At one point, she gave him a piece of candy every day.
Now, it’s him giving her candy.
But Yun Shifei had also prepared a gift for Cheng Lie.
She placed an artbook on Cheng Lie’s desk: "This is for you."
The last time she went to the stationery store to buy supplies, she saw this particularly exquisite artbook and instinctively bought it.
If others have something, her Cheng Lie should have it too.
This was Yun Shifei’s subconscious thought.
Cheng Lie stared at the book for a while and said to her, "Thank you."
Yun Shifei was a little happy that he had acknowledged her gift.
She felt that Cheng Lie’s condition was gradually improving. In the past, he didn’t pay her any attention at all, but now he’d occasionally say one or two words to her.
Wonderful, this feeling was quite good.
What Yun Shifei hadn’t expected was that within a single day, rumors about her started spreading throughout the school.
Everyone knew that there was a very attractive girl in Class Four of the science track, and insiders even knew she was Yun Sisi’s elder sister, Yun Shifei.
She used to look not particularly attractive, but for some reason, after just one summer, she had become stunning.
Some curious boys even leaned against the classroom windows to get a look at her after class.
No matter how insensitive Yun Shifei was, she couldn’t help but hate the feeling of being treated like a spectacle.
In her previous life, she never encountered anything so bizarre.
In her last life, her transformation into someone beautiful had been gradual, and at that time, she was obsessed with heavy makeup, thinking it made her attractive but ultimately concealing her unique features.
So, while people did praise her appearance back then, it wasn’t to the extent of causing such a fuss.
Yun Shifei had no choice but to bury herself in her books and pretend not to notice.
But some boys still approached her.
"Yun Shifei, I... I like you..." On her way to the library, Yun Shifei was stopped by a boy who handed her a love letter.
Receiving a love letter from a boy for the first time, Yun Shifei froze for a moment before finally saying, "High school is a time for studying. You shouldn’t be dating."
She hoped her statement would dismiss him.
But unexpectedly, the boy’s eyes brightened: "So once we’re in college, we can date, right?"
That’s not what she meant; she was just using it as an excuse to reject him. Couldn’t he pick up on that?
"I don’t like you," Yun Shifei had no choice but to say directly.
She felt a bit guilty for being so blunt, but rejection needed to be firm and clear.
Soon, she saw the boy’s expression shift, disappointment and sadness obvious in his eyes.
He turned and walked away.
Yun Shifei watched his retreating figure and suddenly thought, was she too harsh and hurtful by being so straightforward?
She rarely rejected others since most people didn’t have any requests for her.
Let alone confessing their feelings to her.
This left Yun Shifei unsure of how to handle the situation.
Not far away, Cheng Lie happened to witness the moment. Watching the girl under the tree with a distressed look on her face after rejecting the boy, he couldn’t help but press his lips tightly together.
She was too soft-hearted.
He wanted to teach her what it meant to be ruthless; otherwise, how would she avoid danger in the future?
But upon reflection, he realized doing so would be too cruel.
For someone to become ruthless, they first had to be deeply hurt.
With her, he really couldn’t bring himself to do it, and he couldn’t bear to see her feel even the slightest pain.
Yun Shifei had no idea that at this moment, a cold, indifferent man—capable of being ruthless with anyone—was treading so carefully around her.
Soon, another rumor began circulating in the school.
After Yun Shifei’s transformation, she became arrogant enough to look down on everyone, even telling the boy who confessed to her to "get lost."
They even brought Yun Sisi into the discussion by comparison, saying Yun Sisi was always gentle when boys confessed to her, unlike Yun Shifei.
"What’s the use of looking pretty when her attitude is so bad? Which boy would like her?"
"Exactly—just because she’s good-looking doesn’t mean she can act so wantonly."
On her way to the restroom, Yun Shifei could hear people gossiping about her behind her back.
She was a bit dumbfounded and turned around to look at the two girls.
The girls immediately turned and walked away when they saw her look back.
Yun Shifei lowered her gaze, her long lashes casting shadows on her eyelids.
Is it possible that being beautiful is also a troublesome thing?
Now Yun Shifei finally understood how it felt.
However, she ignored the gossip and focused on studying.
But the rumors still reached the class teacher, who called her to the office after school and advised her strongly against dating, reminding her to focus on her studies.
After repeatedly assuring the teacher that she wouldn’t date, the teacher finally allowed her to leave.
Returning to the classroom, most of the students had already left.
Cheng Lie was still in the classroom.
The boy quietly flipped through a book.
Yun Shifei immediately smiled: "Cheng Lie, were you waiting for me?"
Cheng Lie looked at the girl’s bright, clear eyes that shone beautifully under the fluorescent lights.
Yun Shifei packed up her things and left school with Cheng Lie.
The next day, another rumor spread—that the reason Yun Shifei was so cold to other boys was because she was already in a relationship with Cheng Lie.
Among the second-year students, most of them had heard of Cheng Lie since he was a rather unique presence in the school.
Although he was good-looking, he had autism, refused to participate in exams, and didn’t engage with anyone. If it weren’t for his wealthy family background, he wouldn’t have been studying here at all.
Yun Shifei felt angry for the first time: "Stop making things up! Cheng Lie and I are just very good friends!"
She said this to the classmates who were gossiping.
All she wanted now was to focus on her studies. Dating or anything like that—it wasn’t the time for it, even if she wanted to.
Her primary goal was to excel academically.
Her mind and heart were entirely set on studying.
The classmates were skeptical of Yun Shifei’s clarification.
After speaking, Yun Shifei felt puzzled: "Where did you even hear these rumors?"
The rumors kept coming one after the other—could students really be this idle?
The classmates exchanged looks, unsure how to answer Yun Shifei.
After a while, one of them said, "I heard it while I was in the restroom when students from other classes were talking about it, so I came to check with you."
The one who started this rumor was Mu Jiayu.
Mu Jiayu hadn’t seen Yun Sisi for nearly a month, and when she did during the school opening, Yun Sisi looked particularly pale and frail, which made Mu Jiayu feel distressed.
Yun Sisi didn’t have to say anything for Mu Jiayu to know the cause—it must have been Yun Shifei.
Ever since Yun Shifei returned, Yun Sisi hadn’t shown a single moment of happiness around her.
Additionally, she heard that Yun Shifei had recently become incredibly beautiful.
Boys even confessed to her, and she rejected them.
Thinking of this, Mu Jiayu fabricated the rumor, intending to ruin Yun Shifei’s reputation.
Since Yun Sisi wasn’t having a good time, there was no way Mu Jiayu would let Yun Shifei enjoy hers.
Just because the Yun Family spoiled her, she thought she could do whatever she pleased. At school, Mu Jiayu would make sure she learned what real cruelty was.