Wilderness Vegetation Chapter 44

Chapter 44

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A week later, Xu Yan, Lu Sen, and a few other colleagues flew to Beijing to attend the mid-year charity gala. Several specific floors were almost entirely booked by the organisers. After the event, most of the celebrities who didn’t need to rush back to their filming schedules would stay here for the night.

The night before, Yu Xue had been video chatting with him, asking Xu Yan to help her choose which dress to wear. Xu Yan had been busy with work at the time, so he had brushed her off with a few vague comments. As a result, the famous actress saw through his perfunctory responses and angrily hung up on him.

Xu Yan then sent her a message: The dark blue one looks good, and add a more eye-catching hair accessory.

Within a few minutes, Yu Xue sent back a stunning selfie. She had deep brown wavy hair with a red rose pinned to her temple. Her face showed little expression, but she did not look harsh, instead, she had a kind of aloof, cold beauty – when she was in her element, she was indeed extraordinarily beautiful.

Xu Yan replied: That's right, just like that. The simpler, the better.

Yu Xue was easy to appease. From her text, it was clear how happy she was: I think so too! The great photographer's taste is the best! Kisses Hubby!

Xu Yan responded: Remember to delete this message later.

He was genuinely afraid Lin Yan might have someone kill him.

Yu Xue replied: What's wrong, Hubby? Why do I have to delete it, Hubby? Xue Xue doesn't understand [pitiful].

Xu Yan texted back: Please, act a bit more like a top-tier actress, will you?

Xu Yan was in charge of taking backstage photos, while Lu Sen handled the indoor and stage photography of the gala. With over two hundred celebrities attending tonight, it was impossible to photograph each one. Since they were TIDE’s main photographers, they only needed to focus on the best actor, the best actress, or top-tier celebrities, so their workload wasn’t too heavy.

Yu Xue arrived fashionably late. Xu Yan first heard her greeting others and then, when he looked up, he saw the hem of her dark blue dress.

"Old..." The actress quickly corrected herself under Xu Yan’s warning gaze, "Great Photographer Xu, long time no see."

They had been video chatting the night before, so where did "long time no see" come from? Xu Yan wanted to laugh but suddenly felt a bit stunned. Without warning, he remembered that day in the studio, with people coming and going, Shen Zhi standing a metre away on his right, softly saying, "Long time no see."

That was truly a long time no see.

Xu Yan said, "Alright, let's take the photo first."

"This ring of yours!" Yu Xue's eyes lit up as she extended her middle finger to show her ring, "Look, look, it's the same, a matching couple's ring!"

This ring, along with the entire series, hadn't yet been released in China. However, Lu Sen seemed to like it and had sent Xu Yan a picture asking if there was anything he fancied, so they could have the brand send it over. Xu Yan had casually chosen a ring without realising it was a unisex design, which could be paired as a couple's ring.

"What a coincidence," Xu Yan smiled, "I'll take it off in a bit."

Yu Xue: "You're so annoying!"

"You look beautiful today," Xu Yan said as Yu Xue walked to the shooting spot.

"Oh!" Yu Xue exaggeratedly gasped, clutching her chest and blinking her eyes in surprise, "Why do I feel so moved when you compliment me?"

The nearby staff all laughed. Xu Yan picked up the camera, speechless. He knew Yu Xue was not someone to be indulged. Once you indulged her, she would dare to stand on your head in high heels and wave her flowers at you.

After the gala began, Xu Yan's work was done. He was supposed to sit in the audience, but Yu Xue started to act up again, insisting that Xu Yan personally retouch her photos and have them ready to post on Weibo before the event ended. Xu Yan, having little interest in the gala anyway, took the opportunity to return to his room to edit the photos. Lu Sen reminded him to come back early, as they needed to take a group photo with the celebrities at the end.

Their rooms were on the twenty-sixth floor, which wasn't fully occupied, he had heard there were still many vacant rooms. Xu Yan, holding his camera, left the banquet hall and walked to the elevator, pressing the button to go up. He looked down at his phone and saw a series of WeChat messages from Yu Xue, filled with trivial and gossipy content like "XXX's neckline is way too low today! If I’d known, I would have worn an ultra-low-cut dress too," or "I considered those shoes too, but the more I looked at them, the uglier they got, so I didn't wear them," or "Oh my God, how did XXX get so fat? He used to be my male idol, my heart is shattered..."

Xu Yan: If a reporter catches you playing with your phone at the venue, do you think it would make you look good?

Yu Xue went silent after that.

Ding – the elevator arrived. Xu Yan put away his phone and looked up.

The doors slowly opened, and the light inside the elevator wasn’t as bright as in the hallway. However, after being repeatedly refracted and reflected by the three mirrored walls, it was filled with a subdued yet dazzling contrast. Shen Zhi stood at the intersection of the criss-crossing lights, right in the centre of the elevator. He wore thin-framed glasses perched on his nose. His expression upon seeing Xu Yan wasn't surprised, but it was clear he hadn't been prepared for this encounter. 

It was like knowing you have an exam someday, you've studied and mentally prepared, but when the paper is handed to you, you can’t help but feel nervous.

Shen Zhi only had a tablet and a stack of documents in his hands, no luggage, indicating he had arrived earlier and had just finished some business.

Xu Yan treated him as a stranger, stepping into the elevator without a word and standing by the left wall. He was about to swipe his room card to select the floor when he noticed the button for the twenty-sixth floor was already lit.

Not only were they in the same hotel, but also on the same floor – Xu Yan didn’t quite understand. Weren’t these floors supposed to be reserved? How did Shen Zhi still manage to get a room here?

The elevator doors slowly closed, and the surroundings fell silent. Xu Yan kept his head down, feeling a bit tired, when he suddenly heard Shen Zhi ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Xu Yan frowned slightly and gave a curt response, "No."

"Have you eaten?" Shen Zhi tilted his head slightly to look at his profile, "I ordered dinner, the kitchen will deliver it, would you like to eat together?"

"No need."

"Or is there something else you want..."

"I said no need." The elevator reached the twenty-sixth floor, and as the doors opened, Xu Yan stepped out.

After a few steps, his arm was grabbed. He turned around to see Shen Zhi, who looked very tired, a kind of helpless, clueless fatigue. Shen Zhi said, "Xu Yan."

"Can you please stop rejecting me?"

Xu Yan almost laughed, "Do you expect me to go along with everything you say?" He turned to face him. "Doesn’t this feel familiar to you?"

"Being relentlessly pursued by someone you don't want to see, that feeling of being annoyed to death, you should know it well. How annoyed you were back then is how annoyed I am now."

Shen Zhi's spine stiffened for a moment.

"Why keep putting yourself through this?" Xu Yan's tone was calm, but his words were sharp. "Shen Zhi, after all these years, don’t tell me you love me again."

"Love." Shen Zhi's voice was hoarse, but he answered without hesitation.

Xu Yan's fingers curled up violently, gripping the camera in his hand tightly. The reason he asked was to push Shen Zhi away – he didn't believe that Shen Zhi had truly loved him before. Especially after the truth about that drink came to light, Xu Yan couldn't imagine a love based on revenge, disgust, indifference, and resistance; it simply wasn’t logical.

Not to mention the three-year gap between them now, no meetings, no conversations, no interactions to sustain any feelings – let alone the fact that their relationship had long since fallen apart.

How could Shen Zhi love him? Out of guilt?

"Then what?" Xu Yan took a deep breath and stared at him, "You love me, so I have to accept it?"

"No." Shen Zhi's eyelashes fluttered and then lowered to cover his bloodshot eyes. He said, "I just want to tell you that now..."

He seemed to be carefully choosing his words, pausing before continuing, "I won't be the same as before, I can love you like a normal person now."

Xu Yan pressed his lips together and, after a long silence, coldly spat out, "No need." He turned and walked to his room, swiping his card to unlock the door.

Inside, it was pitch black. Xu Yan leaned against the door, the edge of the room card digging deeply into his palm. The last thing he wanted to hear was Shen Zhi saying he loved him, just as he didn't want to hear Shen Zhi call him "Yan Yan."

And now, there was the added qualifier of "like a normal person." Xu Yan didn’t understand why those three words hurt so much – a well-dressed, successful man, carefully saying, "I can love you like a normal person now," as if he had made a tremendous effort to become "normal."

Become normal, then love him.

Xu Yan took a deep breath, inserted the room card into the slot, bypassed the entrance hall, and went to the living room to turn on his computer.

After editing the photos, Xu Yan packaged and sent them to Yu Xue's team. He checked the time, there was still over an hour until the end of the gala. Having not eaten, Xu Yan decided to order dinner. Just as he picked up his phone, the doorbell rang.

Xu Yan got up to look through the peephole. It was a hotel attendant. He opened the door and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Good evening, Mr. Xu. Your dinner is here, may I come in to serve it?"

"I didn't order dinner."

"Mr. Shen instructed the kitchen to prepare it for you."

Xu Yan glanced roughly at the trolley, stayed silent for a moment, and then stepped aside to make way. "Thank you."

If Shen Zhi had been an ordinary guest, Xu Yan's refusal would simply have led the attendant to inform Shen Zhi. But Xu Yan had casually flipped through the hotel brochure earlier and discovered that it was owned by the Jinyao Group – no wonder Shen Zhi could stay on a chartered floor, since this was essentially his family's hotel.

So Shen Zhi was not just any ordinary guest, he was practically the superior of every hotel employee. If Xu Yan didn't accept the meal, the attendant, as a subordinate, would undoubtedly be put in an awkward position.

"Mr. Shen specifically asked the kitchen to prepare a special soup for you. Please try it and see if it suits your taste."

Xu Yan sat in the chair, looking at the steaming cordyceps flower chicken soup. "Thank you, and sorry for the trouble."

He did love soup. When he lived with Shen Zhi, he always made soup when he had time, varying the recipes so they wouldn’t repeat for half a month. When they first started living together, Shen Zhi discovered this habit and asked, "Are you from Guangdong?"

"I'd rather be from Guangdong." Xu Yan had replied with a grin, "How wonderful it would be, anything can be made into soup."

He still remembered a particular evening when he made Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, just to see if he could get it right. However, he had been too heavy-handed with the ingredients, making it overly nourishing. After drinking it, both of them were so full of energy that they couldn't sleep without exerting themselves, leading to a whole night of exertion in bed. Xu Yan's voice had been hoarse the next day.

After the attendant finished serving the dishes, he left. Xu Yan looked at the array of plates and, feeling a bit weary, pinched the bridge of his nose before picking up his chopsticks.

———

The author has something to say:

Shen Zhi: For those who said Yan Yan no longer loves me, wait for your lawyer's letter (printing in progress).

‿︵‿︵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 29, 2024 by Angel

Edited: September 29, 2024 by Angel