Chapter 56: Chapter 56: One a Day, Returning it to Her?Yun Shifei stood in place, staring blankly at the candy in her hand.

    What does Cheng Lie mean by this?

    Giving her candy out of nowhere—could it be that he’s trying to return the candy she gave him before so that they’d owe each other nothing?

    That’s probably it, right?

    Yun Shifei felt her guess was likely correct.

    She popped the candy into her mouth, and the sweet flavor began to dissolve on her tongue. It was a type of candy she hadn’t had before, with a hint of rose fragrance—it tasted pretty good.

    She hoped Cheng Lie would give her a piece of candy every day, just like before.

    If possible, she wished he’d tell her the brand of the candy.

    ...

    Xu Ya stared at the three tickets in her hand, feeling conflicted.

    These tickets were for a touring performance by a foreign dance troupe in their city. Because Yun Sisi had won first place in a dance competition last time, the event organizers had rewarded them with three tickets.

    At the time Yun Sisi signed up for the competition, Yun Shifei hadn’t been acknowledged and brought back yet.

    But now, with only three tickets and four people, what should they do?

    Yun Sisi leaned close to Xu Ya, her bright eyes glistening with a cautious delight. "Mom, you and Dad promised to watch the performance with me. You won’t break your promise, right?"

    Back then, before Yun Shifei had returned, Yun Sisi was preparing for the competition and had asked if Xu Ya and Yun Tiancheng could put aside their work and watch the performance with her if she won tickets.

    Xu Ya and Yun Tiancheng had agreed.

    "Of course not," Xu Ya replied.

    But a hint of worry crept into her heart. Tickets for this dance troupe were hard to come by, and typically only the wealthy or well-connected could attend.

    Even if she were to offer a high price, it was unlikely anyone would give up their ticket to her.

    Which meant only the three of them could attend, and Yun Shifei would have to stay home?

    The performance was scheduled for next weekend. Originally, Yun Shifei had tutoring sessions every weekend, which would’ve been a good excuse. But she had mentioned she didn’t want to go to the Cheng Family for tutoring anymore.

    So should they invite the tutor to their home instead?

    That seemed like a workable solution.

    The more Xu Ya thought about it, the more her head throbbed.

    That seemed to be the only way. Hopefully, Yun Shifei wouldn’t take it too hard.

    Yun Sisi caught the troubled expression on Xu Ya’s face and couldn’t help smiling.

    She knew Xu Ya would undoubtedly go to the performance with her.

    And Yun Tiancheng... he’d probably go too.

    What was Yun Shifei to them anyway?

    She was their true pride and joy.

    Yun Shifei was completely unaware of Yun Sisi’s hidden thoughts.

    Nor did Xu Ya know how to break the news to Yun Shifei.

    So she discussed the matter with Yun Tiancheng.

    Yun Tiancheng also found himself at a loss.

    Back then, he had promised Yun Sisi he’d go to the performance with her. But that was before Yun Shifei had returned—it was just the three of them back then.

    Now that Yun Shifei was back, could they really leave her behind?

    "How about you and Sisi go? I won’t go," he suggested.

    "How can that work? Didn’t you see Sisi’s expression when she asked us? She’s been looking forward to this for so long," Xu Ya replied, frowning.

    Recently, she’d been treating Yun Shifei so well that she sometimes felt guilty toward Yun Sisi because of it.

    If they couldn’t even fulfill Yun Sisi’s long-anticipated desire for their family of three to watch the performance together... the child would surely be heartbroken.

    Yun Tiancheng massaged his temples in frustration. "I’ll try to find an extra ticket."

    "I’ve asked around. Most people are bringing their kids to watch. Even the Mu Family is going together. Getting an extra ticket is just too difficult, especially one next to ours."

    It was a problem no matter what they tried.

    "Doesn’t Shifei have tutoring on weekends? Even if she doesn’t go to the Cheng Family, she can still have lessons at home."

    "You’re right."

    Yun Tiancheng sighed heavily. Sёar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In truth, he leaned a little more toward his biological daughter. But since he’d already promised Yun Sisi to accompany her, he couldn’t break his word.

    Still, he couldn’t help worrying—would the girl be upset?

    Both children’s feelings had to be handled with care.

    "Let’s hold off on telling Shifei for now... I’ll figure out the right way to break it to her," Yun Tiancheng said.

    Xu Ya hesitated for a moment. "She’s so considerate. She should understand."

    After Xu Ya and Yun Tiancheng assured Yun Sisi they wouldn’t break their promise, Sisi was overjoyed. Compared to her previously sulky demeanor, now she was happy as a lark.

    Whenever she saw Yun Shifei, she’d cheerfully call her "sister."

    Unlike before, when her expression was always clouded with resentment.

    Seeing Yun Sisi’s demeanor, one might think some joyous occasion had occurred.

    Yun Shifei couldn’t help but wonder—had Yun Sisi really become friends with Cheng Lie?

    In their previous lives, Yun Sisi and Cheng Lie had little to do with each other. She had always looked down on him.

    But in this life, she had deliberately approached Cheng Lie and even given him a book.

    Maybe Cheng Lie really would grow to like her?

    Thinking about Yun Sisi’s charms, Yun Shifei couldn’t recall a boy who hadn’t been captivated by her.

    Especially when she was the one actively pursuing him.

    At that thought, Yun Shifei felt deeply disheartened.

    It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to be friends with Cheng Lie, he didn’t like her at all.

    But Yun Sisi could captivate him effortlessly.

    The gap between people—how could it be this wide?

    When she entered the classroom for lessons, she glanced at the boy already sitting at his desk.

    Just then, Cheng Lie looked up, and their eyes briefly met.

    In that instant, Cheng Lie saw the girl’s expression darken, and she quickly looked away, ignoring him.

    Cheng Lie: "..."

    A flicker of unease rose in his chest. Why was she unhappy? Was it because he gave her candy and upset her?

    Was the candy not tasty? He had thought all girls liked that flavor.

    At this moment, Cheng Lie was completely unaware that what Yun Shifei was thinking didn’t match his thoughts at all.

    For some reason, every time Yun Shifei remembered that Cheng Lie had become friends with Yun Sisi, she’d feel irritated.

    It felt like raising a thankless wretch—she had treated him so well, yet it amounted to nothing.

    But then she reconsidered—perhaps she was being too petty.

    Cheng Lie could be friends with whoever he wanted, after all. She wasn’t truly his friend, so what right did she have to interfere?

    Still... it hurt. After all, she had genuinely considered him a friend.

    That afternoon after class, Yun Shifei packed her things and prepared to leave.

    Just as she was about to go, Cheng Lie walked past her and placed a pink candy on her desk.

    Yun Shifei: "..."

    One candy a day—was he returning them?

    She looked up, only to find Cheng Lie’s figure already gone.

    Since when did he walk so fast?

    The next day, another candy appeared on her desk.

    Was it really what she thought it was?

    By Friday...

    Mu Jiayu and Yun Sisi, as soon as class ended, went to the balcony to chat.

    "Sisi, tomorrow when you’re going to the performance with your parents, what color dress are you wearing?"

    "I’m planning to wear pink."

    Pink was one of Yun Sisi’s favorite colors, second only to white.

    She believed these two colors best reflected her delicate, princess-like demeanor.

    "Then I’ll wear blue!" Mu Jiayu and Yun Sisi smiled knowingly at each other.

    They stood with their backs to the hallway and didn’t notice Yun Shifei walking by.

    Yun Shifei paused upon overhearing their conversation.

    What performance?