Chapter 172: Heartache

Words : 1330 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Yun Shifei heard this, couldn’t help but furrow her brows, and didn’t hand the item to her. "I’ll give it to him myself." "Miss Yun, let me take it to the young master instead." Yun Shifei could clearly see the panic in this woman’s eyes. She pushed past her and ran upstairs. Bang bang bang—— Yun Shifei knocked on the door and called out, "Cheng Lie, are you there?" At this moment, Cheng Lie was sitting at his desk reading. The boy’s complexion was even paler than it had been a few days ago. The faint light cast over his face, as though it could pierce through his skin. Over the past few days, Zhao Haishuang and Cheng Huai had deliberately instructed the servants to only give him one meal a day, and the dishes were poorly prepared, consisting of nothing but bland vegetables. Cheng Lie always stopped after eating only a few bites. He couldn’t eat more. Every year, they would do this, intentionally tormenting him; Cheng Lie had long since grown accustomed to it. He knew that, at most, he only had to endure until next year, and he would be free. Besides, this year hasn’t been as unbearable. Because Yun Shifei had given him a box of candy. When he was hungry, the candy was enough to satisfy him. As he read, he scribbled quickly on a piece of paper, his pen scratching across it relentlessly. Suddenly, he heard the sound of knocking and Yun Shifei’s voice, surprising Cheng Lie. Why would she come here? He remembered that Yun Shifei had gone to her grandmother’s house a few days ago, and she had mentioned she might stay there for several days. Nonetheless, Cheng Lie stood up and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, Yun Shifei immediately took a good look at Cheng Lie. Thankfully, he seemed the same as a few days ago, looking fine overall. "I just came back from my grandmother’s house; here are some snacks for you." Yun Shifei handed the snacks to Cheng Lie. Cheng Lie reached out and took them. She always brought him food, treating him like a little kid. "What have you been doing at home these past few days? Are you bored? Do you want to go out with me for a walk?" "Miss, the Master and Madam instructed that the young master must stay at home and cannot go anywhere." At this moment, the servant spoke again from the side. Yun Shifei hadn’t expected her to follow them here, almost as if she was monitoring them. This feeling made Yun Shifei slightly uncomfortable. But she didn’t say anything, and simply took Cheng Lie’s hand: "Let’s go; let’s go outside and bask in the sun." Yun Shifei could already imagine; Cheng Lie must’ve been holed up at home for days. Look at this kid—his demeanor had grown colder and darker. He really needed to experience more sunlight, to feel the warmth of a bright sunny day. The servant instinctively tried to stop the two, but Yun Shifei glanced at her and said, "If you’re unwilling, I’ll call Uncle Cheng." Upon hearing her mention Cheng Guomin, the servant didn’t dare object anymore. She was feeling guilty, hoping Yun Shifei wouldn’t notice anything. Cheng Lie quietly watched Yun Shifei. He realized that she really had grown up—and she could stand up for herself now. In the past, she had been bullied so badly, clearly in the right, yet she always ended up backing down. But now, she wasn’t like that anymore. Although he still thought it wasn’t enough; she ought to be even tougher. Yun Shifei left the snacks in Cheng Lie’s room and then went out to play with him. The weather was cold, so there weren’t many places they could go, but they could walk the dog. Over the past few days, she’d gone to her grandmother’s house with Yun Tiancheng, leaving the dog at home. Worried the dog might become unruly from staying indoors for too long, Yun Shifei decided to later bring it out from the Yun Family and take it for a walk with Cheng Lie. Outside, the sunshine was perfect. Despite the cold temperature, the brilliant sunlight warmed them up from head to toe. Yun Shifei looked up at Cheng Lie, wanting to say something, but with just one glance, she froze for a moment. She finally noticed that not only had Cheng Lie’s demeanor become much gloomier, but his face was also sickly pale. His lips were bloodless, ghastly white. They hadn’t seen each other for only four or five days at most—why had Cheng Lie ended up like this? "Cheng Lie, are you okay? Are you sick?" Yun Shifei raised her hand and covered Cheng Lie’s forehead but didn’t notice a significant temperature difference from her own. Cheng Lie quietly looked at Yun Shifei, his face full of innocence. He said, "Didn’t eat." Yun Shifei was stunned for a moment and then widened her eyes: "You haven’t eaten in days?" Cheng Lie nodded: "The food is bad; I couldn’t eat it." His tone was deliberate, like a child complaining to an adult. Yun Shifei had eaten with Cheng Lie plenty of times; she knew he wasn’t a picky eater—he usually ate whatever was given to him. If he couldn’t eat, it must’ve been because that aunt’s cooking was genuinely awful! In an instant, Yun Shifei was fuming. She thought of the servant’s guilty expression—was it possible that, taking advantage of Cheng Guomin’s absence, she was abusing Cheng Lie and pocketing the leftover food budget? Yun Shifei considered her sinister intentions. Or worse, perhaps Cheng Guomin had indirectly encouraged this. Bullying Cheng Lie because of his autism—no matter how badly he was treated, he wouldn’t casually tell anyone. At this thought, Yun Shifei’s heart ached terribly for Cheng Lie. She told Cheng Lie, "Let’s go to my house. I’ll cook for you. That woman is so despicable! I’m definitely calling Uncle Cheng." No matter if it was Cheng Guomin’s instructions or not, she had to notify Cheng Guomin about this incident. She already knew exactly how to tell him—and was determined to do it in a way that would thoroughly enrage him. Seeing Yun Shifei so angry, Cheng Lie found it amusing. This surge in her emotions, triggered by him, meant she cared about him, didn’t it? Was there truly someone in this world, unrelated to him by any interest, who cared about him so deeply? How could his heart not feel subtly moved? She had pulled him out of the darkness, letting him glimpse a ray of light. From now on, he would grant her anything—whatever she wanted, even if it cost him everything, he would place it in her hands. Yun Shifei brought Cheng Lie home, first heating up a cup of milk for him and then heading to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles. Although it was just noodles, she added plenty of ingredients. Fried egg, roasted drumsticks, sausage, meatballs... A very generously portioned bowl of noodles was placed in front of Cheng Lie. Cheng Lie: "..." Suddenly, memories of his childhood surfaced—his mother had been just like this, afraid he would go hungry, always preparing the biggest portions of everything for him. "Eat up! If it’s not enough, there’s more in the pot," Yun Shifei said with a big smile. She was very confident in her cooking skills, especially making noodles—she considered it her specialty. At this moment, Yun Tiancheng heard the commotion downstairs and came down, seeing Yun Shifei and Cheng Lie in the dining room. "Shi Fei, are you hungry?" he asked casually. When Yun Shifei saw Yun Tiancheng, she felt a bit aggrieved: "It’s Cheng Lie, Dad. Do you know how awful the Cheng Family can be? That servant didn’t even give Cheng Lie food. Look—he’s so hungry, he’s lost weight!" The more Yun Shifei thought about it, the angrier she became.

Chapter 172: Heartache

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