“Pan Ann is not just a professor. I am living with him in his home—he’s the son of the people who owns Invicta.”

“You… WHAT!?”

Shu Xian almost threw her phone away, hearing the loud voice of Shi Lian, ringing against her ear. She winced slightly in pain as she creased her brows together, feeling slightly irritated with how her best friend is loud this late at night.

“Do you have to shout?” she scolded, Shi Lian still not toning down her voice as she exclaimed her surprise.

“How am I going to keep quiet about this!? You’re telling me that you’re living with big brother Pan An? So he’s the professor you’re telling me that you’re living with!?”

“Yes,” Shu Xian answered, rolling her eyes at the same time.

“And you told me a while ago that this happened yesterday,” she said, Shu Xian, sighing as she answered her question again with one word.

“Yes.”

Another sigh was heard at the other end of the call. Shi Lian was quiet for a while, making her wonder what could have happened in a day that made her best friend stay at the house of a mysterious man such as Pan An.

“May I now ask what happened to you yesterday that made you be in this position?”

“Well…”

Shu Xian trailed off, her eyes, landing on the clock as she remembered that Shi Lian is still in Japan.

“Hey, isn’t it soon midnight there?”

Shi Lian groaned, “Don’t go changing the subject! You promised me that you were going to call! I don’t want you to hang up now with you dropping an information bomb on me!”

Shu Xian scoffed, a smile appearing on her face as she heard Shi Lian’s tone.

She always knew that her best friend would always be like this. It is one of the things she loves about her, and at the same time, found irritating about her.

“Well, alright,” Shu Xian said, leaning on the bed’s rest as she told Shi Lian what happened yesterday. “I was kicked out by the landlady because I couldn’t pay. She has new tenants and they already paid, so I was left with no choice but to leave.”

“Damn! Tsk!” Shi Lian clicked her tongue, “But the landlady should’ve told you earlier!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shu Xian replied, shrugging at the same time. “Maybe she pitied me that’s why she told me at the last minute. And she wasn’t all that mean. She gave me money before she kicked me out so I could look for a place to stay.”

“Uhuh…”

Shi Lian narrowed her eyes even though she wasn’t with Shu Xian.

“But if she has given you money, then why tell me that you are staying at Pan An’s place?”

“I couldn’t find a place to stay since most of them don’t allow pets,” Shu Xian started, “So feeling saddened about it, I rested at the park last night until some men attacked—”

“Wait! You were attacked!?”

There was worry evident in Shi Lian’s voice, not caring that she interrupted Shu Xian who was just talking.

“Are you alright!? Are you safe? Jeez! I want to come home in an instant—”

“Shi Lian!”

Shu Xian called her attention, surprising Wan Wan who was sleeping on the floor when she shouted her best friend’s name.

“There you are again! You’re not listening!”

“I’m sorry!” Shi Lian heaved a deep sigh, “It’s just that you were almost harmed! How can I not worry about my best friend?”

A grateful smile crept on Shu Xian’s face. Even though she only has one trusted friend in her life, she was satisfied and did not demand to have more friends.

Quality over quantity is what Shu Xian believed—making it one of her important mottos in life.

“I’m sorry for scolding you,” Shu Xian apologized, “I’m alright… Pan An saved me last night.”

A sigh of relief was heard from the other side of the call.

“I’m glad big brother Pan An saved you,” she commented, “And you staying in his house? How did it happen?”

“It was rather sudden,” Shu Xian replied, “But when he knew that there was no place I could stay in, he offered the extra room. Then it was this same day I knew that he is a professor teaching Teacher Education.”

“Wait… what?” confusion and surprise was evident on Shi Lian’s voice. “I heard that he decided to teach in City S, but I did not expect him to teach Teacher Education. So, he’s going to be our professor?”

Shu Xian nodded even though Shi Lian was not in front of her.

“That’s right.”

“Hey… I told you, you could stay with me instead and—”

“No, no!” Shu Xian shook her head profusely to decline. “I keep telling you… your family already answered my few years of stay when I was in high school. I can’t take more advantage any longer.”

Shi Lian then scoffed, finding Shu Xian’s answer ridiculous.

“Then, you’re going to take advantage of Pan An’s?”

Shu Xian rolled her eyes, finding her reply witty.

“You may think that—but I offered my services,” she answered, sighing at the same time as she remembered the other event that happened today. “Other than that, Pan An asked me to have a fake relationship with him because of his mother.”

“What!?”

Shu Xian clicked her tongue again as she felt her ear ringing once more due to Shi Lian’s loud exclamation.

“So you and big brother Pan An pretended to date!?”

“Yeah… I had no choice—I am staying at his place for free and we met Ma’am Cai Li hours ago.”

Hearing her best friend’s story, Shi Lian could not help but laugh out loud. Shu Xian’s face reddened by the second because of Shi Lian’s giggling, making Shu Xian feel embarrassed.

“So, what else have you learned about Pan An? What happened so far?”

Shu Xian’s expression suddenly turned serious. She remembered the events that had transpired hours ago, making her think of her curiosity about Pan An.

She remembered what he said about his family during their drive going to the restaurant.

She remembered what Ma’am Cai Li had told her before they went home. She then also remembered how Pan An acted, a name “Ruo Xi” coming out of his mouth.

“Shu Xian?”

With Shi Lian snapping Shu Xian out of her thoughts, the girl shook her head as she asked her a question, making Shi Lian silent for a few seconds before she answered.

“Who is Ruo Xi?”

A sigh was heard at the other end of the call. Shu Xian didn’t know, but with her waiting for Shi Lian to answer, she held her breath until her best friend spoke, surprising Shu Xian with an answer that she did not expect.

“Miss Ruo Xi is Pan An’s ex-fiancée.”