Chapter 17: Sigh! Chaos & Capitalism

What exactly did he mean by “What do you think?”
Could he just say things directly for once?!

Lin Zhiyan sorrowfully realized that the scars left behind by exam-oriented education ran deep within her. To the point that she genuinely could not understand his implied meaning. She merely turned her head away, refusing to look at him, trying to create the atmosphere of “I understand, but I choose silence.”

When she turned away, he leaned closer again, bringing his face back into her line of sight.

Li Siheng stared at her, his voice light yet tinged with mockery.
“Either you stay silent, or you say those annoying things. ‘Forget it.’ ‘It’s all in the past.’ ‘I’m sorry’…”

He lifted a hand and suddenly yanked her closer by the arm.

In an instant, they were close enough to feel each other’s warmth.

Lin Zhiyan said, “Because—”
Then stopped abruptly.

Li Siheng kissed her forehead.

Startled, her words died in her throat. She tried to push him away, but he tightened his grip around her wrist. His kisses moved downward, stopping on her eyelids. The tip of his tongue gently licked across them, teasing and prodding, almost as though he intended to lick her eyeballs themselves.

The stimulation made her eyes water. Physiological tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes.

Li Siheng swept away her tears with his tongue. His hurried breaths brushed across her cheeks. Finally, he pressed his forehead against hers and said:

“Do you still think we’re just classmates now?”

I do.

Lin Zhiyan looked at him.
“At least I thought when you told me before that you wouldn’t do those things again, that sentence was genuine.”

“I really haven’t targeted you again, have I?” Li Siheng smiled. “I just wanted you to remember.”

He continued, “You’re the one feeling guilty, insisting on burying that past. If you’d just honestly told Le Mans what kind of relationship we really had back then, would you still be so worried now about what I might do to you? Then again, of course you wouldn’t dare tell the truth. Tell him exactly what we did together. Tell him how you dumped me the moment I left. Tell him how you forgot me completely without the slightest guilt.”

Not everything had to be spoken so plainly!
Some things were benevolent lies!

Not all lies were sinful. Black cat, white cat—if it worked, it was a good cat!

Lin Zhiyan took a deep breath. Her brain randomly grabbed hold of one “good cat” and tossed it out.

Softly, she said,
“I won’t end up with Le Mans. Your social statuses are equally noble. Even if I really do have feelings for him, there’s no future for us.”

She continued,
“You don’t need to worry that after doing all those heartless things in your eyes, I’ll still climb the social ladder and live happily ever after. And you don’t need to worry that I’ll drain your friend dry for my own gain. If I promise you that, will you feel relieved?”

“So even being fickle and faithless sounds righteous when you say it.” Li Siheng’s eyes almost carried resentment as his fingers pinched her chin. “But you’re right about one thing. After all these years, when I found out you and I had entered the same academy, I still had hope. The moment I sent messages to that number that could never contact you, I knew there was no way I could let you go.”

Lin Zhiyan closed her eyes, letting out a long breath.
“I have nothing to explain. Just think of me as that kind of person.”

Li Siheng looked at her with something almost affectionate, his gaze stroking over every inch of her skin. His tone remained calm.

“Looks like your talent for seducing people with weather metaphors has returned. What are you trying to argue this time? That you were forced into it back then? That you aren’t attracted to Le Mans now? Or that this is all just one giant misunderstanding again?”

…He blocked every route she could take.
Seriously. Honestly.

Lin Zhiyan’s lips moved slightly.
“That wasn’t seduction.”

She looked at him.
“When I said those things to you back then, I meant them sincerely. At least in my eyes, your brilliance was never something others could overshadow.”

Li Siheng’s eyes flickered.
“Saying things like that now won’t help.”

“I’ve been thinking… maybe I really did do something wrong back then.” Lin Zhiyan lowered her eyes, looking utterly sincere, her voice very quiet. “But none of it had anything to do with you.”

Li Siheng was silent for several seconds before saying,
“Looks like you’ve prepared a new excuse. Fine. Let’s hear it.”

“I… experienced a fire.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

Li Siheng’s brows twitched.
“When?”

“I don’t remember clearly.” Lin Zhiyan deliberately blurred the topic. “I’d found a tutoring job with a family.”

Li Siheng looked at her with a half-smile.
“If this happened after I left, then you shouldn’t have been short on money. Because you would’ve received a scholarship large enough to cover your living expenses and tuition.”

Damn it, how does he know that?!

Lin Zhiyan choked.

Li Siheng interrupted her.
“You thought I didn’t know? I was the one who established that scholarship.”

Lin Zhiyan: “……”

It’s fine. This situation was still salvageable. Probably!

“So it was you. Thank you. It really helped me a lot.” Lin Zhiyan said, then continued, “But what about afterward?”

Li Siheng froze.

“I still had to think about the future. Maybe I wouldn’t keep getting the scholarship. Maybe I’d suddenly get seriously ill. Accidents happen constantly in poor people’s lives.” Her tone remained flat. “So even after I had money, I still kept wanting to save more. And more.”

Li Siheng’s breathing grew heavier.

Lin Zhiyan pressed her lips together lightly.
“There wasn’t really much after that. When I tried to escape, I got trapped. I wasn’t burned by the flames, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital. The doctors said I’d suffered too much psychological trauma. At the time, that family liked me very much, and—”

“Afterward, I changed my address and terminal ID. I took a leave from school for a while before returning to classes, and I underwent psychological counseling on and off for a long time.”

After saying all this, she still avoided looking at him.

“And because of that, my memory suffered some damage. The people and events from before the fire… I only remember them vaguely.”

Li Siheng slowly closed his eyes. He desperately did not want to believe her.

But his heart felt as though it had been suspended by a thin thread. Everything froze there, unable to fall, unable to rise. Even his resentment solidified in place.

Silence filled the air.

“That’s why I told you… it’s all in the past.”

“…”
He said nothing, but his eyes had become damp.

Lin Zhiyan whispered,
“I’m sorry.”

Li Siheng suddenly said,
“You’re lying. You don’t have any proof. Why should I believe some story you made up? You—”

It was as though he could no longer bear it. The moisture in his eyes finally condensed into tears that abruptly fell. His breathing seemed uneven as a faint redness spread from the corners of his eyes.

“Why…?” he asked hoarsely. “Why should I be the one forgotten? Just because you went through all that, does that mean I’m supposed to willingly accept being left behind? Supposed to calmly watch you and Le Mans start some so-called new life together? Why?”

Li Siheng suddenly grabbed Lin Zhiyan’s arm tightly. His gray-black eyes stared fixedly at her.

“I won’t believe you, Lin Zhiyan.”

After saying that, he released her hand. His throat moved a few times before he turned and walked away.

His footsteps were steady, yet his back looked as though a gust of wind could scatter him apart at any moment.

Sweat covered Lin Zhiyan’s forehead as her heart slowly settled back into place.

Great. This should calm him down for at least a few days.

Anyway, she hadn’t lied.
The timeline was just… inaccurate.

Wiping away the sweat on her forehead, Lin Zhiyan hurried away, afraid Li Siheng would notice something wrong and come after her again. She knew perfectly well she hadn’t truly solved anything, but that was fine. Sometimes, if you dragged problems out long enough, they eventually solved themselves.

She comforted herself with that thought and rushed to the school gates, getting into the car home.

Once home, she immediately locked the doors—three separate locks—then shut off her terminal completely and focused solely on showering, cooking noodles, and reading.

Only close to midnight did Lin Zhiyan finally feel truly rested enough to turn her terminal back on.

Almost instantly, a flood of messages exploded onto the screen, causing her old secondhand terminal to lag.

[Le Mans: I saw a really beautiful flower today. Do you like it?]
[Le Mans: 【Image】]
[Le Mans: Have you ever thought about the future?]
[Le Mans: ? Where are you]
[Le Mans: Reply to me]
[Le Mans: 【Call Request Missed】]
[Le Mans: 【Call Request Missed】]

Lin Zhiyan: “……”

What did he mean by “the future”?
What exactly was he trying to do?!

She scrolled further down.

[Li Siheng: I won’t pay for your accident.]
[Li Siheng: No matter what, you can’t leave me behind in the past.]
[Li Siheng: Why am I the only one suffering?]

…Crap. Li Siheng had been completely provoked.

Lin Zhiyan clutched her head, having no idea how to reply. She kept scrolling.

[Aiwen: I’ll probably be busy for the next few days, so I likely can’t wait to go to class with you anymore.]
[Aiwen: Sorry, but once everything is over, things will be fine.]
[Aiwen: We’ll still be friends then.]

…?
What was that supposed to mean?
What exactly was happening?!

Lin Zhiyan stared blankly in confusion.

Then two new messages popped up.

[Jiang Yi: I suddenly understood it.]
[Jiang Yi: It really is an emoji.]

Lin Zhiyan: “……”

Your reaction speed is way too slow.

She tossed the terminal aside, hugged her head, and curled into herself.

She felt as though everything had started slipping out of control from today onward, yet she had no power to stop it. Were elective classes cursed against her or something?

Bzzzzz—

The terminal vibrated again.

[.: Guess what I saw after school?]
[.: 【Image】]

Exhausted, Lin Zhiyan opened the image.

Very quickly, she saw a blurry photo of Li Siheng lowering his head to kiss her.

She stared at it silently for several seconds.

Then she clutched her head again and screamed soundlessly into the void.

[.: You probably don’t want me sending this to certain people.]

Did Lu Weixi investigate her?
Or had her relationship with Le Mans already become public knowledge?!

Lin Zhiyan felt her sanity nearing collapse.

How had things ended up becoming such a chaotic mess?

Night grew deeper and deeper.

Meanwhile, on the other side—

Le Mans was racking his brains trying to formulate a plan.

Several holographic pages floated above his terminal.

【100% Success Rate Confession Guide】
【How to Propose a Relationship That Makes Them Fall for You Instantly】
【Attention: When Your Crush Doesn’t Reply, It Means Something!】

Le Mans felt dizzy from reading them. He slammed the terminal face-down onto the table.

Standing up, he left the study, deciding to take a walk to clear his head.

But the moment he stepped out, he saw Aiwen hurrying downstairs from the second floor.

That was the bedroom connected to his mother’s study. Had his mother said something? Why did Aiwen look so panicked?

Stopping in place, he called out to her.

Aiwen froze halfway down the stairs and looked at him, her gaze drifting uncertainly.

Le Mans raised a brow.
“Why are you so nervous?”

Aiwen said nothing.

Le Mans waved a hand dismissively.
“Mother’s not going to hit you. What are you even scared of?”

Aiwen still said nothing.

So Le Mans simply turned and continued outside.

No matter what he said, she always shrank back like this.

Once outside, the night air was cool.

Le Mans took a deep breath and suddenly thought—

Why still hadn’t Lin Zhiyan replied to his messages?!