"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 122

Perhaps there are many times when a single “I’m sorry” is enough to offset all the sadness and distress, and all we lack is the courage to say those three words. Many people pass through an airport every day. They always face separation, and amidst that sorrow, if they are lucky enough, they can also hear sincere confessions between one another.

Li Xiuxi said this to Yan He when they had just left their families who came to see them off at the airport and were about to embark on a new journey. Yan He didn’t have anyone she liked then and only thought she was joking. However, some things are useless to just hear about from others; one can only truly feel the same realization when they encounter it themselves.

Just like now—Yan He still wanted to say something to Shen Jinrong, but Yao Yao patted her shoulder from behind, reminding her: “We’re running out of time. They are still waiting for us ahead.” Yan He could feel Yao Yao’s hand lingering on her shoulder without moving, which made her slightly uncomfortable.

Shen Jinrong on the other end of the phone clearly heard Yao Yao’s voice. She paused, then softly said, “Have a safe trip.”

“You too.” Yan He stared intently at her figure, as if trying to absorb all the attention she would need for the coming period while she could still see her, as if doing so would keep the person she loved by her side no matter where she was.

Shen Jinrong’s figure was slight, yet at this moment, it gave Yan He immense strength. Yan He watched her quietly. Unlike last night, she couldn’t hear Shen Jinrong’s breathing; there were only the slightly noisy human voices and the occasional broadcast announcement.

Time truly seemed to stop, just as Yan He often fantasized. When she slowed her breathing, there was always the illusion that the flow of time also slowed down. She looked at Shen Jinrong. Time at this moment was frozen at the instant of sadness in her eyes, giving Yan He enough time to properly look at her.

Even Yan He herself found it strange—why could she see her eyes so clearly? Was this an illusion or reality? She couldn’t distinguish for a moment. She slowly moved closer towards Shen Jinrong, crossing the distance of time and space. The distance between the two grew closer and closer, until finally, Yan He truly crossed the dense crowd to stand in front of Shen Jinrong. She saw Shen Jinrong’s long lashes, saw the slight redness around her eyes. She had wanted to look closely at Shen Jinrong for a long time, but since leaving Bolzano, she hadn’t had such an opportunity.

She wanted to reach out and touch Shen Jinrong, but the moment her hand extended, she pulled it back as if she had received an electric shock—a voice vaguely warned her in her mind—”Don’t touch, don’t break this moment.”

But Yan He ultimately reached out. Just as she was about to touch Shen Jinrong, the illusion turned into reality. She was still standing where she was, still separated from her by a multitude of people. But she could hear Shen Jinrong’s voice on the phone. By purposely turning the volume up to maximum, it felt like Shen Jinrong was speaking right next to her ear.

“I’m leaving. You take good care of your… colleagues.”

Yan He wondered if she had misheard. Why did she feel like Shen Jinrong had a strange tone when she said the word “colleagues,” as if she had ground it out between her back teeth?

“Okay.”

They finally hung up the phone. Yan He sat blankly at the boarding gate, clutching her phone tightly.

Yao Yao saw through the situation but didn’t mention it. A large hiking backpack separated the two of them. After chatting with the cameramen next to her, she suddenly turned to Yan He and asked, “Still nervous?” She made no mention of what had just transpired between Yan He and Shen Jinrong.

Yan He was grateful that she hadn’t exposed their private matter. It wasn’t that she worried about her colleagues finding out, but rather that she worried about what impact this might have on Shen Jinrong in the future.

She nodded slightly, clasping her hands together, looking somewhat uneasy.

“It’s inevitable,” Yao Yao said in a relaxed tone: “I was probably a bit older than you, maybe two or three years after graduation, when I went on my first external assignment. I was nervous then too! Don’t worry.”

The cameramen nearby heard their conversation and turned around, kindly saying to Yan He, “Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous.”

“It’s all small stuff. We’re just going for field work.”

Yan He smiled gratefully.

They were traveling to a small neighboring country. Sperato was not a tourist city; hardly anyone went there, and there was usually only one flight a day to that location.

Most of the passengers on the plane were traveling on official business; few chose to go there for tourism. The local area had no particularly famous sights, but it was located in the Middle East, with mountains and sea, and had a glorious history—which was the main focus of their assignment this time.

They would be flying for eight hours, landing in the capital of Sperato. The captain seemed to have announced the name over the broadcast just now, but Yan He clearly hadn’t listened carefully. She turned to look out the window. Her phone connected to the plane’s WiFi, and messages from Ms. He and Mr. Yan popped up: “Have you taken off?”

“Yeah, did you eat breakfast?”

“About when will you arrive?”

“How are things with your new colleagues?”

Watching the barrage of questions from her parents, Yan He smiled helplessly. After replying carefully to each one, she opened Moments and saw that Shen Jinrong had posted a photo—it was the airport morning, the sky just now. She had only photographed the sky. Yan He could see the familiar clouds in the slightly golden-yellow blue sky in the picture. Now, she looked out the porthole, and it was indeed the same cloud formation beside her. Yan He hesitated for a moment and gave her post a ‘like.’

The long flight was tiring and dull. This plane was not a large passenger aircraft flying to other popular cities. She sat by the window, bored, looking outside. Sometimes, she would feel the fuselage tilting a little.

After eating the airplane meal and sleeping for a while, the plane arrived at its destination. As soon as it landed, Yan He opened her eyes. Yao Yao, sitting to her right, leaned over: “We’ve arrived. Wake up. Let’s tidy up and prepare to deplane.”

The plane wasn’t heavily booked. Yan He retrieved her carry-on luggage from above. Having just woken up, she was still a bit confused and could only follow the group of seniors with her small carry-on suitcase. After queuing to exit the plane, the sea breeze hit her face.

Sperato’s airport was near the sea, so the air naturally carried the scent of the ocean breeze. Yan He took a few deep breaths, and her mind gradually cleared.

“The colleagues meeting us should be waiting at the entrance, right?” she heard Yao Yao and a cameraman discussing in low voices ahead.

“They should be at the exit.” The cameraman quickened his pace: “We’ll go get the equipment first.”

Those things were valuable.

“Then you guys go on ahead and wait. Yan He and I will follow slowly.” Yao Yao slowed her pace. She looked back at Yan He and walked beside her: “A colleague will come to pick us up. He’s an older guy who has lived locally for almost ten years.”

As she spoke, perhaps worried that Yan He wouldn’t understand, she smiled and said, “Everyone has their own preferences. Some people like bustling cities, and others prefer small countries by the sea.”

Yan He nodded, half-understanding.

Sperato was close to the tropics. Even in late December, it was warmer than back home. Yan He took off her heavy coat and carried it, wearing only a hoodie underneath.

“It’s definitely a bit warm,” Yao Yao said to her with a smile: “All the best with your work.”

All the best with my work.

Yan He said the same to herself inwardly.

Shen Jinrong opened her phone and saw a red icon ① added to her WeChat Moments. She raised an eyebrow. Seeing Yan He’s profile picture, her heart settled. Seeing the smile on Shen Jinrong’s lips, Tan Ning teased: “Oh, our Professor Shen has met with some good news.”

Shen Jinrong put away her phone and gave an exasperated smile to her grandmother and Tan Ning: “No.”

“What’s wrong? You don’t look very happy,” Tan Ning and Shen Jinrong walked outside after Granny Shen fell asleep. Tan Ning asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean…” Shen Jinrong offered another helpless smile. At this point, even her eyes carried a hint of hesitation.

If Shen Jinrong said she was fine, it usually meant she wasn’t.

Tan Ning knew her too well. She blinked and asked softly, “So, what is it?”

Shen Jinrong hesitated for a long time. Before speaking, she furtively looked around, and only after confirming no one was near did she lower her voice: “Do you think… feeling unhappy when seeing the person you like being touched on the shoulder by someone else, is that too…”

Shen Jinrong felt a little embarrassed. She thought she was being petty. Otherwise, why would she feel uncomfortable seeing Yan He’s colleague place a hand on her shoulder? She carefully considered her words, trying to find an appropriate term to describe her feeling, but before she could say it, Tan Ning laughed knowingly.

“Oh—I understand. Is our Professor Shen jealous?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Jealous of what?”

Hearing Tan Ning say that, Shen Jinrong was first stunned, then instinctively denied it. Jealous? That word was too foreign to Shen Jinrong; she had almost never experienced that emotion.

“Yes, exactly. Isn’t that jealousy?” Tan Ning recalled Yan He being jealous of her. She thought, These two really deserve to be a couple; even their fits of jealousy are exactly the same.

But she didn’t tell Shen Jinrong that she knew about her and Yan He. To avoid embarrassing Shen Jinrong, Tan Ning cleared her throat and continued, “When you see her having contact with others, you feel unhappy in your heart. What is that if not jealousy?”

Of course, in addition to jealousy, there is also envy. Envy that the other person can touch the one you can’t reach.

Tan Ning thought silently to herself.

Shen Jinrong’s face was slightly flushed: “No way…” Hearing Tan Ning’s explanation, her first thought was to deny it—but she had to admit that Tan Ning was right.

Aren’t you jealous?

Aren’t you envious that someone else can walk with Yan He?

Shen Jinrong took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and ultimately just let out a long sigh.