"What to do When the Pretty Woman I Kissed is My Best Friend's Professor" - Chapter 95

The croissant at the hotel was too sweet; the filling was yellow orange jam. Yan He leaned in to check Shen Jinrong’s and found hers had a chocolate filling.

Yan He felt a bit jealous: “Why is mine jam and yours is chocolate!”

Shen Jinrong looked down at her croissant and then took another bite with a clear conscience: “It was written on the label below. It’s your own fault for not choosing carefully.”

Yan He pouted, wiped her hands, and tugged on her Jiejie‘s sleeve: “I want a taste.”

Shen Jinrong replied without changing her expression: “Just want.”

Yan He glanced around and saw that they had arrived too early. There was hardly anyone around, only a young man drowsily behind the bar. She grew bold, leaned over, kissed Shen Jinrong’s lips quickly, and instantly pulled back, raising her cup to mask her nervousness.

Shen Jinrong found it quite amusing: “If you’re going to kiss me, then kiss. Why run away after you do?”

Her openness made Yan He blush.

She lowered her head, took a bite of her croissant, found it too sweet again, and took a large sip of coffee.

Seeing that Yan He wasn’t speaking, Shen Jinrong asked, “Did you taste the chocolate?”

Yan He’s ears were red, and her eyes wandered everywhere but to Shen Jinrong.

While cleaning up the crumbs that had fallen onto her hand after finishing breakfast, Yan He suddenly thought: “When did you buy the cigarettes yesterday?” She wondered if she had bought them before they had dinner.

Shen Jinrong pursed her lips, feeling a little self-conscious: “I suddenly wanted a cigarette last night, so I asked the young man at the front desk if he had any, and he sold me a pack.”

Yan He raised a slight eyebrow, her gaze falling on the young man behind the bar not far away. He was still drowsy and showed no reaction to the faintly hostile look directed at him.

“Anyway, you are not allowed to smoke anymore,” Yan He wiped her mouth. “Yesterday was the last time.” She paused, as if she had just thought of it—or perhaps it was a delightful probe: “Not ever again in the future, either.”

Shen Jinrong kept her expression calm: “Mm, okay. I won’t smoke in the future.”

Yan He nodded contentedly. After the meal, Yan He went to retrieve the suitcases, while Shen Jinrong went to the parking lot upstairs to bring the car down. They were about to leave for Bolzano.

Yan He carried a suitcase in each hand, making it a bit awkward to open the hotel door. The young man from the lobby quickly walked over to push the door open for her and smiled, wishing her a pleasant journey. Yan He thanked him and stood in the cold wind by the entrance, waiting for Shen Jinrong to drive over.

It was a bit cold.

She zipped up her down jacket, rubbed her nose, and let out a long breath, a small cloud of white mist appearing before her. The vapor slowly rose, swirling and lifting like boiling steam.

She watched the SUV slowly drive closer, then took two steps forward with the two pieces of luggage. Having woken up so early, she still felt hazy. She widened her eyes to look at the car. The distance between them continuously shrank until Shen Jinrong brought the car to a smooth stop right in front of her.

Her Jiejie opened the trunk and then the car door, and together with Yan He, they loaded the luggage.

Seeing Yan He yawn in the passenger seat, Shen Jinrong smiled: “Waking up so early made you sleepy, didn’t it?”

“A little,” Yan He leaned against the car window, looking listless.

“Then take a nap,” Shen Jinrong suggested again.

“I’ll keep you company and chat.” Yan He pulled herself together, thinking that if she didn’t talk to her Jiejie, this part of the trip would be too dull. Even though they had already chatted extensively before, Yan He even felt that she had revealed all her life experiences to Shen Jinrong. She thought she probably had no secrets left.

She could wait for her Jiejie to tell her about her own experiences.

Shen Jinrong looked at her and suddenly found her a little like a sleepy puppy, forcing itself to stay awake for its owner, its head nodding slightly as if about to fall asleep, only to startle awake the next second, opening its wide, round eyes to declare: “I’m not asleep!”

The second time Yan He said this, Shen Jinrong couldn’t hold back her laughter. After laughing for a while, she turned up the temperature of the air conditioning and gently said, “Get some sleep.”

She heard Yan He’s deep, steady breathing in her ear.

The hotel they had booked was on the mountain, very close to the skiing area, occupying a large space on the right side of the entire mountain road. Bolzano had snowed at some unknown time. The accumulated snow on both sides was more significant than what they had seen on the highway. It seemed no one had cleared it; it just lay piled up there. Some areas had melted, while others were still covered in white snow.

Mountain roads and snow easily lead to slipping. Fortunately, only the ground at the turn-off to the hotel entrance had some water stains. Shen Jinrong drove much more carefully until she securely parked the car in the parking lot, then she relaxed.

A large ‘P’ sign hung at the entrance. The lot was full of small family cars. Yan He even saw a family that had just parked their car getting out with their snowboards.

Seemingly noticing Yan He’s gaze, Shen Jinrong spoke: “The ski resort is about ten minutes’ drive from here. We can rent equipment when we get there.”

Yan He retracted her gaze, lowered her eyes to put things away, carefully tucked the chocolate her Jiejie had just given her into her pocket, and then asked: “Should we go early?”

Shen Jinrong shrugged: “At least we have to wait until they open. Why go so early?” She smiled: “To have a snowball fight?”

Yan He chuckled as well.

She turned off the warm air in advance to prevent the temperature difference between inside and outside from being too extreme. Getting out when it was too warm inside and too cold outside could easily make one sick. Shen Jinrong turned to look for her coat but saw Yan He rummaging for something in the front.

“What are you looking for?” Shen Jinrong asked while putting on her coat.

Yan He’s face flushed, and she didn’t answer her question: “Nothing.” She didn’t dare to make too much of a fuss while searching. Finally, she found what she was looking for under the seat.

Shen Jinrong narrowed her eyes but didn’t clearly see what she was looking for, only that the moment Yan He found it, she immediately stuffed it into her coat pocket.

Why is she being so secretive?

Shen Jinrong didn’t think much of it. While putting on her scarf, she turned to caution Yan He: “Remember to put on enough clothes before going out. Did you bring a scarf?” Shen Jinrong checked the weather on her phone: “It’s four degrees outside. Don’t catch a cold.”

Yan He tilted the seat back to look for her scarf in the back. After rummaging through a pile of things for a long time, she reluctantly drew back her hand and quietly said, “I think I forgot to bring it.”

Shen Jinrong blinked, looked at Yan He’s somewhat thin down jacket, then looked down at her own large down jacket. She simply took off her own scarf and handed it to Yan He: “You wear mine.”

Yan He instinctively reached out and mechanically took the scarf. It wasn’t until she held it that she realized something was amiss: “Huh?”

The scarf in her hand still had warmth. Was it the residual warmth from Jiejie’s neck? It wasn’t particularly warm in her hand, but it made Yan He feel unsettled. She held the scarf and, looking up, met her Jiejie‘s smiling eyes—Had she been watching me like that the whole time?

“… Won’t you be cold?” Yan He asked her.

“No, my zipper can go all the way up here.” Shen Jinrong then zipped her jacket all the way to the top, completely covering her slender, fair neck.

Yan He’s gaze swept over the fingertips holding the zipper. She suddenly felt that even with the air conditioning off, the space in the car was equally warm, even filled with heat.

Her Jiejie always took care of her seemingly casually. Everything she did seemed to be silent, even when she was caring for someone, she maintained a calm appearance, as if she were just doing something ordinary.

—But this “ordinary” thing meant something completely different to her. Her Jiejie never seemed to realize this.

“Put it on,” Shen Jinrong urged her.

Seeing Yan He’s sluggish movements, Shen Jinrong simply helped her tie it herself. Her Jiejie‘s slightly cool fingers brushed against her neck, an action that felt both deliberate and yet an accidental caress. Yan He didn’t dare to move or think, sitting there stiffly, letting her Jiejie tie the scarf around her neck, feeling her scent envelop her once again.

“Silly goose,” Shen Jinrong tied the scarf and patted the small section of the scarf revealed below with satisfaction. “It’s tied.”

Yan He subconsciously reached out to touch it. She suddenly remembered that this scarf was the one Grandma Shen mistook for her own: “Grandma seemed to think… we had identical scarves.”

“Is that so?” Shen Jinrong smiled. “When is your birthday? I’ll buy you a scarf.”

“It’s coming soon, but I’ll probably spend my birthday abroad next year,” Yan He lowered her eyes, smiling. “Then you have to remember.”

“Ah! Is that when you’re deployed abroad?” Shen Jinrong shook her head. The pearl earrings by her ears swayed with her movement. Yan He looked at her earlobe, strongly tempted to gently bite it.

“Yes.”

They had mostly finished packing. After preparing, the two opened their respective car doors and got out.

The cold wind hit them.

The cold air rushed into her nasal cavity as she breathed, and Yan He let out a big sneeze. She raised her head, her nose red, only to see that her Jiejie had already taken all the luggage out.

“I—” I’ll take them.

“There aren’t many things. Why couldn’t I carry them?” Shen Jinrong was slightly amused: “Xiaopengyou, your Jiejie is not incapable.”

“Okay,” Yan He pouted, reaching out to take the luggage her Jiejie had set down.

The white mist briefly blocking her vision as she exhaled prevented her from seeing Shen Jinrong’s smile. The smile was full of understanding and indulgence, like the last flower left in this world of black and white.

Yan He actually didn’t like places that were too cold. She didn’t like Northern Europe, nor the polar nights and polar days. She always felt these places were too frigid; the rigidity was easy to break, and she didn’t want to live in a world of ice and snow.

On the short path to the hotel, she suddenly asked, “Do you like snow?”

Shen Jinrong paused: “It’s alright. If it’s too cold, I might just stay cooped up in the room and not come out.”

“What if we’re together?” Yan He originally wanted to ask, What if you’re with me?, but she still said “we.” The solitary “I” felt too ambiguous—even though their current situation was already quite suggestive.

“Then let’s stay cooped up in the room together,” Shen Jinrong didn’t change her answer. She winked at Yan He, a hint of slyness in her smile.

Stepping into the hotel lobby, it immediately felt much warmer. A few people were scattered around the bar that occupied a corner of the lobby, drinking coffee. The scent of coffee permeated the air, seemingly filling the entire space.

Shen Jinrong handed both their passports to the front desk for check-in. After completing the process, the receptionist handed them the room keys and said, “Your room has a small hot spring, which is available twenty-four hours. If you don’t have a car, our hotel provides transport to the ski resort.”

Shen Jinrong replied in English, “We have a car.”

The receptionist smiled and handed her two maps: “This is a map of the area around Bolzano, and this is the map of the ski resort.”

Yan He yawned, leaning most of her weight onto her suitcase. She hesitated for a moment, then chose to simply sit on the suitcase.

She felt like she hadn’t fully woken up—or was still dreaming. She sat there, watching her Jiejie interact with others, watching her exchange farewells with a few other people. Yan He stood up: “Are we ready?”

Shen Jinrong shook the room key in her hand: “All set. Let’s go up.”

They walked toward the elevator next to the lobby, swiped the card, and the elevator slowly started moving.

“You look very tired. You’re not sick, are you?” Shen Jinrong reached out to touch Yan He’s forehead, then touched her own: “You don’t have a fever.”

Yan He looked up at her: “I’m fine.”

“I know you’re fine,” Shen Jinrong comforted. “The weather is cold. Tell me if you don’t feel well.”

Yan He thought, I’m perfectly fine! What could possibly be wrong with me? She was just a bit sleepy, and she felt much better now. She looked up at the LED display in the elevator, watching the white numbers slowly change, feeling as if everything was far removed from her.

With a “ding,” Yan He snapped back to attention, feeling that everything had returned to normal.

Her Jiejie next to her was smiling at her: “Let’s go.”

This time, the room was a double room, no longer two single beds separated by a bedside table, nor was it a seemingly large bed that was actually just two single beds pushed together.

Yan He turned to look at Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong’s expression hadn’t changed. Seeing Yan He looking at her, she slightly raised an eyebrow and asked, “What is it?”

“It’s a double bed…”

“Yes, I see it.” Shen Jinrong feigned composure, but she was laughing inside—How could a xiaopengyou be like this? She was clearly hoping to sleep in the same bed, yet she still looked so hesitant and conflicted.

“Ah, if you don’t like it, we can ask the front desk to change it,” Shen Jinrong intentionally said, though she had already walked over to the hot spring. The room was large. The hot spring was connected to a small outer garden, the water seeming to be drawn directly from a spring on the mountain.

Shen Jinrong dipped her hand in briefly to test the temperature. It was just right, slightly warmer than body temperature.

“No—” Yan He denied, secretly watching her Jiejie‘s back, and quietly said, “It’s quite nice.”

“I think it’s quite nice too.” Shen Jinrong raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Yan He, and deliberately sprinkled some of the water on her.

“Jiejie!” Yan He couldn’t dodge in time and stood there looking aggrievedly at Shen Jinrong.

Shen Jinrong laughed, walked over to her, and put her arm around her waist: “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Do you want to rest for a bit, or should we go see the city center together? The front desk told me there’s a Christmas market going on.”

A Christmas market.

That’s right, it was almost Christmas.

Yan He counted the days. Three days left. She wanted to confess on Christmas Day. She would have to buy a bouquet of flowers in advance and perhaps leave it at the front desk then.

“Okay,” she heard herself say. Her heart was beating incredibly fast. When she met her Jiejie‘s eyes, she felt a nervousness she hadn’t experienced before.