, smack her, and shove her back. She laid it out, “If you have to retake it, don’t blame me.”

“Got it.”

After chatting with Ji Fan for a few minutes, Ji Pei lost track of time. Checking her watch, she saw only fifteen minutes remained. She grabbed her books and hurried off.

“Classmate, you dropped your book.”

A voice called from behind, clear as a crisp spring stream. Ji Pei turned without thinking.

She glanced at her books—only one was left in her arms. The other was held by a pale, slender hand, extended toward her.

“Thank you…”

The second word trailed off as she looked up.

The woman before her was tall and mature, wearing a navy striped dress shirt with a white blouse underneath. Gold-rimmed glasses rested on her nose, giving her a cool and aloof air.

Ji Pei held her breath, her pupils constricting. This was the woman from those blurry, stolen photos.

Jiang Xianhan!

Startled, she fumbled the book. As it fell, both reached for it, their hands brushing together in what looked like an intentional clasp.

Soft, warm, and bony, their fingertips grazed, sparking a faint, electric tingle.

Ji Pei’s mind went blank. Only two words echoed in her head.

I’m done.

She yanked her hand back, snatched the book from the ground, muttered a thank you, and, clutching both books, hurried off to join the crowd heading to class.

Jiang Xianhan watched Ji Pei’s flustered figure rush toward the building, standing in place, deep in thought.