"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 111

The snow outside had stopped. It had snowed for a few hours yesterday, leaving only a thin layer on the ground, and now the snow on the road had mostly melted. There was still a fair amount of snow clinging to the houses and trees, and when the wind blew, some of it would drop.

Yan He noticed several piles of snow by the roadside ahead, as if they had been deliberately swept there. She walked over, crouched down, and scooped up a handful of snow in her palm. This snow was different from the artificial snow at the ski resort; although similar in appearance, the resort’s snow felt somehow colder and harder, lacking the softness of natural snowflakes.

The clump of snow quickly melted in her palm, leaving only a film of water. Yan He slowly stood up and shook the water off her hand. Then, she paused, opened her suitcase right there, pulled out a small glass bottle with a stopper, and filled it halfway with snow.

She shook the bottle, and the soft snow inside shifted with her movement. Next, she held the bottle up towards the sun, which had not yet fully risen, and saw rainbow-like colors refracted through the glass.

Yan He lifted her suitcase and boarded the 10B bus. As she stepped on, she glanced at the time inside the vehicle; it was 6:29 a.m. If everything went smoothly, she could reach the airport before seven, which would allow her to grab breakfast inside.

The 10B bus was an express airport shuttle. After placing her luggage on the rack beside the driver, Yan He suddenly felt a little dizzy. Her hand immediately gripped the nearby handrail, and she took two gasping breaths. A layer of cold, fine sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.

Yan He took several deep breaths, feeling chilled all over. Perhaps it was because she hadn’t eaten breakfast? She shook her head, felt the spots before her eyes slowly disappear, and let out a sigh of relief, mentally resolving to eat immediately upon reaching the airport.

It was probably just low blood sugar, Yan He thought.

There were hardly any seats left toward the front. The already narrow aisle was partially taken up by a woman pushing a baby stroller, and Yan He had to move sideways with difficulty to get past. When she reached the back of the bus, she suddenly smelled a heavy odor of gasoline. She frowned, and her stomach began to churn and contract.

She hadn’t eaten anything this morning, only drunk half a glass of water, so why did she feel so unwell?

Yan He didn’t know. She buried her face in her scarf, trying to draw in some of Shen Jinrong’s scent from it. This was the only thing Shen Jinrong had left her.

She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on her scarf. She gently rubbed it with her right hand, feeling the soft fabric, a softness that mirrored the tenderness in her heart whenever she thought of Shen Jinrong.

The smell of gasoline mixed with the stuffy air of the sealed bus made the atmosphere even more oppressive. The air inside seemed to congeal into a thick, flowing substance, gradually invading her lungs and squeezing out the residual oxygen.

Yan He lowered her head to check her flight ticket on her phone. Her flight back home was scheduled for the morning of the day after tomorrow, taking off from Rome Airport and arriving in China in the afternoon, Beijing time.

After returning, she would have one day of rest before packing up to report to her unit and then head off on her foreign assignment with a senior colleague.

Yan He had initially been fearless about the assignment. Before she decided to go, both her leader and Sister Wang had warned her that it involved certain risks. Yan He, of course, knew this, as no one could guarantee what might happen after she arrived.

When Sister Wang mentioned it, she had just smiled and said she would be careful.

Yan He thought that everyone wears armor, but once a person has someone to worry about, a vulnerability appears beneath the cold, hard shell. Shen Jinrong was her vulnerability.

She had always believed her only ties back home were her parents and friends, but now, with the addition of Shen Jinrong, she suddenly found that her life seemed to have changed completely. This change was subtle, yet when she suddenly discovered it at one point, it erupted with tremendous energy.

What fun things were there to do in Naples? Before Shen Jinrong left, she had imagined watching the sunrise and sunset with her Jie-Jie, or sitting by the sea, feeling the breeze and listening to the rolling waves. They could walk hand-in-hand along the soft sand, perhaps even picking up some common seashells on the retreated beach.

But now, with Shen Jinrong gone from all of it, these joyful activities instantly lost their original meaning and became completely flavorless.

If Shen Jinrong wasn’t there, she would probably just sit by the sea at sunrise or sunset, or walk aimlessly along the coast alone. She might also visit Mount Vesuvius, hike up to see if she could find the ruins of Pompeii there, and witness the relics of the eruption that first immortalized the volcano.

She narrowed her eyes, staring blankly ahead of the bus. The bus continuously bumped and turned, making her feel sick. Her hand tightly gripped the front handrail, wanting to maintain stability by exerting her excess strength.

She rarely used to get motion sickness; perhaps it was because this road was too bumpy, and she hadn’t eaten breakfast.

Yan He looked around, only seeing the vast, sprawling mountain roads and the faint snow. She suddenly saw the driver in front, a typical European man with a thick beard on his chin, steering the wheel with an extra degree of boldness.

Yan He uncontrollably thought of her Jie-Jie. Even when driving, Shen Jinrong’s movements were always elegant and composed. If there was a fork in the road requiring a sharp turn, she would be extremely cautious, first checking left and right for oncoming traffic before crisply turning the wheel.

Yan He felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. When she squinted, she even had a hallucination; she seemed to see that the person driving had turned into Shen Jinrong. She looked at the driver’s reflection in the rearview mirror in front of the car, blinked, and found that the person had seemingly become her Jie-Jie. Yan He frowned tightly, her grip on the handrail immediately intensifying. Her body uncontrollably leaned forward, only to be interrupted the next moment by a sudden sharp turn.

Yan He blinked again, realizing that everything she had just seen was merely a hallucination.

She shook her head, casually shoved her phone into her coat pocket, and closed her eyes to rest.

—She did eventually fall asleep, but it was a light sleep, and she was often startled awake by the rocking of the bus. She dreamt of Shen Jinrong, feeling as though she was back sitting in the passenger seat next to her Jie-Jie.

The bus stopped, and the driver said something, which Yan He didn’t clearly hear. She opened her eyes in a daze and saw the passengers starting to collect their luggage and get off. She looked out the window and realized they had arrived at the airport.

As she stepped off with her luggage, the driver smiled and wished her: “Have a good trip.”

Yan He thanked him and pulled her suitcase into the airport lobby.

A gust of warm air hit her, bringing a warmth completely different from the freezing cold outside. How great was the North-South difference in winter? Yan He looked at her coat and thought that this outfit should be just right for Naples.

She first went to the massive display screen, found the gate for her upcoming flight, and after silently noting it down, she dragged her suitcase to find a place to eat.

There were coffee shops everywhere in the Italian airport. Yan He found a McDonald’s, sat down, and ordered a breakfast. While waiting for her meal, she noticed many staff members in uniform also eating there.

When she sat down with a warm cup of coffee, Yan He let out a long breath, suddenly feeling that the true start of the day was only just beginning now.

She ate slowly, as she still had plenty of time. She took out her phone to message her parents, telling them when she would arrive at the Capital Airport the day after tomorrow. Then she notified Li Xiuxi, giving her the flight number.

Finally, she looked at the chat box with Shen Jinrong, who still hadn’t replied, and her action of typing hesitated. Should she tell her Jie-Jie? Would she come to pick her up? But, she had already given her flight details to her parents. If her Jie-Jie came, they might run into each other, and that would be a little awkward.

Yan He thought it over and ultimately did not send Shen Jinrong a message.

While getting up to go through security, the staff asked her to place all electronic devices together. She put in her power bank and earphones, but when she tried to put in her phone, she searched all over her body and couldn’t find it.

Yan He felt as though she had fallen into an ice cave.

Her phone was gone.

…Shit.

Yan He couldn’t help but curse under her breath. She glanced at the time and realized that if she didn’t board now, she would be late. She looked back at the dense crowd in the distant airport lobby, knowing in her heart that finding her phone would be extremely difficult.

—She had never lost anything here before; she hadn’t expected to fail at the last hurdle.

Yan He sighed and had no choice but to go through security, obediently starting to collect her belongings.

It looked like she would have to wait until she reached Naples to call her family and her Jie-Jie.

The little puppy sniffled plaintively.

Tan Ning saw that Shen Jinrong had arranged to meet Wang Dingyun at a certain coffee shop at three in the afternoon. It was still early, so she suggested to Shen Jinrong, “Why don’t you go back and get some sleep first? You haven’t slept all night, have you?”

Shen Jinrong yawned, a look of exhaustion in her eyes: “You’re right. I’ll sleep for three hours. If I’m not awake by one o’clock, please call me.”

Tan Ning agreed and drove her home, but she noticed Shen Jinrong constantly looking at her phone and teased her with a smile: “What, our Professor Shen has become a phone-addicted youth now that she’s in a relationship?”

Shen Jinrong cleared her throat to cover her embarrassment, and said righteously, “I’m waiting for a message from my partner. What phone-addicted youth?”

Tan Ning raised an eyebrow, ignoring her attempt at a cover-up, and just said, “Oh, right, when you get back, can I meet her when there’s an opportunity?”

Shen Jinrong said “sure,” but she secretly planned that Tan Ning would have to wait until Yan He graduated to meet her.

—Hmph, otherwise, how awkward would that be for their little one!