Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Chunhua frowned when she heard commotion around her. It was so noisy she couldn't continue sleeping. She could faintly hear people calling her name, so she reluctantly pried her heavy eyelids open.

"Ugh…" Li Chunhua groaned unknowingly as she blinked her eyes several times, trying to adjust her vision with the lighting.

"Xiaohua!"

A gasp of relief followed by the mention of her name finally snapped her back to reality. Before she could sit herself up, someone had already pounced on her.

"Xiaohua, thank goodness. I thought something happened to you!" Li Caiyi whispered with a shaky voice, like a person who had just witnessed something traumatic. She had her arm wrapped around Li Chunhua's body as she put her weight on top of her.

Li Chunhua was fully awake now, but she was confused by this turn of events. Did something just happen to Li Caiyi while she was sleeping?

"Don't jump on her like that, Xiaoyi. Let Xiaohua breathe."

Li Chunhua shifted her gaze upon hearing her brother's cool and calm voice, and sure enough, Li Junjie stood a few steps away from her bed while staring down at them. Li Caiyi slowly picked herself up before quickly wiping her slightly wet eyes.

"I'm sorry, Xiaohua. I was worried about you, so I was relieved when you finally opened your eyes."

Li Chunhua finally could sit up and speak after a moment of confusion. "Why are you two in my room? Did something happen?"

"I came to your room, but you were sleeping. When I stepped closer, I saw your medicine scattered everywhere on the floor, and you didn't wake up no matter how much I shook or called out to you. I panicked and called Brother Jie here to check on you." Li Caiyi explained.

"I did? I slept so deeply I didn't feel a thing," Li Chunhua rubbed her nape in confusion.

"You scared me to death! I thought your body was acting up again." Li Caiyi complained, but there was only exhaustion in her tone instead of anger. The shock must have drained all her energy from her body.

Li Junjie let out a deep breath. "How is your body, Xiaohua? Did you feel anything strange?"

"I feel fine, lighter even." Li Chunhua smiled, "I'm probably too tired today that I don't hear anyone waking me up."

"I see. Tell us right away if you feel something weird with your body."

"Brother Jie, wouldn't it be better if we bring her to the hospital to check? Just in case." Li Caiyi asked worriedly.

"We'll do that if Xiaohua shows any sign of acting up in the next few hours. For now, I think she is still fine." Li Junjie replied, which only brought little to no reassurance to Li Caiyi.

"Xiaoyi, I'm fine. I must have accidentally nudged the bottle down in my sleep after taking it. Don't worry." Li Chunhua smiled reassuringly.

Li Caiyi was still skeptical but decided to agree for now. "Alright. But tell me if you feel something strange with your body, okay?"

Li Chunhua nodded. Meanwhile, Li Junjie, who felt the situation had been resolved, said, "I'll return to my room first."

"Wait, Brother Jie!" Li Chunhua called out to him in a hurry, causing him to stop in his track.

"What is it?"

Li Chunhua clenched the pillow on his lap. She tried to calm herself as much as possible, but thinking back about everything she had just overheard, a trace of grievance and disappointment slipped out from her tone.

"Brother Jie, Xiaoyi. Both of you are hiding something from me, isn't that right?"

While Li Junjie appeared as calm as the lake's surface, Li Caiyi showed a subtle reaction. Li Chunhua squinted her eyes, demanding an explanation.

"I heard what you were talking about with Mother earlier, Xiaoyi."

Li Caiyi facepalmed inwardly. Why would Li Chunhua always be around her when she least expected it? She briefly glanced at her brother, but Li Junjie barely showed any reaction. Instead of denying it, he asked instead, "So you have heard. What do you think of it?"

"There's nothing to think about. Of course, I will follow Mother's decision. It's just that I'm upset because I was the only one being left out."

"We didn't plan to keep it a secret forever. I want to make sure the plan works before telling you about it, considering your health."

"In the end, it's always like that, huh?" Li Chunhua clenched her fist tightly.

"Xiaohua…" Li Caiyi quickly intervened before her brother said something insensitive. "Is there something bothering you about this? You can tell us honestly."

"What will happen after Father and Mother divorced?"

"Ah?" Her answer took Li Caiyi aback for a moment. "Aside from there being no Father around the house anymore, there wouldn't be much difference."

"Since when have you two been planning about this?"

"Actually, I just found out that Brother Jie actually had a plan of his own today," Li Caiyi scratched her cheek awkwardly.

Then, she proceeded on telling Li Chunhua everything. The younger twin's expression changed several times in the span of minutes. By the time Li Caiyi finished explaining, she had a deep frown on her face.

"You guys went to talk about this behind my back. If I didn't find out today, I probably would have died from a heart attack when Mother and Father suddenly divorced."

"Don't say something ominous like that!" Li Caiyi reprimanded her sternly, but Li Chunhua only shrugged her shoulders.

"It's because you two are unfair. Am I not a part of this family too? Such an important decision like this; why do you have to hide it from me?"

"I'm sorry to hide it from you, but we really didn't mean to single you out like that." Li Caiyi took the initiative to apologize.

Li Chunhua bit her lips before she asked hesitantly in a small voice. "Xiaoyi, are you really going to leave the house after our parents divorced?"

"...Yes, I will."

"But why? There is no reason for you to leave anymore if Father is gone, right? I thought you don't like staying in the house because Father is always scolding and pressuring you."

Li Junjie kept his silence while staring at Li Caiyi, waiting for her to answer.

"It's much more than that, Xiaohua. The reason I wanted to leave was never because of Father in the first place. It's because I want to live for myself this time."

Li Chunhua gritted her teeth as the murky feeling inside her began to overflow. She couldn't stop herself from asking, "If that is the case, why did you bother investigating Father and preparing evidence? Why do you have to break our family like this only to leave us in the end?"

Li Caiyi wasn't angry or hurt by her question. She chose her words carefully before replying, "I can't leave thinking that one of you might become the second me in this house. I will leave after pulling you out from this suffocating place."

Li Chunhua couldn't accept Li Caiyi's decision. It muddled her head and made her forget momentarily that she was the one who kept holding her sister back.

A sense of regret and guilt struck her, and she was at a loss for words. She realized that, unlike her, Li Caiyi had never made a decision without putting her well-being into a calculation.

For the first time in her life, Li Chunhua finally realized how selfish she was.