"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 34

What can one gaze reveal? The light in her eyes, the mole under her eye, the reflection of yourself in her eyes. If you lean close enough, you might even meet the gaze of your own reflection within hers.

What about a million glances? You can see the sorrow deep in her eyes, the panic hidden by a smile. You would wonder, Can I see her past years through her eyes, seeing every moment her heart fluttered, every moment of sadness?

How contradictory people are. When she is happy, you only want to hide and secretly watch her. But when she is sad, you only wish you could be by her side at all times. You want those eyes to see only you, yet you also want to see her in her prime, unmatched in splendor.

“You’re trembling.” Shen Jinrong held Yan He’s hand, looking fixedly at her with a certain tone.

Why did every gaze at her bring a sense of vertigo? Warm, white light appeared before her eyes, and Jiejie (Elder Sister) was positioned within that light—no, she was the light itself.

Although Jiejie’s hand was only slightly warmer than her own, she still insisted on holding Yan He’s hand, wanting to warm it. Yan He really wanted to hold Jiejie’s hand and tell her, You don’t have to do this. But when she tried to open her mouth, she found Jiejie’s eyes were so firm and resolute.

It was as if she only recognized Yan He, as if Yan He was the only one in her eyes and heart.

“…Because… it was too cold outside just now.” Yan He skirted the issue, acting as if she could still retain a sliver of dignity by not directly admitting the truth.

Dignity, but what use was dignity now?

The drunk Yan He pressed her lips together. Her already thin lips formed a straight line. She suddenly felt the car was a little dark, making it impossible for her to see the light in Jiejie’s eyes.

“Because you’re holding my hand, I’m very nervous.” The intoxicated puppy spoke the plain truth.

Shen Jinrong hadn’t expected her words to be so direct. She was momentarily stunned and found herself being dominated by the young woman. Yan He clasped Shen Jinrong’s hand in return. Perhaps because the car’s temperature had already risen, the now-aware Shen Jinrong smiled. She could feel that the young woman’s palm had begun to warm up.

“Jiejie’s ears are also very red; that must be because of the warm air.” The young woman looked at her solemnly, seriously voicing the excuse Shen Jinrong had not yet spoken.

Stupid child, she blocked all my escape routes.

Shen Jinrong forced a smile. She found that Yan He seemed to possess a kind of magic, as the places she was touching now also began to feel warm. This was rare in the cold winter. Shen Jinrong thought vaguely, Which winter have I experienced later in life that wasn’t cold anyway?

“Yes,” Shen Jinrong said flatly, “You found out everything.”

She smelled a faint scent of alcohol on Yan He and saw the lack of clarity in her eyes. Shen Jinrong understood instantly: “You were drinking?”

Yan He nodded.

Shen Jinrong breathed a sigh of relief.

No wonder, she thought. Otherwise, how could she have been flirted with in return by the young woman? The young woman who hadn’t been drinking was definitely cuter. Shen Jinrong missed the sight of the young woman blushing after being teased.

“With friends?” Shen Jinrong tried hard to recall the name of her student who had been standing next to Yan He: “Was it Li Xiuxi?”

“Yes, she introduced me to her girlfriend today.” After explaining, the young woman looked at her pleadingly: “Jiejie, we finally get to meet. Can you not ask about other people’s business, please?”

Shen Jinrong was charmed by her eyes and, as if possessed, said, “Alright.”

The young woman smiled cunningly, yet the sourness in her words was obvious: “I saw Jiejie walking with Professor Tan Ning today.”

The grip on her hand suddenly tightened, though Yan He still refrained from pressing too hard.

Shen Jinrong felt inexplicably guilty. Why am I feeling guilty? What is there to feel guilty about? She had only met Tan Ning normally, hadn’t she?

“Professor Tan even helped brush dust off Jiejie’s shoulder.” Yan He tilted her head to look at her. It was just a normal gaze, but Shen Jinrong felt that this look was full of pressure.

Shen Jinrong tried to pull her hand back, but after several attempts, she couldn’t. Instead, the young woman gripped her even tighter. She pursed her lips and whispered, “I didn’t know she would suddenly approach me.”

Wasn’t I just worried the young woman would get jealous?

“Is that so?” Yan He’s forceful demeanor instantly disappeared, replaced by a pitiful look, like a puppy who had received a satisfactory answer but realized she had been too fierce with Jiejie just now. She raised her hand and touched the spot on Shen Jinrong where Tan Ning had touched, muttering plaintively, “That spot belongs to me.”

“And that wasn’t this coat just now.”

The speed of her mood change left Shen Jinrong dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry, Jiejie…” Yan He contentedly held her hand, gently scratching her palm with her index finger.

Shen Jinrong trembled slightly, as if she had received an electric shock.

“Tan Ning and I used to be very close,” Shen Jinrong said slowly. “But after she got married, we didn’t chat much anymore.”

That was the truth, though she had concealed a few details—details that Shen Jinrong wanted to escape and discard.

“I see.” Yan He nodded and said earnestly, “I understand.”

Shen Jinrong smiled inwardly. She reached out with the hand that wasn’t being held by the young woman and gently rubbed her head, asking softly, “Don’t drink alcohol anymore.”

Drinking made her seem like a completely different person.

Yan He lowered her head and asked quietly, “Does Jiejie not like me this way?”

“It’s not that I don’t like you this way, it’s—” Shen Jinrong was momentarily lost for words. She wasn’t someone who liked controlling others, nor was she the type who wanted others constantly under her thumb.

“Your alcohol tolerance is poor; you must drink in moderation. Girls need to protect themselves.” Shen Jinrong felt flustered by the young woman’s actions, her mind racing chaotically. What if she runs into a bad person?

—Oh, I might be that bad person myself.

Yan He smiled. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed into two crescent moons. “Jiejie is worried about me.” She said with forced calm, “I know, Jiejie is just worried about me.”

“Yes, I am worried about you.” Shen Jinrong couldn’t help it and rubbed her head again: “So you need to drink less.”

Yan He nodded vigorously: “Mhm!”

“Do you have anything to do later?” Shen Jinrong didn’t want to linger at the residential gate for too long.

Yan He thought for a moment: “I’ll go home.”

“Then I’ll drive you back,” Shen Jinrong said, starting the car. “Where is your house?”

“It’s nearby; I’ll put it in the GPS.” The young woman deflated, thinking, I should have known not to tell Jiejie I was going home. I should have found just any place—like asking Jiejie to watch a movie with me, that would have been nice, right?

The young woman thought wildly, If I watched a movie with Jiejie, could I secretly hold her hand while the environment was dark? She was busy locating her house on Jiejie’s car GPS while sneakily glancing at Jiejie.

“Do you like the gift I gave you?” Shen Jinrong suddenly asked. She realized she hadn’t heard the young woman mention the gift she sent, and her heart felt a rare flutter of apprehension. Did she not like it?

“I love it!” Yan He thought of the mocha pot Jiejie had given her, feeling a little shy: “Actually… you didn’t need to give it to me.”

“It’s brand new. I remember bringing it back last year from a business trip to Italy,” Shen Jinrong said with a smiling voice. “I’ve never used it either, so it’s wonderful that you like it.”

Yan He nodded hard, wanting to say something, but seeing the intersection ahead, she quickly said, “Here! Turn left here.”

Shen Jinrong cooperated and turned the steering wheel: “What are your plans after the holiday?”

Yan He felt that Jiejie now sounded like a professor at the university discussing study plans with a student. She thought for a moment and replied, “After the holiday, I’ll try to finish the preparatory work for my thesis, and then get ready for my internship.”

“The internship at CCTV?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Shen Jinrong smiled: “I remember you telling me, didn’t you?”

Yan He nodded: “Yes.” She also smiled: “So… there might be few opportunities to see each other after the holiday.”

“Indeed.” Shen Jinrong also acknowledged this, though it was unclear whether she was sighing or expressing regret, or perhaps her words and tone carried no other meaning at all.

Yan He thought, Jiejie’s thoughts are really hard to guess.

“I’m here.” Yan He unbuckled her seatbelt. Her hand hesitated on the door handle, but she ultimately decided to ask the question that had been bothering her: “Jiejie.”

“What is it?” Shen Jinrong turned her head to look at her.

“If…” Yan He pursed her lips. She wanted to ask Jiejie if, the next time—the next time she wanted to see her without being drunk—Jiejie would still drive over, just like today, simply because Yan He said she wanted a hug.

Will there be a next time? When will the next time be?

People were insecure; they wanted to seize the beauty of the current moment before it passed and secure the beauty of the next meeting—preferably settling all future meetings now.

“What is it?” Shen Jinrong rested one hand on the steering wheel, raising an eyebrow as she looked at her.

“I wanted to say… I don’t know when the next time we meet will be.” Yan He pursed her lips. The courage she had managed to muster was suddenly poked and deflated abruptly: “Goodbye, Jiejie.”

“Goodbye.” As if knowing what she was about to say, Shen Jinrong said slowly, “See you next time.”

“See you next time” was actually a very vague phrase. When was “next time”? Where was it? Since neither the time nor the place was finalized, compared to a definite appointment, this phrase felt more like a promise—a promise with an unknown fulfillment date.

“Okay, see you next time.” Yan He smiled brightly, waving goodbye to her. “Goodbye, Jiejie.”

“Goodbye, young woman.” Shen Jinrong smiled at her.

What Yan He didn’t know was that after she left, Shen Jinrong’s car remained parked for a long time, until the honk of a car behind her finally jolted her back to reality. Sitting in the driver’s seat, she suddenly felt that the car seemed to have grown cold again ever since the young woman left.

Shen Jinrong shook her head and turned up the heat again.

After the new semester began, Yan He rarely saw Shen Jinrong on campus. Not only Yan He, but even Li Xiuxi, who was taking Shen Jinrong’s class, seldom saw her, only occasionally catching a glimpse of her during the weekly large lecture.

According to Li Xiuxi, Shen Jinrong’s recent project seemed to have run into some trouble, and she had been constantly dealing with it. Even the scheduled Q&A hours were handed over to the new teaching assistant due to her busy schedule.

Precisely because of this, Yan He hesitated every time she wanted to message her. She would think: Is Jiejie busy right now? Is Jiejie dealing with something? Is it rude for me to bother her so presumptuously?

—It angered Li Xiuxi so much that she wanted to pour Yan He a drink just so she would speak her mind.

“Are you seriously bipolar?” Li Xiuxi rolled her eyes and said to the melancholic Yan He sitting across from her: “You’re reckless and brazen when drunk, but a total coward when sober.”

Yan He wasn’t happy to hear that and glared at her: “Who’s bipolar? Who’s a coward?”

Li Xiuxi picked up a mouthful of Malatang (spicy hotpot), blowing out air because it was so hot: “Then go find her! Send her a message or something.”

Yan He shrank back: “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

Li Xiuxi rolled her eyes at her again.

In April, Yan He did see Shen Jinrong on campus once, but at that time, Shen Jinrong was surrounded by a crowd of people, her expression aloof and stern, completely different from the Jiejie Yan He knew. Yan He couldn’t bring herself to approach her. After returning home, she collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the chat window with Jiejie.

No message.

No message from Jiejie.

Is it because I haven’t taken the initiative?

Yan He tossed her phone aside, but after a moment’s hesitation, she picked it back up, turned off silent mode, and set the ringtone to the maximum volume—only then did she feel secure enough to toss the phone away again.

The phone suddenly chimed, “Ding,” and Yan He immediately wanted to retrieve it. But she had thrown the phone too far away just now, and the effort to reach for it was so strenuous that she overexerted herself and strained her waist.

“Ouch—” Yan He grimaced, clenching her teeth while clutching her waist, but her right hand bravely managed to grab her phone.

After unlocking it with her face, she realized the message was from Yu Ke.

Yan He: …

Damn it, my waist hurts so much.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

—What am I going to do, I suddenly feel like this wasn’t worth it.

These thoughts flashed through her mind. Yan He sat on the sofa, clutching her waist, and read Yu Ke’s message: “When do you start your internship?”

Yan He recalled her communication with the internship supervisor: “Summer break, maybe July or August?”

“Me too, roughly.” Yu Ke sent a cat-smiling emoji: “So, where will you be living then?”

Yan He looked down and typed her reply: “At home. My house is quite close to my internship location.”

Yu Ke choked up; she had forgotten that Yan He was local and had originally hoped they could rent a place together. She changed the subject, asking, “Want to come out for dinner?”

Yan He didn’t have many classes recently, but she still didn’t really want to go out. For some reason, it felt pointless to go out if the person accompanying her wasn’t Jiejie.

“No, I’m busy these days.”

“Ah! Okay~” Yu Ke asked again: “Did you know the latest school newspaper is coming out soon? The one—the issue where we interviewed the professors.”

Yan He was getting up to look for pain relief patches in the medicine cabinet at home. Seeing Yu Ke’s message, she paused, thinking, It really is about time. The news article she wrote about Jiejie was coming out soon, so—wouldn’t that be a legitimate reason to go and see Jiejie?

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Jiejie, nor was it because she was too cowardly; it was because she lacked a suitable reason or excuse. If she chatted casually with Jiejie, she worried that Jiejie would feel she was wasting her time.

—See, love without a defined relationship was just like this.

Yan He sighed, thinking, Will I only be able to use professional matters as an excuse to see Jiejie from now on?

“When is it coming out?” Yan He glanced at the calendar. During the school year, she rarely knew the exact date, only remembering the day of the week. She murmured to herself, “Oh, that must be—” Her fingertip swiped across the electronic calendar: “It’s June.”

Yan He found a pain relief patch, carelessly stuck it on her waist, and saw Yu Ke’s reply: “Yes, I’ll ask them to save a copy for you when it’s out.”

Yan He thanked her: “Thanks.”

June.

Late June.

Hmph, Cancer.

It’s Jiejie’s birthday.

Yan He rubbed the bridge of her nose, thinking, The summer holiday probably won’t have started completely by then, right? Will I be able to see Jiejie on campus?

She looked up and realized the small green lime placed on her windowsill had been there for a long time. Its surface no longer carried the fresh citrus scent and was now shriveled and wrinkled.

It was true; she hadn’t seen Jiejie in a very long time.

The young woman hung her head, feeling annoyed. How—how did I forget to set a date for the next meeting the last time we saw each other?

Shen Jinrong stood in her office, her expression stern. Leaning against the window frame, she looked down at the students coming and going below. The person on the phone quickly reported the matters that needed to be handled recently. At the end, the person quietly added, “CEO Shen, about… CEO Jiang’s matter, the Chairman’s instruction is for you not to get involved…”

Shen Jinrong rubbed her brow: “Mhm, I understand.” Understanding was one thing, but she still couldn’t completely ignore Tan Ning’s situation.

“It seems that secretary is pregnant and has been hidden away by CEO Jiang.” The person reported carefully, afraid of angering Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong narrowed her eyes, her voice sounding as if it was squeezed through her teeth: “I understand.”

Trash.

Tan Ning, you truly are—Shen Jinrong didn’t believe Tan Ning didn’t know about her husband’s affair. How could someone as intelligent as her fail to notice any hint of a clue? She was just pretending not to know.

Putting down her phone, she continued to stand by the window, holding a cup of coffee and watching the vibrant students below, but her thoughts drifted to the young woman.

Why hasn’t she come to see me?

A rare feeling of resentment emerged in Shen Jinrong’s heart. She clenched her jaw, maintaining her composure, thinking, If the young woman doesn’t even message me on my birthday, then I’ll have no choice but to take the initiative.

Professor Shen pursed her lips and touched her own face, thinking, I’m so good-looking, why won’t she come to find me?

Bad child!

As if by some divine intervention, just as Shen Jinrong thought of that ‘bad child,’ Yan He suddenly appeared beneath her window.

Yan He was wearing a black hoodie, which was loose and oversized, enveloping the young woman entirely.

Shen Jinrong raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to the window. But after moving closer, she realized her action was inappropriate—Hmph, why did I lean forward? I don’t want to see the bad child who wouldn’t come to find me!

—That ‘bad child’ sneezed the very next second.

Shen Jinrong froze, then burst into laughter, bending over backward. She deliberately thought to herself: Hmph, that’s what you get for not coming to find me! Bad child!

—That ‘bad child’ sneezed again.

Shen Jinrong stood by the window shaking with laughter, while Yan He stood downstairs rubbing her nose, thinking, Is my pollen allergy acting up again recently?