Still Frame Chapter 48
byChapter 48 Our Secret (2)
The weather on the fourth day was not very good. Many outdoor activities were canceled, and on top of that, Miss Bai was sick.
Miss Bai was already thin, and now that she was ill, she looked even more delicate. Lu Zixia once again transformed into the perfect boyfriend, rushing over to stay by her side.
Zhang Liuxin also came downstairs and felt a strange sense of wonder watching Lu Zixia clumsily feed Miss Bai porridge.
As evening approached, it started raining outside as expected. Zhang Liuxin decided to take his leave, but unexpectedly, Young Master Lu, who had just settled Miss Bai down for a nap, stepped out of the room and called out to him.
Zhang Liuxin raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, wondering why Lu Zixia had stopped him.
“Are you free?”
Lu Zixia’s question left him even more confused: “Uh… I am.”
“Perfect. Wen Jin is locked out of his house. Help me take the key up to him.”
The tone was bossy and self-righteous. Zhang Liuxin paused for a moment: “Where is his key?”
“I don’t know, probably left it inside.” Lu Zixia didn’t seem worried that his friend was locked out in the rain.
“The staff should have a spare key,” Zhao Wan suddenly interjected. “The rain is getting heavier outside now, and the mountain road isn’t very safe.”
“Wen Jin insisted on staying at the mountaintop. How long would it take for someone to come up from the bottom of the mountain?” Perhaps because his girlfriend was sick, Lu Zixia was in a bad mood, and his tone reflected it. “By the time the staff sends it up, he’ll be soaked and stupid.”
“…” Actually, given Wen Jin’s intelligence, being soaked and stupid would just bring him back to the normal person’s baseline.
Zhao Wan wanted to say something more, but Zhang Liuxin had already taken the key: “Alright, I’ll head up now.”
Lu Zixia went back inside after handing him the key. Zhao Wan frowned: “Liuxin, why don’t you just go back? I’ll call someone to deliver it.”
“Thank you, Miss Zhao, but it’s fine. I don’t have anything else to do anyway.”
Opening his umbrella and stepping into the rain, Zhang Liuxin thought of it as repaying Wen Jin a favor. After all, the other man had held an umbrella for him before; he couldn’t just leave him out in the rain now.
With the rain, the mountain path was indeed difficult to navigate, especially for someone like Zhang Liuxin who had always lived in the plains.
What if Wen Jin was really caught in the rain? The man who was always calm and composed, whose shirt cuffs never had a speck of dust, becoming disheveled—Zhang Liuxin felt a little wicked because he was actually curious.
But why didn’t Lu Zixia ask Zhang Qiannan to go? Although his younger brother suffered from late-stage Young Master Syndrome, he would definitely go without hesitation if he knew it was to deliver something to Wen Jin.
However, he didn’t see Wen Jin outside the wooden house.
Dark clouds covered the sky, and the world became distorted in the downpour. Zhang Liuxin’s initial curiosity turned into worry. Where was Wen Jin? With such heavy rain, had something happened to him on the mountain?
He took out his phone, intending to call Wen Jin, only to realize he didn’t have Wen Jin’s number, nor Lu Zixia’s. Should he ask Zhang Qiannan for Wen Jin’s number…
He finally clicked on the chat box buried at the bottom, labeled formally as “Senior Wen Jin.” His fingertip, wet with raindrops, blurred the characters. He wiped it off and typed: “Senior, Young Master Lu asked me to bring you the key. I’m already at your house. Where are you?”
After sending the message, he didn’t receive a reply immediately. Zhang Liuxin grew increasingly anxious, his heart pounding. Having no other choice, he opened the conversation with Zhang Qiannan.
The curtain of rain made the world blurry, but suddenly, a cold, rigid figure appeared, abruptly fixed on the path. A black raincoat enveloped the tall figure, like a male ghost emerging from the ground on a stormy day. Even the air became cold and still.
A chill crept up his tailbone. Zhang Liuxin instinctively picked up his phone and switched to the emergency call screen, but he watched the black figure slowly approach. Rainwater streamed continuously from the brim of the hood. The face was hidden in shadow, revealing only the straight bridge of a nose and lips pressed into a cold line. As he got closer, Zhang Liuxin could discern the black phoenix eyes concealed in the darkness. Then, his brain slowly processed the information: this was Wen Jin.
There was no Grim Reaper’s scythe behind him. Zhang Liuxin breathed a sigh of relief, but then became worried again. Why was Wen Jin outside at this time? He was wearing a raincoat instead of using an umbrella. Was he really soaked…
The subject of his concern approached, bringing with him the chill of the rain. The small area in front of Zhang Liuxin was completely dampened by the water dripping from Wen Jin. Wen Jin took off his hood, his dark hair slightly messy, which he casually slicked back, revealing his sharp, handsome features. He looked like a meticulously drawn black and white painting, with a hint of ghostly aura spilling from the darker parts.
“Why are you here?” Wen Jin scrutinized him, looking from top to bottom, finally stopping at the long-handled umbrella beside him. “Did you walk up?”
Like Wen Jin’s rain boots, Zhang Liuxin’s shoes were covered in mud, looking as if he had been through some disaster.
“Yes, Young Master Lu asked me to bring you the key.”
Unexpectedly, Wen Jin frowned after hearing this, took out his phone, and looked at it. Zhang Liuxin noticed that Wen Jin’s hand was pale, looking almost like a skeleton against the backdrop of black.
“Open the door.” Wen Jin’s brow relaxed, seemingly having seen something. He put away his phone and gestured with his chin.
The two walked inside. The water on Wen Jin quickly left a trail on the wooden floor.
“Have a seat.” Wen Jin pointed to the sofa, looking somewhat irritated, and went upstairs.
Zhang Liuxin sat on the sofa. After a while, he found a mop and cleaned up the water on the floor. This wooden house was larger than the one they were staying in, but the common areas showed almost no signs of life. It was clear that the only thing these two young masters had done in the past three days was probably pour themselves water to drink.
Wen Jin took a shower and changed into simple black clothes. He radiated warmth, and his lips looked a little redder.
Seeing him, Zhang Liuxin instinctively stood up. His gaze drifted over the messy collar before quickly moving away. He lowered his eyes and said, “Then, Senior, I’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait, the rain is so heavy outside, are you going to walk down again?”
Zhang Liuxin subconsciously thought, “What else? Am I supposed to swim down?”
Wen Jin poured himself a glass of water. Judging by his practiced movements, this was definitely the only route he had taken into the kitchen these past few days.
“The rain will stop in a while,” Wen Jin said expressionlessly, looking from Zhang Liuxin’s face down to his pant legs. “You’re filthy. Go wash up.”
“I’d better go back and wash. What if I dirty your bathroom…”
“Wash here,” Wen Jin said in a voice that wasn’t loud but brooked no argument. “Hurry up.”
Perhaps Wen Jin had OCD or was a germaphobe, Zhang Liuxin thought as he walked into the bathroom. Or maybe he was being kind, realizing it was indeed rude to make him brave the rain to deliver the key and then send him back out into the rain again.
But in this world, which felt almost inverted by the rain, with only him and Wen Jin staying in this wooden house like Noah’s Ark, he felt uneasy.
So, as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, he tried to speak, the draft he had prepared rolling to his lips. However, as soon as he saw Wen Jin sitting on the sofa, especially the gesture of him beckoning, the draft was quickly swallowed back down.
The TV was on, broadcasting the news. Wen Jin sat in the middle of the long sofa, propped up by a cloud-shaped cushion. Zhang Liuxin walked over and sat down a cushion’s distance away from him.
On the coffee table was a cup of hot coffee. The aroma of coffee mixed with milk steamed in the air. In front of Wen Jin was the glass of plain water he had been holding earlier. So, Zhang Liuxin boldly guessed the coffee was for him, but the thought that Wen Jin must have made it made him feel too nervous to touch it.
“Are you allergic to caffeine?”
It really was coffee personally brewed by Young Master Wen. Zhang Liuxin, both shocked and cautious, picked up the cup and took a large sip to show he wasn’t allergic to caffeine.
In fact, he couldn’t even taste it; it was too hot.
Wen Jin looked at him with an expression that suggested he was watching an idiot.
Zhang Liuxin felt his tongue was numb from the heat. Wen Jin seemed to smile, but he didn’t quite catch it. He blinked hard, and the other man’s attention was already back on the news broadcast.
The news was about the marriage alliance between two companies. The engagement photos looked very well-matched, a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but look twice.
Wen Jin: “Very interested?”
Zhang Liuxin shook his head: “No, no. I just think they look very compatible.”
Wen Jin scoffed, speaking in the same eerie tone as he had outside the door: “One is a playboy with three mistresses and two illegitimate sons outside. The other has hired out an entire escort club in another state. Yes, they are compatible.”
Zhang Liuxin had never heard Wen Jin speak in this tone, using words that didn’t fit his aloof demeanor. He was speechless, looking at the “compatible” and innocent engaged couple on the TV screen.
“But they are still getting married.” Zhang Liuxin listened as the female anchor slowly spoke in her perfectly modulated voice, praising the couple’s pure love and the successful union of the two families.
“That’s normal,” Wen Jin said in a flat tone.
They all thought it was normal. Zhao Wan had said the same thing. Thinking of Zhao Wan’s words, was Wen Jin’s family like this too? But Chairman Wen and Madam Yue were the most famous loving couple.
“Then it’s practically like a role-playing game.”
Zhang Liuxin rubbed the handle of the coffee cup. Everyone played their part, jointly managing the script of marriage, pretending to be a loving couple who would live happily ever after and couldn’t live without each other.
After saying it out loud, he felt his words were a bit naive. He secretly glanced at Wen Jin’s expression. The latter’s lips were still pressed into a cold, straight line.
The news about the marriage alliance ended. Zhang Liuxin’s coffee was down to the dregs. The hot latte had warmed him up considerably. Summoning courage from somewhere, he actually asked, “Senior, you will also get married, right?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Was he sick to ask Wen Jin such a question? He felt like one of those trashy, brainless reporters who pester celebrities about balancing marriage and family. He rarely cursed himself internally, but he did now.
“Of course.”
It wasn’t even “Yes” or “I will,” but “Of course.”
Zhang Liuxin felt something inside him burst. A huge wave of sadness, despondency, mixed with the complex feeling of inevitability, surged out. He didn’t notice that his hand gripping the cup handle was white from the force.
It was naturally “of course.” Born into such a family, it was perfectly normal for Wen Jin to walk the path of a marriage alliance. Besides, weren’t there already rumors about his intended partner—his younger brother, who shared half his blood?
Wen Jin noticed the person next to him had turned into a statue. He picked up the remote control and turned off the TV. When the only sound in the room disappeared, the statue reverted back to Zhang Liuxin, who picked up the coffee cup and drank it dry, leaving a faint ring around his lips.
“Next time, don’t go up the mountain alone in the rain. It’s dangerous.”
Wen Jin stared straight ahead at the now-black TV screen, but the words couldn’t have been directed at the air. So, Zhang Liuxin took the cue and replied, “Okay, I know.”
But the caffeine had made his mind a little sharper. Zhang Liuxin placed the cup on the coffee table: “And… you too. The road outside is slippery, and getting caught in the rain makes it easy to get sick.”
He didn’t know why Wen Jin had run out in such heavy rain, but the mountain was indeed dangerous on a rainy day. A moment of carelessness could turn a story of getting wet into an accident.
Wen Jin didn’t look like the type to get sick from the rain. He looked out the window. The rain had indeed lessened somewhat. His eyes settled into calmness, and he suddenly uttered a sentence: “Don’t you think rainy days are very quiet?”
“…”
Was Wen Jin running a fever and losing his mind? The outside was full of the sound of rain pattering. How was that quiet?
“I think rainy days are very inconvenient,” Zhang Liuxin carefully chose his words. “And rain messes up a lot of plans.”
Like today. If it hadn’t been raining, he wouldn’t have braved the rain to bring Wen Jin the key, and they wouldn’t be sitting here talking.
Wen Jin nodded, actually agreeing with him.
But Zhang Liuxin couldn’t see anything resembling affirmation on that face. He felt that today’s Wen Jin was very different, unlike every time he had seen him before. Was it because of the rain? Was it related to his two chat profile pictures of rain scenes?
“Senior, you really like rainy days,” he didn’t dare ask why, but added when the other man looked over, “Your chat profile pictures are all rain scenes.”
Zhang Liuxin’s mind raced, trying to find a reason why Wen Jin might like rainy days, but he came up empty because he knew too little about Wen Jin.
“Yes.”
Wen Jin admitted it.
In Zhang Liuxin’s memory, this was the first time the other man had mentioned a clear preference. This way, Zhang Liuxin knew something the other man liked and disliked.
The rain stopped. Wen Jin stood up. Zhang Liuxin knew he should leave too and politely said to Wen Jin, “Senior, thank you for the coffee. I’ll head back now.”
Wen Jin walked with him to the entrance. Zhang Liuxin had lost count of how many times he had felt flattered during this short interaction today.
“Zhang Liuxin,” Wen Jin leaned against the doorframe. The face that had looked ruthless and sharp under the black rain hood was softened considerably by the warm indoor light. “This is a secret.”
“Huh?” Zhang Liuxin realized. “Okay.”
Of course, he wouldn’t tell anyone that he and Wen Jin, this senior he had only met a few times, this person who might be his brother’s future fiancé, had spent this small, peaceful time together during a downpour.
“The rainy day is also a secret,” Wen Jin paused. “Our secret.”
He said “Our”…
This word inherently carried more implications of entanglement and connection than others. Hearing it from a habitually reserved person made Zhang Liuxin foolishly lightheaded: “Okay, Senior.”
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