Chapter 14

A week later on an afternoon at the school gate.

It was currently the end of class, and the school gate was filled with cars. Zhang Ziyi walked out of the school gate and searched for a while, and finally saw a black off-road vehicle parked under a tree.

“Tang Zheng!” Zhang Ziyi greeted him with joy as she saw him walking down from his car, and then slapped him on the arm without any courtesy, “You’re pretty early.”

“Miss High and Mighty Zhang asked me to pick her up, how could I dare be late?” Tang Zheng shook his head and then poked her head, “You’re so impudent, how many times have I told you to call me brother?”

“Call my *ss brother.”

“Tsk, your temper really followed you as you grew older.”

“Scram.”

Zhang Ziyi gave him a sideways glare, and when she turned her eyes, she saw Yan Xingzhi sitting in the back seat of the car. Through the open car window, she saw the man’s cold eyes falling upon the students who were walking past.

Hbydt Hkuk eked’v lmrlnv Zyd Dkdtgbk vs nsxl okvb Mydt Hbldt, yde pbl oldv qasx clkdt ydtau vs olzz-clbyhle kd yd kdpvydv.

“Xb, Jasvbla Dkdtgbk kp yzps blal.”

Mydt Hbldt pralye swv bkp bydep: “Mbkp twu oyp vss zygu vs eakhl, ps bl asel xu nya. Tlu, oblal’p Uld Lkdt, obu eked’v pbl nsxl swv okvb usw?”

“Fbl’p kd y ekqqlaldv nzypp vs xl dso, vblka nzypp kp yzoyup elzyule,” Hbydt Hkuk zssjle yv bla oyvnb, “cwv pbl pbswze cl nsxkdt swv cu dso.”

Kwpv yp pbl pyke vbkp, Mydt Hbldt pweeldzu rskdvle clbkde bla: “Frlyjkdt sq vbl elhkz, kpd’v vbyv vbl zkvvzl tkaz?”

Mbkp vkxl, kv oypd’v fwpv Hbydt Hkuk, Zyd Dkdtgbk obs oyp pkvvkdt kd vbl nya yzps zssjle vsoyaep vbl ekalnvksd bl rskdvle yv.

Lsv vss qya yoyu, kv oyp kdelle Uld Lkdt.

Fbl oyzjle swv okvb y csu, yde vbl csu oyp xyjkdt lmralppkhl xshlxldvp obkzl vyzjkdt vs bla, xyjkdt y rlapsd zkjl Uld Lkdt obs eked’v zkjl vs pxkzl, nwahl bla lulcasop kd yxwplxldv.

Tang Zheng blinked and looked meaningfully at Yan Xingzhi: “Hey… our little girl is really popular.”

Yan Xingzhi glanced at him and then retracted his gaze.

Seeing Yan Xingzhi carrying the expression, ‘You’re so childish’ again, Tang Zheng touched his nose and said while inviting further contempt towards him: “Hey, who is that guy?”

Zhang Ziyi looked at Yan Xingzhi, maintaining her composure and said deliberately, “Cen Ning’s classmate, they used to be deskmates in middle school.”

There was no reaction from Yan Xingzhi.

Zhang Ziyi raised her voice: “You don’t know, this Song Ci likes our Ningning a lot, he’s chased after her for a long time already!”

Actually, Zhang Ziyi didn’t know if Song Ci liked Cen Ning at all, but she just wanted to use him to see if Yan Xingzhi would have a reaction. However, the results disappointed her, Yan Xingzhi didn’t even raise his eyes.

Zhang Ziyi pouted, she was so annoyed!

“Is that true!” Tang Zheng covered his mouth exaggeratedly, “Are you little kids already starting to date? Wow, this is youth.”

Zhang Ziyi: “…”

“Cough, but studying is still the most important, don’t mess around, do you understand?” Tang Zheng patted Zhang Ziyi on the head in pretense.

Zhang Ziyi’s mouth twitched slightly, and she kicked his calf: “Go away!”

“Aye, you—”

“Ziyi?” While they were speaking, Cen Ning and Song Ci had already approached them. Cen Ning looked at Zhang Ziyi and Tang Zheng, and then saw Yan Xingzhi sitting in the car behind them, “You all…why are you here?”

Zhang Ziyi stepped forward and took Cen Ning’s hand: “It’s like this, Xin Zechuan organized a gathering for his birthday today. We will all go to his birthday party later.”

“Oh.”

“Ning Ning, get in the car.” Zhang Ziyi pulled Cen Ning into the car.

Cen Ning was stunned for a moment: “Me?”

“Yes, we’re all going there anyway, did you want to go take a taxi by yourself?”

“Me, should I go too?”

“Why, do you have other things to do?” Zhang Ziyi asked.

“Yes.” Before Cen Ning could answer, Song Ci replied beside her, “We’re going to the bookstore to buy books.”

Yan Xingzhi’s brows moved slightly, and when he lifted his eyes, he set his gaze upon Song Ci. His eyes were indescribably calm as always, but at this moment, there was some probing and dissatisfaction within the calmness.

Zhang Ziyi: “Ah, you’re going to buy books, you can buy them next time, what’s the hurry?”

After hearing this, Cen Ning glanced at Song Ci, a bit troubled. She had always valued those who truly regarded her as a friend. Zhang Ziyi was one, so was Song Ci. It was really hard for her to back out on a promise to a friend, so she was feeling quite awkward right now.

“But we…”

“Cen Ning.” Just when Cen Ning was hesitating, Yan Xingzhi, who had been silent this whole time in the car, suddenly spoke up. Everyone looked at him, only to see Yan Xingzhi move his arms to open the door, “Come in. “

“…”

“…”

Seeing that no one moved, his brows slightly wrinkled: “What are you doing in a daze, get in the car.”

“Get in, get in the car?” Tang Zheng hurriedly sat in the driver’s seat, then waved to Song Ci, “Sorry little handsome guy, we are in a bit of a hurry.”

Cen Ning looked at Yan Xingzhi, then Song Ci, and finally she could only say apologetically, “I didn’t know that someone had a birthday today, so, let’s go and buy it next time, alright?”

Song Ci’s gaze had been resting upon Yan Xingzhi this whole time. He had seen him many times before, but this time, he was wary and unhappy for some reason. So just as Cen Ning was taking a step towards the car door, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Cen Ning stopped in place, and she looked back at him with confusion.

For a few seconds, no one spoke, Tang Zheng’s face expressed his desire for gossip and Zhang Ziyi took a deep breath. On the other hand, Yan Xingzhi looked at the position where her wrist had been grasped coldly.

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A few seconds later, Song Ci let out a smile like he always did. He let go of her hand with a relaxed expression, as if the momentary tension just then had all been an illusion.

“Ah, I wanted to say that the test paper is very popular, so I will definitely go today. It doesn’t matter if you can’t go, I’ll buy it for you.”

“How troublesome…”

“Not at all, I’m going anyway, so I’ll stop by.” Song Ci stood there casually and waved at Cen Ning, “Then go, I’ll leave first.”

“Ok.” Cen Ning felt a little sorry about this situation, and said while his back was turned, “Thank you.”

“No need to be polite towards me.”

After he left, Cen Ning naturally got into the car.

Tang Zheng drove to Xin Zechuan’s private residence. Along the way, Tang Zheng and Zhang Ziyi were chatting at the front, whereas Cen Ning and Yan Xingzhi were very quiet at the back, both looking out the window.

Finally, when it was time to get off the car, Cen Ning finally realised something, and nervously pulled Yan Xingzhi’s sleeve, “I didn’t buy a gift.”

Yan Xingzhi: “It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re here.”

Cen Ning: “But…”

“The person just now was your previous deskmate?”

Yan Xingzhi suddenly changed the subject, Cen Ning was stunned for a moment, and then nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you like him?”

Cen Ning was taken aback: “What?!”

Zhang Ziyi had said that the kid was chasing after her, and Cen Ning also didn’t seem to reject him and even asked to go to the bookstore with him. After this series of events, Yan Xingzhi naturally felt that Cen Ning liked that kid.

At this moment, in his eyes, Cen Ning’s blushing appearance was as if she had been caught by a parent or teacher, so he reached out and tapped her forehead, saying seriously, “Do you know what you have to do and what you should do at your age?”

The blood suddenly throbbed in her temples: “No… I don’t!”

“It’s not that I’m old-fashioned, it’s just that you are still young, and the subtle emotions of this age can easily affect your studies.”

Cen Ning’s eyes trembled slightly and she stared at him silently.

Even her mother had never cared so much about her thoughts. He was *so* kind to her, and surely cared about her. However, this sort of kindness, this sort of tone, she rathered him to have never said these words.

Cen Ning: “…I’m still young, my subtle emotions? But I’ve clearly already grown up.”

Yan Xingzhi hadn’t expected her to refute him, instantly, his brows furrowed.

Cen Ning gritted her teeth and continued: “It is not a subtle emotion, it is a true liking. When I like someone, I like all of them, not a little bit, not subtly.”

Cen Ning rarely acted like this, Yan Xingzhi was surprised within, and even carried a bit of anger. He hadn’t expected that at such a young age, she actually had a set of statements about love.

Did she really like the kid that much?

“Xingzhi, why are you two standing at the door? Come in.” Xin Zechuan had already come over to greet them, “Hurry up, hurry up, you two are the last ones.”

The appearance of Xin Zechuan stopped the conversation. Yan Xingzhi gave a look to Cen Ning, and walked forward with a sullen face.

Cen Ning lowered her eyes, her eyes were a little dry and heavy.

Xin Zechuan: “Little girl, let’s go?”

Cen Ning went ‘mhm’ and said in a low voice, “…Happy birthday.”

“Haha, thank you.”

The guests at Xin Zechuan’s birthday were all people who had grown up together in the compound. Cen Ning also met many people she hadn’t seen for a long time, such as Xue Xiaoxiao who had robbed her of her camera in the past, and Meng Peiyan, the beauty everyone talked about…

Because they were friends who knew each other well since childhood, they all had fun together without constraints. Tang Zheng and Yan Xingzhi had not prepared to drink but ended up being forced to drink quite a bit.

“Peiyan, I saw your TV series the other day, you’re so beautiful.” A boy said, “I think you’re going to become popular, remember to give me some autographs beforehand.”

“Of course she will be popular, our Peiyan has the looks and the acting skills, it’s just a matter of time.”

……

Meng Peiyan had gotten into an art academy studying acting. Although she was only a freshman, she had already acted in two TV dramas. The Qing dynasty palace drama that had been broadcasted some time ago was well received.

As everyone said, it was only a matter of time before Meng Peiyan, someone who had the looks, the skills and the family background, would become popular.

“Okay, don’t talk about me.” Meng Peiyan just smiled, “Today is Brother Zechuan’s birthday, I think we should focus on the protagonist.”

Xin Zechuan curled his lips and smiled: “I don’t really care.”

“Hey, don’t say that, come on, let’s all give a toast to the birthday boy, don’t cheat, let’s one-shot it.”

Tang Zheng smiled and said, “What do you mean one-shot it, there’s underaged people here.”

“Tsk, underaged people? Do you know that last year, Xue Xiaoxiao gulped down a glass of red wine in front of her dad? Guess what, her dad even praised her saying that she’s indeed fit to be a daughter of the Xue family; I was laughing to death.”

Xue Xiaoxiao glanced at the person who was speaking: “It’s just a glass of wine, what’s the matter.”

“Haha, you’re right, I was already a wine god at the age of sixteen or seventeen.” This man had probably drank too much, he smiled and handed Xue Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ziyi a glass of wine each.

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In fact, the three girls who were underage were Xue Xiaoxiao, Zhang Ziyi, and Cen Ning. Everyone was amused and watching them. But just as the person who had handed out the wine held a glass of red wine in front of Cen Ning, a slender hand suddenly separated her from the glass, and pushed the glass away immediately.

“Huh?” The man who handed the wine froze, and then he saw the cold and solemn eyes of Yan Xingzhi. Before he could react, he heard a hint of warning in Yan Xingzhi’s words.

“She doesn’t drink.”

–

[Translator’s Note: Xingzhi Gege acting like a whole-*ss dad here hahaah]