Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Do you feel better now? Here, have some chocolate." Shao Jingfei offered a chocolate bar to her, and Li Chunhua couldn't resist the temptation of sweets.

"Thanks," she said in a low voice.

"No problem. It's kind of my fault for being too insensitive. It's just that I have a high sense of justice, so when I heard your story, I can't help but feel bad for Li Caiyi."

"But I never said this is about my sister and me, though?"

Shao Jingfei rolled his eyes. "Are we still going to continue talking in a roundabout way like this?"

Li Chunhua bit on the chocolate bar, and the sweet taste that spread on top of her tongue calmed her nerves. She didn't wish for it to happen because it was embarrassing, but her body felt lighter now after venting out her stress by crying like that.

"You seem to care about my sister so much." Li Chunhua said in a suspicious tone.

"Well, it's because she is my friend, and I'm also a big fan of her writing." Shao Jingfei grinned widely. "You should also try to read her writing if you have time. You will understand just how much effort she puts into everything if you do. She might be weak, as you said, but it doesn't mean she will stay weak forever."

"....Is it that good? Xiaoyi's writing?"

"Yeah! I have a copy of the manuscript she submitted for the last contest in my bag. We can drop by my classroom after this to fetch it if you want."

Come to think of it, although they knew Li Caiyi had won a contest before, nobody in their family actually read her writing. Her sister also never hinted at them to read it, as if she never hoped anyone would care enough to ask.

Hearing how Shao Jingfei spoke so highly of it made Li Chunhua want to try as well.

"I want to try… reading it."

Shao Jingfei immediately beamed like the brightest bulb. "Nice! It's a guaranteed jackpot if I'm the one who recommends it. I'm sure you'll like it as well. Feel free to join the Li Caiyi fan club after that."

"There is something like that?! Tell me more about that fan club!" Li Chunhua was shocked to hear there was a fan club of her sister she had never been aware of.

"Yes. For now, it only has me as a member, but with you, it will have two members. Hahaha!"

Li Chunhua: "...."

Why did she even take this boy's words seriously?

But he was a pretty good listener for a boy who was too nosy. If only he could tone down his playfulness a bit.

***

Days passed quickly, and in no time at all, it was already the day of Meng Renshu's coming-of-age party.

Li Caiyi felt a pain in her neck when she imagined a bunch of people would pay attention to her later, but butterflies were flying in her stomach whenever she glimpsed upon the beautiful midnight blue dress Meng Renshu had prepared for her.

Someone came to deliver the dress today, and he even brought a pair of silver shoes and accessories that matched the dress for her to wear. Meng Renshu was really meticulous with the preparation.

Then, a group of women came to their house in the afternoon, claiming to be people working for Young Master Meng, who came to help the twins to prepare for the party.

Just how far did Meng Renshu have calculated all this beforehand? Li Caiyi was at a loss for words.

However, since they had been sent here, she had no choice but to accept his grace.

Li Caiyi sighed in resignation when one lady pushed her gently to sit on the chair and began to play with her hair.

***

Meng Renshu checked on his watch for the nth time tonight while occasionally glancing at the door, completely ignoring all stares directed at him, the main character tonight.

It wouldn't be weird for him to become a center of attention from ladies of various ages attending the party because he indeed looked dazzling that night.

A black suit framed his lean and tall body made him look sharper tonight. It seemed like he was indeed becoming a full-fledged man when he donned himself in that expensive-looking suit. His hair swept to the back, revealing his jade-like beauty for the entire world to admire.

He was very polite when giving his greetings to all guests, but he had a mysterious air around him that made women's hearts itched to know more about this charming young man with a dazzling smile. They held their breath together whenever they glimpsed upon his legs making a move, secretly hoping the Young Master Meng would suddenly take an interest in them and talk to them again, only to find themselves disappointed when he walked past them.

It wouldn't be long until the clock hit 7 AM, the time when the party would start. Everyone had high expectations for Young Master Meng's first speech after becoming an adult, so they gathered at the center of the room.

Finally, when night began to settle, a group of certain guests appeared at the entrance, causing a few commotions.

Meng Renshu turned his head towards the source of it and smiled softly when the person he had been waiting for finally arrived. His gaze nailed on one figure, and he quickly strode in wide steps toward a girl who wore a midnight blue dress.

The more he got closer to her, the more he fell into a trance. He was pleasantly shocked.

The current Li Caiyi who stood in front of him was completely different from the simple girl with glasses or the mature girl who looked like a fairy. He had no words to describe the sight in front of him except one word: beautiful.

Li Caiyi's long black hair was tied neatly with an updo hairstyle, with a few strands of hairs purposely let down. The dress hugged her curves perfectly, and her arm looked even fairer with gloves of the same color as the dress. Glitters on the dress were incomparable with the twinkle in her eyes illuminated under the light. Her lips that pressed together nervously were covered with shiny cherry red lipstick, which was only a shade darker than the hue on her cheeks right now. It was alluring yet lovely at the same time.

Meng Renshu was at a loss for words and could only stare at Li Caiyi dumbly for a few good seconds.

He only regained his wits together again when a ball of light blue, or rather, Li Chunhua in a beautiful off-shoulder light blue dress, blocked his sight.

"Brother Renshu, congratulations on your coming of age!"

He smiled and gave Li Chunhua's head a gentle pat, inviting a lot of envy stares from the other female guests. "Thank you, Xiaohua. You looked lovely tonight."

"As I should!" Li Chunhua puffed her chest out proudly.

"Renshu, congratulations." After Li Chunhua, Li Jirong and Su Suyin also gave him a few words. They looked like a harmonious couple, with Li Jirong wearing a gray suit and Su Suyin with a modest white dress.

"Auntie and Uncle, thank you for coming today. I hope you enjoy the party." Meng Renshu politely bowed to both adults before nodding friendly at Li Junjie, who stood close behind them.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Jirong, it was finally Li Caiyi's turn to congratulate him. "Brother Renshu, congratulations."

"Xiaoyi…" Meng Renshu felt his throat suddenly dry because of nervousness. "You came…"

"Well, I'm your partner tonight. I can't ditch you at the last minute."

"Yeah. Uhm, that dress… It suited you very much."

Li Caiyi let out a simple smile as she caressed her skirt. "I should be the one thanking you for this beautiful dress."

"Do you like it?"

"It goes without saying, right?" Li Caiyi chuckled. "I was too upset at you last time, so I didn't want to admit it, but this dress stole my heart at first glance."

Meng Renshu felt a gush of warmth overflowed from his heart to all over his body, seeing her smile like that. All his efforts to prepare everything for her were all worth it.

There was a sense of pride and joy in knowing that he was the one that made her happy like this.

"Then, shall we go?" Meng Renshu offered his left arm to her.

Li Caiyi looked at the arm in front of him with a complicated gaze before she finally nodded her head and encircled her arm in his.