"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 29

Section 1: The Heart-to-Heart on the Balcony

The night view outside the window was the same as it had been for years. Yan He  looked at the gigantic illuminated clock not far away. The color of its hands seemed to have been altered; she remembered they used to be pure black, but now they had a luminous quality. The second hand drove the minute hand forward tick by tick. Yan He knew that in less than four and a half hours, this clock would begin to chime.

It was like this every year, entirely the same every year. This clock only chimed once a year, at the boundary between New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year. The old year ends, the new one begins; year after year, peace prevails.

Yan He gripped her phone and leaned on the railing. Laughter from children drifted up from below, and occasionally, brilliant little sparks could be seen igniting. She heard the children’s excited cries: “It’s lit! It’s lit!” She leaned her head down to look and saw that each of them held a sparkler, emitting small, bright bursts of light.

Her phone vibrated again. Shen Jinrong  had sent a photo, taken from indoors, where dazzling fireworks bloomed in mid-air, captured and held by the elder sister’s camera.

Yan He thought, If only all beautiful moments could be captured by a camera. Yet, she also felt this was a childish thought; as a mature adult, one should not always dwell on the past.

“What are you thinking about?” Madam He’s voice rang out behind Yan He. She walked up to her, wrapped in a coat, and, mimicking her posture, placed her elbows on the railing, turning to smile brightly.

Yan He quietly slipped her phone into her pocket, looked at the distant night sky, exhaled a long breath, watched the white mist appear and then vanish from her lips, and slowly said, “I’m wondering if I’ll still get a New Year’s hongbao this year.”

He You  couldn’t help but smile, “Why wouldn’t you?” She changed her posture, resting one hand on her face and testing Yan He, “We’ll stop giving them to you when you get married.”

The smile on Yan He’s face froze. She thought she had concealed it well, but just like every time when she was little, Madam He saw right through her: “Of course, if you don’t want to get married, that’s fine too.” He You let out a soft sigh. Whether it was the lights across the way or the moonlight in the sky falling on her face, it was hazy, and Yan He could not clearly see her expression: “Marriage…” Madam He seemed about to say something, but was clearly not ready. Halfway through her sentence, she abruptly switched to another topic, which made her language seem stiff: “Yan He, Mom will never force you to marry. If you want to marry, just make sure you think it through. And if the person you like cannot marry you—” He You laughed, amused by her own illogical speech, “I mean, if you happen to fall for a girl, Mom will always support you.”

Yan He opened her mouth. Before she could figure out what to say, Madam He pffted and laughed, saying, “Of course, I didn’t say you like girls, you know~” Madam He winked at Yan He, a hint of mischief in her smile.

After a while, He You added, “Marriage isn’t necessary for everyone. It’s not true that everyone who marries will be happy, nor is it true that those who don’t marry are definitely unhappy.” Having said that, she imitated Yan He’s previous action, exhaling into the night air, and also saw the white mist appear quietly and rapidly disappear.

“Are you happy?” Yan He pursed her lips, asking the question that had weighed on her heart for so long—she had wanted to ask it since she was in elementary school. A child’s feelings are the most perceptive; they can sense subtle changes in the home: “Why are you telling me all this?”

He You clearly hadn’t expected to be countered by Yan He. She avoided answering Yan He’s first question and, after thinking for a long time, only answered the second one: “I want you to know that you don’t have to be bound by age or other people’s notions.”

She gave a genuine smile: “For example, the idea that one must marry and have children for life to be complete. You’ll see many relatives during the New Year, and someone is bound to ask you—Do you have a partner yet?—When do you plan to get married?—” Madam He spoke the last two sentences in an exaggerated way, imitating a notoriously gossipy relative they both knew.

Both of them laughed.

“Relatives, well—” Madam He drew out the word and patted Yan He’s shoulder, “They are just friends you’ve known since birth. If you don’t want to deal with them, just distance yourself. Your dad and I can handle them!”

Then, she raised her eyebrows and told Yan He, “That’s how it is! As long as you are happy, that’s all that matters. This is your dad’s thought too.” She paused, her voice slightly awkward and less carefree than before: “Mom and Dad will always love you.”

Just as she finished speaking, the sound of firecrackers, a crackling pī pī pā pā, drifted from somewhere in the distance. It lacked the intensity of previous years, sounding more like a muffled noise transmitted through some medium.

“Why are there firecrackers? So loud?” Grandfather Yan and Grandmother Yan also squeezed onto the balcony. Mr. Yan, standing inside the house wearing an apron and holding a spatula, stood on tiptoes but couldn’t see anything: “What is it? What happened? What happened!”

Grandfather Yan turned his head and glared at him: “Go boil your dumplings!”

Grandmother Yan laughed: “I know! It’s Elder Sister Zhao! Elder Sister Zhao’s family bought a big speaker for square dancing and said she wanted to ‘astonish the world’ today. It turns out she’s playing firecrackers through the speaker.”

Everyone laughed.

Yan He laughed along with them.

It was nearly eight o’clock. Yan He turned to look at Madam He beside her. The distant clock chimed and actually lit up in dazzling colors, seemingly replacing the fireworks of previous years.

Red and purple light fell on Madam He’s face, and she smiled gently at Yan He.

“Hurry, hurry! The dumplings are ready, the dumplings are ready!” Yan Guangming  walked out of the kitchen holding a large platter of dumplings and placed them on the dining table. “The Spring Festival Gala is starting!”

“Happy New Year.”

Amidst the crackling sound of firecrackers playing from the speaker, Yan He quietly sent a four-character voice message to the elder sister before leaving the balcony.

Happy New Year. I wish you much joy and lasting peace.  I hope you can have me in the new year.

Section 3: Shen Jinrong’s New Year’s Eve

“Oh my, my!” Grandmother Shen  saw Shen Jinrong taking a secret photo and then looking down, fiddling with her phone. She clicked her tongue twice in admiration: “Who are you chatting with?”

Shen Jinrong’s face was a little flushed. She flipped her phone face down on the table, trying to appear nonchalant: “No one. Work messages.”

“Come on, come on. It’s one thing to use ‘work messages’ to fob me off before, but today is New Year’s Eve! Don’t you feel awkward saying that yourself?” Grandmother Shen gave Shen Jinrong a side-eye, with an I’m an experienced person, don’t try to fool me expression: “Just tell me, when are you bringing this person over so I can meet them?”

Shen Jinrong replied, “It’s still up in the air.”

Grandmother Shen rolled her eyes at her again: “Your face is all red; how is it ‘up in the air’?”

Shen Jinrong refused to admit it: “You’ve turned the heater up too high.”

Grandmother Shen didn’t believe her nonsense for a second: “Didn’t you turn it up because you’re afraid of the cold? And now you’re blaming me?”

Shen Jinrong couldn’t resist her grandmother’s offensive and was about to surrender when she heard a familiar ringing—the A great river flowing wide theme song ringtone. She straightened her back and hastily said, “My phone! My phone is ringing!”

Grandmother Shen mumbled, “I’ll let you off the hook this time,” and picked up her phone: “Hello?”

“Aiya! Little Mei! Happy New Year, Happy New Year!” Grandmother Shen slapped her thigh and chatted merrily with the person on the other end.

Shen Jinrong heard the name and knew it was Tan Ning’s mother. She didn’t know how the two old ladies had become so close; she always felt her grandmother was a social butterfly who could strike up a conversation with anyone.

“Which day this year?” Grandmother Shen’s hearing was excellent: “What? The second day? The second day won’t work; I have relatives from my maternal family coming! How about the fourth day! The fourth day works!”

What do you mean the fourth day works? Shen Jinrong thought to herself, I have something planned for the fourth day!

“Aiya! You must bring Little Treasure along! Let me see if our Little Treasure has gotten cuter again! My granddaughter here won’t get married!” Grandmother Shen glanced at Shen Jinrong, full of frustration, as she spoke: “Okay! Then Jinrong and I will wait for you at home!”

Once her grandmother hung up the phone, Shen Jinrong protested: “How did I get dragged into this? I have things to do on the fourth!”

Grandmother Shen was indifferent to her refusal: “Everyone is on holiday during the New Year. What kind of ‘things’ could you possibly have to do!”

“I have an international conference on the fourth. They don’t celebrate the Spring Festival in foreign countries.”

Grandmother Shen just blinked her eyes at her.

Shen Jinrong sighed: “The fourth day is fine, but I might have to be in a meeting for a while.”

Grandmother Shen nodded, immediately pulling her to watch the Spring Festival Gala: “Look, look! The Spring Festival Gala is starting! Aiya! Is Jiang Jin (江謹) hosting again this year? That girl is just so delightful!”

Shen Jinrong glanced at her phone, which was lying face down on the table, still silent. Just as she was about to pick it up, she received a message from the young woman.

It was a voice message. Shen Jinrong glanced at her grandmother, turned the volume down, and held the phone close to her ear.

The young woman’s slightly deep voice, mixed with the sound of firecrackers, sounded next to her ear: “Happy New Year.”

Shen Jinrong smiled.

Happy New Year, little one.

I hope you’re happy and joyful in the new year, too.

Section 4: Tan Ning’s Concerns

“Little Shen isn’t coming for the New Year this year?” Madam Tan  asked casually at the New Year’s Eve dinner table. She knew Shen Jinrong and Tan Ning had a good relationship, but she hadn’t heard Tan Ning mention Shen Jinrong was coming this year.

Tan Ning had not heard anyone mention “Little Shen” in a long time. Being asked suddenly by Madam Tan, her normally impeccable, carefully considered words faltered slightly: “She has to spend time with her family, too.”

Madam Tan realized, “Ah, right, right! I heard her grandmother say that her father—sigh, she should spend more time with her grandmother.”

“Her father?” Tan Ning suddenly recalled how haggard Shen Jinrong looked when she returned at the beginning of January. When she had asked about it, Shen Jinrong only said she was tired from the flight. So that was the reason. Tan Ning couldn’t help but think back to the first time she had provided Shen Jinrong with psychological counseling—that—Tan Ning stopped her train of thought.

Although she said that, she couldn’t help but recall the post Shen Jinrong had made on her social media a few days ago, and she added, “Spending time with her partner, or something.”

Madam Tan’s eyes lit up. No wonder she had overheard Grandmother Shen mention that her granddaughter might have a partner when they talked on the phone a while ago. She hadn’t expected it to be true. She had long wanted to introduce Shen Jinrong to someone, but Tan Ning had always stopped her, saying it was too strange to introduce a partner to her former student and current colleague, so she hadn’t been able to proceed: “Little Shen is in love? Aiya! Tell Little Shen to bring her partner over to meet me sometime when she’s free!”

After saying this, she noticed the hesitation in Tan Ning’s expression and guessed: “You haven’t seen Little Shen in a long time. Are you two having a falling out?”

Tan Ning said no, but sighed in her heart.

Jinrong, let bygones be bygones. The person is no longer here; you need to forgive yourself.