Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Are you aiming for class A now?"

"En," Li Caiyi nodded. "I thought I should improve myself more. Besides, it will be nice if I can end up in the same class as my sister."

Feng Nian snorted. "No offense, but I don't know how you can stand being around that sister of yours. She is too clingy and overall a very troublesome girl. If I were you, I would take my distance away from her."

Even now, Feng Nian was still hostile toward Li Chunhua. Li Caiyi couldn't blame her because her sister almost broke the friendship between Feng Nian and Chen Ruolan. It was already good that Feng Nian didn't avoid Li Caiyi too.

"Xiaohua has been behaving well lately. Many things have happened since then, and she is not as obsessive as before."

"Well, it's good if you have talked about it between the two of you." Feng Nian reluctantly agreed. "Anyway, shouldn't we aim for class A too?"

"What? My brain barely could pass B class level with painstaking effort, and you want me to set a higher standard now??" Chen Ruolan exclaimed in disbelief.

"You just gotta try harder."

"No, I'll die! I'll definitely die if I don't watch at least one movie a day!"

"Then you can stay in B class alone. We will ascend together to class A." Feng Nian smirked mischievously.

"What?! Ya Ya, you will not abandon me, right?" Chen Ruolan shifted her gaze to Zhou Ya pleadingly.

The latter put her fingers on her chin and thought about it seriously. "Now I wonder what I should do? Class A doesn't sound too bad, actually."

"You guys are meanie! Hmph, forget it. I will just bury myself watching my movies. They will never betray me as you guys do."

They laughed together at Chen Ruolan's antics. Li Caiyi really liked simple moments like this. This was a luxury she didn't have in her previous life, and she wouldn't want to trade it for anything.

"Haha, it's okay. I said I wanted to go to class A, but that doesn't mean you guys have to aim for the same, too. Of course, I will be glad if we can go to the same class, but even if we go to separate classes, we can still hang out together." Li Caiyi said.

"You're right. It actually doesn't really matter," Zhou Ya agreed.

"But it's a huge deal for me! I don't want to be alone!" Chen Ruolan chimed in.

"Then, study harder, you fool." Feng Nian mercilessly commented.

"But time flies so fast. In a blink of an eye, the midterm will be held in three days." Zhou Ya said in a nostalgic tone.

"Up to a few months ago, only the three of us were looking at the exam schedule on the announcement board. Even if I imagine we will have a new addition to our group, I would never expect it to be you, Caiyi."

"Eh? Why?" Li Caiyi asked in confusion.

"I mean, everyone thought of you as someone out of our reach. Senior Meng and Senior Li's influence intimidate us, and we can't get closer to you easily." Zhou Ya awkwardly scratched her cheek. "After knowing you, we know now that idea is a kind of stupid. You are nothing like what we imagined at all."

"Is that so? I don't mean to appear that way."

Chen Ruolan added, "It's not your fault. Senior Meng is the most famous among many rich students here, and you are childhood friends of that super-famous person. Not to mention, he seems to pursue you lately. What do you think of it, Caiyi?"

Li Caiyi's smile stiffened at being asked directly about that.

Zhou Ya shook her head helplessly before nudging Chen Ruolan. "You should learn to read the mood."

"Huh? What did I do now?"

"She clearly doesn't look comfortable talking about this. Don't pester her."

"Isn't it normal for us girls to talk about our love life? I have always been curious, but you and Nian Nian always keep me from asking." Chen Ruolan pouted.

"You are seriously…." Zhou Ya's words trailed off when Li Caiyi patted her shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. I don't actually mind. I just don't know how to answer. Honestly, this feels awkward and complicated to me."

"Is it because Senior Meng is your childhood friend?" Zhou Ya inquired with a brimming curiosity in her eyes, which prompted a snort from Chen Ruolan.

"You switched gears so quickly after I paved the path for you."

"Ssshh. Don't interrupt now."

Li Caiyi fell into deep thought as she recalled how Meng Renshu had helped her family yesterday. For some reason, his actions bothered her a lot. If she added on how he had recently not come to bother her in class, it increased her suspicion.

"I think he has a terrible misunderstanding about his feelings. Since we were a child, we have been close, but I have always thought he likes Xiaohua more than me. In fact, you guys also think the same, right?"

The three of them didn't answer immediately and exchanged hesitant glances. In the end, it was Feng Nian who answered her question.

"Not gonna lie, but everyone in the school thinks like that. Senior Meng is not necessarily trying to hide his interest after all."

"Yeah. That's why when he suddenly became interested in you, everyone was shocked." Chen Ruolan added.

Li Caiyi nodded. "En. It took me aback too. That's why I don't know what to think about this."

"But how are you feeling towards him, Caiyi? Have you ever seen him as a man before? Did your heart ever beat so fast, or do you have butterflies in your stomach when he is around?"

"Ya Ya is in her girlish mode now." Chen Ruolan facepalmed.

"Sshh, stop commenting about every little thing."

Li Caiyi smiled bitterly. She used to have that kind of feeling whenever Meng Renshu was nearby. She was content as long as she could be by his side.

However, that feeling of hers had long died along with her previous life. Currently, Li Caiyi had no other feeling but gratefulness toward him.

"No. I don't like him that way." Li Caiyi fiddled with his finger. She didn't react that way anymore toward anymore, but thinking about that made the image of what happened last night resurface in her mind. A soft smile crept up her lips.

"But there is someone else who makes me feel like that."

Feng Nian hummed meaningfully. "Is it the male friend you have talked about before?"

Li Caiyi had the gentlest expression on her face as she confirmed, "Yes. I think I like him for real, guys."

"Caiyi, you finally realized how you feel about that friend of yours. Thank goodness!" Zhou Ya exclaimed excitedly.

"Why are you the one who gets excited about this?" Chen Ruolan asked in bewilderment.

"How can I not? Doesn't this mean that this is a love triangle case? It happens a lot in girl's manga, and I love it!" Zhou Ya pressed both her cheeks in exhilaration.

Li Caiyi grimaced upon hearing that. Although Zhou Ya's words had some truth in them, she secretly hoped the situation wouldn't turn out like that.