The Moon Will Always Come to You

Chapter 33: Paper Crane

Early the next day, the morning light was faint. Ruan Zhizhi wrapped herself in her quilt and was still lingering with Duke Zhou, the god of dreams, when suddenly the cell phone on her bedside table rang quite abruptly.

Thinking it was the sound of her alarm clock, Ruan Zhizhi struggled for a long time between being half-asleep and half-awake. Finally, she decided to bow her head towards the evil forces of the ringtone and dazedly reached for the phone.

It clearly shouldn’t have been half past seven by now…or had she slept too deeply today?

Picking up the phone from her bedside table, she rubbed her eyes, lifted the bright phone screen in front of her, and took a look. In the next second, she immediately awoke.

It turned out that it wasn’t the alarm clock, but Shi Yan’s phone call.

Ruan Zhizhi connected the call and, with great effort, tried to sober up her voice: “Shi Yan?”

“It’s me.” The voice on the other end of the phone was light and a little loose. “Come out and open the door, I’m at the entrance of your house.”

Ruan Zhizhi: ……

At present, there was no time to ask him why he had come here so early in the morning. Ruan Zhizhi hung up the phone. Like a carp, she jumped out of bed. Then, she ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face, and change clothes rapidly.

This person really was something. Every time he came over, he didn’t say anything in advance, making her flustered. If Shi Yan misunderstood her as a person who liked to dawdle in bed, she would not be able to wash this misconception even if she jumped into the Yellow River.

Five minutes later, Ruan Zhizhi was in her solid-coloured Winnie the Pooh home clothes with a pink butterfly hairband on her head. Presenting herself without makeup, she ran to open the door.

Sunlight poured in unceremoniously along the slit of the open door, seeming a little dazzling. Ruan Zhizhi rubbed her eyes that had just come into contact with the light and saw that in the corridor, Shi Yan’s appearance contrasted in the clear sunshine. It appeared somewhat blurry.

Without waiting for her to react, Shi Yan walked in with a paper bag in hand, then placed the paper bag on the living room dining table with natural motions.

Ruan Zhizhi sat down at the dining table like an obedient primary school student waiting in line for food at the canteen. She saw all kinds of steaming dishes being taken out from the paper bag one at a time.

Crab roe soup buns, glutinous rice shumai, red bean congee…Lastly, a pink square box with a lace bow was taken out.

The style of this box’s packaging gave her a sense of déjà vu.

Ruan Zhizhi took 0.1 seconds to recall that this was the standard packaging of the coffee shop she frequently went to.

Her heart moved. Shi Yan had actually specially gone there in the early morning to buy dessert for her.

As a result of being too busy with work recently, Ruan Zhizhi hadn’t had time to visit the café for a while, let alone queue up to buy dessert.

Feeling a little strange about the sudden, ardent expression in Ruan Zhizhi’s eyes, Shi Yan reached out and pushed the small square box in front of her: “Your blood sugar is low, you need to eat more sweets.”

Impatient to open the packaging, she saw that inside the exquisite box were four macarons of different colours arranged quietly. At present, they exuded a tempting, sweet aroma.

After choosing one of her favourite lemongrass flavours, Ruan Zhizhi put the macaron in her mouth happily. The familiar flavour immediately flooded her taste buds, and even her brain became lively.

Shi Yan came out of the kitchen holding washed tableware for her. Seeing that she was eating the crumbs, he couldn’t help but say, “Eat breakfast first.”

Hearing that, Ruan Zhizhi put the last macaron in her mouth, squinted her eyes, and said in a very magnanimous tone: “For the sake of buying me macarons first thing in the morning, I’ve decided to pardon you for the heinous thing you did in the past.”

In accordance with Ruan Zhizhi’s preferences, Shi Yan sprinkled a spoonful of sugar into the red bean congee. Hearing her words, he lifted his brows and asked nonchalantly, “What heinous thing?”

Completely satisfied, she bowed her head and took a sip of congee. Ruan Zhizhi made a complaint while recalling, “A long time ago, during that period, I still hadn’t obtained a full position at work. I once went to that coffee shop to write a manuscript.” When she said this, she couldn’t help but pout her lips. “You happened to be in front of me when I was in line, and then you bought the last macarons in the shop.”

Hearing her speak with conviction, the other party frowned and thought about it for a long time before he could vaguely conceive a hazy, general idea. Understanding clearly, he said: “So that’s why when I left, it felt like someone was watching me from behind.” After that, he seemed to think of something. He watched Ruan Zhizhi’s expression with a bit of scrutiny, “It turns out you’ve been paying attention to me since that time.”

Ruan Zhizhi paused from drinking the congee. For some unknown reason, she suddenly felt indescribably guilty, so she quickly refuted: “No! What I was paying attention to was the macaron box that you were holding in your hand.”

Naturally, she couldn’t let him know that at that time, she was fascinated by his back for a moment.

Not bothering to engage in this topic, Shi Yan sat across from her and lowered his head to glance at his watch. “Eat quickly, otherwise you’ll be late for work later.”

Ruan Zhizhi was stunned. “Are you planning to take me to work?” She swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head in refusal. “It’s really not necessary, I take the subway to work every day. I’m used to it.”

A University and the company where she worked were in two completely opposite directions. If Shi Yan wanted to send her to work first, going back and forth like this, it would take him at least an hour.

How could she let him go through hardships like this?

“Really?” Shi Yan smiled lightly when he heard what was said, and then turned to look at her. “Then, in the future you have to spend more time getting used to me taking you.”

Shi Yan always looked tired and pessimistic, as if he didn’t care about anything and nothing appeared before his eyes. But when he smiled, his frosty, bone-piercing features became soft, and his pupils seemed to be suffused with fragments of light from the inside out. Infected by the breath of fireworks, it was particularly moving.

She was immersed in his beauty without being able to free herself. In the next second, the man’s fingers suddenly came over, and then he pinched her cheek very tenderly.

His fingers were still cold, and they were limp and numb when they pinched her face. This feeling was a bit like getting an electric shock, and it resembled the moment when fireworks exploded. In short…it was wonderful.

The temperature of the area he touched on her face gradually rose. Ruan Zhizhi touched her cheek. She couldn’t help having a somewhat dazed expression. Now, she was unable to say anything even if she wanted to refuse.

She couldn’t help but think in defeat that sure enough, one’s physiological response was the most honest.

After finishing breakfast, the two tidied up the dining table a little before heading out. They took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot B2.

There was not a soul in sight in the elevator. Ruan Zhizhi stood beside Shi Yan, neither of them speaking.The atmosphere was quite peaceful.

To tell the truth, due to her slight claustrophobia, Ruan Zhizhi would usually rather climb all the way down the thirteen floors than take the elevator if she wasn’t forced to. Being alone in a cramped and confined space would make her feel uncontrollably nervous or oppressed. Moreover, she was always alone on weekdays, so there were few opportunities for others to accompany her to take the elevator.

Thinking of this, Ruan Zhizhi couldn’t help quietly raising her head to look at Shi Yan.

He stood by her side, making her feel that this world brimming with malice had suddenly become safe. As if there was no need to fear, and she was no longer alone.

He was obviously such a cold and indifferent man, but he could actually make her little world become warm.

The red numbers on the elevator display screen were gradually descending one by one. In the silence, the man’s voice resounded lightly. It was very gentle, like a soft snowflake: “Not scared?”

Ruan Zhizhi remembered that a long time ago, he had taken her through a dark corridor in the third teaching building of A University. Back then, he had also asked her if she was scared, and then he had reached out and held her wrist very gently and carefully.

She bowed her head and thought for a while. Then, Ruan Zhizhi opened her mouth and asked him in a low voice, “If I said I wasn’t afraid, would you not hold my hand?”

The other party clearly hadn’t expected her to reply like this. His usually apathetic appearance unexpectedly showed a rare dazedness for a moment. Just as he was shaking his head, the elevator had already settled to a stop on the second floor, opening in response.

However, Shi Yan suddenly pulled her hand at this time. In his calm voice, there was a hint of trying to conceal it which only made it more conspicuous: “It’s also very dark in the underground parking lot.”

Ruan Zhizhi lowered her head, looking at their overlapping hands in her line of sight. She pursed her lips and smiled slowly.

This was not the first time Ruan Zhizhi had been in Shi Yan’s car. However, it was her first time sitting in the passenger seat with such an honourable position as girlfriend.

The black commercial car drove smoothly out of the gate of the community. As if afraid that she would be bored, Shi Yan reached out and turned on the stereo. Soothing and graceful piano music slowly poured out.

Ruan Zhizhi reached out and took a fruit candy from her bag. She peeled off the wrapping paper then put it in her mouth. After sucking it for a while, she suddenly had a thought and asked, “Shi Yan, guess what colour the candy in my hand is. If you guess right…” Pausing, she found that she really didn’t have anything to give back. Without any better option, she put on a bold face and continued to say, “If you guess right, this candy will be given to you.”

“Tangerine flavour.”

Shi Yan’s answer came forth almost the second her voice fell.

“……” Ruan Zhizhi was silent for a long time. “Do you have clairvoyance?”

The man who was quietly driving tilted his head to glance at her. His tone was utterly calm: “Don’t you know that you prefer orange-flavoured fruit candy?”

Today, the weather was sunny and cloudless. The car was driving all the way down the smooth asphalt road, and outside the window was a myriad of changing scenery. Ruan Zhizhi looked down at the tangerine-flavoured fruit candy in her hand and didn’t know what to say for a long time.

He understood her preferences better than she did herself.

To be honest, with such an outstanding boyfriend, Ruan Zhizhi was more or less feeling a little pressured in her heart.

This sort of feeling was like going to buy a lottery ticket, stepping on dumb luck, and winning a five million jackpot. Then, cautiously hiding the lottery ticket in your embrace while waiting to redeem the cash for fear of being discovered by others.

Therefore, she carefully observed through the car window to confirm that there were no familiar faces in her surroundings. Then, she surreptitiously unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out of the car.

Shi Yan watched her guilty expression and couldn’t help frowning: “Ruan Zhizhi, how many boyfriends do you have?”

Ruan Zhizhi, who was just about to get out of the car, was stunned. Not understanding why, she said: “One.”

“Really?” Shi Yan nodded, placing one hand on the steering wheel as he wished, and then said in a calm tone, “I thought I was one of your underground lovers who couldn’t be exposed.”

Ruan Zhizhi heard his difficult tone and was a little awkward 囧. Without delay, she explained: “…Don’t misunderstand, I have no other meaning. I’m just afraid that if I’m not careful, I will develop a bunch of love rivals. When the time comes, I will suffer.”

The other party unconsciously placed his fingers on the steering wheel and tapped it a few times. Concerning this explanation, he declined to comment. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, Shi Yan took out a small and delicate paper crane from the pocket of his trousers and handed it to her: “This is today’s.”

Suddenly unable to react, Ruan Zhizhi subconsciously reached out to receive it.

He actually remembered what he had said at the ball last night.

She’d thought that he was only talking casually.

In fact, she hadn’t taken it seriously.

He carefully placed the vivid and lifelike paper crane in the palm of her hand. In her mind, Ruan Zhizhi began to uncontrollably imagine the scene of Shi Yan folding the paper crane alone. Maybe in the car, maybe at home, maybe in the classroom…No matter where it was, at least it proved that at that time, Shi Yan was thinking of her.

She was almost unable to take her gaze off of the paper crane for a while now. Ruan Zhizhi suddenly realized with hindsight that recently, Shi Yan seemed to seldom smoke.

Because on this paper crane, there was no fragrance of smoke at all.

She pursed her lips, and a sentence buried in her heart suddenly slipped out uncontrollably: “Shi Yan, thank you, I think…I am very happy now.”

Translator’s Note: At the end, Ruan Zhizhi uses the term “幸福”, which means happy, but can also mean she feels very blessed