"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 92

Under the setting sun, Shen Jinrong noticed that Yan He’s eyes were reflecting beautiful colors. The faint gold and water-like red, cast upon her eyes and face, surprisingly added an air of sacred reverence and piety.

Shen Jinrong recalled visiting a church at sunset before. The weakened sunlight passed through the high mosaic glass, and one ray, in particular, passed through a red section and landed on the statue of the Virgin Mary.

She remembered that even as a non-believer, she was struck by the sight. The soft red light fell on the Virgin’s eyes, reflecting either compassion or emptiness.

Yan He’s eyes held a kind of magic, Shen Jinrong had always known. From the start until now, when she looked at you with full concentration, those eyes seemed to be softly conveying something.

If you didn’t hear it—it doesn’t matter. If you didn’t pay attention—it doesn’t matter. Her loyal love was hidden in her eyes, unspoken, seemingly leaving the opportunity for you, waiting for you to take the first step—or for her to gather enough courage.

Shen Jinrong thought with a hint of internal struggle, I certainly won’t take the first step! She was determined to wait for Yan He to confess—but she also had a decision made in her heart: if Yan He wouldn’t say it, she would.

Yan He looked openly at her Jiejie. The afterglow on the sea dyed the ends of her hair a golden-red. Her Jiejie‘s natural hair color was already somewhat light, not the usual black, and sometimes showed a faint gold in the sunlight.

But now was different, Yan He thought. She knew her Jiejie had pretty curls at the ends of her hair, and she knew her hair color, but these were only the obvious things. Beyond that, Yan He knew nothing.

She wanted to blow-dry Shen Jinrong’s hair, to see her damp strands slowly become smooth in her hands, to see the strands cling to her face and drip water, and perhaps those drops would slide down her neck and disappear into her collar.

And then what? Would those water droplets be absorbed by the fabric at her collar, or would they continue to fall onto her collarbone?

She was thinking random thoughts. She was sitting slightly behind Shen Jinrong. The rock beneath her was a bit hot; its temperature seemed to have quietly risen after long exposure to the sun. Many grains of sand were hidden in the narrow crevices of the rock, carried either by the wind or the waves. When she lifted the hand resting on the rock, she casually brushed it off, intending to remove the sand sticking to her palm.

Yan He rested her head on her Jiejie‘s shoulder.

It was the scent of the sea breeze. Shen Jinrong slightly turned her head. As the sea breeze blew, it lifted Yan He’s hair. Some strands brushed against her face, feeling slightly itchy—and slightly hot.

It seemed to be the heat from the sunset, or perhaps the stirring of her heart caused by the person next to her.

The waves moved with the wind, rolling up in layers, forming a beautiful azure color with white foam edges on the sea. This azure color gradually deepened as the sky darkened, slowly becoming a lake blue.

Yan He had no doubt that as soon as the sky grew a little darker, the sea below would change accordingly, as if brewing an impending storm.

Sitting by the sea in the evening was comfortable. There wasn’t the bone-chilling cold of the sea breeze after blowing all night, nor the scorching heat of the noon sun beating down without obstruction. This time of day was warm and pleasant.

They looked out towards the sea in the distance. A small sailboat, with its sail hoisted, was steering toward the shore. It was too far away to be seen clearly, hidden in a dark silhouette, vague and indistinct like something in a painting.

“What do you want for dinner?” Shen Jinrong squeezed her hand.

“Something casual, maybe seafood?” Yan He swung her leg, and her calf hit the large rock.

“Sounds good. Let’s sit for a little while longer,” Shen Jinrong finished, then rubbed her chin against Yan He’s hair. It was ticklish, yet surprisingly comforting.

Until the sun completely sank below the horizon, all they could see in that direction was a lingering golden-red. The sun setting here would rise again somewhere else, right? And in that other place? Would there be people just like the two of them?

Yan He didn’t know.

The map showed a large seafood market nearby, but it was too late, and most of the shops were already closed. Perhaps it wasn’t necessary to plan every single thing on a trip. They walked along a road to its end, saw the large roundabout, and finally turned around and went to a restaurant on the left.

The restaurant’s sign had a drawing of a red, arched-back shrimp holding a fork and knife, wearing a white chef’s hat, looking like it was confidently proclaiming, “My cooking is excellent.”

The two had already walked past it, but Shen Jinrong saw the drawing and pulled Yan He back. She pointed at the shrimp and said, “Let’s eat at this place today!”

There was a sizable transparent windbreak tent set up at the restaurant’s entrance. It had a light yellow waterproof fabric roof and was circled with a string of small colored lights connected by transparent wires. Many chairs and tables were neatly arranged inside, and some people were already eating there.

“Inside or outside?”

The space inside the restaurant didn’t seem very large, divided in two by a counter, with a refrigerator and seating outside, and the kitchen inside.

“Let’s sit outside,” Shen Jinrong tightened her grip on Yan He’s hand and softly said.

Yan He glanced at her, realizing her profile was exquisite and moving under the strings of colored lights. Yan He allowed herself to gaze at her, completely captivated, until Shen Jinrong patted her on the shoulder to bring her back to reality.

“Mmm… What is it?” Yan He met her eyes.

“What were you thinking about? You didn’t even respond when I called you.” Shen Jinrong pulled her to sit down in the tent outside the restaurant. The waiter inside greeted them and walked over with two menus.

Yan He’s face flushed, but she answered openly, “I was thinking about you.”

Shen Jinrong was stunned. The emotions flowing in her shimmering eyes seemed to freeze for a moment. She blinked and asked, “Me?”

“Thinking about why you’re so beautiful,” Yan He chuckled softly, as if what she had just said was merely a casual comment like “The weather is so nice today.”

“Uh-huh,” Shen Jinrong responded, noncommittal. She recalled the way she looked in the mirror before leaving the hotel. She thought of the fine lines at the corners of her eyes—Did Yan He not notice them?

She really wanted to ask, but she felt that asking would deliberately emphasize the distance between them, so she pursed her lips and dropped the thought.

“I am beautiful, to begin with.” Shen Jinrong let out a soft snort. She was sitting across from Yan He, so she reached out to playfully scratch the xiaopengyou‘s chin, squinting slightly as she asked, “Isn’t that right?”

Yan He raised an eyebrow, “Yes.”

“Jiejie is the most beautiful.”

There was adoration in Yan He’s eyes—and something else, too? Shen Jinrong wanted to peer into her eyes to uncover some emotion she hadn’t noticed before, but she realized that her eyes were completely filled with her.

An unconcealed love, like the hottest magma.

“What should we eat?” Shen Jinrong opened the laminated menu, evading Yan He’s direct gaze.

Yan He was already used to her occasional avoidance. She nodded and also opened the laminated menu. It contained detailed pictures next to the descriptions, which reminded her of eating breakfast by the Trevi Fountain.

“Let’s order a Neapolitan pizza,” Shen Jinrong suddenly suggested.

Yan He was momentarily surprised, “We can wait until we get there to eat that, can’t we?”

“Let’s taste one today! We can compare them later to see what the difference is,” Shen Jinrong placed the menu on the table, flipping it with her other hand while she scrolled and edited something on her phone.

Yan He hummed in agreement, and then continued to order a few seafood items. “I see they have mussels! Can we order a portion of mussels and a seafood platter?”

Shen Jinrong nodded, “Sure.” She raised her hand to call the waiter. Yan He ordered the dishes in Italian. Finally, Shen Jinrong added a bottle of iced water, and Yan He ordered a bottle of cola.

“I need to make a phone call,” Shen Jinrong closed the menu, handed it to the young waiter, and offered an apologetic smile to Yan He.

Yan He watched her walk out. Separated by a transparent curtain, Shen Jinrong stood by the road not far away to make her call. This transparent curtain seemed to block out many things. Yan He couldn’t hear her Jiejie‘s voice, and even her figure was indistinct, reflected in a strange shape by the curtain.

She lowered her head to send a message to Li Xiuxi: “I ran into a former classmate in Siena yesterday.” She mentioned the girl’s name. Li Xiuxi, the night-owl master of surfing the web, quickly replied: “Good Heavens! How are you running into acquaintances everywhere along the way?”

“What do you mean ‘everywhere’? It was only two people, okay?”

“Alright, alright, the probability is still high.” Li Xiuxi finally remembered to ask about Yan He’s grand confession plan: “How are your plans coming along? Didn’t you say you were going to confess? Don’t procrastinate now!”

Yan He subconsciously glanced at her Jiejie, but couldn’t find her. The person who had just been standing there seemed to have vanished into thin air. Yan He was momentarily stunned. She suddenly had a strange and terrifying thought—Without Jiejie, was everything she was experiencing just a dream?

Her Jiejie hadn’t brought a bag when she came out, and she hadn’t left any traces when she sat across from her. She stared blankly at the empty chair opposite until the young waiter came over to confirm her order and place the water down. Yan He suddenly asked him, “Were we two people?”

“Yes, two people came together.”

Yan He let out a long breath. She leaned back in her chair, unable to figure out what had just happened to her. The feeling was like being abandoned by the whole world, sitting there all alone, empty, unable to find the presence of the person she loved anywhere.

“Thank you,” Yan He offered a smile.

Just then, Shen Jinrong pushed aside the curtain and walked in. Seeing Yan He leaning back in her chair, looking very tired, she sat down across from her and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t go and wander the entire coastline today, did you?” Shen Jinrong laughed. “Are you that tired? Next time, you have to bring Jiejie to see it.”