"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 116

Yan He only heard the noisy clamor of people ringing in her ears, sounding somewhat shrill and agitated, making her extremely annoyed. She also felt the lights in the mall were too bright: some streamed out from the shops, some were from LED signs, and others were the mall’s own lighting. These different colored lights mixed together, making her eyes dizzy.

Then, her stomach churned. Yan He held onto a nearby handrail, barely steadying herself. Her face was pale as she clutched her abdomen, feeling a sharp pang followed by a wave of dizziness. She rushed into the nearby restroom and gagged over the toilet, but nothing came up.

Yan He vaguely recalled that she hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. While on the plane, she was filled only with the joy of seeing Shen Jinrong soon and didn’t feel hungry at all. But now, the scene from moments ago—she and Li Xiuxi walking out of the phone shop and seeing Tan Ning affectionately link arms with Shen Jinrong—repeated itself in her mind like a self-torturing loop. And then what? Yan He couldn’t remember. She only clearly recalled Shen Jinrong’s expression at the time: confusion, shock, mixed with some bewilderment. Why would she be bewildered? Yan He wobbled as she stood up, supporting herself with the handrail. She thought spitefully, was it because Shen Jinrong hadn’t expected her to return early and catch her with Tan Ning?

So—Shen Jinrong’s return was truly for Tan Ning, wasn’t it?

This was something Yan He had never dared to think before, but now she was forced to accept the reality.

However, this malicious thought only lasted for an instant. Immediately afterwards, she stumbled to the sink and saw her bloodshot eyes in the mirror, suddenly feeling wronged.

Why? What exactly did she do wrong? Why did Shen Jinrong have to be with Tan Ning? Was there something wrong with her? Was she inferior to Tan Ning in any way?

She looked extremely wretched. After the violent retching, her eyes in the mirror were bloodshot, looking as if she had already cried a river. She clenched her hands tightly, not relenting even when she felt the stinging pain in her palms, seemingly trying to alleviate the sorrow in her heart through this form of self-abuse.

It shouldn’t be like this.

Yan He screamed in her heart. She wanted to say something to her pathetic reflection in the mirror, but her throat felt swollen and painful, making even swallowing difficult.

Originally—if Yan He had only seen Shen Jinrong and Tan Ning affectionately linked, or only knew that Shen Jinrong had returned for Tan Ning, it would not have been a big deal. She could have waited for her older sister to explain, waited for her to slowly tell her the reasons behind these things.

But these two events coinciding—Shen Jinrong returning home first, leaving her alone abroad, and her linking arms with Tan Ning—was too coincidental. So much so that it led Yan He to believe that in Shen Jinrong’s heart, Tan Ning was much more important than herself.

Wasn’t that true? After all, Tan Ning had met her so many years earlier than she had, and Tan Ning understood Shen Jinrong better than she did.

What was she, then?

Li Xiuxi quickly rushed in. There was no one else in the restroom. Seeing Yan He standing intact in front of the sink, Li Xiuxi breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to ask, “Are you okay?”

Yan He’s voice was terribly hoarse: “I’m fine.”

“It must be a misunderstanding. I saw Professor Shen pull away right after Tan Ning linked up,” Li Xiuxi said slowly.

The light in Yan He’s eyes recovered somewhat, but she still lowered her gaze. Li Xiuxi couldn’t clearly see the emotion in her eyes, only hearing her noncommittal reply: “Is that so?”

Did it matter? Yan He splashed water on her face. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—an epiphany that sobered her up completely.

In fact, it didn’t matter anymore how intimate Shen Jinrong and Tan Ning were just now, or why Shen Jinrong returned home—whether she came back for Tan Ning, or whether she did things for Tan Ning’s sake, it was completely irrelevant to Yan He.

The most important thing, as Yan He realized, was the place she held in Shen Jinrong’s heart. Or rather, she subconsciously felt that in Shen Jinrong’s heart, Tan Ning must be more important than she was.

She would always mind that Tan Ning had met Shen Jinrong so many years earlier than she had, she would always mind that Tan Ning helped Shen Jinrong during her most difficult time, and she would always think that she was inferior to Tan Ning.

She lacked confidence. She didn’t dare to gamble on whom the scale in Shen Jinrong’s heart tipped towards—which in itself was unfair to Shen Jinrong.

“I think you and Professor Shen lack communication,” Li Xiuxi sighed. “If you mind Tan Ning, you should talk to her about it.”

“And then?” Yan He’s voice was flat: “Make her choose between me and Tan Ning?”

That was too cruel; Yan He couldn’t do it.

She respected Shen Jinrong, respected her past. She deeply loved Shen Jinrong, yet she was jealous that Tan Ning had known Shen Jinrong for so long before she did.

“Didn’t Shen Jinrong agree to you?” Li Xiuxi asked softly.

Telling Shen Jinrong that she minded Tan Ning was inherently forcing Shen Jinrong to make a choice. Yan He couldn’t do it, nor could she be so ruthless.

“She gave herself to me, but she wouldn’t accept me,” Yan He said with a bitter smile, looking at her young reflection in the mirror. “I guess she’s leaving herself room to regret.”

Li Xiuxi didn’t speak. Although she had been in relationships, she was still cautious about offering advice to others. She had no suggestions to offer Yan He at this moment.

“I still think you need to talk to her,” Li Xiuxi repeated. “Communication is very important.”

Yan He looked at her reflection in the mirror and slowly nodded: “Okay.” She lowered her eyes and began to slowly wash her hands, squeeze the soap, rub, and wash her hands again. Finally, she took a piece of tissue paper from the dispenser, dried her hands, and precisely tossed the paper into the trash can.

“Let’s wait until I return from my external assignment. I’m not very calm right now; it’s not the time to talk things over,” Yan He said softly as she walked over to Li Xiuxi: “If she asks you, just say I’m fine.”

“Let’s go eat outside,” Yan He recovered some of her spirit, but her expression was still listless. “Then I’ll go to the business hall to replace my SIM card.”

She didn’t want to stay here anymore. She wanted to flee, she wanted to hide. She just wanted to be a deserter right now.

“Okay,” Li Xiuxi agreed. So, the two of them retrieved their luggage and left in a taxi.

“That was your student, right?” Tan Ning looked at Shen Jinrong, who was clearly distracted, sitting opposite her, and asked. She watched Shen Jinrong constantly looking down at her phone, wanting to send a message but typing and deleting repeatedly, finding it somewhat amusing. She had never seen Shen Jinrong so anxious.

“Huh?” Shen Jinrong was startled. She looked up and met Tan Ning’s deeply meaningful smile. She nodded: “Yes.”

“I think I saw her before, during the New Year,” Tan Ning had a good memory.

Shen Jinrong managed a smile.

“Speaking of which, it seems Yan He is going on an external assignment. Her counselor told her to discuss her graduation thesis with me before she leaves,” Tan Ning suddenly recalled: “Oh, right, she’s been recommended for postgraduate study. Did you know that?”

Shen Jinrong slowly shook her head.

She suddenly realized that she didn’t know much about Yan He—not even as much as Tan Ning, who was sitting across from her.

“When?” Shen Jinrong suddenly looked up and asked.

“When what—oh! You mean when Yan He is coming to talk to me about her graduation thesis? It should be tomorrow, right? Tomorrow afternoon,” Tan Ning looked down at her WeChat: “Wait a moment, let me confirm. Yes, it’s three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

“A very excellent child,” Tan Ning put away her phone and smiled faintly, seemingly implying something: “She has boundless prospects. The unit she’s interning at is also good; she might become an independent force in this field in the future.”

Shen Jinrong smiled: “Yes, that’s great.”

She was still hesitating about how to explain things to Yan He. Right now, she just wanted to hold her in person and explain everything that happened during this period one by one.

Her “little friend” was upset; she hadn’t handled things well. Shen Jinrong thought she should have at least told Yan He the reason for her return, and at least she shouldn’t have left her little friend alone there.

Shen Jinrong felt remorse, but it was already too late.

“Ah, speaking of which, I did have something to tell you today!” Tan Ning smiled: “I’m planning to divorce Jiang Qiang.”

Shen Jinrong also remembered the purpose of her meeting with Tan Ning today. She took a few documents out of her bag and said, “I think you might need these.”

Tan Ning was momentarily stunned. After taking the documents, she realized they were evidence of Jiang Qiang’s transferring marital assets and marital infidelity. The smile on her face froze, and her expression became complicated: “Thank you… but, when did you get this…”

Shen Jinrong lied: “I only looked into it after hearing about your situation. I hope they come in handy.”

“They certainly will come in handy,” Tan Ning smiled: “They’re a big help.”

“As for a lawyer, if you’d like, I can also—” “Oh, it’s fine. I’ve already found one, a very famous divorce litigation lawyer.” Tan Ning’s smile held a hint of relief: “With your evidence, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

After Yan He got her SIM card, she opened WeChat and could only see the messages from before her phone was lost. She clicked on the chat window with Shen Jinrong and only saw the last message she had sent: “Are you okay?”—three characters.

She smiled, the look in her eyes dark and uncertain. She didn’t know where her relationship with Shen Jinrong would end, but she thought that sending her a message first was her final act of dignity: “Jie, I’m home now. Regarding what you mentioned before, about us having a chat, I’ve thought about it, and could we talk after I return? My flight is the morning after tomorrow. I have some things to handle tomorrow, so I might not have time to talk to you.”

Yan He thought that even if it was regret, even if it was a breakup, she didn’t want to find out now.

—This was the last bit of dignity she was preserving for herself, and she hoped Shen Jinrong could also respect her.

The chat window with Shen Jinrong displayed “The other party is typing…” for a long time. Yan He waited patiently for her reply.

After a long while, contrary to the long string of words Yan He had imagined, Shen Jinrong only replied with one sentence: “Okay.”

And then, she said: “I wish you all the best.”

Yan He replied: “Thank you.”

It felt both strange and familiar; they seemed to have returned to the way they were a long time ago.

Yan He held her phone, hesitated for a moment, and went out to the fruit store downstairs to buy a bag of small green limes. She carried the bag into the kitchen, picked up a fruit knife, and sliced down forcefully.

The moment the knife cut through, a small mist of liquid from the lime peel could be clearly seen bursting out in the sunlight. Following that, the air was filled with the fragrance of citrus fruit.

Yan He smelled the momentarily lingering, familiar scent, and a tear splashed onto the back of her hand.