Chapter 49

A brand new day, eight o'clock, the workday alarm rang right on time. Xu Yan's head jerked sharply, he frowned and hissed, reached for his phone to turn off the bell. His eyelids felt practically glued together, impossible to open.

On the nightstand sat a cup of water. Xu Yan's throat was so dry it was almost smoking. He reached for it and drank. Halfway through, he looked down at the cup, scattered memories slowly piecing together — after Xu Nian and Ye Xuan left, he squatted downstairs, threw up when he got home, took a call from Yu Xue, then fell asleep.

It seemed like something was still missing... no time to think, there was a shoot at ten-something. He struggled to get up, peeled off his shirt to wash up. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Xu Yan thought for a moment, decided to cook porridge first before showering. He left the bathroom, opened the bedroom door, and at the same time heard water sounds from the kitchen — for a moment he thought he hadn't turned off the faucet last night. But no, Xu Yan turned his head to look at the laptop on the living room coffee table and the stack of materials beside it, and the suit jacket on the sofa...

Jacket — wallet — photo —

He remembered.

Xu Yan rubbed his face. The subconscious was really terrifying — his brain had directly blocked out last night's memories of Shen Zhi.

Shen Zhi finished washing his hands and walked out of the kitchen to see Xu Yan standing at the bedroom door shirtless, rubbing his face. Thinking he had a hangover headache, Shen Zhi immediately walked over, pulled down his wrist, and pinched the back of Xu Yan's neck to lift his head slightly: "What's wrong, not feeling well?"

"No." Xu Yan pulled his hand away. "Just not awake yet."

Shen Zhi relaxed, asked: "Hungry? I made porridge."

Xu Yan looked up at him, wondering when this pampered young master who never lifted a finger for housework had learned to cook. He asked: "What kind of porridge?"

"Lean meat and vegetable porridge."

Xu Yan said nothing, walked toward the dining table. Shen Zhi stood behind him, watching his back: "Aren't you going to put on a shirt first?"

"Lawyer Shen, tell me, which law says you have to wear clothes at home?"

His tone was lazy and casual. Shen Zhi smiled inexplicably, said: "None."

Xu Yan was listless all over, head aching, especially as last night's drunken conversation gradually became clearer in his mind. It wasn't really anything, but it really shouldn't have happened.

"Going to work today?" Shen Zhi asked.

"Yeah. Why aren't you leaving yet."

"Have some things to handle here, I'll head back in the evening." Shen Zhi paused, tentatively said, "I'll drive you to the company."

"No need."

The porridge was a bit hot, Xu Yan had no choice but to eat very slowly. Shen Zhi sat across from him watching, didn't speak the whole time. After the last sip of porridge, Xu Yan took the bowl to wash it. Shen Zhi stood up: "I'll wash it."

"No need." Xu Yan walked around him to the kitchen sink. "Pack up your things and go, I need to get to work."

Shen Zhi had an extraordinary ability to turn a deaf ear in this regard. He poured Xu Yan a cup of hot water, set it aside to cool, and suddenly asked: "Do you still remember what you said last night?"

"Don't remember." Xu Yan answered.

"You said..."

"What you said doesn't count." Xu Yan immediately cut him off. "You studied law, you should know better than anyone that speaking requires evidence." He knew those words weren't really out of line, but he was still very resistant to having his drunken slip brought up — this was a drunkard's last dignity.

Shen Zhi said nothing, took out his phone. Xu Yan warily turned his head and saw him open the voice recorder.

"You recorded it?" Xu Yan was surprised — not surprised that he'd been recorded, but surprised that Shen Zhi would actually do something like this.

But Shen Zhi then switched back to the home screen, looked at Xu Yan, and smiled faintly: "No, just kidding." He said, "It's fine if you forgot, I can start from the beginning."

Anyway, he had heard it with his own ears, tasted that little sweetness, even if only a little bit.

Xu Yan finished showering and got ready, called Xu Nian from the room. He was sure Xu Nian, drunk like that, had long forgotten to have the driver bring the car back. Sure enough. Waiting for the driver to come back might be too late, Xu Yan prepared to take a cab.

When he came out of the room, Shen Zhi had just finished packing. Though rejected once, Shen Zhi still said: "I'll drive you to the company."

"No need, I'll drive myself."

"Wasn't your car driven away yesterday?"

Xu Yan paused for a second: "The driver already brought it back for me."

"I've been in the living room the whole time, no one came to knock and deliver car keys." Shen Zhi said.

"..." Indeed, lying to a lawyer was a mistake. Xu Yan then said directly, "I'll take a cab."

"Let's go together, I happen to need to pick up some materials at your company."

Xu Yan suspected he was lying, but had no evidence. He was silent for a while, neither agreeing nor refusing, opened the door and went out. Shen Zhi followed him out.

"I showered in your bathroom last night." Shen Zhi was driving, suddenly said.

Xu Yan thought he'd found some alien creature in the bathroom, but after waiting a long time, Shen Zhi didn't continue. Xu Yan realized he was seriously reporting facts to him.

"Got it." Xu Yan said.

Shen Zhi's phone rang. Xu Yan instinctively looked up, but Shen Zhi moved quickly, reaching out to decline the call. The name on the screen was blocked by the back of his hand. Xu Yan only saw the character 'Lan'.

No words the whole way. Over half an hour later, the car stopped at the company entrance. Xu Yan unbuckled his seatbelt, said "thanks," got out, and headed straight for the studio. In the car, Wang Wen'an had sent him a WeChat saying preparations were all done, they'd start when he arrived.

Shen Zhi, who claimed to be at the company to pick up materials, sat in the car without moving. Watching Xu Yan's figure disappear from view, he picked up his phone and called Lan Qiuchen back.

"Was driving just now."

"Didn't you say you'd be back yesterday?"

"Yeah, came back last night."

"I've seen your medical records from Beijing. When are you coming over? I'll arrange another checkup for you."

"Next week. Being hospitalized these few days delayed some things, need to handle them. Also have a business trip the day after tomorrow."

"You..." Lan Qiuchen was exasperated. "Forget it, can't talk you out of it." She hung up after saying that.

Shen Zhi was quite calm, switched back to the navigation interface, and started driving again.

Saturday evening, Xu Yan checked the weather forecast, which showed a thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon. He'd originally planned to go in the morning when there was no rain, but a shoot came up last minute to make up, leaving only half a day free.

Xu Yan decided to go around noon, take a rough look around to pick a spot, and leave before the rain. Yu Xue had arranged a small motorboat for him, making it convenient to go back and forth. Xu Yan was even a bit excited — last time he drove a motorboat was in Langkawi, over half a year ago.

Plans couldn't keep up with changes. The next day's shoot ran longer than expected. When Xu Yan reached the dock it was already past one in the afternoon, but the sun was still strong, no signs of rain yet. Xu Yan shouldered his camera, briefly familiarized himself with the operation after the driver, then straddled the motorboat and headed toward the Small Island.

Very close, just over ten minutes. Xu Yan parked the motorboat by the beach, walked in, passed through a tree-lined path, and saw a small villa. Behind the villa was a high ground, with a completely transparent Sunroom sitting atop it. Through the glass he could see clusters of pale purple flowers in the Sunroom — the lilacs Yu Xue had mentioned.

The villa's door was locked, the perimeter covered in cameras. Yu Xue had sent Xu Yan the front door password last night, then suddenly remembered and said the door had a double lock — password plus fingerprint, outsiders couldn't open it. Xu Yan didn't care, he hadn't planned to go inside anyway.

The island wasn't big. Xu Yan walked around it, and the scenery wasn't much different from the seaside; the most special thing was probably that flower house. He walked back, entered the code to open the Sunroom door, and a faint, elegant fragrance rushed toward him. Xu Yan had never observed Lilac Flower closely before, but looking at it today, he found it was truly beautiful, almost like an oil painting.

He imagined in his mind Yu Xue in light makeup standing among the flower clusters — perfect. The editor-in-chief and planner had a good idea this time. Yu Xue usually went the glamorous route, so her photo style inevitably got repetitive. This time, going against the grain and giving her a fresh look was a nice change of pace.

The timing was also right — right in the lilac's blooming season.

Xu Yan shot a few empty scenes, carefully looking at every corner, preset angles, layout composition, adjusting light... While adjusting, Xu Yan suddenly looked up — damn, the light was gone.

The sky darkened very suddenly, the wind picked up very suddenly. Xu Yan looked at the dark clouds beyond the glass ceiling, paused for a long moment, then looked down at his phone time. He swore that from now on he'd set alarms for tasks, not let himself get lost in them.

Hurriedly packing up his equipment, Xu Yan tried to leave the Small Island before the rain, but heaven was very cruel. Xu Yan heard a few pattering sounds, then the roof immediately made sounds like hail. Water droplets ran down the glass walls. The downpour began.

Fortunately, being inside meant no worry about getting rained on, but being stranded alone on a gloomy island was hardly a pleasant experience. Xu Yan wasn't scared, just felt quite reflective — maybe this is life, the more you don't want to face something, the more it finds ways to happen to you, proving the impermanence of fate.

He sat down on a wooden chair. It was past three now; the weather forecast showed cloudy at six, so waiting another two hours or so should... BOOM—! A thunderclap like it struck the ground. Xu Yan was startled by the sudden loud noise, his heart nearly bursting. He went blank, dazedly watching the wind and rain outside, lightning flashing by intermittently, illuminating a blur of scenery.

"Xu Yan... Xu Yan..."

A distant voice calling, accompanied by faint knocking on glass. Xu Yan froze, started trembling pathetically, wondering if he was hearing things, or seeing a ghost. Either way wasn't great. He pulled out a simple tripod from his bag, extended it, held it in his hand, and walked toward the source of the sound. The best way to overcome fear is to face it. Xu Yan encouraged himself — being a coward is shameful, today it's either you die or I die...

Another flash of lightning. In that instant, Xu Yan saw a figure outside the glass door — very tall, knocking. The whole scene was no different from a horror movie. Xu Yan immediately didn't want to face his fear anymore. He stood in place, starting to think about which route to take to hide.

"Xu Yan!"

Xu Yan froze, dropped the tripod, ran over, and opened the door.

In an instant, wind and rain rushed in violently. Xu Yan, still thinking about protecting the lilacs, immediately pulled the person inside and pushed the door shut with force.

Xu Yan turned around and saw Shen Zhi, completely soaked, panting. His white shirt clung to his body, his bangs all combed back, revealing a smooth forehead. Behind him were vast clusters of pale purple lilacs, dappled light and shadow, faint fragrance surging, mixed with the smell of grass and earth in the heavy rain — a tangible sense of reality.

Rainwater rolled down Shen Zhi's fair face, like tears. For some reason, at this moment Xu Yan suddenly thought — three years ago, the night he and Shen Zhi had their falling out, in that dark private room, if he could have seen clearly, Shen Zhi's face should have looked just like this, tears streaming, choking out an apology to him.