Chapter 33.1: Favour

Yan Xingzhi came to check up on her because he was worried about her. Now that he saw that Cen Ning was still awake and thinking clearly, and Zhang Ziyi was also sound asleep, he was relieved.

“Stay as long as you want.” Yan Xingzhi said. “Go in, sleep, and stop drinking.”

Cen Ning stepped out of his arms as if she was really afraid that he would beat her, and nodded very obediently. “I’ll go in and sleep with Ziyi.”

“Mhm.”

“Then you—“

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“I’ll leave in a minute.”

“Oh.” Cen Ning glanced at him, turned, and walked into Zhang Ziyi’s room.

She actually felt dizzy and tired, and Yan Xingzhi being outside made her feel safe, so she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.

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“Tlu.”

“Jasvbla Zyd…”

“Tx?”

“Uswtb, lbx… Mbyv tkaz, Hbydt Hkuk, bso kp pbl?”

Zyd Dkdtgbk pyv esod sd vbl psqy. “Gzalyeu ypzllr obld R nyxl.”

“Xb……”

Zyd Dkdtgbk: “Ebu? Gal usw osaakle ycswv bla?”

Tang Zheng hesitated for a moment. “She has always been rash. I didn’t know she would become so sad, but I…how to say, Brother Yan, she is a few years younger than me. I have regarded her as a little devil since I was a child, and now I’m so flustered by such a sudden event.”

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Yan Xingzhi glanced at the door of the room and seemed to have thought of something. “She is still an adult now, even if she is a few years younger.”

Tang Zheng: “That’s how it said, but I won’t be able to turn my brain for a while.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Tang Zheng on the other end of the phone, scratched his hair irritably. “I don’t know either.”

“Think about it. If you don’t like her, then be blunt and tell her. If you like her…” Yan Xingzhi used the armrest of the sofa to support one hand and used his other hand to support his chin, “If you do like her, don’t make her sad.”

“Brother Yan, you and Cen Ning…”

“What.”

“You always treat Cen Ning differently. I think you like her.” Tang Zheng probed. “Is that so?”

Yan Xingzhi didn’t speak for a while.

Tang Zheng continued, “Then if you like someone, would you just say it?”

“She’s different.” There was a haze in Yan Xingzhi’s eyes. “Zhang Ziyi likes you, but Cen Ning… She likes someone else.”

So how could he simply say… Her guts? It would be strange if she was not scared away.

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Tang Zheng: “Ah… It’s the one named Xia Yi, right? Then what are you going to do?”

“You still care about me, huh?”

“Don’t you think your temper can only scare people away?”

“…… Go away.”

“Cough… Then, I’ll hang up first. Tell Cen Ning to tell me what’s going on with Ziyi.”

“If you want to know, just ask yourself.”

“Hey—“

**

Cen Ning accompanied Zhang Ziyi for a few days. Zhang Ziyi was also very decadent at first, but she was always strong. After a while of being sad, she began eating and drinking, hustling and bustling, and conveniently, she scolded Tang Zheng from beginning to end.

Later, when school was about to start, Cen Ning left Zhang Ziyi’s house and went back to her house to pack up.

That afternoon, Cen Ning was halfway through packing her luggage in the small building when Aunt Chen said she had cooked something delicious for her. Thus, she decided to go there first.

But she didn’t expect that Wei Pinfang had already gone home when she came back. Originally, Wei Pinfang had gone to the place where she learned embroidery, but Cen Ning didn’t expect her to come back so suddenly.

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“Mom, when did you get home?”

Wei Pinfang was sitting on the sofa and suddenly threw a book to the side of her bag at her feet. “Tell me what these are first.”

Cen Ning looked at the familiar bag under Wei Pinfang’s feet and froze. “This is…”

“It’s yours. Don’t even try to deny it.” Wei Pinfang was trembling with anger. “You touched photography?! How many times have I told you about the harm of this stuff since you were a child? Look at your dad! Did you even listen?! “

Cen Ning knew that Wei Pinfang would be angry, so she had been very secretive about it for so long. Although she knew that she would be discovered one day, she did not expect that it would come so quickly.

“Mom, listen to me, I really like photography—” 

“Your dad used to say that too! But what happened? He didn’t make any money, and he ran around every day! In the end, he left us both for it! He lost his life because of his broken dream. What do you think this worthless thing is good for?”

Cen Ning clenched her fists. “Dad’s death was an accident. It has nothing to do with photography.”

“Why doesn’t it matter? If he didn’t go to Tibet to shoot something, how would a car accident have happened on the road?”

Cen Ning’s eyes were red. “But Dad likes it.”

“Does liking give us food? Look at what happened to us because of him.”

“Aren’t we living well now? Besides, photography can make money. I made a lot of money this summer. Mom, I…”

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“What did you say!?” Wei Pinfang couldn’t believe it. “You were messing with these kinds of things during summer break? Were you not a tutor? You lied to me?”

Cen Ning: “… I was just afraid that you won’t agree.”

“You know I’ll disagree!” Wei Pinfang snapped. “Throw all these things away now! And this camera! I let you keep it before because it was the only thing left from that person and it was for you as a memento. If I had known that this would happen, I would’ve thrown it away!”

“Mom!!” Cen Ning saw Wei Pinfang raise the camera and rushed up to grab it. “I won’t allow you to throw it away, you give it back to me!”

Snap—

Cen Ning was not as fast as Wei Pinfang, and before she touched it, Wei Pinfang hurled the camera out of the window with all her strength. It was concrete outside, and the camera hit the ground, making a muffled shattering sound.

The blood in Cen Ning’s whole body seemed to congeal at this moment. Her pupils shrank heavily as if she still didn’t want to believe what happened at the last second.

“I warn you, Cen Ning, you better study hard and walk the right path! If you touch the camera again, I will—”

“It’s none of your business!!” She had not finished speaking, and Cen Ning burst out suddenly.

She flung Wei Pinfang’s hand holding onto her wrist and stared at her viciously. “I don’t want you to care.”

“What did you say?” Wei Pinfang looked at her in astonishment. She didn’t expect that Cen Ning, who had always been soft-spoken and cowardly, would resist her like this. She was stunned for a while.

Cen Ning’s eyes were bloodshot, and tears were swirling, threatening to spill over. But she forcibly endured it, just not wanting to let it drip.

She was shaking all over. She had never hated Wei Pinfang so much.

Wei Pinfang had never loved her like other mothers love their children. She didn’t kiss her, hug her, or even hold hands. She always spoke coldly to her, harsh and indifferent. This was the maternal love she had received since she was a child.

But she still didn’t hate her, she felt she was at least a child with a mother. At least in this world, she still had a blood-connected person.

But at this moment, when Wei Pinfang threw out the camera that her father left her, a deep hatred surged up like a tsunami in her heart.

How precious was that camera to her? It had accompanied her for so many years, supporting a distant dream.

But at that moment, it shattered. She suddenly felt that there was nothing left.

Cen Ning ran out of the small building without caring. She rushed to the place where the camera had smashed against the hard concrete and carefully picked it up.

This camera had been around for many years. When her father bought it, it was precious. Although it was a bit outdated now, it had always been useable because she had been carefully protecting it.

But now that it was broken like this, it was hard to say whether it could be repaired or not. If it couldn’t be repaired, it not only meant that she had no camera but also meant that she couldn’t preserve the things her father left her.

Cen Ning ran out of the house with the camera in despair.

When Aunt Chen came back from going out, she saw her. “Ningning, where are you going so late?”

Cen Ning hurriedly nodded to her and left without saying a word.

At dinner time, the Yan family was preparing to eat.

“Is Ningning at home? Has she eaten yet?” Yan Guofeng asked.

Aunt Chen: “I saw her go out just now. This child has quarrelled with Pinfang.”

Yan Xingzhi’s hand that was holding chopsticks paused to hear Aunt Chen continue. “I went over to look just now, and Pinfang was angry, saying that the child secretly learned photography…”

Xu Wanying: “Photography?”

“Yeah. However, Pinfang hates photography because of her husband, so the camera was smashed by her.”