I used a photo of my ex-boyfriend as my desktop wallpaper. My advisor saw it and paused. "You know him?" Without thinking, I blurted out, "That's my boyfriend." The next day, my advisor enthusiastically invited me over for dinner. When the door opened, I stood face-to-face with Max Jiang. "Son, I brought your girlfriend home." I looked for a crack in the wall to crawl into. I was the one who dumped him back then... Chapter 1 After submitting my thesis revisions based on my advisor's feedback, I happily slept the day away. I just woke up when I got a call from my advisor, Professor Zhong. "Can you come over now?" My phone showed seven missed calls. I didn't dare refuse, so I grabbed my laptop and rushed to his office. The sea of red track changes on my paper made my heart bleed. Professor Zhong kept sighing, and my heart grew colder and colder. While I was zoning out, he accidentally minimized the document. A photo of a guy appeared on the screen. The tenderness in his eyes was palpable. Classic girlfriend POV. I took the photo. The guy was Max Jiang. My ex-boyfriend. I couldn't bring myself to delete it and had secretly set it as my wallpaper. Professor Zhong paused for two seconds, then casually asked, "You know him?" "I don't mean anything by it, just heard young people use photos of people they know as wallpaper, got curious." "Is he your boyfriend?" I was stunned. Because I often used "my boyfriend" as an excuse for not being on campus sometimes. But the professor had never seen him. After a while, he got suspicious. My brain short-circuited, and I rubbed my nose. "Professor... you guessed right." He gave a meaningful "Oh." He didn't react much, but he seemed to become friendlier. The next day on my way to the cafeteria, I got another call from Professor Zhong. His tone was completely different, cheerful and laughing. "Zoe, haven't eaten yet, right?" I was confused. "No, Professor." "Your teacher's wife made a big feast today, come over for dinner?" I slammed on the brakes, almost nose-diving into the roadside bushes. I was terrified. "No thanks, Professor, you guys eat..." "She got up early to buy groceries, she's been excited all morning. She made chili shrimp, crab cakes, braised ribs..." Great, successfully triggered my appetite. I ignored the weirdness of it all. When a professor invites you warmly, how can a student refuse? Eat first, deal with everything else later. "Professor, send me the address, I'm on my way." Chapter 2 I stood at the door, and before I even rang the bell, it opened. "Is that Zoe? Come in, come in." The woman in front of me was beaming. I realized who she was and smiled back. "I'm Zoe Lin, nice to meet you, Mrs. Zhong." "Just call me Auntie. Who knows, you might need to change that title soon." She couldn't stop smiling, but I hesitated, afraid to take a step forward. She took my hand and shouted toward the kitchen. "Zhong Shuwen, go get your son out here." Huh? Son? The professor's son is here too? Wait, why are they inviting me to a family dinner? The professor wiped his hands and trotted out. "Okay, honey." I almost laughed. Didn't expect Professor Zhong to be henpecked. The next second, the smile froze on my face. The professor bellowed, "Son, I brought your girlfriend home." "Come out!" Girlfriend? Me? Student turns into daughter-in-law? This can't be happening! Professor, you can't just randomly assign a daughter-in-law! Is this my punishment for academic patchwork? But didn't he know I had a boyfriend... A sudden realization hit me, before I could process it. "What girlfriend?" "I don't have..." A familiar voice spoke and then stopped abruptly. I saw a profile, and out of reflex, I pulled the hat in my hand back onto my head. I wanted to cry. Who would have thought Professor Zhong's son's last name was Jiang? If I'd known, I wouldn't have been too lazy to wash my hair last night. I didn't even change clothes earlier. I took off my jacket. I was only wearing a white cotton tee and plaid pants. Now I realized I looked like I was in pajamas. Can I find an excuse to escape? Is there a crack in the wall I can crawl into? My head sank lower and lower. I envied turtles, they could shrink into their shells. The dreaded thing happened. "I was wondering why you kid never wanted to come back. You didn't even tell me and your mom you were dating. If I hadn't seen Zoe's wallpaper yesterday, we'd still be in the dark." My ears burned. "Wallpaper?" "Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes, you have to treat Zoe well." Professor, please stop talking. I'm about to lose my dignity. Max tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, and said each word deliberately. "Oh? Zoe Lin, my girlfriend?" Dragging out the strange ending sound. I was the one who unceremoniously dumped him back then. Someone tell me, how do I resolve such an awkward situation? I steeled myself, looked up, and met Max's narrowed eyes. I greeted him with a dead heart. "Hello, boyfriend, what a coincidence." My smile must have been ugly, even Mrs. Zhong noticed something was wrong. "You two know each other so well, why are you greeting each other like that?" "Is it too sudden? Don't be nervous, we're just too happy, a bit impatient." I was stunned, seeing Mrs. Zhong's expectant look. Suddenly I felt this lie couldn't continue. I took a deep breath, ready to explain. I was pulled into a strong embrace. "Mom, Dad, you scared her." "I didn't mean to hide it from you, you guys are just too gossipy." The professor's mouth twitched, couldn't help but instruct. "Zoe is still a student, don't always take up her time in the future." I thought about the excuses I made to the professor yesterday and before. I slowly looked up to meet Max's confused eyes, smiling awkwardly. "Um..." Before I could explain, the professor asked curiously again. "Where did you two go play yesterday, she forgot her phone, and you didn't help her get it." I couldn't hold it in anymore. Professor, why do you believe everything I say? I answered quickly, "Professor, we went hiking yesterday, and had a picnic." "Picnic? Where? Your mom said she wanted to have a picnic a few days ago." The smile froze on my face, why is there a follow-up... "At..." My brain searched rapidly. I hate that I usually don't browse local forums, don't know anything. Max spoke up and saved me, "Old man, you ask too many questions." "I'll take her to wash her hands." Mrs. Zhong pushed the professor, "Why so many questions, go serve the food." Chapter 3 In the bathroom, I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him sincerely. He turned on the faucet to wash his hands, saying nonchalantly. "I didn't help you, I was helping my dear girlfriend." I was speechless for a moment, I was indeed in the wrong here. But I absolutely cannot lose momentum in front of my ex-boyfriend. "If I knew you were the professor's son, I wouldn't have said it was you." He paused, his gaze intense. "Then who did you want to say it was?" "I..." Seems there's no one else to say. He sighed lightly. "If you have a boyfriend, we better explain clearly right now." I grabbed his clothes, almost kneeling down to him. "Since it already happened, and we can't break up right now." "Then please pretend to be my boyfriend a little longer, please please." I looked up with pitiful eyes. He stared at me for a long time, his Adam's apple rolling. "I'm not interested in being a stand-in." I was a bit confused, "What stand-in?" He was nonchalant, "Didn't you say yesterday you were with your boyfriend?" "I was with my bed yesterday, all day." He raised his eyebrows, radiating joy all over: "Then I'll reluctantly agree to you." "Okay, boyfriend." He froze for a moment, leaned against the wall and stopped talking. Why did this person suddenly become The Thinker? Why are his ears red too? I didn't understand, shook my head. Finished washing hands. My eyes fell on the towel rack next to me. Huh, which one did Max use just now? While hesitating, a towel covered my hand. "This one, girlfriend." "……" Chapter 4 The professor came out of the kitchen. "Eat quickly, don't let it get cold." I praised generously, "Auntie, your cooking is really good." "If it tastes good, eat more, look at you, you're too skinny." Mrs. Zhong kept putting food in my bowl, soon piling up into a small mountain. I hurriedly stopped her. "No need, Auntie, it's really enough." "I'll get it myself if I want to eat." "First time here, inevitably a bit uncomfortable." "Auntie knows, no need to be polite with Auntie." The bowl in front of me was even a large bowl. Bigger than my hand. Sighing inwardly. I'm not being polite, Auntie. It's embarrassing not to finish the food when visiting! I was worried. A chuckle came from beside me. I turned my head slightly, Max was propping his head watching me, corners of his mouth raised. Mrs. Zhong was dissatisfied, "What are you laughing at?" "You're not putting food in Zoe's bowl either." He finally raised his chopsticks. I panicked a bit, what is he doing? Won't he put food in my bowl too! While staring at the chopsticks, I gave Max a look. The chopsticks turned a corner in mid-air, landed in my bowl. Chopstick by chopstick took away the food in my bowl. Mrs. Zhong asked: "Max, what are you doing?" His expression didn't change, "First, she doesn't eat green peppers." "Second, she has a small stomach, greedy but can't eat much." "Your amount will stuff people to death." My heart missed a beat. What are you doing, acting like you know me so well. We only dated for half a year. Mrs. Zhong suddenly realized, looking at us like shipping a couple. "Zoe, I'm too happy, help yourself." I smiled, "It's okay, thanks Auntie."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "389583", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel