Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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A week later, Xu Yan went to the photography exhibition. The work he submitted was a series of finished photos of the old city's communal apartments. In primary school, there was a boy in his class who came from a poor family and was not very talkative. However, Xu Yan loved playing with him and always asked, "Where do you live? If it's close, we can go home together in the future." The boy never answered, but one day he suddenly asked Xu Yan if he wanted to come to his house to play, saying that his parents had come to visit him, and there would be delicious food that night. Xu Yan agreed without thinking.

He saw some things he had never seen before – crowded corridors, noisy buildings, clothes dripping water in the hallways and smoking coal stoves. That night, the boy still didn't say much, and his parents were also silent rural folks, but Xu Yan's bowl was filled with meat. He still remembered the aroma.

Nearly twenty years had passed. The boy from back then had long disappeared into the sea of people, but Xu Yan still found the communal apartment building in his memories. Many people had left, and many others had moved in. Lives had undergone tremendous changes, but the communal apartment building remained the same. It had always been there, housing the same things it did twenty years ago.

"Guest list." Xu Nian walked over with a folded leaflet, nudging Xu Yan's elbow. "Even the editor-in-chief of TIDE is here. This is quite a high standard."

Xu Yan took the list. TIDE was a top domestic fashion magazine. Those who graced its cover were either movie stars or the hottest celebrities. Although he already knew someone from TIDE would attend, the fact that the editor-in-chief came personally... made this photography exhibition even more high-end than he had imagined.

"Do you want to join?" Xu Nian suddenly asked, "Brother, if you go to TIDE, you'll definitely learn more."

"Do you think you're impressive?" Xu Yan turned his head to ask him. "Can you get someone into TIDE just by talking?"

"I do have some connections, you know." Xu Nian gave him a disdainful look. "When I was studying abroad, I met the current lead photographer of TIDE. If he says he wants to bring in a newcomer, that newcomer would be carried into the magazine on a sedan chair."

Xu Yan was taken aback. "Isn't he gay? How did you two meet?"

Xu Nian smiled faintly. "It's precisely because he's gay that we met."

Everything was understood without words. Xu Yan said, "If he fancies you, it must have been a severe lapse in his taste. He probably regrets it a lot." Xu Nian immediately went berserk upon hearing this. "We are good friends now. He even asked me to have coffee the day before yesterday! Xu Yan, stop being ungrateful. If you slander me again, I'll go home and tell Mom!" Xu Yan was amused by him, patting his shoulder and offering perfunctory comfort.

Xu Yan continued to look down the list, and the next three words suddenly made him pause. "Tang Yunyan..." Xu Nian, leaning against him, read the name out loud and then murmured, "Wasn't she in the Western fashion scene? How did such a prominent designer come back to the country?"

Staring at that name for a long time, Xu Yan said, "How would I know?"

Of course he didn't know why Tang Yunyan returned. He didn't even know much about Tang Yunyan, yet she still occupied an unshakeable place in his mind – like how some people can't get over their boyfriend's ex.

Back in his third year of university, ever since that drunken confession to Shen Zhi on his birthday failed, Xu Yan had avoided him as much as possible. Shen Zhi could heartlessly pretend not to have heard, but Xu Yan couldn't. The words came from his mouth, and Shen Zhi's attitude was clear. Xu Yan couldn't just brush it off.

He had avoided him from autumn to winter, but they inevitably ran into each other. Both remained silently tacit, then passed by each other. Until one time before a basketball game, Xu Yan had no choice but to go to practice. As soon as he arrived, his teammates noisily asked why he hadn't played with them for the past few months. Xu Yan glanced at Shen Zhi, who was shooting hoops at the other end of the court, and smiled, saying he had a lot of classes and assignments that semester and was too busy.

After practice, Xu Yan grabbed his water bottle and wanted to slip away when a teammate suddenly said, "Hey, Yan Yan, it's Shen Zhi's birthday the day after tomorrow. Remember to come. We'll meet at the school gate." Xu Yan froze. He had seen the group discussing Shen Zhi's birthday and everyone assumed he would come, but he didn't want to and didn't know how to refuse.

He stammered, "I might... be might be busy that day." But before he could finish, he looked up and saw Shen Zhi drinking water while looking down at him. When their eyes met, Shen Zhi quickly looked away. That moment was strange. Xu Yan didn't know why, but he hesitated and said, "... Oh, let me know in advance. I'll meet you all at the school gate."

Afterwards, Xu Yan felt complicated. He didn't understand the meaning of Shen Zhi's glance, perhaps there was none, it was just an accidental look. But Xu Yan didn't see any signs of disgust or rejection in that gaze – maybe Shen Zhi had already turned that page. Thinking this, Xu Yan felt even more upset and bitter.

The birthday party was held on one floor of a hotel, specially reserved and decorated. The tables were laden with food, and a huge projector was showing King of Comedy. Xu Yan glanced around and saw many familiar faces. Perhaps because everyone present was a friend, Shen Zhi didn't appear as aloof and distant; he was chatting with people. Xu Yan nibbled on some food as he wandered through the crowd, occasionally glancing at Shen Zhi. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Qiu Hao, who asked Xu Yan, "Did you bring your ID card?"

"Yes, why?" Xu Yan asked. The entire department was set to leave for another city for fieldwork early the next morning, so Xu Yan had packed his documents in his bag and brought them along that day.

"Let me borrow it to book a room," Qiu Hao said. "If it gets too late tonight, I'll let Ziyou sleep here." Qiu Hao and Shen Zhi were high school classmates, and their families' companies had business dealings, so they stayed connected. Li Ziyou, Qiu Hao's girlfriend, was an English major and had previously attended a summer camp with Shen Zhi.

Xu Yan hesitated but then went downstairs with him to book the room. When they returned, the cake had just been brought out, and the atmosphere had become lively. Xu Yan somehow ended up next to Shen Zhi. In the dim light, Shen Zhi's profile was illuminated by the candle flames. Everyone urged him to close his eyes and make a wish, but Shen Zhi said, "I don't have anything to wish for," and blew out the candles. Xu Yan thought it made sense; Shen Zhi had everything, so he didn't need to wish for anything.

After eating the cake, someone turned on a microphone, and a few crates of alcohol were brought out, signalling the start of the real party. Xu Yan had a few bites of cake, and his hands were sticky, so he went to the restroom to wash his hands. Just as he entered, he overheard Qiu Hao on the phone.

"What else can I do? I'll get her drunk tonight and do what needs to be done. I've already booked the room."

"We've been dating for two months, but she still won't let me touch her. What's the point? I'm going abroad next week, I need to sleep with her before I go."

"I've never met someone so difficult. Who wants a platonic relationship? It's just a waste of time."

Xu Yan stood silently outside for a few seconds before turning back to the hall. The party was in full swing, and Shen Zhi had been made to drink a lot and was playing dice with others. Xu Yan scanned the room for Li Ziyou. Someone waved at him, "Yan Yan, come take over for me. I need to make a call."

The person sitting next to Shen Zhi happened to be next to Li Ziyou. Xu Yan walked over and sat between Shen Zhi and Li Ziyou. His mind was a bit chaotic as he didn't know how to tell Li Ziyou about Qiu Hao. Technically, it wasn't his business, but he couldn't let an unsuspecting girl be... even if the person involved was her boyfriend, it was a matter of principle.

Qiu Hao soon came out of the restroom and sat next to Li Ziyou, pouring her another drink. Xu Yan frowned and couldn't help but say, "Drink less, too much will upset your stomach."

Li Ziyou, already somewhat drunk, leaned into Qiu Hao's arms and smiled, "It's fine. It's Shen Zhi's birthday, let's have fun."

Xu Yan wanted to say more, but his thigh was suddenly nudged. He looked over to see Shen Zhi nudging him with his knee. Shen Zhi looked at Xu Yan and said, "Your turn." His eyes had a bit of a drunken glaze, and his long eyelashes were quite compelling – especially to Xu Yan. Xu Yan immediately fell silent and obediently opened his dice cup, and the others burst into laughter, asking how much Xu Yan had drunk and teasing him to continue with the numbers without opening the cup.

Xu Yan's face felt like his face was burning. He hurriedly closed the dice cup, saying he had forgotten. Shen Zhi glanced sideways, noticing Xu Yan's reddened ears. Xu Yan's hair was very black and looked incredibly soft. His eyes were beautiful, and the line from his nose to his lips, to his chin, and to his Adam's apple, was smooth and pleasing. Shen Zhi was inadvertently observing when Xu Yan suddenly turned around and seriously asked, "What number did you just say?"

They hadn't conversed like this in a long time. Shen Zhi was momentarily stunned and, without warning, stood up, saying, "I'm going to wash my face."

Xu Yan lowered his eyes, guessing that Shen Zhi probably didn't want to deal with him. He shook the dice cup and looked up with a smile, saying, "Let's start over."

"Ah!" Beside him, Li Ziyou suddenly exclaimed. Her wine glass had tipped over and rolled to the floor, fortunately, with little wine in it. A few napkins sufficed to clean it up. Qiu Hao stood up, saying, "I'll get you a new glass, you keep playing."

"Ziyou, are you going back to the dorm to sleep tonight?" Xu Yan asked Li Ziyou after Qiu Hao left.

"Mhmm." Li Ziyou nodded, but her next words made Xu Yan's heart sink again. "Qiu Hao will take me back."

Just as Qiu Hao returned with a new glass, filled with wine, he placed it in front of Li Ziyou. Xu Yan, however, directly took it and said, "I don't have a glass either. I'll take this one."

Qiu Hao's expression changed instantly, but he quickly smiled and said, "I can get you another one. This is for Ziyou."

"It's a new one anyway, doesn't matter," Xu Yan said, staring at him.

———

The author has something to say:

This memory is rather important, so the next two chapters are also interludes, and the next two days should be daily (not really sure, because I haven't finished it yet T^T)

‿︵‿︵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 14, 2024 by Angel

Edited: June 23, 2024 by Angel