Decayed Vulgarian chapter 16

Misplaced Affection

The movie was set to begin in five minutes. Inside the cinema hall, most seats were empty, reflecting the reality of classic old movies being re-released. However, Shen Xun still had the illusion of having rented the entire place after getting rich, as if Meng Yuan Cen’s blessings had come true.

He and Liang Yan were seated in the seventh row.

With nothing to do, Shen Xun looked around, and he noticed two figures flashing near the entrance, walking up the stairs next to the seats. As they approached, he could faintly distinguish the voice of a girl, urging, “Hurry up, it’s about to start. What row are we in? The fifth row, right?”

“Yes,” the man beside her answered, “Seats 07 and 08.”

The male voice sounded somewhat familiar, so Shen Xun looked up and glanced in the direction of the voices. Unfortunately, the cinema was dark, and he could only see their dark silhouettes against the backlight.

He thought that they might come closer, and he’d be able to see their faces, but they stopped in the fifth row, leaving only their backs, half obscured by the chair backs.

They were probably another couple.

At this moment, Liang Yan leaned in and asked, “Have you seen this movie before?”

Shen Xun didn’t particularly enjoy watching movies, so he withdrew his gaze and shook his head, saying, “No.”

Soon, the big screen was filled with a desert landscape, warning that the end of the world was imminent for humanity.

Despite being the second time he was watching it, Liang Yan was still moved to the point of tears. He didn’t last long before his eyes began to water, and he remarked, “Every time I revisit a sci-fi film, I feel the fragile yet grand vitality of humanity. When I cast my gaze on distant planets in the universe or shift to the fate of humanity, I suddenly feel that the trivial annoyances of life are not worth mentioning.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Shen Xun, but Shen Xun’s face remained expressionless. It seemed that his emotions were as calm as a well, making Liang Yan’s emotional display appear somewhat melodramatic. Liang Yan hesitated and asked, “You… isn’t this your first time watching it?”

Shen Xun replied lightly, “Yes, but I’m not easily moved to tears.”

Two rows ahead.

Meng Yuan Cen was still busy on his phone. In the dark environment, he had turned the screen brightness to its lowest to avoid the glare.

Meng Yuan Ning had turned to look at the person beside her for the third time, and as expected, they were still engrossed in their phone. She expressed her discontent in a slightly hushed voice, “Bro, aren’t you watching?”

Meng Yuan Cen only raised his phone slightly and whispered, “You watch; I find it boring.”

Meng Yuan Ning realized that they were in a cinema while she was in the middle of her sentence and lowered her voice. She leaned in closer to his ear and asked, “How can you say this movie is boring!”

Interstellar was at the top of her list, to the point that whenever she heard someone express negative opinions about it, she would argue back, no matter what. “It’s clearly very interesting!”

Meng Yuan Cen: “Yeah, it’s good.”

Meng Yuan Ning: “…”

“No, bro,” Meng Yuan Ning wrinkled her eyebrows, “I feel like you’re not interested in watching the movie at all today. Why did you even invite me to watch it?”

“Because the discount coupons are about to expire.”

“…”

Meng Yuan Ning sized him up and down. “Meng Yuan Cen, you’re not acting like yourself. You seem off today. Do you know that? Are you in a bad mood?”

Meng Yuan Cen pondered for a moment and gave a perfunctory explanation, “I’m just preoccupied with work-related matters.”

As the story progressed, the movie reached its conclusion.

Since the back rows were closer to the exit, and there were no more viewers past the seventh row, Liang Yan and Shen Xun were the first to leave the screening room.

They walked ahead, with Shen Xun listening to Liang Yan’s thoughts on the movie. “Honestly, I’ve been feeling a bit emo lately. After watching this, I feel much better. It seems that movies are my spiritual nourishment…”

This was a perspective that Shen Xun couldn’t quite grasp. He thought the same thing could be said if you replaced “movies” with “books.”

Meng Yuan Cen and Meng Yuan Ning followed closely behind.

“Wait for me,” Meng Yuan Ning complained, taking small steps to catch up to Meng Yuan Cen.

There was an 18-centimeter height difference between her and Meng Yuan Cen, and he had long legs, so one of his strides equaled her two.

Maybe he was thinking about something, or maybe he didn’t hear her, but in any case, Meng Yuan Cen continued to walk briskly as if no one else was around.

Meng Yuan Ning was left speechless and had to raise her voice to repeat, “Could you please take smaller steps—Meng Yuan Cen!”

This time, it finally woke Meng Yuan Cen up, and he slowed down.

In a chain reaction, Shen Xun, who was walking further ahead, also stopped.

Liang Yan asked, “What’s going on?”

Shen Xun said, “I think I heard a familiar name.”

Shen Xun turned back to take a look.

“You can only hear me if I call you by your full name, Meng Yuan Cen.”

The girl was sweet-looking and clung to Meng Yuan Cen’s arm. “Now you can’t escape. Why were you in such a hurry? Isn’t the plan to go home together?”

Her tone was familiar, with a hint of arrogance. “I told you to wait for me.”

Meng Yuan Cen, without lifting his head, said, “If you don’t call me by my name, how am I supposed to know you’re talking to me?”

The girl made a soft mocking sound. “Fine, I can’t argue with you. How could I ever win against you? After all, you’re the eloquent law teacher Meng from our university.”

Shen Xun was suddenly dumbfounded.

She’s a… student?

And they’re supposed to go home together?

The voices of their conversation gradually faded from his ears as his gaze unfocused. The memory temporarily retained the image of the girl—she was very beautiful, with shoulder-length black hair, and she had two dimples that were faintly visible on her cheeks when she spoke.

Shen Xun suddenly remembered that Meng Yuan Cen did mention he was going to the movies tonight, but he had originally invited him. He had declined the invitation, so it made sense for Meng Yuan Cen to find someone else.

However, Shen Xun never expected that they would end up at the same movie theater. It was probably because there was only one theater in the university town.

It was definitely awkward, and Shen Xun was torn about whether to approach them and say hello or just pretend not to see them and slip away.

At that moment, Meng Yuan Cen suddenly looked in Shen Xun’s direction.

Shen Xun’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned around to avoid their eyes meeting. In that instant, his instinctive reaction had already provided the answer—he didn’t want to face Meng Yuan Cen right now.

Shen Xun grabbed Liang Yan’s arm and changed direction.

Liang Yan had a puzzled look on his face. “Isn’t the elevator that way?”

Shen Xun didn’t look back and pulled Liang Yan forward with large steps, speaking in a low voice as if afraid of being overheard, “Let’s take the stairs.”

Liang Yan: “?”

Shen Xun replied in a hushed tone, “I want to take the stairs.”

Liang Yan: “Oh.”

As their hurried steps matched Shen Xun’s somewhat disoriented thoughts, the surrounding noise began to fade into the background.

Shen Xun, lost in thought, wondered why he had assumed that Meng Yuan Cen was single. Was it because Meng Yuan Cen eventually joined the blind date, that he had naturally assumed he was single?

If he had been wrong from the beginning, what did the takeout delivery mean? Just ordinary concern between friends? An older brother’s care for his younger sister’s potential match? Or was it a way to establish connections in the police department?

With his head lowered and his footsteps quickening, Shen Xun wanted to escape this place and escape from his own unwarranted assumptions.

“Shen Xun.”

In his field of vision, a pair of leather shoes appeared first, the heels making a distinct sound as they hit the tile floor, which, strangely, was clearly audible amidst the noisy theater. Then, another figure filled the rest of his view. With no way to proceed, Shen Xun had to look up.

Meng Yuan Cen’s eyes were completely covered by a pair of resin lenses, making his emotions unclear. He asked, “Didn’t you see me just now?”