"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 62

Ten minutes later, Yan He sat in Grandma Shen’s house, holding a steaming hot cup of tea and staring blankly.

Grandma Shen came out of the kitchen, carrying a large thermos. Seeing that there was still plenty of tea in Yan He’s cup, she placed the thermos on the table and asked doubtfully, “Girl, why aren’t you drinking it?” She smiled: “I’m not a bad person.”

Yan He quickly put the cup on the table, looked up earnestly at Grandma Shen, and said anxiously, “I—I certainly know you’re not a bad person! I just—” She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the cup she had just put down. She vaguely felt that the glass cup she had been holding was a little familiar, as if she had seen it at the Older Woman’s house, but perhaps all glass cups looked the same? Yan He didn’t think much of it.

“I’m so sorry about your parents’ situation,” Grandma Shen picked up the thermos, poured herself a cup of water, and added some tea leaves. But the cup was too hot, so she temporarily placed it on the table. Her tone was one of gentle reproach: “You child! Even if you’re in a bad mood, you still have to wear thick clothes when you go out! How can you wear such thin clothes on a cold day? I’m already wearing a padded jacket, and you only wore a coat when you ran out.”

Grandma Shen shook her head, lamenting that young people nowadays were presumptuous, relying on their good health to act recklessly.

Yan He scratched her head: “But you shouldn’t just bring a stranger like me home! What if I was a bad person?” Yan He thought, The elderly nowadays are too careless. Luckily, I’m not one of those bad people; if I were, wouldn’t I break the kind old lady’s heart?

“You’re hardly a stranger,” Grandma Shen smiled cunningly: “Didn’t you help me buy fish before? We’ve met two or three times.”

Yan He smiled helplessly: “Grandma, meeting two or three times doesn’t necessarily mean someone is a good person.”

“I rely on my intuition. You don’t look like a bad person,” Grandma Shen shook her head, very confident in her judgment: “Besides, how can we be considered strangers? We’ve already exchanged secrets.”

Yan He knew she was referring to the experience at the lakeside park last time. She then thought of Grandma Shen’s granddaughter, and she could only silently sigh for her tragic fate.

“Thank you,” Yan He opened her mouth, but realized that anything she said at this moment would be futile.

Grandma Shen waved her hand nonchalantly: “Hey, it’s nothing. Stay and have dinner before going home. You’ll be keeping this old woman company, too.”

“Then I’ll help you out,” Yan He smiled, and didn’t mention giving the old lady money or anything like that. Clearly, the old lady was kind-hearted, and if she offered money just for accepting her for a meal, it would be too impersonal.

“Great! You can keep me company and chat, too,” Grandma Shen smiled: “Anyway, my granddaughter! She’s busy with work, even working during the New Year! She doesn’t have much time to come and see me.”

Yan He smiled and echoed her: “Your granddaughter surely wants to spend as much time with you as she can, but she’s probably just too busy with work.”

Grandma Shen sighed: “Her work is quite busy. Oh dear! She’s nearly thirty and still hasn’t married.”

“That depends on fate,” Yan He blinked seriously. She thought of the Older Woman and earnestly explained to the old lady: “If she hasn’t married, it must be because she hasn’t found the right person, which means your granddaughter is a responsible person!”

The old lady liked to hear pleasant words. She didn’t care whether the words were true or false. Anyway, the child had her own thoughts, and she would let her decide on marriage. If she didn’t want to marry, the old lady wouldn’t mind if she lived her life that way.

However… she had heard her say at the beginning of the year that she had a partner, but there had been no news since. If it weren’t for the seriousness in Shen Jinrong’s expression when she brought it up, Grandma Shen thought, she might have even thought she was lying to her!

“She did say she has a partner,” Grandma Shen shook her head, “but she hasn’t brought her back for me to meet.”

Yan He smiled, only saying that if the time was right, maybe she would get to meet her.

The old and young pair found plenty to talk about. Yan He learned that both she and her deceased husband shared the surname Shen, and that her granddaughter had a doctorate and had attended prestigious schools all along. Midway through the conversation, Grandma Shen suddenly stopped laughing and earnestly scrutinized Yan He’s face.

Yan He blinked, feeling a little nervous under her gaze: “What is it, Grandma?”

Grandma Shen touched her chin: “That’s odd. I keep feeling like I’ve seen you somewhere recently.”

The hairs on Yan He’s back stood up. A thought inexplicably surged in her mind. She didn’t dare speak, giving two dry laughs: “N-no, right?”

Grandma Shen reached out and straightened her face: “Wait, wait! I really feel like I’ve seen you somewhere! It shouldn’t be my imagination.”

Yan He thought, Could it be that the video of her interview that Sister Wang posted on the short video platform was seen by the old lady? No way, no way, right? Could it be such a coincidence?

What she feared came to pass. The next second, Grandma Shen pointed at her face and suddenly realized: “Ah! Aren’t you! Aren’t you the one! The girl in the short video who showed courage and saved the child from drowning?”

Yan He covered her face, desperately denying: “I’m not, I’m not!”

“How can you not be? Wait till I check!” Grandma Shen pulled out her phone and started looking down to find the evidence.

Seeing the old lady starting to search for proof, Yan He’s heart sank.

“Look! I found it!” Grandma Shen clapped her hands, personally placing the evidence in front of Yan He. The old lady smiled proudly: “See! It is you, isn’t it? Although this one isn’t very clear, you can tell it’s you!”

The old lady’s gaze toward her became even more loving: “I knew it! Little girl! Being courageous and doing good deeds is a good thing! Why won’t you admit it!”

Yan He desperately covered her face: “No! Please don’t say anything!”

Since the short video was posted, she had been experiencing social death. At first, it was bearable, with just nearby colleagues coming over to compliment and tease her. Later, it became stranger and stranger—one day, she bought a savory pancake downstairs and was about to pay when the owner suddenly grabbed her, asking if she was the person who saved the drowning child in the phone video, and absolutely refused to let her pay. Yan He, enduring the stares of a crowd, quickly scanned the QR code to pay the owner, grabbed her pancake, and ran.

Yan He sighed.

“And you told me, ‘What if I was a bad person!'” Grandma Shen smiled even more affectionately: “If a little girl like you were a bad person, there would be no good people in this world!”

Yan He gave two dry laughs. Since she couldn’t avoid it, she simply accepted the old lady’s praise generously.

The two chatted for a long time. Grandma Shen looked at the time and slapped her thigh: “It’s about time. Let’s go out and buy some groceries and come back to cook!”

Yan He naturally agreed.

“But you’re dressed too lightly, aren’t you?” Grandma Shen examined Yan He, touching her chin. After a while, she clapped her hands: “My granddaughter has a scarf here. It’s clean. If you don’t mind, I’ll get it for you.”

Yan He quickly said, “It’s fine! No need!” As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the old lady turn and retrieve a scarf from the clothes rack in the room, handing it to her.

Yan He: …

Then why did you ask me?

The scarf in her hand looked a little familiar. Yan He remembered that the Older Woman also had a scarf like this. When she returned it that time, Li Xiuxi even said she should have kept it as an excuse to meet next time. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing Yan He staring at the scarf, Grandma Shen also remembered: “I remember seeing you with a scarf like this before, didn’t I?” She smiled: “See how fate brings us together!”

With the scarf wrapped around her, Yan He went out with Grandma Shen, who was wearing a down jacket. As soon as they reached downstairs, they saw a few old ladies returning with groceries and greeting Grandma Shen: “Old sister! Going out to buy groceries?”

Grandma Shen waved her hand, smiling broadly: “Yes, indeed!”

The old ladies walked closer and, seeing Yan He beside her, were all startled: “Oh? Who is this—” Grandma Shen proudly introduced her: “Ah! This is a little friend of mine!” She mysteriously beckoned the other old ladies closer: “Do you remember the video we saw of a young girl saving a drowning child?”

Yan He buried her face in the scarf, listening to Grandma Shen praise her to others, feeling even more embarrassed. The scarf was indeed clean, but the scent was somewhat similar to her own laundry detergent. Yan He didn’t think much of it, only wondering, Could laundry detergent scents be that common?

Grandma Shen really had many acquaintances. Yan He followed her all the way to the market, bought groceries, and returned. All along the way, people kept greeting the old lady, and Grandma Shen kept introducing Yan He’s heroic deed to others.

Yan He wondered, Did that many people actually see the video? Then why hadn’t Ms. He and Mr. Yan seen it? She quickly thought, Both of them are busy with work and often travel, so of course they don’t have time to watch videos.

She felt a little disappointed but quickly cheered up and followed Grandma Shen back home to wash the vegetables.

She handed the washed vegetables to Grandma Shen. The latter started boiling water to blanch them, then turned and asked Yan He: “Girl! How about blanching the celery to make a cold celery salad?”

“Sounds great!” Yan He replied with a smile.

Hot water was boiling in the kitchen, and warm steam constantly rose, briefly lingering on the ceiling before dissipating. Grandma Shen’s house had the heating on, and the temperature in the kitchen was even higher. Watching the elderly woman cooking in front of her, Yan He felt her eyes well up with tears.

The love of a stranger… Her parents must also love her, right?

Yan He thought, Of course she knew Ms. He and Mr. Yan loved her, but the news of their divorce came too suddenly. Even though she had suspected it, she still needed time to accept it. She thought, Perhaps divorce was a form of liberation for her parents?

—Being divorced didn’t mean they stopped loving her; it just meant they were no longer together.

Someone seemed to be knocking on the door outside.

Grandma Shen couldn’t free her hands. Holding the spatula, she turned her head and said to Yan He: “Girl! It must be my granddaughter! Help me open the door!”

Yan He agreed. With wet hands, she walked out of the kitchen, went to the door, and opened it.

Shen Jinrong stood at the door, holding a large bag of groceries and looking down at her phone. Seeing the door open, she looked up while saying, “Grandma, I forgot my key—” Shen Jinrong’s eyes widened, her pupils contracting sharply. Her lips parted and closed. Looking at Yan He’s face, she only subconsciously finished the rest of her sentence: “—I didn’t, didn’t bring it…”

“Yan He?!”