Decayed Vulgarian chapter 4
I’ll Take You Home
The warm yellow chandelier cast a soft, hazy glow, and the scent of food wafted from the small cart held by the waiter.
Creamy chicken puffs, seafood soup, marinated salmon, Wellington steak, Waldorf salad, and raisin pudding were served on the dining table, surrounded by vases of roses.
The tulip-shaped wine glass held red wine, and the liquid resembled a pile of rubies.
Meng Yuan Cen picked up the wine glass with his fingers, swirling it gently, and the evolving wine aroma lingered and diffused, passing by his nostrils.
Half of his face was bathed in the warm light, exuding a gentle contentment. “Did you drive here today?”
Shen Xun shook his head, momentarily puzzled by the question.
Meng Yuan Cen, who was so close, smiled, already holding the wine glass in front of his eyes and tilting it slightly, adopting a posture for a toast.
Shen Xun quickly looked down, picked up the wine glass, and lifted it. He lightly clinked his glass against Meng Yuan Cen’s.
“Ding.”
The glasses quivered, and Shen Xun retracted his hand and took a few sips.
The rich wine flavor rolled on his tongue, and he tasted it greedily. Not feeling satisfied, he continued to savor it, only to realize that the other person was silently observing him. The corners of Meng Yuan Cen’s mouth seemed to curve with a smile, and the wine glass was resting by his side.
Shen Xun felt uncomfortable and put the wine glass back down. “Why aren’t you drinking?”
Meng Yuan Cen replied, “I can’t drink when I’m driving.”
Shen Xun finally understood the purpose of Meng Yuan Cen’s inquiry about driving.
From the appetizers to the main course, they quickly devoured their food, occasionally exchanging a few words. They chatted back and forth until there was only one dessert left, and Shen Xun began to feel a bit anxious. He was unwilling to let the opportunity to get Meng Yuan Cen’s WeChat slip away.
The ideal scenario would be to find a subtle and reasonable excuse for exchanging WeChat IDs, but he couldn’t think of one at the moment. Unlike Meng Yuan Cen, he couldn’t expertly guide the conversation in that direction.
So the conversation went off on a wild tangent, far from the topic of “Meng Yuan Cen’s WeChat.”
Their conversation took a few more turns, one sentence after another.
Shen Xun used his pudding spoon to scoop some raisin pudding, taking smaller bites each time. He wanted to eat more slowly but successfully achieved his goal. However, he didn’t expect that Meng Yuan Cen would finish his pudding first and set the spoon down.
Meng Yuan Cen’s umbrella, leaning against the back of his chair, toppled and fell to the ground. Meng Yuan Cen noticed the movement and got up to fix it.
Shen Xun assumed Meng Yuan Cen was leaving and stood up as well. He couldn’t stay completely calm, so he deliberately used a calm, unemotional tone, “Meng Yuan Cen.”
Meng Yuan Cen straightened his umbrella, and he slowly sat back down. “Hmm?”
Oh, he wasn’t leaving.
Shen Xun slowly returned to his seat. Now that he had initiated this, he couldn’t let the opportunity slip away. Sometimes, a person needed to take the initiative bravely.
“We… Can we exchange WeChat IDs?” Shen Xun said.
Meng Yuan Cen remained silent for a second, then took out his phone. “Sure.”
Shen Xun suddenly felt a wave of joy as he requested Meng Yuan Cen’s WeChat ID. He hadn’t meant to say it that way, but sometimes words slipped out without much thought. He followed up with, “Since you’re Meng Yuan Cen’s brother.”
Shen Xun only wanted to make his request for the WeChat ID seem reasonable. But when these words reached Meng Yuan Cen’s ears, they carried a different meaning. Meng Yuan Cen found his own QR code and handed his phone to Shen Xun, saying in a gentle voice, “Here’s my QR code.”
Request sent successfully.
Meng Yuan Cen was added with the nickname “Yuan Cen.”
Shen Xun looked at the new friend in his contact list and couldn’t help but smile.
Meng Yuan Cen glanced at Shen Xun’s smile and asked, “I have something to do in the afternoon, so let’s end it here today.”
Shen Xun, still immersed in the invisible bubble of happiness, didn’t even feel sad about saying goodbye. “Oh, okay.”
Meng Yuan Cen picked up his black umbrella. “Goodbye.”
Shen Xun stood up, waving to Meng Yuan Cen.
Meng Yuan Cen also waved back and took a few steps, but then he stopped and turned around, only to see Shen Xun sitting back in his chair. “Aren’t you leaving yet?”
Shen Xun gave a self-conscious smile. “I forgot my umbrella. I’ll leave once the rain stops.”
Just at that moment, outside the window.
“Pitter-patter…”
The rain suddenly intensified.
Shen Xun was in a good mood, feeling very optimistic now, and he glanced at the rain outside, unfazed, “It looks like I might… have to wait a bit longer.”
He thought that he could pass the time by browsing Meng Yuan Cen’s WeChat moments, assuming that Meng Yuan Cen liked to post there.
Seeing Shen Xun’s reluctance, Meng Yuan Cen furrowed his brows slightly, “Let me take you home.”
Shen Xun thought they weren’t that close yet, and he didn’t want to trouble Meng Yuan Cen. He subconsciously declined, “No need, thanks.”
Meng Yuan Cen fell silent for a few seconds and then asked, “The weather forecast said this rain would last until 10 pm. Do you plan to wait until 10 pm?”
“Huh?” Shen Xun was surprised, “Really?”
Meng Yuan Cen asked, “Yes, Come with me.”
Shen Xun looked at the pouring rain outside and then at Meng Yuan Cen. He slipped his phone into his pocket, “Okay.”
He quickly walked over to Meng Yuan Cen and added, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
Meng Yuan Cen opened the door of the restaurant, holding the umbrella open. “Come on, you’ll have to share the umbrella with me.”
Shen Xun silently moved closer, his hands tucked inside his coat, and his neck tucked in. He stood under the umbrella and thought, “It’s not that inconvenient.”
The autumn wind turned the vertical rain into a slanting downpour. The umbrella had to adjust to the wind’s direction but couldn’t block all the wetness.
Meng Yuan Cen didn’t reach out to hold Shen Xuan but kept his arm close to Shen Xuan’s. The umbrella leaned toward Shen Xun, but it couldn’t protect his shoes and pants from getting even wetter.
Finally, they entered the parking lot, and got into the car.
As the car left the parking lot, the dim surroundings became brighter, and the tires splashed water from the road surface. The two windshield wipers wiped the car’s front window, sometimes pausing.
Meng Yuan Cen asked, “Where do you live?”
“It’s over on Qinghe Road. There’s a residential area called Emerald Gardens.”
“Sounds pretty high-end and wealthy.”
“Wealthy? Not at all,” Shen Xun debunked Meng Yuan Cen’s illusions. “Our residential area has green-tinted windows and some flowers and plants, so it’s called ‘Emerald Gardens’ because of the green windows.”
Indeed, Chinese culture is profound and extensive. Meng Yuan Cen couldn’t help but laugh a few times.
Not long after, the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds, the puddles started to evaporate, and the rain gradually disappeared.
Meng Yuan Cen casually turned off the windshield wipers.
The black stripe-like objects that were swaying left and right in the field of vision suddenly aligned neatly against the window. Shen Xun had been looking at the sky through the car’s front window for a while, then shifted his gaze to the side window and stared for a moment. He finally confirmed his conclusion, “Um, the rain seems to have… stopped.”
He furrowed his brow, hesitating, “Didn’t they say this rain would last until 10 pm?”
Meng Yuan Cen thought to himself that this was his own fabrication, and if it really rained until 10 pm, it would be strange. However, he remained poker-faced and shifted the blame, “Weather forecasts are never accurate.”
Shen Xun suddenly realized and wholeheartedly agreed, “Indeed.”