"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 93

Shen Jinrong tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She had slept for a few hours in the afternoon and wasn’t tired at all now. Yan He, in contrast, who had been out exploring earlier, was sleeping soundly, and Shen Jinrong could even hear her steady breathing.

It seemed that even her sleep quality improved when she was with Yan He.

Before this, she had always believed that sleep wasn’t particularly important to her. She rarely dreamed after growing up and never slept for very long, regarding sleep merely as a routine part of maintaining life’s rhythm. If one day that link wasn’t closed, it didn’t greatly matter.

Just like the night she spent awake in Vienna.

Shen Jinrong turned over, propping her face on an elbow to look at Yan He. Their beds were placed side-by-side, two single beds pushed together. The legs of the beds were unstable, and a slightly larger movement was enough to separate them. The gap between them was covered up, as if to conceal it, by the sheet, clearly demarcating the space.

The room was dark. The curtains, occasionally stirred by the warm air, swayed, allowing a small sliver of clear moonlight to shine through now and then. The silvery-white light cast irregular shadows on the floor.

After confirming that Yan He was fast asleep, Shen Jinrong quietly got out of bed, walked to the window, pulled back the heavy blackout curtains with her hand, and then, silently, spilled moonlight onto the floor.

Outside, the moon hung brightly in the sky, reflecting clearly above a expanse of deep blue sea. The lawn in the courtyard below was also bathed in silver-white light.

Shen Jinrong pulled the curtains back into place, ensuring no moonlight could sneak in. She returned to the bedside and gently sat down.

Yan He seemed to sense something and turned over to face her. Suddenly coming face-to-face with Yan He’s features, Shen Jinrong abruptly wanted to laugh, but fearing that her laughter might wake Yan He, she bit the tip of her tongue to suppress it.

The contact between her pajamas and the sheet created a rustling sound, but fortunately, the friction was not loud. Shen Jinrong cautiously pulled up the quilt and gazed at the pitch-black ceiling.

This hotel room had no overhead light. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the blank ceiling. Shen Jinrong turned her head to look at Yan He. Seeing her eyelashes flutter slightly, she suddenly felt mischievous and reached out to brush them. Perhaps feeling an itch in her eyes, Yan He subconsciously raised her hand to rub them. Shen Jinrong quickly withdrew her hand, and Yan He simply rubbed her eyes and continued sleeping.

Shen Jinrong turned on the small bedside lamp. A soft, dim light filled the entire space. She used one hand to gently smooth Yan He’s messy hair, her hand moving from her ear to her forehead. Yan He’s eyebrows were dark and had a valiant arch. Shen Jinrong then tapped the tip of her nose. The skin on her straight nose bridge was soft, and Shen Jinrong couldn’t resist lightly pinching the tip of it. Yan He wrinkled her nose, almost sneezing.

Shen Jinrong felt bad about teasing her further, but she still couldn’t sleep. She decided to put on some clothes and sit in the lobby. It wasn’t yet midnight. There was still a staff member on duty in the lobby, sitting behind the counter, looking drowsy. Shen Jinrong greeted him and happened to see a brightly lit bar counter nearby, so she asked the man if she could have a drink now.

The young man walked out from behind the counter, said, “Of course,” then went back behind the bar and asked, “What would you like to drink?” With that, he handed her a drinks menu.

Shen Jinrong looked down, pointing to a name at random. She pushed the menu toward the bartender, who nodded and made an “OK” gesture. Shen Jinrong paid with her card and waited on the small sofa in front of the bar.

The drink soon arrived, topped with a few mint leaves. It was served in a translucent glass, with many crushed ice cubes floating on top.

Shen Jinrong vaguely realized she had ordered a Mojito.

“Is this okay?” the young man asked her.

Shen Jinrong smiled and nodded.

She remembered seeing Yan He with a Mojito just like this one in front of her when they met in Vienna. The crushed ice gradually melted, forming a thin layer of condensation on the outside of the glass. Shen Jinrong put the straw in, stirred it, and heard the crisp clinking of the ice.

Halfway through the drink, she felt that drinking alone was a bit boring. She stood up and looked around, only to see darkness outside, with few lights on. Shen Jinrong looked at the clock on the lobby wall. It was already half past twelve.

She was slightly tipsy, but not sleepy at all.

Suddenly, she really wanted a cigarette.

She walked up to the young man and asked, “Is there anywhere selling cigarettes now?”

The young man hesitated and said, “It’s quite late now; no tobacco shops are open.”

Shen Jinrong replied with a hint of disappointment. The young man then said, “I still have a box of cigarettes here, unopened, if you don’t mind—” And so, Shen Jinrong walked out with the box of cigarettes and the lighter that the young man sold her.

The night was enchanting. She stood by the hotel entrance, puffing smoke.

The phone call during dinner was from Tan Ning, who had very vaguely brought up her husband’s affairs. When Shen Jinrong asked what had happened, Tan Ning only stayed silent and said no more.

Shen Jinrong thought, Is it so difficult to tell me that your husband cheated on you and got his mistress pregnant? So she said that she couldn’t rush back for a while, and Tan Ning said, never mind, it wasn’t anything important.

She strolled around the rusted iron anchor at the hotel entrance. The grass next to the anchor was wilted; perhaps the weather was too cold? Shen Jinrong looked at the smoke she exhaled, momentarily unable to tell if it was breath vapor or cigarette smoke.

The air was full of the salty sea aroma. The smoke was a bit acrid. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, so everything looked hazy. Even the illuminated streetlights seemed to be covered in a thin layer of mist.

It was getting foggy.

An unknown bird flew across the sky, letting out a loud cry. She was startled and looked up but didn’t see anything.

Shen Jinrong finished her cigarette and stood by the door for a while to let the smell dissipate before preparing to go back. As she returned, the young man at the door yawned and said, “Good night” to her.

Shen Jinrong nodded, thinking, It really is time to go to bed.

She walked to the room door, opened it with her key, and first checked on Yan He. Seeing that she was still sleeping soundly, Shen Jinrong relaxed, quietly brushed her teeth, and got into bed.

Shen Jinrong wrinkled her nose, regretting that she had smoked when she was upset. Now she smelled entirely of smoke, and she didn’t even like it herself.

Now, even when she breathed, all she could smell was smoke.

Shen Jinrong sighed softly. The only chair in the room was piled with clothes, so she had to sit on the bed. Just as she was inwardly congratulating herself for not waking Yan He, the xiaopengyou slowly stirred awake. Her nose moved before her eyes. She opened her eyes slightly, and her voice, husky, called out, “Jiejie.”

Shen Jinrong’s heart softened. She gently asked her, “What is it?”

Yan He wrinkled her nose, her voice slightly nasal, “Jiejie, did you smoke?”

Shen Jinrong sniffed her clothes and apologized, “Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll go take a shower.”

Yan He was half-asleep: “It’s fine!” She yawned and mumbled, “Don’t smoke again in the future! Because I… love you so much.”

The latter part of her sentence was much quieter than the first. Shen Jinrong couldn’t lean close to her, only catching the phrase, “Don’t smoke again in the future.”

“What did you say after that?” Shen Jinrong gently asked her. “I didn’t hear clearly.”

Yan He let out a non-committal “Hmph.” Shen Jinrong pressed her, but she refused to say anything more. Feeling a little embarrassed by the questioning, she turned over and, with sleepy eyes, said, “You’ll know later!”

Later?

Shen Jinrong smiled softly, found a comfortable position to lie down, turned off the small nightlight, and quietly said toward Yan He’s direction, “Good night.”

Yan He secretly curved her lips into a smile, and where Shen Jinrong couldn’t see, she mouthed the words, “Good night.”

The next morning, Yan He woke up early. The hotel room was dark. The blackout curtains had completely sealed out the sunlight, leaving no gaps for it to sneak in. She picked up her phone to check the time, but the sudden light of the screen made her eyes squint.

It was half past seven in the morning. The sun should have already risen. They had missed the sunrise. This wasn’t a problem, Yan He thought. Even if they missed the sunrise over the sea in Pisa, they could still see the sunrise over the sea in Naples—or somewhere else. As long as they stayed together, they would always have time to do it.

Yan He sat up and rubbed her hair.

She lowered her eyes to look at Shen Jinrong and found that her Jiejie was also stirring awake, slightly squinting at her, her eyes carrying a sense of languor and tiredness.

Yan He smiled, “Jiejie, did you secretly sneak out to smoke last night?”

Shen Jinrong covered her face with the quilt and gave a soft “Mm.”

Yan He poked her: “Sneaking out to smoke without telling me. Smoking is bad for your health.”

Shen Jinrong only let her eyes show: “I know I was wrong.”

Yan He lay down again and told her, “We missed the sunrise.” Shen Jinrong leaned over to check the time on her phone, mumbling, “How is it already half past seven?”

“Shall we set off?” Yan He’s voice held excitement. “To the Alps!”

The hotel’s morning heating was turned up too high. Shen Jinrong pulled the quilt down, exposing her head, and asked, “Shouldn’t we have breakfast first?”

“Then let’s leave after eating.”

After washing up, Yan He suddenly walked up to Shen Jinrong and held out her hand to her. Shen Jinrong was gently dabbing on a layer of lipstick. She paused and asked, “What is it?”

“The cigarettes. I’ll hold onto them for you.”

Shen Jinrong slightly raised an eyebrow, smoothly took a cigarette from the nearby box, pouted slightly, and pressed her lips to leave an imprint. The beautiful, perfectly shaped crimson lip print was left on the white cigarette paper.

She then put the cigarette back, handed the box and the lighter to Yan He, and chuckled, “Alright, we can set off now.”

“Jiejie will be entrusted to your care, then!”

Her last sentence was oddly phrased, without specifying the subject. Yan He wondered, Was it the box of cigarettes that was being entrusted to her care, or her Jiejie herself?