Chapter 50: Chapter 50 He Feared Hurting HerCheng Guomin’s words left Cheng Huai and Zhao Haishuang in silence.

    For a moment, the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

    But they didn’t see, in the dark corner of the staircase, a young man standing quietly there.

    His figure almost blended with the darkness.

    In the dim light, his features blurred, his emotions unreadable.

    He lowered his eyes, looking at the three people in the hall, his gaze without the slightest ripple.

    Even upon hearing them speak like this, mentioning those past events, he remained extraordinarily calm.

    Not at all like a child deeply hurt.

    After a long while, he curled his lips, unlike the well-behaved look Yun Shifei usually saw; at this moment, he exuded a sinister aura, the breath of a demon enveloping him, dominating his soul.

    They would soon regret keeping him by their side.

    This is the beginning of a nightmare.

    ...

    On the way back, Yun Shifei kept wondering if what she just did counted as helping Cheng Lie.

    She actually had a bit of a gamble in her actions.

    Betting that even if Cheng Guomin didn’t like Cheng Lie, Cheng Lie was still his biological child, and now was sick, with such serious injuries — he wouldn’t ignore it.

    The facts proved, looking at Cheng Guomin’s expression just now, it seemed exactly as she predicted.

    A vicious tiger does not eat its cubs.

    Cheng Huai and Zhao Haishuang might harm Cheng Lie, but Cheng Guomin probably wouldn’t.

    If he would, he could have easily found an excuse to lose Cheng Lie, out of sight and out of mind, instead of sending someone to pick him up from school every day.

    Wherever he went, someone followed. S~ea??h the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this moment, Yun Shifei didn’t know her thoughts were a bit naive.

    "Sister, why are you eating at Uncle Cheng’s house again today? Isn’t it not very nice to always eat at someone else’s house?"

    As soon as Yun Shifei got home, Yun Sisi asked her with an innocent look.

    She could always find something to make things difficult for her from various places.

    "Sisi thinks it’s not good?" Yun Shifei asked back.

    "...Yes, it’s such a bother to others." Yun Sisi replied.

    Saying this demonstrates her consideration for others.

    "Even though our family has a good relationship with Uncle Cheng’s family, sister, you should know, they might just be politely inviting you to stay for a meal, not sincerely asking you to stay." Yun Sisi continued.

    "Sisi is right, Shifei, maybe you’re not very familiar with these social graces when you’re just starting to interact with people; many people just speak out of politeness." Xu Ya agreed with Yun Sisi.

    Yun Sisi’s eyes curved, feeling as if she could almost wag her tail.

    See, Xu Ya agrees with her words.

    However, Yun Shifei showed no sign of anger; she just said she understood.

    Yun Sisi felt that Yun Shifei had really been getting stranger recently.

    She used to be so sensitive and easily provoked; with just a little jab, Yun Shifei would bristle and argue with her.

    But now.

    She was so calm, totally unaffected by her provocations, her emotions like the surface of a calm lake, undisturbed by the slightest ripple.

    But she didn’t believe Yun Shifei could really remain this composed.

    She was merely relying on the Cheng Family?

    Wait until she got along well with Cheng Lie; let’s see if Yun Shifei could still be that calm.

    When Yun Shifei went to the Cheng Family for tutoring the next day, she sensed something was off about the atmosphere there.

    But Zhao Haishuang was still very enthusiastic.

    Cheng Huai went out to play.

    Cheng Guomin went to the office.

    They were all just the same as before, yet Yun Shifei couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

    Later, sitting together with Cheng Lie, Yun Shifei realized that the discordant feeling actually came from Cheng Lie.

    Although the young man still quietly read his book as before, she distinctly felt that his aura had grown colder.

    The weather was so hot, yet sitting next to him, she felt somewhat chilled.

    What was going on?

    Had she really been overthinking things yesterday?

    After class, Ming Zeqi left, and Yun Shifei finally got a chance to talk to Cheng Lie.

    "Cheng Lie, are you okay?" she asked cautiously.

    Hearing Yun Shifei’s words, Cheng Lie looked up from his book, glancing at Yun Shifei.

    The youth’s eyes were just as straightforward as before, devoid of emotion.

    Yet they were even chillier, sweeping over Yun Shifei, causing her to feel a chill down her spine.

    This kind of gaze only appeared when he was in a bad mood.

    This time...

    "Please, don’t get involved in my affairs from now on." He coldly dropped this sentence and stood up to leave.

    Yun Shifei sat there in a daze, and it took her a while to come back to her senses.

    She blinked, feeling a bit sore and pained.

    So, had she really been too presumptuous yesterday, thinking that Cheng Guomin could actually protect Cheng Lie?

    Her hand clenched into a tight fist, a wave of guilt washing over her.

    How could she have been so audacious to think she could protect Cheng Lie, carelessly exposing Zhao Haishuang’s lie in front of everyone?

    Cheng Lie... surely got bullied again, didn’t he?

    It’s all her fault.

    She shouldn’t take matters into her own hands like that anymore; it was too foolish.

    Yun Shifei packed her things and left the Cheng Family, her emotions very low, so much so that even Zhao Haishuang noticed.

    "What’s wrong, Shifei? Not happy?" Although Yun Shifei had embarrassed her yesterday, it didn’t cause any serious consequences, so Zhao Haishuang didn’t take it to heart.

    Of course, the main reason was that Zhao Haishuang thought Yun Shifei wasn’t capable of doing it intentionally.

    So, she didn’t treat it as a big deal at all.

    Yun Shifei shook her head: "Today’s lesson from the teacher was a bit hard to digest."

    "Oh, I see. It’s okay, keep studying hard, and if you don’t understand, ask the teacher."

    "Alright, Auntie, I’ll be going now." Yun Shifei smiled at Zhao Haishuang.

    She knew that Zhao Haishuang hadn’t taken her behavior yesterday seriously.

    Because she thought she was foolish, it was unlikely to have been intentional.

    Oh well, thinking about it, maintaining her previous persona really was quite useful.

    Being considered foolish and lacking intelligence, cautious and discreet, helped her hide her true self and survive to the end.

    However, she thought of Cheng Lie, the memory of the youth’s cold gaze making her sigh.

    Previously, she thought they might gradually become friends and that she was slowly able to help him.

    But now, it was clear that she’d been overthinking it.

    He wasn’t that easily approachable.

    Standing by the second-floor balcony.

    Cheng Lie stood there straight, his gaze on Yun Shifei’s departing figure.

    The girl was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with black pants, different from girls who generally liked wearing skirts—her attire always seemed so simple and efficient, yet exuded youthful vigor.

    He could actually feel her disappointment.

    Perhaps it was because she had tried so hard, thinking they could become friends, only for him to dismiss her efforts with a single sentence.

    Thinking of this, Cheng Lie’s usually calm heart felt a twinge of discomfort.

    She didn’t know that it was precisely because he had begun to consider her a friend that he didn’t want her to get any closer.

    Such a timid girl, who seemed like she would cry if scolded even a little, he truly feared hurting her.