"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 20

Yan He  remembered that her scarf was actually Elder Sister’s, and just as she was about to explain, she heard the Grandma  mutter to herself: “I guess people with similar tastes are good people.”

Yan He thought of Elder Sister  and nodded firmly: “That must be true.”

The Grandma chuckled: “You look a bit like my granddaughter when she was young, but you’re much more cheerful than she was back then!”

“Your granddaughter is lucky to have such a good Grandma.” Thinking of her own Grandmother, Yan He’s steps were lighter. She had spent some time with her grandparents when she was very young, and those were still beautiful memories.

The Grandma shook her head, though: “Her good fortune is all due to her own efforts.” At this, the Grandma’s slightly downcast mood eased a bit: “Oh well! Let’s not talk about that! Child, are you a university student?”

Yan He nodded: “Yes, I study nearby.”

The Grandma raised an eyebrow, about to say something, but changed her mind and asked her: “What year are you in?”

“Third year. I’m about to start my internship,” Yan He smiled softly: “The internship place isn’t too far from home.”

“That’s wonderful. Young people these days are amazing,” the Grandma patted her shoulder, smiling broadly: “Alright, wait for me here for a moment! I’ll go inside and get the money.”

Yan He held up the bag in her hand: “Your fish!”

“You hold it for now!” The Grandma looked back at her and laughed: “This child, aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with the fish?”

Yan He gave an awkward smile.

The old Grandma’s residence seemed to be some kind of family compound. The guards at the gate didn’t look like they had ordinary backgrounds. Right across the road from the main gate was a café. Standing by the busy roadside, holding a red plastic bag full of water, Yan He felt a bit embarrassed and hid her face further into the scarf.

After a while, the old Grandma returned. The old woman was very sturdy and walked briskly. She quickly walked over to Yan He, pulled a small cloth purse from her pocket, opened it layer by layer, counted out the money, and handed it to Yan He. Only then did she take the fish from her hand.

“Thank you, little girl!” The Grandma said, smiling: “There aren’t many kind people these days.”

Yan He opened her mouth, intending to say thank you for complimenting the scarf. But on second thought, that might sound too deliberate, so she just smiled gently, said “You’re welcome,” and turned to leave.

The Lunar New Year was approaching. The day before the school holiday started, Yan He finally finished writing all the drafts. She read through them a few times, felt there were no issues, and was satisfied with this news article—one of the few she had ever written that felt excellent in its first draft.

Yan He read the entire article several times, then sent it to Li Xiuxia to help check for typos or awkward sentences.

Li Xiuxia was slightly impatient: “Come on—Elder Sister! How much more do you want to revise it? You’ve read it so many times. I think it’s great. What am I, a business student, going to spot?”

Yan He shamelessly asked her to check anyway: “Professor Shen is a professor in your faculty, right! Maybe all you business students have something in common.”

Li Xiuxia clicked her tongue. Yan He sent a flattering emoji; she could almost picture Li Xiuxia rolling her eyes in exasperation. Li Xiuxia still agreed to help Yan He. After a while, she sent a message: “No problems, send it.”

Yan He was still uneasy, so she also sent it to Yu Ke for a professional’s confirmation. After getting the nod, she clicked ‘Search Friend’ again. Facing the page she had looked at countless times, she finally pressed the “Add to Contacts” button.

She hesitated for a long time, finally writing in the self-introduction field: “Yan He, student from the Journalism Department, the student who wrote your news article.”

Comically, whether from nervousness or being too warm, her hand slipped twice and she failed to hit Send. She had to rub her palm on her pants before successfully tapping the button.

After sending the friend request, she didn’t want to do anything else, as if the only remaining event in her life was waiting for Elder Sister’s reply. Yan He put her phone, screen off, on the table and sat staring intently at it. She suddenly wanted to laugh, finding her posture of ‘standing ready’ a bit strange, but when she thought it was for Elder Sister, she felt any form of ‘standing ready’ was justified.

Did she see it? At this hour… she wouldn’t be teaching, would she?

Yan He looked up at the wall clock. The second hand moved slowly, tick by tick. She tried to create a tiny connection with the person she loved through the small screen in front of her. The wait was long, yet joyful and sweet. Fantasies flashed through Yan He’s mind: What should I chat about after adding Elder Sister? What should the first sentence be? An introduction? Or should I just send the draft and say, in a businesslike manner, ‘Professor, this is the article I wrote. Please review‘?

Sometimes she thought that humans were so complex and contradictory. On the one hand, they said phones stretched the distance between people, yet how many could only contact the person they liked through a small phone?

Unrequited love is like an iced Americano with a tiny bit of sugar added. The sugar hasn’t fully dissolved at the bottom of the cup. First comes the bitterness, then the sourness, and only at the very end is there a hint of sweetness. The ice cubes slowly melt, cool upon entering the mouth, yet requiring body temperature to warm them up. When it reaches the heart, it becomes boundless heat.

A minute has passed… Did Elder Sister not see it? Or does she not want to add me?

Yan He curled up on the chair, feeling a bit downcast. Her heartbeat gradually returned to normal. Extreme excitement was always followed by baseless self-doubt: Is Elder Sister trying to distance herself from me? Was the kiss in Vienna just a dream? But Elder Sister gave me her scarf!

Yan He had random thoughts: We could hug and kiss when we were strangers, but now that we know each other, we can’t?

Before she could generate more terrible thoughts, the phone screen lit up.

The phone alarm rang twice; it was time for dinner. Tan Ning (譚寧) let out a long breath, gathered her things, and picked up her bag, ready to go home. She walked past an office door and saw someone still hunched over their work inside. She suddenly felt the person looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Shen Jinrong. Tan Ning suddenly remembered that Shen Jinrong was indeed in this office.

My memory is failing me.

Tan Ning patted her head, walked over to knock, and leaned against the door, asking with a smile: “Professor Shen, why haven’t you gone to eat yet?”

Shen Jinrong heard the familiar voice, looked up, and saw Tan Ning standing at the door. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes. She then pointed to her desk and said helplessly: “The work isn’t finished yet.”

Seeing that Shen Jinrong’s office was empty, Tan Ning draped her coat over her arm and stepped inside. Seeing Shen Jinrong’s desk cluttered with various files, she smiled warmly: “I thought your research project was completed ages ago?”

Shen Jinrong stretched: “It is, just a little bit of wrap-up work left.”

“Just hand it over to your students,” Tan Ning shook her head, casually seating herself on Shen Jinrong’s desk. She crossed her arms and looked at the shadows under Shen Jinrong’s eyes, feeling she didn’t need to push herself so hard: “There’s no need to work so fiercely.”

Shen Jinrong hesitated. She wanted to say that her heart was in turmoil and she could only use work to numb herself. But as the words reached her lips, and her eyes met Tan Ning’s gaze, which seemed to see through everything, a rebellious feeling suddenly rose in her heart. She just said: “Professor Meng’s students are overwhelmed, so I’m helping to process some data.”

She knew Tan Ning wouldn’t press further. Tan Ning had always been like this—understanding and good at guessing intentions. Shen Jinrong didn’t like her guessing her intentions.

“I see. Why don’t you take a break and go eat first?” Tan Ning picked up the pen in Shen Jinrong’s hand, looking down at her. All her actions were familiar and natural. The more composed she was, the more irritated Shen Jinrong felt.

Shen Jinrong suddenly thought of that young woman, the one who tried to act calm when talking to her even though her face was blushing with confusion, the one who instinctively wanted to pull away when Shen Jinrong got close.

“No, thanks.” Shen Jinrong refused directly: “I need to go home later to see my Grandmother.”

“Is that so?” Tan Ning nodded, her face still bearing an impeccable smile: “How is the old lady doing lately?”

“Quite well,” Shen Jinrong smiled at her, but it was just a smile, nothing more: “Why don’t you go first? I’ll be done here in a minute.”

“Alright.” Tan Ning agreed. When she reached the door, she slapped her head and turned back, giving a helpless smile and reminding her: “Ah, baby brain for three years. I keep forgetting things lately. I haven’t congratulated you on getting into the ‘Ten Thousand Talents Program’ yet!”

Hearing those four familiar words, Shen Jinrong felt a moment of realization again. The last time she heard those four words was from the young woman. With the end of the year approaching, many tasks couldn’t be postponed, and she had been so busy with work that she had completely forgotten about it. I wonder how the young woman’s draft turned out?

“Thank you,” Shen Jinrong nodded, expressing her gratitude.

Tan Ning’s smile was somewhat stiff: “I feel like you’ve become much more formal since you came back from abroad.”

Shen Jinrong smiled faintly: “Is that so? Perhaps. The general environment over there is like that; everyone is a bit more polite.”

Tan Ning opened her mouth, but the words didn’t come out. She nodded lightly to Shen Jinrong and closed the door behind her as she turned to leave.

“Hello? Grandma.” Shen Jinrong was staring blankly at the door when her phone rang. She answered the call.

“I’m still at school! I’m heading back now.” Hearing the urging voice on the other end, Shen Jinrong picked up her phone and stood up. She looked at her messy desk for two seconds and gave up on tidying it. She reached for her coat hanging on the rack by the door, putting it on while responding: “Yes, I’ll be careful.”

“Okay, I’ll be home in about twenty minutes! You should eat first if you’re hungry.”

Shen Jinrong let out a long breath. Before opening the door, she hesitated for a moment, worried she might run into Tan Ning, but the hallway was empty.

Shen Jinrong suddenly realized that her attention to Tan Ning, consistent for years, had long degenerated from affection into habit. She had actually stopped having romantic thoughts about her years ago, but the subconscious focus was not something that could be changed instantly.

She shook her head, tucking the unruly strands of hair behind her ear.

The weather was clear, and sunlight streamed in through the hallway window. Shen Jinrong stepped onto the patches of light on the floor and walked slowly forward.