Encounters - Chapter 2.1
Translator: Deyonna
Xi Yu didn't say anything more and quickly left.
Shen Zhi sat alone at the dining table, experiencing the desolateness of the house again. Just a moment ago, the two of them sat together under the morning light, sharing breakfast as every couple does, but now, it all seemed to be a dream for him. It seems that Xi Yu has never been here, and they're still both strangers to each other.
Shen Zhi dragged his heavy footsteps back to the room, threw himself into the quilt, and hugged the shirt again, treating it as a last consolation. He reached out and groped under the pillow, and took out a small red book. It was their marriage certificate.
The photo on the marriage certificate was the only photo they took together, and every time Shen Zhi thought about him, he would take it out and look at it. In his heart, he would comfort himself, look, Shen Zhi, you are married, he's your husband, you are sleeping in the house you share, and you are inextricably connected, is this not enough?
Not enough. It's far from being enough.
He wants Xi Yu to come home with him every day like he did last night, want them to sleep in the same bed, want them to be honest with each other and to give everything to him without reservation, and also share his little sleeping habit he's ashamed to talk about.
Shen Zhi felt that he was getting more and more greedy. In the beginning, as long as he sees him in the playground from a distance, he could be happy for the whole day.
When Xi Yu was in his third year of high school, Shen Zhi was in his first year of high school. There is no special story. Like every youth story, seeing a figure who caught you off guard at a young age, and then you fell in love. The majority of the students in their schools are children of influential people, so they're somewhat arrogant and willful. But Xi Yu is different. He has excellent grades, treats people thoughtfully, and will not eat, drink and play[1] with them, nor will he be withdrawn from the crowd like Shen Zhi.
[1] To abandon oneself to a life of pleasure
Shen Zhi had never liked someone so much, but before he could recover from this young and profound secret love, Xi Yu went abroad. For the next two years, he never saw Xi Yu again, until he accidentally saw a photo posted by someone of Xi Yu returning to China and gathering with friends. At first, he thought it was just puberty hormones and he would forget it after a long time. For two years, his heart didn't miss him, and he thought he didn't like him that much. But after looking at the photo, a place in his heart that has been lying dormant suddenly clamors for release.
Later, Xi Yu returned to China and took over the company. When Shen Zhi heard the news that he was going to marry him, he was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. For the first time, he began to believe in fate. He was fated to be stuck on the road of chasing Xi Yu.
Shen Zhi has known Xi Yu for nine years, from his youth to adulthood, from being ignorant to being determined. This is the only phase in his life. He has only liked Xi Yu alone in his life, and his likes were neither bold, reckless, stunning, nor vigorous. But his likes are gentle, quiet, long and continuous, and silent that grows, and can become poetries across the years.
However, he seemed to become increasingly dissatisfied. Especially after they got married, he started thinking about him all night that he couldn't fall asleep, and he desperately wanted them to be a little closer, to integrate into each other's lives, to touch him, to feel him. In the middle of the night, he also wanted to be embraced, to be kissed, to be possessed, and to be liked by him a little more.
Xi Yu felt a little dry after he left that day.
Due to the lessons he learned from his parents, he has no desire for marriage. He believes that he is a businessman in essence, and if a useless thing such as marriage can bring some benefits, then it can be acceptable. His parents were also married, but his mother was madly in love with her cold-hearted husband. He was fed up with his mother’s humility and his father's ruthlessness. When he was a child, he was caught in the middle like a ridiculous prop. His mother tried to use him to gain meager attention and love, and his father regarded him as a chess piece that could preserve his business empire in the future. Therefore, in his understanding, a marriage that is not mixed with feelings and only depends on interests is truly reliable and safe. Having unnecessary contact with Shen Zhi like yesterday is stupid and pointless.
Those people who don't know Xi Yu thought that he's gentle and modest, but in fact, he thinks that he and his father are the same kind of person, who is equally indifferent and unfeeling, and they seek nothing but profit[2]. He was even a bit worse. On the surface, he often greeted people with a smile and was gentle and polite, but only he knew how many calculations he had on the inside. Unlike Shen Zhi, Shen Zhi only looked cold, but couldn't stand scrutiny. He was the kind of person that messes up when forced.
[2] 唯利是图 /wéi lì shì tú/ profit before everything
Xi Yu was very confident in his analysis of Shen Zhi, but in an instant, he realized that he was pondering about him again, and his heart became dry. It seems that a cold treatment would be the best way for now.
Shen Zhi sent a message to Xi Yu and asked him when he would come to pick up the clothes. He was very uneasy. After that day, they never had any contact again. If only it were not the only excuse he could think of for contacts, he would not be willing to return the clothes.
Or just keep the tie. Shen Zhi struggled for a while but still took the tie out of the bag where the clothes were packed.
Unexpectedly, Xi Yu replied to the message quickly with only three words "there's no need."
It doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be delivered, nor that he wants to come and pick it up. What he means is that he doesn't want the clothes and he can throw them away.
Shen Zhi felt that he had screwed up everything. He's not good at interacting with people, and he is not very good at speaking. In this way, he can only win a short-lived victory in front of Shen Huiyuan and his second sister. But before, he never really cared. If he couldn't integrate into the group, then he wouldn't integrate. If he didn't know how to make friends, then he would just be alone. But now he felt helpless. Faced with the three words that directly express rejection, he doesn't even dare to ask any more questions.
When he received the call from Shen Zhi, Xi Yu had just left the company. He had been working late recently.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Shen's husband?" The background of the call was a bit noisy, and it wasn't also Shen Zhi who was speaking. He vaguely heard a voice next to the caller, answering loudly, "Yes, he's my husband."
When Xi Yu arrived at the bar, Shen Zhi was sitting straight on the high chair at the counter. He was sitting properly, staring at the door, motionless. People who don't know him might think he's quite sober, but Xi Yu knew at first glance that he must be drunk. The indifference in his eyes when he usually looks at people is gone and was replaced by a charming, naïve and slightly dumb expression. His appearance when he was drunk was very silly.
After thanking the waiter at the counter, Xi Yu turned to look at Shen Zhi, and the person who had been staring at him with his face up just now lowered his head immediately.
Xi Yu takes his work seriously, but everyone who has worked with him knows that his temper is not as good as it usually looks. In the past two days, there has been a lot of work to do in the company, and Xi Yu feels that his patience has run out today.
"Can you still walk?"
This was the first time Shen Zhi heard him speak so impatiently, so he nodded and replied obediently, "Can."
But as soon as he finished speaking, his body fell forward. Xi Yu hugged him in a timely manner, and carried him horizontally, scolding him softly. "You can, my ass."
Xi Yu took him home, carried him to the bed, and put him down. Shen Zhi was drunk and was surprisingly obedient, neither unruly nor troublesome, his eyes following Xi Yu as he moved to and fro. Seeing how well-behaved his appearance is when drunk, Xi Yu thought it was quite interesting, and the irritability when he just went to pick up the person just now disappeared.
Just as soon as the quilt was covered for him, he grabbed Xi Yu's tie with both hands and started to untie it recklessly. Xi Yu, who just said that he wasn't troublesome when he was drunk, didn't expect him to start stirring up trouble. He stopped the rebellious hands, looked at Shen Zhi's eyes squarely, and said in a serious tone, "Shen Zhi, I'm not as good-tempered as I look, and I'm also not a good person."
Thank you for the chapter!
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