"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 23

The restaurant they were meeting at was in the High-Tech Zone. Yan He’s ( home was closer to the city center, so she took a forty-minute bus ride to get there. This area was newly developed and quite deserted. Although the buildings were up, not many shops had opened yet.

The scheduled time was 7:00 PM. Worried about being late, Yan He had left home an hour and a half early, which meant she was way too early. A large, unfinished building stood nearby, and even across the road, she could clearly see the red background with yellow characters reading “Completion of the Structure” on its top.

Yan He only brought her phone and carried a paper bag containing Elder Sister’s  scarf, freshly cleaned from the dry cleaner.

About three hours earlier, Li Xiuxia, who had been called in for consultation, had sprawled on Yan He’s sofa, agonizing while suggesting that Yan He not return the scarf this time to create an opportunity for another meeting. But Yan He felt that was wrong; it seemed too calculating.

Li Xiuxia rolled her eyes in exasperation: “How does love happen? Love is calculating! You create ‘accidental’ encounters! You create opportunities!” Li Xiuxia finally understood why Yan He was still single.

Following the advice of the social butterfly Li Xiuxia, Yan He dabbed a tiny bit of perfume on her wrists and behind her ears. The perfume was Li Xiuxia’s, with a large white bear head on the bottle. It smelled like apples that had just ripened after a heavy downpour in early summer, imbued with a faint, misty water vapor.

But it was still too cold.

To the right of the bus stop was a cake shop with a few tables and chairs inside. Yan He walked toward it. As she reached the entrance, the cake shop’s neon light suddenly flashed on, perhaps because dusk was falling.

She jumped in surprise, then turned around, looking up slightly at the sky. As the sun set, it hid behind the clouds, only tinting the nearby clouds gold and red. Large masses of clouds broke apart, revealing the azure sky. The sunset glow enveloped the unfinished building she had just seen, transforming the colorful scene into black and gray shadows.

“Tiramisu, to go.” There weren’t many cakes in the glass counter. Yan He randomly picked one, packaged it, paid, and then sat down at a window seat to wait.

She occasionally looked up at the window. The bustle of the city center didn’t quite blend with this area. Outside was a parking lot marked with white lines, neatly holding a few cars. Further away was the green belt bordering the road. The originally golden sunset was gradually dimming, casting a shadow on the greenery and transforming the fresh emerald into a deep, dark green.

The chair was a bit hard, so Yan He shifted her posture. She looked down at her wrist watch: 6:28 PM. Thirty-two minutes left. The second hand moved tick-by-tick, slowly nudging the minute hand forward.

Will time pass faster if I watch the clock? Yan He didn’t know, but she felt as if she had grasped time in an instant. What did this waiting time mean? It meant fantasizing about what was about to happen, it meant a future that hadn’t yet been decided.

Elder Sister…

Yan He lowered her head to her phone. She vaguely remembered that Ms. He and Mr. Yan were both attending meetings and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night. She suddenly thought of something and started fumbling for her keys—a minute later, the desperate Little Yan gave up.

She always kept her keys in the outer pocket of her backpack. She hadn’t brought her backpack today for the sake of looking nice and had forgotten to take the keys out.

What a mess! Yan He rubbed her hair. She thought about crashing at Li Xiuxia’s place for the night, but then remembered Li Xiuxia had said she was spending the evening with her girlfriend. Yu Ke? Yan He felt she wasn’t that close with Yu Ke. In the end, she simply gave up on borrowing a friend’s place. She could just stay at a hotel for the night.

Yan He sighed, propping her head up, staring blankly at the cake box in front of her.

Someone tapped on the window beside her. Yan He didn’t pay attention; she was busy thinking about where to buy a phone charger tonight. But the person outside tapped the window again. Yan He finally came back to herself. She turned her head in confusion and saw Elder Sister, dressed in black, tilting her head and smiling at her.

The restaurant looked like a Cantonese (Yue) cuisine establishment, with a slightly Hong Kong-style ambiance. Neat rows of black ceiling lights hung from the ceiling, casting a cool glow, yet the walls were warm-toned, adding a touch of coziness to the environment. It wasn’t yet peak dining time, and only two or three tables were scattered across the moderately-sized restaurant.

“Two.” Shen Jinrong gave a slight nod to the server at the door, led Yan He into the restaurant, and found a table near the side.

Yan He noticed that Elder Sister also preferred to sit at the side, just like her. She always felt exposed when sitting in the middle of a hall.

The server placed the menus on their table and poured two glasses of lemon water.

“This area is newly developed, so parking is limited; it was hard to find a spot.” The restaurant’s heating was quite strong. Shen Jinrong smiled at her, took off her jacket, and draped it casually over the back of the chair beside her.

Her tone was halfway between a complaint and a playful demand. Yan He liked this tone; it seemed to unintentionally close the distance between them. This wasn’t the business-like Professor Shen she had seen while substituting for Li Xiuxia’s class, but the gentle Elder Sister sitting opposite her.

“Is this place too far?” Shen Jinrong lowered her gaze to adjust the thin watch on her left wrist. Her voice was soft, and the end of her question had a slightly upward inflection, which made Yan He’s heart flutter.

“Not really,” Yan He heard herself say. But the words had barely left her mouth when she regretted it—Was two words too cold? I should have continued Elder Sister’s topic! I should have been smarter!

She looked up, gazing at Shen Jinrong. A moment later, she felt it was impolite to stare at Elder Sister’s face, so she shifted her gaze, letting it fall upon the tiny pearl in Elder Sister’s ear. Unlike the blue-purple-tinged pearl from their first meeting, this pearl’s luster was soft and gentle, much like Elder Sister’s smile.

The next moment, she met Elder Sister’s eyes. In those bright, dark pupils, Yan He realized she was already powerless to control her gaze or her words.

Shen Jinrong took a sip of lemon water and smiled, handing the menu across the table to her: “Thank you for the draft. It’s excellent and very professional.”

Yan He felt embarrassed: “I’m a Journalism major, after all!”

“I remember. You’re in your third year?”

“Yes, I’ll be interning in my fourth year soon.”

Shen Jinrong nodded. The light from the ceiling fixture seemed to be entirely absorbed into her eyes. Perhaps noticing the intensity in Yan He’s gaze, she subtly lowered her eyes, deliberately avoiding Yan He’s fervent stare under the pretense of reaching for her water. Because of this, she missed the momentary disappointment in Yan He’s eyes when she lowered her gaze.

“Have you found an internship yet?” Shen Jinrong started another topic. As she spoke, she looked up from the menu, as if silently enchanting Yan He.

Yan He nodded vigorously, her tone involuntarily carrying a hint of pride meant for Elder Sister: “I’ve already found one! I’m going to CCTV!”

“That’s very impressive, Little One.” Shen Jinrong smiled, fine lines appearing faintly at the corners of her eyes. She asked: “What would you like to eat? The food here is quite light.”

Yan He quickly lowered her head to look at the menu. Having little experience, she briefly panicked but quickly decided on the dishes.

Shen Jinrong raised her hand to call the waiter. As her left arm lifted, her sleeve slightly slipped down, and her watch slid away from its original position because her wrist was so slender—Yan He was sure—she was absolutely certain that even though Elder Sister quickly drew her hand back and adjusted the watch as if nothing happened, she had seen something—it was a scar, a thin, deep scar that ran almost entirely across the inner side of Elder Sister’s left wrist.

Yan He’s body began to tremble.