Chapter 48: Is This an Omen of Misfortune?

"How am I shameless? How am I a scoundrel?" Li Sicheng was baffled and innocent.

He had acted out of genuine kindness—if it wasn’t appreciated, so be it, but why was he now being branded a scoundrel?

Was there no justice left in the world?

"You still dare say you’re not?" Lin Siyu ground her teeth in fury.

This liar was obviously teasing her, yet he had the nerve to play the innocent! His skin must be thicker than armor!

Truth be told, after his brave rescue earlier, Lin Siyu’s opinion of Li Sicheng had improved somewhat. But now, all those good feelings evaporated in an instant.

"Fine, I’ll pretend I said nothing. Truly, this is a case of a dog biting Lu Dongbin—unable to recognize a good person." Li Sicheng shook his head with a helpless sigh. He couldn’t be bothered to stand with Lin Siyu any longer and stepped back to join Zeng Yi.

Zeng Yi tugged at his sleeve, curious. "Hey, Chen, what did you whisper to Lin Siyu? Why does she look like she wants to tear you to pieces?"

Li Sicheng spread his hands. "Honestly, I have no idea what I did to provoke her."

At the same time, Tan Xiaoxiao sidled up to Lin Siyu, eyes shining with gossip. "What happened? What did that swindler say to you?"

"He... he flirted with me!" Lin Siyu replied through clenched teeth.

Tan Xiaoxiao flared up immediately. "No way! He dared flirt with you? Does he have a death wish? Don’t worry, I’ll go teach that jerk a lesson!"

"Don’t," Lin Siyu hastily grabbed her. "Even Zhao Yuan ended up in the hospital because of him. If you go, you’re just marching to your doom."

That gave Tan Xiaoxiao pause. She recalled the video of Li Sicheng’s agile moves. With her sporadic taekwondo practice, she’d be no match for him.

Still, she was unwilling to let it go. "We can’t just let this slide, can we?"

Lin Siyu reminded her, "Don’t you remember? This morning, Cheng Haoyu challenged that fraud! Even if we don’t make a move, someone will teach him a lesson tonight."

"That’s right! How could I forget?" Tan Xiaoxiao chuckled darkly, glancing at Li Sicheng with a sinister smile that sent chills down Zeng Yi’s spine. "Looks like someone will be laid up in the hospital tomorrow, unable to come to school."

"Good luck, Chen," Zeng Yi shivered, unsettled by Tan Xiaoxiao’s smile.

Li Sicheng merely shrugged, utterly unconcerned.

A sharp whistle suddenly pierced the air.

The students gathered on the track sprang into action.

Each ran at their own pace—some charged ahead, some kept steady, while others lagged behind, breathless from the start. Zeng Yi belonged to the last group.

"Your fitness is terrible," Li Sicheng remarked, jogging beside Zeng Yi at a steady pace.

"Enough... stop with the sarcasm, just... help me out," Zeng Yi panted, reaching out for support.

Li Sicheng slapped his hand away. "Run on your own. You need the exercise. Don’t worry, I’ll stick by you—if you faint, I’ll make sure to save you."

"Some friend you are!" Zeng Yi groaned, resigned, and kept running, gasping for breath.

After a lap, the group had become strung out, and, unsurprisingly, Li Sicheng and Zeng Yi were at the very back, though their conditions were quite different.

Li Sicheng was calm, unaffected by the exertion. For him, this was nothing.

Zeng Yi, on the other hand, was breathing like a bellows, stumbling as if about to collapse at any moment. He’d tried to stop several times, but Li Sicheng wouldn’t allow it, making him keep going.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Zeng Yi wheezed, but Li Sicheng paid him no mind. His attention was fixed on Lin Siyu.

"Lin Siyu, watch out!"

Even if she didn’t appreciate his concern, Li Sicheng still called out loudly to warn her.

He never minded doing a good deed.

Tan Xiaoxiao, running with Lin Siyu, heard the warning and asked, "What’s that swindler going on about?"

"How should I know what nonsense he’s spouting?" Lin Siyu huffed, paying his warning no mind.

Seeing this, Li Sicheng shook his head with a sigh. "I’ve said my piece. If she won’t listen, she can’t blame anyone for her bad luck."

Just as he finished speaking, a soccer ball suddenly flew from the field, heading straight for Lin Siyu and Tan Xiaoxiao.

Both noticed it barreling toward them and quickly slowed down, dodging to the side.

With a dull thud, the ball whizzed past them and struck someone behind who didn’t get out of the way in time.

Fortunately, after its long flight, most of its force was gone. The impact stung, but caused no serious harm. The ball then bounced forward and, by pure chance, rolled right to Lin Siyu’s feet.

Though it all seemed complicated, it happened in an instant. With the ball rolling up from behind, Lin Siyu didn’t see it coming and had no time to react.

Her right foot came down directly on the ball. She lost her balance instantly and fell hard to the ground.

"Siyu, are you okay?" Tan Xiaoxiao was alarmed, stopping at once and crouching beside Lin Siyu in concern.

"My foot hurts... I’m not sure if I twisted it," Lin Siyu replied, her brow tightly furrowed, face contorted with pain.

Tan Xiaoxiao’s anger flared. She leapt up, turned to the boys playing soccer, and roared, "Who was it? Who kicked that ball? Didn’t you see we were running? If Siyu’s really hurt, you’ll regret it!"

Lin Siyu quickly stopped her. "Enough, it wasn’t on purpose."

Tan Xiaoxiao grumbled a few more curses before turning back, muttering, "This is so weird. We dodged the ball, but it still managed to roll under your foot and trip you... Can you stand? Should I carry you to the nurse?"

Suddenly, Lin Siyu froze.

Tan Xiaoxiao noticed immediately and asked, "What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere else? Don’t scare me."

"Do you think... this counts as a bad omen?" Lin Siyu asked with a strange expression.

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