After Rebirth, I Married the Great Demon King

The tangy sweetness of orange juice carried a refreshing aroma; just one sip was enough to feel content.

Yun Shifei looked at Cheng Lie, her eyes curved in a smile: "Your mom is so wonderful, both beautiful and gentle."

Unexpectedly, as soon as she said this, she saw Cheng Lie slam the book shut with a loud "bang."

The heavy sound startled Yun Shifei.

She met his eyes.

The boy’s pitch-black eyes held no trace of light, dark as a bottomless abyss, and even just one glance filled her with dread.

The Cheng Lie from before was either icy cold or hollow, but never like this.

As if no light could penetrate him, there was a ghostly chill emanating from him.

Even on a scorching summer day, he could make your skin crawl with goosebumps.

Yun Shifei grew tense, unable to help the feeling that his gaze was terrifying, making her freeze her breath.

"She’s not my mom." The boy spoke.

His voice was low, devoid of warmth.

Yun Shifei’s eyes slightly widened, ready to say something, but the door suddenly opened.

She heard a voice ring out: "Sorry, I’m late."

That voice carried a touch of cheer, like a gust of wind blowing away the suffocating tension between them.

Yun Shifei looked up and saw a young man, roughly twenty years old.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, with refined and delicate features.

A faint smile hung on his lips, giving him an air of warmth and sophistication.

"Hello, I’m Ming Zeqi, a sophomore at Nan City University, and your tutoring teacher." The young man pushed his glasses lightly as he spoke.

"Hello, Teacher," Yun Shifei greeted Ming Zeqi.

"You’re Shi Fei, right?"

Yun Shifei nodded.

"And this must be Cheng Lie."

Yun Shifei glanced at Cheng Lie. The boy had reverted to his usual demeanor, his head bowed to look at his textbook as if he were the only one left in the whole world.

Ming Zeqi greeted him, but Cheng Lie didn’t respond.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t hear others speak—he simply chose not to interact.

She suddenly remembered the words Cheng Lie had said earlier.

In that moment, the aura emanating from him had been entirely different from before.

He said that Zhao Haishuang wasn’t his mom.

Was she not?

In her previous lifetime, Yun Shifei hadn’t interacted much with Cheng Lie; all she knew was that he’d turned his family into utter ruins.

But Zhao Haishuang wasn’t his mother? She hadn’t heard of that before.

Cheng Lie’s background seemed far more complicated than she had imagined.

"Alright, back to business. Let’s start the lesson," Ming Zeqi turned to Yun Shifei. "Shi Fei, I heard you’re weaker in science subjects, correct?"

Yun Shifei nodded.

"Perfect. Back in high school, science was my strongest suit. Before coming here, I prepared a test for you covering physics, chemistry, biology, and math. Complete this first; I want to gauge just how weak your foundation is."

Ming Zeqi placed the test paper in front of Yun Shifei.

He handed another copy to Cheng Lie.

However, after initially greeting Cheng Lie, Ming Zeqi shifted his attention away from him entirely.

He didn’t seem to mind Cheng Lie’s lack of response, nor did he address questions to him.

Yun Shifei bit her lip, speculating that Cheng Lie’s parents had probably informed Ming Zeqi prior to this.

With Cheng Lie’s situation, studying was practically out of question.

If he couldn’t study, surely his parents weren’t unaware—was sitting here like this supposed to make him happy?

Just so he could bond with her?

Yun Shifei couldn’t help but feel something odd about it.

Still, she focussed earnestly on her test paper.

This was meant to be a simple quiz, and she was expected to finish it within half an hour.

Yun Shifei concentrated on writing.

Hmm... Is this problem solved like this? It feels so complicated.

Ugh... Should I pick A or C? Forget it, I’ll choose one randomly.

This question... oh no, I can’t understand it.

At first, Yun Shifei approached the test seriously, but as she kept writing, she started to crumble.

Although most of them were multiple-choice questions, they still required calculations to derive the answers.

Cheng Lie’s gaze shifted briefly to the draft paper Yun Shifei had filled to the brim, and he pressed his lips together.

Earlier, when he’d heard Yun Shifei reciting English passages in class with flawless pronunciation, she’d caught his attention.

But now...

How clueless. Such simple problems, and she hadn’t figured them out even after going in circles.

"Time’s up!" Ming Zeqi announced, keeping track of the timer, then took Yun Shifei’s paper to review.

Yun Shifei didn’t dare look at Ming Zeqi’s expression.

As she feared, Ming Zeqi’s face instantly darkened upon seeing her answers.

After some time, he asked Yun Shifei, "Shi Fei, did you study seriously in middle school?"

Yun Shifei: "...No." freeweɓnovel.cøm

Ming Zeqi had assumed Yun Shifei merely lacked a solid foundation in high school topics; after all, she was a student at Xinhua Middle School—how bad could it be?

But upon seeing her answers, well, it turned out this girl didn’t even grasp middle school-level knowledge.

Ming Zeqi cleared his throat: "Let’s start with middle-school material, then."

...

An afternoon passed quickly.

The lesson lasted until 4:30 PM.

After Ming Zeqi left, Yun Shifei packed up her things and prepared to leave.

She glanced at Cheng Lie, who was alone at his desk reading, and spoke softly: "Cheng Lie, I’m heading out."

Cheng Lie didn’t acknowledge her.

Yun Shifei slung her backpack over her shoulders and was about to leave.

After walking a few steps, she paused, remembering something, and pulled out a few pieces of chocolate from her bag, placing them on Cheng Lie’s desk: "My dad bought these for me yesterday; they’re really tasty."

With that, she left.

The setting sun painted the world crimson through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting bloody beams across the ground.

Cheng Lie’s eyes reflected faintly in the shifting light.

He stared at the pieces of chocolate for a while; no one could tell what he was thinking.

"Shi Fei, how was today’s lesson?" Zhao Haishuang accompanied Yun Shifei to the door, asking along the way.

"The teacher was excellent."

Yun Shifei didn’t lie; Ming Zeqi’s teaching was genuinely good.

"That’s great, that’s great. Is there anything you’d like to eat? Auntie will prepare something for your next visit."

"No need, Auntie."

Yun Shifei politely said goodbye to Zhao Haishuang.

After Yun Shifei turned and walked away, Zhao Haishuang’s previously cheerful face lost its smile in an instant.

Returning inside, she went to the study where Cheng Lie was still absorbed in his book.

Zhao Haishuang walked over and snatched the book from his hands: "Xiao Lie, don’t read too much—it’s bad for your eyes."

Having his book taken away abruptly, Cheng Lie raised his eyes to Zhao Haishuang.

The boy’s gaze was sharp and piercing; even though she had grown used to his looks, being stared at like that still sent chills down her spine.

But remembering his autism, his aversion to talking, and his lack of resistance, Zhao Haishuang decided not to take it personally: "What good will reading so much do? You should spend more time making friends—that Yun Family girl, I think she’s nice."

She’d stopped just short of saying: she suits you well.