My System Forces Me to Live off Women-Chapter 185 - 172: Why Can’t It Be Me?

"They haven't finished work yet?"

"They should still be editing the video. They just asked me about my injury on WeChat. Let's go check on them, and Sister Xuan can watch my dunking video at the same time."

"Sure, but your injury..."

"It's fine now. Xiaofeng?"

"I'll go home and cook. I'll let you know when it's ready."

Everyone entered the community and arrived at the doorstep of the house. They saw the studio upstairs brightly lit; Tang Yan and Mu An'an were still there. Wu Wenyue insisted on going upstairs for a look, so the three girls went together while Li Peifeng headed home alone to prepare dinner.

"For you, I'm unwilling to rest~ Even if I'm exhausted, I'll keep up the act..."

Li Peifeng was quite bothered by cooking. It was too time-consuming, especially since he still had a ton of work undone. It was really annoying, but Wu Wenyue was injured, and Miss Huang was at their home, so he had to cook this meal with care.

"Grilled bass, air fryer fries, chicken legs dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, deep-fried to make the kids next door drool, and finally, two sandwiches."

Just when he was halfway through cooking, Li Peifeng's phone rang, and it was Zhao Qingge again!

What's she here for again?

This unusual action left Li Peifeng puzzled. The review Old Zhao asked for wasn't that urgent; it didn't need to be submitted today.

And Wu Wenyue's injury wasn't that important to Zhao Qingge either. It was just a minor bump, and Wenyue wasn't her student. Even Wenyue's own counselor and advisor weren't as concerned as Old Zhao. Why was she calling so frequently? Could it be she just wanted to...

"Director, do you need something?"

"Which apartment building are you in?"

"..."

This question made Li Peifeng's eyebrows slowly relax. Accompanied by the rumble of the range hood and the continuous popping of bubbles in the oil pan, he vaguely understood why Zhao Qingge kept calling, asking when he'd be home.

"Which apartment and floor is your place?"

Zhao Qingge's tone intensified: "I just finished work and want to drop by to check on Wu Wenyue's injury on my way."

Li Peifeng considered lying about them not living with him or using their absence from home as a reason to refuse, but in the end, he just told her the address.

"Building 7, apartment 701. Have you eaten yet? I was just..."

"Beep~ beep~"

Li Peifeng put down the phone, fished the chicken legs out of the oil pan, turned off the stove, and rushed to the side room. He quickly placed the 'Ginkgo Leaf Flower' he gave to the two girls back into the cabinet from the desk.

If not for Old Zhao's call, he almost forgot about this. Whether it was Zhao Qingge or Huang Tianxuan coming over, he should have hidden this flower.

Each of the four of them had a bouquet of these flowers. If anyone saw it, things could really go south, although Zhao Qingge's sudden visit was almost as bad.

"The truth will eventually come out, secrets can't be hidden forever."

Returning to the kitchen, Li Peifeng continued cooking, but as he cooked, he suddenly sighed.

There are no secrets that are impenetrable. Li Peifeng never thought he could hide the co-renting with the three people forever. Now, his classmates at the studio generally knew about it, but they were simple-minded and just thought it was a normal co-renting situation, except for a few people who didn't think much beyond that. So, it wasn't surprising that the news reached Zhao Qingge.

But she certainly wouldn't be as indifferent as ordinary classmates. When she unexpectedly ran into him and the two girls on the street last time, she overheard their conversation, and Zhao Qingge already vaguely sensed something. Now knowing they were co-renting, it was hard not to...

"Old Zhao is really angry, and the consequences are severe!"

Li Peifeng continued cooking while thinking about how to resolve the issue. The situation hadn't reached the worst point yet. The fact that Zhao Qingge was willing to come upstairs to see meant she hadn't given up; she either wanted to confirm it with her own eyes or hear his explanation, giving him a chance?

And coincidentally, Xu Manning and Wu Wenyue weren't there, so it gave him some space.

But one thing Li Peifeng knew for sure was that no matter how he explained, how he twisted the facts, facts were facts. As long as he wasn't willing to break ties with Xu and Wu, and become a committed man, he would have to use one lie after another to cover up.

Even if he managed to cover up this hurdle, what about the next one?

This student in his early twenties had to continuously deceive and sneak past his gentle and kind 33-year-old teacher who had yet to experience true love.

"Am I delaying Old Zhao? She's already 33..."

Finally, a slight sense of guilt arose in Li Peifeng's heart. His gaze turned hesitant, but the hesitation lasted just a fraction of a second before it changed to determination.

"If I'm not delaying her, someone else will!"

"If she's going to be delayed anyway, why not be delayed by me?!!"

Upon figuring this out, Li Peifeng quickly put on an apron and rummaged through his bedroom.

The items he found included: a smart fitness band only used during workouts, a silver necklace he couldn't remember which mischievous woman gifted, a pair of infrequently used blue light-blocking glasses...

After wearing all these accessories, he found a pair of unisex black earrings in the girls' bedroom and wore them in the ear piercings he had done, which had just healed a few days ago.

"Apron, band, necklace, glasses, earrings, all five homestyle accessories complete!"

Holding a spatula, Li Peifeng called up the system panel. Seeing the [Image Spokesperson] aura activated, with the bonus at a full fifty percent, he felt anxious.

"I hope Old Zhao is so mesmerized by my extraordinary looks that she doesn't care about my insignificant two-timing issue..."

...

"Ding dong~ ding dong~"

Click~

Li Peifeng opened the door, and there stood Zhao Qingge, dressed in a dark gray professional outfit, expressionless, holding a big bag of fruit.

"Director, you shouldn't have."

Li Peifeng took it casually, turned around to let her in, carefully observing her expression,

but to his disappointment, Zhao Qingge didn't pay attention to him at all. After entering the room, the first thing she did was look around. Seeing the empty living room, she slightly froze: "You're here alone?"

"They're having a meeting at the studio, in the building behind. They should be back later."

Zhao Qingge coldly responded with an "oh," didn't change into slippers, just stood at the entrance, looking around.

There were a few pairs of women's shoes by the shoe cabinet, and a lady's handbag on the sofa. These traces were enough evidence; there was no need to check the bedrooms...

"Have you had dinner yet? I'm about to finish. Another friend will come later. You know her, she's Huang Tianxuan, who helped introduce us to the hospital. Otherwise, it might not have been possible to get a specialist diagnosis at this time."

Li Peifeng attempted to create some presence, hoping to shift her focus to him.

Zhao Qingge obliged by turning to gaze at him, noncommittal: "So, you're co-renting with Xu Manning and Wu Wenyue? How much rent does each person pay per month?"

Though the question seemed casual, it cut to the heart of the matter. No effect from the aura, seeing my face can't make her forget about co-renting? Can't she just quietly appreciate my goddess/God-blessed features?

Li Peifeng still had some hope in [Image Spokesperson]. Usually, he didn't activate the aura since his looks were sufficient. Activating it and wearing a mask, Li felt it might cause a stir among the female classmates, disturbing his usual life and study.

So this was the first time he activated the aura with all accessories after playing cosplay with the two girls last time, adjusting it to the highest amplitude.

With a determined step forward, Li Peifeng moved closer, showing his face: "Haven't you noticed any change about me?"

Zhao Qingge frowned slightly, adjusted her glasses, and said, "So you're short-sighted now? Need glasses to see people properly?" She then smirked a little: "Well, I can't see people clearly with glasses either, not even those I spend my days with."