Decayed Vulgarian chapter 57
Hello Auntie
“I have never given him my phone number or my home address.”
Meng Yuan Cen, unable to reach Shen Xun’s head, resorted to tapping Shen Xun’s cheek with his knuckles. “I guess he might have obtained it from another teacher, or maybe the leaders provided it to him. After all, the leaders also sent me his contact information.”
“My personal record has my old address, and only we, my parents, Yuan Ning, and Liang Yan know about the new home address. I haven’t informed anyone else. Those medicines he bought should be delivered to my mom’s doorstep in a while.”
“If it weren’t for work-related matters, I wouldn’t bother acknowledging him, really.” Meng Yuan Cen tightened his embrace a little more. “I didn’t plan on answering his call personally, intending to reply afterward via WeChat with a ‘I was occupied at that time’ excuse. But since you just helped me take his call, I couldn’t conveniently lie in front of you. So, let’s resolve this matter, and I’ll avoid contact with him in the future.”
“And, as you saw just now, I didn’t even save his phone number.”
Silence.
“Don’t stay silent,” Meng Yuan Cen said gently. “Say something.”
After some thought, Shen Xun asked softly, “He confessed his feelings to you, right? Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I just felt that if I actively acknowledged my pursuers, wouldn’t it make you uncomfortable? Or do you want me to bring up these matters with you in the future?”
“…No,” Shen Xun remained silent for a few seconds. “Does he know you’re in a relationship right now?”
“He does.”
Shen Xun couldn’t help but complain, “So, even though he knows you’re taken, he still deliberately said those things? If he truly felt guilty, he could have just transferred money. He didn’t have to buy medicine and send it to your doorstep, making it seem like you’re close—”
“Yeah, he’s been bothering me.” Meng Yuan Cen was about to continue consoling when his phone rang again, displaying “Mom” on the screen. He answered it and immediately switched to speakerphone, mouthing to Shen Xun without making a sound, “I told you.”
Meng’s mother’s kind voice came through the receiver, “Son, why was medicine sent to me? It seems to be a burn treatment. Were you burnt?”
“Someone accidentally spilled hot water on me. Shen Xun checked it; it’s nothing major, so I didn’t go to the hospital. I bought some medicine myself. Don’t worry.”
“I saw your name as the recipient. Did you write the wrong address? What should I do? Shall I ask Ning to bring it to you?”
“No need. The person who bumped into me bought it. Just throw it away.”
Meng’s mother was puzzled, “Throw it away? Why?”
Meng Yuan Cen glanced at Shen Xun and explained, “I have some grudges with that person. I don’t want to use his things.”
Meng’s mother chuckled, “Okay, okay. I’ll throw it away in a while.”
“Uh, thanks, Mom. I’ll hang up—”
“Wait!” Meng’s mother hastily spoke. “Is Xiao Shen beside you? Let me talk to him for a bit.”
Meng Yuan Cen handed the phone to Shen Xun, who took it looking perplexed. “Hello, Auntie.”
“Hello, hello. When will you come to our house for dinner?”
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to visit when I have time.”
“I heard your work as a police officer is busy?”
“There are times when it’s not busy.”
Meng’s mother acknowledged with an ‘Mm’ and then solemnly said, “If Meng Yuan Cen does something wrong and upsets you, feel free to come to me and I’ll ensure fairness.”
Shen Xun didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
But Meng Yuan Cen couldn’t help but interject, “Mom, you lack confidence in your son too much.”
“It’s because you’re too confident. It’s common for young couples to have quarrels. I’m afraid you won’t handle it well and drive away Xiao Shen. After all, I’m very satisfied with him.”
Meng Yuan Cen took the phone back, fearing his mother might bring up all the embarrassing things about him from childhood to adulthood if they continued chatting. “It’s getting late. Shen Xun has things to do. Let’s talk later when we have time.”
Before ending the call, Meng’s mother added, “Remember to come for dinner!”
“Okay, okay, no problem.”
Meng Yuan Cen tossed the phone aside and looked at Shen Xun, who wore a puzzled expression. “Does Auntie know about us?”
“Yes, I’ve mentioned you to her. My family knows about us.”
“Oh.”
Meng Yuan Cen wrapped his arm around Shen Xun’s waist. “Are you still jealous? If you are, I’ll continue to coax you.”
Distracted by Meng’s mother, Shen Xun’s slightest trace of apprehension had dispersed. He rested his head on Meng Yuan Cen’s shoulder and began to delay, “Who’s jealous?”
Meng Yuan Cen chuckled and didn’t expose him, instead asking, “By the way, how did you know? I thought you weren’t aware of this incident.”
He phrased it ambiguously, but Shen Xun understood clearly. He explained, “I had Shen He inquire about whether you were single. He went to the Marxist Institute and quite coincidentally learned from Zheng Cong about the ‘fact’ that ‘you’re taken.’ Later, I tentatively asked you, and you mentioned that if you find the other party persistent, you would lie about having a partner. You might not remember—”
“I remember.” Meng Yuan Cen suddenly realized, “That’s why you acted hot and cold towards me during that time. You were conflicted about this matter.”
Shen Xun raised his head, displaying a hint of a smile on his face, a mix of seriousness and jest. “No… Did I ever act ‘hot and cold’ towards you?”
So Meng Yuan Cen proceeded to recount the incidents he considered as ‘hot and cold’ behavior to Shen Xun.
Upon hearing them all, Shen Xun, with a shocked expression, exclaimed, “Mr. Meng, you’re truly a master at self-strategy.”
Meng Yuan Cen shrugged, laughing. “That’s called confidence.”
After having a good laugh, he said, “Let’s look at the photo album; I’m curious.”
The entire album contained photos. Shen Xun flipped to the last page, showing Meng Yuan Cen pictures of him with his colleagues.
In the photo, Shen Xun was wearing a 99-style police uniform. Because of his fair skin and lean figure, he stood out in the crowd. Meng Yuan Cen found him almost immediately. “Wow, so handsome. Truly captivating”
Shen Xun looked away and flipped to the next page. “Come on, your flattery is a bit over the top.”
Meng Yuan Cen appeared serious but was actually holding back laughter. “I’m serious.”
He then grabbed Shen Xun’s hand and placed it on his chest. “Touch and see, it’s the truth.”
Shen Xun tapped with his fingertips. “I only felt your chest muscles.”
He was about to pull his hand back, but Meng Yuan Cen grabbed his wrist. “That’s because you touched too briefly. You need to touch it longer to figure it out.”
“If I touch longer, it will end up with us hooking up on the bed,” Shen Xun chuckled. “You’re lying; I’m not stupid.”
As the photos in the police uniform were just a few and were quickly looked through by Meng Yuan Cen, he asked Shen Xun for the digital version. Shen Xun replied that he couldn’t find it, so Meng Yuan Cen used his phone to capture these photos one by one. However, the ceiling lights’ reflections caused some flaws and made the already not-so-high-quality pictures even worse.
Seeing this, Shen Xun suggested, “Stop taking pictures; I’ll try to find the electronic versions for you.”
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t find it?” Meng Yuan Cen asked.
“It might be with my colleagues. I’ll ask them later.”
Getting the original electronic version was much better than just taking photos. Meng Yuan Cen stopped taking pictures with his phone and looked at the album in Shen Xun’s palm. He asked, as if reminded of something, “Can I see the front photos?”
Shen Xun remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded. It was just some childhood photos that he had looked through earlier. Shen Xun slowly turned the pages to the front. He mostly remained silent, only explaining the photo’s origins if Meng Yuan Cen asked.
As they turned the pages, Meng Yuan Cen suddenly asked, “Why is there an empty space here?”
Shen Xun felt inexplicably tense. He hadn’t thought much when hiding the photos, but now, the empty space indeed seemed somewhat abrupt.
He hesitated for a moment. “Maybe my mom or my brother took it. Sometimes, they need ID photos urgently, so they choose to crop pictures.”
Meng Yuan Cen had been smiling and staring at Shen Xun the whole time, and after a moment’s silence, he nodded thoughtfully.
Well, it was a coincidence. Meng Yuan Cen glanced at the time he made the call and happened to see Shen Xun hiding photos. So, the reason for needing ID photos sounded reasonable, but unfortunately, Meng Yuan Cen saw through it at a glance. But well, he was blindly confident. He thought, sooner or later, Shen Xun would willingly show him the hidden photos.
“Meng Yuan Cen…” Shen Xun looked at him cautiously. “Why are you quiet?”
He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. “I was thinking, there are a few missing photos here. It’s blank and just sitting there. I have a few of your pictures in my phone. I think they’re quite well-taken. I can edit and print them out to fill this gap?”
Shen Xun was initially taken aback but then felt something stir within him. He whispered, serious yet genuine, “If you really want to fill the gap, let’s use our photos together.”