Decayed Vulgarian chapter 12

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Ding dong.

While Shen Xun was lost in thought, another new message from Meng Yuan Cen arrived.

Meng Yuan Cen: “No, it’s Sunday tomorrow. I don’t need to sleep that early. 😅”

Shen Xun’s gaze fell on the screen, and he realized that being a forensic examiner meant he could be called for overtime at any time, and in most cases, he couldn’t refuse overtime due to personal reasons. So, sleeping early was necessary.

Meng Yuan Cen: “From my impression, there are several hours of procedures and formalities between arriving at the scene and the actual autopsy. So, did you get called to the scene right after I left your place?”

Shen Xun replied: “Yes, it was about twenty minutes after you left.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “Forensic work seems tough. Have you had dinner?”

Shen Xun had almost forgotten about it, and Meng Yuan Cen’s question suddenly made him realize he was hungry. But more than that, he was exhausted.

Shen Xun replied: “No, I just ordered takeout, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I received a call for overtime from my supervisor before the food arrived.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “So, your takeout has been sitting at your doorstep for hours now? 😅”

Meng Yuan Cen: “This is an economic loss caused by work, your supervisor should reimburse your meal expenses.”

Shen Xun knew it was a joke and didn’t take it seriously, but he also chuckled slightly.

Shen Xun: “I ordered noodle soup. It’s been left outside for more than six hours. I wonder what it looks like now.”

After thinking for a moment, he added a laughing-crying emoji at the end, imitating Meng Yuan Cen’s style.

Meng Yuan Cen: “Do you have any noodles or something at home? Or is there a 24-hour convenience store in your neighborhood? You can buy something to fill your stomach.”

Shen Xun: “I have instant noodles at home.”

In his heart, he knew that the first thing he’d do when he got back was take a shower. After the shower, it would likely be past midnight, and he might have to work the next day. He definitely wouldn’t have the patience to cook instant noodles, even though it would only take about ten minutes.

He didn’t intend to share this with Meng Yuan Cen, as it would seem like he was rejecting Meng Yuan Cen’s kind offer.

Then, his phone vibrated once more.

Shen Xun: “No, I’m still in a taxi on my way home.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “It’s going to be very late when you get home.”

Shen Xun: “I should be home in about twenty minutes.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “Will you have to work overtime tomorrow?”

Shen Xun: “It depends on my luck. If I don’t receive a call from my supervisor tomorrow morning, I won’t have to work on Sunday.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “Then I wish you a good night’s sleep and no overtime tomorrow.”

Shen Xun: “Thank you.”

Just as he sent the message, he didn’t expect that the conversation would end here. But Meng Yuan Cen remained silent for a long time, and there were no further updates.

The chat history ultimately ended with that “thank you.” There was no more progress.

Shen Xun decided to scroll back through the conversation, and he realized that he had mainly been responding to questions from Meng Yuan Cen. He kept his responses short and to the point, as if he was trying to prevent the conversation from going any further, and there was little enthusiasm in his words.

But he knew he wasn’t good at chatting in the first place. Whether online or offline, he always found it difficult to figure out what to share with others. When talking to acquaintances, it was fine, but with strangers, Shen Xun didn’t know what to say. And he knew that, at the very least, he shouldn’t share details of his work.

His work was filled with blood, tears, hatred, and the darker aspects of human nature. Listening to other people’s suffering would only make it worse, and what was terrifying was that this suffering wasn’t fictional; it was real and existed in everyday life, in the same place where people lived.

Shen Xun’s work occupied most of his life. Whenever he wanted to share something about his life, he felt that other than work, he had nothing to talk about. So, he could’ve told Meng Yuan Cen about the homicide case he encountered today, about the girl who was most likely sexually assaulted and strangled, about the parents of the girl who were in tears at the forensic identification center. But in the end, his impulsive desire to share was replaced by silence.

Once again, Shen Xun turned his head and looked out the window. The side window glass, reflecting the night sky, acted like a mirror, showing a distorted reflection of his features. The rows of camphor trees with hanging lights on the roadside looked like colorful shooting stars, creating a surreal and dreamy scene.

After about ten minutes, his phone vibrated once more.

Shen Xun eagerly checked the message. It was from Meng Yuan Cen.

Meng Yuan Cen: “You’ve had a long day. Rest well tonight and have a good night’s sleep.”

“Have a good night’s sleep.”

Shen Xun’s gaze lingered on those last five words for a brief moment.

He had always had trouble sleeping, often staying awake until late at night. There were times when he was so exhausted that every cell in his body cried out for rest, yet his consciousness remained stubbornly awake. He had tried various sleep aids, but nothing seemed to work. However, he appreciated Meng Yuan Cen’s well wishes.

Shen Xun began typing.

Shen Xun: “Thank you.”

Shen Xun: “I’m almost home now, and I need to take a shower because I smell like corpses.”

After typing this, Shen Xun reviewed it, and he couldn’t help but feel that the last seven words were somewhat damaging to his image. He decided to delete them before sending the message.

Meng Yuan Cen responded with an emoji.

It was a pure white Samoyed nodding its head, accompanied by the word “Understood.”

Shen Xun smiled and said nothing.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of the residential complex. The corridor lights on the first floor were consistently out of order.

Shen Xun skillfully took out his phone and turned on the flashlight function. His silhouette moved agilely through the staircase steps, and the shadow beneath his feet looked like a following phantom.

The doorplate “A302” caught his eye. As the flashlight moved down, there was indeed a takeout bag hanging on the doorknob. Shen Xun picked up the receipt, and it was indeed the noodle soup he had ordered. He touched it, and it was ice-cold.

Shen Xun couldn’t help but smile wryly, taking the plastic bag off the doorknob. He was about to open the door with his key when he noticed something at his feet.

The flashlight from his phone moved from the door lock to the tip of his shoes. Now Shen Xun saw clearly that there was another portion of takeout.

He couldn’t understand and furrowed his brows. He bent down to pick it up. This takeout was still steaming, so it must have been delivered recently.

Could it be a delivery mistake?

In the dark hallways of the residential complex at night, most delivery personnel might deliver the food without clearly confirming the order, especially to save time.

Shen Xun had one portion in each hand, walked into his home, and turned on the living room light. He sat down at the dining table.

He picked up the receipt from the mysterious takeout. It was addressed to Mr. Shen, but the string of numbers behind it was not his phone number.

Clearly, it was delivered to the wrong person.

The owner of the takeout must be anxious now.

After organizing the words he would use for communication in his mind several times, Shen Xun dialed the unfamiliar number on the receipt. The call was quickly answered.

He said in one go, “Hello, sir. It seems like an order of yours was mistakenly delivered to my place by the delivery guy. I’d like to double-check with you. Did you order from the Zhang Ji Snacks shop—”

“Shen Xun.”

The voice from the other end of the line happened to coincide with the beat of Shen Xun’s racing heart. Shen Xun’s breath inexplicably caught.

“No mistake, I ordered it for you.”

It was… Meng Yuan Cen’s voice.