"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 80

Shen Jinrong  wondered if Yan He had an exceptional fondness for Rome because she had watched the movie Roman Holiday. Many of the places they visited—the Trevi Fountain, the Mouth of Truth, and the Spanish Steps they were currently heading towards—each bore the shadow of that film.

When she posed this question, the young woman tilted her head and pondered seriously, her face alight with a pure, unblemished smile: “Don’t you think we’re a little bit like them?”

Like them? Not really. The only similarity seemed to be the shared sense of escape.

Shen Jinrong pinched Yan He’s earlobe and asked with a grin, “So, you planned this?”

Yan He raised her hands in surrender: “I didn’t plan it! It was clearly you, Elder Sister, who suggested we travel together. If I weren’t with you, I might have just found some place in the mountains to stay for a while by myself.”

She wasn’t lying. If it weren’t for Shen Jinrong, she would never have come to Rome alone. Though she had only been here for less than a year, the ancient and modern romantic legends had previously made her determined to visit with the person she loved deeply. That’s why she had secretly wanted to come with her elder sister.

If not for Shen Jinrong… she might have spent two weeks in a mountain somewhere, only emerging after Christmas when the cities were less bustling. When she was alone, she didn’t want to see the lights of a thousand homes; she only wanted to stare blankly at a small bonfire in front of her.

The shadow of her parents’ divorce had dissipated considerably now. Although it still existed, it no longer caused the intense grief it had when she first learned about it. Yan He thought that, deep down, she was happy for Ms. He (何女士).

Shen Jinrong blinked: “Hmph.” She tugged at the corner of her own clothing and muttered softly, “Young woman.”

She is indeed a young woman.

They could take Bus No. 83 from the Mouth of Truth to the Spanish Steps. The timetable indicated the arrival time for Bus No. 83. Yan He checked the time and walked over to Shen Jinrong: “It’ll be here in three minutes.”

“Is that accurate?” Shen Jinrong glanced at the paper timetable encased in the notice board, skeptical of the Italians’ precision.

“Sometimes it is,” Yan He smiled. “We don’t have anything else to do anyway, so let’s just wait.”

Shen Jinrong shrugged. As soon as she turned her head, she saw the nearby people spontaneously gathering together. The deep-red Bus No. 83 slowly approached from a distance.

“See, I told you it’s sometimes accurate,” Yan He pulled her aboard, took two bus tickets from her pocket, inserted them into the validating machine, punched them, and handed one to Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong took the ticket handed to her, looking slightly dazed: “When did you buy this?”

“Ah! That was…” Yan He thought for a moment, “When we first left the airport that day, I bought them at the ticket machine.”

Shen Jinrong honestly couldn’t recall when she had bought the tickets. She pouted, expressing her full approval of the young woman’s magical talent for performing tricks.

Yan He looked down at Google Maps: “We have five stops until we reach… Ah,” she paused, her smile slightly stiff, “We get off at the Trevi Fountain.”

Their seats were window-side and facing each other. The midday sun slanted through the glass onto Shen Jinrong. She narrowed her eyes, pulled a folding sun hat from her bag, and put it on to block the sun. She ‘hmph’-ed, “So we’ve circled back.”

Yan He scratched her head and put away her phone in the glaring sunlight: “Yes.” She added, “I won’t do this next time. I’ll plan the route properly.”

Shen Jinrong motioned to her. Yan He leaned in, unsure why. Shen Jinrong secretly slipped her a small bottle, looking mysterious: “Here.”

The bottle in her hand was small and warm to the touch. Yan He looked down and saw it was a bottle of sunscreen.

She couldn’t help but laugh: “Why so mysterious just to give me sunscreen!” Someone who didn’t know might think they were engaging in some sort of secret transaction!

“Put some on,” Shen Jinrong pointed to her cheekbone: “It’s all red from the sun here.”

The young woman looked better fairer; if she got too dark, she’d be a little black puppy. Shen Jinrong sniffed, then thought, Well, I’d like her no matter what.

The pink bottle was marked “50+.” Yan He squeezed a little onto the back of her hand, then rubbed it onto her face. Feeling that she had covered all areas, she returned the small bottle to Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong took back her sunscreen and stared at Yan He, smiling.

At first, Yan He thought she was just smiling innocently, but then her sister’s smile grew wider, eventually turning into suppressed laughter.

“What is it?” Yan He nervously touched her face, which only felt smooth from the freshly applied sunscreen: “Didn’t I rub it in properly?”

Shen Jinrong held back her laughter, leaned closer, and smoothly rubbed the patch of unapplied sunscreen on Yan He’s nose, then smiled with satisfaction: “Mm, you were a little puppy with a white nose just now.”

White-nosed-Yan He-Puppy: ???

The puppy blinked, then whined coyly, “Elder Sister brought a hat, but didn’t bring one for me.”

Shen Jinrong wore her sun hat, her expression unchanged: “I remember packing one. It’s your fault for forgetting it.”

Yan He became even more aggrieved. She simply sat down next to Shen Jinrong, taking her sister’s hand: “But it’s so hot.”

“Hot? It’s twelve degrees Celsius today.” Shen Jinrong wasn’t falling for it.

“It really is hot,” Yan He playfully rubbed against her clothes.

Shen Jinrong: “…You just put on sunscreen, don’t rub it on my clothes.”

The little puppy straightened up instantly and declared self-righteously: “Does Elder Sister not like me anymore?”

Shen Jinrong: ?

“You don’t like me! You won’t even share your hat with me!” Yan He grew more impassioned.

Shen Jinrong had a headache: “Stop!” She spoke with a hint of professorial authority: “Then what do you want?”

The little puppy, who had just been speaking so confidently, now drooped her ears and whispered, “I want a kiss from Elder Sister.”

A car horn blared next to them as she spoke. Shen Jinrong hadn’t heard clearly: “What?”

Yan He “hmph”-ed, leaned over and kissed the corner of her lips, tasting a bit of sweetness. The little puppy nodded contentedly: “That’s what I want!”

Shen Jinrong: …

A tricky little puppy resorting to plots just for a kiss?

As the bus approached the stop, Yan He pressed the stop request button nearby. The bus stopped next to the station, and many tourists got off with them.

Yan He contentedly held her sister’s hand, wagging her metaphorical tail: “Sister, Sister! Let’s go buy ice cream! Can you eat cold things today?”

Shen Jinrong nodded: “I can.”

“Then wait here for me! I’ll go buy it!” Yan He carefully asked if she had any dietary restrictions, then went to queue for the ice cream.

Watching the young woman’s cheerful back as she queued for ice cream, Shen Jinrong leaned against a nearby railing, watching the crowds gathered in front of the Trevi Fountain from afar.

The crowd was bustling, just like any other day.

But they had already seen the Trevi Fountain when it was empty. After witnessing its cold, quiet appearance, the current crowds were insignificant.

Shen Jinrong took her phone out of her pocket, checked the time, opened the camera, and aimed it at the young woman waiting in line for ice cream. She adjusted the composition, confirmed the entire picture was harmonious, and pressed the shutter.

The young woman’s jacket had a large bear head on the back, Shen Jinrong noticed only now. She suddenly realized that she rarely saw Yan He’s back. It seemed that every time, it was Yan He who chased after and sought her—almost every single time.

Shen Jinrong paused. She knew this shouldn’t be the case. Yan He saw her back most often, but Shen Jinrong should also see Yan He’s back.

Rarely.

Shen Jinrong knew.

Yan He must have noticed a long time ago, but she wouldn’t tell her. Shen Jinrong realized that she seemed to owe Yan He a great deal. In a relationship, the person who holds the initiative is often not the one who takes the most action. She was always passively receiving the young woman’s tenderness and consideration, yet rarely did anything for her.

Shen Jinrong sighed.

She sometimes felt panicked, worrying that she couldn’t give Yan He anything, worrying that she would leave if she didn’t get what she wanted from her. But now, Shen Jinrong stared at that big bear head with its brilliant smile and thought that she should have some faith in Yan He, and in herself.

She was different from her past self now.

Shen Jinrong slightly raised the brim of her hat. When she looked up again, she met the young woman’s secretly thrown glance. She smiled, raised her hand, and waved at Yan He, who happily smiled back.

This is wonderful.

Shen Jinrong watched her reach the storefront in the queue, and a minute later, she returned with two ice creams.

“This one is yours—the non-pistachio one,” Yan He handed one to Shen Jinrong and smiled: “I don’t like the pistachio flavor either. It’s green; the first time I saw it, I thought it was matcha.”

Shen Jinrong laughed: “I didn’t recognize the word the first time I bought it either, and I also thought it was matcha.” She took a big bite of the ice cream, and white cream stuck to the corner of her lip.

Yan He pulled a tissue from her pocket and offered it to her, but Shen Jinrong shook her head, intending to use it later. But the ice cream was too cold, chilling her so much that she couldn’t speak for a moment. She could only wave her hand, motioning to Yan He that she didn’t need it yet.

But the young woman seemed to have thought of something. She blinked at Shen Jinrong and whispered, “There are so many people here, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

Shen Jinrong was stunned. What is inappropriate? She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she saw Yan He lean closer, getting closer and closer, and then, the area stained with cream seemed to be touched by something soft, and then quickly pulled away.

Shen Jinrong, holding her ice cream and wide-eyed, completely out of the loop and not having reacted: !!!

Yan He, who thought her elder sister was too unrestrained, was both shy and daring enough to lean in and lick the corner of her sister’s lip: OVO “You can’t do that next time.” The young woman had the composure to lecture her, looking completely serious: “Sister, there are too many people. It’s inappropriate.”

She paused, then smiled shyly: “I’ll be embarrassed.”

Shen Jinrong: ???