Chapter 10: First Meeting

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Because he said that it hurt, Cen Ning’s movements were even more gentle.
She carefully pressed the egg against his face, concentrating intently as if she were holding onto a good piece of jade.

“There is one more inside, wait, I’ll go get it.” The egg was getting a bit cold, Cen Ning turned back into the room and walked hurriedly.

Looking at her back figure, Yan Xingzhi straightened up his back slowly.
For a moment, he felt that this empty winter night was not so unbearable anymore.

“It’s good now.” The young girl came out again, she looked up at him, her concerned gaze was clear and pure, he couldn’t find even a little bit of ingenuity.

Children usually don’t lie, Yan Xingzhi thought.

“You, bend down.” Cen Ning pulled the hem of his clothes.

Yan Xingzhi let out a rare smile, he reached out and patted her head: “Go in, it’s cold outside.”

After that, he walked past her and entered the room.

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Uld Lkdt pvsse vblal czydjzu, bla byde bszekdt sdvs vbl ltt vktbvldle pzktbvzu.
Mbkp oyp vbl qkapv vkxl pbl bye plld bkx pxkzl yqvla yzz vblpl eyup.

Fbl eked’v jdso vbyv oblvbla y rlapsd pxkzle sa dsv nswze nywpl pwnb y bwtl oyhl kd bla blyav.

Gqvla ldvlakdt vbl assx, bl vssj Uld Lkdt’p ltt yde xyppytle kv sd bkxplzq.

“Mbkp, Gwdv Ubld ypjle xl vs cakdt usw psxlvbkdt vs lyv.”

Zyd Dkdtgbk: “Mbydj usw.”

“Mbld usw iwknjzu lyv,” Uld Lkdt pvsse y zkvvzl yojoyaezu sd vbl pkel, “R, R’x zlyhkdt dso.”

“Eykv.” Zyd Dkdtgbk pweeldzu pvsrrle bla.

Uld Lkdt vwadle cynj: “Gb?”

“I forgot during this period to ask you how you went in your finals.”

He still remembered.

Cen Ning was overjoyed, and her heart was also tense: “I, got 19th in my class ranking.”

He glanced at her, surprised.
If he had remembered correctly, she had been at the bottom of the rankings, so she was quite formidable to catch up so fast.

“A lot of progress, it seems that you are really working hard.”

He didn’t know how much this simple sentence warmed the girl’s disappointment.
For Yan Xingzhi himself, getting in the top 20 class rankings was not that great of a result.
Also, he rarely complimented people, so if it weren’t for these two eggs tonight, he probably wouldn’t even have been in the mood to talk about this matter.

But Cen Ning looked at him with piercing and bright eyes, as if she were on the edge of a hollow cliff, and had suddenly caught onto a horse’s leash.
The heart that had been dejected for so many days was suddenly comforted, even her eyes almost became red.

“I will, be even better.”

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Yan Xingzhi did not notice the almost obsessive gaze of the little girl standing in front of him.
He lowered his eyes and said quietly: “You have to keep going on.”

“Yes!”

Cen Ning happily walked out of his room.
When she went downstairs, she saw the clock on the wall pointing exactly to twelve.
She was startled, and immediately turned her head and ran upstairs without hesitation.

This time, she broke into Yan Xingzhi’s room without knocking on the door.
Yan Xingzhi was about to go and change his clothes and after hearing the sound, he looked back at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Happy New Year!”

Yan Xingzhi was taken aback for a second, and at this time, the mobile phone he had placed beside him began to make noises, there were text messages with New Year greetings from everyone, only a second slower than Cen Ning’s New Year greeting.

Cen Ning panted slightly: “…I’m leaving.”

She walked out of the room again, and at the moment the door closed, she heard the voice that carried a slight smile from the person inside the room: “Cen Ning, Happy New Year.”

**

Yan Xingzhi and Xu Nanru hadn’t spoken since the fight from last time, but the two were also strangely indifferent.
They were obviously living under the same roof, yet they didn’t give each other even a glance.

After school started, Xu Nanru went back to school, and the Yan family returned to its former peace.

As the new semester started, Cen Ning worked hard as always, listening to every class very carefully, and after returning home, she would practice her spoken English in addition to studying.
She tried very hard to climb up the ranks, working very hard to make herself better.

Throughout this semester, Cen Ning’s relationship with Yan Xingzhi had also become closer.
Yan Xingzhi had to sit the entrance exams to get into the military academy, so in addition to his studies, he had been training with the troops outside every day.
Cen Ning would ask him about his studies when he was free, and when he was not, she would also go to the side of the training field, reading while attentively looking at the phalanx’s every move.

The world she imagined was very big, and she wanted to see many, many places, but within this inch of a circle, her world was also very small.
In her eyes, she could only fit in Yan Xingzhi.

She had been cold for too long, so when she finally received a little bit of warmth, she would try her best to keep this warmth.

But there were some things that she simply couldn’t keep, and some people were destined to go faraway.

……

After the college entrance examination was over, many people were waiting for their results.

The atmosphere in the Yan family should have also nervous, but it was actually full of joy.
This was only because Yan Xingzhi had received his acceptance letter from the military academy in advance, he had already passed both the physical examination and the interview.

For a student who didn’t need to worry about his results anymore, this period of time should be the happiest.
But Yan Xingzhi was as cold and indifferent as ever, as if this was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Cen Ning thought that this was probably a person who had real capabilities, because everything was within his own plan and control, so he wouldn’t experience any waves of emotions from everything around him.

That year, the summer vacation was not yet over.

At that time, it was still popular to have make-up classes at school, so the second-year middle school students were expected to go back to school half a month earlier.
Everyone sighed, but for Cen Ning, there was no difference.

It was an ordinary afternoon for Cen Ning.

“Hey.” Song Ci came back to the classroom after playing basketball, holding a bottle of water in one hand and strawberry milk in the other.
He tossed the milk onto Cen Ning’s table.

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Cen Ning was doing a question, raised her eyes and glanced at him: “What are you doing.”

Song Ci wiped off his sweat and said in a seemingly casual manner, “I have an extra bottle of milk, it’s for you to drink.”

Cen Ning: “Why, did you buy extra.”

“It’s, not an extra,” Song Ci sat down next to her and thought for a while, “The canteen had a buy one get one free promotion.
I just gave it to Little Pang1 before but he didn’t want it.”

While talking, he observed Cen Ning: “Cough, since I’ve given it to you, just drink it, let me tell you, drinking more milk can help you grow taller.”

Cen Ning pursed her lips and smiled in a reserved manner: “Thank you.”

“What are you so polite for, we are deskmates, it’s a type of revolutionary friendship.” Song Ci pulled out the straw, poked it into the hole, and handed it over to her, “Drink it.”

Cen Ning put down the pen and was about to take the milk from Song Ci, when Zhang Ziyi, who was sitting in front of them, suddenly jumped up from her chair.
Cen Ning was startled by her, “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Ziyi turned her head back, a panicked expression all over her face: “D*mn! Cen Ning!”

Cen Ning: “……Ah?”

“He is going to leave, he is actually going to leave so soon, wasn’t there still supposed to be half a month!”

Cen Ning was taken aback: “What?”

“Tang Zheng, he really told me that he is leaving soon.” Zhang Ziyi handed her mobile phone hidden in the drawer to her, and Cen Ning’s heart sunk.

Tang Zheng and Yan Xingzhi had both been admitted into the same place.
If he was going to leave, didn’t this also mean that Yan Xingzhi was also going to leave? But he had clearly said that he would still stay at home for a period of time before leaving.

“Hey Cen Ning!” Zhang Ziyi looked at Cen Ning, who had suddenly gotten up and ran out of the classroom.
Zhang Ziyi hadn’t reacted in time, “I haven’t finished speaking yet, where are you going?”

“I’m going to find him.”

“What?”

Song Ci still maintained his posture of holding the milk in his hand: “Hey–are you not drinking this anymore?”

On the spacious road, a taxi was speeding down.

Zhang Ziyi panted heavily and patted Cen Ning who was sitting by her side: “I, I say, why did you run so fast, I almost couldn’t catch up to you.”

Cen Ning didn’t respond, she stared at the front closely, her hands clasped together so tightly that they became one.

Zhang Ziyi went silent before saying: “Hey, will we catch them despite rushing over now?”

“We will.” Cen Ning eyes sank and she kept repeating these words as if to comfort herself, “We will.”

Zhang Ziyi lowered her head dejectedly: “Tang Zheng said that he will have no time to go home after he enters the Academy, hng– if that’s so, how much better would it be if they had entered a normal university like Xin Zechuan, at least we could see them often, don’t you agree Ningning?”

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“Yeah…”

This was the path that he had decided long ago, he would never change it.

It’s just, she wasn’t ready yet, she really wasn’t ready yet.

The car stopped at the gate of the compound.
Cen Ning and Zhang Ziyi rushed forward when they got out of the car, crossing the boulevard, and passing through the training clearing.

A car passed by.

Cen Ning stopped abruptly and turned to look at the familiar car.

“Ningning?” Zhang Zi stopped with uncertainty, then followed her gaze to the car that had slowly stopped not too far away, “That’s…”

“It’s him.” Cen Ning’s heart jumped and she walked over there without hesitation.
She walked faster and faster, but stopped again when the car door opened.
She looked at the opened car door and saw the person walking out of it.

Her vision was a bit blurred, she blinked and forced the water vapor away from her eyes, so that she could clearly see the person again.
He was still like usual, his expression was light and a bit sharp.

At this time, he stood tall by the door and said in a slightly surprised manner: “I almost thought I saw it wrong.
Aren’t you in class? Why are you here?”

“We skipped class.” Zhang Ziyi didn’t look at Yan Xingzhi whose brows had suddenly creased into a frown, “Where is Tang Zheng?”

Yan Xingzhi: “I don’t know, he might have set off already.”

“What?!” Zhang Ziyi turned her head and ran, “I will go to his house to take a look.”

After Zhang Ziyi left, only the two of them were left outside the car.
Yan Xingzhi looked at Cen Ning again, dissatisfied, “How do you both have the nerve? Even skipping class.”

Cen Ning did not answer his question for the first time, instead, she stepped forward and asked: “Are you leaving?”

“It was a last minute notice.”

“Then, when will you be back.”

Yan Xingzhi: “I don’t know, I probably won’t be back for a long time.”

A thin layer of sweat broke out on Cen Ning’s forehead in the scorching sun, and his words “for a long time” exploded like deadly ammunition in her ears.
On one hand, she kept telling herself to calm down as she had known this would happen a long time ago, but on the other hand she couldn’t calm down, so she could only stand there, at a loss, letting her face turn pale.

“Don’t skip class next time.” Yan Xingzhi frowned, “It’s very hot, right? Quickly go back.”

He didn’t understand her panic, let alone her reluctance.
In his eyes, she was just a well-behaved little sister who lived in his house.
Cen Ning lowered her head and said slowly, “I heard that you were going to leave suddenly, so I just want to send you off.”

Yan Xingzhi was startled for a bit, and then smiled: “This can’t be a good reason for you to do so, but Cen Ning, don’t do it again next time.”

“Okay……”

Yan Xingzhi stepped forward: “I won’t be here in the future, you should ask the teacher if you have any questions you don’t understand.”

He was still thinking about her.

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“Okay.”

“If you get bullied, remember to say something and tell the family about it.”

Would those people bully her when he was away?

“Okay.”

“Be smarter, you are really easy to deceive when you’re like this.”

Why did he, always treat her so well?

“And also –”

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Xingzhi was suddenly hugged.
The hug was very tight, two thin arms were wrapped around his waist, almost hugging him until he could smell the scent of a life and death parting.

Yan Xingzhi went blank for once, he suddenly didn’t know what to do next.

He slowly lowered his eyes, looking down at the little girl who was much shorter than him.

He had always been indifferent, but his insensitive nature softened a little at this moment.
After hesitating, Yan Xingzhi stretched out his hand and patted Cen Ning’s back, “Why, are you afraid?”

Cen Ning returned to her senses, she was scared half to death by her reckless hug, but she was also reluctant to let him go, so she whispered in embarrassment over whether to let go or not, “I’m not afraid, I’m not a little kid anymore.”

Yan Xingzhi smiled, coaxing her: “Yes, you are not a little kid anymore.”

……

A girl in the bloom of her youth and a boy who had just met adulthood, they were both still very young that year.

“Xingzhi Gege, then, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Family, love, friendship…a goodbye does not mean separation.

So, there was no need to rush anything.
Feelings will always follow, and it will emerge from the cocoon at the moment you least expect it.

 

The author has something to say:

The first part is over.

Applause for encouragement, okay?

–

[Translator’s Note: Sorry all, will only post one chapter this week as this is the end of the first part of the novel.
Get ready for the second part starting next week~ Thanks all for the support thus far.]