Decayed Vulgarian chapter 58
Going Home
Meng Yuan Cen bought a high-speed train ticket for Saturday noon.
Although Shen Xun had already calculated that he would be on duty on Saturday noon, mentally preparing himself, when Saturday arrived, he couldn’t help but feel regretful because he couldn’t personally go and see Meng Yuan Cen off. He could only repeatedly flip through the texts, videos, and pictures sent by Meng Yuan Cen.
It will take about four to five days.
Shen Xun knew that the attendees of this forum were influential figures from various fields. As the alumni meeting approached, he hesitated to disturb Meng Yuan Cen.
His thoughts were correct. Even the usually talkative Meng Yuan Cen was quieter these three days. Every night at 8 pm, after briefing Shen Xun about the day’s tasks and saying goodnight, he would disappear from the conversation.
Although the number of participants in this alumni forum was not large, everyone had the opportunity to showcase their expertise. Some knowledgeable old professors, when they became enthusiastic about their speeches, expanded on the content, leading to additional questioning sessions, easily extending the presentation time, resulting in the entire session significantly running over time.
After the presentations came the discussion sessions. During the midday break on the third day, Shen Xun messaged Meng Yuan Cen: “During the discussion session, will everyone be sitting around the conference table, or will there be other forms of discussion?”
Meng Yuan Cen replied: “I can’t confirm for now, it depends on the arrangements by the dean.”
Shen Xun resisted but couldn’t help himself: “If it’s an open discussion, won’t that Zheng come looking to chat with you again?”
Looking at those lines, Meng Yuan Cen could almost imagine the dissatisfied expression on Shen Xun’s face when he wrote them. This made him chuckle. Certain things were not convenient to speak through voice messages to avoid being overheard, so he typed a long response —
“Zheng may want to chat, but I don’t feel like talking to him. If he insists on joining, I’ll just focus on conversations with other alumni. If he tries to interrupt, I won’t engage.Shen Xun, please bear with it a bit longer; it’s just these few days. Afterward, I’ll keep my distance from him. That’s it. We are about to start here.”
Suddenly, Zheng beside him turned his head, “Professor Meng, thinking about something happy? You’re smiling so much.”
Meng Yuan Cen locked his phone screen, and his smile froze for a moment. “It’s nothing.”
He truly didn’t want to sit next to Zheng, but apparently, due to their positions as teachers at Hua University, the seating arrangements were made by the university, and Shen Xun was better off not knowing about it. Otherwise, there would be jealousy again.
It was uncomfortable for both Shen Xun and himself. That’s why, at that time, he pretended to have a partner, as he foresaw Zheng might be troublesome. Otherwise, if Zheng assumed he was single, it might lead to inappropriate behavior.
Indeed, Zheng might not consider his actions as inappropriate, as the sense of boundaries between people differs.
Meng Yuan Cen tucked the phone into his pocket.
Finally, after a few hours, the discussion session concluded, the dean and the Party committee secretary summarized, and the Ph.D. forum was announced to be successfully closed.
Meng Yuan Cen swiftly merged into the crowd, afraid that if he delayed, Zheng might call out to him.
Thankfully, his efforts paid off, and he managed to return to the hotel. While having dinner, he took a picture of a double-layered mug given to all Ph.D. alumni at Hua University, which had the university emblem printed in deep blue on its surface. He joked that double-layered mugs might be a teacher’s standard equipment, adding some tea leaves and wolfberries might uphold that stereotype.
He immediately made a call.
However, to his surprise, Shen Xun’s focus was not on that. “Does everyone attending the forum receive one of these cups?”
Meng Yuan Cen replied, “Of course, we can’t differentiate, it wouldn’t be respectful. Besides, the quality of these cups is good and practical. It’s better than receiving several movie ticket vouchers.”
Shen Xun just replied with an “Okay.”
In fact, the underlying meaning behind his earlier statement was: Does Zheng also have one exactly like yours?
Luckily, Meng Yuan Cen didn’t pick up on this. Shen Xun also didn’t plan to emphasize it further, skipping past this topic and chatting with Meng Yuan Cen about other things.
He knew that a bit of jealousy could be considered a display of affection, but too much could become unreasonable and annoying. Nonetheless, the discomfort persisted, especially when dwelling on it, causing inner turmoil. He could only hope for Meng Yuan Cen to return soon.
Meng Yuan Cen’s return ticket was for 8 am the following morning. After Shen Xun finished work in the evening, they would be able to meet. It was now 8:50 pm, which meant a little less than twenty hours—
Shen Xun’s thoughts returned to the present. On his phone screen, Meng Yuan Cen suddenly said he was going to sleep.
Although it was a bit unexpected, Shen Xun understood that Meng Yuan Cen must be quite tired these days. He bid him goodnight and didn’t continue the conversation.
Shen Xun usually became more energetic as the night progressed. He was a night owl. However, without Meng Yuan Cen to chat with, he wandered around at home, feeling bored. It continued until he received a notification on his phone, informing him that a package had just been delivered to the community delivery locker and he needed to pick it up promptly.
Ah, now he knew what to do — retrieve the package.
Shen Xun stood at the door changing his shoes, thinking, “Delivery guys are really diligent working so late at night.”
What he didn’t know was that Meng Yuan Cen was currently going through security at the desolate high-speed train station.
If someone was to blame, it would be Meng Yuan Cen, because before he retired for the night, he glanced at his phone and discovered there was actually a train departing at 9:20 PM, arriving at 23:43.
After a quick calculation, he would arrive home by about 12:30, which didn’t seem too late. Perhaps it was a somewhat eerie time, considering there were still plenty of tickets available—so why not change his ticket?
Thinking was less effective than action. He promptly made the change without hesitation, checked out of the hotel, grabbed his luggage, and rushed to the high-speed train station in a taxi, finally boarding the train heading home smoothly.
During the journey, he was extremely tired. He wanted to sleep but was afraid to fully pass out since Huafeng Station wasn’t the final stop. He set multiple alarms, dozing off intermittently, teetering between awareness and light sleep.
He felt like he was sleeping but not completely.
After an indeterminate period, the mechanical voice from the train’s loudspeaker announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the train is arriving at Huafeng Station. Passengers who need to disembark, please prepare your luggage in advance…”
Coincidentally, at that moment, his phone rang.
Meng Yuan Cen alighted from the train with his luggage in haste, rushing home. By the time he stood at his doorstep, even he himself felt a bit bewildered, scarcely believing he had arrived home ahead of time. When he took out his keys and opened the door, that sense of reality gradually became stronger.
Standing in the entryway changing shoes, Meng Yuan Cen was slightly surprised to find that the lights in the house were already off. Glancing at his phone, it was 12:36. Thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising. Still being awake at this hour could be considered a late night for him, although Shen Xun regularly stayed up late.
With the luggage leaning against the wall, Meng Yuan Cen headed directly to the bedroom. He was incredibly tired and just wanted to fall asleep. As he lay down, he realized the bed was cold, and reaching out, he found there was no one beside him.
Where was Shen Xun?
He glanced in the bathroom, not there. A sudden spark of insight led him to look toward the balcony, where there was a faint light.
Approaching it, he saw a familiar figure shrouded in a thick black down jacket, leaning against the partially open window, his hair blending into the night. He was repeatedly rubbing the tip of a cigarette butt with his fingertips.
Meng Yuan Cen pushed open the glass door and walked onto the balcony. The night breeze surged toward him. The person in front also turned around—
Their eyes met, and Shen Xun became a still frame from a movie, with the cigarette butt in his hand silently dropping to the ground.
“Surprise!” Meng Yuan Cen said with a smile.
Shen Xun appeared dazed, seemingly not fully comprehending.
After a moment’s pause, Meng Yuan Cen opened his arms, “Hug?”
Shen Xun blinked, then suddenly stepped forward, tightly embracing Meng Yuan Cen.
It was then that Meng Yuan Cen noticed Shen Xun’s down jacket was open. He must have come to the balcony in the middle of the night due to insomnia. Meng Yuan Cen freed up both his hands to close Shen Xun’s jacket. “Aren’t you feeling cold with so little on?”
Then, bending down, he casually picked up the cigarette butt in his palm, aligning the fingertip to the bottom of the zipper. The silver metal zipper flashed in the moonlight as it closed, producing a rustling sound when fastened, distinctly audible in the silent late night. Finally, it reached Shen Xun’s chin, gently rocking—
Shen Xun suddenly lifted his head, pressing Meng Yuan Cen against the glass door behind him, and kissed him.