"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 129

Facing the pitch-black camera lens, Yan He took a great effort to calm herself down. Her throat worked for a moment, and in the next second, her gaze met Yao Yao (Teacher Yao), who was standing beside the camera.

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) nodded encouragingly at her, signaling that she didn’t need to be nervous and that they were all there for her.

Yan He gripped the microphone, offering a slightly nervous smile to the camera.

Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang), standing nearby, looked at his wrist and began the countdown: “Attention, ten seconds until the connection… five, four, three, two, one!”

The anchor in the domestic studio said, “Alright, viewers, we are now connecting live with our station’s reporter stationed in Sperando. Hello, Yan He.”

Yan He held the microphone tightly, ensuring the station’s logo was perfectly facing the camera. Simultaneously, a line of text appeared at the bottom of the viewers’ television screens: “Intern Reporter Yan He.”

“Hello, Anchor,” Yan He quickly composed herself and began to introduce the current situation in Sperando to the domestic audience.

The epicenter was not here, so the damage in the city center was not severe. The most seriously affected place was the hotel they had previously stayed in, but because of their quick reaction, there were no casualties.

After briefly introducing the situation there, today’s interview finally came to an end. It was less than a five-minute segment, but Yan He was drenched in sweat. She could feel that her back was soaked.

When the camera was turned off, Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) walked over with a smile and patted her on the shoulder: “Well done. It was good. You didn’t lose your nerve or embarrass us.”

Yan He let out a long breath and joked with her, “You really rushed a duck onto a perch, you know.”

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) laughed and gestured toward Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang), who was on the phone: “It’s fine. Didn’t you get it done already?”

Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang), having finished his call, walked over, a smile on his face: “Tell me, what bad things was Teacher Yao saying about me?”

“None at all. Yan He can vouch for me,” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) quickly distanced herself. “We weren’t talking about you.”

“I just called. The leadership’s message is that our team has worked hard, and they are sending other colleagues to assist and they will be arriving with our country’s aid team.” Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) shrugged, not bothered. His gaze turned to Yan He, and his smile was gentle: “I’m sorry. We had planned that the work would be finished before the Lantern Festival and we could all return with honor, but we didn’t expect such an incident to happen suddenly.”

Yan He was startled by his sudden apology: “It’s alright, Teacher Wang. This is an unexpected situation.”

“So, when are they coming?” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) stretched her neck.

“They will arrive tomorrow afternoon. I’ll go tell the others. We’ll leave together tomorrow.” Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) said, with a slightly relieved smile on his face: “I haven’t been home for a long time. I’ll take your flight and go back with you this time.”

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) also smiled, the relaxed smile of someone who had survived a disaster: “Great. Go home and get some rest. I haven’t rested at home for a long time either.” Before coming to Sperando, she and her team had been following a story deep in the remote mountains. This was also a long-awaited break for her.

Yan He didn’t mind. She had just finished a short holiday before coming here, but—she did miss Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen), and she missed her parents, and she wanted to go eat hot pot with Li Xiuxi.

“Then, are you two free to do what you like? I’m going to help the locals clean up.” Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang) said this and prepared to leave.

“Hey! Old Wang! I’ll go with you!” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) called out to him.

“I’ll join you too,” Yan He quickly followed.

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) had just calmed down when she received a call from Grandma Shen. She answered the phone, and before she could speak, she heard the old lady’s anxious tone from the other end: “Oh, dear! Jinrong! Did you watch the news just now?”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) was still immersed in the nervous atmosphere from earlier. When she held the phone to her ear, she realized that her hand was still shaking.

She smiled helplessly and switched to holding the phone with her other hand.

“I think I saw Little Yan (Yan He) on the news just now, in some place—there was an earthquake there!” Grandma Shen anxiously asked: “Can you get in touch with her? How is she doing over there?”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) said, “Please don’t worry. She’s fine. Didn’t the news just report on the situation there?”

Grandma Shen was slightly relieved and said, “It’s good that she’s fine. If you can contact her, tell her to be careful over there! An earthquake is no small matter!”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) agreed: “Alright, I’ll pass it on to her.”

“Little Yan (Yan He) is not old, so why does she always run off to dangerous places!” Grandma Shen grumbled this, and then repeatedly urged Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) to make sure Yan He paid attention to safety before hanging up the phone.

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) placed the phone on the table and let out a soft laugh. After a long moment, she picked up her phone again and sent a WeChat message to Yan He: “Grandma said she saw you on the news, and she is very worried about you.”

“She asked me to check on your situation and if you are still safe.”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen)’s fingertips lingered on the phone keyboard for a long time, then she sent another message: “When you come back, Grandma will definitely want to see you very much.”

“…I always feel like you’re more like her granddaughter than I am.”

“The old lady doesn’t know you’re my girlfriend yet. What if she finds out and becomes even more partial to you?”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) herself felt that she was being too wordy. She pursed her lips, her already thin lips forming a straight line. The next sentence was revised and deleted several times, and though she hesitated to send it, she deleted it all.

“Take care of yourself and come back soon.”

“I… was also very worried about you.”

Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) took a deep breath. After realizing she had sent this overly sentimental message, she covered her face and sighed muffledly. She felt the tips of her ears were crimson, and the heat threatened to spread to her face.

She casually tossed the phone onto the sofa. If you scrolled up in the chat history, which Shen Jinrong (Professor Shen) hadn’t closed yet, you could see her continuous ramblings in the chat box with Yan He: [Old Zheng was rambling again during the meeting. He really has a lot to say.]

[I went to a newly opened barbecue place today. It was quite good. It’s charcoal barbecue, but the smell is too strong. I’ll have to take a shower when I get home.]

[The flower shop at the back gate of the school is open. I went to buy flowers, and the owner wasn’t there. Wen Yan was in charge, and she actually wanted to charge me an extra labor fee! That’s too much [Angry]]

[Hainan is really great! The air is also wonderful, but there are so many people during the Spring Festival [Troubled]]

[I miss you.]

[You recalled a message] [Yan He, when are you coming back?]

Yan He and Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) helped as much as they could along the way. They arrived at the entrance of a house that was a bit messy. She helped the woman who was cleaning up at the door lift a collapsed shelf, and the woman turned around and gave her a friendly smile.

Only then did Yan He realize that this was where she had bought her postcard on the first day they arrived. She remembered that the market was not far away. Usually, there were many people at this time, but today it was empty. Standing outside, all they could see were the shelves scattered all over the market inside.

She and Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) helped the woman tidy up some things. When the woman thanked them, Yan He smiled and said, “It’s alright. We’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

She said it in English, but she didn’t know if the woman understood. Seeing the woman look a bit hesitant, Yan He repeated it in Chinese and told her that they were Chinese.

The woman looked thoughtful, then pulled Yan He by the arm, using her hands to gesture for her to wait there for a moment. Yan He and Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) exchanged a look. Yan He asked with some hesitation, “Did she… ask me to wait here for a moment?”

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) was also unsure: “It looks like… yes?”

After a while, the woman came out, smiled warmly at the two of them, and gave them two wooden carvings of the twin towers. They looked a bit rough, as if she had carved them herself. Yan He looked at her rough hands and suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her eyes.

“Friends,” the woman pointed at them, then pointed at herself, and gave a smile. Then, she said in halting Chinese: “Thank you.”

Yan He accepted the two twin towers she offered and also said, “Thank you.” She took out her wallet from her pocket to pay, but the woman stopped her, her eyes firm: “No.”

Yan He opened her mouth. She exchanged a look with Yao Yao (Teacher Yao), and while the woman was turning around, she stuffed all the remaining money in her wallet into a basket the woman had placed at the door. The two looked at each other again, turned around, and ran.

After running a distance, Yan He looked back and saw that the woman had found the money they put in the basket and was standing at the door waving at them.

“This is why I chose to be a reporter in the first place,” Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) couldn’t run anymore and stood there, smiling at Yan He. She said breathlessly, “Helping people makes you happy.”

Yan He also smiled: “It does.”

The next day, they finished their work in Sperando ahead of schedule and drove to the airport. The plane from China had been waiting for a long time.

Yan He recognized the person leading the team, it was Sister Wang. Seeing Yan He arrive with Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) and the others, Sister Wang waved at her and smiled: “You’ve worked hard.”

Yan He also smiled: “It was a small matter.”

“Welcome home,” Sister Wang said with a smile. Behind her was the plane sent by their motherland to take them home.

“Please take care of yourself too,” Yan He shook hands with her, and they both saw the firm resolve in each other’s eyes.

Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) laughed: “Well, we are all veterans now.” She nodded towards Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang): “Your Old Wang was looking forward to going home for a reunion, and here you are.”

Sister Wang laughed heartily: “Isn’t this perfect? Husband and wife on the same mission.”

Wang Lushan (Mr. Wang), carrying his luggage, smiled helplessly and said to the colleague who was counting heads, “I’m not leaving.” He pointed in Sister Wang’s direction: “My wife is here too.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Yan He also laughed.

Before entering the cabin, she stood on the boarding stairs and, in a trance, heard a long and melodious song—the song was not a human voice, carrying the unique serenity and openness of nature.

“It’s the twin towers, isn’t it?”

Yan He asked softly. Yao Yao (Teacher Yao) nodded.

They recalled what the guide had said: hearing the voice of the twin towers meant that the city had accepted you.

Goodbye, Sperando.

I’m going home. Someone is waiting for me.