"And yet, they want her to clean up? Isn't that going too far?"
Clouded with anger, Yun Shifei glared at Song Yang.
Even after coming back to life, Yun Shifei constantly reminded herself not to lose her temper, not to explode as easily as she had in the past.
But right now, she was finding it hard to hold back.
Yet shameless as ever, Song Yang seemed completely oblivious to her frustration.
People like Song Yang didn't yield to confrontation.
So what now?
School was already over. The classroom was nearly empty when Song Yang chose this moment to make a mess as dirty as possible.
He even went as far as knocking over the trash bin.
It was clear he was determined to bully Yun Shifei to the bitter end.
To him, this transfer student had hardly left an impression. She'd only been here a month, quiet and withdrawn, avoiding conversations with others.
"She'll probably be crying soon, huh?" The thought amused Song Yang.
He wouldn't hit girls—it'd look bad if word got out—but no one ever said he couldn't make them cry.
Deciding to prod her further, he said, "Hey, transfer student, you helped that idiot. Do you think he cares about you? That fool bolted straight home after school. Bet you feel pretty upset right now, huh?"
Yun Shifei glanced at Cheng Lie's desk. It was completely empty.
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening roar. Then it began to rain.
In late spring to early summer, South City was humid and stifling. The air itself seemed to press down, making it hard to breathe.
While a rain like this might bring some relief, the musty, damp feeling it left behind was like being soaked through and unable to dry, deeply unpleasant.
This particular rain started just as Cheng Lie was nearing home.
Sudden and intense, it left many caught without umbrellas, drenched like wet chickens.
But Cheng Lie remained unaffected, sitting inside his car, the rain shut out by the glass windows.
He stared out at the raindrops sliding down the glass, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he thought of that girl.
The one who stood in front of him when he was being bullied, only to get cornered by Song Yang after school and forced to clean up.
He saw Song Yang deliberately make a mess in the classroom, just to torment Yun Shifei.
Yet he didn't step in to stop it.
It wasn't his problem, after all. Yun Shifei had been meddling of her own accord.
Yes, it was all her own doing.
Closing his eyes lightly, Cheng Lie tried to convince himself.
But in his mind, Yun Shifei's face reappeared—small, her skin a bit dark, not particularly pretty.
And those hands, rough as if they'd endured countless hardships...
He immediately forced her image out of his memory, his eyes growing cold with determination.
He didn't welcome her goodwill.
Or anyone else's, for that matter.
In his world, there was only room for himself.
Back in the classroom.
Yun Shifei swept the garbage into the trash bin as Song Yang lazily dragged the bin away. "All done cleaning?" he asked.
"All done."
"Fine, I'll go dump it."
"Thanks for your hard work," Yun Shifei said with a sweet smile.
If that smile had been on Yun Sisi's face, Song Yang would've been thrilled.
But coming from plain-faced Yun Shifei, it only made him roll his eyes.
Dragging the trash bin, he headed downstairs to dispose of it.
Once Song Yang was gone, Yun Shifei let out a small sigh of relief.
She could guess exactly what was on his mind—he was probably comparing her to Yun Sisi in his head again.
Thinking, despite being siblings, how far she lagged behind Yun Sisi in appearance.
But she didn't care about such things. With the experiences of her previous life, she knew she wasn't that much worse than Yun Sisi.
She'd simply been tanned darker before; with time, her fair complexion would return.
The conversation with Song Yang replayed in her head.
She had said, "If I'm late getting back, my sister will worry about me."
Unmoved, Song Yang had retorted, "What does your sister worrying have to do with me?"
"My sister is Yun Sisi."
That one sentence had left the arrogant boy dumbfounded.
She hadn't been in the school long, and Yun Sisi didn't want others knowing they were sisters—it embarrassed her.
So only those close to Yun Sisi were aware of it.
Song Yang, naturally, hadn't known.
His jaw had dropped in shock, staying open for quite some time.
"What's your name?"
"Yun Shifei."
"Yun Shifei... Yun Sisi... So she really is your sister?"
His tone shifted instantly. "Big sis, I'm sorry for earlier. How could I let you clean all by yourself? Let's finish cleaning together—quick and efficient!"
The sudden change left Yun Shifei momentarily stunned.
Still, she had avoided a confrontation.
And for the time being, Song Yang wouldn't trouble her again.
The only inconvenience left—
On her way home, Yun Shifei looked at the love letter in her hands, lost in thought.
It was something Song Yang had just handed her, asking her to deliver it to Yun Sisi.
Hmm...
The delivery itself wasn't the issue. The tricky part was how Yun Sisi might react.
The sky sprinkled light rain.
Raindrops brushed against her face, carrying a faint chill. Yun Shifei wiped the moisture off her cheeks.
Passing by the Cheng Family house, her gaze lingered briefly.
She had stood up for Cheng Lie, only for him to leave right after school. Yun Shifei wasn't upset.
After all, he had autism—he might not have even realized what had happened earlier.
And anyway, she owed him a favor.
Now, they were even.
Arriving home, Yun Shifei changed her shoes and immediately heard Yun Sisi chatting with Xu Ya.
"Your dance competition is in a few days. I bought you two new outfits today—try them on and see which one looks better."
The sound of bags rustling followed.
"Mom, you're the best! I think both of them are gorgeous."
"I do too. With how stunning Sisi is, she'll look amazing in either one."
Their conversation trailed off as they noticed Yun Shifei entering the living room.
"Shifei, you're home from school?"
Yun Shifei nodded, her gaze falling on the dress in Xu Ya's hands.
It was a pink gown, its layers of thin fabric shimmering softly under the light, like a princess's dress.
Beautiful.
And it suited Yun Sisi perfectly.
Xu Ya, noticing Yun Shifei's eyes on the dress, instinctively stuffed it back into the bag.
She was afraid Yun Shifei might want one too.
In the past, Yun Shifei used to fight with Yun Sisi over everything, so much so that Xu Ya dreaded it.
This dress was an imported, one-of-a-kind piece—there was no way Yun Shifei could have it.
But Yun Shifei only glanced at it briefly before looking away, her expression calm. "Mom, I'm back."
"Oh..." Xu Ya seemed a bit flustered. "Shifei's back. Go eat. I'll have Aunt Zhong warm up your food. We've already eaten."
"Okay." Yun Shifei nodded obediently.
Yun Sisi furrowed her brows slightly.
It really seemed like Yun Shifei had changed. They hadn't waited for her to eat together, yet she didn't throw a tantrum?
It had rained earlier, and while Yun Sisi had brought an umbrella, Yun Shifei hadn't, but she left her behind anyway.
When she got home, she told Xu Ya that Yun Shifei was dealing with something at school and would be late.
Thus, Xu Ya didn't go to pick her up.
And Yun Sisi insisted she was too hungry to wait, so they ate first.
She did it all to provoke Yun Shifei, hoping to see her rage and argue with Xu Ya.
But disappointingly, Yun Shifei had turned strangely well-behaved, no longer causing a fuss.