"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 105

Shen Jinrong held Yan He tightly, burying her head in the crook of her neck, her body trembling slightly. The sweat on her forehead dripped into the hot spring, disappearing without a trace.

“So wonderful…” Shen Jinrong was slow to return to her senses. She unconsciously narrowed her eyes, pulling Yan He closer, as if trying to draw something from her. But what exactly did she need now? Shen Jinrong herself did not know. All she wanted was to hold Yan He tightly at this moment, to kiss her and embrace her.

She softly murmured, “Yan He.”

Yan He lightly kissed her neck, letting her lips trace the smooth, delicate skin. There was no lust involved, just pure friction, yet it stirred up waves of emotion.

Shen Jinrong gently pushed her away a little, playfully scolding, “Naughty.”

Yan He held her. The next second, the two changed positions in the hot spring. Yan He leaned against the warm pool wall and softly asked, “Does it hurt?” Shen Jinrong shook her head in his arms: “No, it doesn’t.”

Yan He kissed her lips, but did not deepen it: “Are you alright?” “I’m fine.” Shen Jinrong raised her head and glared at her, but the emotion hidden in that glare was complex—it seemed like a mix of scolding and shyness, but ultimately dissolved into tender indulgence. She thought, Does Yan He absolutely have to ask how I feel?

Yan He pursed her lips and whispered, “I…” She awkwardly began, “I’m not very good at it…”

“Don’t say that.” Shen Jinrong glared at her and covered Yan He’s mouth with her hand: “Don’t you dare say that again.”

The first sentence was a plea; the second was a possessive command. Yan He realized she loved her sister ordering her like this, as if it were her rightful due. She was willing to obey Shen Jinrong.

“Okay, I won’t say it.” Yan He tried to please her by kissing her lips: “Jiejie was great too.”

Shen Jinrong blushed, but against the warm glow of the spring water, the flush on her face was less obvious. The lights did not reach this spot; only vague shadows floated on the water. With their movements, the hot spring rippled.

Great at what? Shen Jinrong’s mind was muddled, a complete blank. She squinted, seeing the large glass window not far away, where faint lights were glowing. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish whether it was the reflection of the indoor lights or the streetlights outside. She just stared at it fixedly.

She didn’t want to think about anything else, only wanting time to stop at this moment, in this moment of tenderness.

In the past, Shen Jinrong had always considered stopping time to be a childish and useless notion, but only now did she understand that when a person experiences immense happiness and is overwhelmed by it, they feel a sense of unreality. This feeling makes one start to self-doubt, wondering if they deserve such happiness, and then the desire arises—if possible, let time stop right now.

Shen Jinrong sighed softly. She knew this was just a fantasy; the tenderness she and Yan He shared now had been hard-won. She felt she ought to consider certain things—society, age—but she didn’t want to.

—Let all the problems drift away with the wind; those issues will eventually resolve themselves. There will be a path when the carriage reaches the mountain.

“Yan He.” Shen Jinrong suddenly asked her, “What kind of person am I?” She wanted to know the answer to this question; she wanted to define herself. This was a question she had never dared to ask before, as if asking it meant saying goodbye to her former, cowardly self.

Shen Jinrong feared farewells, and she feared the unknown.

But now, she thought, she could face it.

“You are very good.” Yan He thought for a long time, eventually just pressing a kiss on her sister’s lips: “Very, very good.” She couldn’t think of any other adjectives; she could only describe Shen Jinrong this way.

She looked out the window. The moonlight was clear tonight. From where she was, she could see the bright moon hanging high in the sky outside.

“You are my moon.”

Therefore, she hoped her moon could find happiness—and when that happiness was given by her, she felt sincere contentment.

“Yan He.”

Shen Jinrong began to call her name like this. Perhaps there was no reason, and perhaps no meaning, but she wanted to call Yan He like this. A name is a person’s simplest marker, and when this marker is created and used by someone, it is the most extraordinary time.

“I am here.”

Yan He responded to her with every call.

“Yan He.”

She called out to her again.

The sudden happiness filled her heart, yet Shen Jinrong felt a sense of crisis. She was eight years older than Yan He—when she started to age, Yan He would still be in her prime.

“We might not be together forever, will we?”

Shen Jinrong thought that promises of forever were too distant; who could predict the future?

But these words, falling into Yan He’s ears, sounded as if she wanted to break up.

Yan He’s reply was exceptionally firm: “We will be together forever.” It was a resounding affirmation, like making an unchanging promise.

Shen Jinrong smiled. She thought, The impetuousness of youth must be like this, speaking of forever without reserve, seemingly having endless energy. But what about herself?

“Jiejie.” Yan He called her softly, her voice tender, much like a child pleading. Shen Jinrong’s earlier words had caused a sudden tension, making her grip on her sister tighten slightly, as if a tight embrace could make her feel more secure.

“Hmm?” Shen Jinrong answered, seemingly subconsciously.

“I love you so much.”

Shen Jinrong’s left hand caressed her cheek. Before entering the hot spring, Shen Jinrong had removed her wristwatch. At this moment, the deep scar was revealed fully and completely to Yan He’s eyes.

—This was the first time she had seen the scar so clearly and seriously.

Shen Jinrong also realized this. The expression on her face paused for a moment, as if debating whether she should expose this side of herself to Yan He.

But while she hesitated, Yan He had already grasped her hand, her gaze intently tracing the scar, as if examining a priceless treasure.

Shen Jinrong felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She moved her arm, trying to pull her hand back, but Yan He held her fast.

She did not know what Yan He was going to say.

She only felt a chill run through her body.

This feeling was like—when she was lying in the hospital bed, and her father, in name only, came to see her, yet said no words of comfort, only glancing down at her with contempt in his tone: “You dare to play at suicide?” “If you want to die, just die cleanly. Are you waiting here for me to have a change of heart?” Shen Jinrong tightly closed her eyes, waiting for Yan He’s next words. What would she say? Would she also blame her? Would she also think she was foolish?

Shen Jinrong’s complexion instantly turned pale. She bit her lip, waiting for Yan He’s coming words. Even the warm hot spring seemed to turn icy cold.

—But Yan He did not say that.

She did not even say much, only slightly lowered her head, staring at the scar on her wrist, and asked in a low voice: “It must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?” It… must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?

Yan He didn’t know what kind of mindset Shen Jinrong had been in when she hurt herself, but she only knew that now, seeing the scar, her heart was only filled with sorrow—how much pain must she have been in to choose that way?

Shen Jinrong slowly opened her eyes, looking at Yan He with disbelief, as if she hadn’t anticipated her saying that.

“Jiejie…”

Yan He called her name again, but Shen Jinrong seemed to have lost her soul and did not respond. Yan He frowned, sighed faintly, and gently pressed a kiss onto the scar.

“Will kissing it make it hurt less?” A passionate emotion suddenly erupted in her heart, overwhelming her like a mountainous tide. Her heart felt intensely filled with happiness, like a thirty-meter-high wave stirring up inside her. But unlike those waves, she knew she would not drown. This layer of waves gently lifted her until she saw her sun.

In that instant, her black-and-white, desolate world gained color, signs of human life, and began to be visited by people. All the ill-timed, mocking words sank away. Her underwater Atlantis finally surfaced.

On her wrist was Yan He’s gentle licking, her tongue lightly sweeping over the scar, like a soft comfort, and like a tender sorrow.

Yan He’s eyes stared straight at her wrist, then after a long while, she looked up at Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong saw that Yan He’s pupils, which were naturally a lighter shade than others, now reflected a beautiful light. She looked directly at her, her eyes filled with sadness.

“Why… are you crying?” Shen Jinrong instinctively raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corner of Yan He’s eye. She thought that such beautiful eyes should not shed tears. The transparent tears traced Yan He’s cheekbone, eventually sinking into the water.

Yan He’s eyes were red. She shook her head, not saying anything more.

But Shen Jinrong thought, she understands.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

But Shen Jinrong had long forgotten how it felt back then, and she had long become accustomed to the pain or lack thereof. She just hadn’t expected Yan He to be so upset.

Yan He hugged her tightly. They were both undressed; when they pressed close, they were truly, genuinely pressed close.

Her heart pounded, shouting that she must love her. Yan He kissed her—the same as every time before.

“Do you really feel sorry for Jiejie?” Shen Jinrong sighed inwardly, but her expression was intentionally cheerful.

Yan He, with tears in her eyes, buried her head in the crook of her neck, silently nodding.

“You feel sorry for Jiejie now, but why didn’t you listen when Jiejie told you to go easy just now?” Shen Jinrong’s eyes and brows were filled with a seductive charm, evidence of their passion. When she said this as a matter of course, Yan He suddenly felt an urge surge up in her abdomen, wanting to continue what had just happened.

“I’m sorry, alright…”

Yan He apologized softly, even though she didn’t think she was in the wrong.

“Mm-hmm, I’ll give you one more chance. Let’s go again.”

Shen Jinrong kissed her lips once more.