"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 82

Their trip was not too long, so they chose a few interesting spots in Rome to visit. After a few days, they headed straight to the largest local car rental agency. Shen Jinrong brought her driver’s license, preparing to rent a car and start their road trip.

“Do you like the Alps?” Shen Jinrong asked Yan He in a quiet moment while looking at cars with the rental agency owner.

Yan He thought that anywhere was fine, as she didn’t have a specific destination in mind. As long as she was with Shen Jinrong, whether they went skiing in the Alps or sunbathing in Sicily, she would be happy.

“I do,” Yan He smiled and nodded, meeting Shen Jinrong’s cheerful eyes.

“Then let’s go to the Alps!” Although the trip had been decided before, there was a thick barrier between planning and realization, and the moment of actualization brought even more joy.

Shen Jinrong smiled: “To Bolzano! We’ll go skiing!” The pure joy of a child shone in her smiling eyes: “I love snowy mountains!”

She loved snowy mountains; Yan He had already seen it in her eyes. Her eyes could smile, speak, and make Yan He blush, yet she seemed completely unaware of all this, and had no full measure of her own charm.

“I like them too,” Yan He echoed.

The rental agency owner, walking ahead, stopped and pointed to a white SUV: “Is this car acceptable?”

Yan He was unfamiliar with the car rental procedures. She simply stood where she was, watching Shen Jinrong inspect the vehicle and negotiate with the owner. After they agreed, she followed them to complete the paperwork.

They drove the car out. Yan He sat in the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. Italy drives on the right, which wasn’t too different from the driving style in China. The owner had just explained some traffic rules, and seeing her elder sister look so comfortable, Yan He felt at ease.

“We have a car! Where should we go?” A strange glow shone in Shen Jinrong’s eyes. Today, she wore sportswear with a jacket over it. The car was warm, so she took off the jacket and tossed it onto the back seat. The two drawstrings of her athletic hoodie fell across her chest, landing on her beautiful silhouette.

Yan He only glanced once before averting her eyes, belatedly realizing the heat and impropriety of her gaze. She lowered her eyes, her mind constantly flashing with the fleeting glimpse of that graceful curve, and her ear tips quietly flushed red.

Shen Jinrong lowered the car’s sun visor. Hearing no response from Yan He, she turned to glance at her while driving, watching her looking down, lost in thought. Shen Jinrong felt a little confused but still asked, “Do you want to go somewhere else for a bit? Did you have a car when you studied in Rome before?”

Yan He pouted: “I don’t even have a driver’s license.”

“Then is there anywhere you always wanted to go but couldn’t because you didn’t have a car?” Shen Jinrong asked with a smile, stopping the car at a crossroads. Pedestrians crossing the road smiled at the driver inside the car, and Shen Jinrong briefly nodded back.

Yan He shook her head, thinking: “No, not really.”

“Then let’s go back to the hotel to pack up. We’ll get a good rest tonight and leave tomorrow morning after waking up?” Shen Jinrong had no specific destination, and neither did Yan He, so they unanimously agreed to Shen Jinrong’s suggestion and drove back to the hotel.

The hotel offered a parking lot for guests. Shen Jinrong expertly parked the car in a space. As she got out, Yan He unbuckled her seatbelt and asked, “Actually, there’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

Shen Jinrong was startled: “What?” She tucked her driver’s license into her bag and leaned into the back seat to grab her jacket. She couldn’t quite reach the back seat while leaning in, so she stretched her body to reach, and due to the vigorous movement, her abdominal clothing shifted slightly upward.

Yan He caught a glimpse of fair skin and a beautiful muscle curve. She quickly turned her head, finally realizing the effectiveness of the exercise her elder sister did every other night.

Shen Jinrong’s explanation to her was that if her daytime activity level was insufficient, she would add extra exercises at night. Yan He secretly touched her own still-present ab lines, thinking, I didn’t see her exercising every day when I stayed at her house before, did I? Is Elder Sister trying to pressure me?

With this thought, Yan He’s expression became somewhat heavy. Shen Jinrong, seeing her silence, asked again: “What did you want to ask me?”

Yan He took a deep breath: “Why do you always manage to park perfectly every time?”

Shen Jinrong burst into laughter, tilting her head to seriously consider the question. Her tone was uncertain: “Maybe it’s because… my skills are pretty good?”

Yan He blinked.

“It might just be a natural talent,” Shen Jinrong said smugly, stroking her chin. “I can teach you if you want to learn. Oh wait, you don’t have a license yet.”

Her elder sister’s smile looked too mischievous right now, as if she were provoking a little puppy. Yan He protested: “I’ll go learn to drive when I get back from my business trip!”

Shen Jinrong rubbed her head and draped the jacket over her arm: “Let’s get out of the car!”

A not-too-small bar was located next to the hotel, and it was especially lively in the evening. As the two finished dinner at a small restaurant and prepared to return to the hotel, Yan He held back Shen Jinrong, pointing at the always-busy bar next door, her face full of anticipation: “Sister! Let’s go have a drink!”

Remembering Yan He’s behavior after drinking, Shen Jinrong instinctively refused: “We have to drive tomorrow!”

Yan He held her hand and shook it: “Come on!”

Shen Jinrong firmly disagreed. Who knew what Yan He would do after drinking? If things got a little out of hand—would they even be able to leave tomorrow?

“Sister!” The spoiled puppy secretly pouted: “Can’t we really?”

“We’ll drink when we get to the Alps.” Shen Jinrong couldn’t directly refuse, so she indefinitely postponed the drinking. Seeing the puppy still looking aggrieved, Shen Jinrong laughed: “I’ll mix a drink for you then.”

She couldn’t be sure if it was her imagination, but Shen Jinrong felt that right after she said those words, a certain little puppy’s tail suddenly wagged fiercely, and her eyes sparkled.

“Promise me!” Yan He grabbed her hand to link pinkies: “Pinky swear with me!”

Shen Jinrong was forced to link pinkies with her.

Yan He contentedly held her sister’s hand and returned to the hotel.

The next morning, Yan He woke up just as the sky began to lighten. She quietly washed up, walked to the window, and frowned at the somewhat hazy sky. Her phone indicated today would be cloudy, and their destination wouldn’t be very sunny either, seemingly foreshadowing something—No, Yan He never believed in omens.

She slightly raised an eyebrow. While her sister was still soundly asleep, she opened the door, planning to go out and buy something for breakfast. They had already been to the supermarket last night, buying some water and food to put in the back seat of the car, but Yan He still felt they should eat something hot in the morning.

The hotel’s downstairs restaurant was already open. Yan He casually picked out a couple of croissants and bought two cups of coffee. After paying, she sat on a single sofa nearby.

The sky was slightly brighter than before, but still hazy. The sun, not yet fully risen, seemed shrouded in a thin mist. The street scene outside was a faint, hazy blue, like a touch of black pigment added to a light blue.

“Ma’am, your breakfast—wow! Yan!” A young waiter hurried over, holding Yan He’s order. Seeing the person sitting on the sofa, he exclaimed, calling out Yan He’s name.

Yan He turned around and realized it was a classmate from her exchange student days. She also offered a smile: “Good morning, Marco.”

The boy named Marco blinked: “Good morning! Didn’t you go back to China? I thought it would be hard to see you again!”

“I’m here with my…” The two communicated in Italian. Yan He paused, then used the phrase “la mia ragazza”: “I’m here with my girlfriend on a road trip across Italy.”

“Wow!” Marco made no effort to hide his surprise: “Oh my god, that’s a wonderful idea! I hope you have fun!”

Yan He told him they would be driving away this morning. He looked regretful: “I had some time off recently, but I didn’t realize I missed you. How is Li?”

He was asking about Li Xiuxi. Yan He nodded, smiling as she told him Li Xiuxi was doing well. After that, they said their goodbyes, and Yan He carried the breakfast upstairs.

When she opened the door, the room lights were on. Her sister was already awake and mostly packed, intending to finish her skincare routine and then close her suitcase. Seeing Yan He return, she was tilting her head to put on earrings—a pair of lovely pearl studs. She spoke: “You’re back?”

Yan He placed the breakfast on the table: “Mm, I bought breakfast and ran into an acquaintance.”

“Thank you!” Shen Jinrong put on the small pearl earring in her left ear, then tilted her head the other way to put on the second one, chatting with Yan He: “A friend?”

“An old classmate, he’s working here,” Yan He opened the paper bag and took a bite of a croissant: “We just chatted briefly.”

Shen Jinrong finished putting on her earrings, looked left and right in the mirror, and smiled with satisfaction. She got up and sat next to Yan He. Yan He could smell the light, faint scent of plums on her, a subtle sweetness mixed with the slightly tart top notes of citrus.

“What brand is your perfume, Elder Sister?” Yan He took a sip of coffee.

“Ah! It’s Giorgio Armani’s ‘Si’,” Shen Jinrong raised her wrist: “I was thinking I’d be driving today, so I didn’t spray too much. Is it too strong?”

A hint of hesitation showed in her beautiful eyes.

“No, not at all! It smells wonderful,” Yan He winked at her. The fragrance on her sister’s body blended perfectly with the coffee aroma in her hand. The bitter scent of the coffee was considerably softened by her sweet fragrance.

After breakfast, they carried their suitcases and walked toward the parking lot. After taking the elevator down to the lobby, Yan He ran into Marco again. He quickly walked over to help with the suitcases, greeting Yan He, and then said something to Shen Jinrong.

He mentioned the word “ragazza” again, saying, “You must be Yan’s ragazza? Hello, I’m her classmate, Marco.”

Shen Jinrong briefly nodded to him as an acknowledgment. The boy escorted the two all the way to the parking lot, helped them put their suitcases in the back seat, and then smiled and left after saying goodbye.

Sitting in the passenger seat, before Yan He could even let out a sigh of relief, she heard her sister next to her ask softly, “He just said… ragazza? I seem to have heard people say that a lot. So, what does that word mean?”

The smile on Yan He’s face froze solid.