Before heading to school on Monday, Yun Sisi carefully prepared a few items.
Candies, small snacks, and books.
She had long inquired about Cheng Lie’s hobbies.
She heard that he often read books, though she couldn’t be sure if he understood them or just stared blankly at the pages.
But, gifting him a book should be enough—after all, she needed to win his favor to get close to him.
She waited specifically until school was over in the afternoon, standing by the school gate for Cheng Lie.
Afraid of Song Yang discovering her, Yun Sisi stood in the corner.
Luckily, Song Yang seemed to have skipped class today, so she didn’t see him.
Soon, she saw Cheng Lie and Yun Shifei walking out of the school together.
Yun Shifei had been hurt by Cheng Lie’s words the day before.
As a result, she hadn’t approached him all day and only walked home with him after school.
She walked alongside Cheng Lie.
Though surrounded by the bustling crowd, between them it was as silent as a wordless film—completely devoid of sound.
After a while, Yun Shifei said softly to Cheng Lie, "Cheng Lie, I’m sorry. I won’t interfere with your matters impulsively anymore. I hadn’t thought it through that day."
Cheng Lie’s eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly at her apology.
She hadn’t done anything wrong; he simply didn’t want her getting close to him, which led him to push her away.
He wanted her to be angry enough to leave him alone completely.
But instead, she spent a day dwelling on it, only to come and apologize to him.
At this moment, the teenage boy’s face was extremely tense and stormy. He didn’t even know why hearing Yun Shifei’s apology made him feel worse instead of relieved.
Seeing Cheng Lie’s lack of response, Yun Shifei’s guilt lingered incessantly in her heart.
Sigh, would Cheng Lie never forgive her?
Thinking this, Yun Shifei looked at Cheng Lie and asked, "Are you tired of being friends with me?"
Seeing the girl’s dewy, almost doe-like eyes gazing at him, filled with a pitiful innocence,
the stone-hard wall around Cheng Lie’s heart suddenly softened.
Yet rationality warned him that this kind of emotional softening was dangerously precarious.
So outwardly, his expression grew even colder, like icy frost, startling Yun Shifei.
"Sorry for troubling you all this time. I didn’t realize how reluctant you were to be friends with me."
If she had known how much Cheng Lie disliked her, she wouldn’t have bothered him so persistently.
The thought made her feel so embarrassed—it was the kind of embarrassment so intense that it could bring her to tears.
Cheng Lie eyed Yun Shifei’s increasingly despondent expression. He wanted to tell her she wasn’t wrong. She was the first person in all these years to offer him warmth without expecting anything in return.
But just then, a voice chimed in: "Cheng Lie, Sis, are you guys done with school?"
The voice was sweet and coquettish, like that of a little princess.
Yun Shifei’s sorrowful mood was abruptly interrupted.
She turned her head and saw Yun Sisi.
At that moment, Yun Sisi had a radiant smile on her face, looking both beautiful and gentle.
The kind of appearance that would make any boy in this stage of life feel captivated.
Why did Yun Sisi choose this moment to call out to them?
But clearly, Yun Sisi wasn’t addressing her—she was focused entirely on Cheng Lie.
"Cheng Lie, I heard from Cheng Huai that you like reading books, right? Here’s a book for you."
Yun Sisi handed a book to Cheng Lie.
It was a world-renowned classic, *How the Steel Was Tempered*, one of the required middle school readings.
Cheng Lie’s gaze fell on the book, but he didn’t accept it.
Yun Sisi’s smile grew slightly stiff, but she quickly found a way to save face, handing the book to Uncle Liu instead.
"Uncle, could you kindly hold onto this book for Cheng Lie?"
"Alright," Uncle Liu replied promptly. Although he noticed the young master’s unwillingness, her gesture was one of initiative—and she was from the Yun Family after all—not someone he could afford to upset.
If the young master refused, he could still help take care of the situation.
"Are you all heading home now? Sis, we can go together."
As Yun Sisi spoke, she went as far as opening the car door herself, signaling for Cheng Lie to get in first.
This puzzling behavior—not just Cheng Lie, but even Yun Shifei felt it was extraordinarily strange.
Had Yun Sisi caught a fever or something?