"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 53

“Didn’t we agree you weren’t allowed to peek?”

This question, spoken by Shen Jinrong, was light and airy, and her tone didn’t sound much like blame. Yet, Yan He felt that she saw scrutiny in her eyes.

Yan He felt guilty without reason and was unable to explain her actions just now, so she mumbled, unable to speak. She instinctively dodged the gaze Shen Jinrong cast her way, as if terrified of her discerning the emotion in her eyes.

While dodging and looking around, Yan He saw the charger on the desk. A flash of inspiration struck her mind, and she hurriedly said, “I came to get the charger!”

Shen Jinrong sat up. Only then did Yan He realize that she was wearing a thin camisole nightgown. Yan He quickly averted her eyes after just one glance, not daring to look again.

When Shen Jinrong opened the door for her just now, she had an outer garment draped over her, and later, when sitting on the sofa, she was also covered by a blanket. Yan He hadn’t noticed that she was wearing a slip dress underneath.

She thought haphazardly, No wonder the Older Woman got a fever, she’s still dressed so thinly even though autumn has begun.

“The charger?” Shen Jinrong’s eyes followed Yan He’s gaze to her desk, where the white charging cable was neatly placed. She tilted her head and thought about it; the charger’s position seemed unchanged. “Then why are you sitting here?” Therefore, a mischievous smile flashed in the older woman’s eyes. She admitted she asked on purpose, genuinely wanting to see Yan He’s flustered look.

Yan He sat on the chair. By height, the chair was clearly higher than Shen Jinrong’s bed, yet she felt the older woman’s gaze carried a condescending scrutiny. The older woman’s neck was long, and her skin was like fine white jade, fair and seemingly shimmering.

Yan He subconsciously licked her sharp canine tooth, unable to stop herself from wondering in her heart, What would happen if I bit her there?

Would the Older Woman be angry?

Her gaze fell impolitely downward, landing on her exquisite collarbone. Yan He felt that the Older Woman’s collarbone was more delicate than when she last saw it, but she didn’t know if that was just her imagination. Perhaps she had lost a lot of weight.

It was already noon, and the temperature had naturally risen, making it much better than when she had arrived in the morning wrapped in a chill. Yan He felt the heat assailing her from all sides, permeating everywhere, rising to her brain after releasing a blush on her cheeks.

The Older Woman’s collarbone rose and fell slightly with her breathing. Yan He swallowed and pretended to be unconcerned, directing her gaze elsewhere.

Right… it was just to get the charger. Why did I sit down?

Yan He hung her head, her hands lightly placed on her thighs, sitting perfectly straight, exactly like a child admitting a mistake.

Shen Jinrong suddenly burst into laughter: “I’m not mad. You don’t have to look at me like you did something wrong.”

Yan He looked at her and blinked, her face full of confusion and helplessness.

Shen Jinrong worried that teasing the young one further would only make her shy, so she ended the topic. She stretched her arms out from under the quilt and gave a lazy, relaxed stretch. Her curves were beautiful, like a languid cat.

“I’m hungry. Did you eat lunch?” Shen Jinrong glanced at the small alarm clock beside her, smiling at Yan He.

“Not yet,” Yan He replied. “My phone died,” she said in a pitiful tone.

Shen Jinrong laughed again: “So—you really were here to get the charger?”

Yan He looked at her with sparkling eyes and nodded apologetically.

“Go ahead and use it.” Shen Jinrong tilted her head, signaling for her to take the charger. She felt for her phone by the pillow, opened the yellow delivery app, and asked Yan He, “What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t have anything specific in mind,” she wasn’t picky and felt anything would be fine. “You pick.”

After saying this, Yan He seemed to feel that this was an opportunity to deepen the Older Woman’s understanding of her, so she added, “I’m not picky. I’m very easy to take care of.”

Shen Jinrong simply said “Oh,” and let out an ambiguous, light laugh. She held her phone in her left hand, sliding her right hand across the screen, looking as serious as she did when working. Yan He thought she was cute, acknowledging that she herself could not match this serious attitude toward every little thing in life.

“How about spicy hot pot? Their food is super delicious!” Shen Jinrong looked up and showed the store interface she found to Yan He. Before Yan He could see clearly, a message popped up at the top of the phone screen.

It was a green WeChat message from Tan Ning, which read: “Do you have time this afternoon?”

Yan He looked away: “You have a message.”

“Ah? Oh!” Shen Jinrong turned the phone back, saw the message was from Tan Ning, frowned slightly, and gave a cold reply: “No.” After that, she calmly handed the phone to Yan He, as if nothing had happened: “It’s this one.”

The latter just glanced at it and frowned: “You are still sick, you should eat something bland.”

Shen Jinrong pouted, looking unhappy: “I’m actually better, and I think eating spicy food can—” She stopped halfway, defeated by Yan He’s calm gaze, and slumped: “Then I’ll order something bland.”

“Avoid inflammatory foods too,” Yan He instructed her.

“Inflammatory foods? What are those?” Shen Jinrong was completely confused.

Yan He patiently explained to her: “They are foods that might trigger certain illnesses, such as seafood, beef, and mutton.”

Shen Jinrong stared at her with wide eyes.

Half an hour later, Shen Jinrong angrily ate the plain noodles in her bowl, occasionally sending furious glares toward Yan He.

Yan He pretended not to notice anything and continued to eat her own spicy hot pot.

Bad kid! Stinky kid!

Shen Jinrong muttered under her breath while poking the Shanghai bok choy in her bowl.

After seeing Shen Jinrong finish her plain noodles, encouraged by the aroma of the spicy hot pot, Yan He handed her a thermometer: “Five minutes.”

Shen Jinrong slowly wiped her mouth with a napkin and adjusted herself into a comfortable position leaning on the sofa. She had just changed into a thicker wool sweater at Yan He’s urging. The white wool sweater fit her body, outlining her beautiful curves.

The sleeves of the sweater were a little long, allowing her to retract her hands inside. Shen Jinrong comfortably half-closed her eyes, instructing Yan He to clean up the items on the coffee table.

“Time’s up.” The young one walked over holding a cup of steaming water, took the thermometer from Shen Jinrong’s hand, and changed the angle to look at it: “36.9 degrees Celsius, the fever is gone.”

Shen Jinrong’s illness had come quickly and left quickly. After taking medicine and sleeping, she was mostly better. But she was listless. Although her energy had recovered significantly compared to the morning, she was not as vibrant as before.

“Thank you.” She smiled: “If it weren’t for you, I might still be dizzy right now.”

Yan He smiled with her, but the smile looked a little silly, successfully making Shen Jinrong laugh.

Yan He was just about to say something, but her phone rang. Shen Jinrong gestured for her to answer it first, while she held the water Yan He had brought and took small sips.

It sounded like a work call. The young one’s expression became much more serious after answering the phone. Shen Jinrong, lounging on the sofa, lazily thought, This might be the first time I’ve seen the young one so serious.

She couldn’t help but let her gaze fall on Yan He and had to admit that the young one, when serious, was truly captivating. At least for a moment, she was successfully drawn in.

The Yan He she saw was always gentle and polite. Shen Jinrong remembered that Yan He seemed to be the president of the school’s news department. Would she also be this serious when having a meeting? Or would she smile gently as usual?

Shen Jinrong felt that she had become very strange since getting sick. Some little thoughts that usually flashed by now made her spend energy thinking about them. After a great effort, the sickly Professor Shen came up with an answer—she seemed unwilling to see the young one being especially gentle to others.

It was an indescribable feeling. It was as if, for a moment, her brain was split into two parts, with rationality and sensibility fighting against each other. Rationality said: Yan He is probably just gentle by nature; she might be like this with her friends too. But sensibility disagreed and retorted: You’re only like this with me! No one else!

The two voices argued fiercely. Shen Jinrong felt a headache coming on, so she simply stopped indulging her stray thoughts and focused all her attention on the young one talking on the phone.

“Mhm, okay, I’ll be there right away.”

After saying this, Yan He hung up the phone. She took a deep breath and turned to look at Shen Jinrong apologetically: “Something came up at my unit. I have to go out on an assignment, and it’s quite urgent. Can you manage by yourself?”

Shen Jinrong felt a pang of sadness in her heart, but her face was calm: “Of course, I can. My fever is gone.”

“That’s great,” Yan He sighed in relief, revealing a row of neat white teeth when she smiled: “My supervisor said there’s a news story to follow up on in the suburbs, and they’re short-handed, so they want me to go.”

“That’s how it is during an internship.” Shen Jinrong struggled to sit up. “I’ll drive you there.”

“No need, no need, you stay home.” Yan He pursed her lips, her gaze shyly directed elsewhere, and she whispered: “Be good, obey me.”

Shen Jinrong, nearly thirty and called “be good” by the young one while fully conscious: …

Shen Jinrong was stunned, but after saying those words, Yan He quickly stood up, her pink earlobes vaguely visible: “I—I’m leaving now!”

“Be careful on the road. Let me know when you get home after work,” Shen Jinrong instructed, then obediently leaned back.

“You too, Older Woman. Check your temperature before going to bed tonight and tell me what the reading is.” Yan He tidied up her clothes, walked back to Shen Jinrong, and leaned over to look at her.

Yan He placed one hand on the edge of the sofa. Shen Jinrong’s eyes widened, feeling instantly surrounded by Yan He’s aura.

Yan He saw the older woman’s ‘peach blossom eyes’ were wide and round, like a cat’s eyes.

“W-what are you going to do?” Shen Jinrong asked, alarmed.

Yan He mischievously curved her lips: “Can I kiss you?”

Shen Jinrong covered her mouth and frantically shook her head. A few unruly strands of hair clung to her face, creating a messy beauty: “No! It’s contagious!”

“Just teasing you,” Yan He really just reached out and touched her forehead, muttering to herself: “Mhm, it’s not hot anymore.”

“Then I’m going now, Older Woman.”

Yan He waved cheerfully and opened the door to leave.

Shen Jinrong froze on the spot. After a long pause, she belatedly realized—she had just been teased back by Yan He, hadn’t she? Right? Right?

The call just now was from Sister Wang. Yan He hailed a taxi and soon arrived near the location she mentioned. The driver told her: “This is the place. It’s the suburban-urban fringe. The car can’t go any further inside.”

In front of her were low-rise village houses in the suburbs. Yan He thanked the driver, paid the fare, and opened the door to get out of the car.

She looked at the low, single-story houses on both sides in front of her and felt that the area was desolate, even messy. The narrow path was cluttered with a lot of debris. Several old bicycles and some disorganized cardboard boxes were placed there, blocking a large part of the road.

No wonder the driver said the car couldn’t get in.

An inexplicable sense of apprehension rose in Yan He’s heart. She hesitated, looked down, opened her phone, found the location Sister Wang had sent her, and walked toward the destination.

Sister Wang’s phone call earlier had a lot of background noise. The situation here seemed urgent. She hadn’t explained things clearly in a few words, only saying that there was a minor dispute here, nothing major, and asked her to come and gain experience.

Yan He followed the map, winding her way through the village, finally catching the attention of an old man playing chess at his doorstep. One of the old men squinted at her for a long time and asked, “Young lady, looking for someone?”

“Yes, sorry, I’m a bit lost.” Yan He gave an embarrassed smile, enlarged the map on her phone, and pointed at the location, asking, “Excuse me, can you tell me where this place is?”

The old man took out his reading glasses from his pocket, carefully examined the map for a long time, and then said, “Isn’t this the park next door? Girl, you went the wrong way!” He directed Yan He: “Just take this road, turn right at the next intersection, and keep walking straight until you get out. You’ll see the park if you walk east after you get out.”

“Thank you, sir!”

Following the direction the old man pointed, Yan He successfully found the park entrance. As soon as she entered, she vaguely heard the loud, noisy voices coming from the woods not far away. She knew in her heart that this must be the place Sister Wang mentioned.

To get to the woods, one had to cross the lake at the entrance. Yan He walked on the bridge, feeling it was unstable. When she stepped on it, the wooden bridge made a creaking sound, as if unable to bear the weight.

As she got closer, Yan He vaguely saw that many people were gathered in the woods. Most of them must be just watching the excitement, right? She shook her head, worried that Sister Wang was waiting impatiently, and quickened her pace.

The lake in the park was not small, semi-encircling the entire park like a moat. Yan He didn’t like being near the water in summer and autumn; there were mosquitoes everywhere.

Just as Yan He was preparing to step off the bridge, a faint scream suddenly reached her ears. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, but found that the faint scream was covered by the noisy voices in the woods, and she couldn’t find its source.

Was it a hallucination?

No!

She narrowed her eyes and saw a child in the distance, near the center of the lake, flailing in the water. The movements were disjointed and full of panic, not like a child swimming deliberately. A thought suddenly flashed through Yan He’s mind—Crap! Is someone drowning?

She widened her eyes and, in the next second, confirmed her suspicion—the child’s head was starting to sink into the water. Yan He quickly sprinted toward the shore, and then, without thinking twice, she jumped straight into the water.