My System Forces Me to Live off Women-Chapter 166 - 160: Responsible to the Very End

What's the most awkward thing you can encounter in life?

A long drought ends with sweet rain—just one drop.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land—who's an enemy.

The wedding night bliss—next door.

Seeing your name on the golden honor roll—except it's not yours.

And then there's Li Peifeng now. He thought Li Xin had left, but she hadn't. The moment he stepped out, he ran right into her. This encounter seemed just like a certain song lyric...

It's love, oh no, can't hide from that gaze~ my heart beats inexplicably for you~

Li Peifeng's heart was pounding crazily. There was no way he could roll away when Li Xin told him to because his legs were like jelly, completely powerless. He could only slowly and awkwardly walk out from the study doorway, forcing a humiliating smile for this big shot from a 211 university in the Capital: "Auntie... You're, you're here?"

This was probably the most mortifying and unforgettable moment of his social death!

"Am I not supposed to be here?! I used to think you were a talented person, only to find out that you're fooling around with your teacher, my daughter... Li Peifeng, you, you, you little bastard! How did your parents raise you? Aren't they also teachers?!"

Li Xin gritted her teeth, glaring at Li Peifeng. She wanted to curse him more, but her strong personal etiquette stopped her from spewing obscenities. Instead, she turned to Zhao Qingge, sounding both furious and heartbroken: "No wonder you didn't want anyone to see me, no wonder you said Li Peifeng didn't want to pursue a PhD anymore. You do know how to be scared? You do know how to avoid suspicion?"

Li Xin raised her eyebrows slightly, her oppressive gaze locking onto Li Peifeng, and coldly said, "A few days ago, he came to your house with flowers, and I coincidentally saw it. I felt something was wrong right then! What kind of male student goes to a single female teacher's house to revise articles? What's more, he had flowers in his hand?! Do you think he's here to date his girlfriend?"

"But I gave myself excuses, thinking you two must have a deep teacher-student affection, that Duoduo wouldn't be someone who disregards ethics and that Peifeng is too well-mannered to be such a morally corrupt jerk... I never imagined you'd actually dare to do such a thing!!!"

"..."

Li Xin's face turned red with anger reaching its peak: "Speak! You two, tell me honestly! When did you start this affair?"

Li Peifeng stood frozen like a cicada in winter, thinking about how he must stop her if Li Xin headed to the kitchen to grab a knife later.

As for explaining? He didn't plan to. Even if there was a chance to fool her by denying and distancing himself from Old Zhao, especially since Li Xin hadn't caught them in the act and had only seen them alone late at night.

If they steadfastly and brazenly denied, Li Xin, for her daughter's sake, wouldn't push too hard without solid evidence, nor would she force a confession by coercion.

But there's a problem if Li Peifeng first opened his mouth to deny and distance himself; it would hurt Zhao Qingge, making her mistakenly think he was too cowardly and unwilling to take responsibility. When faced with this bit of family resistance, she'd have negative feelings about their relationship.

He couldn't directly admit either, because Li Peifeng didn't know if Zhao Qingge was ready to come clean to her parents. If Old Zhao wasn't ready, admitting it first would put them both in a bind, and Zhao Qingge would still end up blaming him.

So now, Mr. Li decided to remain unchanged against all changes, waiting for Zhao Qingge to open her mouth and set the tone for this matter. Whether to admit or deny, he'd align with Old Zhao and together extinguish Li Xin's anger, surviving this social death scene!

"Mom."

Zhao Qingge bit her lip, her mind whirling under her mother's aggressive gaze, thinking about all the pressure and her parents' attitude she would face if she admitted something with Li Peifeng now...

"You've misunderstood!"

Zhao Qingge took several deep breaths before firmly saying: We have nothing going on, today..."

"Go on, keep making it up!"

Li Xin didn't believe it at all, angrily laughing: "So that's why you want to resign? Because you're involved with your student!! Why don't you be even bolder, let him do his PhD under you, and you two can continue your secret affair!! Balancing love and career, how wonderful?"

"Mom!"

Zhao Qingge was so angry her lips turned pale: "It's not like that at all..."

"Yes, Auntie, there's nothing between me and my professor."

Seeing that Old Zhao had set the tone, Li Peifeng finally joined in: "We were hiding because we were afraid you'd misunderstand. If I had known, I wouldn't have hidden."

Li Xin didn't listen to their explanations, quickly stepping up in front of Li Peifeng, raising her hand without saying a word.

"Auntie, please calm down!"

Li Peifeng hurried to protect his head and face: "I have thick skin, it's okay if you hit me, just don't hurt your hand."

"Mom!"

Zhao Qingge was also startled, but the expected scene didn't happen. Li Xin just stood by Li Peifeng, waving her palm lightly around him, sniffed, and sneered: "You've been drinking too?!"

"I did," Li Peifeng sighed in relief, lowering his hands, and explained, "but Auntie, please don't misunderstand. It wasn't just me and Qingge drinking alone, everyone in our project group was drinking..."

"So you've coordinated your story?" Li Xin looked at them with derision: "The two of you are standing right in front of me, taking turns weaving this tale?"

"What do I need to say for you to believe me?"

Zhao Qingge felt exhausted and helpless: "It's really not like you thought before, we actually had a group dinner today. There were ten of us, all drank some, went to a movie after dinner, and halfway through, Peifeng and I found it mediocre, so we started discussing the new topic of international web fiction dissemination. As we talked, ideas came up, and we left the cinema early to continue discussing at my place, and record them on the computer. Just as we arrived home, you came in."

Li Xin remained expressionless and silent. Li Peifeng guessed her thoughts might be loosening, so he quickly tried to play along: "Auntie, in fact, it was my fault too. I shouldn't have come to her place so late; it really didn't look good, and I was also influenced by the alcohol. Ideas struck and I couldn't help wanting to share them immediately, afraid I'd forget once I sobered up, so I overlooked this."

"And when you came in, it was me who hid." Li Peifeng took the blame: "It was just my misguided cleverness, thinking since both me and the professor had drunk, you might misunderstand seeing the scene, so I hid. Now that it's blown up like this, I'll take whatever blame you give me, but don't blame my professor. She's the most responsible, dutiful, and best teacher in the world, please don't misunderstand her!"

"..."

Zhao Qingge gave Li Peifeng a look, pursed her lips without saying anything further, and after Li Peifeng finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Li Xin scrutinized the two with a knowing smile: "Responsible indeed, so responsible that he's at your home!"