"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 109

It was a little after seven o’clock in the morning, Beijing time, when Shen Jinrong’s flight landed. The plane hit the runway with a dull thud, followed by the jolting caused by the friction between the wheels and the ground.

Shen Jinrong turned off airplane mode, and a flood of messages rushed into her phone. She had forgotten to turn off the sound, and the incessant chiming made her head ache. Most of the messages were unimportant, but after replying to a few selected ones, she saw a message sent by Yan He two hours ago, asking if she had arrived and how the situation was.

A smile unconsciously appeared on Shen Jinrong’s face. She held the phone, her fingertip tracing over those two lines of text. She initially thought of calling Yan He, but on second thought, it must be the middle of the night in Italy, so she did not dial the number.

She pursed her lips and replied to Yan He: “I have arrived.”

Just as she was about to type her next line, asking how her day was, a call from Tan Ning came in.

Shen Jinrong frowned and sighed softly. Now, when she saw the name “Tan Ning” on the screen, her heart jumped, tightening with apprehension, afraid that Tan Ning would relay some bad news. Yet, she also knew that the call must be taken; whether it was good news or bad, she ultimately had to face it.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her inner tension, and tried hard to make her voice sound calm. She answered the phone and asked, “What is it?”

Tan Ning simply asked her, “Have you arrived?”

There seemed to be some noisy chatter and broadcast announcements on Tan Ning’s end. Shen Jinrong answered, “I have arrived and am currently taxiing on the runway. I’ll be off the plane shortly.”

Tan Ning breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I’ll wait for you at the exit.” After saying this, perhaps worried about Shen Jinrong’s concern, she added, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing major.”

Shen Jinrong acknowledged this with an “Okay,” and then asked, “How is Grandma?”

Tan Ning sighed on her end, her tone becoming much gentler: “Grandma is fine; she just suddenly experienced a bit of shock. She is at the hospital right now, but the doctor said she is fine and just needs a good rest.”

Shen Jinrong pursed her lips and whispered a word of thanks. She looked out the window. The sky was beginning to faintly brighten, a lighter shade of blue than deep blue, looking hazy, as if covered with a layer of fog. A moon could vaguely be seen hanging high in the sky.

Shen Jinrong was momentarily lost in thought. She wondered, Could Yan He see this moon from where she is, too?

“That’s good,” Shen Jinrong heard herself say. “After I get off the plane, let’s go see Grandma first.”

Tan Ning agreed, then cautiously asked her, “Then—what do you plan to do about the matter with that woman?” Tan Ning only knew that Wang Dingyun was involved with Shen Jinrong’s father, but that the two were not legally married. Beyond that, she knew nothing; she didn’t even know Wang Dingyun’s name.

Shen Jinrong naturally knew she was referring to Wang Dingyun. Thinking of this, she began to resent her father again. She thought: Why can’t he just let her go? It’s been so many years, and he’s been gone for nearly a year. Why won’t he leave her alone?

Shen Jinrong’s complexion was poor. She hadn’t slept all night, and the loud droning of the airplane’s engines filling her ears the entire time made her even more irritable, even with headphones on.

When she tried to put in earplugs, she couldn’t find them. The cabin lights were already off, so she didn’t bother asking a flight attendant for a new pair and just stayed awake until dawn.

She didn’t want to deal with these complicated issues, nor did she want to be tied up with her past again. She thought: I’m already with Yan He; all that past should be gone with the wind and shouldn’t return.

In Yan He’s arms, Shen Jinrong believed she had shaken off the past, but now it seemed—those memories clung to her like a parasite, following her shadow, never allowing her peace.

What is this? Shen Jinrong wondered. Is fate determined not to let me have peace?

Thinking of this, a smile, devoid of humor, appeared on her face. This smile carried an icy chill. The corners of her lips curved up, but there was not a trace of mirth in her eyes.

Then let’s see, she thought, who will make it harder for whom in the end.

I’m not afraid anymore, Shen Jinrong thought. I have someone I love; I’m not scared.

“What exactly is going on?” Pulling her luggage out of the airport gate, under the bright lights, she saw Tan Ning’s car parked by the roadside. Shen Jinrong was suddenly in a daze. She felt the person standing by the car shouldn’t be Tan Ning, but Yan He.

What’s happening? she laughed at herself inwardly. In just over a week’s time, have I already grown so accustomed to Yan He?

“Let’s talk in the car,” Tan Ning said, opening the trunk and gesturing for Shen Jinrong to put her luggage in first.

Shen Jinrong adeptly placed her luggage in the trunk, got into the car, and asked, “What’s the matter? How did Wang Dingyun suddenly—” Shen Jinrong carefully chose her words, but after some thought, she fell silent.

Wang Dingyun’s situation seemed to have traceable clues, beyond her expectation, yet within reason. She recalled the strange words Wang Dingyun had said the last time she saw her, and she also thought about the investigation results given by her secretary, and she couldn’t help rubbing her temples. Her head throbbed, and she momentarily lost the ability to think.

She should have been alert earlier—but she had thought it was impossible at the time.

No! It’s truly impossible; she shouldn’t have been able to conceive that man’s child.

She hadn’t slept all night, and now, sitting in the car with the warm air blowing, she was at her most fatigued. She couldn’t delve deeper into the matter. She rested one hand on the car window, rubbing her temples, her eyes unfocused as she looked at the traffic outside.

At this moment, Tan Ning timely offered a cup of coffee and said, “Didn’t sleep all night, did you? Drink some to perk up first.”

Shen Jinrong thanked her, took the coffee, and drank several large sips. Only then did she feel her chaotic thoughts gradually becoming clear. She sighed and asked again, “How did she suddenly get pregnant?”

Tan Ning gripped the steering wheel, her eyes on the traffic ahead, seemingly triggered by Shen Jinrong’s question to recall some unpleasant memory.

She was getting ready to merge onto the highway, queuing behind the toll station cars. The veins on the back of her hands bulged but quickly subsided.

“I don’t know, I just heard,” Tan Ning slowly told Shen Jinrong what she had heard. “She said that your father had stored his sperm before he died, and she retrieved that material for artificial insemination.”

Tan Ning couldn’t help but frown. She also found Wang Dingyun’s claims hard to believe, yet she spoke with conviction and even produced certification from an institution.

“She’s only two months pregnant, so a DNA test cannot be done yet,” Tan Ning said. “Therefore, there’s no way to confirm whether it’s his or not.”

Shen Jinrong was utterly exhausted. She yawned, nodding sleepily to indicate that she understood. Following that, she began to calculate how to deal with the situation. In fact, handling it was simple: she just needed to ask her lawyer to inquire at that institution whether the certificate Wang Dingyun presented was genuine or fake—and if not, she would wait a bit longer until a DNA test was possible.

Shen Jinrong wondered if she was being too cruel, but what else could she do if she wasn’t? All Wang Dingyun wanted was money, but she shouldn’t keep harassing her grandmother.

Grandma only had her now; she and Grandma were each other’s only family. If she didn’t step up to protect her, who else would?

Thinking of this, a cold glint flashed in Shen Jinrong’s eyes, making her whole demeanor much more somber.

The car entered the highway, and Tan Ning picked up speed. Shen Jinrong’s taut nerves relaxed a little. She leaned back in her seat, eyes closed in thought.

Tan Ning spoke up, wanting to talk about something light to ease the current tension: “By the way, I haven’t asked you, how was your conference this time?”

Shen Jinrong had told her she was going to a conference. She recalled the scene of her young love interest confessing to her under the Christmas tree, and a gentle smile appeared in her eyes. Her somber expression also softened considerably.

Tan Ning glanced at her from the corner of her eye, and seeing Shen Jinrong’s gentle smile and the happy glow in her eyes, she came to a conclusion. She smiled and asked, “It seems… something is going on?”

Shen Jinrong smiled and nodded, not denying her statement.

“That’s great,” Tan Ning said, squinting and smiling. “It’s good that you have someone with you, too.”

At least, it was much better than her current predicament trapped in a marriage.

Shen Jinrong smiled and said, “Yes, it is.”

A brief silence fell inside the car, broken only by the sound of the wind whistling past the windows as the car drove at high speed.

“I really like her, and she really likes me,” Shen Jinrong suddenly spoke, saying this with a smile.

Hearing her say this, a smile also appeared in Tan Ning’s eyes. She nodded slightly, her gaze still fixed on the road ahead: “That’s good.”

A shadow crossed her eyes, as if she were debating whether she should tell Shen Jinrong about the things that had happened at her own home. But after a moment of hesitation, she decided not to speak of it.

Shen Jinrong already had enough on her plate; there was no need to trouble her with these things. Moreover—Tan Ning shook her head, thinking, If it can’t be resolved, then I’ll just get a divorce.

Shen Jinrong was still immersed in her own world and didn’t notice Tan Ning’s unusual demeanor. She looked down at her phone but didn’t see a reply from Yan He. Shen Jinrong put her phone away, thinking, The child must be asleep now, right?

She felt deep regret towards Yan He, thinking that she should tell her that she had to rush back to deal with family matters. The child must be very upset that I left early, right?

Shen Jinrong sighed softly, thinking that she must call Yan He to explain when she woke up and replied. At least she had to tell her why she had returned.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” Tan Ning said, seeing her tired expression. “I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“Okay, thank you for the trouble.” Shen Jinrong smiled at her and adjusted her seat to a comfortable angle.

That’s strange…

Before drifting into a heavy sleep, Shen Jinrong felt a sense of oddness—Is it still this hard for me to fall asleep? I slept so soundly when I was with Yan He…

She shook her head, feeling a persistent ache, which became more pronounced when she closed her eyes.

Shen Jinrong sighed softly.

She missed Yan He a little.