If The Moon Won’t Hold You - Chapter 12

Cen Ning had changed a lot in the past three years. Song Ci still remembered the first time he met her, she was still a short, thin, jaundiced little girl who was a little malnourished.

But now, not only had she caught up to Zhang Ziyi’s height, who was originally one head taller than her, but she had also become much more pale and healthier. Although her face was still small, it no longer exuded a feeling of malnourishment, but she was pink and tender, as if you could pinch water out of it.

A girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood – Song Ci and Cen Ning had been deskmates for more than two years, and they had also become classmates in high school, so he had a deep understanding of this principle. However, Cen Ning’s eighteen changes were considered to be nineteen changes after today.

This morning, when Song Ci saw Cen Ning coming to school in a clearly shortened school skirt, his eyes became stiff.

Cen Ning’s legs were straight, well proportioned, and were at a perfect thin size. So along the way, not only Song Ci, but many boys couldn’t help but turn back to look at her.

“You…” Song Ci walked up to her, stumbling upon his speech, “Did, did Zhang Ziyi force you to shorten your skirt?”

Cen Ning’s face flushed instantly, but she was still calm when she spoke: “No, I was willing to go myself.”

Song Ci coughed slightly, scratching the back of his head in bewilderment: “Oh, okay.”

Uld Lkdt: “……”

“Nssjp iwkvl tsse.”

“……Xb.”

Gqvla ldvlakdt bktb pnbssz, Fsdt Uk oyp ds zsdtla Uld Lkdt’p elpjxyvl, cwv bl oyp pvkzz hlau nzspl vs bla kd rasmkxkvu yde oyp y vyczl clbkde bla. Tl qlzv vbyv Uld Lkdt bye xyel psxl nbydtlp shla vbl rypv qlo eyup, ulv bl nswzed’v rkdrskdv vbl prlnkqkn nbydtlp lmnlrv qsa vbl pnbssz wdkqsax.

Tl fwpv vbswtbv vbyv Uld Lkdt pllxle vs zssj lhld clvvla ytykd.

Gqvla nzypp vbkp yqvladssd, Fsdt Uk ypjle Uld Lkdt kq pbl oydvle vs ts vs vbl zkcayau vs es bsxlosaj vstlvbla. Xaktkdyzzu, Uld Lkdt oswze ayalzu alqwpl vs ts vs vbl zkcayau, cwv wdlmrlnvlezu, pbl pyke ds okvbswv blpkvyvksd vbkp vkxl.

Fsdt Uk: “Ebyv’p vbl xyvvla, es usw byhl psxlvbkdt sd?”

Uld Lkdt zsolale bla blye vs rynj bla pnbsszcyt: “Zlyb, vblal kp psxlvbkdt byrrldkdt yv bsxl, R oydv vs ts cynj lyazkla.”

“Is that so.”

“I’m going first.” Cen Ning put on her schoolbag and walked straight out of the classroom.

Song Ci watched her back figure, and realized that she was walking in a hurry, not even tying her shoelaces before leaving.

Cen Ning hurriedly walked towards the house after getting out of the car, but when she reached the door, she stopped calmly.

She held the schoolbag straps tightly with both hands, took a deep breath, and pushed the door.

In the empty living room, only Yan Xingyao was sitting on the sofa watching TV. He had probably heard the sound and glanced at her. He then continued watching TV as if there wasn’t anybody there.

Cen Ning and Yan Xingyao had been at odds since they were little, so she would never ask him anything. She looked around and made sure that Yan Xingzhi had not come back today, and then returned to the small building with her schoolbag on her back.

She was very disappointed, but there was an unspeakable fortune in this loss. She wanted to see him so much that she was a little afraid to see him again.

People always developed a sense of unfamiliarity because of time and distance. Maybe he would just nod his head after seeing her, or maybe he would be a little indifferent and a little impatient like when they had met for the first time many years ago.

She was trying hard to grow up, but she was still afraid that she couldn’t keep up with him.

“Ningning, come here.” Wei Pinfang called her from the kitchen.

Cen Ning got up from the chair and walked over obediently: “What’s wrong?”

“You go and take this food to Aunt Liu’s house. Last time she came and said that this braised meat was delicious.” Wei Pinfang handed her the box, “You know how to go to her house right, when you walk in from the courtyard and turn left, that is her home.”

“I know.” Wei Pinfang had a good relationship with their neighbors over the years, so she often asked her to send some delicious food over. Cen Ning was not surprised, only took it over with a lack of interest, turned around and walked out the door.

Aunt Liu’s family treated Cen Ning very well. After Cen Ning gave the food, she left the house, eating a lot of fruits before being “released”.

The two homes were not far apart, Cen Ning felt a little full, and walked on the road, swaying while trying to digest the food.

Suddenly, there was a whistling sound coming from behind. Cen Ning was walking in the middle of the road and gave way by moving to the side after hearing the sound. After doing so, she looked back subconsciously.

The sun was setting, and the faint light fell upon the car, rendering her unable to see the person sitting inside it. But for some reason, her heartbeat suddenly became abnormally active.

Due to the missions he had in the army, he couldn’t tell exactly which day he would go home, so he had just told his family about it ambiguously, not even notifying anyone in the Yan family when he had actually bought his plane ticket.

In this compound, the first person to know Yan Xingzhi and Tang Zheng had returned to the city was Xin Zechuan. After receiving a call from these two crazy friends, he instantly left his business gathering and drove to pick them two up personally.

“I say you two are too much, are you that busy? You haven’t come back for so long.” Xin Zechuan drove into the compound while complaining with dissatisfaction.

Tang Zheng crossed his legs in the back seat, just from one glance you could tell he was very tired: “Serving the motherland, what the h*ll do you know.”

“Oh, oh, don’t you say these sort of words to anger me,” Xin Zechuan sighed, “Come on, now I am about to become a filthy rich businessman, I can’t compare with you two future military officers.”

“Look at how envious your words sound, wait till you go train at the troops, then you will know if being a filthy-rich businessman is good.”

……

The two bantered here and there, Yan Xingzhi was too lazy to talk to them while sitting in the passenger seat.

The car was still driving forward. At this moment, a girl with a ponytail and long slender legs appeared in front of him, and she was even wearing the uniform of the school he had once attended.

“There’s somebody there, pay attention.” Yan Xingzhi said to Xin Zechuan.

Xin Zechuan replied with an ‘okay’, and blew his horn twice. As such, Yan Xingzhi saw the girl walking to the side, and then turning back her head.

The car passed by, and he glanced sideways inadvertently. It was a young girl, and a little…inexplicably familiar.

Although the speed of the car was not fast, Yan Xingzhi only reacted when the car had driven around 10 kilometers away.

“Zechun, reverse the car.”

Xin Zechuan stepped on the brakes, and after stepping on it, he asked with hindsight, “What’s up?”

Yan Xingzhi glanced at the rearview mirror, squinted slightly, and repeated: “Reverse the car.”

Xin Zechuan still didn’t know what situation was, but his body had already reacted first. He and Tang Zheng had been friends with Yan Xingzhi since they were little. They were obviously all the same age, but between the three of them, Yan Xingzhi always held the position as the leader, so the two of them always believed in his words completely.

The car slowly reversed back, Cen Ning stood there, watching the rear of the car getting closer and closer to her.

After a while, the door of the passenger seat opened, and a man in a black coat got out of the car. He stood by the car and stared for a few seconds, seemingly uncertain.

“Cen Ning?”

The familiar voice mingled with the dry cold wind directly hit her heart, Cen Ning stared at the person in front of her stiffly, her mind suddenly going blank.

She hadn’t seen him for two years already, he had changed a little.

In the past, though he was really indifferent, he still carried some youthful inexperience, but now, he wore a coat and army boots… his slender figure became more upright and handsome.

His eyebrows were cold and sharp, and his gaze was steady and penetrating. His every movement was that of a man, not a boy.

Cen Ning took a step back unconsciously, and squeezed her fingers, not knowing what to do.

Yan Xingzhi’s gaze lightly moved down to see her intermingled hands; he knew that she would do this everytime she was nervous.

“You’ve grown taller.” Yan Xingzhi moved forward, and looked down upon her.　　 

Cen Ning was not be able to say anything at this time, she tried to calm herself down: “Xing, Xingzhi Gege.”

D*mn, she had stopped stammering a long time ago, why did she screw up at such a critical moment!

“Oh, who is this, my goodness, little girl?” Tang Zheng wore the same military uniform as Yan Xingzhi with a dark green long coat wrapped around him. He held his arms and slightly bent over to look at Cen Ning’s face, “How come you have grown into someone else after not seeing you for a period of time?”

Tang Zheng straightened up and used his fingers to count the days: “Huh? A girl really does change eighteen times between childhood and womanhood.”

Yan Xingzhi looked at him sideways and motioned for him to be quiet, but Tang Zheng didn’t have the self-consciousness to do so, and said to himself: “She sure looks charming, look at how cute this little face, so pale and tender, Oh, Brother Yan, your little wifey –– Oh!”

Yan Xingzhi moved his elbow back to hit him, and the pain caused Tang Zheng to bend down suddenly.

“Fu, f*ck, you are ruthless.”

Xin Zechuan came over just in time to take Tang Zheng away: “Hey, can you talk less, did you only pick up dung in the army, how come you haven’t improved at all?”

“What have I done wrong?”

“The little girl has grown up so much, she’s sensible now, yet you still say those kinds of words, do you think everyone has the same thick skin as you?”

……

Tang Zheng and Xin Zechuan left while pulling at each other, but their words were still heard completely by Cen Ning.

Cen Ning’s face flushed, and the three words “little wifey” were really hard to digest. At this time, she also suddenly remembered what she had said in front of Yan Xingzhi three years ago: They say I am your wife, can you back me up?

At the time, she didn’t feel anything when she had said those words aloud, but thinking about it now, she really wanted to find a hole to bury herself in, and then throw in some fire to cook her up; all her troubles would be solved.

“Why are you here?” Yan Xingzhi spoke again indifferently, unaffected by Tang Zheng.

Cen Ning: “I, I went to give something to Aunt Liu, now I am going back home.”

“Mhm.”

“What about you?” Cen Ning realised her tone was a little eager after asking, so she rubbed the toe of her shoe against the ground with a little embarrassment, “I didn’t hear Grandpa Yan say that you will be back today.”

“My matters were completed early, so I came back, they don’t know yet.” He glanced at her again, frowning slightly, “The temperature is so low, isn’t it cold for you to wear so little?”

Cold, how couldn’t it be cold? But in order to be more beautiful, she especially selected the thinnest stockings that closely matched her skin tone.

But it really made Cen Ning a little embarrassed after being asked in such a way, she subconsciously pulled the skirt down, “I, I thought I’d go back soon, so it would be fine.”

“Get in the car.” Seeing her shiver, Yan Xingzhi walked to the side of the car and opened the door for her.

Cen Ning looked up at him, dumbfounded.

Yan Xingzhi raised his brows slightly: “Not getting on?”

“Ah? I am!”

Cen Ning returned to her senses and quickly trotted to the side of the car. She passed by him, raising her foot and stepping up to get in, and after sitting down, she pulled the skirt down again.

Yan Xingzhi attentively noticed all of her small actions. He had also been in that high school, so after slightly paying attention, he could tell that the length of her school uniform skirt had probably been altered.

Yan Xingzhi smiled lightly.

She had indeed grown up, she now had the desire to be beautiful.

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There is a girl at home who has grown up [dogeface]——Yan Xingzhi’s iPhone