Chapter 266: Bring Along My Share
They played for a while, and when leaving, Fang Kaiyi reluctantly tugged on Yun Shifei’s clothes.
Yun Shifei patted his head, "Xiao Yi, how about we go to the amusement park next time, okay?"
Fang Kaiyi nodded enthusiastically, "Okay!"
He was thrilled. Growing up, he had never been to an amusement park before.
Cheng Lie watched Yun Shifei gently coax Fang Kaiyi with a soft tone, the expression on her face resembling how she treated him in the past.
But now, she rarely spoke to him in the same way.
Perhaps it’s because she knew he didn’t have autism and didn’t need her to coax him anymore.
Cheng Lie clearly understood that it was actually because of him that she treated this child so well, yet he still inexplicably felt jealous.
Whenever there was a man who made him feel threatened, he always found ways to make sure that man disappeared from Yun Shifei’s sight.
However, seeing such a little brat and the tragic story behind him, for some reason, Cheng Lie couldn’t bring himself to make any cruel plans.
At just this moment, Fang Kaiyi turned to look at Cheng Lie and asked Yun Shifei, "Sister, will this brother go too?"
Yun Shifei couldn’t help but turn to look at Cheng Lie.
The pair of little and big eyes stared at him, making Cheng Lie’s heart tense. Then, he nodded lightly.
Yun Shifei smiled happily, "Brother will come too."
"Great!" Fang Kaiyi exclaimed joyfully.
Compared to his previous silent, reclusive state of not talking or playing with other kids, Fang Kaiyi had gradually become more cheerful now.
"Kids are really easy to comfort," Yun Shifei thought with amusement.
Meanwhile, Cheng Lie, looking at Fang Kaiyi, felt less contentious and thought to himself that he was truly petty—what’s the point of competing with a child?
Before leaving, Yun Shifei gave Fang Kaiyi a comic book from the same series she had gifted him last time.
She also made arrangements with a bookstore owner to purchase a batch of books suitable for children and planned to donate all of them to the welfare center later.
On the way back, Cheng Lie asked Yun Shifei, "Do you donate money to the welfare center every month?"
Yun Shifei hummed in response, "Not very much."
"From now on, include my share too," Cheng Lie said. "I’ll give you my card next time."
Yun Shifei was a little surprised.
Under her bright gaze, Cheng Lie turned his eyes away. "I just want to help them, that’s all."
She was likely surprised because he had always seemed so cold and distant—it didn’t seem like the kind of thing he would do.
He admitted that before today, he hadn’t thought about doing something charitable like this either.
But today, Cheng Lie suddenly changed his mind. He realized that they really needed help.
When he was younger, part of him had actually wished to live in a welfare center. For him, staying in one would have surely been better than facing those who tormented him every day.
Cheng Lie gazed at the scenery outside the window as the sun dipped lower, its edge lighting the sky in crimson hues—a magnificent sight.
But everything was in the past now. He had avenged himself, met someone he liked, and was starting a new life.
He was content.
And now, it was Yun Shifei’s actions that reminded Cheng Lie that he could still help those weaker than him.
He wasn’t particularly kind-hearted, but if she wanted to help, he didn’t mind joining her.
The car arrived at Yun Shifei’s university entrance, and she got out, turning to Cheng Lie. "I’m leaving now."
Cheng Lie gave a small nod.
He watched the girl’s retreating figure. She hadn’t walked far before she seemed to meet some classmates she knew. The group of girls laughed and chatted as they headed into campus together.
So, this is university life?
University life should be enjoyable, at least without the same intense pressure as high school.
Through Yun Shifei, he could clearly feel the difference.
Back in high school, she barely rested due to her poor academic foundation, pouring all her time into rigorous studying. The stress even caused her to nearly cry once when her grades fell short.
But now, she seemed to live happily all the time.
He started to feel a longing for college life.
Through the rearview mirror, Zhao Pan noticed the longing in Cheng Lie’s eyes. Having attended university himself, he’d always wished to relive those carefree days of studying without much pressure.
After graduating, it was easy to find a decent job anywhere.
But he couldn’t say this out loud to Cheng Lie.
"Mr. Cheng, if you want a college degree, Fourth Master can arrange it for you."
Cheng Lie snapped out of his thoughts and gestured toward the university gates. "Then I want a diploma from this school."
"That’s certainly possible."
This school wasn’t the best in Beijing. With Cheng Lie’s abilities, he could easily get into an elite institution, and professors would likely scramble to accept him as a mentee after a single discussion.
Thinking along those lines, Zhao Pan remembered the upcoming networking event.
"Mr. Cheng, don’t forget the networking event tomorrow night."
Cheng Lie hummed in acknowledgment.
It wasn’t something he could forget.
Nowadays, he lived counting down the days.
Five years—that’s less than a year now. How much longer until the end?
Yun Shifei had returned to her calm, ordinary days, attending classes, reading in the library, honing her skills in the computer room.
She even participated in club activities.
Last time, after Yun Shifei had encountered an accident while performing outside, Xu Yue didn’t dare allow her to go out and play the piano again.
Performing within the school was good enough.
This junior’s stunning looks might accidentally attract unwanted attention from some lecher—what could they do if that happened?
Yun Shifei hadn’t considered playing piano outside again either.
Though it paid well, she was afraid of running into someone like Qin Yumo again—it was utterly terrifying.
If not for Cheng Lie stepping up, she couldn’t imagine what would have happened.
She felt fortunate. Thankfully, Qin Yumo hadn’t appeared again—likely scared off by Cheng Lie during that last encounter.
Cheng Lie seemed cold and aloof but was surprisingly ruthless when he fought.
Oddly, she wasn’t afraid of his actions; she even found him quite handsome when he fought.
She didn’t fancy boys who fought, but in Cheng Lie’s case, she supported him no matter what he did.
That weekend, Yun Shifei and Cheng Lie took Fang Kaiyi to the children’s amusement park.
Fang Kaiyi had an amazing time. His smile grew brighter, and he even began to act spoiled around Yun Shifei.
"Sister, that cotton candy looks so delicious—I want one."
"Alright, Sister will buy you one." Yun Shifei couldn’t resist such sweet pleas from a child and bought him some cotton candy.
She couldn’t help but buy one for herself and started eating it too.
Each holding their own cotton candy, Yun Shifei turned to Cheng Lie. "Do you want one?"
"... You two eat it," he replied. Him eating cotton candy? Could you imagine?
Cheng Lie thought it would utterly clash with his usual air and image.
Yun Shifei had grown used to Cheng Lie’s aloof demeanor.
She led Fang Kaiyi to the trampoline next.
The area was filled with children. Fang Kaiyi jumped around joyfully inside the enclosure while Yun Shifei and Cheng Lie stood outside, watching him.