The Fairy Fox: Shen Yan and Lu Yin

Chapter 10

On the way back to the campsite they met with Shen Yan. Seeing a person being carried he first confirmed that it was not Lu Yin and started looking around for him, not spotting him amongst the group he decided to just directly ask.

"Where is Lu Yin, why is he not with you?"

It was Xiao Rongrong who decided to answer him, while they were making their way back to the campsite to pack she retold everything that happened animatedly. She was back to her bubbly herself now that everything had passed and everyone was safe. Hearing that Lu Yin went back home Shen Yan had a foreboding feeling, he felt that he will never see Lu Yin again.

His feeling wasn't unfounded, Lu Yin didn't come back. He waited for hours after they went back. these hours then tuned into days that turned into weeks and now it's almost been two months since he last saw Lu Yin. He had asked Lu Bai to check for him since he couldn't do it himself, Lu Bai after going home to reassure himself as well came back and told him that his brother was alright, that he was doing well. He also gave him a devastating blow  right after, he also told him that his brother didn't plan on coming back to the mortal realm.

The reason he had come down in the first place was to protect Lu Bai at the behest of the Elder. Now that everything has been sorted out he didn't see any reason to come down to the mortal realm. This was already a month ago. Shen Yan had thought that perhaps Lu Yin would show up to visit the Xiao siblings at least and check on them after the battle but now it seemed not.

His parents had been urging him to go back home before his program abroad started. He had applied for this program long before he met Lu Yin and he had been preparing himself for it since his acceptance. With no other choice he said good bye to his friends, terminated his lease and left.

And just like this their relationship ended.

Four years ago Shen Yan had come down to attend the Xiao siblings graduation ceremony and to finally let go. At least that's the excuse he had told himself numerous times when all he had really wanted was to see if Lu Yin would come to see his little brother graduate. To his disappointment he hadn't come, at that time he had also found out that Lu Yin hadn't made an appearance in these four years. Clearly Lu Yin had seemed really determined to break their relationship.

Shen Yan had asked Lu Bai but Lu Bai just shook his head and gave him the same response. Shen Yan at that time had felt frustrated and had started to harbour a bit of resentment towards these celestial beings that could disappear whenever it suited them. How could he reach someone who was not in the same dimension as him when that person didn't want to be found? He had asked Lu Bai to take him to that place only to find out that not only were mortals not allowed but he wouldn't be able to enter anyway.

Just like this Shen Yan had left the university disappointed once again. He then made the decision to bury everything that happened in the past and move forward with his future. As much as he didn't want to leave things as they were he also had no way to access the person he wanted to see, he could only wait for that person to come find him.

And just like this a further five years passed, in total it's now been nine years since he last saw Lu Yin.

Shen Yan was attending a party at his villa hosted by one of his friends who happens to be a close family friend. His name was Luo Zhang Ling, they were childhood friends who separated when they both decided to attend different universities but met later on abroad. Shen Yan  had just gotten engaged to his fiancée and his group of friends along with his parents decided to throw this party for him as a form of congratulations.

The villa located in the Shen vineyards was bustling with activity and celebration. Shen Yan was leaning by the balcony enjoying looking at the stars and seeping a glass of red wine. His friend came out to call him back inside. Seeing him standing there he decided to start a conversation, "What are you doing out here, the party is inside." He said excitedly. When he got closer he noticed the fatigue on his best friends face.

He then also decided to lean on the balcony, "This place sure is really nice, the air is clean and you can see the stars."

"mmh"

Shen Yan just murmured this reply and continued to sip on his wine silently.

"If you didn't want to marry her then why are you forcing yourself to?" Luo Zhang Ling decided to ask. He was aware that his best friend held a deep love for someone, although Shen Yan had skipped some parts, he however knew that this man had been important to Shen Yan. When they happened to reconnect abroad in the same university, the Shen Yan back then had been like an abandoned puppy. After much probing he had finally squeezed the story out of his friends mouth, although he could not understand what had really caused the two to break up he had still understood that his friend seemed to be the guiltiest party.

Five years ago he had convinced his friend to go try his luck to see if he would be able to  meet his love after trying multiple times to help him get over it to no avail. He had thought that maybe they would meet again and sort everything out, but his friend had come back miserable. When Shen Yan started dating Shu Lili, his current fiancée he hadn't thought much about it until Shen Yan had proposed to Shu Lili. He was happy for his friend thinking that Shen Yan had finally moved on from the shadow that seemed to be holding him back.

It's only now that he looked at him that he realised that it might not be case. So he felt the need to ask.

"What are you talking about? I asked Lili to marry me because I love her and I want to take care of her."

Looking at his friend Luo Zhang Ling felt skeptical, "Are you really sure you love her?"

"If Not? Why would I ask her to marry me then?"

"I don't know, maybe other people might believe you. Lord knows even I believed you for a while thinking that this is what you want. But as a person who knows you best and grew up with you, I also know that perhaps aunty might be pressuring you to settle down. I know uncle might want it to be a woman but I also know that aunty doesn't care about these things. It might not be direct pressure but it is still some kind of pressure right?"

Shen Yan took a sip from his wine and smirked. "Isn't it normal for someone my age to settle down? You should also settle down, you can't dodge the issue forever. Aunty had come to me to convince you to start looking since you royally mess all the blind dates she organises for you."

Looking horrified, "God forbid! I love my bachelorhood, and this is the best time to enjoy them so why would I do something as crazy as settling down?"

Hearing his exaggerated tone they both started laughing. "But seriously, Shen Yan are you really sure about this? I mean I've wanted you to move on from that guy but not like this, not at the sacrifice of yourself and your happiness." Luo Zhang Ling looked at his friend trying to read something from his face to be able to understand his thoughts better.

"I need to settle down and produce an heir." Looking very solemn and very lonely he added, "What happened back then it's time I really put it behind me. I want to be happy and Shu Lili makes me happy. She at least makes me feel that I have a future."

Sighing, Luo Zhang Ling patted his friend on the shoulder, "Okay. If you feel this is what you want then I'll support you, after all we're brothers. Now let's go back inside to enjoy the party."

"Not yet I still want to enjoy this night sky for a little bit."

Luo Zhang Ling didn't want to push, "Okay, when you're ready you'll find me keeping all the vultures away from your fiancée." Then he turned around and decided to go back inside. Before closing the door he decided to take one look at his friend who had gone back to watching the stars, shook his head and went back inside. He decided to just move with the tide.

Shen Yan was left with his thoughts again, from the conversation he just had he couldn't help adding internally to himself 'that man probably doesn't want me anyway, he probably even hates me.'

Gulping down the rest of the wine in his glass he decided to re-join the celebration and made his way inside.