"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 71

The driving grandpa seemed long accustomed to such scenes. He wisely stopped chatting with Yan He and conveniently turned up the volume on the radio. The music station played a deep, lyrical female voice, sounding like a song from the 1990s. As the rhythm gradually rose to a climax, the atmosphere between the two women also grew delicate.

The air seemed to stop flowing. They sat side-by-side in the back seat with the heat on. Yan He felt as if the air had solidified into a slow-moving substance. The air she inhaled into her lungs seemed to be infected with ambiguous factors, traveling from her lungs to her heart, where the rapid palpitations injected them into her blood, spreading throughout her body.

A heart on fire—she wanted her to see it.

Shen Jinrong only felt the temperature of the child’s hand in hers gradually rising. When the temperature reached a certain point, she suddenly turned her head and was met with the sight of a crimson-cheeked Yan He.

“Is… is it too hot in the car? Should we open a window a little?” Shen Jinrong tested the temperature inside the car; it seemed alright. It shouldn’t be this hot, should it?

Yan He quickly raised her hand and touched her nose: “No.”

Shen Jinrong caught her small movement entirely, and subtly pulled a tissue from her pocket, handing it to Yan He: “Wipe your sweat?”

Yan He instinctively took it. Only after she reacted did she see the teasing smile in her Elder Sister’s eyes. She maintained her composure, wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, and looked out the window: “We’re almost there.”

Yes, they were almost there. Shen Jinrong thought, she didn’t know this route. A little over an hour wasn’t a very long drive; it felt like it passed in the blink of an eye. Yet it also felt like a long time had passed, long enough for her perpetually cool hands to be warmed by the child.

The surrounding scenery changed from open fields to bustling areas, but not bustling in the traditional sense, more like the desolation after prosperity. The streetlights outside the window had been turned on at some point. Dim alley entrances flashed past the main road from time to time, and the city wasn’t all that clean and tidy.

“How long did you stay here?” Shen Jinrong asked Yan He.

“About a year,” Yan He replied softly, her voice light, as if she had recalled something. It was as though she had fantasized countless times about exploring this city with the person she loved.

They stopped talking. The car passed by the Colosseum. Even under the night lights, many people were still walking in the streets. Yan He leaned closer to Shen Jinrong, pointing out the window on her side and saying, “There’s a restaurant nearby where you can take in the entire Colosseum.”

She was too close.

Shen Jinrong’s mind felt chaotic; she didn’t have the capacity to think about what Yan He was saying—What restaurant? What Colosseum? Her gaze shifted from the window and fell completely onto the child’s face.

Outside the car window, warm yellow light softly streamed in, settling into Yan He’s eyes. The dark pupils held a warm color, adding a touch of cozy warmth. Her eyes held light, and the nighttime Colosseum. Shen Jinrong watched her blink, then her gaze retreated, focusing only on Shen Jinrong herself.

Now, her eyes only held me.

A vast and surging sense of satisfaction suddenly swelled in Shen Jinrong’s heart—this satisfaction was unprecedented—it filled her entire being. Her child’s eyes only held her—in the past, in the present—she wanted this to be true forever and ever in the future as well.

The instant their eyes met, Yan He heard a “buzz” in her head, as if all the blood in her body rushed straight to her brain. Her throat constricted. She couldn’t say anything, nor could she make any move. She could only see her Elder Sister’s slightly fluttering eyelashes, and the mole at the corner of her Elder Sister’s eye.

Long time no see, she thought.

Their breaths mingled, the exhaled air intertwining lingeringly. Reason seemed to be eroded by something, vanishing with the passage of time. Yan He couldn’t say when her reason would completely disappear, but she had a strange premonition—that time shouldn’t be far off.

When facing Shen Jinrong, she had no self-control—or rather, the moment Shen Jinrong smiled at her, she could feel the reason she had once been proud of completely collapsing in an instant. She stood in a wasteland, looking up at her moon.

The driver grandpa suddenly slammed on the brakes, rolled down the window, gestured at a cyclist outside, and then swore under his breath before turning around to apologize to the two of them.

Yan He was thrown from the back left to the right, her head hitting the not-so-hard car seat with a thud. It didn’t hurt much, but she was still a little dazed, her eyes wide with disbelief that the perfect opportunity for a kiss had just been missed.

Shen Jinrong was also thrown toward her, and she stroked the spot the child had just hit, her face full of concern: “Does it hurt?”

Yan He grimaced: “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“I’ll blow on it for you when we get back,” Shen Jinrong said, gently patting her head as she withdrew her hand.

The child sat up straight, facing her Elder Sister in a poised, proper manner, as if to say, “I’m ready! When are you going to kiss me?”

The driver grandpa stopped the car at the hotel entrance, looked left and right like a thief, quickly took out their luggage, and then sped off, but not before rolling down the window to say something to Yan He.

The two stood at the hotel entrance. Shen Jinrong watched the black business car drive away and blinked. She really hadn’t clearly heard what the two of them had said, but judging by Yan He’s expression, it was probably something like wishing them a pleasant trip, right?

One of Yan He’s eyebrows was raised high. The grandpa had just told her—”I can’t park here; I need to hurry and leave!”

“Have a happy holiday with your girlfriend!”

Holiday?

Yan He blinked, suddenly realizing that Christmas was approaching, next week, in fact. No wonder colored lights were hung everywhere, and there was already a Christmas tree standing in the middle of some squares.

The child dutifully undertook the task of translating for her Elder Sister: “He just said he couldn’t park here, so he left quickly, and—” She paused, then awkwardly and evasively added, “He also wished us a happy holiday.”

He didn’t just wish us a happy holiday, did he?

Her Elder Sister raised a slight eyebrow, fully aware of the child’s transparent thoughts. She lifted her eyes to look at the Christmas tree in the center of the hotel lobby: “It’s almost Christmas.”

Yan He nodded: “It is. Maybe it will be crowded after a while.”

The two walked to the hotel front desk. Shen Jinrong handled the check-in; they had booked a double room. While checking in, Yan He stared expectantly at the receptionist, hoping she would say, as in novels or TV shows—”Sorry, we don’t have any double rooms left, only a king room.”

But she didn’t.

The attendant quickly completed the process and handed the two women a white and red key card, saying in English, “Welcome!”

Shen Jinrong smiled and nodded. A bellhop came up and asked if they needed help, which she politely declined with a smile.

Yan He followed behind her, walking towards the elevator. The elevator was on the right side of the lobby. The floor was polished marble, requiring careful steps to avoid falling, but it made pulling the luggage easier.

Shen Jinrong reached the elevator, pressed the call button, then glanced at Yan He standing nearby, and raised her hand to beckon her over: “Come here, why are you standing so far away?”

She wasn’t really standing far away, only about two steps apart. Yan He took a large stride and stood next to her Elder Sister. Her Elder Sister also smiled, a sly smile: “A little closer.”

Yan He’s ear tips turned red: “…Isn’t—isn’t that good? There are so many people in the lobby.”

“If you miss it, you’ll lose your chance,” her Elder Sister blinked again. Yan He felt she was saying this on purpose.

How could I miss it? The child thought indignantly; she had already missed one chance because of the grandpa’s sudden brake!

Just as she was about to lean in for a kiss, the elevator suddenly made a “ding” sound, and the silver doors slowly opened.

Shen Jinrong, who had timed it perfectly and walked in satisfied: O v O.

Yan He, who hadn’t expected the elevator to arrive so quickly and hadn’t gotten a kiss: QAQ!

The elevator doors slowly closed. Shen Jinrong swiped the card and pressed their floor button. The moment the elevator doors closed, Yan He dropped her suitcase, stepped forward, and pinned her Elder Sister into the corner of the elevator.

There were only the two of them in the elevator, with only the mechanical noise of the elevator running. But as she leaned in, Yan He clearly heard her Elder Sister’s breathing. She acutely noticed that her Elder Sister’s breathing was even starting to quicken.

The child’s hand was placed behind her head. Shen Jinrong raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at Yan He with a hint of surprise.

Don’t panic… the situation is still under my control. She thought, The child probably just wants a kiss. A kiss should make her stop cornering me like this… right?

Her Elder Sister looked at her with a smiling face. Before Yan He could speak, she saw her Elder Sister’s face enlarge in front of her. Then, before Yan He could react, the soft warmth on her lips touched and separated instantly.

Shen Jinrong briefly left a kiss on her lips, then quickly pulled away, still maintaining that gentle smile, as if nothing had happened.

Yan He’s mind went blank. She stared intensely at her Elder Sister, but a fire shot up in her heart. A sense of grievance, coming from nowhere, made her nose sting.

—Shen Jinrong soon saw the child, who had just been so brazen as to corner her against the wall in an elevator dong, pitifully purse her lips, her voice turning soft and sweet: “It’s not enough.”

“One kiss is not enough, Elder Sister.”

“You can’t bully me like this.”

Shen Jinrong widened her eyes. Her Elder Sister’s pride supported her to challenge again: “If I bully you, what will happen?”

Yan He tilted her head to think, and the next second, bit her Elder Sister’s earlobe.

“Probably—it’ll be like this.”

Yan He let out a soft laugh, her breath hitting Shen Jinrong’s ear—gentle, yet making Shen Jinrong tremble all over.

“—Elder Sister forgot, little dogs bite.”