Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 39

Chapter 39

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In May, at the headquarters of Jinyao Group, the conference room was filled with all the senior executives. However, for the past few months, the CEO, Shen Zhi, had been assigned to sit as far away from Shen Ming as possible. Initially, the others were surprised, but they had grown accustomed to it, realising that Chairman Shen was warning and pressuring Shen Zhi. Yet, no one could figure out why this tension had lasted so long.

But it was easy to guess, really, because Shen Zhi remained indifferent, working as usual and not caring about how much of his power was taken away.

Shen Ming was listening to the vice president explain the project strategy. When it came to task allocation, Shen Ming tapped his index finger on the conference table twice, "Let Manager Li and Manager Fang take charge and report to me regularly. Shen Zhi will assist with the execution."

This statement clearly downgraded Shen Zhi's authority. Although everyone remained expressionless, they secretly observed Shen Zhi's reaction. Shen Ming, however, did not turn his head, focusing on the large screen, deliberately leaving Shen Zhi in an awkward position.

Shen Zhi finished reading the last page of the strategic document, closed it, and calmly said, "This project will take at least a year, I am not suitable to participate."

The conference room fell silent. Shen Ming turned his chair and stared at Shen Zhi across the table, asking, "What is your reason for not being suitable?"

"The reason is, I am resigning."

A very light murmur spread, and everyone looked at him in astonishment.

"This afternoon, I will submit my resignation. All relevant work materials and handover documents have been organised." Shen Zhi stood up, buttoned his suit jacket, and added, "In view of my imminent departure from the company, to prevent the leakage of important company information, I will no longer participate in future meetings."

After saying this, he picked up his notebook and tablet, ready to leave. Shen Ming asked in a deep voice, "Do you think you can just resign as you please?"

Shen Zhi stopped and met his gaze, "Regarding the shares I hold, the transfer agreement has been drafted. I will report to the board of directors at next week's meeting."

No one spoke again. Shen Zhi opened the door and walked out of the conference room, leaving the senior executives to cautiously exchange glances under Shen Ming's stern expression. No one had expected Shen Zhi to be so resolute, outright resigning and even planning to give up his shares. No one dared to suspect he was threatening Shen Ming because the risk was too great, it could end up with him losing both his job and shares. Shen Zhi was serious.

Half an hour after returning to his office, his assistant knocked and entered, "Chairman Shen wants you to go over."

Shen Zhi closed the several open law books on his desk, stacked them neatly, and put on his coat, "Tell him I'm not available."

"Are you going out?"

"Mhmm." Shen Zhi lowered his eyes and slowly put on his watch.

On the way to the airport, there were four men in the car: Xu Yan, Xu Nian, Ji Huai, and Lu Sen. They represented Xu Yan's family, friends, and colleagues, respectively.

Ji Huai was originally supposed to go to London right after the New Year, but due to issues at the company's Chinese branch, he was temporarily reassigned there until now. He would be ready to return to London in about a month once he finished dealing with matters here.

Before deciding to go to Paris, Xu Yan had a thorough discussion with his parents at home. Although Fang Hui couldn't bear to see him go, she supported him since it was a job Xu Yan liked and would benefit his future development. Xu Shen didn't say much, when it came to career matters, there was no reason to stop him. He just told Xu Yan to take good care of himself while he was away.

Fang Hui and Xu Shen didn't come to the airport to see him off. Before departure, Fang Hui couldn't help but cry, and Xu Yan comforted her for a long time. Fang Hui waved her hand and said, "I won't see you off. It'll be worse if I start crying at the airport. You go ahead, be careful on your journey."

"Travelling between Paris and London is quite convenient. Once Ji Huai Ge is back in London, you two will be able to meet up often," Xu Nian said while driving.

Lu Sen smiled, "With filming locations all over the world, I doubt Xu Yan will spend much time in Paris." He turned to look at Xu Yan after saying this, but Xu Yan was just leaning against the seat, staring out the window. Lu Sen remembered that over two months ago, Xu Yan had taken another day off after a three-day leave. When he returned to the company, he looked dispirited, and the first thing he said upon entering Lu Sen's office was, "I've thought it through, I'm going to Paris."

Lu Sen didn't delve into the reasons behind Xu Yan's decision to go abroad. The reasons were unimportant, what mattered was the decision and the outcome.

Xu Nian said, "Ge, have you considered becoming a purchasing agent, using your position to your advantage?"

"I've considered finding the world's best assassin to kill my brother," Xu Yan replied, moving his gaze back from the window.

"Wow, you're still so ruthless even when you're about to board the plane. Be nicer to me while we're still face-to-face."

After checking in, Xu Yan seriously said goodbye to the three of them. Xu Nian hugged him tightly, refusing to let go, "Ge, you've only been home for less than half a year, and now you're leaving again."

"You're not going to cry, are you?" Xu Yan patted his head and whispered in his ear, "Idiot, that's so embarrassing."

Xu Nian immediately straightened up, eyes red, and glared at him. Xu Yan smiled and pinched his face, "Alright, it's just a year or two, it'll go by quickly."

Ji Huai reached out and hugged Xu Yan, "Take care, and get some sleep on the plane. I'll come to find you once I'm back in London."

"Okay," Xu Yan replied.

Lu Sen patted his shoulder, "Great Photographer Xu, take some good shots."

Xu Yan smiled and bumped fists with him, "I'll do my best."

The farewells concluded, and Xu Yan waved to them as he prepared to head towards customs. But in the moment he turned, through the bustling crowd, he saw someone standing by the large window in the hall.

Their eyes met for just a second, but that second was split into countless fragments, becoming slow and silent. All the past memories stretched into a long line, ending on that night more than two months ago. Xu Yan forgot how he had said goodbye to Li Ziyou, gone downstairs, taken a taxi, and then a high-speed train back home. He was unexpectedly calm and methodical, washing up and going to bed. Yet, as if remembering something, he turned on the light in the middle of the night, went to the study, turned on the computer, found a folder named "SZ", selected it, right-clicked, and pressed delete.

Inside were photos of Shen Zhi: military training, sports events, basketball games, the playground, teaching buildings, tree-lined paths... every scene, every moment related to Shen Zhi, from the day Xu Yan fell for him until they graduated from university. Xu Yan could still clearly recall the feelings he had when taking each photo. Those were his best years, wholeheartedly and hopefully in love with someone, though unfortunately everything later turned very bad.

The moment the folder was finally deleted from the recycle bin, Xu Yan suddenly crouched down in front of the desk, holding his head and sobbing uncontrollably. He couldn't tell whether he had pulled out an old blade from his heart or plunged a new one in. Shen Zhi had given him so much pain, but this time he truly saw the blood. In his breakdown, he also found relief. He could finally let himself fall to the bottom of the cliff, with all the entangled love and hate evaporating and drying up with his tears, no longer consuming his emotions.

He needed to start over, to pursue a completely new life that belonged to him alone, free from any misunderstandings or barriers – most importantly, a life without Shen Zhi, a life completely detached from the past.

The airport announcements and the bustling sounds filled his ears again as time resumed its normal pace. They exchanged one last, brief look before Xu Yan turned and walked away.

Shen Zhi stood there, watching Xu Yan's back from afar. They hadn't seen each other or spoken for over two months. Only at this moment did Shen Zhi accept the reality – he would lose Xu Yan indefinitely, along with those four years he missed out on, which were now over and done with.

The end meant they might never see each other again. The details of their time together would gradually blur in memory. For the rest of his life, he would never have even a second with this person again. Eventually, they would each start a new life, by someone else's side. Occasionally, he might dream of past events, like fallen autumn leaves, weightless on the ground, yet truly sad, with no one to talk to upon waking. Moving forward with regret, or forever staying in place.

That was just how it was, and how it had to be.

But Shen Zhi couldn't say goodbye, he couldn't get the words out. He watched until Xu Yan's figure disappeared completely, watched Xu Nian and the others walk out of the hall together. He continued watching for a long time, unsure what he was looking at amidst the bustling crowd, with some people leaving and others arriving.

For many years afterwards, Shen Zhi often dreamed of similar scenes, dreaming of Xu Yan looking at him calmly from a great distance and through many people, as if he were just one among countless strangers. There would be a magnificent sunset glow, golden and coming from an unknown direction, enveloping Xu Yan like amber. Everything would be silent around him, and his heart would be filled with remorse. Shen Zhi would open his mouth, wanting to say goodbye, but after speaking, he heard that what he said was actually sorry.

Shen Zhi forgot how long it had been when he finally drove away from the airport. On the way, a white passenger plane roared across the sky. Shen Zhi pulled over to the roadside and looked up through the windshield. The Snoopy pendant swung back and forth, as if it wasn't hanging in the car but was hooked to the tail of the plane, ready to fly far away with it.

The May sky was clear and blue as Xu Yan rode that enormous, thunderous cloud towards his new life, one he would never look back from.

———

The author has something to say:

If you prefer a BE, you can consider this chapter the conclusion and don't need to read any further. This story actually has a happy ending HE.

‿︵‿︵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 23, 2024 by Angel

Edited: September 14, 2024 by Angel