"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 46

“Who are you looking at?” Tan Ning noticed Shen Jinrong’s averted gaze, and followed the direction she’d been looking, spotting Yan He, who was clearly noticeable in the crowd.

She raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on her face. Now she didn’t need Shen Jinrong’s answer. “Do you have any plans after you receive the flowers?”

Shen Jinrong considered her schedule, pursing her lips for a moment. “I don’t think so. I’ll just go straight home.”

“Want to come over to my place?” Tan Ning winked at her. “The little one misses her auntie.”

Hearing her mention the baby, Shen Jinrong remembered the small bundle of joy lying in the cradle, cooing and trying to reach out for a hug, even before she could speak. Shen Jinrong smiled. “The little thing can’t even talk yet, can she? How do you know she misses me?”

Tan Ning seriously pointed to herself and said, “A mother knows her child’s heart. Of course, I can tell she misses you.”

Shen Jinrong actually felt Tan Ning’s words weren’t entirely reliable, but since she’d brought up her daughter, it felt rude to refuse. She simply said, “I think I have a dinner appointment tonight, so I won’t go with you. I’ll visit the little one next time.”

Tan Ning nodded with a smile.

“Senior, have you started your internship already?” the young student asked Yan He after finishing the explanation of the ceremony flow. Yan He had nothing else to do.

Yan He nodded. “Yes.”

“Where are you interning now?” the student casually asked.

“CCTV (Central Station).”

The student, who had only thought she was there for a minor task, realized the beautiful senior in front of her was a major success! Although the school offered internship slots at CCTV, she had never heard of a real undergraduate student actually interning there.

“That’s amazing—” The student wanted to say more, but saw the leaders entering the stage one after another. The walkie-talkie also crackled with instructions for all departments to get ready.

The event was about to start. Yan He’s heart tensed up as well. She and the student stopped chatting and fell into a mutual silence.

The afternoon sun was blazing directly opposite the stage. Yan He looked up and had to squint against the glaring light. Facing the huge halo of light, she couldn’t see the people below very clearly. She could only catch a few fleeting memories—the leader with the blue tie and thinning hair seemed to be Li Xiuxi’s department head, and the lean middle-aged man next to him looked like her own department head.

But these details weren’t very important. In fact, the entire event was insignificant to Yan He. Her sole purpose for being there was simply to deliver a bouquet of flowers to Shen Jinrong.

Yan He thought, if time could rewind just an hour, she definitely wouldn’t have entered through the school’s back gate. That way, she wouldn’t have run into Shen Jinrong and Tan Ning, and the awkward moment just now wouldn’t have happened.

Sighing silently, she put her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

The event started on time. To this day, she still didn’t know what kind of event it was. She, the student, and the other staff members sat on the viewing stand next to the stage as spectators. Everything below seemed to have nothing to do with her.

However, it felt like someone was constantly watching her. When Yan He, as if sensing something, lifted her head, the gaze quickly disappeared, melting into the crowd.

Could it be Elder Sister?

Yan He wondered. But the sunlight was too blinding. She couldn’t see the people below clearly. So, she used a hand to shield her forehead from the sun, squinting as she looked down.

People were coming and going on the sports field. Looking down from the high platform, everyone below seemed tiny, like a series of human-like machines with either pre-arranged paths or disorderly movements.

Yan He couldn’t make out their faces. Everyone’s face seemed covered by a thin mist, obscuring their features and blurring their appearance. Yet, among these people, there was one familiar back.

Yan He suddenly smiled. The joy of this discovery came so abruptly that she even found it a little funny. She thought, the back she sees most often is Elder Sister’s; she could never mistake it.

“Senior, do you know someone down there?” someone next to her asked.

A sudden feeling of pride swelled in Yan He’s heart. She wanted everyone to see Elder Sister’s beauty. She wanted everyone to see her, who, even when hidden in the crowd, still shone brightly at this very moment.

So, Yan He pointed toward Shen Jinrong’s direction. “Over there, standing next to the third tree from the left, are two female teachers. Do you see them?”

Everyone beside her looked in the direction she was pointing. Then, Yan He slowly said, “The female teacher standing just outside the shade of the tree.”

Everyone saw Shen Jinrong.

Someone couldn’t help but ask, “What about her?”

Yan He turned her head and deliberately said to the questioner, “She’s exceptionally beautiful.”

“Let us welcome the Outstanding Teachers of the previous academic year to the stage!”

Following the host’s impassioned speech, Tan Ning suppressed a laugh and gently nudged Shen Jinrong with her elbow. “They’re calling you. Go on.”

Shen Jinrong gave a helpless smile. She didn’t particularly like such occasions. However, the school required her presence, and she couldn’t really refuse. Besides, though her time at the school during the previous year was short, her achievements were considerable.

“Let’s go, Professor Shen.” Professor Zhao, standing with a group of people, waved at her. “Hurry up! Time to line up and go up.”

Shen Jinrong walked into the crowd, feeling somewhat swept onto the stage. Looking down from the stage, she couldn’t see people’s faces clearly because she was facing the sun. She pressed her lips together and took her designated spot.

As per tradition, after the leaders praised the excellent deeds of the outstanding teachers, students were scheduled to come up and present flowers. Shen Jinrong didn’t pay much attention to this. She stood quietly, letting the students with SLRs below take her picture.

She was at the end of the line, right at the edge of the stage, looking detached, as if thinking about something. The student photographers noted Professor Shen’s fair skin, thinking that she was several shades lighter than the other teachers next to her.

The designated students successively came up the steps beside Shen Jinrong, passing in front of her one after another, leaving a series of messy footsteps. This sound, eerily in sync with the celebratory music from the loudspeaker, made Shen Jinrong, for some reason, think of the time she accompanied her grandmother back to her hometown and watched an opera at the village entrance.

Shen Jinrong didn’t look up at them. She simply kept her eyes down, silently watching pairs of shoes pass in front of her. A gentle breeze came, blowing some of her carefully styled hair out of place. She reached up and tucked the unruly strands behind her ear.

Shen Jinrong truly felt that today’s event was the biggest inconvenience to a person with social anxiety.

When will it finally end? She watched students one after another holding the familiar flowers that Yan He had been carrying, and suddenly thought of the younger girl.

No wonder the little one said these flowers were for a school event. Every bouquet looked exactly the same. Shen Jinrong mused aimlessly, They must have been ordered from Qiu Yanian.

Thinking of Yan He, the memory of their earlier encounter resurfaced, causing her a bit of embarrassment. Knowing that the people next to her couldn’t tell, she felt embarrassed all by herself.

Shen Jinrong subtly sighed.

Professor Zhao next to her turned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Jinrong lowered her voice. “Nothing, I just think the sunlight opposite is too glaring.”

Professor Zhao nodded in agreement. The two began to whisper, “It is. Couldn’t they have scheduled it for the morning? They had to do it in the afternoon and make us bake in the sun.”

Shen Jinrong chuckled softly. As she turned her face, she could see her department head sitting right behind her on the stage. She turned and offered him a smile. The department head looked a little surprised and smiled back kindly.

Just then, the heavier footsteps unique to combat boots, different from the other shoes, stopped right in front of her. Then, there were no more messy footsteps, as if the ceremony had abruptly halted there.

Before turning her head, a sudden surge of anticipation rose in Shen Jinrong’s heart—Could the person standing in front of me be the one I’m thinking of? But she quickly realized that was probably impossible; she hadn’t seen the younger girl during the rehearsal.

All these thoughts flashed by in a split second. When she turned her head, however, she saw the younger girl with a bouquet and bright, sparkling eyes. Yan He was holding the flowers that had caused her so much embarrassment earlier. Seeing her turn around, the girl smiled and held the bouquet out to her.

Yan He simply smiled, saying nothing.

Yet, Shen Jinrong felt that Yan He had said a thousand words.

Shen Jinrong thought, How can there be such a person? When her eyes looked elsewhere, they were like a deep, bottomless pool of water. But when those eyes looked at her, bright and without reservation, you could feel her pure and unreserved affection.

Those eyes were crystal clear, like the gentle stream water from the mountains, untainted and flowing slowly through the rocks, only to encounter a steep cliff and mix with other water sources, surging downward.

Her gaze seemed to have substance, fixed on Shen Jinrong, concealing the fervent, sincere affection of a young person. She just kept looking at Shen Jinrong, as if gazing at the most important thing in her life.

The love of a young person is always unreserved, sincere, and passionate. When she looks at you, you’ll find that her eyes hold only you. It’s as if you are her entire world.

The two were standing so close. Shen Jinrong stared intently at Yan He; she could even see her own reflection in Yan He’s eyes.

Why is it like this? Why is there this one person—when she looks at you with unreserved expectation, her gaze seems to solidify, like a cluster of fire, causing a burning sensation to spread across your skin wherever her eyes land.

A spark becomes a raging fire. The blood throughout your body seems to boil, screaming for you to hold her tightly.

“Professor Shen.” Yan He tilted her head, looking utterly innocent, and pushed the flowers a little closer to Shen Jinrong’s arms. “Your flowers.”

My flowers.

Shen Jinrong composed herself. Although the staring was just for an instant, she felt as if years had passed.

She reached out to take the flowers. As she did so, her palm inevitably brushed against the back of Yan He’s hand, which was supporting the bouquet.

After the brief, light touch, both quickly pulled their hands back as if they had been shocked, and the bouquet nearly fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hold it steady.” Yan He glanced at Professor Zhao nearby and apologized.

But Shen Jinrong knew it wasn’t Yan He’s fault at all.

The heat from the skin where she had just touched the younger girl was rising. She couldn’t tell if this was psychological or due to something else. She gradually returned from her daze to reality. The passionate music blaring in her ear also reminded her that this was a large-scale event and she couldn’t lose her composure.

So, Shen Jinrong offered her signature Professor Shen smile. “It’s alright. Thank you for the flowers.”

Yan He’s eyes dimmed slightly.

Yan He was standing with her back to the light, but Elder Sister was standing in the light. Yan He could see her own shadow falling on Elder Sister, shielding her from some of the light. She took a slight step back, satisfied to see her shadow cast over Elder Sister’s arm and body, before dropping onto the ground behind her.

The afternoon sun, gilded with gold, looked down upon the world.

Looking at the shadow, Yan He suddenly felt as if she were holding Elder Sister in her arms. Her shadow enveloped Elder Sister, and just looking at the shadow felt like the two of them were one, intimately embracing.

Yan He lowered her eyes. She could see Elder Sister’s flower-holding hand exposed, perfectly complementing her white shirt and black suit jacket.

From this angle, she could even see the raised veins on the back of Elder Sister’s hand.

How can a hand be so beautiful? she thought. Even the lines of the veins on the back of her hand are so aesthetic. A picture suddenly formed in her mind: Elder Sister sitting at a desk writing, her fair, slender hand holding a pen—incredibly seductive.

Shen Jinrong was wearing glasses today. The sunlight caught her lenses, and at a certain angle, it precisely stung Yan He’s eyes. Yet, Yan He didn’t move, but looked back, confronting the blinding, reflected glare.

Those two lenses were like a silent barrier, merging with the sunlight, obstructing her prying gaze.

“Yan He.” Shen Jinrong softly called her name.

It was a different tone of voice than the one used for Professor Shen.

It was the Elder Sister she liked.

Gentle, helpless, and full of indulgence for the younger girl.

Yan He listened to her voice, listened to her calling her name, and a rebellious thought quietly emerged. This idea felt deeply rooted in her heart, impossible to fully eradicate even as it surfaced.

She wanted to tease Elder Sister.

She wanted to, very much.

She wanted to see her wearing those gold-rimmed glasses, and she wanted to see her shed tears.

Shen Jinrong noticed a distinct block of light on Yan He’s face. She slightly tilted her head, and the block of light on Yan He’s face disappeared.

Before Yan He could fully recover, she saw Elder Sister raise her eyebrow and saw a beautiful curve lift on Elder Sister’s lips. Then, Shen Jinrong pulled her, causing her to stumble and nearly lose her balance.

Shen Jinrong pulled her to her left side, where there were no other people. Then, she softly said to Yan He, “It’s time for the group photo, stand still.”

That’s strange.

Yan He thought. Even though the loudspeaker was so loud, she felt as if she had automatically blocked out all the noise. The only thing in her ears was Elder Sister’s instruction just now.

“Yan He, obey.”

Shen Jinrong said again.