Still Frame Chapter 33
byChapter 33: The Jade Vine
Luopu Mountain was a bit remote. Zhang Liuxin didn’t have time to eat after class, so he bought a rice ball while waiting for the bus. Most of the semester had passed, yet he felt his life had undergone earth-shshattering changes.
After that day, he stopped going back to the Zhang family on weekends. At first, Zhang Jiming tried to scold him, and Zhang Qiannan followed up with passive-aggressive message bombardments. Zhang Liuxin simply ignored them, found a weekend part-time job, and started working. Later, Zhang Jiming probably realized that the family atmosphere was much more harmonious without him, so he stopped bothering him.
Zhang Liuxin pulled out his notebook and headphones from his backpack. Recently, he had been spending time teaching himself a foreign language and specifically looked for many speech videos to watch.
He didn’t expect to hear a familiar male voice when he clicked on this video. Zhang Liuxin looked at the screen. The camera zoomed in perfectly, finally settling on a young, handsome face.
It turned out to be Wen Jin’s speech video from two years ago. It was the first time Zhang Liuxin heard him speak the language of Weiding State. His pronunciation was very clear, with almost no discernible accent.
When the video finished and started replaying, Zhang Liuxin realized he was spacing out again. His notebook was blank, and the headphones were playing Wen Jin’s self-introduction once more.
An ink dot bled onto the blank page. Zhang Liuxin lifted his pen tip, capped the pen, and irritably deleted the video, deciding to check the content beforehand when downloading videos in the future.
However, his mood became complicated when he thought about meeting the protagonist of the video soon.
He hoped Wen Jin would bring the book today and return it to him so they wouldn’t have any further entanglement.
His hope was dashed.
The bus only went as far as the foot of the mountain, still some distance from the main gate of the botanical garden. Zhang Liuxin had foolishly carried his laptop, and halfway there, he was already panting with exhaustion. He opened a ride-hailing app only to find the distance was too short, and no one was accepting the order.
He hoisted his bag back on and stood up. Before he walked two steps, a car pulled up beside him and honked twice.
He paid it no mind and continued walking, but the car beside him slowly followed. Zhang Liuxin looked around—he was the only person on this mountain road. Could it be an unlicensed taxi trying to scam him?
He stopped, annoyed, and looked. The license plate of this “unlicensed taxi” was a dazzling string of five ones, making his eyelids twitch.
The passenger window rolled down. Zhang Liuxin bent down and met the eyes of the person in the driver’s seat—it was Wen Jin.
It made sense; no one else in Huan City would be arrogant enough to drive a luxury car with a five-ones license plate at the age of twenty.
“How long were you planning to climb?”
As soon as Wen Jin spoke, Zhang Liuxin remembered they hadn’t spoken face-to-face in a long time.
The memory of that photograph still hung in his heart. Thinking of Wen Jin’s relationship with Zhang Qiannan, Zhang Liuxin stepped back half a pace, vigilantly scanning the surroundings again. There was no one, not even other cars driving up.
“What are you standing around for? Get in.” Wen Jin frowned, his dark phoenix eyes like a kite, watching him.
Wen Jin was driving himself. Zhang Liuxin couldn’t possibly let Young Master Wen act as a chauffeur. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the passenger door.
“Thank you,” he said, fastening his seatbelt and looking out the window. He regretted it a little; he should have climbed faster just now so he wouldn’t have run into Wen Jin halfway.
Wen Jin occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror. Their eyes met sometimes, but Zhang Liuxin was always the first to look away, continuing to watch the receding elm trees outside.
The car was too quiet. Wen Jin wasn’t driving fast, and he handled the curves very steadily.
The mountain road wasn’t long, but Zhang Liuxin still felt tormented. Finally, the car stopped at the main gate. He opened the door, feeling a sense of relief.
The manager of the botanical garden came forward. “Young Master Wen, everything in the garden is prepared. Little Zhang will be your guide shortly.”
“Mm, wait a moment.”
Zhang Liuxin realized why there hadn’t been any other cars on the road—Wen Jin had simply rented out the entire garden. It was truly a grand gesture, though he couldn’t imagine Wen Jin queuing up with others.
Soon, Qu Shuhua arrived, apologizing profusely for being stuck in traffic for a while.
“It’s alright.” Qu Shuhua’s arrival made Zhang Liuxin breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing the large bags she was carrying, he asked, “Do you need help carrying those things?”
Qu Shuhua waved her hand. “No need, they’re just a few books, not heavy.”
The person in charge said eagerly, “Miss, let us keep them for you. You can pick them up after the visit is over.”
Qu Shuhua hadn’t seen this kind of treatment before and was slightly overwhelmed. She handed the bags over. “Thank you.”
“Sir, your bag?”
The person looked at Zhang Liuxin. Zhang Liuxin had his laptop in his bag, so he waved his hand. “I’ll carry it myself, thank you.”
The Luopu Botanical Garden was huge. Stepping through the main gate was like entering a secret realm of exotic flowers and plants. Qu Shuhua slowed her pace and quietly asked Zhang Liuxin, “Is there no one else here?”
Zhang Liuxin lowered his voice too. “Yeah, he rented the whole place.”
Qu Shuhua sighed. “I’m not surprised at all. It’s really lucky for us to be assigned to work with Senior Wen.”
Lucky? Zhang Liuxin didn’t think so.
Little Zhang introduced the plants one by one. “Our botanical garden is one of the richest in rare plant species in Huan City. The ecological environments are one-to-one replicas of their native habitats. For example, this Jade Vine is a typical rare tropical plant. As you can see, its flowers hang down in clusters, displaying a blue-green color like jadeite. And in the sunlight, the petals shimmer, just like jade.”
The Jade Vine was indeed beautiful. It was the first time Zhang Liuxin had seen a plant with such a peculiar color, like an exquisite work of art, making one marvel at the wonders of nature.
Qu Shuhua took out her phone and asked, “Can we take pictures?”
Little Zhang smiled. “Of course.”
Zhang Liuxin also took out his phone, looking for an angle with good lighting. Without paying attention, he stepped on the foot of the person next to him. He instinctively apologized, “I’m sorry!”
Only then did he realize the person standing next to him was Wen Jin. Zhang Liuxin retreated several steps, gripping his phone and lowering his head. “I’m sorry, Senior.”
Wen Jin didn’t say anything. Zhang Liuxin grew increasingly nervous. After a while, he heard Wen Jin say, “It’s nothing.”
Most of his desire to take photos vanished. Zhang Liuxin walked half a circle and took a picture in a spot with mediocre lighting but farthest from Wen Jin. Since the photo didn’t capture even a tenth of the Jade Vine’s beauty, he turned off his phone and followed Little Zhang forward.
Little Zhang led them to the greenhouse, which had tables and chairs. Knowing they needed to prepare a report, Little Zhang asked if there was anything they wanted to know, suggesting they could take notes there before leaving.
Zhang Liuxin took out his laptop. Qu Shuhua looked at the notes in her notebook and asked Little Zhang a few questions.
They were so focused that they didn’t notice Wen Jin had walked out. Little Zhang showed them the seeds of the Giant Rattlesnake Cactus and poured them two glasses of water.
Qu Shuhua said, “This botanical garden is truly the best I’ve ever seen. If it weren’t for Senior Wen, we probably wouldn’t have had the chance to see so many rare plants.”
Zhang Liuxin nodded. “Mm.”
Little Zhang said, “The botanical garden was invested in by the He family. Young Master He liked to tend to flowers and plants and initially didn’t intend to open it to the public. But then Young Master He went abroad to study in another state, and such a large botanical garden had no one to look after it, so he agreed to open it to the public for limited periods.”
Qu Shuhua clicked her tongue. “That’s inhumanly ‘rich.’ This botanical garden takes up almost half the mountain.”
“It is,” Zhang Liuxin agreed.
Although the Zhang family was also wealthy, they were far behind established families like the Wen and He families. Zhang Liuxin vaguely remembered hearing someone say that Wen Jin owned an aquarium. At the time, he felt the same way he did now—unable to imagine how places that charged admission to the public could become private property.
Mid-conversation, Wen Jin returned. Everyone tacitly fell silent. Only the sound of typing remained in the greenhouse.
Wen Jin sat down across from Zhang Liuxin. Little Zhang immediately stood up and asked if he needed water. Wen Jin declined, telling him to sit and not be so formal.
Zhang Liuxin didn’t know why Wen Jin was so knowledgeable about botany. The only thing he was sure of was that preparing the report with Wen Jin was very reassuring. Although Wen Jin was called a young genius, he didn’t put on airs. He basically answered every question and offered structural advice based on the desired outcome of their report. Before they knew it, they had been discussing for nearly an hour. Zhang Liuxin’s document was clearly organized, listing the important content concisely and logically.
“I think we can stop here for today,” Zhang Liuxin saved the document and looked at Qu Shuhua. “Shuhua, what do you think?”
“Yes, I think this is enough. Thank you, Senior.”
Wen Jin nodded slightly, looking at Zhang Liuxin. Zhang Liuxin also thanked him, saying, “Thank you for your hard work, Senior.”
Qu Shuhua stood up first and asked Little Zhang where the restroom was. Little Zhang replied, “It’s a bit far. Miss Qu, I’ll take you.”
“Thank you,” Qu Shuhua said apologetically to Zhang Liuxin. “Liuxin, why don’t you wait for me at the entrance?”
They had agreed to go down the mountain and take a taxi together later. Zhang Liuxin nodded.
But once Qu Shuhua and Little Zhang left, it was just him and Wen Jin again. He gripped his shoulder strap, his pace unconsciously quickening.
“Careful.”
Zhang Liuxin nearly bumped into a nearby display stand. Fortunately, Wen Jin was quick and grabbed him.
The part of his arm Wen Jin touched felt scalded. Zhang Liuxin quickly pulled it back. “Thank you, Senior.”
Wen Jin didn’t respond. He looked at Zhang Liuxin with a hint of scrutiny, and after a moment, he said, “How many times have you said ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’ today?”
Zhang Liuxin didn’t understand what he meant. Every “thank you” and “I’m sorry” he had said today felt necessary.
“I should,” he said. Walking back to the Jade Vine, Zhang Liuxin opened his photo album and reviewed the picture he had just taken.
It wasn’t a very good shot. Zhang Liuxin’s gaze shifted from the blue-green petals to a corner of the photo, where he saw a hand resting on the railing.
He zoomed in and saw a deep gray corner of clothing. In his peripheral vision outside the photo, Wen Jin, standing beside him, was wearing a deep gray trench coat.
“Zhang Liuxin.”
Wen Jin’s voice came from the right. Zhang Liuxin guiltily exited the interface and stuffed his phone into his pocket. “Yes?”
“When should I give you your book?”
Wen Jin finally brought up the book on his own. Zhang Liuxin should have been happy, but his lips wouldn’t curl into a smile. His hands, shoved into his pants pockets, twisted together in conflict. Finally, he said, “Anytime is fine. If you’re busy, you can leave it at your college, and I’ll come pick it up.”
He kept his head slightly lowered. Wen Jin’s trench coat swept back and forth in his peripheral vision. He couldn’t help but think that such a long trench coat only looked good on Wen Jin. On him, it would probably look like a mop.
“That book is ugly,” Wen Jin said coldly.
Zhang Liuxin: …What’s wrong now, my Young Master?