Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Xu Yan was woken up by thirst in the early morning.

Xu Nian was a cunning one. When the brothers went to the bar together, only Xu Yan ended up completely drunk, while Xu Nian remained carefree. After sending his brother back home, he went to his girlfriend's house to sleep. It was said that he woke up every morning to work out – a model of excellent time management for the new generation.

Fumbling around to turn on the light, Xu Yan wobbled as he got up to find some water in the kitchen. Xu Nian had thoughtfully left a glass of water on the counter for him... but as Xu Yan drank, something felt off. Leaving the water in the kitchen instead of by the bedside didn't seem all that considerate.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, it was almost three. Xu Yan rubbed his temples; the silence outside was only broken by the occasional sound of a car passing in the distance. Such quiet moments could easily stir up unnecessary emotions. After finishing his water, Xu Yan turned back to his room, but most of his sleepiness had already dissipated. He picked up his phone and saw a flurry of unread messages on WeChat – He had been to the bar two nights in a row and many people, both men and women, had asked for his WeChat. Drunk as he was, Xu Yan didn't remember much, only that Xu Nian had unlocked his phone and displayed the QR code to anyone interested, seemingly eager to help his brother find a new romantic interest.

He randomly opened a chat. It was from a little 0 who sent a voice message in a super cute tone of voice, asking if Xu Yan wanted to go to another bar next time to hear him sing.

"Hmm..." Xu Yan instinctively clutched his chest. If he were half as good at being affectionate, would Shen Zhi still have left like that? He imagined what it would be like to act cute around Shen Zhi – he'd probably be kicked out of the house immediately.

While he was thinking, another guy sent a message: You left your lighter on the sofa. I picked it up.

A clear opening line. Xu Yan casually replied: Keep it.

Seeing that Xu Yan was awake, the guy immediately sent a voice message: "So late, still awake?" The voice was deliberately low and bubbling with awkwardness. Xu Yan slightly regretted blocking Shen Zhi, there were a few scattered voice messages from Shen Zhi in their chat history. Listening to those would have been refreshing now.

Xu Yan: I woke up.

The guy replied with another voice message: "You left early today. Did you drink too much and feel unwell?"

Just as Xu Yan was about to reply, "Stop sending voice messages. I feel uncomfortable already," he heard a faint noise at the door. Thinking it was an illusion, he put down his phone and sat quietly – There was definitely someone knocking at the door, intermittently, with light and sporadic knocks.

It was three in the morning. Besides a ghost, Xu Yan couldn't think of any other possibility. The only person who knew he lived here was Xu Nian. That kid had a key, and if he forgot it, he would have called. He wouldn't be knocking eerily at the door.

Xu Yan got out of bed, left his room, and, without turning on the lights, quietly approached the entrance. He picked up a broom from the corner and held his phone, slightly illuminating a small area. He leaned in to look through the peephole – Damn, it was broken. This old apartment was unreliable, with issues even in the small details.

If it was a thief outside and Xu Yan stayed silent, the person might try to break in, which would be troublesome to fix later... So, Xu Yan directly asked, "Who's there?"

The knocking on the door stopped, and after a few seconds, someone answered, "Me."

There was only one word, but the voice was so familiar that Xu Yan froze on the spot.

– It was Shen Zhi, no doubt, but why was it Shen Zhi?

Why?

Xu Yan certainly didn't want to flatter himself into thinking Shen Zhi was here to coax him. He would rather have a ghost standing outside than bewilderingly guess why Shen Zhi was at his doorstep at three in the morning. It was too bizarre.

"Open the door." After a long moment of silence, Shen Zhi's voice, sounding somewhat impatient, came through quietly.

Xu Yan put down the broom, unlocked the door, and opened it. The hallway light was on, its warm glow clearly illuminating the figure before him. Xu Yan looked at him without speaking, his mind in a whirl – It was as if he had planted an orange tree, only to have it bear cherries. Despite cherries being more expensive, he couldn't be happy. He was just astonished, confused, and even a bit scared. The reality before him was too jarring.

For a moment, he lost all expression. His heart swelled, pressing against his chest with each clear beat. It had only been two days since they last saw each other, yet Shen Zhi already felt somewhat unfamiliar – The same cold face, marked by fatigue and slight impatience. Was it an illusion, or did Xu Yan feel Shen Zhi relax a bit upon seeing him... Forget it, it was an illusion, narcissism was dangerous.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time before Shen Zhi's Adam's apple moved and he asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

You knock on my door at three in the morning, and now that I've opened it, you ask why I'm not asleep? What's wrong with you?

Of course, Xu Yan wouldn't ask that. He had never spoken to Shen Zhi that way, not before, and not in the future. He casually replied, "Oh, I was on my phone." As he spoke, he raised his hand to show Shen Zhi his phone, and as a result, he accidentally tapped the screen and played a voice message from a guy. In the silence, the deep, suggestive voice said, "You've got a nice ass and a great figure, you must work out often, huh?"

Xu Yan felt himself instantly transformed into a giant question mark. He didn't understand how the conversation had jumped from feeling unwell from drinking to butts and working out. But none of that mattered anymore. He instinctively glanced at Shen Zhi and saw that his expression could indeed be described as "ugly". Shen Zhi's features seemed embedded in a block of icy coldness.

It wasn't good. From Shen Zhi's perspective, this was probably an obvious and seamless transition, flirting with someone not even two days after leaving. Even though Shen Zhi had no feelings for him – in the end, men had their pride, and Xu Yan understood that. But it was too late to explain. Xu Yan locked his phone screen, looked up, and asked, "Why are you here? It's late."

Shen Zhi's eyes were bloodshot. He frowned slightly and stared into Xu Yan's eyes. Instead of answering, he asked, "What are you doing?"

That question immediately reminded Xu Yan of the message, "Haven't you made enough trouble?" He let go of any expectations or nervousness and looked at Shen Zhi calmly. "You're the one standing at my door. Is it appropriate for you to ask me what I'm doing?"

"You were the one who ran out first, is it wrong for me to ask you?" Shen Zhi retorted.

So, in Shen Zhi's mind, Xu Yan was the one at fault, so he had to accept the questioning and give an answer.

"Your logic is always impeccable, no matter the situation." Xu Yan smiled slightly. "I'm not doing anything, I just wanted to come home. If you feel offended by my sudden departure, then I apologise. Does that work for you?"

He got upset and went home to cool off, now that he realised his mistake, he would obediently apologise. It's the same as always, it will continue to be like before without coaxing... Xu Yan didn't realise his words could create such ambiguity. He only noticed Shen Zhi's expression suddenly relax a bit. A pang of bitterness rose in his heart – indeed, once Shen Zhi realised he was finally rid of him, he felt relieved.

Coming here in the middle of the night just to get a definite and satisfactory answer, what a hassle.

"... I'm going on a business trip tomorrow morning." Shen Zhi said, pinching the bridge of his nose with some fatigue, "It'll be for about half a month." There was actually another part to his sentence – if you feel comfortable staying here, you can stay until I get back.

But he didn't say it because it wasn't necessary – Xu Yan would definitely go back by then. This trip had come up suddenly, and there was no time to argue about Xu Yan not answering his calls and blocking him on WeChat. This situation had indeed blown up a bit too much, and it was the first time it had ever gotten to this extent, but anyway... anyway, Xu Yan would be back soon, so there was no need to worry. Any issues could be dealt with after half a month.

Xu Yan, hearing about the business trip, wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe he didn't have anything else to say. So he nodded, "Oh, okay."

After a pause, Shen Zhi said, "Delete him."

"What?" Xu Yan was momentarily stunned, realising Shen Zhi meant the guy who had sent the voice message earlier. He frowned, "What does this have to do with you..."

Shen Zhi interrupted him, "Block him." He said, "In the future, don't use these kinds of tricks to..." He couldn't find the exact words – don't use these kinds of tricks to provoke me? To get my attention? To make me jealous? They all seemed right, yet not quite.

He didn't finish his sentence, but Xu Yan understood – That's right, Xu Yan thought, in Shen Zhi's eyes, everything he did was to attract Shen Zhi's attention. Even now, playing such cheap tricks, like a ridiculous clown... But anyway, his image in Shen Zhi's mind was already bad enough, so there was no need to explain further. Let it be.

For a moment, the atmosphere was very quiet as they looked at each other. Xu Yan's gaze was somewhat serious – This might be the last time he looked Shen Zhi in the eye like this. No matter how thin and sad their relationship had become, the person in front of him was still someone he had loved for six years... Just one last look.

"The driver's still waiting downstairs, right?" Xu Yan took a breath and slowly said, "You have a flight in the morning, you better hurry back. Remember to wear more clothes, it's cold outside." He suddenly felt there were so many more things he wanted to say, like drink less, don't work too late, take good care of yourself, dry your hair after washing it... but forget it, there would be a better person to stay by Shen Zhi's side in the future, in any case, a person better than him.

But Xu Yan had a feeling that perhaps no one would ever love Shen Zhi as much as he did – it's a pity Shen Zhi didn't want his love.

"I know." Shen Zhi said. In the past, Xu Yan would have hugged him with a thick-skinned smile and kissed him a few times before a trip. But now, he just stood indifferently by the door with no other gestures. It was late, and he had to prepare for his trip... Xu Yan had always helped him pack in the past. Shen Zhi paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards the elevator, not lingering.

Xu Yan tilted his head slightly, watching Shen Zhi's back, and mouthed a silent "Goodbye."

———

The author has something to say:

Cross-server chat.

Shen Zhi: My wife will come back soon, after all, I came all the way to find him (confident).

Xu Yan: He actually came to make sure I wouldn't bother him again, how meticulous.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Hello~ Since I am done my semester and the other books I am working on aside from SCI, I have decided to pick up where Lei left off. I don't have a schedule in mind for this yet, but there will be at least one chapter a week.

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 30, 2024 by Angel

Edited: May 31, 2024 by Angel