Chapter 36: Zhan Qipei Gets Jealous Again

Uh—

The living room suddenly became awkward.

Qiao Jing glanced downward toward Zhan Qipei, then calmly looked away.

Zhan Qipei raised his hand to rub his temple, stifling a pain.

"We're having dumplings for dinner, handmade," Qiao Jing said.

She knew how to make dumplings?

Just as Zhan Qipei was thinking this, the doorbell rang.

"It must be him," Qiao Jing said as she walked toward the door.

Zhan Qipei's gaze followed intently, wondering who it was.

As soon as Qiao Jing opened the door, Xu Moqian's loud voice instantly filled the air.

"Sister Jing, I bought celery, shepherd's purse, and chives, along with black pork."

"Mmh, thank you, come in," Qiao Jing said as she handed a pair of slippers to Xu Moqian.

"No trouble at all, being able to eat the dumplings you make, Sister Jing, this little effort is nothing," Xu Moqian said as he carried the groceries toward the kitchen, smirking as he passed by Zhan Qipei.

Zhan Qipei's expression darkened as he looked at Qiao Jing, "Why did you invite him over?"

"Because it's completely handmade, mixing the dough, rolling the wrappers, chopping the filling, I can't manage it alone," Qiao Jing replied nonchalantly.

"Don't you know I dislike eating with strangers?" Zhan Qipei said with a displeased face.

"In that case, you should go out to eat tonight, with one less person, I can make fewer dumplings," Qiao Jing retorted.

At Qiao Jing's words, Zhan Qipei's face immediately turned black as the bottom of a pot.

"Pfft—" Xu Moqian stifled a laugh, "Exactly, President Zhan, with your distinguished status, Sister Jing's simple cooking might not be to your taste, you should rather eat at a five-star hotel."

"This is my house!" Zhan Qipei emphasized with half-closed eyes.

"This is Sister Jing's house," Xu Moqian fired back uncompromisingly.

Who was he afraid of! He had been a troublemaker from primary school all the way to university, none of the teachers could control him, only later, in university, when he took a course taught by Qiao Jing, was he firmly managed by her.

Just as the situation became tense and ready to erupt, the doorbell rang again.

Now who was it?

Qiao Jing went to open the door again, and as soon as it opened, she was startled by a big bunch of fiery red roses.

Following that, Zhan Ruiting popped his head in.

"Doctor Qiao, I've come to thank you for saving my life!"

Zhan Ruiting was dressed in a rose-red suit that day, his hair all slicked back, and his large leather shoes shone brightly.

"Oh," Qiao Jing took the roses from Zhan Ruiting, and gave him a pair of slippers too.

"Cousin, what are you doing here?" Zhan Ruiting frowned as he looked at Zhan Qipei.

Zhan Qipei took a deep breath, his face so tight it was almost splitting.

"This is my house! Shouldn't you be the one being asked that question?"

"Yes, indeed." Zhan Ruiting replied perfunctorily, then ignored Zhan Qipei and turned to Qiao Jing with a smile, "These flowers are heavy, let me help you put them away."

Before Qiao Jing could say anything, Zhan Qipei stepped forward quickly, took the flowers from her hand, and casually threw them into a corner on the floor.

Xu Moqian, hearing the commotion, came out of the kitchen.

"Sister Jing, is he here to help us make dumplings too?"

"Xu Moqian? What are you doing here?" Zhan Ruiting examined Xu Moqian with the gaze of a rival in love.

"What am I doing here? I knew Sister Jing back in university, so shouldn't I be the one asking that?" While Xu Moqian spoke, he noticed the large bouquet of roses tucked away in a corner and thought back to his college days.

The first time he had met Qiao Jing, he was so captivated by her beauty that he approached her with a huge bouquet of roses and a band, boldly expressing his love. However, she dismissed him with a single sentence.

She had said, "I like someone with better grades than me."

What a joke! At just eighteen, Qiao Jing was already a professor in their university, not only that, but she had also established her own research institute and had achieved notable success in agriculture.

"You were university classmates?" Zhan Ruiting asked.

"How could I be classmates with Sister Jing? She was my university professor." Xu Moqian said, but then he noticed Qiao Jing giving him a warning look.

Zhan Qipei half-narrowed his eyes, watching Qiao Jing and Xu Moqian intently. His intuition told him that it was very unlikely that Xu Moqian was lying.

If Xu Moqian was indeed telling the truth, it meant that Qiao Jing had become a university professor before she turned twenty.

Would such a genius be content working as a janitor in a research institute?

Moreover, since hearing that Qiao Jing was a temporary doctor at Lu Zijin's Hospital, he had doubted the likelihood of her being a janitor.

"What? She was your professor? Who are you kidding? How could that be possible? You graduated years ago. How old was Doctor Qiao when you were in university? How could she have possibly been your university professor?" Ruiting expressed his disbelief.

Xu Moqian just curled his lip and didn't respond. Turning to Qiao Jing, he said, "I've finished washing the vegetables, let's start."

"Cooking? I'll help too." Zhan Ruiting took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and walked towards Qiao Jing.

"Get out of here, you wealthy young master who doesn't soil his fingers! You can't help; just stay aside and don't make it worse." Xu Moqian stood in front of Qiao Jing, waving his hands to shoo Ruiting away.

"Why can't I help? Besides, aren't you also a spoiled young master?"

"We're going to make dumplings; do you know how?" Xu Moqian raised an eyebrow.

"I don't, but I can learn!" Zhan Ruiting retorted without losing face due to his thick skin.

"Who has time to teach you? Just go away!" Xu Moqian ordered him out.

Zhan Ruiting didn't move and instead pushed deeper into the room.

Qiao Jing, feeling a headache coming on, glanced at both men, "Xu, stop blocking him; if he wants to come in, let him."

"Sister Jing, how could you?"

"Doctor Qiao, you truly are too hospitable!" Zhan Ruiting chuckled, pushing past Xu Moqian and followed Qiao Jing into the kitchen.

Xu Moqian silently twitched his mouth, straightened his clothes which had been wrinkled by Ruiting's push, and stepped into the kitchen.

The living room suddenly fell quiet, leaving only Zhan Qipei alone.

A cold aura slowly emanated from the man, spreading all around.

Zhan Qipei's face was tight, shrouded with an unmelting frost that seemed to last for ages.

Contrary to the quietness of the living room, the occasional voices of men in the kitchen sounded particularly jarring.

Utterly frustrated!

"Excuse me!"

"It's clearly you in the way!"

"Sister Jing, look at him, he's only making things worse!"

"Doctor Qiao, I'm sorry; I'm all thumbs, don't hold it against me!"

"Hey hey hey! Speak if you want, but why are you standing so close?"

Zhan Qipei could no longer stand it and stood up, marching to the kitchen with an unforgiving stride.