My System Forces Me to Live off Women-Chapter 252 - 223: Oh, Fate

"Boyfriend? A little boyfriend, I bet!"

After getting the expected answer, Su Yumei's curiosity wasn't dampened. She glanced at Li Peifeng and whispered, "Tell me about him. How old is he? I hope he's not from the post-2000 generation."

Zhao Qingge hesitated slightly: "No... he's 25."

"Only 25?" Su Mei said with a mix of surprise and envy, "Qingge, you're something else. You barely said a word about relationships while in school, and now in your thirties you've suddenly made such a decisive move, landing someone eight years younger!"

You call that eight years?

I'm more than just eight years younger than her?

In his heart, Li Peifeng was a bit miffed at Zhao Qingge for lying about his age, but overall he was satisfied that Old Zhao acknowledged their relationship in front of acquaintances.

Do you realize how much courage and determination it took for Professor Zhao to simply say, 'He's my boyfriend'?!

Li Peifeng knew, so he took off his mask and walked up to the two women, revealing a bright smile: "Hello, Sister Su."

As soon as Li stood there, Su Yumei finally got the time and chance to take a close look at him. That look was a big deal; her pupils shrank, her face turned red, her mouth opened slightly, and for a moment she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Ah, hello, hello."

Zhao Qingge furrowed her brows, seemingly displeased with Li Peifeng removing his mask, but she held it in: "Yumei, is your family going for a meal?"

"Ah, yes, yes."

"Then you go ahead. We'll get in touch later?"

Su Yumei took another look at Li Peifeng, then at Zhao Qingge, snapped back to normal, and said with a teasing smile, "Alright, won't disturb your private world anymore. When we have time, I'll let Yuanyuan know, and the three of us can get together."

Zhao Qingge's face froze for a moment, then she slowly nodded: "Sure."

After the two groups bid farewell and went their separate ways, the further they went, Zhao Qingge slightly reproached: "Who told you to take off your mask?!"

Li Peifeng said incredulously: "Wasn't I just trying to be polite? Are you jealous of that too?"

"Now that she's seen your face, what if she finds out later that you're my student?"

Li Peifeng reassured her: "She'll find out sooner or later. Eventually, I won't be your student anymore anyway. Besides, I'm so eye-catching that even if I don't take off the mask, they'll probably recognize me if they see me later."

Zhao Qingge's brows were tightly knit but she said nothing more, though her heart grew two shades more worried.

Back when 'Yun Xin Yue Xing' sent gifts, she had Sun Yuanyuan collect them, so Sun Yuanyuan had seen Li Peifeng but didn't know his real name. Since Sun Yuanyuan also teaches at Yandu University of Finance and Economics, she often communicated with Li Xin, and she described Li Peifeng to her.

Thus, Li Xin knew her daughter had an online romantic interest of similar height to Li Peifeng, very handsome, but didn't know this person was actually Li Peifeng.

Meanwhile, her two best old schoolmates, Sun Yuanyuan and Su Yumei, now also knew she had a boyfriend but didn't know he was her student, Li Peifeng.

Li Peifeng also didn't know that 'Yun Xin Yue Xing' was actually herself.

But secrets are meant to be uncovered, and the moment of revelation is their purpose. What will happen when all of them learn the truth?

It would probably be ten thousand times more embarrassing than the scene in the elevator just now!

"Let's go," Li Peifeng hinted, "What's wrong?"

...

"Yeah, she was really flustered back there!"

At the Old Zhang's Crab Pot Restaurant on the fifth floor of the mall.

Su Yumei's family sat at a table by the window waiting for food, while Zhao Qingge's old classmate was happily talking on the phone, clearly animated.

"Yuanyuan, it's a pity you missed Duoduo's face back there. I've known her for so long, it's the first time I've seen her face so expressive!"

Su Yumei laughed heartily: "Even with the mask on, you could tell she was blushing. But she seemed frozen stiff for about four or five seconds before forcing a smile and starting to talk to me."

The voice on the phone, Sun Yuanyuan, also laughed: "You're terrible! I told you Old Zhao was seeing a handsome guy online. She's pretending not to recognize you, maybe because she thinks it won't last long or they're still getting to know each other, so she doesn't want people around to know. Why did you have to go and expose her?"

"At the time, I didn't think much about it. I just thought that woman looked a lot like Duoduo, so I wanted to make a call to tell her. Who could have predicted such a thing..."

Su Yumei was silent for two seconds, then glanced at her husband. Seeing that he was playing with their son, she covered the phone and whispered, "Duoduo's boyfriend is really handsome. You weren't exaggerating at all when you told me. For the first time, I understood what it means to be devastatingly handsome. Holy cow, when he took off that mask, it was like his face was glowing. I used to not get the phrase 'eyes like cold stars,' but now I do. He was so handsome I couldn't even speak, and his figure was amazing. The most important thing is... he's eight years younger! Eight years younger, can you even imagine? Phew~ phew~"

Sun Yuanyuan teased, "Just talk, why are you drooling?"

"I just felt hungry, don't overthink it!" Su Yumei blushed.

"What are you talking about?"

"No eavesdropping allowed!"

Su Yumei met her husband's suspicious gaze and returned it defiantly, then got up and walked to the bathroom, while Sun Yuanyuan continued on the phone:

"I can understand the drooling, was it as I described? Six feet three, a really fit body, and when he smiles... it's heart-melting! And he's so generous, giving away tens of thousands' worth of jewelry to female net friends he hasn't even met. Wow, I was tempted to divorce and chase after him, what a pity."

"What's there to pity? Only a treasure like Duoduo could deserve such a good-looking guy, right? We moms shouldn't have such thoughts."

Standing at the bathroom door, Su Yumei paused as Sun Yuanyuan sighed on the phone: "It's really infuriating by comparison. With such a handsome boyfriend, why does Old Zhao need to keep it under wraps? Afraid it won't last? What's the logic behind that? If I had found someone so handsome, I wouldn't worry about breaking up. I'd immediately show him to my friends and post pictures every day just to show off. Even if we broke up later, at least everyone would know I've dated someone so stunning they'd be too intimidated to approach him."

Su Yumei looked at her husband and child in the distance and fully agreed: "If I had such a boyfriend, never mind breaking up, if he got mad, I'd slap myself. If he was hungry, I'd cook soup for him using my ribs."

"You're killing me, don't be so exaggerated!"

"Exaggerated? Hey, do you think Duoduo was pretending not to know me just now?"

"Exactly," Sun Yuanyuan said. "The last time I chatted with Aunt Li Xin, I accidentally mentioned Old Zhao's new boyfriend, and Old Zhao specifically called me to give me a good scolding. It was so frustrating."

"You were too talkative, indeed."

Remembering Zhao Qingge's shy demeanor when she said 'my boyfriend,' Su Yumei believed the account and chuckled, "Do you know any other details about her boyfriend? Like his name, what he does, where he's from..."

"No, why don't we arrange to have a meal with Old Zhao one day and ask her together?" Sun Yuanyuan added, "Let's also invite her boyfriend. I'll treat. We should celebrate for her; after all, Old Zhao finally said goodbye to being single at thirty-three, breaking free from solo mode. It's not easy."

"Are you celebrating for Duoduo or wanting to meet the handsome guy?"

"Don't act like you don't want to see him too!"

Su Yumei pursed her lips and smiled, "I do want to see him too. Give her a call and let me know the time and place."

"No problem."

After hanging up, Su Yumei put the phone in her pocket, turned on the faucet to wash her hands, and stepped back to her family, only to find her husband engrossed in Douyin videos.

On the phone screen, a female general in dragon-embroidered armor stood in the center of the Great Wall, brandishing her sword and performing star-like moves, looking stunning. The sword was like a white snake flicking its tongue, slicing through the air with a hiss; it was like a dragon weaving through, moving with great finesse; her stance was as light as a swallow, rising with the sword, sometimes as fast as lightning.

Looking at the female general herself, her face bore no makeup but had contours as clear as a crescent moon against a clear night sky, her eyebrows as fresh as willows in early spring, her starry eyes like dots of lacquer, her black ponytail flowing freely at the back, her determined expression, eyes filled with a murderous aura, blurring the lines between male and female—a true epitome of heroic grace, much like the ancient female general Fu Hao!

"Hmph."

But Su Yumei was not pleased, snorted coldly, and seemed about to snatch the phone away: "Zhou Kai, what are you watching?!"

"Daddy's watching pretty ladies." Little Niu Niu answered with a giggle on his behalf.

Zhou Kai calmly picked up the phone and continued watching, saying, "You can chat with your friends about handsome guys, and I can't look at pretty ladies on Douyin? Where's the logic in that? I'm going to follow her too!"

Su Yumei rolled her eyes, about to speak when she heard the phone's speaker playing a song:

"Talking about love and hate~ can't be careless~ the red dust burns and burns~ proving life and death, who's important..."

The song was very pleasant, but sounded familiar as if she had just heard it recently.

"Let me see." Su Yumei was moved and reached for the phone again: "Just a look, I'm not joking."

"Careful, don't drop it."

Zhou Kai was indifferent, handing the phone over.