"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 33

“Is your friend really such a heavy drinker?” Li Xiuxi’s girlfriend secretly leaned close to Li Xiuxi and asked her, seeing the way Yan He was drinking.

She had heard of Yan He—the belle of the Journalism Department! By the time they reached junior year, almost the entire school recognized her face. Although she had heard of Yan He, she never knew this person could drink so much. She was downing bottles of RIO like water. Although the alcohol content was low, it was still alcohol, after all!

Li Xiuxi noticed Yan He quietly drinking bottle after bottle, paying no attention to them, and whispered to her girlfriend, “She got provoked. It’s fine; she’ll stop after a while. She can’t hold her liquor well.”

Li Xiuxi knew a little bit about Yan He’s alcohol tolerance. Although she had rarely drunk with Yan He, she had heard Yan He mention that she was not a good drinker.

In any case, Li Xiuxi never expected her tolerance to be this bad. Is it possible that a person like Yan He—who gets drunk simply drinking a 3.5% cocktail—actually exists in this world? Li Xiuxi, whose own capacity was limitless, thought to herself.

Li Xiuxi’s girlfriend blinked, sensing something was wrong due to the huge contrast between the polite Yan He who left and the dejected Yan He who returned. She asked, “Weren’t you two just out buying hotpot ingredients? Did you run into anyone?” She mouthed the words: “Ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes, we did run into someone.” Li Xiuxi worried when she thought about the encounter with Tan Ning and Shen Jinrong, especially recalling the move Tan Ning made to brush something off Shen Jinrong’s shoulder. She felt that Tan Ning was suspicious. Although Shen Jinrong had dodged slightly, still—things hadn’t even started between her good friend and Professor Shen. They had kissed, but they hadn’t established a relationship, right? She couldn’t tell her girlfriend about this, so she just said, “It’s fine, she’ll get over it after worrying for a bit.”

Thus, the two sat there, watching Yan He drink in silence.

The hotpot sat on the table, steaming with misty heat. Li Xiuxi turned the heat down low, worried that her own pork brain would be boiled to pieces. She held her girlfriend’s hand, watching the steam from the hotpot shoot straight up to the ceiling.

Li Xiuxi sighed inwardly, thinking, Maybe we should eat hotpot less often at home in the future. What if the ceiling paint peels off one day? That would be disastrous.

Yan He sat across from them, opening one cocktail bottle after another. She poured the colorful liquor into her cup and then downed it in one gulp. The ice-cold liquor, mixed with tiny bubbles, burst on her tongue, cool and refreshing, slightly reducing the heat in her mouth.

However, trying to calm down by drinking was like trying to stop boiling water by stirring it. The heat emerged from her stomach, rushed to her heart, and spread throughout her limbs. The feeling of being drunk was uncomfortable; her brain temporarily lost its ability to think, leaving only completely subconscious actions.

“Tell me, what exactly is their relationship?” Yan He pouted, her cheeks flushed scarlet, her voice full of distress, like a wronged puppy seeing its owner pet another dog.

Her left hand rested on the table, her right hand gripped her cup, and she hung her head dejectedly. Fine beads of water condensed on the outside of the cup due to the cold liquid inside. Yan He rubbed the cup wall with her thumb, staring intently at her phone lying nearby.

She had just sent ‘Jiejie’ (Elder Sister) a photo of the hotpot, but Jiejie hadn’t replied to her yet. Did she not see it, or does she not want to reply?

Li Xiuxi sighed, “Didn’t I tell you? You can ask her yourself.” She paused, then added, “Instead of me trying to counsel you here and suggesting various possibilities, why don’t you just ask her, straight up?”

Yan He’s eyes lit up. She drank the last drop of liquor in her cup, set the glass down, and, reaching for her phone, agreed with Li Xiuxi, “Yes, yes, yes! You are right!”

She must message Jiejie on WeChat and ask clearly what the relationship between her and Tan Ning truly was! She was definitely not jealous!

Li Xiuxi didn’t realize what she was about to do when she saw her grab her phone. Li Xiuxi was dipping a slice of tripe with her chopsticks, but then she saw Yan He hunched over her phone, typing away. She would type two characters, pause to think, and then continue typing.

Her eyes widened. Looking at Yan He’s serious expression, she suddenly realized what was happening: “You’re not asking her right now, are you?”

Yan He wrinkled her nose, not feeling that there was anything wrong with her actions right now, and admitted cheerfully, “Yes.”

“Wocao! No, no, no! Wait until you’re sober to ask—” Li Xiuxi said, reaching to grab Yan He’s phone. This person was drunk now, and there was no telling what kind of message she might send to Professor Shen! She might regret it once she sobered up!

“It’s already been sent!” Yan He’s eyes sparkled. She held up her phone, proud like a child who had done something good and was demanding praise. She emphasized: “I’ve already sent it!”

Li Xiuxi slapped her forehead in annoyance, leaned on her girlfriend’s shoulder, and covered her face, saying, “I’m finished…”

Her girlfriend also sighed, “You shouldn’t send messages when you’re drunk… you’ll regret it when you sober up.”

Yan He fiddled with her phone, staring blankly at the chat screen for a long time without receiving a reply from Jiejie. She looked up pitifully, like a puppy abandoned on the roadside: “She’s ignoring me.”

“Why is Jiejie ignoring me?”

Yan He sniffled, hanging her head, feeling very unsettled. She thought, Is Jiejie with Tan Ning right now? Is that why she doesn’t have time to reply to my message?

The feeling of grievance seemed to self-replicate, gradually enveloping her heart. It was like a downpour, the humid air saturated with sadness. There was struggle, hesitation, the worry that her inquiry would turn into a disturbance, and the dread of an unknown reply.

Love was always like this: happy at times, always hesitant, and often lost.

The young woman felt more and more wronged the more she thought about it, so she simply picked up her chopsticks and began to eat the hotpot in a retaliatory frenzy, moving so fast that her chopsticks created blurry trails.

“Wocao! Yan He!” Li Xiuxi saw her eating faster and faster and realized something was wrong: “Eat slower, damn it!”

Li Xiuxi was extremely regretful, thinking, I shouldn’t have bought alcohol for the atmosphere today. Why drink at all? Given Yan He’s terrible alcohol tolerance, only Shen Jinrong would be willing to drink with her.

Yan He protected her bowl, feeling even more wronged: “Mind your own business! Are you not even letting me eat?”

Li Xiuxi gave her a look of disappointment, then turned to her girlfriend for a hug: “Honey, I don’t want to talk to a drunk person anymore.”

Her girlfriend smiled and hugged her, whispering in comfort, “Alright, alright, we won’t drink next time.”

Yan He watched them enviously, picked up her phone, and sent another message to Jiejie: “Jiejie, I want a hug.”

Shen Jinrong saw the message twenty minutes later. Looking at the messages sent by the young woman, Shen Jinrong seemed to sense her tentative and cautious tone.

She rubbed the edge of her phone case. For some reason, the image of the young woman’s slightly red eyes flashed in her mind, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the wind or from being wronged.

She was like an injured young beast, cautiously gazing into her eyes, every movement asking, Why won’t you take me home?

With that thought, she sighed, turned off silent mode, and sent a message to the young woman: “Where are you?”

She waited for a moment, but the young woman did not reply. Shen Jinrong stood up and left the room, seeing Tan Ning and Tan Mu (Tan’s Mother) still chatting with Shen Nainai (Grandmother Shen). The three sat on the sofa, smiling cheerfully, while the baby slept soundly in the stroller.

Seeing Shen Jinrong emerge, Shen Nainai smiled and waved her over, saying, “Are you finally done with the meeting? Come, come! We’re discussing where to spend the New Year next year. What do you think about Sanya next year?”

“That’s nice.”

Although Shen Jinrong said this, she thought internally that it was a matter for next year, and who knew what arrangements there would be by then? Furthermore—she recalled the rumor she had just heard and couldn’t help but look at Tan Ning a few extra times, hesitating in her heart whether or not to tell Tan Ning about it. If it were true, the stability of Tan Ning’s family might genuinely be uncertain.

Shen Jinrong still didn’t say anything. Rumors were not necessarily true, and even if it were true, it shouldn’t be her place to tell Tan Ning.

“Are you going out?” Tan Ning asked, seeing her look down at her phone as if waiting for someone to reply.

Shen Jinrong nodded, her tone flat and emotionless: “I have something to take care of, so I’m heading out for a bit.”

Shen Nainai frowned and glared at her: “Your aunt and Ningning finally came over with the child; why are you running out during the New Year holiday!”

Shen Jinrong offered an apologetic smile and said, “I’ll be back very soon; something came up with the university.”

Tan Mu quickly said, “Oh my! The children have their own careers! Let’s not make trouble for them. Rongrong, you go quickly!”

Shen Jinrong smiled and nodded, apologized again, then took a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Tan Ning: “New Year money for the child.”

Tan Ning refused to take it: “Grandmother already gave one.”

Shen Nainai snorted: “Just take it. What I gave is mine, and what she gave is hers.”

Shen Jinrong smiled apologetically and apologized once more. She hesitated by the coat rack near the door for a moment, finally choosing to put on her less warm overcoat.

Seeing her put on her coat and walk out with her car keys, Tan Ning waved and tentatively asked, “See you when the university reopens?”

Shen Jinrong smiled, pursed her lips, and nodded: “See you at the university.

There were no parking spaces in Shen Nainai’s residential complex, so Shen Jinrong parked her car on the roadside outside. As she sat in the car and turned on the heater with her cold fingertips, she suddenly felt strange.

—Did I rush out here just because of a single sentence from the young woman?

The warm air blew strongly. Even the ordinarily imperceptible sound of the wind was too obvious in the current silence. The street remained desolate. Even with the large red lanterns hung on the streetlights and shops on both sides, the area was still cold and deserted.

However, there were many more pedestrians than when she came out at noon, mostly families with children, like many children who had already received their New Year money and were nagging their parents to go out and play.

A scene of harmonious joy.

Shen Jinrong lowered her eyes. Her phone chimed. She saw that the young woman had sent an address nearby. She fastened her seatbelt and started the car.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“She really said she’s coming to pick you up?” Li Xiuxi asked suspiciously, looking at the flushed face of Yan He. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe her, but anything Yan He said in her current drunken state was simply unreliable.

“Really, really!” Seeing her disbelief, Yan He deliberately held her phone close to Li Xiuxi’s face to show her, proud and secretly delighted, like a child showing off her favorite toy: “Look! She said ten minutes!”

Having drunk alcohol, Yan He could barely control her body, and even her walking was unsteady. She wanted Li Xiuxi to see, yet she didn’t want her to see, nearly shoving the phone into Li Xiuxi’s face. The latter squinted, only making out the three characters for “ten minutes.”

“Then go down by yourself? We won’t walk you out. Can you manage on your own?” Li Xiuxi shrugged at her girlfriend, looking helpless.

She didn’t want to see Professor Shen again. Seeing a teacher once during the New Year holiday was enough.

Yan He rushed happily to put on her coat, joy visible in her eyes and brows: “I’m going down now!” Her voice was urgent. Under the influence of overwhelming happiness, even the negative effects of her drunkenness seemed to vanish, and her limbs moved with perfect coordination.

Five minutes later, Li Xiuxi and her girlfriend stood by the window, silently watching Yan He standing downstairs. Her girlfriend asked hesitantly, “Is it really okay to let Yan He stand there alone?”

Li Xiuxi waved her hand: “Yan He knows what she’s doing.” What could happen? Professor Shen is almost here anyway.

“…But she’s drunk, isn’t she?” Her girlfriend’s tone became even more hesitant.

Li Xiuxi was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

That’s right. The sober Yan He knows what she’s doing, but the drunk Yan He has no idea at all! Thinking of Yan He sending messages in her intoxicated state, Li Xiuxi was extremely worried for the approaching Professor Shen.

—I wonder how Professor Shen managed her last time Yan He got drunk at night.

…Seriously, she was really curious.

“It’s fine, I know the person who’s coming to pick her up.” Li Xiuxi tried to use an understated tone to hide her inner surprise.

“That’s good then,” her girlfriend sighed in relief: “We’ll watch Yan He leave, and then we’ll go back to clean up the room.”

Li Xiuxi nodded, thinking, It’s more than just knowing them. I still have to struggle to get a passing grade from the person coming to pick up Yan He.

The wind howled furiously. Yan He, wrapped in her overcoat, stood downstairs shivering. The wind blew over her without mercy, yet it managed to dissipate some of her drunkenness. As the heat in her heart slightly receded, coldness gradually enveloped her. Yan He began to hesitate internally: Saying this during the New Year holiday… will Jiejie be unhappy? What if she and Professor Tan’s family were merely acquaintances having a meal together for the holiday? Was I being too thoughtless?

The brief moment of courage that had surged with the alcohol had now receded. The chilly wind circled around her, as if trying to find a weakness to rush through.

Although her heart was pounding, Yan He braced herself, clenching her teeth. The words were already spoken, and Jiejie was on her way. What was there left to fret over?

Yan He pursed her lips, thinking, Why isn’t Jiejie here yet? I’m so cold.

She hunched her shoulders, feeling a bit pouty, thinking, I wish I hadn’t given Jiejie her scarf back.

Why is she still not here?

Yan He looked down at her phone. Her exposed fingertips were already too frozen to move nimbly. It took her several attempts to tap into the chat window with Jiejie, only to realize that Jiejie’s last message was sent seven minutes ago.

Oh.

The little puppy who couldn’t find Jiejie sniffled, thinking pitifully, It turns out it wasn’t Jiejie’s fault for being late; I came down too early.

She debated whether she should return to the stairwell to take shelter from the wind, but turning around, she found the stairwell door was already closed, and she didn’t have an access card. Yan He let out a long breath, put her hands in her pockets, and began playing with the white mist from her own breath.

She stamped her feet but felt that even the blood vessels in her legs were stiff, as if frozen. In contrast, her brain was operating at high speed: Should I apologize to Jiejie when I see her? But… but Jiejie was clearly so intimate with Professor Tan…

A car horn sounded nearby. Just outside the main gate, Jiejie’s car slowly pulled to a stop.

Jiejie is here!

Yan He’s heart leaped with joy. She felt the coldness instantly disappear, and the muscles in her legs became active in an instant. She happily ran toward where Jiejie’s car was parked, running against the wind. The cold wind slightly lifted her hair, and the heat in her heart was so intense it almost felt like it was scorching her.

—Like the unending ash and scorching lava of a volcanic eruption.

Li Xiuxi, standing upstairs, also saw the car parked at the gate. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, “The person picking her up is here. It’s fine now.”

Her girlfriend nodded and smiled: “I never expected Yan He to be like this when she’s drunk.”

Li Xiuxi said jealously, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Am I not cute enough?”

Both of them laughed.

“You said ten minutes; aren’t you cold for coming down so early?” Shen Jinrong said with a helpless smile, seeing Yan He, enveloped in the cold, shaking in the passenger seat. She turned the car’s heater up a few more degrees.

Yan He vigorously rubbed her hands and sniffled. The tips of her ears were red from the cold. She whispered, “…I just came down,” as if trying to save face.

Jiejie nodded, clearly not believing the young woman’s words. She turned her head and saw happiness in the young woman’s sparkling eyes—a joy that was vividly clear. The passionate and loyal love of a young person was always so open and honest.

The car’s interior was not very bright. Shen Jinrong thought, If the light were a little brighter, I would be able to see the young woman’s amber pupils. But even now, it was beautiful. Her deep brown eyes seemed to hold a pool of water, bottomless. They lacked a certain clarity, but gained a certain tenderness.

Shen Jinrong blushed under her gaze. Wanting to do something to ease the awkward atmosphere, she took hold of the young woman’s hand without a word. The fingertips were ice-cold and somewhat stiff, even colder than her own. The young woman’s hands were usually warm, as hot as a young person’s sincere love, but now they were excessively cold, as if they had been frozen for a long time.

She frowned and said, “Your hands are this cold, and you say you just came down?”

The lying, smelly puppy.

Yet, it made her heart ache.

Bad puppy, don’t you know this only makes me worry about you more?

“I—” Before Yan He’s attempted rebuttal could leave her mouth, Shen Jinrong suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over, and gently hugged her.

Yan He’s mind went blank. She clearly saw a family walking past the windshield, joyously, and the little girl held in the man’s arms even turned her head to look at them.

Shen Jinrong’s hug came so unexpectedly that Yan He only heard the click of the seatbelt unlocking. Before she could react, Jiejie had leaned in for the hug. By the time she belatedly registered that Jiejie was hugging her, Jiejie had already pulled away.

One hug, a gentle hug, a gentle and brief hug.

Only a faint warmth remained, only a subtle fragrance lingered.

“I—You—” Yan He opened her mouth, sitting dumbly in place. The warm air made her ears feel hot. It’s definitely not because of Jiejie’s hug, Yan He thought.

“Didn’t you say you wanted a hug?” Shen Jinrong asked, her expression calm, though the tips of her ears were secretly flushed red.