Chapter 53: Chapter 53 DevilAfter a good nap, Yun Shifei felt much better.

    She had come to terms with it. Though spending time with Cheng Lie recently had been enjoyable, there’s no such thing as an everlasting banquet; permanent friendships are rare, after all.

    Since he wasn’t willing to be friends with her, there was no point in being upset.

    She didn’t want him to follow the extreme path of his previous life.

    But she wasn’t benevolent enough to keep approaching someone who so intensely repelled her.

    Knowing when to stop was the key.

    Yun Shifei went back to planning her life with her usual diligence.

    She paid close attention during class, ate lunch in the cafeteria, came back to the classroom for a nap, and then continued to attend the afternoon lessons.

    After school, she packed her things and went home.

    The day was simple yet fulfilling.

    But little did she know, someone wasn’t feeling as great as her.

    Cheng Lie watched the silhouette of Yun Shifei tidying her things and leaving.

    Today, his gaze frequently and involuntarily landed on Yun Shifei.

    When Yun Shifei had been by his side, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now that she no longer talked to him, Cheng Lie found himself unsettled. A vague discomfort took root in his heart and weighed on him all day.

    But why didn’t Yun Shifei seem to feel the same way?

    Today, Yun Shifei looked no different from usual.

    Cheng Lie’s thin lips were pressed into a taut line, his jaw tightened as if battling this inexplicable emotion within him.

    After a long while, he scoffed softly, gathered his belongings, and left the classroom.

    Yet, at the school gate, he ran into Yun Sisi.

    "Cheng Lie, do you like candy? Here, take this." A pure smile bloomed on the girl’s face, every curve seemingly meticulously crafted. From yesterday to today, her expression hadn’t shifted once, resembling a lifelike mannequin.

    Cheng Lie stared at the candy in her hand.

    Her fingers were slender, pale, and untouched by the hardships of life—pampered since childhood.

    Just like the hands of many others he had seen.

    Zhao Haishuang’s hands were the same—delicate and flawlessly beautiful, akin to fine jade.

    But in his mind, another pair of hands surfaced, small yet marked with scars and calluses.

    The candy might be the same, but the person wasn’t.

    He didn’t reach out for the candy she offered.

    That shouldn’t be the case!

    Yun Sisi found it perplexing. She had clearly heard that Cheng Lie liked candy, and Yun Shifei had previously brought candy when she went to tutoring sessions with him.

    As she pondered, the boy bypassed her and directly got into a car.

    "Cheng Lie! Why... why didn’t you take my candy?" Yun Sisi panicked.

    Throwing her book away yesterday was one thing—she could rationalize it as Cheng Lie simply not liking that genre.

    But the candy was the same as the one Yun Shifei had given him.

    Why wouldn’t he take it?

    A deep sense of humiliation washed over Yun Sisi.

    Did Cheng Lie think she wasn’t even as good as Yun Shifei?

    The thought made Yun Sisi so furious she felt like crying.

    When had she ever endured such indignity? Unable to help herself, she voiced her frustration.

    He couldn’t possibly tell her it was because he and Yun Shifei shared the same simple-mindedness and could connect on a basic level, could he? S~ea??h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If that were the reason, she might begrudgingly accept it.

    At her words, Cheng Lie raised his gaze and glanced at Yun Sisi.

    Through the car window, he sat while she stood, requiring him to look upward.

    She, on the other hand, was gazing down at him.

    Clearly, she held the upper hand. Clearly, she was in a position of advantage.

    Yet the boy’s gaze seemed to survey her condescendingly, as if looking at an ant.

    That insignificant, easily ignored little creature.

    His eyes carried no emotion, blank as midwinter snow blanketing a desolate plain—bereft of all life.

    In that moment, Yun Sisi felt her soul frozen, her body stiff, tears in her eyes petrified from fear.

    Only after Cheng Lie had been gone for quite some time did Yun Sisi recover her senses.

    Her heart pounded heavily, as though she had escaped from hell and returned to the mortal world.

    She couldn’t help clutching her chest.

    That had scared her to death—just now, Cheng Lie’s gaze felt like it belonged to a demon.

    But now that she had calmed down, recalling Cheng Lie’s usual demeanor, she began to doubt herself.

    Had she imagined it?

    Cheng Lie was so foolish, often the butt of jokes, and bullied by Song Yang.

    If he truly possessed the kind of emotion he showed earlier, wouldn’t he have eliminated all those people who looked down on him?

    How had he endured it all?