Decayed Vulgarian chapter 35
Amusement Park
The hotpot restaurant Shen Xun chose was located on the food street in the university city.
That day, he wore the long-forgotten deep gray overcoat. It was mainly because the pockets of the coat were deep, so before leaving, he repeatedly checked the right pocket, where the long, black gift box and pen were hidden.
From the perspective of others, there was no way to tell what he had in his pockets. That’s exactly what Shen Xun wanted to achieve.
Shen Xun arrived at the restaurant half an hour early, entered, and chose a window seat. He rested his chin on his hand, looking outside bored.
In reality, he wasn’t paying attention to the scenery at all. His gaze wandered aimlessly, lost in thought.
“Shen Xun.”
A familiar voice brought him back to the present. When he turned around, he was surprised to find that it was Meng Yuan Cen. Why had he come so early?
Meng Yuan Cen took a seat across from Shen Xun, and his gaze remained fixed on Shen Xun. “This is the first time I’ve seen you wearing a coat. It suits you well.”
Shen Xun was slightly flattered by the compliment. He met Meng Yuan Cen’s eyes for a moment before hastily looking away. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t expect you to arrive early as well. How long have you been waiting here?”
Shen Xun checked the time. “About five minutes.”
“I thought you had been waiting for a long time. It seems we both arrived almost simultaneously. What a coincidence.”
Shen Xun nodded. “Yes.”
A waitress handed them the menu. Meng Yuan Cen took it and, considering that Shen Xun would want to look at it too, he moved to sit beside him. The length of the couch was just enough to accommodate both of them.
Their upper bodies were almost close enough to touch. Shen Xun shifted to his right to make more space for Meng Yuan Cen. After adjusting once, he still felt it was insufficient. He was about to move again when Meng Yuan Cen’s hand suddenly encircled his waist.
Shen Xun instantly froze, his heart missing a beat. Strangely, Meng Yuan Cen acted as if nothing had happened, maintaining his half-embrace of Shen Xun while raising the menu. He then turned to look at Shen Xun, speaking in a casual tone, “What would you like to eat?”
Meng Yuan Cen’s face was just inches away from Shen Xun’s, and even under the magnified gaze, his features remained elegant and attractive. His breath brushed against Shen Xun’s skin, and despite several layers of winter clothing separating them, Shen Xun felt uncomfortable. He sat there, rigid and unable to move, temporarily losing his ability to speak coherently. “I’m okay with whatever, you decide.”
Meng Yuan Cen raised an eyebrow and asked, “You picked the restaurant, so you must have some recommendations, right? Or do you have any dietary restrictions?”
Shen Xun replied, “No,” but then remembered that he did have one. He added, somewhat sheepishly, “I don’t eat animal organs.”
“Alright, I’ll remember that.”
After they had placed their order, the waitress left, and there was a brief moment of silence. Shen Xun suddenly stood up and said, “I need to use the restroom.”
Meng Yuan Cen also got up. “I need to go too, and this is my first time in this restaurant. Could you show me the way?”
Shen Xun agreed with a nod. “Sure.”
As they made their way to the restroom, neither of them said a word. When they returned to their seats by the window, Shen Xun slipped his right hand into his pocket. He was silent, repeatedly rubbing the edges of the gift box with his fingers. Meng Yuan Cen sat down beside him, and they remained silent for a while before he softly said, “You seem unusually quiet today.”
Shen Xun, who was concerned about the heart of the matter, suddenly turned his head to look at Meng Yuan Cen. The smile on Meng Yuan Cen’s face was deep and shallow, and Shen Xun avoided his gaze. “I’m fine.”
“Why do I feel like you’re not interested in talking to me today? Did I accidentally do something to offend you?” Meng Yuan Cen jokingly said, mixing true and false in his words. “I feel like you’re not in the mood for a conversation.”
Shen Xun was taken aback by this comment, and he quickly denied, “I’m not. I want to talk to you.”
This statement lacked credibility, so he added, “I’m just… bothered by something.”
The smile on Meng Yuan Cen’s face disappeared, and he stared at Shen Xun for a few seconds. Then he squinted and smiled again, saying, “I feel like you don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine. Let’s talk about something cheerful.”
Shen Xun responded with a low “Mm.”
He thought he would feel a sense of relief, but instead, he mostly felt reluctant. The right hand hidden in his pocket was clenching the gift box’s edges more tightly, and his fingertips were pressing hard against the rough surface, with a white line forming along the edge of his fingernails.
“Meng Yuan Cen.”
Shen Xun bit his lip and kept telling himself to ask in one breath.
“Are you single?”
Meng Yuan Cen found this question amusing. “I’ve always been single. Why do you ask?”
Shen Xun looked into Meng Yuan Cen’s eyes. “You didn’t lie to me, did you?”
Meng Yuan Cen smiled, “Of course, I didn’t lie to you. I’ve always publicly declared that I’m single.”
Shen Xun was still skeptical. “Really?”
“Really,” Meng Yuan Cen said with a serious tone. Finally, he remembered something and added, “Wait, there’s one exception. I’ll lie and say I already have someone when I encounter a pursuer who I think might be difficult to deal with.”
Just as Shen Xun had suspected, he could predict what Meng Yuan Cen was going to say next.
“When I meet someone who I think could be quite challenging.”
That was exactly what Shen Xun had expected.
Shen Xun couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. He hadn’t expected that the matter he had been struggling with all night would end up this way, both unexpected and yet somehow fitting. Love truly had the power to make people act foolish.
He no longer needed to press on with questions about what professor Zheng had done to Meng Yuan Cen. Shen Xun could guess the answer, after all, he couldn’t bring himself to say something like, “I had my little brother ask around about you at school, and we heard from professor Zheng that you have a partner.”
As he pondered how to steer the conversation away, a waitress brought the hotpot ingredients to their table and fulfilled his wish. “Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen.”
Meng Yuan Cen chuckled, “It looks a hundred times better than the dinner you had with Liang Yan that day.”
Shen Xun laughed at the impulsive remark he had made that Meng Yuan Cen still remembered.
However, they hadn’t been eating for long before a phone call interrupted them.
It was from Meng Yuan Cen’s aunt. During the call, Meng Yuan Cen provided the address, agreed repeatedly, and insisted that it wasn’t any trouble at all. Shen Xun had put down his chopsticks, and when Meng Yuan Cen hung up, he asked, “What’s going on?”
Meng Yuan Cen replied, “There’s an unexpected situation. My aunt had some last-minute matters to attend to, so I agreed to take care of her granddaughter, Huihui. She said she’d be at the hotpot restaurant entrance in about five minutes, and I’ll bring Huihui inside. You go ahead and eat, don’t worry, I’ll finish this meal with you.”
He continued, “After we’re done eating, I’m taking her to the amusement park. She’s been looking forward to it for a few days, but her parents are traveling this week, and her grandma has other plans. So, would you like to join us?”
Seeing Shen Xun hesitating, Meng Yuan Cen spoke earnestly, “It’s the three of us, and I have tickets for all of us. I really hope you can come with us.”
An hour later…
Shen Xun stood in front of the amusement park entrance, feeling somewhat out of place. He believed he didn’t quite fit in here due to his age.
Huihui was the most excited among the three. “I finally made it to the amusement park! I’ve wanted to come here for a long time!”
Meng Yuan Cen was puzzled. “The amusement park is quite close to your house. You mean you’ve never been here before?”
Huihui pouted. “My parents are always too busy.”
Meng Yuan Cen smiled. “Well, you’re going to have a great time this time.”
Huihui nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Can we go in now? I can’t wait!”
Meng Yuan Cen took Huihui’s hand and said playfully, “I can’t wait either!”
After walking just a few steps, Huihui suddenly remembered something and looked around. “Where’s the uncle? We can’t let him get lost. There are bad people outside, and it’s dangerous.”
Meng Yuan Cen turned to Shen Xun and loudly said, “You should hurry up; little Huihui is worried that you’ll get lost.”
Shen Xun was initially surprised, but then he looked down and smiled, taking large strides to catch up with Meng Yuan Cen.
As they walked, Meng Yuan Cen and Huihui chatted. “Do you know what this handsome uncle does for a living?”
Huihui said, “I have no idea. What does he do?.”
“This uncle is a policeman,” Meng Yuan Cen said, winking at Huihui. “Policemen are very brave.”
Huihui looked at Shen Xun with admiration. “I know policemen catch bad people!”
Shen Xun couldn’t help but chuckle and didn’t say anything.
Meng Yuan Cen then asked, “What do you want to ride first?”
Huihui replied, “The carousel!”
Meng Yuan Cen smiled, “Great, let me take a look at the map to find out where the carousel is…”
The line for the carousel was quite long, so the three of them patiently stood at the back, waiting their turn.
As he watched Huihui quietly eating her recently bought candied hawthorns, Meng Yuan Cen turned to Shen Xun and asked, “Are you going to ride the carousel later?”
Shen Xun shook his head. “I won’t.”
Meng Yuan Cen said, “I have to. I need to watch Huihui. She’s too young, and I can’t let her ride alone.”
Shen Xun replied, “Okay.”
Meng Yuan Cen imagined himself on the carousel and couldn’t help but laugh. He reflected and said, “Do you feel like this trip to the amusement park has made you feel much younger? Especially in terms of your mindset?”
Shen Xun thought for a moment and said, “Yes, I do. Maybe… men are forever young.”
Meng Yuan Cen laughed heartily at his response.
Before boarding the carousel, Meng Yuan Cen handed his phone to Shen Xun. “Since you’re not riding, take a few photos for us as a keepsake.”
A moment later, the round base of the carousel lit up and began to spin. Huihui rode happily on a horse, her smile radiant. Meng Yuan Cen sat beside her, watching her closely. As the carousel went up and down, Shen Xun captured many moments with his camera.
He couldn’t help but be infected by the smiles in the photos and even smiled himself. While taking pictures, he suddenly thought of something and quietly switched to his own phone. He entered the camera in professional mode and raised the camera, just as Meng Yuan Cen looked up at him.
Click.
He only took a picture of Meng Yuan Cen. Meng Yuan Cen was the sole focus of this picture. It was his personal desire.
Shen Xun looked at the picture repeatedly until Meng Yuan Cen got off the carousel with Huihui and walked towards him. In a hurry, Shen Xun locked his phone screen and placed it in his pocket, pretending that nothing had happened.