Decayed Vulgarian chapter 8
Your Diary
Shen Xun was initially laughing along, but at this moment, his brain uncooperatively wandered off. The words and phrases from the loose-leaf pages started flashing before his eyes, and he was quickly enveloped by the embarrassment brought about by the diary.
His heart felt like something was lightly scratching it. Shen Xun couldn’t help but ask tentatively, “Did you only read the table of contents?”
For some reason, Meng Yuan Cen fell silent for a moment, hesitating about how to answer that question.
Shen Xun had a bad feeling deep down, and indeed, Meng Yuan Cen continued, “There were two sheets of paper between the table of contents. I thought they were forensic medicine-related notes, so I read a couple of paragraphs before realizing that it wasn’t notes but your diary.”
“If you’re genuinely asking, I don’t want to lie to you, so I’m choosing to be honest,” Meng Yuan Cen said sincerely. “I’m sorry, but I stumbled upon it by accident.”
Shen Xun: “…”
Meng Yuan Cen thought for a moment and then praised, “So, you already had a clear career plan back in middle school, knowing that you wanted to become a forensic doctor. That’s impressive.”
Shen Xun: “…”
Meng Yuan Cen gave Shen Xun a few glances. “But if you really mind, I can pretend that I didn’t see anything.”
Shen Xun: “Meng Yuan Cen, please let’s stop talking about it.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuan Cen silently chuckled.
He secretly glanced at Shen Xun and saw Shen Xun’s tightly pursed lips, half of his fair profile, the dark back of his head, his hands resting tightly on the glass, and his knuckles turning slightly red from the warm water. Shen Xun seemed to be silently expressing his inner resistance through body language, refusing to discuss anything related to the diary.
Silence filled the air for the time being, and Meng Yuan Cen thought he should quickly find a new topic to move past this awkward moment. He was just about to say something when Shen Xun suddenly turned back, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his eye sockets deepening, and his almond-shaped eyes narrowing with a mix of belief and doubt. He asked, “Did you really only read two paragraphs?”
In that split second, Meng Yuan Cen almost burst into laughter but managed to hold it back. “Yes, I’m telling you the truth.”
Shen Xun stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly relaxed his brows and eyes. “Okay.”
He silently decided that, when Meng Yuan Cen left, he must see what kind of absurdities he had written in the first two paragraphs of his middle school diary. Then he would throw away those two loose-leaf pages, never again inserting random things into books. He was determined to break this bad habit.
However, at this moment, Meng Yuan Cen had already started to calculate in his mind. The mental gears were turning as he thought, if he could borrow a book from Shen Xun, it would inevitably lead to more interactions with him, and he could then use the excuse of thanking Shen Xun for lending him a book to invite him to dinner. As long as Shen Xun was willing to lend it, any book would do.
Meng Yuan Cen’s gaze swept over the books, and he casually stopped at one of them, starting to fabricate a story. “I just realized that you also have ‘Philosophy of Crime and Punishment’ I’ve always wanted to read this book, but the school library only has one copy, and the one who took it hasn’t returned it.”
“I can lend it to you,” Shen Xun pulled it out and handed it to Meng Yuan Cen.
It was easier than he had imagined.
Meng Yuan Cen couldn’t help but feel a bit smug in his heart. He expressed gratitude, although he didn’t show it on his face. He inquired, “How long can I borrow it for?”
“Whenever you finish reading it, you can return it to me,” Shen Xun said with an unusual tone. “This book is quite abstract to read, so take your time. No rush. But I thought it’s quite niche; I didn’t expect you to have heard of it.”
“Niche? I’ve heard of it because it’s directly related to my profession, right? Besides, it’s published by the Law University Press. Of course, I’ve heard of it,” Meng Yuan Cen explained nonchalantly.
Shen Xun blinked and suddenly realized, “Right.”
The two of them went out to the balcony for another stroll. Through the glass window, they could see the greenery in the neighborhood and the gradually darkening sky. After the rain, a faint rainbow hung in the thin strands of white clouds, seemingly on the verge of vanishing.
Meng Yuan Cen noticed it first. “Look at the sky, there’s a rainbow.”
Shen Xun looked up and indeed saw it. “I see it too.”
He took out his phone, leaned against the edge, looked up at the sky, and tried to capture the rainbow with his phone’s camera.
He took several photos but couldn’t quite capture the beauty of the original rainbow. Shen Xun reluctantly gave up, inwardly cursing the smartphone’s idiotic camera function for not being up to the task.
Seeing this, Meng Yuan Cen suggested, “Why don’t you try the professional mode?”
Shen Xun, somewhat puzzled, asked, “Professional mode? Does a smartphone camera have a professional mode?”
Meng Yuan Cen nodded and then asked with a smile, “You didn’t know?”
Shen Xuan shook his head in confusion, “I didn’t.”
Meng Yuan Cen walked over, stood next to Shen Xun, and operated his phone to show him, “See, the professional mode is right here.”
Shen Xun looked down, carefully observed, and listened attentively, his long eyelashes and slightly upturned nose wavering under Meng Yuan Cen’s gaze.
Sensing Shen Xun’s eager desire to learn, Meng Yuan Cen decided to explain further. His fingers tapped the screen, explaining, “M can adjust the metering mode. For taking pictures of rainbows, you can choose spot metering. WB can adjust white balance. For a quick shot, just set it to cloudy mode. ISO adjusts sensitivity, EV adjusts exposure value, S adjusts shutter speed…”
“Based on my experience, adjusting these settings might produce better results.”
Meng Yuan Cen adjusted the parameters and took a photo of the rainbow with his phone.
“Can I see it?”
“Sure.”
“It’s really much better than mine.”
“I agree.”
After letting him look at the picture for a while, Meng Yuan Cen suddenly pocketed his phone in his trench coat. “It’s getting late. I’ve bothered you for quite a while; I should get ready to go home.”
Shen Xun walked Meng Yuan Cen to the door, watching him as he lowered his head to change into his black shoes. After a moment of silence, Shen Xun cautiously said, “About the book I lent you, could you please take good care of it?”
He pursed his lips and continued, “The book ‘Color Atlas of Forensic Medicine’ that I have had pages in excellent condition, but when it was passed around to a few classmates and returned to me, the inside was in terrible shape. Pages were damaged, and the book corners were bent.”
After speaking, Shen Xun couldn’t help but sigh, sounding genuinely regretful.
Meng Yuan Cen saw someone requesting so earnestly for the proper handling of a borrowed book for the first time. If it were him, he would probably have firmly declared that the book had to be carefully preserved before handing it over. If the other person couldn’t accept that condition, he wouldn’t lend it.
He had initially thought that Shen Xun was a proud and cold beauty, like a rose with a bit of sharpness and edge. That was his first impression of Shen Xun. However, now, he felt that Shen Xun’s personality was more soft and tender but concealed by his cold, elegant exterior.
So Meng Yuan Cen couldn’t deny that this intrinsic, subtle contradiction was intriguing and raised curiosity.
“Rest assured, I will definitely take good care of it,” Meng Yuan Cen said with utmost seriousness.
Shen Xun exhaled in relief. “Alright, that’s good.”
Just as Meng Yuan Cen was about to push the door open, Shen Xun stopped him once again. “Wait, Meng Yuan Cen.”
“Yes?”
“It’s just… Can you send me one of the pictures of the rainbow that you took?”
Meng Yuan Cen’s eyes flickered, and instead of sending it right away, he said, “I’ll send it to you on WeChat when I get back.”
Because sending the photo and continuing to chat for a while made perfect sense.