Still Frame Chapter 88
by“Yes, I know.”
The two sat down in the reception room. The assistant brought over two cups of coffee, but neither person touched them. Jiang You asked impatiently, “Where is Liu Xin? I haven’t been able to contact him for a long time. I saw on TV that you were both kidnapped. Is he alright?”
After speaking, Jiang You realized she had been impolite. The man in front of her held a distinguished status and was her friend’s husband. She apologized, picked up her coffee, and took a sip. “I’m just too worried.”
“He’s fine. How long have you known him?” Wen Jin’s coffee remained untouched. His deep, cold gaze fixed on a point in the air before he suddenly spoke.
“We were high school classmates. We’ve known each other for almost fifteen years now.”
Jiang You had only met Wen Jin a few times. Most of the time, she had only seen the Young Master Wen, the scientist and professor, on television, finding him too aloof and unreachable. She didn’t understand why he would suddenly ask this question.
“Then you must know him well,” Wen Jin said. “He went to do what he always wanted to do.”
Jiang You was stunned. After a moment, she tentatively asked, “He went to be a reporter? To a war zone? No way…”
Wen Jin’s gaze finally landed on Jiang You’s face. The overwhelming pressure in his eyes made Jiang You unconsciously sit up straight, her back slightly tensing.
Sure enough, those who truly trusted Zhang Liuxin and were trusted by him knew about his dream of becoming a war correspondent.
Seeing that Wen Jin didn’t deny it, Jiang You’s heart sank. She hadn’t expected that after being out of contact for so long, Liu Xin had actually gone to a war zone. Seeing the man opposite her looking forlorn, a bad premonition suddenly arose in her heart. “Then Liu Xin is currently…”
“He’s fine. He just left,” Wen Jin answered quickly, immediately throwing out the next question. “When did he start wanting to be a war correspondent?”
“After university, I think. He studied at the School of Journalism precisely to become a reporter later. At first, I always thought he just wanted to be a regular reporter because he really wanted to join Silver Mirror Station. It was around graduation that he told me he decided to gain experience at Silver Mirror Station for a few years before applying to go abroad.”
Around graduation. Wen Jin recalled that after Zhang Liuxin’s car accident, he had almost immediately started preparing for their wedding, constantly busy and overwhelmed. He only knew that Liu Xin was interning at the television station during that time. Later, due to his leg injury and the need to cooperate with the Wen family’s public relations work, Zhang Jiming arranged for him to become a host at Silver Mirror Station.
So, at that time, Zhang Liuxin, full of infinite aspirations upon graduation, encountered that car accident, missed his dream, and was confined within this marriage with him.
Wen Jin had always believed that this marriage was a solid shield protecting Liu Xin, allowing him to recover better and work more respectably under his protection. But now he understood that, for Zhang Liuxin, it was instead a beautiful cage.
Jiang You didn’t know what she had said wrong, but a wave of despondency washed over the man opposite her. The reception room fell silent, with only the faint ticking of the wall clock audible.
“Alright, I understand. Thank you.”
Wen Jin nodded slightly to her. As he stood up, Jiang You hurriedly called out to him.
“Professor Wen! When will Liu Xin return?” Wen Jin’s expression was hard to read, and Jiang You didn’t know what had happened between them.
Wen Jin paused, his back to her as he pulled open the reception room door, leaving behind a single sentence: “I don’t know either.”
If he knew, he would start waiting from this moment, instead of listening to Zhang Liuxin’s past and feeling powerless.
Aunt Lin messaged him saying she had made soup for the evening. After leaving the corporation, Wen Jin drove straight home.
Everything at Wenfei Terrace was still orderly. The Ice Beauty lilies he had asked someone to plant before his business trip had grown taller and looked like they would bloom soon.
Wen Jin withdrew his gaze and walked into the house.
“Young Master is back,” the maid took the items he was holding and asked, “Where should I put this for you?”
“On the coffee table. I’ll put it away after dinner.”
Just as he changed into his slippers, he heard a few soft meows. Looking down, a ball of white cotton candy bumped into his leg. Camellia looked up at him, its black tail held high. After a moment, it seemed to realize this wasn’t the Zhang Liuxin who doted on it, and it clumsily retreated two steps.
“Oh, Camellia.” The maid specifically assigned to care for the cat quickly picked up a lint roller. She knew Young Master Wen disliked getting cat hair on him the most.
“I’ll do it myself.” Wen Jin waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned, and walked toward the dining room. Camellia stayed in the entryway for a while, disappointed that the other figure wasn’t there.
“Camellia, come here.” Wen Jin washed his hands and called the cat from the island counter.
“Meow!” Camellia trotted over and stuck close to his feet again.
“Shedding so much fur,” Wen Jin seemed slightly helpless, meeting the cat’s olive-colored eyes for a moment. “Did you feed it fish oil?”
“Yes, I did. It’s just the season for shedding.”
The maid didn’t know why Wen Jin was suddenly concerned about Camellia. Usually, the Young Master and Camellia were like two kings who never met at home; the only bridge between them was Mr. Zhang. However, for some reason, Mr. Zhang hadn’t returned with the Young Master.
“Young Master, come and have some soup,” Aunt Lin looked at his thin cheeks with concern. “Why have you lost so much weight after this trip?”
Aunt Lin had cared for Wen Jin since he was a child and was considered half a family member, so she could speak freely while he ate. As she placed another bowl of soup on the table, Aunt Lin asked, “Did Liu Xin not come back?”
Wen Jin slowly sipped his soup. After a while, he said, “He went on a long trip for business. He won’t be home for a while.”
Aunt Lin subconsciously wanted to ask how long “a while” meant, as Zhang Liuxin rarely went on long business trips, but she glanced at Wen Jin’s expression, catching a glimpse of something beneath his usual indifference, and decided not to press further.
After dinner, Wen Jin suddenly called out to her, saying, “Aunt Lin, I know why Liu Xin always had a poor appetite at home.”
Aunt Lin was startled and asked, “Why?”
Wen Jin wiped his lips clean, the corner of his eye curving slightly, and his voice softened a bit. “Because the food in Bernlin State is too different from the taste in Yinzhou. He craves sour flavors and likes lemon seasoning.”
For some reason, after saying this, Aunt Lin sensed a gloominess, even loneliness, emanating from him. However, these emotions flashed by quickly, and Wen Jin soon stood up, returning to his usual unshakeable demeanor.
He took the box from the coffee table and went upstairs.
Wen Jin pushed open the door to Zhang Liuxin’s puzzle room, turned on the light, and placed the puzzle he had brought back from Bernlin State onto the puzzle board.
This room had originally been converted from a tea room. The desk faced a clear floor-to-ceiling window. Wen Jin saw his reflection in the glass, along with a water cup, a foreign language book, and a portable cervical spine massager placed in the corner of the desk.
He couldn’t help but recall the scene of them huddled in the attic in Bernlin, identifying the North Star through a small skylight. Although only a few days had passed, Wen Jin felt that the Zhang Liuxin who had inadvertently nestled in his arms was now very far away.
Wen Jin picked up the book. He didn’t remember Zhang Liuxin studying this language. Following the bookmark, he opened the book, only to find that the so-called “bookmark” was a laminated newspaper clipping.
To be precise, it was a photo cut from a newspaper. This slightly faded photo showed the charity event they attended shortly after they got married.
His calm, dark eyes trembled slightly. Wen Jin’s fingertip traced Zhang Liuxin’s soft profile in the photo. Perhaps due to the passage of time, the photo wasn’t perfectly clear, but he could distinctly see Zhang Liuxin’s dependent, adoring look directed at him.
Had he treated Liu Xin with such an expression back then? A question arose deep within him, quickly followed by self-denial. Because he disliked treating charity as a means of publicity, his attitude could only be described as grudgingly polite.
Then, what kind of mindset did Zhang Liuxin have to meticulously cut out this photo and cherish it for so many years, despite such cold treatment from him?
Wen Jin didn’t dare to think about it.
The reflection in the glass window remained still like a statue for a long time before he closed the book and placed it back in its original position.
Half of the puzzle was still incomplete. Wen Jin sorted the remaining pieces, picked one up, put it down, and finally stood up, thinking it would be better to wait for Zhang Liuxin to return before finishing it.
The other person seemed to dislike him entering this room. Wen Jin suppressed the urge to tidy the desk and quietly gazed at the puzzle for a moment before leaving.
Returning to his own room, Wen Jin casually hung up his jacket. He took out the ring Zhang Liuxin had left behind, then opened the bedside drawer and found a ring box. The pair of wedding rings they had exchanged at the wedding lay quietly inside. Wen Jin took out his own ring and put it on his ring finger, then placed Zhang Liuxin’s ring inside the box.
The ring box now held two identical rings. He stared at the green diamond until his eyes felt sore. He closed the box and set it aside, his right hand unconsciously turning the ring on his left hand.
All day today, people around him had asked about Liu Xin. It seemed their “perfect and flawless” marriage was deeply ingrained in people’s minds.
Wen Jin stood on the balcony, looking at the desolate willow trees. Had he reached Segrant yet? He hadn’t taken anything except two pieces of clothing. Could he take care of himself there?
—Wen Jin, do you subconsciously always think I’m someone who needs to be taken care of?
—Wen Jin, do you pity me?
Zhang Liuxin’s tearful questions echoed in his mind again.
After a long time, Wen Jin returned to the bedroom. He instinctively left a nightlight on before lying down.
But he overestimated his ability to sleep. In Wenfei Terrace, this home filled with traces of Zhang Liuxin’s life, he found it hard to fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, Wen Jin pulled open the door to Zhang Liuxin’s room. It was right across from his own bedroom, just slightly smaller.
The bedroom had a very fresh scent, suggesting the maid had cleaned it. The faint lemon fragrance Wen Jin remembered being on Liu Xin was absent, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
Lying on Zhang Liuxin’s bed, he finally found a pitifully small trace of his lover’s scent from memory, and slowly drifted into sleep.
Wen Jin didn’t sleep for long. As soon as dawn broke, his biological clock woke him up. Today, he had an appointment with his lawyer.
Lawyer Wu arrived at the study. Seeing Wen Jin wearing glasses, he knew something important was about to happen.
However, when Wen Jin told him he wanted to draft a new will, he momentarily dropped his professional composure, pushing up his glasses in surprise, speechless for a moment.
Wen Jin clearly had his thoughts organized and quickly outlined his asset distribution plan to Lawyer Wu. Wu had always been Wen Jin’s private lawyer and had handled the previous will, so he subconsciously compared the two.
The only difference was that the portion allocated to Wen Jin’s husband, Zhang Liuxin, was reduced, instead being invested in various protection and anti-war organizations under the United State Committee.
Following Wen Jin’s instructions, Lawyer Wu drafted a preliminary document for him to review.
“That’s fine. There’s no need to mention this to my parents,” Wen Jin said in a calm but subtly commanding tone. Lawyer Wu dared not meet his gaze and quickly lowered his eyes, agreeing.
Just then, Aunt Lin called on the intercom to announce lunch. Wen Jin casually told Lawyer Wu, “If you don’t have anything pressing this afternoon, stay and eat before you leave.”
Lawyer Wu’s primary duty was to serve his boss, so he nodded immediately, but his heart was uneasy. Wen Jin rarely kept subordinates to eat at Wenfei Terrace; he wondered what the boss was thinking today.
Leaving the study and walking downstairs, Camellia rubbed against him, examining the new stranger in the house. Lawyer Wu hadn’t known his boss kept a furry animal. The cat was also cute, so he couldn’t help but smile and ask, “What’s the cat’s name?”
Wen Jin said, “Camellia. Do you keep a cat too?”
“Uh… yes, I have a Golden Shaded British Shorthair.”
“How old is it?”
“A little over three years.” Lawyer Wu was confused.
“How do you usually play with it?”
“Uh… I make cat food for it, tease it with a feather wand, or play with its toys.”
Wen Jin nodded. “Send me the cat food recipe.”
Lawyer Wu was still dizzy when he got into his car, feeling that his boss had changed completely since returning from the business trip. He was actually having a sudden whim to make cat food. Had the boss ever stepped into a kitchen in his life?
He had, in Bernlin.
Following the recipe sent by Lawyer Wu, Wen Jin completed his first attempt at cat food under Aunt Lin’s guidance.
“Did Zhang Liuxin used to make this for it?”
“Mr. Zhang made it once or twice.”
“Did it eat it?”
“Yes, it did. It always ate every last bit.”
“…”
Wen Jin fell silent, staring at Camellia, who was staring back. Camellia sniffed Wen Jin’s inaugural creation and disdainfully hopped away.
“Never mind. You two can go now.”
Wen Jin pinched the bridge of his nose. Camellia took advantage of his distraction and jumped onto the sofa. It was a bit plump and old, making the effort clumsy, and it let out a muffled meow.
“…”
Wen Jin looked down. Seeing this cat, he couldn’t help but think of Zhang Liuxin, who shared the same eye color.
Wen Jin strongly disliked furry animals, which was difficult for his obsessive-compulsive tendencies. So, he used to avoid interacting with the cat at home, and the cat was somewhat afraid of him too.
Until one time when he was on a business trip and hadn’t been home for a week. On the way from the airport to Wenfei Terrace, he suddenly remembered that besides buying souvenirs for Zhang Liuxin, he had also bought a beautifully crafted cat toy for Camellia.
It was then that Wen Jin realized he was already unaccustomed to an environment without Camellia, just as he still couldn’t accept the fact that Zhang Liuxin had left him.
From yesterday until today, he had tried to fill his free time with various tasks, but it was impossible. As long as he was in this house and saw anything related to Zhang Liuxin, or saw this white cat that Zhang Liuxin was particularly close to, he would fall into that uncontrollable, deep longing for Zhang Liuxin.