Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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Xu Yan had spent another half a month wandering around with Ji Huai every day. They visited galleries, old alleys, museums, and the old railroad tracks under the riverside bridge. The city and its surroundings had changed quite a bit, and they also went to several places they used to hang out during their middle school years to reminisce about their youth. One by one, the memory cards in Xu Yan's DSLR filled up. Each day, he would go home and edit the photos on his computer, then post them on photography websites or Weibo. By chance, a prominent blogger reposted one of his photos, and he suddenly gained many followers, prompting him to hurriedly set his low-resolution, non-mainstream selfies from ten years ago to private.

One evening, while browsing Weibo, Xu Yan suddenly remembered something. He opened his contact list, found Shen Zhi's Weibo, and cancelled the special follow. He then recalled how shamelessly he had used Shen Zhi's phone to set himself as a special follow – but Shen Zhi had probably cancelled that long ago.

After shutting Shen Zhi out that night, Xu Yan had actually stood behind the door for a long time, unable to move. It was hard to say if he felt relieved or sad. He heard Shen Zhi's phone ring, probably his assistant calling, indicating there was a problem at the company. Shen Zhi replied softly, "I'll come back and handle it right away." The sound of footsteps grew distant as he left. Xu Yan reached up to touch his eyes; they were not wet, but they felt very sore. They had finally ended, it was finally over, yet Xu Yan found it hard to breathe.

He suddenly remembered that he still had many things left at Shen Zhi's place, but those didn't really matter. What Xu Yan cared about was the ugly little crocodile, which was very comfortable to hug while sleeping. Sometimes when Shen Zhi came home late, Xu Yan would hug the little crocodile, and only when Shen Zhi got into bed would he switch to hugging him. Although Shen Zhi was probably not too happy about being hugged while sleeping, Xu Yan had once truly felt happy – a kind of lonely, self-satisfying happiness.

After being back for a month and a half, Xu Yan finally decided to muster the courage he had lost two years ago and go home once. He mentioned it to Xu Nian, who decisively said, "Ge, don't worry. I've already thought of a plan. I'm just about to introduce my girlfriend to our parents, you can come with us. You can kneel and apologise to Mom and Dad, and I'll announce my engagement right after. One sorrow and one joy will balance things out, ensuring there won't be any problems."

Xu Yan replied, "Got it, I'll hang up first."

After another meeting ended, Shen Zhi sat in the conference room, looking down at the documents. He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten through this period. It wasn't the first time he had worked non-stop. When he first took over the company, his vacations were measured in hours, and his schedule was extremely tight. In the industry, there were always plenty of prodigies, someone was always doing better than you. The more excellent a person was, the more they had to grit their teeth and strive upward. No one cared about the pinnacle, they only cared about the height and the gap.

He had gotten through those days, always thinking it was nothing, but after just half a month this time, Shen Zhi found himself unable to take it anymore.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Xu Yan's face and heard his words from that night, "We're done." He saw Xu Yan's expression, his eyes – It's not that Shen Zhi hadn't seen Xu Yan's quiet demeanour before, he had said many things that embarrassed Xu Yan, and afterwards, he would inadvertently see Xu Yan staring blankly at his phone or a book with a cold expression. But whenever their eyes met, that coldness would immediately be replaced by a smile. Shen Zhi had thought Xu Yan had an innate ability to heal himself.

How could a person like that... bring themselves to say it's over?

Impossible. Shen Zhi asked himself repeatedly in his mind, not knowing whom he was asking. How could Xu Yan just leave and never come back? His toiletries were still in the bathroom, his clothes were still hanging in the wardrobe, there were leftover snacks of his in the fridge, and a half-read book lay face down on the bedside table... Every day, he went home and saw the scene that was no different from what it was before Xu Yan left, yet that person said he wouldn't come back.

"Mr. Shen," the assistant knocked and entered, saying, "Director Meng is waiting for you in the office."

Shen Zhi closed the folder and stood up. When he returned to the office, Meng Yuwan was sitting on the sofa going through some documents. Seeing Shen Zhi enter, she looked up at him briefly without saying anything. Shen Zhi took a stack of documents from the safe, walked over to the sofa, and handed them to her, saying, "It's almost taken care of."

"Which means it's not fully taken care of yet." Meng Yuwan leisurely took the documents but didn't bother to look at them. She only said, "If it weren't for your father's intervention, you might not be standing here so comfortably now."

"I failed to manage my subordinates properly." Shen Zhi replied calmly.

"This time, it was senior executives absconding with funds and ruining a cooperation project. If something more serious happens next time, are you also going to brush it off with 'I failed to manage properly'?" Meng Yuwan's gaze grew stern.

Shen Zhi said, "There won't be a next time."

"I hope there won't be." The topic ended there. The seriousness of the matter didn't need further elaboration; if Shen Zhi said there wouldn't be a next time, there wouldn't be. She had come today merely to give her son a word of advice after the turmoil. Meng Yuwan took a sip of tea, her expression softened slightly and she said, "As long as you focus on your work, there is no problem with your ability."

"I don't think I've ever neglected my work." Shen Zhi said, frowning slightly.

Meng Yuwan smiled, "Indeed, you haven't neglected your work, but keeping a man at home is always a bad look. It won't do any good for your future development."

This matter had been brought up more than once, and Shen Zhi's answer remained the same: "My personal life has nothing to do with my work."

"I heard Xu Yan went home." Meng Yuwan looked up at him, an elegant smile on her lips. "It's been more than a month, hasn't it?"

Shen Zhi turned his gaze to the window, looking out at the tall buildings. After a few seconds, he said, "He wasn't in a good mood, so he went back to relax."

"Is that so?" Meng Yuwan seemed slightly intrigued and asked, "Then why did he tell me he wouldn't be coming back?"

Shen Zhi's eyes fixed on the triangular top of the building opposite for a moment. He was stunned for a while before turning back to look at Meng Yuwan, his eyes showing a hint of sharpness, "You contacted him."

Meng Yuwan put down the documents and said calmly, "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to him. I just made a phone call to say hello. Who knew he would say that he would never have anything to do with you again and even ask me to pass on his congratulations to you – 'Happy wedding.'"

Happy wedding – those last two words seemed to carry substantial weight, suddenly crashing down on him. Shen Zhi had thought back many times over the past half month, trying to pinpoint a moment, and it was at this moment that he realised Xu Yan's unusual calmness, rationality and coldness the night he saw Shen Zhi meeting with the girl's parents. Because it was so unusual, it appeared normal, making it go unnoticed.

So it was because of that... just because of the engagement. Xu Yan misunderstood and refused to come back. Shen Zhi grasped the situation, understood the beginning and end, checked the time, and walked out. Meng Yuwan immediately stood up and called after him, "Shen Zhi!"

Shen Zhi stopped and turned back to look at her, saying, "It's after work hours."

"With so many people watching you right now, what right do you have to talk to me about work hours?" Meng Yuwan's brow furrowed slightly in anger, "Do you need your father to scold you in person to be satisfied?"

"It was my fault in the first place, I don't mind who scolds me." Shen Zhi nodded to Meng Yuwan, opened the door, and left the office.

Driving to Xu Yan's neighbourhood, Shen Zhi was about to turn in when the door of a car parked at the opposite corner suddenly opened. Xu Yan stepped out with a DSLR hanging around his neck. Ji Huai, in the driver's seat, also got out. The two stood by the roadside, heads close together, looking at the photos on the DSLR and chatting happily. Xu Yan then raised the camera and stepped back a few paces, and Ji Huai stood in the glow of the sunset, posing for the photo in perfect harmony.

Shen Zhi stepped on the brakes, gripping the steering wheel, and stared at the people across the street. Xu Yan laughed heartily, seemingly happier than ever. Shen Zhi thought of those words, "Happy wedding." When Meng Yuwan mentioned it, he felt relief in finally knowing why Xu Yan left. But when he thought about it now... Shen Zhi tightened his grip on the steering wheel and frowned, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"Not bad!" Xu Yan made an OK gesture and then said, "You go back. I'll edit the photos tonight. We took too many today, so I won't go out tomorrow."

"Sure thing," Ji Huai shrugged, "I'll sleep in tomorrow. If you need anything, just call me." Xu Yan waved at him, and Ji Huai smiled, got in the car, and drove away. Xu Yan took a few more photos of the traffic on the street before putting the lens cap on and preparing to head back to the complex.

Just as he turned around, he saw a white Levante driving towards him – coming at him so aggressively that if he hadn’t recognised it as Shen Zhi’s car, Xu Yan might have thought he was being chased. He stayed in his turned position as the car stopped in front of him and the window rolled down. Xu Yan's eyes widened slightly – It hadn't been that long since they last met, but Shen Zhi had noticeably lost weight and looked extremely tired, clearly not having rested well for some time.

Xu Yan originally didn't know about the issues at Shen Zhi's company; it was Xu Nian who told him. The gist was that senior executives had absconded with funds, taking several core documents with them, causing the termination of a project that had been in preparation for nearly half a year. The matter had made the city news but was quickly suppressed, likely due to Shen Zhi’s father’s intervention.

Xu Yan knew exactly what Shen Zhi was like when he was busy. He had often gone to the office late at night to bring Shen Zhi food, quietly packing up and leaving after Shen Zhi finished eating so as not to disturb him. Shen Zhi never asked him to stay or suggested they go home together later. On rare occasions, Xu Yan dared to ask if he could stay until they could leave together, and Shen Zhi wouldn't bother to answer – his lack of refusal was taken as implicit permission by Xu Yan, who would then sit on the sofa and read magazines.

But now they had nothing to do with each other. Let alone any possibility of helping out, if he asked, he might even be scolded for bringing up sore subjects. Xu Yan, well aware of his position, kept his mouth shut and exchanged a brief glance with Shen Zhi – just like he would with any other person in a crowd – before quickly turning away and heading towards the entrance of the complex.

"Xu Yan." Shen Zhi called out in a deep voice.

Ignoring him would be impolite, and since their breakup was amicable, there was no need to make things awkward. Xu Yan turned back, smiled, and asked, "What is it?"

Shen Zhi looked at him, "Get in the car."

To his surprise, Xu Yan stepped back and said, "No." He then stood there very calmly, looking at Shen Zhi, not approaching but instead appearing ready to turn and leave at any moment, giving an inexplicable sense of unease. Xu Yan said, "Just say what you need to say from there, I can hear you." He wasn't like Shen Zhi, who could pretend nothing had happened after hearing something.

Shen Zhi, however, remained silent and stared at him from inside the car. His car was blocking the entrance to the neighbourhood, and the drivers behind began honking furiously while the security guard poked his head out to see what was happening. Xu Yan had never seen Shen Zhi act so unreasonably, and he didn't look very good –  he couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or from being annoyed at his disobedience. After weighing his options, in order to avoid conflicts affecting the neighbourhood's harmony, Xu Yan gritted his teeth, walked over, opened the door, and got into the passenger seat.

———

The author has something to say:

Shen Zhi: Get in the car.

Xu Yan: No.

Shen Zhi: Fine, then I'll just stay here and not leave (turns off the engine).

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

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

Translated: June 10, 2024 by Angel

Edited: June 16, 2024 by Angel