"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 121

The winter morning air is always damp. The moment Yan He stepped out of her door, she accidentally inhaled a large gulp of cold air and coughed violently a few times. Watching the white mist of her breath rise before her eyes, she tightened her scarf—it couldn’t exactly be called her scarf; it was actually Shen Jinrong’s. After they returned, Shen Jinrong didn’t ask for it back, so Yan He tacitly accepted that she had given the scarf to her.

Wrapping the scarf around her neck made the exposed skin a little warmer. Yan He let out a long breath and pulled her phone out of her coat pocket. Her phone had become icy cold upon contact with the outside air.

The driver, arranged the night before, called her to say he was waiting at the community entrance, so she dragged her suitcase outside.

The community was extremely quiet in the early morning. A winter morning is dead silent. Aside from the occasional sound of cars from the road outside, there was nothing else. In such a quiet time, the sound of her dragging the suitcase became noticeably loud.

Yan He thought about it and lifted the suitcase by hand, no longer letting it drag and create noise.

When she reached the entrance, she put the suitcase down and looked around. The window of a black minivan parked by the roadside rolled down, and the driver leaned out to ask, “Are you the passenger with license plate ending in XXXX?”

Yan He confirmed it was her. The driver then got out of the car, opened the trunk, and helped Yan He put her suitcase inside.

Sitting inside the heated car, Yan He felt a sense of relief, finally feeling the blood flow throughout her body becoming active again. She took off the scarf, folded it neatly on her lap, and looked down at her phone. She sent a message to the group chat with Ms. He and Mr. Yan: “I’m in the car. I should be at the airport in about an hour.”

They probably hadn’t woken up yet. Yan He waited for a while but received no response. She thought of putting her phone away, but before she did, she clicked on her chat window with Shen Jinrong on a whim.

There were no new messages. She slowly scrolled up through the chat history, as if trying to relive her past feelings this way.

The driver in front glanced at Yan He through the rearview mirror and casually asked, “Are you going to the airport so early for a business trip or a vacation?”

Yan He turned off her screen, looked up, and said faintly, “It’s a business trip.”

“Then you’re quite something. Having to leave so early on a cold winter day,” the driver began an awkward conversation.

“You’re not easy either,” Yan He responded with a smile: “You must have started driving around five or six o’clock, right?”

The driver chuckled: “Ah! Everyone has their difficulties. Each person has their own way of life.”

Yan He seriously considered his words and nodded in agreement: “You are right.”

They stopped chatting. Yan He leaned back in her seat, letting go of the tension in her body. She had repacked her luggage before leaving last night and had gone to bed a bit late, so she was still sleepy. Her mind was foggy, and the warm environment made her feel drowsy again.

Her body swayed with the car. She felt like a long time had passed and that she had slept for a long time, but only realized half an hour had gone by when she opened her eyes.

There weren’t many cars on the highway to the airport that morning. Just past the toll booth, Yan He looked at the scenery outside the window and suddenly felt that the present was no different from the past.

She had passed this exact stretch of road when she left for her exchange program abroad last year, when she traveled with Shen Jinrong two weeks ago, and now, when she was going on a business trip.

Of course, a brief year couldn’t change these physical objects, but it could drastically change a person’s state of mind. She thought that every time she passed this road, her inner feelings were different.

What difference was there between the past and the present anyway?

Sometimes, when people feel that the world has changed greatly, it might not be the scenery that changed, but the person looking at the scenery.

The corners of her mouth subconsciously curved into an arc, and she rested a hand on the window frame beside her. Her phone vibrated. She quickly looked down. She initially thought it was a message from Shen Jinrong, but instead, she saw that Yao Yao had added her to a group chat.

There were five people in the group. Yan He didn’t know the other four besides Yao Yao, but their names sounded familiar. She seemed to have heard Sister Wang mention them; they were well-known cameramen at the station.

Yao Yao tagged her in the group and asked, “Have you arrived?”

Yan He looked up at the sides, then asked the driver in front: “Master, how much longer until we arrive?”

The driver glanced at the navigation: “Less than twenty minutes, I’d say!”

Yan He replied to Yao Yao with this, and the latter sent an “OK” emoji, saying: “Great! We’re still on the way too. Let’s meet at the entrance of Terminal 2.”

Yan He then told the driver Terminal 2, and the driver casually asked, “Flying international, are you?”

Yan He acknowledged.

The car soon exited the highway. After passing the toll booth, she could clearly see several airplanes rapidly passing overhead in the distance. Some were taking off from the airport, and others were preparing to land.

At the entrance, Yan He paid the fare, pulled her suitcase, and stood at the main entrance looking around. She soon saw three or four people gathered together not far away, along with many camera equipment bags wrapped in black material.

She squinted and saw Yao Yao standing nearby. She quickly walked up and called out, “Teacher Yao.”

Yao Yao turned around in response. Seeing Yan He standing there, she smiled and waved: “Yan He, you’re here!”

Then, she introduced her to the men beside her: “This is Yan He, an intern who just joined our station. She’ll be going with us to Sperato this time.”

The colleagues greeted Yan He one after another. After they introduced themselves, Yan He had a rough idea of the situation. For this external assignment, besides her and Yao Yao, the other three were all cinematographers.

After the mutual introductions, they walked into the airport.

Before entering the main entrance, Yan He turned her head and looked around, but she didn’t see Shen Jinrong’s car. She lowered her eyes but still didn’t call Shen Jinrong. Instead, she thought that it was fine even if she didn’t come to see her off—maybe she overslept, or maybe something else came up.

She wasn’t a child; she didn’t absolutely need her older sister to see her off.

—Although she thought this, not seeing Shen Jinrong left Yan He with an empty feeling, as if a piece of something had been brutally scooped out, yet one subconsciously believed that spot was still intact, so every attempt to think or touch it would bring even greater pain.

“What are you thinking about? You look so spaced out.” Yao Yao turned around. Seeing Yan He lagging behind the team, she deliberately slowed her pace and walked beside her, patting her shoulder: “Are you nervous?”

Yan He rubbed her nose and honestly said, “A little, actually.”

“It’s okay, we don’t bite,” Yao Yao joked to comfort her, then added: “Don’t be nervous. Everyone starts out as a little novice like this.”

Seeing Yan He nod, Yao Yao checked the time and asked with a smile: “Did you have breakfast? We might not have enough time to go eat.”

Yan He said, “I ate a little something to settle my stomach.”

“Then we can go straight through security and wait at the gate,” Yao Yao gestured towards the photography equipment in front: “These things are quite valuable, so we need to process them in advance.”

Yan He nodded. As the group walked together, the large pile of photographic equipment in front attracted a lot of attention.

Yan He didn’t like being watched, but Yao Yao slapped her on the back: “Young people, stand up straight!”

When she raised her head, Yan He’s gaze subconsciously scanned the surroundings. Yao Yao saw her looking around and gained a better understanding of the situation. She asked with a smile, “Looking for someone?”

Yan He said with some embarrassment: “Ah… yes…”

“Time is a bit tight. Why don’t you make a call?”

Yan He touched the phone in her pocket, then clutched the scarf she had just taken off in her hand. She seemed to make a huge decision and said, “It’s fine.”

I’ll wait a little longer. What if… she comes?

The group prepared to queue for the security check. The line was S-shaped, winding forward. Yan He followed behind Yao Yao, constantly looking up and scanning the surroundings, but her gaze ultimately returned without settling on anything substantial.

It would be her turn soon.

Yan He thought this, taking the liquids and electronic products out of her carry-on bag. As she placed the items into the tray and pushed them into the security scanner, she suddenly let out a long sigh.

It was probably better that she didn’t come. It saved her from facing the separation.

Yan He sniffled, yet still felt wronged—Why didn’t she come to see me off? Why didn’t she call me? When I return, will everything still be the same as it is now?

“…Yan He!”

“Yan He, what are you thinking?”

She suddenly looked up. She thought she heard two voices calling her at the same time, but when she looked up, she only saw Yao Yao’s face.

“I’m fine.” Yan He shook her head, standing nearby, waiting to collect her belongings.

Was it an illusion?

Soon, she heard someone calling her again. Her phone also rang simultaneously. Yan He looked down at the caller ID: it was “Older Sister.”

She raised the phone to her ear. The moment she answered, her voice carried a tone of grievance that even she hadn’t realized: “Hello?”

And then, she saw Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong was standing not far away, wearing a coat. Her usually meticulously neat long hair seemed slightly disheveled from intense running. Yan He heard her heavy panting through the receiver, and she heard her call her name: “Yan He.”

“I was just calling you.”

“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Yan He’s eyes reddened. She smiled, but her eyes were full of tears.

Seriously.

“I waited for you for a long time too,” Yan He’s voice choked up slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Shen Jinrong said to her.

Yan He also said, “I’m sorry.”

The two “I’m sorry”s intertwined, and they both started to laugh.