"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 86

Shen Jinrong let out a long breath. Just as she was about to leave, she caught sight of her vaguely exposed black bra strap in the mirror again. She blinked, adjusted the position of the strap, and only then realized before leaving—oh, no wonder Yan He had glanced at her in the car and then immediately looked away, her face blushing furiously.

Shen Jinrong, with her belated reaction, returned to the little shop.

Yan He was still sitting in the corner, looking down and distractedly scrolling on her phone, occasionally raising her eyes to look toward the direction Shen Jinrong had left from. She was so focused that she momentarily failed to notice Jiejie emerging from another exit.

Shen Jinrong lightened her footsteps and walked to the side, intending to startle Yan He if she hadn’t noticed her yet. No sooner had the thought occurred than Yan He turned her head as if sensing her presence, meeting her eyes directly.

The smile at the corner of Shen Jinrong’s eye had not yet fully faded when she met Yan He’s confused gaze head-on. Shen Jinrong’s heart trembled slightly. She composed herself and offered another gentle smile: “Waiting for me?”

Yan He nodded, admitting straightforwardly: “Mhm.”

Shen Jinrong pursed her lips: “I came out from the other way.”

Yan He was momentarily stunned, then saw Jiejie sit down beside her again, looking perfectly composed, as if nothing had happened.

But Yan He knew that Shen Jinrong had just dodged her hand and rejected her intimate touch. She recalled some novels placing soft, sensitive scent glands on the back of the neck—so, had she just touched Jiejie‘s—Yan He was amused by her own strange musings, and her gloomy mood instantly vanished. She asked Shen Jinrong: “Where is the restroom? I need to go too.”

Shen Jinrong pointed out the direction, and the young woman strode over there.

Shen Jinrong leaned languidly against the back of her chair, her gaze wandering. Sometimes it fell on Yan He’s phone, which was left on the table, and sometimes on the small bag she had left on the seat. Shen Jinrong noticed that Yan He seemed to favor light colors, with many of her clothes being pale, yet her small bag was black with a chain plated in iridescent colors.

Her thoughts drifted, so much so that she didn’t notice when Yan He came back. It wasn’t until Yan He walked behind her and patted her that Shen Jinrong suddenly snapped back to attention. She was startled. She hadn’t managed to startle Yan He earlier, but now she was startled herself.

“Shall we go?” Yan He held the back of her chair, leaning slightly down to ask her.

“Go… let’s go,” Shen Jinrong hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

The two walked one behind the other on the way to the parking lot. Yan He looked up at the station name and smiled: “Orvieto.” She pronounced the name with an Italian cadence and quietly said: “I actually don’t really like this place.”

Shen Jinrong turned back to look at her.

“Every time the train arrives here, something goes wrong. Sometimes it’s a delay, sometimes it’s a breakdown, and once I even got on the wrong train.” Yan He sighed, saying mournfully: “My friends all say this place is my Waterloo.”

Waterloo.

Shen Jinrong raised one eyebrow, paused, and a smile appeared at the corner of her lips: “Waterloo?”

She said no more, but Yan He was somehow reminded of Therese and Carol making love at the Waterloo. Yan He suddenly realized that following this logic, her words just now sounded like an innuendo—damn it, she really hadn’t meant it that way; she had just blurted it out without thinking.

Yan He quickly took two steps to catch up with Jiejie‘s pace, keeping stride with her. She subtly observed the expression on Shen Jinrong’s face, seeing no displeasure, only a calm demeanor. Yan He couldn’t figure out whether she should be happy or low, or simply overwhelmed by embarrassment.

“Jiejie, the back of your shirt is a bit wrinkled.” Perhaps due to driving for too long, the back of Shen Jinrong’s shirt lacked its original crisp neatness.

Shen Jinrong held the car key in her left hand and tugged at the hem of her shirt with her right hand. Yan He suddenly said: “Let me.”

The moment the words left her mouth, both of them recalled the awkwardness of touching the back of her neck just moments before. Yan He’s hand, half-extended, silently retracted. She touched her nose, her gaze drifting elsewhere.

Shen Jinrong pursed her lips: “Then… thank you for the trouble.”

Her voice was faint and quiet, and her pace was quick enough that had Yan He not been paying close attention to her, she might have missed the sentence entirely.

A wave of tension, for some unknown reason, suddenly washed over her.

She really hadn’t thought much about it when she massaged Shen Jinrong’s neck just now; she had just gone ahead and helped because she knew she could. But when she touched Shen Jinrong’s skin, she suddenly realized something was wrong. Jiejie‘s nape wasn’t cool as she had expected; its temperature was quite similar to her palm. That patch of skin was delicate and fair.

Yan He’s throat rolled. She quickly reached out to help straighten the hem of her shirt, then smoothed out the less-obvious creases on her back, gently sweeping downwards.

As she did this, her hand, through the layer of silk shirt, undeniably touched Shen Jinrong’s back. She clearly felt Shen Jinrong shiver the moment she touched her. However, the shiver came and went so quickly that Yan He almost thought it was her own delusion.

Silk material easily absorbs body temperature. When Yan He’s fingertips pressed against it, the temperature of her fingers was belatedly transmitted to her brain. She swallowed unconsciously, pushed through the awkwardness to finish straightening the shirt, and then walked nonchalantly to Shen Jinrong’s side: “All done.”

Shen Jinrong blinked.

If she hadn’t thought about Yan He standing behind her and helping her arrange her clothes, Shen Jinrong thought she wouldn’t have had such a strange reaction. But when she had her back to Yan He and felt Yan He’s fingertips occasionally brush her back, she realized her previous assumption was completely wrong.

She couldn’t ignore Yan He, just as she couldn’t ignore the warm fingertips that might appear anywhere at any second.

The two walked toward the parking lot again. After a couple of steps, Yan He noticed Jiejie‘s gait seemed a little odd. However, she didn’t think much of it. Shen Jinrong opened the car door, and Yan He got in.

It seemed a little more unusual. Jiejie sat in the driver’s seat and her waist wiggled slightly.

“Are you having a bit of back pain from sitting too long?” Yan He asked, blinking: “We’re not in a rush. Do you want to rest a little longer?”

Shen Jinrong, who was twisting her waist to try and alleviate her sensitive reaction: …

She managed an awkward, forced smile: “I’m fine.”

Yan He quietly said, “Oh,” thinking that Jiejie‘s smile seemed very perfunctory. Did I do something wrong?

Yan He dejectedly fastened her seatbelt. Shen Jinrong, meanwhile, drove with clenched teeth, pressing the gas and brakes with slightly more fierce aggression than before.

The instigator, Yan He, sat timidly in her seat, silently gripping the handrail beside her, afraid to make a sound.

A green road sign appeared again at the highway interchange. Shen Jinrong looked up at it, turning the steering wheel with a murderous intent.

Yan He was thrown to the right by the inertia, gripping the handrail desperately, refusing to let go.

The car exited the highway. The sunlight was no longer as blinding as before; red hues dominated, and the huge golden orb of light had turned into an orange-red that one could squint at. Yan He clearly saw a white seagull fly across the sky ahead. The golden-red setting sun fell on its wings, staining the outstretched feathers with orange-red.

“Almost there,” Shen Jinrong finally spoke, her voice deliberately softened. She knew she had acted inappropriately just now, that she shouldn’t have vented her unrelieved desire through her driving. It was unsafe and improper.

Yan He nodded, unscrewed the bottle cap, and offered it to her lips: “Jiejie, have some water.”

Shen Jinrong glanced at her.

Perfectly behaved, showing none of the brazenness of the fire-starter from before.

Shen Jinrong felt a little frustrated again—Yan He probably had no idea that she had just been teasing her, did she? Everything was due to her own strange reaction.

“Hey! I see that tree!” Just as Shen Jinrong was about to apologize, Yan He pointed to the top of the green tree faintly visible in the distance and smiled: “We’re here.”

Two trees, with green, cap-like foliage, stood intertwined right in the middle of the road. Further ahead was the supermarket parking lot. The city center streets were narrow. They could park here and take the elevator up, or they could just go to the supermarket to buy things and park the car near the hotel.

“Are you very familiar with this place?” Shen Jinrong followed her guidance and drove the car into the underground parking lot. It suddenly grew dark. In this vast, open space, the ambient temperature also seemed to drop considerably.

“I have a lot of friends who live here.” Yan He’s eyes were smiling. Once Shen Jinrong parked the car, they only planned to make a quick trip to the supermarket.

Shen Jinrong habitually took her hand: “I’m not very familiar with it.” She smiled softly: “If we get lost, little Yan He has to lead me out.”

The sudden “heavy responsibility” placed on her shoulders made the young woman straighten her chest: “Of course!” She added: “Don’t worry, we won’t get lost.”

Shen Jinrong smiled again. The lighting in the underground parking lot only allowed them to barely see the path ahead. They walked out through the automatic doors and took the escalator up. Getting off the elevator, a large supermarket was right at the entrance. Yan He said she needed to buy some food. They hadn’t bought much in Rome, so Shen Jinrong pushed the cart and followed her.

At the checkout, Yan He took out her card. She suddenly looked back and glanced around, then asked Shen Jinrong: “I think I just heard someone call me?”

Shen Jinrong frowned and also listened intently: “I don’t think so… did you?”

“Maybe I misheard,” Yan He shrugged, and they finished loading the groceries.

The two closed the trunk. Sitting in the passenger seat, Yan He let out a long breath and secretly rubbed the arm she had used to carry the smaller bottles of water. It had been a long time since she had done any anaerobic exercise, and her arm was starting to ache a little.

The next second, Jiejie‘s hand reached over, pinched her ear, and asked: “Is it very hot?” She then pulled out a tissue and helped Yan He wipe the sweat beads from her forehead, her smile helpless: “Don’t be so aggressive. I can help carry things too.”

Meeting Shen Jinrong’s focused gaze, Yan He opened her mouth, then boldly leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

Hmph, a stinky puppy who dares to kiss but not confess!

Shen Jinrong’s beautiful eyes gave her a sidelong look.