If The Moon Won’t Hold You - Chapter 13

After getting in the car, they arrived at their house very quickly. Yan Xingzhi and Cen Ning got out of the car, and Xin Zechuan drove Tang Zheng back to his house.

Pushing open the door and entering, Cen Ning saw Yan Xingyao and still maintaining his posture from before, lying leisurely on the sofa while watching TV. After seeing Yan Xingzhi, he suddenly jumped up like a spring. He stared blatantly at Yan Xingzhi: “Brother?!”

Yan Xingzhi walked over: “Where is Grandpa?”

“The study room! I’ll call him!”

“Mhm.”

Yan Xingzhi was very excited inside, but he had always been a little afraid of Yan Xingzhi, so he was very good at managing his expressions in front of him.

He ran all the way to the study, “Grandpa! Brother is back!”

His voice was so loud, it was as if everyone in the Yan family would be able to hear it.

Zyd Dkdtgbk oyp yp nyzx yp yzoyup. Ls, kv pbswze cl pyke vbyv bl oyp lhld nyzxla vbyd clqsal, ps xwnb ps vbyv fwpv qasx lhlau xshl bl xyel, usw nswze qllz vbl yway sq nszedlpp oyqvkdt qasx bkp cseu.

“Tso yal uswa alpwzvp alnldvzu?”

Uld Lkdt oyp kxxlaple kd bla sod osaze, pbl bye dsv lmrlnvle Zyd Dkdtgbk vs pweeldzu aykpl bkp lulp yde ypj bla vbkp. Fbl pvwxczle yde pyke, “Rv’p, kv’p sjyu.”

“Tktb pnbssz kp byaela vbyd xkeezl pnbssz, aktbv?”

“G zkvvzl ckv, cynj vbld, eke usw qkde bktb pnbssz xsal ekqqknwzv vbyd clqsal?”

Uld Lkdt qlzv y pldpl sq ekpnsxqsav kd vbkp pkvwyvksd oblal pbl oyp pnayxczkdt vs xyjl nsdhlapyvksd swv sq dsvbkdt, cwv Zyd Dkdtgbk nwazle bkp zkrp yde pxkzle obld bl blyae vbkp: “R nswzed’v qllz vbl ekqqlaldnl.”

Uld Lkdt: “…sb.”

Fwal ldswtb, pbl bye ypjle y pvwrke iwlpvksd, okvb bkp caykd, bl rascyczu eke dsv qkde bktb pnbssz byae yv yzz.

Seeing her frown, Yan Xingzhi was a bit amused, but he didn’t express it much outwardly, only saying, “Probably, it was a bit difficult. If you don’t understand the content, you can go attend some classes at cram schools, Tang Zheng used to do that.”

“Ah…okay.” Cen Ning was silent before saying again, “By the way, I heard Grandpa say that it is very tiring over there, what do you usually do?”

“Usually? It’s almost the same as when I was training on the training grounds here, but a bit harsher.” After finishing speaking, Yan Xingzhi glanced at Cen Ning, a little surprised. He had discovered that she could talk smoothly now.

“Cen Ning.”

“Hmm?”

“I have something for you.”

Cen Ning was taken aback: “For me?”

“Mhm, I took it from a friend, it’s in my suitcase…” As soon as Yan Xingzhi wanted to stand up and get it, Yan Guofeng came out of the study, “Xingzhi.”

Yan Xingzhi looked at Yan Guofeng, and then turned back around and said, “Let’s talk later.”

Cen Ning nodded foolishly.

Had he, brought her a present?

Then came the scenes of welcoming Yan Xingzhi. Aunt Chen cooked a lot of delicious food, and everyone had a reunion dinner at the table. Yan Xingzhi did not speak much, but he would answer patiently when his family asked him about matters regarding to his time in the military.

Cen Ning did not join the conversation, she just listened to his every word very carefully, imagining that world she was so unfamiliar with.

Later, Yan Xingzhi was called into the study alone by Yan Guofeng, and Cen Ning followed Wei Pinfang back to their home.

The night was getting darker, and she kept remembering what he had said close to her heart, but she also knew that he would need some time to be with his family, so she held back her impatient heart, thinking to herself that she did not need to be anxious given that he was not leaving immediately.

She had to go to class the next day, and after returning home from school, Cen Ning did not see Yan Xingzhi. Aunt Chen said that he had gone out for dinner with a group of friends from the compound today.

She was a little bit disappointed.

But because she didn’t know when he would be back, she could only go back to the small building first.

After dinner, Wei Pinfang went back to the room to rest.

When Cen Ning was about to do her homework, she suddenly saw Yan Xingzhi through the window. He had changed into ordinary clothes, and he was walking towards the small building with something in his hand.

Cen Ning was shocked, and she waited awkwardly in her spot. Sure enough, he arrived at the door quickly.

“Aunt Wei is not here?” Yan Xingzhi walked in and asked casually.

“She’s resting.” Cen Ning did not expect that he would return so soon, “Didn’t you go out?”

Yan Xingzhi came forward and handed the item in his hand to her, “There wasn’t much happening so I came back, take it.”

Cen Ning was taken aback for a moment, and then realized in hindsight that this was what he had brought her, “This is…”

“Is the camera still there?”

“What?”

“The camera your father gave you.”

“It’s here.”

“Mhm.” Yan Xingzhi nodded, “I don’t know if your thoughts have changed, but I happened to meet a friend that day who is also a photographer, so I took some things from him for you.”

Cen Ning raised her eyes suddenly, she looked at his calm and unmoving eyes, and she was astonished. She didn’t expect that he would remember her words from many years ago, and that he had also brought these books and photo album for her.

She pursed her lips, took the photo album at the very top, and opened the first page carefully.

This was a collection of portraits. Every person in these pictures came from a different corner of the world…Cen Ning still couldn’t understand whether the photography techniques were good or bad, but she could feel that they had a very precious existence.

“Are these really for me?”

Yan Xingzhi smiled: “Otherwise, had I brought them here for you to just flip two pages?”

Cen Ning happily held the photo album, and suddenly forgot what to say.

Later, she only heard Yan Xingzhi follow-up by saying, “However, your studies are the most important these next two years. You can check it out when you have time.”

“Ok!”

They had both grown up, but at this moment, she suddenly felt like he was not unfamiliar anymore.

No one had ever asked her what she really wanted to do, except him.

No one had ever taken to heart the things she wanted to do, except him.

He was still the one who would wait for her to go home together despite his cold face, he was still the one who would patiently teach her the questions no matter how many times she did it incorrectly; nothing had changed.

“Ningning, are you in the living room?” Suddenly, Wei Pinfang’s voice came from the room with the closed door.

Cen Ning was in a fright and rushed into her own room almost immediately.

Yan Xingzhi: “……”

Cen Ning placed the photo album that was in her hand under the test papers on her desk. Yan Xingzhi walked to the door of her room with a smile in her eyes, he lowered his voice and said, “Oh, I almost forgot, your mother dislikes this.”

“Ningning—” Wei Pinfang shouted again, and then Cen Ning heard the twisting of the doorknob of the room.

Her mother didn’t just dislike it, she hated it.

If she knew that her daughter had the same thoughts like her father, she would explode in place from anger.

Although these books had been gifted by Yan Xingzhi, Cen Ning had no doubt that Wei Pinfang would tear these books to pieces right after Yan Xingzhi left.

Cen Ning looked back vigilantly to pay attention to the movement outside, and when she looked, she realized that Yan Xingzhi was standing at the door of her room, still holding onto the two professional photography books.

The door was about to be opened, and Cen Ning’s heart jumped. She didn’t know if it was because she was so shocked that she became muddled, but when she reacted, she had already pulled the unsuspecting Yan Xingzhi over without hesitation. She pushed both the human and the books into the closet on the side, stuffing them inside.

“……”

“…………”

Boom boom! Boom boom!

Her heartbeat continued to accelerate.

When Cen Ning closed the closet door, Wei Pinfang happened to appear at the door of the room. She glanced at her suspiciously, and said with dissatisfaction: “What are you doing, making all this noise on such a night?”

Cen Ning was already in shock by her own actions, and could only reply reflexively: “I, I didn’t do anything, I was going to get my clothes and take a shower.”

“Then you hurry up, or else you will be doing your homework until midnight again.”

“……Ok.”

Wei Pinfang went back into her room while muttering things under her breath. After the door closed shut, Cen Ning looked stiffly at the closet that she had not closed properly.

She must be crazy.

Yan Xingzhi was also a little dazed at first, but when he finally reacted, there was already a young girl’s unique fragrance lingering around.

Outside, he could hear Cen Ning’s extremely nervous voice, inside, was his rare constrained breaths. The closet door was not closed tightly, a faint light penetrated in, and in his peripheral vision, a piece of soft cloth rubbed against his cheek, it was a small white singlet.

“…………”

During one of his military missions that was extremely dangerous, he had also hid in a space between two panels for several hours without moving. But compared to his ability to control himself at that time, it seemed like he was unable to calm down at this moment.

This rendered him much more helpless than real swords and guns.

The voice gradually faded away, and Yan Xingzhi saw a few pale fingers hook onto the closet door, opening it from the outside.

The light flooded in again, Yan Xingzhi squinted his eyes, and very ‘calmly’ looked at the girl outside who had been scared dumbfounded.

Cen Ning had indeed been scared dumbfounded, she had acted completely subconsciously just now. So when she opened the closet and saw Yan Xingzhi standing in the middle of her pile of clothes with a tight-fitting singlet beside his face, the hairs on her body stood up.

“Can I come out?” He crossed his hands around his chest and looked at her with a half-smile.

Cen Ning stepped back, staggering: “Yes, I’m sorry, I…”

“You got so scared like this, did you think your mother would throw the book in my face and tell me to scram?”

Cen Ning’s head shook like a rattle.

Yan Xingzhi chuckled, but maybe he felt the current situation was quite awkward, so he clenched his fist and coughed slightly, then calmly walked out of the closet, “I’ll go first, otherwise when your mum comes out again, even if I don’t want to hide, I’ll have to.”

Suddenly, Cen Ning blushed so red that it was as if blood could drip out.

Originally, she did not need to hide him. She just needed to take the books in his hands and throw them into the closet. Then, she could just make up a lie about why Yan Xingzhi was here, and that was it. But now since he had already hid, if Wei Pinfang were to come out again, Yan Xingzhi really would not be able to explain why he had appeared in her daughter’s room on this night.

When he had walked out to the gate, Cen Ning glanced at the door of Wei Pinfang’s room, and ran after him.

“Gege….”

Just as he had stepped out of the door, there was a soft and gentle voice behind him. Turning around, Yan Xingzhi saw Cen Ning pulling onto his clothes. In the night, her pale white face that carried a bit of flush was both clear and bright.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and lowered his voice: “What’s the matter?”

Cen Ning pursed her lips: “Nothing…just, thank you.”

“No need, it was not out of my way.” Yan Xingzhi raised his hand, patted her on the head like he had done in the past, “I’ll go now.”

“Ok.”

Yan Xingzhi turned and walked towards the long corridor. The cold wind on this winter night blew across, and the scent that had caressed the side of his face seemed to have faded a little.

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Title: The year of the broken melon, this refers to the age of sixteen1(I really can’t think of a title, being lazy.)