Chapter 284: Got Her Figured Out
In truth, she wasn’t really very angry, just unable to let go of the knot in her heart.
She had thought the ending could have had another possibility, but looking back now, she realized she had simply overthought it.
Yun Shifei felt a little disgusted with her own over-sensitivity.
"I understand now," Yun Shifei said as she stood up and looked at Zhao Pan, "Brother Zhao, thank you for telling me this. I’ll make up with Cheng Lie."
She decided that right now, immediately, she would go to Cheng Lie’s house to find him.
"Is Cheng Lie home right now?"
Zhao Pan was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. He nodded.
Just like that, Yun Shifei left, and Zhao Pan was still somewhat in a daze.
Originally, he thought it would take a lot more effort to persuade Yun Shifei to change her mind. He didn’t expect her to trust his words so quickly and rush off to see Cheng Lie.
He had always thought their misunderstanding wasn’t that deep, just separated by a thin layer of film. Someone needed to pierce it, and that person turned out to be him.
Yun Shifei ran off to find Cheng Lie.
Standing at Cheng Lie’s doorstep, she pressed the doorbell.
At that moment, Cheng Lie was planning to cook some noodles to eat.
Since Yun Shifei had visited his house once before and cooked him a meal, urging him to eat properly, Cheng Lie had obediently started cooking his own meals since then.
He had even begun seriously studying recipes, thinking that the next time Yun Shifei came to his house, he could cook a delicious meal for her.
But today, because he was injured, he could only manage to cook a simple bowl of noodles for himself.
There were still some frozen dumplings in the fridge from the last time Yun Shifei had bought groceries. He put a few of those in as well.
Hearing the doorbell ring, Cheng Lie walked over to open the door, assuming it was Zhao Pan.
But Zhao Pan had a spare key to his house, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to ring the doorbell.
When Cheng Lie saw the girl standing at his door, he froze for a moment.
He hadn’t expected Yun Shifei to come looking for him.
He had just seen her at noon—why had she come rushing over again?
Yun Shifei’s eyes quickly landed on Cheng Lie’s hand.
At that moment, he wasn’t wearing gloves, and his left hand was wrapped in thick layers of gauze.
In an instant, Yun Shifei’s eyes turned red, and tears almost fell.
Seeing Yun Shifei staring at his hand, Cheng Lie instinctively tried to hide it behind his back.
She didn’t like seeing the vulnerable side of him, Cheng Lie thought.
But unexpectedly, she stepped forward and grabbed his hand. "Cheng Lie, what happened to your hand?"
Her gaze lingered on the white gauze, wrapped so tightly—it was clear how severe the injury must be.
"It’s nothing, I just accidentally cut it."
"Accidentally? Why don’t you know how to take better care of yourself?!" Yun Shifei’s voice rose a pitch, sounding somewhat angry.
Cheng Lie had never seen Yun Shifei like this before—cheeks puffed, eyes red, unsure whether it was anger or worry. Her expression, meant to be fiercely angry, now carried an undertone of pitiful helplessness.
The injured one was supposed to be him, but why did she seem so aggrieved?
Unable to stop himself, Cheng Lie responded, "It’s no big deal, just a small wound."
Listening to his repeated "no big deal," Yun Shifei grew even more frustrated. "You keep saying it’s nothing, but Zhao Pan said you were bleeding profusely. Stop lying to me."
She trusted Zhao Pan wouldn’t deceive her—his attitude clearly revealed that he had secretly come to her to talk while hiding it from Cheng Lie.
Yun Shifei genuinely felt heartache for Cheng Lie.
Seeing her like this, Cheng Lie felt the lingering distance between them disappear. He couldn’t help but ask, "You’re not mad at me anymore?"
"Not mad! I should be the one to apologize to you—I shouldn’t have been so quick-tempered before." Yun Shifei sniffled.
Looking at her aggrieved and guilty expression, Cheng Lie felt his heart completely melt.
How could she be so adorable? The mistake was his, yet now she thought she was wrong for getting angry.
A girl like her—it’d be too easy for someone to take advantage of her, he thought.
Cheng Lie silently resolved that he would protect her; nobody but him could ever mistreat her.
"I’m the one who owes you an apology," he said.
"I understand your struggles. I’m sorry—I just couldn’t reconcile with it before," Yun Shifei admitted.
Now that she finally understood, she realized just how difficult his life had been all these years.
As a child, he’d already begun masking his true self, facing his enemy every day, enduring mistreatment while holding back his feelings.
That kind of patience, that kind of burning resolve—not every adult could possess it, let alone a child.
While other children were carefree and happy, his childhood was stolen as he kept himself locked away in a shell.
As Yun Shifei thought this through, she couldn’t help but begin to cry, tears falling freely.
Seeing Yun Shifei suddenly burst into tears, Cheng Lie panicked. "What’s wrong? I’m sorry... Did I make you upset again?"
Yun Shifei shook her head, lifting tearful eyes to meet his. "I just feel like your life has been so hard. Really, so incredibly hard."
It truly had been unimaginably difficult.
If her life was set to "hard mode," then Cheng Lie’s life had been in "super hard mode."
At least she’d had Yun Tiancheng to care about her, brothers and sisters who loved her. But Cheng Lie, he had been all alone, surviving in South City on his own.
Yun Shifei crying for him was something Cheng Lie hadn’t expected. For a moment, he felt a mix of amusement and heartbreak.
But instinctively, he reached out his uninjured arm to pull her into his embrace and lifted his other hand to wipe her tears. "Don’t cry anymore, it’s all in the past. I haven’t cried, so why are you crying?"
She must truly care about him—to forgive him so simply, to cry empathetically over his past.
What kind of girl was she? Sensitive and tender-hearted to the point of making him unsure how to react—he just wanted to protect and spoil her, give her anything her heart desired.
Cheng Lie thought to himself, he was determined—this girl was his for life.
Yun Shifei rested against Cheng Lie’s chest, at first thinking nothing of it. But as soon as she realized she was in his arms, her heart jumped, and her face turned red.
She quickly pushed him away and raised her eyes to meet Cheng Lie’s dark gaze. She wanted to ask him—was it true that Cheng Lie liked her?
Just like Yu Liantao had said, wouldn’t it be better to directly ask and clear things up?
But as the words reached her lips, staring at Cheng Lie’s handsome face, she couldn’t make herself speak.
Oh...
It was too hard.
Cheng Lie was also waiting for Yun Shifei to say something.
She liked him—he could feel it plain as day. Was she finally going to say those three words?
But as he watched Yun Shifei’s blush intensify, her face wrinkling slightly in hesitation, he began to wonder.
What was this? Was it truly that difficult to say?
"Cheng Lie."
Cheng Lie gave a soft acknowledgment. He could hear his own heartbeat speed up, anticipation building for her to utter those words.
"Do you smell something burning?" Yun Shifei asked, wrinkling her nose and quickly turning her gaze toward the kitchen. "Are you cooking something?!"
Only then did Cheng Lie remember—he had been planning to cook noodles.