Still Frame Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Distant Dream of Pear Clouds (1)

After dinner, the adults chatted. Ren Shuyun recommended tea from her hometown to Ms. Lü, offering to send some if it was convenient. Ms. Lü accepted with a smile, saying it was perfect as she was out of new tea at home.

Zhang Qiannan and Lü Zixia left the private room for unknown reasons. It felt awkward for Zhang Liuxin to remain there in his capacity as Zhang Liuxin, so he also found an excuse to step out.

The restaurant had a large, elegant garden with pavilions and terraces. He found a gazebo and sat down, bored, pulling out his phone to browse new puzzles on a website. Since he couldn’t afford to buy them, he could only enjoy looking.

Gradually, he heard voices approaching. Listening closely, they belonged to Zhang Qiannan and Lü Zixia. Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but wonder if this was some kind of law of nature—whenever he ate at a restaurant, he was bound to overhear these two talking.

He had no intention of eavesdropping, so he deliberately made a noise. Zhang Qiannan, being very alert, looked over. Seeing it was him, he frowned and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Zhang Liuxin replied, “I was going to the terrace.”

He wanted absolutely no involvement in the Zhang family’s affairs, and besides, his intuition told him that Lü Zixia was a dangerous and inscrutable person.

Fortunately, the terrace was mostly empty. Zhang Liuxin enjoyed the moment of peace, continuing to look at the puzzles he liked. In truth, his dorm room was small; even if he had the money to buy and complete a puzzle, he wouldn’t have anywhere to put it. Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly.

He seemed to hear a waiter behind him say, “Young Master Lü.” Zhang Liuxin turned around, his expression stiffening the moment he saw Lü Zixia.

Lü Zixia was alone; Zhang Qiannan had gone somewhere else.

“Your brother went back to the private room.”

Lü Zixia looked like a cynical rich young master, but his mind was sharp, as if he possessed the ability to see through people, easily discerning what Zhang Liuxin was thinking.

“Young Master Lü, is there something you need?”

“Nothing much. Just came up to chat with you.”

Lü Zixia leaned on the railing. “Young Master Zhang, we’ve known each other for quite a while now, haven’t we?”

A cloud of doubt formed in Zhang Liuxin’s mind. “Young Master Lü, if I recall correctly, you’ve known my younger brother for longer.”

He and Lü Zixia had indeed only met a few times, whereas Zhang Qiannan and Lü Zixia had been classmates throughout middle school, whether by coincidence or through Zhang Jiming’s maneuvering.

Lü Zixia raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by his response. “That’s true. I owe your brother a favor.”

A favor? Zhang Liuxin couldn’t imagine what kind of favor they might exchange. If that was the case, was tonight’s dinner party arranged by Lü Zixia to repay Zhang Qiannan?

“Do you know Wen Jin?”

Lü Zixia’s next sentence was a bolt from the blue. Hearing that name, especially from his mouth, Zhang Liuxin’s eyes flickered.

“Yes, I do.”

Wen Jin and Lü Zixia were friends, so Zhang Liuxin naturally assumed he should know. “The Senior and I are in the same club.”

Lü Zixia, however, looked at him unexpectedly, his tone subtle. “Is that so? Which club are you in?”

“The Botany Club.”

“Oh, no wonder,” Lü Zixia played with his phone. Someone seemed to be messaging him, and he casually typed a few words in reply. “Wen Jin came to me about the botanical garden in Luopu Mountain, didn’t he?”

That botanical garden belonged to the He family. The social circle was small, so it wasn’t strange that they all knew each other.

“Since you know him, why didn’t you come say hello at the tennis court last time?”

“Uh…”

Lü Zixia’s question made him recall the tennis court that day and the other man’s meaningful gaze.

“The Senior and I aren’t that close. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Zhang Liuxin didn’t know what Lü Zixia wanted from him. He glanced downstairs and saw Zhang Qiannan looking around.

Lü Zixia followed his gaze. “That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t Wen Jin used to visit your house? You never met him?”

Zhang Qiannan heard the voices, looked up, and his expression changed. He immediately turned and started heading upstairs.

“No, we never met. He came to teach my brother piano.”

Zhang Liuxin didn’t want to talk about Wen Jin with him. Lü Zixia always gave him the feeling of pretending to be confused when he knew perfectly well what was going on. Hearing footsteps approaching behind him, he added, “You can ask Qiannan.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Qiannan’s voice rang out behind him. “Brother, Zixia, what are you two talking about?”

Lü Zixia said lazily, “Just asking your brother for some information.”

Zhang Qiannan looked at Zhang Liuxin twice in surprise, then said in a familiar tone, “What information? My brother is the type who ignores everything outside and only focuses on his studies. You’d be better off asking me.”

He then patted Zhang Liuxin’s shoulder. “Brother, the driver is already waiting. Didn’t you say you wanted to get back to the dorm early tonight? Hurry up and go.”

Zhang Liuxin was eager to leave. He nodded and walked straight away.

Watching his retreating figure disappear down the stairs, Zhang Qiannan smiled and asked Lü Zixia, “Is it just my imagination, or do you seem a little interested in Zhang Liuxin?”

Lü Zixia scoffed. “Must be your imagination.”

Zhang Qiannan observed his expression. “What do you think of my brother?”

Lü Zixia cursed without reservation. “A lunatic.”

Zhang Qiannan sounded genuinely curious. “He looks pretty ordinary, actually, except for his eyes being unusual. When I was little, I really thought he was a monster. How can someone have green eyes?”

“Zhang Qiannan, my mother is here today, so I’m giving you some face,” Lü Zixia said. “I’m not interested in your family’s affairs, but the slate between us is wiped clean.”

“Young Master Lü, you’re too heartless. We’ve been classmates for so many years,” Zhang Qiannan hadn’t expected the sudden change in topic. “And there’s Young Master Wen. We can gather more often in the future.”

When Wen Jin was mentioned, Lü Zixia looked even more nonchalant. “You can try inviting him.”

Even Zhang Qiannan couldn’t discern Lü Zixia’s tone. Seeing that the other man was starting to look impatient, he quickly said, “By the way, next week, Xiao Jin’s…”

Lü Zixia cut him off. “You don’t need to tell me. I’ll go myself.”

Just then, his phone rang. He frowned and answered. A soft female voice came from the receiver, likely asking where he was.

“I’ll be right there.” Lü Zixia hung up.

Zhang Qiannan tentatively asked, “Do you have a new girlfriend?”

Lü Zixia ignored him, put his phone away, and left the terrace.

Zhang Liuxin thought about what Lü Zixia had said that day several times afterward, but he never figured it out. However, Young Master Lü was known for acting on impulse and doing whatever he pleased, so Zhang Liuxin stopped dwelling on it.

He saw on social media that Lü Zixia seemed to have a new girlfriend. Unexpectedly, for a playboy type like him, he looked quite compatible with his girlfriend.

One of the photos she uploaded was a group picture. A profile caught his eye, and Zhang Liuxin recognized it as Wen Jin immediately. Despite the seemingly lively gathering, Wen Jin appeared detached from everyone else.

Seeing Wen Jin reminded Zhang Liuxin of his book. Since their parting at the botanical garden, Wen Jin hadn’t spoken in the group chat. Zhang Liuxin and Qu Shuhua were organizing the report details in the chat, and he didn’t know if the Senior had seen it, probably because he was too busy.

But had Wen Jin finished reading the book? Zhang Liuxin wanted it back, though he felt that someone of Wen Jin’s status could simply say he wanted a book and someone would buy and deliver it immediately. His own copy, which had some scribbles, was probably insignificant.

However, Wen Jin had said he would contact him first. If he messaged Wen Jin first, it would make him seem too eager.

Zhang Liuxin decided to ignore the book, but when Li Xingzhou brought over the second volume, he proactively asked, “Liuxin, where is the first volume?”

Facing Li Xingzhou, Zhang Liuxin felt a little awkward. After the night he got drunk, they were no longer the same as before. Li Xingzhou seemed busy, shifting his focus to his self-media platform. Zhang Liuxin had seen that he had accumulated nearly a million followers.

They occasionally sat together in class and ate together if they met in the cafeteria, but Li Xingzhou spoke much less.

“I lent it to a classmate,” Zhang Liuxin asked. “What’s wrong? Is there something you need?”

“Nothing much. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go out during the winter break. It’s in the next city over, to see the sea. Tian Ke is going too, along with two of my roommates. It’ll be about three days. What do you say? Are you free?”

Zhang Liuxin had already found a part-time job for the winter break, and he also wanted more time to prepare for his foreign language exam next semester, so he politely declined. “I’m not free during the break. I’m sorry I can’t make it. I hope you all have fun.”

Li Xingzhou didn’t seem too surprised. He smiled and reminded him, “Alright then, we’ll plan for next time. By the way, Liuxin, water your Rime Frost. It looks like it’s dying.”

His gaze shifted to Zhang Liuxin’s open laptop. He asked, “What kind of plant is this? I haven’t seen it before.”

Zhang Liuxin said, “Jade Vine. It’s a rare tropical plant. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Li Xingzhou looked from the brightly colored picture to Zhang Liuxin’s eyes, nodding. “Yes, it’s very beautiful. Well, I’ll be going now, Liuxin.”

“Okay, goodbye.”

On the day of the club activity report, Wen Jin arrived a little late, sitting in the back row. Zhang Liuxin didn’t see him until the report was over. He was wearing a shirt today, looking like he had rushed over from a meeting.

Lin Xun first thanked the Senior for his hard work and asked if he would like to give a critique. Wen Jin only said, “It was all very good. Keep up the effort,” and then motioned for them to continue talking among themselves.

Wen Jin seemed more silent today than usual. His voice was a little hoarse, with a slight nasal tone that was hard to detect. Could it be because of the heavy rain yesterday? The temperature had certainly dropped quite a bit.

When Zhang Liuxin snapped back to reality, his fingers had typed a few meaningless letters on the keyboard. Fortunately, it was just in his memo app, and he quickly deleted them.

The activity ended successfully. As everyone started discussing whether they should organize a group outing before the semester ended, Wen Jin had already left.

Zhang Liuxin suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked him about the book. His gaze slowly drifted back to the vibrant and beautiful Jade Vine in the photo before him. The strangely proportioned photo in his album was still there too.

Zhang Liuxin didn’t realize at the time that this was Wen Jin’s last club activity. The group outing they had initially planned, the Senior didn’t attend, much to the regret of the club members.

“I thought the Senior would come,” Qu Shuhua looked disappointed too. “But he must be very busy, maybe with research or something.”

Zhang Liuxin nodded.

Then A Duo came in carrying several large bags of takeout. A crowd gathered around noisily. Judging by their voices, it seemed to be expensive and hard-to-get dim sum from a famous tea house.

“Senior Wen Jin ordered this for everyone,” Lin Xun clapped her hands and started opening the bags one by one. “The Senior is on a business trip and really couldn’t make it, so he ordered dim sum for you all. There’s a lot, so pick whatever you like.”

“The Senior is too generous! This must have cost over ten thousand…”

Someone bit into a piece of shortbread, joking, “This is just pocket change for the Senior, don’t worry, just eat.”

“Shuhua, Liuxin,” Lin Xun waved them over. “What do you want to eat?”

Wen Jin had indeed ordered many varieties of dim sum, but Zhang Liuxin didn’t have much appetite. He chose a box of lemon cookies.

“Sister Lin, will the Senior still come in the future?” Since Wen Jin wasn’t there and everyone was familiar with each other, someone spoke boldly. “Although I get a little nervous every time I see him, he’s truly a feast for the eyes.”

“Hahahaha, I thought I was the only one who felt that way! I didn’t dare say anything. Every time the Senior comes, I feel like the activity room lights up.”

Lin Xun shrugged. “I don’t know, but I heard from Professor Lin that he’s been very busy lately, attending seminars and things. I guess he won’t be coming later on. But it’s already great that the Senior joined our club.”

“That’s true…”

The fresh scent of lemon cookies spread in his mouth. Zhang Liuxin thought about it. Actually, the book wasn’t that important. If Wen Jin kept forgetting to return it, then so be it.

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