Chapter 52: Chapter 52: To Throw or Not to Throw?Yun Sisi seemed oblivious to the strange looks they shot her, her gaze fixed solely on Cheng Lie: "Get in the car, Cheng Lie."

    Her smile was pure and radiant.

    Cheng Lie stayed silent.

    "Then, I’ll be heading off first." Yun Shifei waved at Cheng Lie.

    This would probably be her final farewell to Cheng Lie.

    From now on, they’d just be ordinary classmates.

    For some reason, the thought made her feel a little sad.

    But she couldn’t bring herself to keep throwing her enthusiasm at someone else’s indifference.

    Since Cheng Lie was clearly fed up with her, how could she shamelessly keep clinging to him?

    Let bygones be bygones, erased with a single stroke.

    Yun Shifei didn’t know that behind her, Cheng Lie’s gaze was locked onto her retreating figure.

    In his ordinarily cold eyes, a rare trace of anger flickered.

    But with her back turned to him, Yun Shifei remained blissfully unaware.

    "Cheng Lie, my sister has already headed home, let’s go too." Yun Sisi acted familiar.

    She said this because she believed Cheng Lie would never refuse her overtures of friendliness.

    After all, nobody had ever rejected her, especially boys.

    The boys around her treated her like a little princess and made her feel certain Cheng Lie wouldn’t be immune to her charm, either.

    Sure enough, Cheng Lie said nothing but entered the car through the door she had opened.

    Yun Sisi’s lips curled into a proud smile.

    But who would have guessed that the next moment, the door slammed shut with a loud *bang*.

    Immediately after, a book was thrown out of the window.

    As Yun Sisi stared in shock, the car sped away, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

    Yun Sisi looked at the book lying on the ground and then at the car that had already vanished from view.

    Her expression stiffened, as though she had witnessed something she simply could not believe.

    Her chest heaved up and down.

    What... was that?

    Surely, she wasn’t dreaming? Why would someone dare to treat her like this?

    Especially someone as foolish as Cheng Lie.

    Yun Sisi found it utterly incomprehensible.

    The feeling was worse than when anyone else rejected her.

    Because Cheng Lie was a fool!

    The fact that even a fool treated her like this felt like sheer humiliation to Yun Sisi.

    As Uncle Liu drove, he couldn’t help but feel tense.

    The tension came from the pressure behind him.

    Without even turning around, he could tell how angry the young master was—was it because of the book Yun Sisi had handed him earlier?

    Uncle Liu hadn’t expected Cheng Lie to dislike Miss Yun Sisi so much.

    He had assumed Cheng Lie’s attitude toward such girls would be similar to his demeanor toward Miss Yun Shifei.

    After enough deliberation, Uncle Liu finally said, "Young Master, I’m terribly sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have accepted the book she handed over."

    Upon hearing Uncle Liu’s apology, Cheng Lie remembered the timid girl’s sad, apologetic expression from moments ago.

    His temple began to throb uncontrollably.

    "There’s no need to apologize to me," Cheng Lie said, though it was unclear whether he was speaking to Uncle Liu or to Yun Shifei in his thoughts.

    He felt restless and irritable, a shadow darkening his face.

    Finally, when Cheng Lie spoke, it was at such a moment.

    Moreover, his expression didn’t look great either...

    Uncle Liu only grew more anxious.

    Looking ahead, he saw someone crossing the street and slammed on the brakes in alarm.

    *Screeeech—*

    The sharp sound of the tires skidding on the ground made Uncle Liu sigh.

    The sudden jolt sent Cheng Lie’s body lurching forward.

    "Young Master, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" Uncle Liu hurriedly apologized.

    Cheng Lie narrowed his eyes, debating whether to ask if Uncle Liu was really that scared of him.

    Fearing it would only heighten the man’s mental stress and impair his driving further, Cheng Lie pursed his lips and said nothing.

    "Sister, why didn’t you come home with Cheng Lie today?" Yun Sisi asked Yun Shifei as soon as she got home.

    She had already composed herself. No matter how humiliated she’d felt, she’d ensure she always appeared elegant and radiant in front of Yun Shifei.

    Hmph, only that way could she flaunt her superiority.

    "None of your business." Yun Shifei was in a bad mood and didn’t bother to engage Yun Sisi.

    "You..." Yun Sisi glared at her in anger.

    But Yun Shifei remained indifferent, placing her books on the desk and carefully organizing her homework, preparing to start on it after dinner.

    Watching Yun Shifei’s focused demeanor, Yun Sisi grew increasingly uneasy.

    Initially, she had thought Yun Shifei was merely pretending to enjoy studying to curry favor with Xu Ya and Yun Tiancheng.

    But now, it seemed Yun Shifei genuinely enjoyed learning?

    After all, someone who truly disliked studying couldn’t keep up such a pretense.

    Yun Sisi frowned, her suspicions of Yun Shifei deepening.

    For now, however, she lacked any concrete evidence.

    After much thought, Yun Sisi turned and left.

    Oh well, regardless of the situation, her current priority was to befriend Cheng Lie—or better yet, make him fall for her.

    Cheng Guomin doted on Cheng Lie so much that if she succeeded, he’d surely extend his affection to her as well.

    Yun Sisi envisioned everything perfectly.

    She placed her books back onto the desk. If textbooks didn’t work, then perhaps candy might?

    Late at night.

    Cheng Lie sat at his desk, staring at an open box in front of him.

    Inside were colorful candies of all flavors.

    Unconsciously, the candies Yun Shifei had given him had filled an entire box. Sear?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Cheng Lie gazed at the candies, ultimately picking a green one. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.

    The sweet-and-sour taste spread across his palate, carrying a faint hint of green apple.

    It wasn’t particularly delicious, and before long, the sweetness overwhelmed him.

    Yet, he still finished it, bit by bit.

    Images of Yun Shifei flashed in his mind.

    Her delicate face wasn’t striking, but her smile was as bright and fervent as the sun on the horizon.

    The next moment, he recalled the teary, vulnerable look she bore when she was bullied.

    When Song Yang had bullied him, though fearful, she had stood in front of him.

    When he spoke to her coldly, she genuinely thought she had done something wrong and apologized.

    Cheng Lie assumed he had no heart, yet he remembered every little moment with Yun Shifei.

    Perhaps it was right not to be friends with her.

    Otherwise, he’d eventually find himself affected by her.

    He didn’t need emotions.

    Once, a woman, driven by emotion, had given birth to him—and because of emotion, she had died, unknowing of the harm inflicted upon her.

    He didn’t want to become such a person.

    Only coldness could protect him.

    But...

    Cheng Lie looked at the box of candies he had collected.

    If he truly wanted to be ruthless, he ought to throw everything of hers away, out of sight and out of mind. So why had he eaten it?

    Eating it was one thing, but he couldn’t even bring himself to discard the rest—what was wrong with him?

    Cheng Lie placed his hand on the candy box. Beside his desk was a trash can. He could toss it in with just a single movement.

    To throw or not to throw?

    Cheng Lie wrestled with himself internally.

    In the end, he closed the box and stashed it in his drawer.

    What a nuisance!