When Fang Kaiyi saw the comic book, the coldness in his eyes began to waver.
He hesitated for a while before reaching out to take the book.
As expected, no child could resist the allure of comics.
Yun Shifei felt she had made the right choice.
However, she also knew that getting this child to open up immediately wouldn’t be so easy.
Previously, she had read a little about psychology and understood that shadows cast during childhood could affect a person for a lifetime.
Just like herself—lacking love had always made her feel rather insecure.
Yet this child had been abandoned by the two most important people in his life. The impact on him must be enormous.
The director auntie mentioned that Fang Kaiyi used to be especially bright when he was younger. She even showed Yun Shifei photos of him at two or three years old—back then, his family was happy, and he hugged a rocking horse with a smile so big his eyes nearly disappeared.
After spending a little more time with Fang Kaiyi, Yun Shifei finally got up to leave.
As she was about to go, Fang Kaiyi suddenly lifted his head to look at Yun Shifei and said, "Goodbye, Big Sister."
She hadn’t expected Fang Kaiyi to initiate conversation, catching Yun Shifei pleasantly by surprise.
"Goodbye, Xiao Yi. I’ll come visit you again when I have time," she replied.
Following Cheng Lie out of the welfare home, Yun Shifei began to feel increasingly aware of Cheng Lie’s unhappiness.
He had already seemed upset when they met, and now it seemed even worse.
Earlier, Yun Shifei had dared to speak to Cheng Lie, but now she didn’t dare to at all.
She truly couldn’t understand why Cheng Lie was upset.
She had always thought the Cheng Lie with autism was already difficult to figure out. But the present Cheng Lie—he was even more unfathomable.
Being around someone like him definitely taxed her mental energy.
As Yun Shifei was still caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice that Cheng Lie, walking ahead of her, suddenly stopped. With her head down, she bumped right into his back.
The boy’s back was solid and hard, and she hit her forehead, which hurt a little.
Unable to help herself, she rubbed at her forehead just as Cheng Lie turned around and frowned at her. "What were you thinking about?" he asked.
"You," Yun Shifei sighed, accidentally voicing what was on her mind.
Her response slightly lifted the gloom in Cheng Lie’s heart.
He pressed further. "What about me?"
"Why are you angry?" Yun Shifei asked.
Looking at her puzzled expression, Cheng Lie tightened his thin lips. "Why are you so good to that kid just now?"
That kid reminded him so much of himself when he was younger, which made Cheng Lie feel he might not be her only focus. Was her helping him, liking him, merely because she enjoyed the sense of rescuing someone?
This indescribable feeling was tormenting Cheng Lie, almost depleting his patience entirely.
He didn’t want to beat around the bush anymore. All he wanted was to tie her to him, make her his girlfriend, and see if she’d still dare to pay attention to others.
He himself knew just how intense his possessiveness was.
Especially after all these years when no one else had ever entered his heart.
She had stepped in—did she think she could leave? He wouldn’t allow it.
This thought added a faintly dark expression to Cheng Lie’s face. Yes, absolutely not.
But then her flustered voice interrupted his thoughts. "Don’t be angry at the kid, okay? I just thought he was so much like the younger you... so I couldn’t help but help him."
Yun Shifei suddenly felt her explanation was becoming more and more muddled. She could sense that Cheng Lie believed she was simply a person who delighted in helping others—thinking of him as just another ordinary recipient of her kindness.
She only felt drawn to help the boy because he seemed so much like the younger Cheng Lie.
But even as she tried explaining herself, she worried Cheng Lie might ask next: Why would she want to help someone who resembled his younger self? How would she answer that?
At this point, Yun Shifei’s thoughts felt like a tangled ball of cotton, pulling her further and further into confusion, leaving her feeling a bit dazed.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Lie quieted down upon hearing her words.
"You mean, you helped him because he reminded you of me as a child?" he asked.
Yun Shifei nodded. "When you were young, you must have been just as helpless as he is now."
Cheng Lie looked at the bright face of the girl before him, her large, dark eyes brimming with concern.
He suddenly asked, "Do you want to know what my childhood was like?"
Was the aloof Cheng Lie really about to open up to her about his past?
Before she could respond, Cheng Lie abruptly grabbed her hand and began walking forward.
The once adolescent boy had quietly grown into a man. His broad palm tightly enveloped her hand. For more chapters visit N0velFire.ɴet
Yun Shifei’s face suddenly turned red. Oh no, Cheng Lie was holding her hand firmly.
Cheng Lie led her onward.
There was a small hill beside the welfare home, and Cheng Lie headed in that direction with her.
Zhao Pan initially intended to follow, but upon reflection, decided against it.
He was perceptive enough to realize that Mr. Cheng clearly had something to say to Miss Yun.
The two of them climbed up the hill.
Cheng Lie sat down on the grass, and Yun Shifei sat next to him.
It was already dusk. The setting sun cast its blood-red glow across the land, falling over the two of them and stretching their shadows long.
"You probably already know I’m Cheng Guomin’s illegitimate child, right?" Cheng Lie looked at Yun Shifei.
It wasn’t exactly a secret—most of the people in the neighborhood knew about it.
Cheng Lie lowered his gaze, as if trying to hide his emotions. In a voice devoid of much feeling, he said, "Since I was born, I never met my father. My mother raised me alone. She was wonderful—beautiful, kind, and almost never lost her temper. We lived in an alley, and though life was hard, those were some of the happiest days of my life."
As he recounted his past, his tone was so calm, as though he was merely describing his life, yet Yun Shifei’s chest tightened with pain as she listened.
Cheng Lie continued, "Later, Cheng Guomin appeared. He was always entangled with my mom. They spoke in low voices where I couldn’t hear, but they argued many times."
"At the time, my mom said she wanted to take me away from South City. But before she could, while we were on our way to the station, a speeding truck hit us."
Yun Shifei’s breath caught. She had always assumed Cheng Lie’s mother had abandoned him. As it turned out, she hadn’t—she had died.
"Afterwards, Cheng Guomin took me to live with his family. When I got to high school, I met you."
As he spoke, the boy—now grown—lifted his eyes to meet Yun Shifei’s.
There were things he didn’t say, like how it was orchestrated by Zhao Haishuang. He decided there was no need to reveal that darkness to her.
Cheng Lie’s eyes were deep and black as he looked at her, serious yet no longer frightening to Yun Shifei.
Yun Shifei wondered how she could ever feel afraid of him.
At that moment, she just wanted to hug Cheng Lie. His story made her heart ache, bringing tears to her eyes.
He had seen his mother die before his eyes, which had traumatized him, leading to his autism.
No wonder, even after recovering, Cheng Lie hadn’t saved Cheng Huai.
Because that accident could have been avoided in the first place.