Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 24

Chapter 24

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The next day was Saturday, but Xu Yan got up early to go shoot a film for an artist with Lu Sen. A little after seven, he packed his things and headed out. The weather was cold, and Xu Yan planned to eat a bowl of wontons at the stall near the entrance of the community. As soon as he opened the door, he was almost scared back inside – Shen Zhi stood at the doorway. There was a faint dark circle under his eyes, his hair was unkempt, and he dressed casually, looking like he had rushed out due to an emergency. This was a rare sight.

The scene of Xu Nian cursing Shen Zhi the night before was still vivid in his mind, making his head throb. Xu Yan looked at him for two seconds, closed the door, and turned to walk towards the elevator. Shen Zhi suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. Xu Yan hissed – Shen Zhi's hand was uncharacteristically cold, making him shiver.

"Let go," Xu Yan struggled but couldn't break free. He looked coldly at Shen Zhi – Shen Zhi was stunned for a moment and then released his hand.

Xu Yan couldn't be bothered to ponder and took a step forward to leave, but Shen Zhi called out to him in a hoarse voice, "Xu Yan."

"Say what you need to say, otherwise I have to go to work," Xu Yan turned back, frowning.

Shen Zhi pursed his lips, seemingly unsure of how to start. After a few seconds, he found an opening, "Your memory card..."

"Brought it?" It was strange, it could have been mailed, yet he had to come so early. Xu Yan didn't understand and didn't want to speculate. He extended his hand towards Shen Zhi, "Give it to me, thanks."

Shen Zhi stared at his palm, his Adam's apple moving slightly, and then looked up, saying, "I couldn't find it."

"What?" Xu Yan turned completely towards him, "Did you have someone clean the study?"

"No."

"The bottom drawer on the right side of the desk, I won't get it wrong," Xu Yan said.

"I couldn't find it."

Xu Yan frowned, carefully thinking about where he might have put the memory card, but no matter how he thought about it, it should have been in that drawer... After a while, he said, "Then please look in other places too. If you find it someday, just mail it to me."

Shen Zhi said, "I've looked everywhere, but couldn't find it."

Xu Yan was silent for a moment, "Forget it." Most of the photos were backed up on the computer. If it was really lost, so be it... Maybe Shen Zhi had someone clean up and it got thrown away. There was nothing he could do, it was his own carelessness in the first place.

"You can... go back and look for it yourself," Shen Zhi suddenly said.

"What?" Xu Yan asked reflexively, then looked at Shen Zhi strangely, "No need." He glanced at his phone and said, "Thanks for coming all this way today, goodbye."

He turned and left, his attitude distant and indifferent. For the first time, Shen Zhi found that words like 'thanks,' 'sorry to trouble you,' and 'goodbye' could be so harsh – coming from Xu Yan's mouth. Shen Zhi hesitated slightly and followed Xu Yan into the elevator.

Xu Yan leaned against the wall, looking down at his phone. Lu Sen said he would come to pick him up in twenty minutes. Xu Yan calculated that he would have time to eat the wontons today. Shen Zhi stood at a distance on his left, neither too close nor too far. Xu Yan vaguely felt Shen Zhi was watching him, but he thought he was overthinking it. It felt strange – but whatever, he couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

Ding – the elevator door opened. Xu Yan walked out. It was only about two minutes from his building to the community gate. Shen Zhi followed him half a step behind the entire way, and Xu Yan pretended not to see him. Early on Saturday, everyone was sleeping in. There weren't many people at the wonton stall. Xu Yan greeted the owner, "A bowl of wontons." He then went to sit at a small table on the side.

He heard Shen Zhi also order a bowl of wontons.

Xu Yan's hands were tucked into his sleeves, a very rustic way to keep warm. The street was really cold, but the wontons here were delicious. He wondered when the owner would realise to rent a proper storefront...

He was still pondering the owner's business prospects when Shen Zhi came over and sat next to him. Xu Yan turned his head, clearly seeing Shen Zhi frowning at the dirty, greasy little wooden table.

Heh. Xu Yan sneered inwardly. He should have realised long ago that he and Shen Zhi were incompatible in every aspect.

"Haven't had breakfast?" Xu Yan asked blandly.

Seemingly not expecting him to take the initiative to speak, Shen Zhi paused and then gave a low "hmm."

But after asking, Xu Yan was also stunned. He checked his phone – 7:08. Driving from Shen Zhi's house would take about an hour and a half, meaning he might have left at around 5:30. Though he understood the longing and eagerness after being apart for so long, Shen Zhi's initiative still deeply shocked Xu Yan.

He realised – the person who is cold to you will one day give all their patience and gentleness to someone else, so don't worry.

"Your wontons are ready!" the owner called out.

Xu Yan stood up in response, but someone carrying a bowl of wontons and hurriedly walking bumped into him from behind. With a startled "ah," the person's hand tilted, and the whole bowl of steaming wontons spilt out, giving no time to dodge.

At that moment, Xu Yan thought it was over; his camera hand was done for, and TIDE would lose a rising star photographer, and so on... But in the blink of an eye, a hand swiftly reached over from behind, shielding his hand. Only a few drops of hot soup splashed on Xu Yan's sleeve. Startled, he turned to see Shen Zhi with a tightly furrowed brow.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, so sorry!" The other person hurriedly apologised, "This, this, this, get it treated quickly."

"It's fine, we were the ones who weren't paying attention," Shen Zhi said, looking down at Xu Yan, who was quickly wiping his hand with a tissue. "Give him my bowl first."

Xu Yan silently threw the tissue into the bin, went to pick up the wontons, gave one bowl to the passerby, brought the other back to his table, and asked the owner to make another bowl.

When he returned, Shen Zhi was wiping his clothes, the back of his right hand red and scalded. Shen Zhi always avoided household chores, yet it was his right hand, again his right hand, that got injured for Xu Yan's sake.

"Go to the hospital," Xu Yan said.

"It's okay, it's not serious," Shen Zhi said, looking down.

Xu Yan sat down, pushed the wontons towards him, and pulled Shen Zhi's hand to wipe off the soup from his sleeve, then stared at his hand back, examining it carefully for a few seconds before placing his cooler hand on it to help reduce the heat – a very habitual action. After a long silence, Xu Yan said, "I'll accompany you to the hospital to get some medication."

Fair is fair. Although he and Shen Zhi had cut ties emotionally, Shen Zhi had indeed taken the burn for him. Whether it was instinct or something else, Xu Yan didn't want to owe him.

This time Shen Zhi didn't refuse. He kept watching Xu Yan and said, "Okay."

Xu Yan let go of his hand, "You eat first. I'll inform my colleague." He sent a WeChat message to Lu Sen, apologising for the sudden situation and promising to be at the site in half an hour. Lu Sen replied: "OK, I'll head over first. Join us when you've sorted it out.

The new bowl of wontons was soon ready. Xu Yan brought it to the table and saw Shen Zhi holding the plastic spoon, his wrist slightly unsteady. Xu Yan suddenly asked, "Did you go for the follow-up and acupuncture with Dr. Liu?" It had been over a month since Dr. Liu called to remind about the follow-up. Xu Yan was sure the assistant had informed Shen Zhi, but he suspected Shen Zhi might not have taken it seriously due to his busy nature.

Shen Zhi paused, "No."

He thought Xu Yan would be anxious, like before, asking why he hadn't gone yet, coaxing him like a child, saying things like the consequences would be severe if he didn't go, and don't to make me worry Baby... and so on, but Xu Yan just sat down, calmly stirring his wontons to cool them, and said indifferently, "Fine, you'll be in pain sooner or later."

Shen Zhi was stunned, his hand movements stopped. His right wrist seemed to ache faintly for a moment, or perhaps somewhere else hurt, like a rising tide, blocking all the words he wanted to say, making everything indescribable.

After finishing the wontons, Xu Yan drove Shen Zhi's car to the hospital. Shen Zhi sat in the passenger seat, watching Xu Yan's pursed lips from his angle, his expression showing some coldness and impatience. They didn't speak along the way. At the hospital, Xu Yan registered, saw the doctor, and got the medicine, running back and forth.

When the nurse was applying the medicine, Xu Yan came over, put the car keys on the table, and immediately turned to leave. Shen Zhi looked towards the door, not knowing where he went. After the medication was applied, Shen Zhi stood in the corridor but didn't see Xu Yan. He called him, but the call was declined, and soon a text message arrived: The medical expenses are settled.

Xu Yan left without a word, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Shen Zhi stared at the message for a long time and texted: When do you get off work? I'll pick you up.

Xu Yan sat in the taxi, glanced at the screen, and frowned in extreme irritation – he didn't understand what Shen Zhi wanted. They had long made everything clear, so clear it was infuriating, so why did he keep crossing his boundaries? It wasn't fun at all. He thought of Shen Zhi's hand, feeling distressed. His comment "you'll be in pain sooner or later" wasn't meant to be heartless. Shen Zhi's hand was injured because of him, and Xu Yan knew it was unkind of him to say that, but he had no right to care about his health anymore. Moreover, Shen Zhi didn't need his concern.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yan typed a few words on his phone, then locked the screen and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

The hospital elevator was crowded. Shen Zhi stood in the corner, and someone accidentally brushed hard against his injured hand, making him wince and move his hand higher. His phone rang, and a notification popped up on the lock screen. It was a reply from Xu Yan: No need, I don't want to see you.

Ding – the elevator reached the first floor. People filed out, leaving the elevator empty. The wind from the lobby blew in, mixing with the smell of disinfectant and the crowd. Shen Zhi stood there, staring at the now darkened phone screen, until someone asked, "Aren't you getting off?"

He slowly looked up, apologised, and walked out of the elevator.

‿︵‿︵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 30, 2024 by Angel

Edited: July 21, 2024 by Angel