Chapter 334: She Deceived Me for So Many Years
They had already severed all ties on the day she proposed breaking up.
When Qin Yumo saw Yun Shifei noticing Cheng Lie’s appearance, she froze utterly, as if rooted to the spot, motionless.
Actually, he knew Yun Shifei had broken up with Cheng Lie, but unfortunately, he hadn’t had time to find her over the past few days.
Now that they’d bumped into each other by chance, Qin Yumo wouldn’t let the opportunity slip away. He turned to Cheng Lie, fully provocative: "Cheng Lie, surprising, isn’t it? No matter how triumphant you are in the business world, your woman still doesn’t like you."
Cheng Lie smirked at the remark, glancing indifferently at Qin Yumo: "Have you cleaned up the mess you made trying to rival me last time?"
At that, Qin Yumo’s expression instantly darkened.
Grinding his teeth, he glared at Cheng Lie: "You’re nothing but a dog of the Qin Family. Don’t be too arrogant. You think you’re the only capable one? I’ll tell you this – it’s only a matter of time."
But compared to Qin Yumo’s clenched teeth and ferocity, Cheng Lie remained far more composed: "You’re just leaning on the Qin Family. Without them, you’re nothing."
The remark squarely hit Qin Yumo’s sore spot. He wanted to retort, but no words came to him.
Cheng Lie turned his gaze to the side, toward Yun Shifei: "Not leaving yet?"
Yun Shifei wanted to move, but Qin Yumo’s grip on her shoulder was so tight Cheng Lie noticed. He gave Zhao Pan a look and said, "Take his hand off her."
"You dare?!" Qin Yumo glared at Zhao Pan, his hostility intense.
Zhao Pan: "..."
Cold sweat poured down his head. He didn’t dare, but he dared even less to disobey Cheng Lie’s orders. These days, Cheng Lie was his master. There was no longer any reporting back to the Fourth Master.
If Cheng Lie wanted it done, he had no choice but to do it...
But the person on the other side was Qin Guangtao’s cherished son! How would he explain himself later?
Ah... Yet, if he disobeyed, Mr. Cheng wouldn’t let him off either.
Zhao Pan was almost frantic.
In the end, Qin Yumo yielded.
Yun Shifei obediently followed behind Cheng Lie as they left together.
Compared to before, she noticed Cheng Lie now seemed to have more people accompanying him. Previously, it was only Zhao Pan; now, there were as many as four.
This indicated that Cheng Lie had become even more powerful now, hadn’t he? Deep down, Yun Shifei felt genuinely happy for him.
Still, she didn’t dare say a word, as Cheng Lie’s cold demeanor made her afraid to speak. Furthermore, for reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt unsettlingly guilty.
Exiting the mall and breathing the fresh air outside, Yun Shifei said to Cheng Lie, "Thank you, Cheng Lie. I’ll head off now."
Cheng Lie looked at the girl in front of him. The way she faced him was so cautious, as if scared he might devour her.
She didn’t used to be like this.
Just when Yun Shifei thought she could leave unscathed, she suddenly heard Cheng Lie ask, "What you said earlier—did you mean it?"
He heard it!
Yun Shifei’s heart sank. Those words were, of course, utter nonsense, said only to make Qin Yumo see her as a materialistic woman, just like the ones he’d chased before. Only then would Qin Yumo lose interest in her.
She hadn’t expected Cheng Lie to overhear.
But thinking about their breakup, whether she explained or not made no difference. She dropped her gaze and said softly, "I’m sorry."
Cheng Lie stared at Yun Shifei, wishing he could open her mind at that moment to see what was going on inside.
But in the end, he didn’t act on the impulse. He restrained his emotions and the desire to drag her into his car and take her home, walking off without a word.
Zhao Pan sighed. He felt he had truly misjudged Yun Shifei. Previously, he had thought she was a kind-hearted girl, but now, it seemed she was no different from others.
Earlier today, he had prayed Cheng Lie wouldn’t run into her. Otherwise, Cheng Lie would lose control of his emotions again.
And sure enough.
Thinking back to the previous tense confrontation upstairs, with two grim-faced masters nearly using him as cannon fodder, Zhao Pan couldn’t help letting out a sigh: Truly, femme fatales exist!
After Cheng Lie departed, Yun Shifei didn’t linger either, taking a cab back to campus.
On the way back, she kept thinking about what had just happened, unable to resist covering her mouth and crying.
Alright, fine. She admitted it—she was a coward. Even though she wanted so badly to say no, she just couldn’t.
All she wished for was to see Cheng Lie live safely and steadily, to become the person he was in her past life. She didn’t want her presence to affect him in any way. After all, he’d had too many hardships before. If he couldn’t finally fulfill his aspirations, she would be forever guilty.
At that moment, sitting in the car, Cheng Lie’s hands, resting on his knees, remained clenched in tight fists.
Forty-five days. A month and a half. They met again, yet she was so heartless.
Her words to Qin Yumo echoed in his mind. When he tried to confirm them, she had actually admitted they were true.
How could she think he’d believe such words?
If what she said was genuine, then it meant he was a fool who had been deceived by her for so many years.
A person who had treated him with endless kindness from the time he was a destitute, withdrawn individual—whose gaze toward him had never changed, whose love had even grown stronger.
How was it possible for her feelings to change so suddenly, just because of greed for money?
Her words earlier were surely meant to disillusion Qin Yumo.
Still, she refused to admit she was lying.
Why had she broken up with him? He had clearly seen the sadness she tried so hard to hide.
Cheng Lie couldn’t fathom what Yun Shifei was thinking, so he decided not to dwell on it.
He instructed Zhao Pan, "Investigate everyone she’s been in contact with recently—whom she called, everything. Leave nothing unchecked."
Having served Cheng Lie for so long, Zhao Pan immediately knew whom "she" referred to.
He internally wanted to cry. What was this supposed to mean? Mr. Cheng still couldn’t let go of Yun Shifei? Such foolishness!
"Mr. Cheng, I think Miss Yun doesn’t like you anymore."
She had made her sentiments painfully clear.
"You think?"
Zhao Pan had been about to deliver a barrage of words but, when he met Cheng Lie’s gaze, his courage faltered.
"I’ll conduct a thorough investigation, Mr. Cheng. Don’t worry."
Fine. Since the master had issued the order, he would make sure it was executed flawlessly.
Later, he would present the evidence before Cheng Lie—it might be what was needed to make him lose hope.
After delegating the task, Cheng Lie’s mood slightly improved. Another thought crossed his mind, narrowing his long eyes.
It was time for Qin Yumo to learn a lesson.
After returning to campus, Yun Shifei packed up her belongings and took them to the post office to ship to Yun Tiancheng.
In this era, there wasn’t much in terms of courier services; the fastest delivery to South City would take over a week.
She was thinking, if she ever truly built a shopping platform in the future, she would definitely establish her own logistics network. That would be a real innovation.
But right now, she didn’t have the mindset for it. Thinking about her encounter with Cheng Lie, her eyes welled up with tears again. The distance between them kept growing.
And she couldn’t help wondering—would her words earlier hurt Cheng Lie?