"Good morning, Cheng Lie."
From a distance, Yun Shifei saw Cheng Lie and ran over to greet him.
What a coincidence; she had never bumped into him on her way to school before.
But why was he standing next to a trash can?
Confronted with Yun Shifei’s puzzled expression, Cheng Lie’s face remained emotionless, but his hand unconsciously moved behind his back.
He had just rummaged through the trash can and hadn’t had time to clean himself.
Once he reached the car, he turned back to look at Yun Shifei without saying a word. Yet Yun Shifei gradually understood what he meant.
He was asking her if she wanted to go with him.
For some reason, Yun Shifei couldn’t shake the feeling that Cheng Lie was acting strangely today.
Upon closer observation, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was off about him.
He was still as silent as always, his gaze fixed on the scenery outside the window, completely quiet.
From the corner of her eye, Yun Shifei noticed Cheng Lie’s hand and suddenly realized what was odd.
When she had first seen Cheng Lie, he had been standing by the trash can, seemingly rummaging through the garbage...
Although she was too far away to be certain.
But now, looking at Cheng Lie’s hand, it seemed slightly dirty.
Was that really the case? Yun Shifei didn’t know what Cheng Lie had been doing, nor was she particularly curious.
Everyone has their own secrets.
She quickly took out a packet of tissues from her backpack and pulled Cheng Lie’s hand toward her to wipe it clean.
Cheng Lie continued staring out the window at the scenery, hiding the turmoil inside him.
Unexpectedly, his hand was grabbed, and his body froze.
Turning back, he saw Yun Shifei cleaning his palm.
Noticing Cheng Lie’s gaze, the girl looked up and smiled at him. "Your hand touched something earlier, right? Let me clean it for you."
Her eyes curved into crescents, clear and pure.
Cheng Lie was not used to physical contact, and instinctively tried to withdraw his hand.
However, as if he lacked the strength, he allowed Yun Shifei to do as she pleased.
Yun Shifei meticulously wiped his hand, marveling at the boy’s slender, fair fingers. She couldn’t help but feel that people who looked good had even perfect hands.
They were like pieces of art meant to be admired.
Unlike her hands, which bore the scars of working on the farm—thick calluses and wounds that took ages to heal.
She didn’t feel her actions were inappropriate at all.
In her eyes, Cheng Lie was practically a child—obedient, though slightly rebellious, but inherently good-hearted.
So when she saw his hand dirty, she instinctively helped him clean it, worried he wouldn’t do it himself.
Little did she notice the boy’s expression gradually tightening, his thin lips pressing firmly together.
His sharp gaze was fixed on her, as if restraining something.
Did she even understand the concept of boundaries between boys and girls?
Even though they were still students, they were already fifteen or sixteen years old. How could she casually hold a boy’s hand ?
Cheng Lie wanted to say something but found himself unable to speak.
After a long moment, he turned his head and continued looking at the scenery outside the window.
No one noticed how red his ears had become.
The morning self-study session had just ended.
Song Yang came looking for her, his face full of misery.
He was late again today and had been punished by the teacher to run three laps around the track. Now he was drenched in sweat and out of breath, but he couldn’t care less.
"Ugly duckling, can you make your notes easier to understand? I can’t make sense of them at all."
Yun Shifei tried to suppress her laughter. "But... I can understand them just fine. Surely you should be able to as well?"
Song Yang frowned, sensing that Yun Shifei wasn’t belittling herself but rather subtly insulting him.
Though what she said wasn’t wrong.
Her grades had been terrible before, and he used to score better than her. But now, she had surpassed him by a long shot.
Song Yang took a deep breath. Fine, then. If Yun Shifei could do it, why couldn’t he?
A vision of Yun Sisi’s beautiful face flashed through his mind.
For the sake of his dream girl, he had to buckle down and put in the effort.
After Song Yang left, Yun Shifei couldn’t resist glancing at Cheng Lie.
The boy was leaning against the window and lying on his desk, seemingly resting.
At that time, schools didn’t have air conditioning. All they had were fans blowing overhead and the occasional breeze wafting through the open windows.
The wind stirred his collar and tousled his black hair, revealing a patch of fair skin on his neck.
He was the epitome of youthful beauty, and even Yun Shifei couldn’t help but sigh.
If Cheng Lie were healthy, plenty of girls would be chasing after him by now.
She herself wouldn’t even be qualified to be his friend.
But in the future, there would surely be many people pursuing him.
Yun Shifei vaguely remembered often seeing sensational stories about him in the newspapers back then.
Whether they were true or not was anyone’s guess.
But all of that was years away.
At this moment, she simply wondered whether he had looked at her notes.
She hoped he would study hard.
She remembered that most cases of autism were caused by congenital neurological development disorders.
For someone like Cheng Lie, whose condition was acquired, it was likely more related to psychological factors.
She thought of the Cheng Family.
That meant Cheng Lie was probably as intelligent as any normal person, aside from his difficulties with social interaction and tendency to immerse himself in his own world.
If he could be guided to study well, it would undoubtedly be beneficial.
Otherwise, if his condition only improved three years later, his academics would have already been wasted.
Of course, she didn’t know whether Cheng Lie ever went to college later.
By that time, he was no longer in South City.
Yun Shifei pressed her lips together. They only had these few years to spend together.
Yun Sisi was furious.
She found that these days, nothing brought her any joy.
Even though she ranked fifth in the monthly exam, was praised by the teachers, admired by her classmates, and complimented by her parents.
Still, none of it made her happy.
Because of Yun Shifei!
She had thought Yun Shifei, this country bumpkin, would only serve to highlight her own perfection.
But in reality, Yun Shifei was somehow improving day by day.
Although her results in the monthly exam were still dismal, she had heard Yun Shifei ranked first in their class.
She hadn’t expected Yun Shifei to have such capability.
This made her deeply anxious.
Watching Yun Shifei improve every day, she felt utterly powerless.
How could she stop her from becoming better?
She had tried provoking her countless times.
She had whispered rumors to Xu Ya.
Even Xu Ya wasn’t as opposed to Yun Shifei as she had been at the start.
"Sisi... Were you listening to me? My brother’s birthday is next week. Do you have time to come to our house?"
Mu Jiayu’s voice dragged Yun Sisi back to reality.
"Ah... I was listening," Yun Sisi replied.
"Will you come to the party?" Mu Jiayu looked at Yun Sisi with eager anticipation.
"Of course. How could I miss Brother Mu’s birthday?" Yun Sisi replied with a bright smile.
"That’s great! My brother will definitely be happy to hear you’re coming," Mu Jiayu said, visibly excited.
Something Mu Jiayu said suddenly sparked an idea in Yun Sisi’s mind.
"Then... can I bring my sister along?"
"Why would you bring her?" Mu Jiayu squeaked, her face full of resistance.
"If I don’t bring her, my sister will throw a tantrum." Yun Sisi sighed. "Jiayu, you know my sister likes Brother Mu."