Chapter 53.1: Stars

After eating, the two sat on the sofa and watched TV.

By this time, Yan Xingzhi had already taken a shower and changed into comfortable clothing. Finally, Cen Ning felt relieved of the great pressure.

“Did you see the news?” Yan Xingzhi abruptly asked.

Cen Ning was plucking grapes to eat, but upon hearing the question, she paused for a moment and then responded uncomfortably. “I did see it.”

Yan Xingzhi: “You reacted before I even said what the news was about. It seems that you are very concerned about it.”

With a thud, the grape Cen Ning had just plucked, slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.

Cen Ning turned around, with a guilty expression on her face: “No…it’s just that you suddenly asked, and I could only think of the news about you and Meng Peiyan.”

Yan Xingzhi leaned forward and casually hugged her in his arms, he rested his chin on her shoulder and lazily said, “I didn’t expect that someone would have the guts to take pictures secretly there. But don’t worry, I have asked someone to help seal and erase all of those rumours.”

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Rv oyp wdlmrlnvle qsa Uld Lkdt: “Fs vbyv xlydp vbyv ds sdl nyd qkde dlop ycswv usw sdzkdl yduxsal.”

“Ybx.”

“Gb… Mbyv’p yzps tsse. Zswa keldvkvu kpd’v pwkvyczl vs cl casyenypvle sd ldvlavykdxldv dlop.”

“Zsw’al fwpv osaakle ycswv vbkp?” Zyd Dkdtgbk rkdnble bla qynl. “Pked’v usw vbkdj vbspl alrsavp olal yd lulpsal?”

Uld Lkdt xwaxwale, “Mblu’al dsv vawl, yduoyu.”

Zyd Dkdtgbk: “Zsw xktbv dsv vyjl kv plakswpzu, cwv psxl svbla rlsrzl es.”

Uld Lkdt: “Ebs?”

Zyd Dkdtgbk zyu sd bkp pkel nsxqsavyczu. Tl caswtbv bla esod okvb bkx. Tl zygkzu nzsple bkp lulp, yde pyke zktbvzu, “Ebld R oldv swv vseyu, xu qyxkzu xlxclap vyzjle vs xl.”

Cen Ning listened quietly, so Yan Xingzhi continued. “Grandpa said that Meng Peiyan is good, and told me to not treat her badly.”

Cen Ning: “…”

“He also said that I should find a good husband for you in the future. There are so many men in the compound, you can choose as you like.”

Cen Ning: “…”

“Look, they took it so seriously.”

Cen Ning turned around to face Yan Xingzhi, with an uncomfortable expression on her face. “Grandpa… does he want you to be with Meng Peiyan?”

“What do you think?”

Cen Ning pursed her lips and said nothing. After a while, she finally replied in a low voice. “She is indeed very good. She is beautiful, capable, and has a good family background. She seems to be… better than me in everything.”

There seemed to be no grievance in Cen Ning’s tone. It was as if she was discussing the matter thoroughly and rationally. However, there was a trace of unwillingness and inferiority that was difficult to pick on in her tone.

Originally, Yan Xingzhi had only wanted to tease her, but he didn’t expect her to have such a reaction.

He frowned and lightly squeezed her wrist. “Are you stupid?”

Cen Ning looked up at him, feeling a little uneasy.

Yan Xingzhi sighed. “You believe that you cannot compare to her in terms of anything, but that’s only what you believe. In my eyes, you are better than her in terms of everything.”

Cen Ning fiddled with the buttons on the clothes at his chest and asked sullenly, “Isn’t that called Xi Shi comes out of the eye of the beholder?” (TLN: Xi Shi was one of the renowned four beauties of ancient China; this saying means that when a man loves a woman, he sees great beauty even if others don’t)

“It is, but not completely.” Yan Xingzhi said. “People like different flowers, and of course, only those who like a woman can discover her goodness.”

“Oh……”

“Grandpa did want me to be with Meng Peiyan at first, but it was because he thought we were not interested in each other. You also know how much Grandpa loves you. If you said you like me, he would get me in front of you, even if it meant tying me up.”

Cen Ning let out a muffled laugh. “It’s not that exaggerated.”

“Don’t believe me. Do you want to try?”

“I, I don’t want to try.”

“Mhm… To be honest, it’s too late for you to say no now.”

Cen Ning looked at him confusedly, only to see the man in front of her raise her chin, and whisper. “I told Grandpa, you are mine, so I will take responsibility, and I don’t need him to help you find a husband. “

Cen Ning was taken aback before, but now she was stunned. “You, you told grandpa that we—”

“I told him.”

Cen Ning stared at him, slightly dazed. But after thinking about it carefully, in the current situation, it seemed that she had to say something.

“Ningning, what are you afraid of?” Yan Xingzhi lowered his eyes.

The slightly sharp tone made Cen Ning feel a little uncomfortable, and she looked away. “… I don’t know.”

She knew what was wrong.

What she wanted was to be independent, to be upright, and to be free from gossip.

She was originally not from the same world as Yan Xingzhi, so she wanted to tell everyone that she was with Yan Xingzhi only after she was qualified and had achieved excellence.

“You don’t have to worry about anything.” Yan Xingzhi kissed her on the forehead. “Anyways, you will come to me sooner or later, right?”

“I-“

“So instead of thinking about other things, you might as well think about how you will face Grandpa and the others when you go home. I guess they are caught off guard by our sudden direction and they will have many things to ask.”