Decayed Vulgarian chapter 43
Wedding Candies
Returning to his hometown, Shen Xun pushed open the blue metal gate and was greeted by the sight of Shen He’s back.
Shen He was sitting on a long bench, his legs crossed, skillfully cracking melon seeds. He didn’t know what he was saying to their mother, but it was a lively conversation, with Shen He gesturing and gesticulating, and his mother laughing heartily.
Since there were no classes in the afternoon, Shen He had arrived early.
Seeing Shen Xun, their mother casually greeted him, “You’re back. Have you eaten?”
“I’ve already eaten,” Shen Xun replied, calling her “Mom,” and then asked where his father was.
His mother explained that his father was in the room repairing his precious wristwatch.
Shen He, looking cheerful, continued the previous conversation, “Mom, you don’t need to worry about me changing majors. I’m quite confident.”
“What major are you thinking of studying at the Law School? I saw on Douyin that there are several,” his mother inquired.
“I’m thinking of either studying Criminal Law or Intellectual Property,” Shen He replied.
Shen Xun, who was busy sending a text to Meng Yuan Cen to let him know he’d arrived, found it a bit strange. So, he chimed in, “Does Hua University offer a major in Intellectual Property? Isn’t Law School limited to three directions?”
After recalling what Meng Yuan Cen had said, he added, “I remember it’s… Civil and Commercial Law, Criminal Law, and International Law.”
To make the previous sentence sound more convincing, he added, “I specifically asked Professor Meng.”
Shen He chuckled and said, “Brother, you didn’t inquire properly, did you?”
He explained, “What Professor Meng said isn’t wrong. Within the Law major, there are indeed three directions. But Hua University’s Law School offers a separate major in Intellectual Property. Law and Intellectual Property majors are on the same level. Do you understand?”
Shen Xun responded, “I see…”
Shen He looked quite confident as he continued, “I did a lot of research and used some connections. I can guarantee the information I have is absolutely reliable. I also have last year’s Law School curriculum PDF, and I know several alumni from the Law School…”
Shen Xun interrupted Shen He, saying, “Okay, that’s enough. I know you’re amazing.”
It’s quite strange. Shen Xun, who had a reserved personality, had a younger brother, Shen He, who was outgoing and had been a social butterfly since childhood. Perhaps the only similarity between them was their appearance, as they differed significantly in other aspects.
His mother suddenly realized something and asked, “Wait, who is Professor Meng?”
The two brothers exchanged glances, with Shen He remaining silent, allowing Shen Xun to respond, “He’s a professor at Hua University’s Law School, teaching Criminal Law.”
Before his mother could ask any more questions, Shen He quickly changed the subject, “Intellectual Property and Criminal Law, I actually prefer to study Criminal Law. What do you think, Mom?”
As expected, Shen’s mother’s attention was diverted, “Whatever you want. You decide for yourself. It’s good that you can study law. As long as you’re heading in the right direction, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s better than your current major in materials.”
Shen Xun stood behind them, maintaining a polite smile. In his heart, he thought, you’re giving Shen He the freedom to decide because you believe that a law major is a good choice, right? If Shen He were to say he wanted to switch to Forensic Medicine, would you be equally understanding? You could probably launch a heated debate right away!
Thinking about this, Shen Xun grabbed a handful of melon seeds and stuffed them in his pocket. He hurriedly made his way out, fearing that if he stayed longer, they might start discussing his choice of major, maybe even forensic medicine.
After walking just a few steps, he bumped into his father, who was holding a screwdriver. They exchanged glances but remained silent.
His father had a very reserved personality, the type of person who could go for a long time without saying a word. His presence had a way of making the whole room quiet, almost as if you dared not even breathe loudly in his presence.
Shen Xun had been afraid of his father since he was a child. Even after so many years had passed, there was still a lingering shadow. He never considered having deep conversations with his father. Instead, he swiftly retreated to his own room.
Behind the door, he could faintly hear Shen He and their mom chatting and laughing, their conversation seemingly harmonious.
Shen Xun suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia. His mother was not as domineering as before. In comparison, her attitude towards Shen He was like a breath of fresh air. So, being the second child did seem to be more fortunate than being the first.
Just as he took out his phone and swiped it a few times, the door was pushed open by his mother, who furrowed her brow and said, “You’re back, and you’re already locked in your room looking at your phone.”
In his heart, Shen Xun thought, just now you and Shen He were having such a great conversation that there was no room for me to participate.
His mother then changed her tone, “Come out and stop staying in the room all the time. Help your second uncle with the wedding candies.”
Heeding her words, Shen Xun obediently went to his second uncle’s house, which wasn’t actually far from theirs, to help with the wedding candies. His second uncle still had a lot of things to do, so he and Shen Xun’s aunt went aside to discuss, leaving only Shen Xun in the living room.
The living room was connected to one of the bedrooms, and the bedroom door was slightly open. Shen Xun could hear his cousin Shen Jinge, sounding a bit overwhelmed, saying, “Why is it so difficult to put on?!”
Shen Jinge was the bride-to-be for the wedding the next day.
These were the people he used to catch tadpoles with and play in the mud with when they were young. Now she was suddenly getting married, and Shen Xun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly about how quickly time passed.
He heard Shen Jinge mumbling, “Can’t I just not wear them?”
She was probably on the phone with a friend. Another female voice comforted her, “Why don’t you try again? After all, when you wear framed glasses, your eyes look smaller, and it’s better to wear contact lenses. It’s your wedding day; you have to look beautiful.”
Shen Xun’s thoughts were interrupted by their conversation, and he tried to piece together words from what they were saying.
“My eyes are too sensitive,” Shen Jinge sounded a bit dejected. “I thought it would be easy to wear them. If I had known, I would’ve practiced earlier. Putting on 800-degree contact lenses makes my makeup look awful.”
“I thought it would be easy to wear too,” her friend replied.
Sighing, Shen Jinge continued, “Most people in our Shen family don’t have bad vision. My parents don’t wear glasses, my fiancĂ© doesn’t wear glasses, and you don’t wear glasses either. Even my cousin doesn’t wear glasses. Otherwise, they could teach me how to put them on…”
Suddenly, hearing Shen Jinge mention him, Shen Xun got distracted again. He knew nothing about eyeglasses, but Meng Yuan Cen wore glasses.
With this in mind, Shen Xun picked up his phone and sent a message to Meng Yuan Cen: “Have you ever worn contact lenses?”
Meng Yuan Cen replied instantly: “Yes, what’s up?”
Shen Xun didn’t feel like typing, so he sent a voice message instead: “Is it hard to wear contact lenses?”
Meng Yuan Cen said, “The first time I wore them, it left a strong impression on me. It took about half an hour. Once I got used to it, it only took a minute. But I don’t wear them often; I find it troublesome.”
Shen Xun asked, “I always thought that putting on contact lenses was just like wearing framed glasses.”
Meng Yuan Cen replied, “In that case, almost everyone on the streets would stop wearing framed glasses.”
He followed up with a question, “Why are you suddenly asking this? You don’t have vision problems, right?”
Shen Xun responded, “I don’t have vision problems. But my cousin does, and it’s her wedding tomorrow. She’s struggling to put on contact lenses. So I thought I’d ask you if you have any clever tips for wearing them.”
Two minutes later, Meng Yuan Cen sent a rather long voice message.
Shen Xun knocked on the bedroom door, waiting for Shen Jinge to say something inside before entering. “I… a friend mentioned a clever tip for putting on contact lenses. Maybe it could help you. Do you want to try it?”
Shen Jinge, taking Shen Xun as her savior, said, ” Yes, anything will help at this point. Thank you.”
Then, Shen Xun opened the voice message sent by Meng Yuan Cen.
His gaze naturally fell to the front of the room, where there was a small box on the dressing table. Next to it was a phone holder; Shen Jinge had been video chatting with her friend.
Shen Jinge listened to Meng Yuan Cen’s voice message three times, and it seemed like a light bulb went off in her head. She placed the center of the contact lens on the border between her iris and the white of her eye, looked down, and rotated her eye without blinking a few times.
It worked!
“I can see clearly!” Shen Jinge exclaimed excitedly to her friend through the video chat. “Bai Shu, even from this distance, I can see your face clearly. I feel like I’m not nearsighted anymore! It’s really amazing!”
Shen Jinge and her friend in the video chat cheered together. She continued with the other lens and quickly put it on.
At this moment, Shen Xun received a message from Meng Yuan Cen, asking whether his cousin had succeeded in wearing the lenses.
Shen Xun walked out of the room and decided to call Meng Yuan Cen directly. “You’re amazing. Just now, my cousin said that the method you told her was very effective, whether for wearing or removing contact lenses.”
Meng Yuan Cen confidently accepted the praise, replying with a smile, “Of course, I am quite versatile.”
After the incident with the contact lenses, it felt like Shen Xun and Meng Yuan Cen had returned to their usual conversation mode, as if nothing had happened on that fateful night.
Despite the reason for happiness, Shen Xun couldn’t shake a sense of unease. He felt like he had received too much kindness from Meng Yuan Cen and given too little in return.
“Meng Yuan Cen…”
“Yes?”
Shen Xun whispered, “After the wedding, can you come to pick me up? Is that okay?”
There was a brief silence on the other end, causing Shen Xun’s heart to race. He feared that this might be the first time he’d request a favor from Meng Yuan Cen and get rejected.
Meng Yuan Cen’s tone sounded teasing, “Oh, now you remember me for a pick-up after not wanting me to send you off?”
Shen Xun bit his lip and continued, “You should come. You can also pick up some wedding candies.”
“Then what if I don’t come? Will you not give me any wedding candies?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Shen Xun said straightforwardly, “I just want you to pick me up, and the wedding candies have nothing to do with it. Deal?”
Meng Yuan Cen accepted with a touch of amusement, “Deal. I’ll pick you up.”
Shen Xun couldn’t help but smile, his eyes filled with laughter. But as he continued to smile, his gaze suddenly deepened, and the mirth slowly faded. His lips quivered as he said, “That night—”
Meng Yuan Cen was quick to interrupt, “Stop. If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t. I can understand your feelings. But if I say it doesn’t bother me at all, that would be a lie. So, don’t proactively bring up the topic with me. It took me a long time to restore my mental balance.”
Shen Xun felt as though his heart had been soaked in acid, causing it to swell. “It’s just some old stuff. It’s fine to talk about it with you…”
He had never considered that Meng Yuan Cen might be playing a strategic game of retreat to advance.
Just as he was about to speak, Shen Jinge called to him, She was holding a key in her hand. “This belongs to you, right? You left it in my room, and I was afraid you’d be in a hurry, so I rushed over to bring it to you.”
Shen Xun took a look, and it did look like his key. He patted his pocket and found that he was indeed missing one key. “Thank you.”
“No big deal,” Shen Jinge said. About to leave, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, “Shen Xun, are you still single?”
Shen Xun was taken aback by the first question about his relationship status, especially coming from Shen Jinge. It was quite unexpected. However, he wasn’t planning to reveal his relationship just yet. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, “Yes.”
Shen Jinge smirked mischievously. “I see. My friend just saw you on the video call, and she wanted me to ask for your contact information. I respect your opinion, so what do you think?”
She added, “My friend is very pretty, a real beauty. I told her you’re a forensic scientist, and she still wants your contact information, so… what do you say?”
“No need.”
“Why not? You’re single, right? Just get to know each other. If it doesn’t work out, you can still be friends.”
Shen Xun thought for a moment and said, “But I’m already interested in someone.”
After Shen Jinge walked back to her room, he threw himself back on the couch, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t ended the phone call earlier. The conversation with Shen Jinge must have been overheard by Meng Yuan Cen on the other end, right?
Sure enough, when he picked up the phone and placed it to his ear, he heard Meng Yuan Cen chuckling. “So, is this what you meant by ‘no one is pursuing’?”