Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 28

Chapter 28

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After washing his face in the morning, Xu Yan looked in the mirror. His eyes were only slightly swollen, and he seemed to be in decent shape – adults always have a natural ability to recover. After getting ready briefly, Xu Yan opened the door. Today was the last working day of the year, and the day after tomorrow would be New Year's Eve.

Closing the door, Xu Yan walked past the person standing in front of him and headed towards the elevator. Shen Zhi was still wearing the same clothes as the night before, carrying a packed bowl of hot wontons. He called Xu Yan's name, but his voice was so hoarse that when he said "Xu," it was almost inaudible, more like a breathy whisper.

Xu Yan quickly reached the elevator, pressed the button, and waited quietly for it to arrive. Shen Zhi approached him, handed over the wontons, and said in a low voice, "I'll take you to work, you can eat in the car."

No response, Xu Yan remained indifferent. When the elevator doors opened, he walked in, hands in his pockets, leaning lethargically in the corner. Shen Zhi stood beside him, eyes lowered in silence. When the elevator descended to the garage, Xu Yan took out his keys to unlock the car, but Shen Zhi suddenly grabbed his hand. "Xu Yan."

It was only then that Xu Yan looked up at him. Shen Zhi looked very tired, with bloodshot eyes and slightly pale lips – Xu Yan sadly realised that he still felt pity for this man. He shook off Shen Zhi's hand without saying anything, but Shen Zhi grabbed him again, lowering his head to hang the bag of wontons on Xu Yan's wrist, saying, "Then eat it in your car before you leave."

The garage was eerily silent. Xu Yan weighed the wontons in his hand, then walked to the side and threw them into the garbage can.

He turned around, got in the car, and drove out of the garage. In the rearview mirror, Shen Zhi's figure gradually receded into the distance. Xu Yan kept his eyes fixed ahead, not looking back.

There was no filming today, so Xu Yan spent the morning archiving image files on his computer. During lunch break, he stood in the break room with Lu Sen, who asked, "Have you thought about what I mentioned last time?"

Xu Yan shook his head. "I don't know, I haven't decided yet."

"No worries, just let me know when you decide." Lu Sen patted his shoulder. "I think it would be good for you. Spending a year or two in Paris and then coming back would qualify you for a promotion, and no one would have any issues with that. Plus, it's a chance to further your studies. You don't have a dedicated photographer's resume yet, so take this opportunity to build it up. The magazine over there has a travel section, and you love taking landscape photos. It's worth a try."

Xu Yan knew Lu Sen was thinking of his best interests, but he had never planned to go abroad before, and having this option suddenly presented made him hesitant.

"Mhmm, I'll think about it carefully," Xu Yan said.

Lu Sen nodded and waved towards the door. "Chloe."

Xu Yan turned his head to see Tang Yunyan walking in and smiled at her.

"I'll go check on the post-production team," Lu Sen said, glancing at his watch. "You two continue your break."

After Lu Sen left, only the two of them remained. The atmosphere wasn't awkward, but Xu Yan didn't know what to say, so he simply drank his water. Tang Yunyan poured herself a glass of water, stood beside Xu Yan, and blew gently at the rim of her glass. "Shen Zhi hasn't been home for the past few days."

This straightforward opening made Xu Yan pause. "Oh, is that so."

"We've been classmates since middle school," Tang Yunyan said, holding her cup with both hands and looking at the floor. "In our third year of high school, I confessed to him, and he agreed."

Xu Yan listened quietly, unsure why Tang Yunyan was telling him this.

"There were a lot of people who pursued him. I asked him why he agreed to be with me, and he said he didn't know. But that was an answer he would give," Tang Yunyan said, smiling with a kind of helplessness one would have towards a child. "Later, I thought about it. He probably felt that I was very similar to him, rational, not childish, and not naive."

"But I wasn't really that rational. At the time, I thought I could change him, so I tried to get him to call me by my nickname, asked him out to watch movies and bought matching couple bracelets... But in the end, it turned out that Shen Zhi was just a vase, a decorative piece in a relationship."

"Judging by his appearance, you'd think he wasn't short of romantic experiences or that he always enjoyed others' love for him, but neither was true. He was very unfamiliar and awkward with emotions, always like an outsider, as if he wasn't the one in a relationship."

"Later, I told him I wanted to break up, but for some reason, I always felt like I was the one being dumped." Tang Yunyan smiled, took a sip of water, and continued, "We've stayed in touch over the years. We didn't make it as a couple, we're better off as friends. When he was in his third year of university, he suddenly told me that a friend of his had confessed to him."

Xu Yan felt a pang in his heart – after all this talk, it still came back to him.

"I asked him what he thought about it, and he said he didn't know. He was the kind of person who could ace exams and win gold medals in competitions, but when it came to this kind of issue, his answer was always that he didn't know."

"I asked him if he liked his friend, and Shen Zhi said he had never thought about being with a guy. I told him that wasn't the point and asked if he liked his friend or not. Shen Zhi still said he didn't know. So I asked him if he liked his parents. He said no. I asked if he liked me, and he said it was just as a friend. I asked if any other guys had ever confessed to him before, and he said yes, but he had always rejected them."

"So finally, I asked if he would be so hesitant and unclear if another guy confessed to him. Shen Zhi said no."

"I thought that after all this, he should have a clear answer in his heart, but it seemed not. Over the years you two were together, something didn't seem right, and I don't know what the problem was. Shen Zhi later refused to talk about anything."

Coincidentally, Xu Yan also didn't know what the problem was.

The water in the cup had gone cold. Xu Yan took her cup and refilled it. Tang Yunyan smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Shen Zhi's personality is problematic, rather cold and closed off. His family was very strict. During middle school, his phone was managed by the nanny; who he added, what messages he received, none of it was private. His outings, friendships, books, and even his meals were all controlled. It was very oppressive, only getting slightly better in high school. We used to say that it was a miracle Shen Zhi didn't develop depression in such a family."

"So when I later heard that Shen Zhi was with you and living together, I was very surprised. But thinking about it, I felt that it must have been the most rebellious, incredible, yet happiest thing for him. It was like seeing him finally find a key to escape, and though it made people worry, you couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for him."

The water in the cup had gone cold again. Xu Yan finally spoke, "I don't feel like I've ever made him happy. He has character flaws, but I can't always be the one paying for them."

"What if he's willing to change for you?" Tang Yunyan asked.

"I can't bear that honour," Xu Yan replied. He downed the cold water in his cup and smiled. "Chloe, we should get back to work."

After work, the company had an end-of-year dinner. Tang Yunyan didn't attend, she flew out to be with her family abroad for the New Year. The weather was cold, and many people were rushing to get home, so no one drank alcohol. The dinner ended lightly and everyone dispersed. On the way to get their cars, Xu Yan asked Lu Sen, "Are you going back to France?"

"No, I'm staying here. I'm heading to Hokkaido in a few days. Flying back and forth is too much hassle," Lu Sen said.

Xu Yan nodded. Lu Sen looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "I heard it's going to snow this New Year."

"It seems so," Xu Yan also looked up. "No wonder it's so cold."

After returning home, Xu Yan tidied up the living room. The shards from the glass he had smashed yesterday still littered the floor, as he had been in too much of a rush to go to work this morning to clean up. Carrying a garbage bag downstairs, he stepped out of the elevator and saw a car parked below. As soon as he emerged, the driver opened the car door. Meng Yuwan sat in the back seat, her gaze still carrying a condescending disdain.

Xu Yan felt that the past few days had been extraordinarily eventful. Shen Zhi had sought him out, Lin Mian had sought him out, Tang Yunyan had sought him out, and now even Meng Yuwan had come to find him. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought he was involved in some sort of high-interest loan sharks.

He glanced at Meng Yuwan, showed no particular reaction, walked past the car, and went across the street to throw out the garbage. When he returned, he noticed that Meng Yuwan's expression had indeed worsened. Xu Yan put his hands in his pockets and said, "Hello, Auntie."

Meng Yuwan got out of the car, stood in front of Xu Yan, and paused before speaking. "Shen Zhi is hospitalised."

Xu Yan's fingers instinctively curled inside his pockets, but his expression remained calm. "Oh, is that so?"

"He hasn't slept for several days, and is suffering from low blood sugar and stomach pain. Despite that, he went to the Lin family to call off the engagement, then collapsed shortly after returning to the office. Xu Yan, I might have underestimated you before."

"I suppose I underestimated you too," Xu Yan responded with a faint smile. "Your son is in the hospital, yet you came all this way to chat with someone as irrelevant as me."

Meng Yuwan, however, did not get angry. Instead, she softened her tone and said, "Shen Zhi is in such a state, why don't you go and see him, it would be good to clear things up face to face."

"I have made it clear long ago. Any illness is his own doing, it has nothing to do with me," Xu Yan replied. "I can't continue being his nanny after we've broken up. There's no such good fortune, it's really quite annoying."

Meng Yuwan smiled and extended her hand to the driver beside her. He handed over a cell phone. The call interface was lit up, and the name "Shen Zhi" was clearly displayed on the screen.

"Did you hear that?" Meng Yuwan asked into the phone.

After a long pause, Shen Zhi's hoarse voice came through from the other end. "I heard it."

Xu Yan looked at her nonchalantly, as if he had expected this. After Meng Yuwan hung up the phone, he said, "Auntie, you're quite dedicated."

"Shen Zhi just needs time to adjust. Once he understands, everything will be fine," Meng Yuwan said with a smile. Almost casually, she added, "I heard that your company is now in your brother's hands?"

Xu Yan's heart tightened, and his expression turned cold. Despite his firm words, Meng Yuwan still treated him like a thief, coming to warn and threaten him. He replied, "Yes."

Meng Yuwan nodded. "Well, young man, be careful with everything you do, don't make any mistakes, the price is always high."

"Pass that advice on to Shen Zhi," Xu Yan said. "If I change my mind suddenly and decide to return to him while he's still not used to being without me, who knows, he might impulsively move back in with me. He keeps coming to see me, so maybe he really does like me. What do you think? He's your son, you should have some insight."

Xu Yan had an abundance of cheek and was unmatched in the art of provocation – skills honed thanks to Shen Zhi. He knew that while Shen Zhi might not be Meng Yuwan's weak spot, she would never allow Shen Zhi to make the same mistake twice.

As expected, Meng Yuwan remained silent, staring at Xu Yan for a while before finally smiling and saying, "I know him well enough, Shen Zhi won't stay muddled for long."

Xu Yan nodded, took a step back, and looked down at her. "Goodbye, Auntie. Take care."

———

The author has something to say:

Zhi, how come you are so fortunate, there's always someone helping you.

Regarding the wonton incident, just assume the garbage bins in the garage don't differentiate between wet and dry waste. Don't worry about it.

‿︵‿︵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: July 2, 2024 by Angel

Edited: August 4, 2024 by Angel