Chapter 65: Does This Count as a Meeting of Minds?
After overturning the Feng Shui of the Cheng family, Li Sicheng swaggered out of the villa community. Because the security guards had seen him before, they didn't suspect a thing and let him pass through without question.
Once outside, he retrieved his electric scooter from its hiding spot and rode off in the direction of the British Court Residence.
It was more than half an hour later when he finally returned. By now, it was past eleven at night. Inside the living room, Lin Muxue was pacing back and forth anxiously, scolding her sister repeatedly. The moment she saw him enter, she let out a sigh of relief and the worry on her face vanished at once.
"Why are you back so late? Did you get lost? I was just giving Siyu a talking-to. That girl, she just left you behind and came back on her own. She really doesn’t think—you're new to Yong City, you barely know your way around..." As she greeted him, Lin Muxue helped Li Sicheng out of his coat, fussing over him with concern.
Li Sicheng glanced at Lin Siyu. The girl was curled up in the corner of the sofa, her lips pouting in grievance.
To be fair, she was being scolded a bit unjustly. Li Sicheng had told her not to tell Lin Muxue about anything that happened after school that night, so when pressed about his absence, she could only make up an excuse, saying she had left him and come home alone.
And so, Lin Siyu bore the blame without protest.
Thank goodness Tan Xiaoxiao had left early, or she would have been completely shocked! Lin Siyu, proud as ever, taking the blame for someone else? What a joke! If Tan Xiaoxiao, already suspicious of Li Sicheng and Lin Siyu, had witnessed this, she would have been even more convinced of her suspicions.
Fortunately, she'd left early...
Now, Lin Siyu, sulking, let out a soft hum when she saw Li Sicheng return, her frown tinged with an unexpected charm. She turned her face away, refusing to look at him or her sister.
Clearly, bearing the blame for Li Sicheng and enduring Lin Muxue's scolding had put Lin Siyu in a foul mood. To make matters worse, as a devoted little sister, seeing her sister treat Li Sicheng so differently only made her more jealous and upset.
"Big Sis treats this guy way too well! When I came back with a hurt ankle, she didn’t care this much. Hmph, so unfair, so unfair..." The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved Lin Siyu became, tears welling up in her eyes.
Li Sicheng, skilled in reading faces, could guess most of her feelings without a word. Smiling, he said, "Muxue, this time you've wronged Lin Siyu. She did ask me to go with her to and from school today. But I can't ride in a luxury car just yet, so I had to decline and use my scooter. Honestly, I feel a bit guilty. Her ankle is hurt, and I wasn't there to look after her. If you're upset, blame me, not her."
Lin Siyu's eyes widened in surprise. She never expected Li Sicheng to speak up for her, let alone take all the blame himself.
"Why is this trickster being so nice to me?" She suddenly recalled how he carried her to the infirmary that afternoon. Her heart started pounding, and her cheeks flushed red.
Lin Muxue’s trust in Li Sicheng was nearly blind. Hearing his explanation, she immediately apologized to her sister. "Oh? So that's what happened? Siyu, I'm so sorry, I wrongly accused you. But really, why didn’t you defend yourself? You just let me scold you."
Before Lin Siyu could reply, Li Sicheng cut in with a laugh, "Defend herself? Muxue, maybe you don’t realize it, but when you’re scolding someone, you’re like a hurricane—nobody dares speak up, let alone defend themselves."
"No...no way! Am I really that scary?" Lin Muxue’s face turned bright red, worry flashing through her mind. "Could it be that I really seem wild and fierce when I lecture people? Oh no, now that Sicheng’s seen this side of me, will he think less of me?"
Curled up on the sofa, Lin Siyu finally spoke up, "Please, if you two want to show off your affection, do it somewhere else. Stop blinding me!"
"Siyu, what nonsense are you saying?"
Despite her protests, Lin Muxue’s cheeks only grew redder. Recalling her words and tone with Li Sicheng, she realized she’d sounded a bit like a lovesick girl...
That thought made her even more embarrassed. Heart pounding furiously, she hastily found an excuse, "Well... I made some sweet soup for you two in the kitchen. Let me go get it." With that, she fled the room.
Seeing Lin Muxue’s bashful retreat, Lin Siyu felt an inexplicable pang in her heart. She couldn’t even tell if it was jealousy of her sister or of Li Sicheng…
After Lin Muxue escaped to the kitchen, the living room fell silent, the air thick with awkwardness.
A few minutes later, Li Sicheng finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "Thank you."
"Are you talking to me?" Lin Siyu was surprised.
"Of course," Li Sicheng nodded. "Thank you for keeping things quiet, for taking the scolding without telling the truth."
At that, all of Lin Siyu’s earlier bitterness vanished. She struggled to keep her composure and sound indifferent. After a soft hum, she said, "Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t doing it to help you, I just—"
Li Sicheng suddenly interrupted, finishing her sentence for her, "—just didn’t want your sister to worry. I understand."
"As long as you understand!" Lin Siyu kept up her tough act. "You need to know, I don’t like you in the slightest!"
But her heart was thinking the exact opposite: This trickster, he guessed what I was about to say in an instant. Is this... is this what they call being on the same wavelength? Ugh, no, no, I absolutely don’t want to be on the same wavelength as this swindler! No, no, no...
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