After The Flower Of The High Mountain Meets The Rough Man Ⅱ Chapter 22

## Chapter 22: Extra Story – The Ending: They Are Each Other’s Saviors

After the Lunar New Year, everything slowly returned to peace.

Following Shen Cong’s incident, Shen Jixun took over the family company. As the year ended, various issues within the company began to surface one after another.

Consequently, he spent most of his time immersed in company affairs.

His attention to Ji Shen was therefore less than usual.

Fortunately, Ji Shen understood his busy schedule and didn’t cling to him as much as before.

This particular evening.

After dinner, Shen Jixun remained in the study, reviewing work documents and dealing with the company’s myriad problems.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.

Usually, at this time, Ji Shen would bring him hot milk.

Shen Jixun was accustomed to it.

Without lifting his head, he responded, “Come in.”

The study door was gently opened.

As expected, Ji Shen walked in, holding a cup of steaming milk.

“Ge, drink some milk.” Ji Shen placed the milk next to Shen Jixun’s hand.

Shen Jixun didn’t look up, continuing to read the documents, and asked, “Are your postgraduate entrance exam results coming out these two days?”

Ji Shen nodded vigorously, resting his elbows on the desk, leaning forward, and staring at Shen Jixun with bright eyes. “I already checked the results just now.”

“Ge, guess how many points I scored?”

“What was the maximum score again?” Shen Jixun had graduated many years ago and, after entering the workforce, had not been involved with anything related to school. It was normal for him not to know the maximum score for the postgraduate entrance exam.

“Five hundred points.” Ji Shen held up his hand, making the number five.

Shen Jixun looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, “I guess your score is definitely high enough to be admitted to the school you applied for.”

“Mm!!” Ji Shen was extremely excited. “When I first started university, I decided I must get into this school for my postgraduate studies.”

“Although some things delayed me for a while, now, thanks to you, I’ve actually achieved this dream!”

He had applied to the best polytechnic university in S City, which wasn’t far from where they lived.

His score guaranteed his admission to the university, and the subsequent second-round interview posed no pressure for Ji Shen.

Shen Jixun smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair, saying, “That’s wonderful.”

His tone was like coaxing a puppy.

But Ji Shen found it incredibly gratifying.

“Then, can Ge leave work early tomorrow? I’ll cook at home, and we can have dinner together!” Weeks of continuous busy work meant Shen Jixun had barely eaten dinner at home.

Shen Jixun considered it, then nodded in agreement. “Alright.”

“Thank you, Ge!”

*

They spent spring and summer together, until autumn arrived, and on this day, Ji Shen officially stepped into his dream university.

During the time before the semester started.

Shen Jixun and Ji Shen traveled to many places together.

Later, Ji Shen even interned at Shen Jixun’s company for a period.

Ever since Ji Shen learned to drive, he had always been the one behind the wheel when they went out.

But on the day school started, Shen Jixun uncharacteristically drove to take Ji Shen to school.

After the car stopped smoothly in front of the school gate, Shen Jixun unbuckled his seatbelt and said to Ji Shen, “Come here and let me kiss you. We won’t see each other until tonight.”

Ji Shen quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned his face over.

Shen Jixun cupped his head and planted a solid kiss on his cheek.

“Go to class now. I’ll pick you up tonight.” Shen Jixun wasn’t busy these two days, so he had time to drop him off and pick him up.

“Okay!” Ji Shen opened the car door and got out, then waved at Shen Jixun through the car window.

Shen Jixun watched him from the car, staring at his tall figure until it completely disappeared from view before he drove away.

Before meeting Ji Shen, Shen Jixun mostly kept to himself, but he still had a few good friends from his university days.

Recently, a few of those friends had gathered in S City for a trip, so after dropping Ji Shen off at school, he drove in the opposite direction from home.

He had three close friends from university: two were his roommates, and one was from the room next door.

Shen Jixun was the last to arrive at the cafe.

“Jixun, I never thought you’d be late one day.” To his friends, Shen Jixun was a person with a very strong sense of time.

In their memory, Shen Jixun had never been late for class or any gathering.

“Something held me up.” Shen Jixun smiled and sat down in the empty seat.

The friend next to him immediately waved to the waiter. “Hello, you can prepare the coffee now.”

The four of them hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

Naturally, their conversation drifted to their current lives.

Apart from Shen Jixun, the other three had all dated during university. Now, the two former roommates were preparing to get married, and the one from the next room was currently in a relationship.

At this point, the three looked at Shen Jixun curiously. “You didn’t like interacting with people much during university. Your name was on the confession wall every day, but we never saw you date. You’re almost thirty now—do you have any plans to find a partner?”

Shen Jixun took a sip of coffee and laughed. “I haven’t cultivated some ‘Path of Ruthlessness.’ I just hadn’t met anyone I liked before.”

When he said this, the three friends seemed to catch a hidden meaning and quickly pressed him. “Does that mean you have a partner now?”

Shen Jixun slowly nodded. “We’ve been dating for less than a year.”

“Who is it? What do they look like? How did they manage to catch your eye?!” Everyone agreed that Shen Jixun was handsome, and precisely because he was handsome, they also believed his standards were very high.

Shen Jixun thought about how he had just dropped Ji Shen off at school, and he smiled faintly. “A male university student…?”

Ji Shen was currently attending university, so how was he not a male university student?

“So you didn’t dislike people from school; you just like younger people!” His friend immediately teased him with a laugh.

Shen Jixun chuckled and didn’t refute it. After all, Ji Shen was indeed several years younger than him. He also appreciated Ji Shen’s youth and strength. After all, wasn’t there a saying that a male university student’s thing was harder than a diamond?

The group chatted and laughed, and the topic soon moved on.

After having lunch outside, Shen Jixun accompanied them for a brief tour of S City.

They parted ways around three in the afternoon. After separating, he went to the company and quickly reviewed the documents that required his attention.

During this time, Ji Shen sent him many messages. After all, returning to school two years after graduating was incredibly exciting for Ji Shen.

With the semester just starting, there were many school activities.

Ji Shen would message him about everything he did.

So, even though Shen Jixun wasn’t by his side, he knew everything Ji Shen had done that day.

“In that case, do I count as dating a male university student?” Shen Jixun sent him a voice message, prompted by the day’s events.

[Ji Shen: Male university students are all young, but I’m not that young anymore.]

[Ji Shen: Ge, don’t always think of me as too young…]

[Ji Shen: [Poking fingers.jpg]]

Ji Shen was always bothered by their age difference. In his view, Shen Jixun’s few extra years meant he had accumulated the experience of an elder.

And because of this experience, he felt that Shen Jixun always treated him like an immature person.

He wished he were a few years older than Shen Jixun, that he had been born a few years earlier. That way, when meeting Shen Jixun’s relatives, they wouldn’t think he lacked the ability to stand on his own two feet because of his age.

That’s why he never mentioned his age when outside.

Shen Jixun knew all about these little worries of his.

He just found it amusing and didn’t say much more.

So, Shen Jixun didn’t continue the topic. He sent a voice message asking, “When does your class end?”

Ji Shen typed back: [After this session! About forty more minutes!]

Shen Jixun stared at the text he sent, inexplicably wanting to laugh, so he typed: [Oh, so you play on your phone during class.]

Ji Shen immediately typed back in defense: [No!! It’s self-study time right now!]

Shen Jixun glanced at the time, stood up, and tidied the items on his desk. [I’m coming to pick you up now. Let’s eat dinner out tonight.]

[Ji Shen: Mm-hmm, okay! Ge, please be safe on the road.]

Shen Jixun put away his phone, called his assistant to give some instructions, and then left.

It was early September, and the weather was still like summer.

The air conditioning had to be on in the car.

The closer he got to the university district, the more students appeared on the roadside.

Shen Jixun parked his car along the tree-lined road outside the school and messaged Ji Shen that he had arrived.

It took him about half an hour to get there from the company, so Ji Shen’s class ended shortly after.

Following the picture Shen Jixun sent.

Ji Shen quickly found his location.

Ji Shen tapped on the car window, and Shen Jixun rolled it down. “Ge, good afternoon!”

“Good afternoon. Come in quickly.” Shen Jixun opened the car door.

Once inside the car.

Ji Shen looked at Shen Jixun with eager eyes and asked cautiously, “Ge, can I kiss you?!”

“Go ahead.” Shen Jixun didn’t refuse, pushing aside the long hair near his ear.

Ji Shen quickly leaned forward and placed a careful kiss on Shen Jixun’s lips.

“I haven’t seen you all day, Ge. I was practically dying of boredom.” Ji Shen rested his head on Shen Jixun’s shoulder.

Shen Jixun gently rubbed his head. “Alright, sit properly. I’m driving to the restaurant for dinner.”

Ji Shen immediately straightened up and asked, “What are we eating?”

“A restaurant invested in by a friend. They say the Yunnan cuisine there is excellent.”

“Great!”

During the drive from the school to the restaurant, Ji Shen did all the talking. He recounted everything that happened to him throughout the day to Shen Jixun, including many details—he nearly told him how many times he went to the bathroom that day.

After dinner, Ji Shen offered to drive home, but Shen Jixun disagreed.

So, Ji Shen had to sit in the passenger seat.

Gradually, Ji Shen noticed something was off. Although they were heading in the direction of home, when it was time to turn toward their neighborhood, Shen Jixun took a different road.

“Ge, where are we going?” Ji Shen asked.

Shen Jixun hadn’t expected him to notice so quickly. He replied, “Let’s go for a walk in a nearby park. It’ll help us digest.”

“Okay.”

The car stopped steadily at the park entrance.

This was Ji Shen’s first time visiting this park.

“Let’s go.” Shen Jixun got out of the car and walked inside.

Ji Shen quickly followed, taking his right hand.

Shen Jixun didn’t say anything.

This park was situated on higher ground, and the chirping of insects echoed from the bushes.

There weren’t many people around.

Walking deeper, they reached a cliff that wasn’t too high. A railing had been installed along the edge of the cliff. From here, they could look down and see the outermost district of S City.

Night had fallen.

The city lights were bright.

Neon lights flickered, cars came and went, accompanied by various sounds.

But here, they felt the gentle evening breeze, as if everything else had been left behind.

Ji Shen stared intently at the view before him, his eyes reflecting the city’s light, sparkling like stars.

“This place is truly beautiful,” Ji Shen said, turning his head to look at Shen Jixun.

The wind blew Shen Jixun’s long hair, causing it to flutter gently. Small strands clung to his face, and the light reflected on him, making him look truly stunning.

Ji Shen proactively reached out and brushed the stray hairs from his face.

“There’s something even more beautiful,” Shen Jixun said. Suddenly, fireworks ignited over the distant sea. Clusters of them rose and burst open in the sky, displaying various colors.

*Boom, boom, boom.* Accompanied by the sound of the fireworks exploding.

Ji Shen suddenly felt his own heartbeat intensify, matching the sound.

His entire body felt feverish.

“This is beautiful, isn’t it?” Shen Jixun turned around, leaning against the railing, and looked at him.

Ji Shen was momentarily teary-eyed. “Ge, is this a surprise for me?”

“Who else would it be for? This is to celebrate someone’s first day of school.” Shen Jixun thought this boy must be silly.

Ji Shen stepped forward and hugged Shen Jixun. “Ge, you are too good. How can you be so wonderful? You treat me so well, how can I ever repay you?!”

He buried his face in Shen Jixun’s neck, his head bowed.

Shen Jixun felt the dampness on his neck.

He raised his hand helplessly and stroked his head. “Why do you need to think about repayment?”

“This is just something I wanted to give you.” To Shen Jixun, these were merely external things.

“But you’re too good to me. I don’t have anything right now… If someone better than me appears before you, what should I do?”

Shen Jixun had actually noticed long ago that Ji Shen often had these thoughts.

He always worried that someone would easily take his place in the future.

But that wouldn’t happen.

“A-Ji, do you know? You always say I saved you, but that’s not true.” Shen Jixun’s voice softened.

“You are also magnificent.”

“I will only love you.”

The fireworks continued to bloom.

The ground was illuminated in various colors.

Everything Shen Jixun wanted to say was held in his heart.

From the moment he learned the cause of his mother’s death, Shen Jixun felt he was only alive to avenge her. He always thought he would find his mother once the revenge was complete.

But after Ji Shen came home, Ji Shen waited for him every night, Ji Shen studied his preferences, tolerated his temper…

It was then that Shen Jixun realized that besides his grandmother, there was someone else willing to do these things for him.

So, there was no need to say he was Ji Shen’s savior; they were each other’s saviors.

—The End of the Story—

2025.11.6

/Shan Zhenyue. Original Work