Rebirth from the Ashes

Within a split second, Shen Xi had already played out a scene of love, betrayal, and family feud in her mind.

The room fell into silence once again.

Yu Jin stayed put while Li Yuan kept to himself. As for Shen Xi, she remained a faithful listener the whole time.

Sitting on the sofa, Jin Yu looked at the girl on her knees in a trance.

With downcast eyes, the girl’s luscious lashes, like tiny brushes, cast a faint shadow under her almond eyes, bringing out her high and round nose.

The girl was focused and absorbed into her work, frowning in deep thoughts at times. She was quiet and well-behaved.

He silently watched with his lips curling into a smile. Perhaps the situation was not as dreadful as he thought. Maybe he had a wife who loved him and longed for his return. There was a possibility he also had an adorable and obedient daughter like her.

An hour went by in the blink of an eye.

With her attention completely on her task, Shen Xi never realized that someone was watching her the whole time. Moreover, Li Yuan tended to observe her every time she was applying acupuncture. She did not mind at all.

Li Yuan, on the other hand, took notice. Instead of leaving or engaging in conversation, Mr. Jin Yu kept his eye on his fair lady.

Nevertheless, Mr. Jin Yu was only showering attention on Shen Xi as an elder would to a little one, as a father would to his daughter. Li Yuan did not read more into that.

“Kun Lun,” Li Yuan shouted.

Kun Lun was keeping watch at the door. He stole a glance while passing by and to his surprise, Mr. Jin Yu remained there for an hour without any intentions of leaving. Kun Lun took another glance at Mr. Jin Yu and realized that he was looking at Shen Xi. Without another word, he went into the room to take the basin away.

Shen Xi followed behind Kun Lun and went to the loo. She came out after washing her hands. “Brother, Uncle Jin Yu, I should get going.”

With that, she lifted Toffeecito by her feet and took off.

Li Yuan went after her.

Getting up, Jin Yu went along as well.

Shen Xi ran to pick up her bag to find the two men behind her. She smiled. “I’m only going back next door. No need to walk me back. I won’t get lost.”

What was going on?

It was a warm and weird sight indeed.

Although she just met Uncle Jin Yu, Shen Xi got a good feeling from him as though he was family.

Perhaps they were on the same wavelength!

“Let’s go.” Li Yuan wheeled himself to her.

Shen Xi consciously took a step back before pushing his wheelchair out. With Toffeecito on his lap, Shen Xi urged him. “Watch your injury.”

“Of course.” Li Yuan’s thick and milky voice bore clear signs of delight.

In the past, Li Yuan would be the only one seeing Shen Xi off but today, there were two of them. With two pairs of eyes staring at her, she did feel a little awkward. She was about to step into her home when she turned back to wave them off. “See you tomorrow.”

Li Yuan answered, “See you tomorrow.”

Jin Yu kept mum but let out a gentle smile at her. However, he was overtaken by a sense of loss as the girl’s figure disappeared out of sight.

Li Yuan wheeled himself home and remained in the courtyard for a while before heading into the house.

Jin Yu stood in the courtyard, gazing at the moon on top. The thought of the girl’s tender grin warmed his heart.

It was time for him to find his family.

He could not continue to wander the earth meaninglessly without knowing his own life. It was a waste of his precious life.

Du Juan was the only one home.

By the time Shen Xi was done with dinner, Du Juan had left to deliver food to Shen Zhanglin. Shen Xi sneaked into the courtyard to peek next door yet was afraid to disrupt Li Yuan at his work. She intended to climb up the wall and scout the situation beforehand.

She just got up the wall and popped half her head up when she saw the man standing in the courtyard. Picking up the commotion, the man turned and met her eyes.

Shen Xi waved at him and smiled in greeting. “Hello, Uncle Jin Yu.”

Jin Yu was pleasantly surprised by her presence. He asked her, “Have you eaten?”

“Yes. Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

“I could say the same to you.”

“I’ll need to finish my homework after this.”

“Don’t stay up too late. Get some early rest.”

Shen Xi agreed and answered, “You too. Good night.”

She still had a lot of incomplete tasks on her plate. With National Idol around the corner, there was a lot of work to be done and no time to waste.

The handsome mister moving in next door was not a bother to Shen Xi. In fact, she was looking forward to it.

Song Wenye could tell Shen Xi had been in a good mood for the past two days. She drew close. “I’m reporting to the set the day after tomorrow. Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

Shen Xi plainly said, “Keep it up.”

Song Wenye was despondent but did not take it to heart. Soon, she was back to her old self and secretly gave Shen Xi a low-down. “I have inside news that we have a mystery mentor on the program who will decide the fate of the contestants.”

Shen Xi nodded in acknowledgment while thinking to herself. ‘No kidding. I’m the mystery mentor.’

In contrast to Shen Xi’s placidity, Song Wenye was worried. She lay her head flat on the table and sighed, “I heard from Rourou that the mystery mentor is a character. All of the contestants have the talent and worked harder than me. What am I going to do if I’m eliminated in the first round?”

Detecting her low spirits, Shen Xi finished up the last of her test papers and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Song Wenye downheartedly sighed. “Xixi, I think I’m weak as hell.”

She was not bothered at first as she would usually just dive in headfirst. However, at second thought, Song Wenye wondered if her impulse got the better of her.

“This doesn’t sound like you at all!” Finding it strange, Shen Xi looked at her. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of quitting halfway?”

This kid was never fazed by anything. No matter the trouble, she would forge ahead without knowing defeat and retreat.

What got into her?

“Rourou loves dancing and wants to be a dancer. Yanyan enjoys singing and wants the world to hear her voice. Tongtong wants to be the best rapper in China while Lil’ Yu wants to win a Grammy and travel the world. Compared to them, my dream is nothing.” Song Wenye appeared to be rambling to Shen Xi and simultaneously mumbling to herself.

They had the passion, the dream, the drive, the endurance, the groundwork, and the purest aspiration and love for music and dance. They all had a clear goal and were ready to muster their everything to achieve it.