Chapter 9: Are You Sure This Isn’t the Imperial Uncle?

By noon, with the sun at its peak, Chen Fan’s mood was as radiant as the sunshine.

Yesterday he was still wondering how to get the money for his grandmother’s medical checkup, and today the money came easily.

He thanked Zheng Xingtao and Boss Wu, and he also had to thank Li Miaoyi for providing him with the funds.

Chen Fan turned his head to look at his girlfriend, who had already gotten used to holding his hand.

Her features were delicately serene, her figure shapely, and her skin fair and smooth.

She was truly the Wolong campus belle, and from every angle there was not a single obvious flaw.

Perhaps because Chen Fan’s gaze was so direct and bold, Li Miaoyi awkwardly lowered her head, glanced at her watch, and said softly, “Brother Fan… it’s getting late; I have to go home…”

Chen Fan looked puzzled and said, “Aren’t we going home?”

“…I meant I was going to my own home…”

“What do you mean by your house and my house? We’re boyfriend and girlfriend now, and my home is your home.”

“Besides, today you were my lucky koi and brought me so many prizes, so I must cook personally to thank you!”

Chen Fan was a fair-minded person who kept favors and grievances separate.

In his previous life he had been deceived and wronged by Li Miaoyi, so in this life he deliberately teased her.

Since Li Miaoyi had funded him today, he naturally had to repay her.

Seeing that Li Miaoyi still looked hesitant, Chen Fan pinched her hand and reassured her, “Don’t worry, grandmother is at work and won’t be back at noon; I’ll be the only one at home.”

It would have been fine had he not said that, but once he did, Li Miaoyi grew even more flustered.

If he already dared to hold hands and hug in broad daylight, going home alone as a man and a woman would be out of the question!

“Brother Fan, maybe next time; I just remembered I have something to do…”

“What is it? Don’t even think about leaving without explaining!”

Chen Fan felt his character was being questioned, so with a fierce face he played his ultimate card.

“Miaoyi, you don’t want yesterday’s actions to become known to everyone, do you?”

“…I’ll go.”

Li Miaoyi’s face went pale as she snapped back from a fantasy into harsh reality.

From start to finish, she and Chen Fan had never been a normal couple.

She returned home feeling utterly desolate.

The humiliation she had expected never came; Chen Fan turned on the TV for her to watch and then put on an apron to busy himself in the kitchen.

Standing in the simple living room, Li Miaoyi’s gaze involuntarily focused on the tall man in the kitchen, and while she felt relief a strange hint of disappointment also rose within her.

“What are you looking at, are you thinking of coming over to help me cook?”

Li Miaoyi hastily looked away, her face flushed, and said, “I can’t…”

Chen Fan had expected as much, and without looking up he sliced the vegetables with practiced skill and said, “Then what use are you; from now on remember to learn to cook so you can be a proper girlfriend.”

“Oh…”

Yielding to his domineering manner, Li Miaoyi watched Chen Fan cook a little longer and then turned to inspect the living room.

To be honest, it was very ordinary: there was no sofa, no refrigerator, and the TV was still a bulky CRT set.

But Li Miaoyi did not look down on it; after a curious once-over her gaze finally fixed on the door to Chen Fan’s bedroom.

“Brother Fan, may I go take a look at the bedroom?”

“Go ahead.”

Chen Fan agreed readily; this was not his previous life, and his room no longer held countless shameful things.

With permission she gently pushed the door open.

There were no big surprises in the room; it was an ordinary boy’s room except that the bookshelf held many honors and awards.

Li Miaoyi studied them closely as if Chen Fan’s whole growth from childhood to the present had been laid out before her.

“I wish Brother Fan’s family hadn’t had misfortune…”

Li Miaoyi touched the photo of Chen Fan and his parents, feeling both pity and regret.

With Chen Fan’s original grades, getting into the same school as her would have been effortless.

But now that was no longer possible.

She carefully placed the frame back, and with a sidelong glance Li Miaoyi noticed an open notebook on the desk.

“My Master’s Wife and 9 Senior Sisters Are Stunningly Beautiful”?

Li Miaoyi guessed this was probably a novel Chen Fan had written, and she couldn’t help but become curious.

Chen Fan analyzed the tropes of women’s fiction thoroughly and with confidence, so he must be very good at writing novels.

With a studious attitude, Li Miaoyi read it word for word, and before she had reached 100 characters her face had already turned bright red and her legs had involuntarily pressed together.

The opening described the protagonist accidentally walking in on the master’s wife bathing, and it was so vivid it felt like being there.

It was less like a novel and more like an imperial-uncle fantasy.

The summer room was a little stifling, and Li Miaoyi exhaled heavily, intending to leave so she would not be further tainted.

But for some reason her eyes kept reading on, and the more she read, the hotter her body felt.

Luckily the novel did not contain many words and the rest was just an outline; otherwise Li Miaoyi might have gotten heatstroke.

So when Chen Fan came over to call Li Miaoyi to eat, he saw a strange sight.

Li Miaoyi’s face flushed as if she had taken an aphrodisiac; she hugged a fan and fanned herself non-stop.

“Is it really this hot today?”

Chen Fan couldn’t understand what the woman was doing, so he stood in the doorway and called, “Miaoyi, dinner’s ready.”

“Oh… okay.”

Li Miaoyi shivered, turned off the fan, and did not dare to look Chen Fan in the eye.

She had not expected the outwardly handsome and clean Chen Fan to be so twisted and perverse inside; could his feet really be that enticing?

Chen Fan had nothing to hide and was unbothered by appearances, and it was all just to cater to the odd fetishes of some readers.

He beckoned the terrified, rabbit-like Li Miaoyi to sit, handed her the chopsticks, and said, “Miaoyi, hurry and try your boyfriend’s cooking.”

Li Miaoyi took the chopsticks from the far end, suppressed her wandering thoughts, and took a bite of the attractively colored shredded potatoes.

“How is it?”

“Delicious!”

Li Miaoyi’s eyes brightened; it was far tastier than her aunt’s cooking.

Chen Fan smiled and proactively served his girlfriend some food, then said, “From now on, hold yourself to this standard, remember?”

“…I’ll remember,” Li Miaoyi said, and she suddenly felt that the food wasn’t as tasty anymore.

Watching his girlfriend eat, Chen Fan did not forget the main reason he’d invited Li Miaoyi over and asked, “Miaoyi, about my suggestion last night to teach you how to write novels, have you thought it over?”

Li Miaoyi inexplicably blushed and hesitated for a long time, and when Chen Fan grew impatient waiting she stammered, “Is… is it teaching me to write the sort of novels you keep in your bedroom?”

Chen Fan was momentarily stunned and then, realizing why Li Miaoyi had been acting oddly, laughed and said, “What are you thinking? I teach proper women’s fiction.”

It could only be said that Li Miaoyi’s experience was still limited; women’s fiction often allowed far more leeway than men’s fiction, and what he wrote was nothing by comparison.

Li Miaoyi relaxed slightly but still avoided Chen Fan’s eyes, and as she prepared to answer Chen Fan seriously reminded her:

“Miaoyi, to be clear, I’m not teaching you for free. For any book where I provide the outline, I will take 60% of the profits, so think it over carefully before you decide.”

Chen Fan’s condition actually reassured Li Miaoyi, but she still thought the arrangement would be more like paying tuition.

Was Chen Fan really that confident in her?