Wilderness Vegetation Extra 2

Extra 2

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Autumn is very short. Xu Yan went on a few business trips, and the season passed by in a flash. Before he knew it, December had arrived, and Song Jin had lived up to expectations by completing the renovation of Xu Yan's new home. Xu Yan had hardly worried about it, as he had been too busy and hadn't visited the house many times.

Today, he finished work early and arranged to meet Song Jin for an inspection of the new house. When Xu Yan arrived, Song Jin had just arrived as well, with a pet carrier by his feet. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at Xu Yan. "I'm taking Grapefruit for its vaccinations later, so I brought it along."

"Let it out to get some fresh air," Xu Yan said as he walked over, squatted down, and unzipped the carrier. A chubby cat's head cautiously poked out. It had a large face, but fortunately, its eyes were also big and round, nervously watching Xu Yan.

"So cute, it looks very polite." Xu Yan smiled and asked, "Can I hold it? Will it scratch?"

"It won't, it's very well-behaved," Song Jin replied.

Xu Yan lifted the cat out. It weighed over ten kilograms and clung timidly to him, not making a sound.

Carrying the cat, he walked around the house, carefully inspecting everything. Apart from a few custom-made pieces of furniture that hadn't arrived yet, everything was perfect, without any issues.

"You really worked hard. I'm very satisfied," Xu Yan said. "After airing it out for a few months, when I move in next spring, I'll definitely invite you over to warm the house."

"Sure." Song Jin smiled and handed the keys back to Xu Yan. "But all I did was provide the design, the real hard work was done by the renovation team."

"Designer Song is too modest," Xu Yan glanced at his watch. "You're heading to the pet shop, right? Shall I give you a lift?"

"No need, my younger brother is already here, waiting for me in the car downstairs."

"I didn't know you had a younger brother." Xu Yan put Grapefruit back in the pet carrier and said, "Then let's go down together."

Downstairs, Song Jin bid farewell to Xu Yan and walked toward a black Lamborghini parked about ten metres away near a flowerbed. The passenger door opened from the inside, and Song Jin got in. From Xu Yan's angle, he couldn't see the person in the driver's seat, only that they were wearing a suit. The person took the pet carrier from Song Jin and placed it on the back seat.

Song Jin closed the door and rolled down the window, waving to Xu Yan. After they left, Xu Yan sent a WeChat message to Xu Nian: Why is everyone else's younger brother a domineering CEO, while you're just an idiot?

After sending it, Xu Yan got into his car. Just as he started it, he received a reply from Xu Nian: Do you think you're any more normal?!

As he had no filming scheduled for the next morning, Xu Yan drove straight to Shen Zhi's place after leaving the neighbourhood. Lawyer Shen had been so busy in recent months that he was barely seen. He had just returned from a business trip this morning and had immediately buried himself in his study. Xu Yan suspected that he hadn't even had lunch.

Upon arriving at Shen Zhi's home, Xu Yan went straight to the kitchen to cook – he had stopped by the supermarket on the way and bought yoghurt and vegetables.

Just as he finished cooking, Xu Yan washed his hands, and his phone rang. It was Shen Zhi, probably because he hadn't replied to the WeChat message.

"Hello?"

"I sent you a message, but you didn't reply, so I called," Shen Zhi said. "Are you done with work?"

"I'm off work."

"I'm coming over to your place now."

"No need."

There was sudden silence on Shen Zhi's end.

Xu Yan sighed helplessly. "Come downstairs for dinner, Lawyer Shen."

Within less than half a minute, Shen Zhi came downstairs, his eyebrows showing signs of fatigue. When he saw Xu Yan, he smiled slightly. "I didn't hear you cooking at all."

"That means you were really focused on your work." Xu Yan began to serve the rice. "Go and sit down, I'll bring it over once it's ready."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Zhi hugged him from behind, resting his chin on Xu Yan's shoulder, and asked in a low voice, "How long has it been since we last saw each other?"

"With both of us going on business trips and being busy all the time, it's been over half a month." Xu Yan put down the bowl and turned around in Shen Zhi's embrace. "Did you have lunch?"

Shen Zhi remained silent for a second, then reached around Xu Yan to pick up the bowl. "Alright, let's eat."

Later that evening, Shen Zhi didn't come out of his study until half past eleven. Xu Yan was leaning against the bed, reading a book. When he noticed Shen Zhi had entered the room, he didn't even lift his head and said, "I've left your pyjamas in the bathroom. Take a shower and get to bed early."

Shen Zhi paused for a moment as he walked towards the bed, then subtly changed his direction and headed to the bathroom instead.

"It's almost midnight, do you have to get up early tomorrow?" Xu Yan asked when Shen Zhi came out after his shower.

"Either way is fine." Shen Zhi got into bed on the other side. He was exhausted and rested his head on Xu Yan's stomach, closing his eyes.

Xu Yan put down his book and gently stroked Shen Zhi's hair. "What's wrong?"

"......" Shen Zhi opened his eyes, seemingly listening intently to something. Then he said, "It kicked me."

Xu Yan was stunned for a full three seconds before he realised what Shen Zhi was talking about and burst out laughing, though he played along. "It's been over six months, it's about time."

"Over six months?" Shen Zhi frowned. "The timing doesn't add up." – They had only reconciled a little over three months ago.

Xu Yan panicked. "Even this didn't escape Lawyer Shen's notice... Let me, let me make up a story for you..."

Shen Zhi sat up and looked at Xu Yan. "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation."

His expression was so serious that Xu Yan didn't know whether to say that he was too into the act or staying true to his character.

"Alright, let's rest." Xu Yan tilted his head back with the book shielding his face and laughed for a while. "I'm not really used to playing along with you."

Shen Zhi reached over, took the book from Xu Yan, and placed it face down on the bedside table. Without saying a word, he hugged Xu Yan again. A few days ago, he had gone to the hospital for tests and blood work, and Lan Qiuchen had said that the results over the past few months had shown significant improvement. His anxiety was almost negligible, and if this continued, his depression might soon be reduced to a mild level.

The mental illness that had tormented Shen Zhi for over three years was slowly fading away. Although a complete recovery was a far-fetched dream, reaching this point was already a stroke of good fortune.

Shen Zhi wanted to tell Xu Yan about his condition, but he felt it wasn't the right time yet, he needed more time.

"Why are you acting like a child?" Xu Yan patted his back, laughing as he asked.

"Yan Yan," Shen Zhi murmured as he inhaled the scent of Xu Yan, unsure of what to say. He just felt that it would be a waste to fall asleep immediately after they hadn't seen each other for so long.

Xu Yan hesitated, his fingers lightly scratching Shen Zhi's back as a question lingered in his throat. After much deliberation, he finally spoke. "I want to ask you something."

"Hmm?" Shen Zhi, still with his eyes closed, made a soft sound in response.

"It's just... that night on your birthday in your third year, you drank that glass of alcohol, didn't you?"

This topic was heavy for both of them because it marked the beginning of many mistakes, and under normal circumstances, neither would bring it up. So Shen Zhi sat up again, looking at Xu Yan.

"Don't be nervous." Xu Yan held Shen Zhi's hand, squeezing his fingertips, though he himself was also nervous. He continued, "I just wanted to ask you, when I took you back to your room that night, and you kissed me under the influence of the drug, I asked if you knew who I was."

"You called me 'Yan Yan', do you remember that?"

Shen Zhi frowned slightly, not understanding the issue. "I remember, what's wrong?"

"The next day, our whole class went on a field study, and on the bus, one of your high school classmates told me that when you were with Tang Yunyan, you used to call her Yan Yan too."

"So, I... I..." Xu Yan rubbed his face and smiled awkwardly. "I started to wonder if, that night, when you called me Yan Yan, you were really talking to me or if you meant something else."

When he first heard that "Yan Yan," his blood boiled, but when he learned about Shen Zhi's past with Tang Yunyan, it was as if he had plunged into an icy abyss. Adding to that the cold treatment over the following four years, Xu Yan could never convince himself that Shen Zhi had been calling him that night.

They were doing well now, but it couldn't be denied that there had been many issues between them in the past.

So Xu Yan wanted to clarify things, and he had finally decided to ask, no matter what Shen Zhi's answer might be. Some things just needed to be addressed.

Shen Zhi looked at him for a long time, so long that Xu Yan began to think he might have hit the mark.

"I was calling you," Shen Zhi replied deliberately. "I was drunk, and the drug in that alcohol made me impulsive, but how could I not know it was you?"

Xu Yan's heart raced. He opened his mouth but only managed to whisper, "But you'd never called me Yan Yan before, so I thought..."

"Because everyone else calls you that, whether they're close to you or not, they all call you Yan Yan."

Classmates, teammates, club members... Almost everyone liked to call Xu Yan "Yan Yan." Xu Yan had a pleasant personality, naturally attracting people who wanted to get close to him. Every time someone called "Yan Yan," he would respond cheerfully. Shen Zhi had also wanted to call him that, just like the other basketball team members – it was just a name after all, and they had known each other for a while and played basketball together frequently, there was no reason not to... But whenever Shen Zhi tried, he ended up calling him "Xu Yan" instead.

He knew he wasn't good at getting close to people and had a vague awareness of Xu Yan's attraction, but at that time, he didn't understand, and in the end, he only managed to call Xu Yan that once, under the influence of alcohol.

It wasn't until this moment that Shen Zhi realised this had been a knot in Xu Yan's heart for many years.

"Then I misunderstood," Xu Yan said, rubbing his eyes with a smile. "I guess I'm pretty boring to have been hung up on this for so long."

"No." Shen Zhi took his hand down and looked into his eyes. "It's because I wasn't good to you, I made you feel insecure, so you didn't even dare to ask me about something like this."

Not daring to ask, not daring to believe, not daring to seek an explanation, so he remained silent in their misunderstandings, always believing that he had been mistaken for someone else.

No wonder why when they had just reconciled a few months ago, Shen Zhi called him "Yan Yan," and Xu Yan had asked him to "pick something else, call me something different."

Shen Zhi had developed a heart condition due to that painful relationship, but Xu Yan had also been left with scars that couldn't be erased.

Shen Zhi wanted to ask, "What should I do?" – What should I do when the harm and regret I've caused you in the past keep resurfacing unexpectedly? Every time I discover another bit of it, I feel even more guilty and don't know how to make up for it.

"Don't look so aggrieved." Xu Yan knew what Shen Zhi was thinking. He wrapped his arms around Shen Zhi's neck and teased, "I was just asking, but you're making me feel like I'm bullying you."

"Hmm?" He tilted his head, leaning in to look into Shen Zhi's eyes and smiling mischievously. "It's okay now that we've talked it out, we're only just beginning, aren't we?"

Shen Zhi: "......"

He still felt low and guilty, a sensation akin to the helpless and powerless feeling he'd experienced years ago when he learned the truth about the drug in that alcohol.

"Aiyo, Lawyer Shen..." Xu Yan couldn't bear to see Shen Zhi looking downcast and silent, and he felt pity for him. "Let me tell you something that'll cheer you up. I went to see the house today, it's fully furnished. If you want, you can move in with me."

Shen Zhi finally nodded.

"So, what now?" Xu Yan kissed the corner of his mouth and lowered his voice, "I have to leave by noon tomorrow, so we can't really do anything..."

"How about I give you a blow?" He nuzzled Shen Zhi's nose and asked, "Do you want it?"

Lawyer Shen still didn't speak, but he slid his hand under Xu Yan's pyjamas as he slightly tilted his head to return the kiss.

———

The author has something to say:

Zhi (wiping away tears): I want to treat my wife well for the rest of my life!

‿︵‿︵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: October 20 2024 by Angel

Edited: October 27, 2024 by Angel