Decayed Vulgarian chapter 15

The Movie Theater

Huafeng Yu Hai International Airport.

It was bustling with people, and Shen Xun had been waiting for a while. He always liked to arrive early.

He figured that by this time, Liang Yan’s flight should have landed. He immediately called him, and Liang Yan answered.

With the background noise of people talking loudly and the phone full of commotion, Shen Xun raised his voice and asked, “Liang Yan, have you arrived?”

On the other end, Liang Yan also raised his voice, saying, “Yes, I’ve arrived.”

Shen Xun asked, “Where are you?”

Liang Yan answered with something unrelated, “Hey, hey, hey, I can see you!”

Shen Xun was taken aback, “?”

The voice of Liang Yan calling his name continued in his mobile phone, while Shen Xun looked around like a lost fly. Liang Yan’s voice struggled to emerge from the bustling crowd, resembling a mosquito’s hum in Shen Xun’s ear.

“I’m behind you!” Liang Yan shouted loudly.

Shen Xun turned around, and the two old friends, who hadn’t seen each other for a long time, looked at each other. They immediately gave each other a silent hug, and though they hadn’t spoken a word, their feelings from the past remained undiminished.

When it came to reminiscing, Shen Xun didn’t know where to start. Fortunately, Liang Yan, who had always been eloquent and articulate, had no such hesitation.

“I’ll put my luggage in the hotel in a bit. I’ve booked a hotel in the university town area. Then we can explore the university town, enjoy some food, drinks, and have fun.”

As expected, Shen Xun had guessed that Liang Yan would make this plan. He couldn’t help but sound a bit surprised, “Aren’t you jet-lagged?”

Liang Yan replied, “I’m feeling great right now, full of energy.”

Shen Xun commented, “You’re quite something.”

After Liang Yan put his luggage in the hotel and came out, the two of them went to the area near the university town. It was a street they had often visited during their university days, offering various types of food and entertainment, including haunted houses, escape rooms, murder mystery games, a movie theater, KTV, and more. It was a place with a little bit of everything.

Shen Xun caught sight of an immersive escape room experience, which stirred up his memories. “Do you remember the first time we tried an escape room in our junior year?”

“I remember,” Liang Yan, who now sounded a bit remorseful, said, “I shouldn’t have asked you to gather a group of people. Look at the people you brought — a forensic medicine prodigy, a ‘specialist’ in pathology, an ‘expert’ in anatomy. They were all incredibly brave, which made me seem like a coward.”

Shen Xun, still a bit proud, agreed, “That’s true. In our line of work, you need courage.”

“Also, I remember you chose one with a medical theme, and the staff showed us various simulated organs to scare us. After going through the escape room, I felt like we were back in an anatomy class. We came out to have fun, but somehow we ended up learning again. I’ve never accumulated so much medical knowledge like that time.”

Shen Xun playfully added, “Unfortunately, when I tried to persuade you to go to an escape room again later, you never agreed, no matter how much I tried to convince you.”

Because Liang Yan had been so scared at that time, he avoided escape rooms from then on, and now he just shrugged and said, “It’s better not to mention it.”

The two of them stopped at an open-air barbecue stand. They had eaten there many times in the past, and there were seats for them to sit down and chat.

Liang Yan casually asked, “How have you been lately?”

Conversations with close friends were straightforward, without empty pleasantries or formalities. Shen Xun shook his head, “Not too well, to be honest.”

Liang Yan expressed a similar sentiment, “I feel the same. Young people nowadays are really exhausted. Social competition is fierce, work pressure is high, and there’s endless socializing.”

Liang Yan inquired further, “Are you still living alone these days?”

Shen Xun replied, “Yes.”

Liang Yan couldn’t resist a bit of gossip, “Have you ever thought about dating someone?”

Shen Xun casually answered, “Dating? I’m too busy. Besides, anyone who can tolerate my frequent overtime, who can deal with me flaking out at any time, and who can tolerate me coming home with the scent of death all over me is a rare find.”

Liang Yan said in a serious tone, “Don’t be so absolute about it. Nowadays, many people aspire to be forensic experts. It’s a prestigious profession. Others want it but haven’t got it. And just because you think others can’t handle it doesn’t mean it’s not a great profession.”

Previously, Shen’s mother had mentioned that being a forensic expert was a disadvantage, but now Liang Yan claimed it had a prestigious aura. These two people were giving Shen Xun mixed messages, and he wasn’t sure who was being truthful.

Liang Yan continued, “I think everyone has the right to aspire to their ideal love. It’s just that nearly perfect love is so rare that throughout history and in works of art, immortal lovers are celebrated, but in reality, it’s often full of compromises, conflicts, and ends with people going their separate ways.”

This statement had a bittersweet and resigned tone. Shen Xun suddenly remembered that when Liang Yan had gone abroad for his postgraduate studies, he had a girlfriend. However, he had stopped mentioning her in conversations and hadn’t posted any public displays of affection on social media for some time.

“You…” Shen Xun hesitated.

“I know what you want to ask, about my ex-girlfriend,” Liang Yan said, lowering his gaze. “Yes, she’s now my ex-girlfriend. We broke up recently.”

“When I first went abroad, I was worried we wouldn’t survive a long-distance relationship, but it turned out that we survived the long-distance part but couldn’t overcome the hurdle of career choices. She secured a stable job in her city.”

Liang Yan sighed, “I didn’t want to move to her city, and she couldn’t give up her job to come to my city, so we parted ways.”

“There’s a saying… oh right, ‘the first sword to shore,’ you cut ties with your loved one to get to the shore.”

“My situation is nothing worth talking about,” Liang Yan said. “How about you? Have you met someone you like?”

Shen Xun replied, “Not really.”

Liang Yan was skeptical, “It can’t be. Think again.”

Liang Yan’s tone was more convincing than Shen Xun’s own response. After giving it some thought, Shen Xun’s memory brought up an untimely face. Meng Yuan Cen was an unexpected guest in his memories.

“You seem uncertain,” Liang Yan noticed.

Shen Xun decided to be honest, “I’ve met someone.”

He looked conflicted, “But I don’t know about his sexual orientation.”

“If he’s straight, you can try to make him gay. It’s not a big deal,” Liang Yan knew that Shen Xun liked men and encouraged him. “You have to believe in your own charm, Little Shen.”

“No, I think it’s not about charm or no charm; it’s about principles.”

“What?”

“I’ve always believed that sexual orientation is inherent and can’t be changed even through charm. Even if it can be changed through a lot of effort, I think it’s not ethical to forcefully change someone’s orientation.”

“Being gay is a minority, and it involves some social pressure and discrimination. If he’s really straight, why should I pull him into this circle just because of my personal preference? That would be selfish.”

“So, if he’s straight, I’ll let it go. I can’t be friends with someone I like. It’s better to cut ties early to minimize the pain. Letting go is the best choice.”

“Wow, why are you overthinking this?” Liang Yan comforted him. “Sometimes in life, you have to take it one step at a time. Test his orientation later; otherwise, you’re giving up before you’ve even begun. What if he also likes men, and you both miss out? That would be a shame.”

Shen Xun thought it made sense, “Hmm.”

Liang Yan started to tease, “Can you at least tell me what kind of person he is?”

“Professionally, he’s… a criminal law teacher.”

“Wow, that seems like a perfect match for you. Is he handsome?”

Shen Xun nodded gently, “Yes.”

The loudspeaker connected to the food ordering system began to call out their order numbers. Liang Yan went to pick up the food and stopped Shen Xun, who was about to get up. “I’ll get the order.”

Sitting on a wooden stool, Shen Xun suddenly realized that he might have received a WeChat message while he was chatting with Liang Yan earlier. He picked up his phone and saw that it was a message from Meng Yuan Cen.

​1​ (Meng Yuan Cen: Do you have free time tonight?)

Shen Xun replied, “Hmm?”

Meng Yuan Cen: “I wanted to invite you out. The school has given out several movie ticket discount coupons that need to be used before they expire.”

But he was definitely accompanying Liang Yan that night, so it was a pity, he could only decline.

Shen Xun replied, “Thank you for your kind offer, but I have plans for tonight.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “Hmm, it’s okay.”

Shen Xun was about to explain further when he heard Liang Yan’s voice from above, “Who are you chatting with?”

It was impolite to be on the phone while catching up, so Shen Xun put his phone down and mumbled, “…with a friend.”

“Come, let’s eat.” On the aluminum tray were fragrant kebabs, and Liang Yan excitedly rubbed his hands, “Let’s see if they still taste the same as they did in the past.”

After finishing the barbecue, they spent the afternoon exploring the area. For dinner, they had hot pot with a spicy, red oil base, knowing each other’s favorite flavors.

He thought that Liang Yan, having eaten and drunk his fill, would finally get tired. But he had other plans and even suggested going to see a movie at seven o’clock.

“I want to watch Interstellar for the second time in the cinema. Really, for such classic films, you must watch them in the cinema; watching them at home doesn’t provide the same feeling.”

“I just checked on my phone, and there’s only one screening tonight. Accompany me, because in the future, you’ll be busy with work, and I’ll be busy with work, we’ll both be working like dogs. We won’t have the energy to go out and meet. Days like today when we’re both free are truly rare.”

Liang Yan played the emotional card, and what more could be done? Shen Xun obediently went to buy the tickets.

As they walked into the screening hall, Liang Yan asked, “Do you want some popcorn?”

Shen Xun said, “I don’t like sweets.”

They found their seats as indicated on the movie tickets.

After they left, two new customers arrived at the ticket booth.

“Bro, what do you want to watch?” Meng Yuan Ning scratched her head and said, “I checked online reviews, and it seems that the recent releases are all bad movies.”

Meng Yuan Cen seemed to be in a bad mood and replied indifferently, “I don’t know; anything is fine. Bad movies don’t matter to me.”

Meng Yuan Ning asked again, “Can we come back to watch it in a few days? We shouldn’t go to watch a bad movie when we know it’s bad, right? Even though using a coupon gets us one free ticket, time is valuable too.”

Meng Yuan Cen reminded her, “The coupons expire tomorrow.”

“But I really don’t want to watch a bad movie,” Meng Yuan Ning said, “I think that only couples going to the movies together can overlook the quality of the film because they enjoy the ritual. It’s a kind of romantic fun for couples.”

Meng Yuan Cen: “The reality is that you’re single, and I’m single, and I can’t find anyone, and I don’t want to waste these two tickets.”

“Did you ever think about asking your Mr. Shen?”

“I asked, but he’s busy.”

“Oh, that’s why you suddenly asked me to come out to watch a movie today,” Meng Yuan Ning muttered, “This school is really something. Instead of giving practical rewards like bonuses and supermarket shopping cards, they hand out movie ticket discount coupons. Not everyone likes to watch movies.”

Meng Yuan Cen didn’t respond.

“Bro, how about we rewatch Interstellar? There’s another screening right now.”

“Sure.”