#51 (Revised): You Think I’d Take the Bait for Just That Little Bit?

Cheng Mi occasionally smoked a cigarette to relieve stress.

Just as she was about to light it, she remembered Si Tingyan’s heart condition and stopped. Cheng Mi didn’t look at Si Tingyan. She got up and put the cigarette back into the ashtray’s groove.

But no subtle movement could escape Si Tingyan, who was constantly watching her.

Si Tingyan spoke: “You can smoke.”

Cheng Mi looked at him, acting naturally. She walked over, leaned down, kissed Si Tingyan’s lips, then straightened up and leaned back against the desk opposite him: “Mmm, I’ve smoked.”

Kissing his lips was her way of getting some stress relief, which was uncharacteristically innocent for her.

He wasn’t taking the bait even though she was teasing him, so she wouldn’t tease him anymore. He would have to come to her himself.

In the hazy light, Si Tingyan’s features were still exquisite and clear. He had finished the game, put his phone aside, and got up from the bed.

Then he didn’t move closer to Cheng Mi.

Cheng Mi leaned against the edge of the desk, watching his eyes move away from her face. He walked to the head of the bed, as if he was really getting ready to sleep.

Cheng Mi wasn’t in a hurry. She just watched him.

A white bandage was wrapped around his distinctly-boned wrist. He took off his jacket and draped it over a nearby chair. Si Tingyan had his back to her and spoke in a cold tone.

“You show me just that little bit, and you think I’ll take the bait?”

A damp strand of Cheng Mi’s hair was clinging to her neck. She crossed her arms and looked at him: “Even if I didn’t show you, wouldn’t you still take the bait?”

“Like now,” she said.

Si Tingyan did exactly as she said. After just putting away his jacket, he turned around and walked back to her.

Before Si Tingyan even reached her, Cheng Mi had already uncrossed her arms and was waiting for him to get closer.

The moment Si Tingyan stopped in front of her, Cheng Mi naturally raised her hands to his neck, looked up into his eyes and said: “Is that right, Si Tingyan?”

Cheng Mi was very pale. The wet hair was sticking to her neck, running down and disappearing into her clothes.

Si Tingyan leaned down, his lips kissing the wet mark on her neck: “What do you think?”

His warm, soft touch made Cheng Mi’s whole body go soft. She slightly tilted her neck up. Her fingers, which were wrapped around his neck, tightened behind his neck, pulling him a little closer to her.

Cheng Mi had to admit, she craved Si Tingyan in every moment of their recent cold relationship.

They were burning individually, then embracing and destroying themselves together.

Cheng Mi’s legs unconsciously sat up on the desk. She accidentally hit the lamp switch. With a click, the room was plunged into darkness.

Neither of them paid any attention.

In the early hours of the morning, there was no light in the room. It seemed that only their sense of touch remained.

The collar of Cheng Mi’s shirt on her shoulder was slightly pulled askew. Si Tingyan was kissing her neck.

Cheng Mi was hugging him, and she slightly tilted her head to touch his ear. She suddenly asked: “Did you also go to the hospital in Jiacheng two years ago?”

Cheng Mi knew that Si Tingyan had been hospitalized in Jiacheng three years ago. At that time, Si Tingyan and Li Yeheng were in the same ward. They had met. She had given him a Wangzai Milk, although Cheng Mi hadn’t remembered these things at first.

But now she was asking about two years ago, the year she got into big trouble.

The reason Cheng Mi asked this was because she guessed that Si Tingyan had seen her in the hospital at that time.

At that time, their incident had caused a stir in that small place, especially in the school. This was also why Li Yeheng had insisted on sending her to Fengxun.

What’s more, Li Yeheng and Si Huiru were even closer than they were the year before.

Cheng Mi asked again: “Did you and Auntie Huiru both know about what happened to me that year?”

At the mention of this, Si Tingyan paused slightly.

Yes, not only that, but for the past two years, he had never stopped thinking about making Chen Zhaochi disappear.

But no one knew these things.

Cheng Mi felt that Si Tingyan wasn’t just thinking about her question; it was as if he was starting to develop some dark, long-dormant thoughts.

Because in the next second, the force of Si Tingyan’s lips on her neck increased significantly, accidentally getting tainted with an uncontrollable release of emotion.

Along with the sound of his kiss on her neck, another sound suddenly appeared in the dark silence.

The clear sound of a door opening came from Si Huiru’s room.

Cheng Mi paused for a moment, but Si Tingyan didn’t.

Footsteps soon followed from outside the door, not coming toward them, but going toward the hallway entrance.

After reaching the entrance, the footsteps stopped.

Cheng Mi knew immediately what Si Huiru had gotten up to do. She had woken up in the middle of the night worried and was checking to see if she and Li Chu were back.

She probably saw her shoes at the entrance but not Li Chu’s. Si Huiru turned and went back to the living room.

Then Cheng Mi realized that the footsteps were getting closer and closer to them.

Si Huiru was walking in their direction.

Si Tingyan, who was on her neck, must have also heard it, but he was indifferent. He continued to do things that were particularly breathtaking at this moment.

His lips moved from her neck to her lips and gently bit down.

He was annoyed that she was distracted.

His mother was only a door away from them right now. In their current state, if Si Huiru opened the door, she would see them immediately.

When Cheng Mi came into Si Tingyan’s room, she only closed the door, but she didn’t lock it. Now, Si Huiru could open it just by pressing the doorknob.

Cheng Mi was bitten, and she hissed in pain. The hand that was wrapped around Si Tingyan’s neck fell, and she gently pushed against his shoulder. She looked at him, not in a hurry, and asked him: “Are you crazy? Aren’t you afraid of being seen?”

Almost at the same time as her words fell, Si Huiru’s footsteps stopped right outside the door.

Si Tingyan also stopped. Their breaths were intertwined in the darkness.

A few meters away, Si Huiru was standing outside the door.

It was at this moment that Si Tingyan’s lips fell below her ear, the same lips that were usually so obedient in front of Si Huiru.

Cheng Mi’s body trembled slightly. She almost made a sound.

She could even feel Si Tingyan’s gaze fixed on her.

The sound of indoor slippers walking on the floor started again outside the room door. It seemed to have moved a step or two in a certain direction.

It wasn’t toward Si Tingyan’s room, but toward her room.

Cheng Mi knew right away that Si Huiru wanted to see if Li Chu was back.

But if Si Huiru opened the door to her room opposite, she would find that even she wasn’t in bed.

Her shoes were at the entrance, so she was back.

But she wasn’t in her own room, not in the living room, not in the bathroom, not in the kitchen, and not in Si Huiru’s room.

The only room left in the house was Si Tingyan’s.

Where she was, the answer was obvious.

Cheng Mi’s eyes finally glanced toward the room door.

Time was stretched infinitely at this moment. Cheng Mi could even imagine Si Huiru standing outside her room door, hesitating.

Si Tingyan obviously knew that Si Huiru wanted to go to her room.

He looked at her, his voice low and cold in the night, only for the two of them to hear: “Are you scared?”

One second, two seconds.

Si Huiru’s footsteps in the hallway outside the door moved. She didn’t open Cheng Mi’s room door, nor did she open Si Tingyan’s.

She probably thought it was inappropriate, afraid that Cheng Mi wouldn’t like it or would mind, so she didn’t open her room door without permission.

The sound faded away. A door closing was heard from outside soon after. Si Huiru had gone back to her own room.

After the door closed in the hallway, Cheng Mi looked back at Si Tingyan: “Are you really not afraid?”

Si Tingyan was calm and composed: “My mother wouldn’t open my door without a reason.”

Unless it was to clean, or if Si Tingyan had a heart attack, Si Huiru wouldn’t enter her son’s room without asking.

Cheng Mi asked him: “But what if? What if Auntie finds out?”

Neither of them knew what Si Huiru’s reaction would be if she found out that the two of them, who were like siblings, were actually together all the time.

And whether it would affect her marriage with Li Yeheng.

The desk lamp was turned on by Si Tingyan at this moment.

The light came on abruptly. Cheng Mi’s eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, squinted from the sudden bright light.

The vague and blurry outlines between them became clear in an instant.

Si Tingyan stared straight into her eyes. His eyes were still pitch black. At this moment, there was a cold determination in them that she couldn’t refuse.

“She will definitely find out.”

Cheng Mi’s gaze was locked with his. She knew what he meant by that.

Regardless of Si Huiru’s opinion in the future, and whether she approved or not, he would bring her in front of Si Huiru.

No matter if it was sooner or later, Si Huiru would definitely find out about their relationship.

Even if Si Huiru didn’t find out herself, Si Tingyan would bring it to her.

Cheng Mi smiled and called him: “Lunatic.”

Si Tingyan looked down at her coldly.

Cheng Mi’s hands climbed up to his neck again, loosely draped over his neck. She tilted her face up to his eyes: “Of course, I am too.”

Then she said suggestively: “Do you want me to help you?”

Her eyes were on his face, but her words were not.

Her whole body suddenly lifted from the table, being picked up by Si Tingyan.

In a flash, Cheng Mi was thrown onto the bed by Si Tingyan. His movements weren’t violent. Cheng Mi’s body bounced lightly and sank into the bedding.

Then her entire face was covered by the quilt that had been thrown over her.

Si Tingyan walked out the door: “Go sleep in your own bed.”

Cheng Mi pushed the quilt away and only saw the closed door. She lay on his bed and smiled.

Si Tingyan hadn’t forgotten what she had said about wanting to squeeze in with him tonight.

Si Tingyan’s bed was indeed very comfortable.

Because Si Tingyan was a clean freak, there wasn’t even a single strand of hair on his bed. It was clean and tidy.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time Cheng Mi had been in his bed, and it wasn’t the first time she had messed up his bedding.

Her hair had also been on his pillow several times.

Cheng Mi had originally wanted to wait for Si Tingyan to come back from the bathroom before closing her eyes, even though it was already late. But later, she fell asleep without realizing it.

She didn’t know when Si Tingyan came back.

She only vaguely remembered being held so tightly at the waist that she couldn’t breathe.

She didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and only kissed him a few times. She had a good night’s sleep.

________________________________________

The next day was Sunday. Cheng Mi didn’t open her eyes until the sun was high in the sky. There was no one next to her. Si Tingyan had already gotten up.

Si Huiru had already gone to work by this time. Cheng Mi got out of bed. The long shirt covered her upper legs. She came out of Si Tingyan’s room, showing her two long, fair legs.

As soon as she opened the door and came out, Si Tingyan happened to come back from outside.

Cheng Mi saw the things in his hand: “Did you go out and buy breakfast for me?”

Cheng Mi liked steamed dumplings.

But they weren’t sold downstairs every morning. Occasionally, a hawker would ride a bike with a steamer basket and call out downstairs.

So Cheng Mi hadn’t eaten them many times since she came to Fengxun.

Si Tingyan closed the door and walked to the dining table, telling her: “Go and wash up.”

When Cheng Mi came out of the bathroom and went to the dining table, Si Tingyan was already sitting there, reading some books that Cheng Mi couldn’t understand.

It had been a long time since the two of them had a meal at the table alone.

Cheng Mi didn’t sit opposite Si Tingyan. She sat next to him.

Si Tingyan didn’t take the dumplings out and put them on a plate. He left them in the plastic bag, where the steam was building up.

Cheng Mi had a habit of eating dumplings like this. She didn’t like to take them out and let them cool down. They tasted better when eaten with a bamboo stick from the bag.

Si Tingyan knew her habits.

After Cheng Mi sat down, she used a bamboo stick to poke a dumpling and ate it.

She rested her chin on her hand and looked at Si Tingyan: “Did you eat already?”

“Yes.” Si Huiru made breakfast for them every morning.

Si Tingyan’s eyes moved away from his book and glanced at her: “My mother left you a sandwich in the kitchen.”

“Did Auntie leave very early?” Cheng Mi asked.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Si Tingyan looked at her, then looked away: “You were drooling all over my pillow.”

Cheng Mi took a light bite of the dumpling: “Trying to trick me? I don’t sleep with my mouth open at night.”

Si Tingyan lowered his eyes, his profile looking indifferent: “You did.”

Cheng Mi immediately understood what he meant.

She said: “Did you do it?”

Si Tingyan didn’t deny it at all. His eyes met hers: “Yes.”

Cheng Mi actually had a vague memory of Si Tingyan kissing her on the bed last night.

It was just that she was too tired at the time and didn’t have the energy.

In any case, Si Tingyan wasn’t very gentle or innocent. He even pinched her chin until it hurt, but he admitted it bluntly.

And he didn’t feel guilty at all. After saying that, he continued to read his book.

Si Tingyan was able to multitask. He could be serious about both talking to her and reading at the same time.

Cheng Mi was reaching into the bag with her bamboo stick to get another dumpling when she saw Si Tingyan’s phone next to him.

She picked it up naturally. Sure enough, even though she had told Si Tingyan to set a password last night, he still hadn’t locked it.

Cheng Mi even suspected that Si Tingyan had intentionally let her see it.

She asked Si Tingyan: “You don’t mind me seeing your thoughts about me from before?”

Si Tingyan looked at her and replied quickly: “Why would I hide it?”

If she knew, she would love him even more.

“Then have you ever thought,” Cheng Mi also replied quickly, “that even without those things from before, I would still love you.”

Si Tingyan looked at her with eyes that felt like they hid danger.

Cheng Mi rested her chin on her hand, her fingertips touching the side of her face. She leaned closer to him, her eyes filled with a captivating watery look, and her tone was gentle.

“I don’t lie, Si Tingyan.”

Even if it was a lie, a person like her saying a sentence like that would make anyone willingly fall into the trap.

After saying that, Cheng Mi leaned back and skillfully played with his phone.

She opened his social media app. As expected, the number of people on his list was countable.

Si Huiru’s work number, a few teachers from school, and her.

There was a red dot on the “new friends” section. Cheng Mi tapped it. Looking through the messages, the names were almost all female. The messages were formal, and they even used abbreviations, afraid of letting Si Tingyan notice anything, but their love was already laid bare.

[I’m Xu Jingting from Grade 11, Class 4.]

[UI from Grade 11, Class 1.]

[My name is Li Tian, from Grade 12, Class 7.]

[Qian Yuyu.]

...

Scrolling down, there were students from all three grades.

Cheng Mi suddenly remembered the [Confession Book] post she had seen on the forum before. That post was probably gone now since the forum was no longer active.

But Cheng Mi remembered very clearly that a girl had said she would send Si Tingyan a friend request every day, even though she knew he never added anyone. One day, she dreamt that Si Tingyan had accepted her friend request and was happy for days, just for a dream.

None of them had ever been added by Si Tingyan.

It was a habit they all knew about him: Si Tingyan never added people on QQ.

But they still sent him a friend request every day, even if it was a message into the void. Even if they were added, they would be too scared to talk to him. Even though there was nothing on Si Tingyan’s profile, they were still waiting for the day they would open their contact list and see that he had accepted their friend request.

She asked Si Tingyan: “Did you see these friend requests?”

Si Tingyan barely opened them: “Rarely.”

Cheng Mi wanted to help them out by clicking accept.

But even if those girls liked Si Tingyan so much and wanted him to accept their friend requests, they probably wouldn’t want it to be done by her.

If she really did accept their requests, they would hate her if they found out that she was the one who accepted Si Tingyan’s friend requests.

Cheng Mi closed Si Tingyan’s phone. She remembered that she still hadn’t written the self-criticism she had to read at the flag-raising ceremony tomorrow.

She asked Si Tingyan: “Do you have a lot of homework today?”

Si Tingyan looked at her.

“I’m a little busy today. Can you help me write a self-criticism?”

The punishment was for the day when Zheng Hongkai got physical with her, and she hit him back.

Si Tingyan didn’t refuse: “I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

________________________________________

Monday was a cloudy day.

Fengxun High School held a flag-raising ceremony every two weeks.

The school gate was strictly checking for school uniforms and name tags. A large crowd of people gathered on the sports field.

In the past, Cheng Mi would find her class as soon as she entered the school gate and stand at the back of the line.

But not today, because the students who had violated the rules last week all had to go to the flag-raising platform and line up to read their self-criticisms.

There were only a handful of female students who had broken the rules. Including Cheng Mi, there were only two. The other girl had managed to avoid the director of studies’ watchful eye. She was still chewing bubblegum and holding a self-criticism paper in her hand.

Most of the boys were also sloppy, each holding a piece of paper with scribbled handwriting.

But Cheng Mi didn’t have one. She didn’t have a manuscript.

She had considered not causing any more trouble and just enduring this by writing a self-criticism.

But the moment she opened her eyes in bed that morning, she changed her mind. So before she left the house that morning, she had forgotten to ask Si Tingyan for it.

After standing there for a few minutes, Cheng Mi saw Si Tingyan.

He wasn’t in the long line of students from Grade 11, Class 1, under the flag-raising platform, nor was he the flag-bearer. He was the outstanding student speaker for the day.

A teacher was talking to him. Si Tingyan also saw her at first glance.

He was also holding a manuscript in his hand. Cheng Mi had a gut feeling that the manuscript was hers.

The two of them were not in the same crowd at all and didn’t say a word to each other until the flag-raising ceremony began.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the vice principal finished his speech, and it was the outstanding student representative’s turn to speak.

In the time Cheng Mi had been at Fenggao, she had never seen Si Tingyan go up. It had always been new faces.

This was probably Si Tingyan’s first speech. There was a faint commotion when he went up.

Cheng Mi was standing in the line. Two boys also started talking: “Si Tingyan. He never gave a speech before, did he?”

“He probably just didn’t want to. With his grades, the school would have definitely picked him to give a speech the day he got into Fenggao.”

But Si Tingyan had never given a speech on the flag-raising platform since he enrolled, yet on the day Cheng Mi had to give a self-criticism in front of the whole school, he was also up there.

Cheng Mi was right. Si Tingyan’s manuscript was hers because he went up there without one.

Si Tingyan’s pronunciation was clear. His voice was not enthusiastic. Combined with his cold personality, the whole crowd was quiet while he was speaking.

Si Tingyan’s speech was formal and short. He came down quickly.

After the outstanding student finished their speech, it was the turn of the failing students.

When Si Tingyan came down, Cheng Mi was staring intently at him. Si Tingyan didn’t avoid her gaze. He walked straight toward her.

The people standing next to Cheng Mi immediately knew that Si Tingyan was coming for Cheng Mi. The things between the two of them were not a secret at school.

But doing it so blatantly still made them very curious, and they kept glancing over.

Cheng Mi knew what Si Tingyan was coming to do. He was coming to give her the self-criticism.

She was suddenly very curious about Si Tingyan’s manuscript. Even though she knew what to say, she was curious about what he would write and what he wanted her to say.

Si Tingyan stopped in front of her and handed her the paper folded in half.

Cheng Mi took it.

After giving it to her, Si Tingyan left.

Cheng Mi opened it, and the sight of the inside of the paper made her smile suddenly.

Coincidentally, at that moment, the director of studies called her name over the broadcast.

The order of self-criticisms was by grade. There were three from Grade 12. Cheng Mi’s class, Class 4, was first.

She closed the paper. Without any hesitation or timidity, she walked straight onto the platform.

When she took the microphone from the director of studies, he quietly warned her: “Read your self-criticism properly.”

Cheng Mi smiled at him and said okay.

She stood on the flag-raising platform. Below her were all the students in their black and white uniforms.

Listening to the students who had broken the rules give their self-criticisms was much more interesting than listening to the school leaders speak. The students who had been listless while listening to the principal’s speech were now all craning their necks to watch and listen.

Because the person standing on the platform was Cheng Mi.

Cheng Mi had been famous at Fenggao more than once. Her past, her disgrace, and all the trouble she had gotten into had all been laid bare in the sunlight for people to chew on.

After Si Tingyan spoke, Cheng Mi went up to speak. The crowd’s reaction was even more agitated.

Cheng Mi looked at the people below. There was no stinging hostility, no unbearable indignation.

She stood on the flag-raising platform, open and bright, and spoke into the microphone.

“I haven’t killed anyone, and I haven’t been to prison.”

Cheng Mi’s voice came out through the broadcast. No one in the crowd had expected her to start her speech like this. They were all stunned.

Cheng Mi’s expression was calm as she continued: “And I haven’t been a hostess or a prostitute.”

A gust of wind blew through, carrying her voice even further, and also started to cause a commotion among the crowd.

“Also, I haven’t seduced any so-called stepfather or destroyed a marriage.”

The teachers and directors on the flag-raising platform quickly reacted. The director of studies hastily told a teacher to grab Cheng Mi and bring her down.

Cheng Mi wasn’t flustered at all. Her back was perfectly straight, and her long hair was blowing in the wind behind her.

“About the argument with Zheng Hongkai in the classroom that day, I slapped Zheng Hongkai.”

She finished her last sentence: “He was the one who molested me first. I believe that slap was justified.”

“This concludes my self-criticism.”

After Cheng Mi finished speaking, the crowd on the sports field stirred. A tidal wave of whispers surged.

A male teacher rushed up, about to snatch the microphone from her hand. Cheng Mi handed it to him herself and even gave him a smile.

Then she walked down from the flag-raising platform, still tightly clutching the manuscript Si Tingyan had given her.

There was no lengthy confession on this paper.

It was just a blank piece of paper, a self-criticism with not a single word on it.

Blank, without any guilt.

Si Tingyan was telling her that she didn’t need to apologize for anything.

Thinking of Si Tingyan, Cheng Mi’s lips curled into a slight smile.

The two of them were accomplices. Their understanding was truly remarkable.

Behind her were everyone’s comments about her outrageous words. Cheng Mi left them all behind.

________________________________________

Cheng Mi had originally thought that after she completely broke with Chen Zhaochi that weekend night, the following days would be uneasy.

But to her surprise, it was quiet for a few days.

Chen Zhaochi didn’t show up, and Zheng Hongkai didn’t come to school either.

The school didn’t punish Cheng Mi afterward or ask her to write another self-criticism. Cheng Mi knew that their homeroom teacher, Wei Xiangdong, had intervened with the school leadership.

The only commotion was the students at school quietly talking about her speech at the flag-raising ceremony.

Some believed her, some didn’t, but it no longer mattered.

You couldn’t stop people who were determined to make malicious assumptions, even if you showed them evidence, they wouldn’t believe it.

Besides that, many people said that Cheng Mi had clarified everything that day regarding the series of rumors about her.

But the only thing she didn’t clarify was the matter of pursuing Si Tingyan.

And the flag-raising platform that day was empty and wide. Everyone standing in line below could see that after Si Tingyan came down from the platform, he walked over and gave Cheng Mi a piece of paper.

Si Tingyan had given his speech without a manuscript. That piece of paper could only have been written for Cheng Mi.

Some people said that the words Cheng Mi spoke on the flag-raising platform were written by Si Tingyan.

Both she and Si Tingyan were living under everyone’s scrutiny.

Even the bandage on Si Tingyan’s wrist that day he went up to the flag-raising platform was noticed by some people.

And in those few days, Cheng Mi didn’t get a visit from Chen Zhaochi, but she did get a visit from Li Chu.

Since Li Chu was picked up by Chen Zhaochi downstairs last time, she hadn’t come back home.

When she came back that night, it was evening. Si Huiru wasn’t home. Only she and Si Tingyan were there.

Cheng Mi happened to be in the kitchen pouring a glass of water when she ran into Li Chu, who had just pushed the door open.

Li Chu didn’t ignore her. She glanced at her but didn’t say anything. She closed the door and went straight to her room.

For some reason, Cheng Mi felt that Li Chu didn’t look well today. She had the tired look of someone who hadn’t gotten enough sleep for many days.

She had been in Si Tingyan’s room. When she saw Li Chu come back, she put her glass of water on the table and followed Li Chu into her room.

Li Chu didn’t even take off her jacket when she entered the room and was about to lie down on the bed: “I’m crashing on your bed tonight.”

Li Chu didn’t look at Cheng Mi when she said this. She was about to lift the quilt and lie down.

But Cheng Mi didn’t stop. She walked slowly but directly behind her and rolled up her right sleeve.

On her wrist were two burn marks from cigarettes.

The scars were ugly. You could imagine how twisted that piece of skin and flesh must have been when the red-hot cigarette was pressed against it.

But Li Chu didn’t care at all. She seemed to find Cheng Mi a little annoying and waved her hand away. She was thin. The sleeve was wide and loose and fell back down, covering the scars again.

A fire was building up inside Cheng Mi. Her eyes returned to Li Chu’s face: “Chen Zhaochi did this?”

Although Li Chu’s mental state wasn’t particularly positive or optimistic, she wouldn’t do something like this.

But she didn’t want to answer Cheng Mi’s question at all. She pulled the quilt back to lie down: “I’m going to sleep. Don’t bother me.”

Cheng Mi didn’t let her avoid the question: “Why?”

Li Chu had already closed her eyes.

Because of her guilt toward Li Chu, Cheng Mi had rarely spoken to her harshly in the past two years, unlike before when she would say whatever came to her mind.

But at this moment, her tone was a little unrefusable, even if it wasn’t forceful.

“Li Chu, I’m asking you, what happened?”

But Li Chu was also not a pushover. Her personality had always been cold. Sometimes, the way she looked at people felt like an arrow.

She opened her eyes: “Can you stop asking?”

Cheng Mi said: “No.”

Cheng Mi had expected them to have a big fight, but to her surprise, Li Chu actually opened her mouth.

“Chen Zhaochi’s mom is dead.”

Cheng Mi had never expected such an answer.

“Maybe the bad guy got what he deserved. His mom died a pretty miserable death,” Li Chu looked at her, her tone not sad. “She didn’t ask about him once before she died.”

Chen Zhaochi lived on hatred. Once she was gone, his hatred suddenly became a joke.

Cheng Mi said: “So what? He went crazy?”

More than just crazy. All the things in his rundown rental apartment were smashed to pieces, and he was drinking heavily every day.

When he went crazy, even Li Chu hugging him was no use. He used cigarettes to burn her and told her to get out of his rental apartment.

Li Chu said: “You seem to know him quite well.”

No wonder Chen Zhaochi hadn’t come looking for them in the past few days.

“So you didn’t say anything when he burned you with a cigarette? You didn’t leave when he went crazy?”

Cheng Mi was suppressing her anger but didn’t vent it: “Li Chu, Chen Zhaochi is a scumbag. Do you think I’d believe you like him?”

Li Chu’s eyes, which had been looking at the ceiling, slanted back to Cheng Mi: “You’re guessing what I’m thinking?”

Then she said: “Why do you think I wouldn’t like Chen Zhaochi? When you liked Li Yeheng, did you ever think you’d like Si Tingyan later?”

Li Chu rarely called Li Yeheng “Dad.” She always called him by his full name.

Her words were sharp. Cheng Mi couldn’t find an excuse to refute her.

Li Chu seemed to not want to talk to her anymore. She turned over and faced away from her, only leaving one last sentence as if she had done her duty.

“If you don’t want anything bad to happen, don’t mess with Chen Zhaochi lately.”