Rebirth: Once Again With You

The three of them moved to an empty classroom and sat together. Thankfully, Meng Renshu didn't ask her about what she talked about with Dai Zhiqiang, despite her taking a pretty long time to return.

"Phew, we should have just done this from the start." Meng Renshu chuckled. "This is all because of Junjie's spontaneous decision."

Li Junjie paid no heed to his friend's teasing and spoke. "I guess we could start from what happened to Father after that incident."

Li Caiyi nodded her head.

"He did come back once after my birthday. That day, he got into an argument with Mother." Li Junjie folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Mother did? What happened then?"

"Long story short, it seemed Father was trying to convince Mother to rethink about their divorce."

"Ah? But hasn't the divorce paper already been submitted? What was he trying to do after everything that happened?" Li Caiyi asked in a tense voice

"I also don't know. He used the time when Xiaohua and I were still in school to approach Mother. Perhaps he thought that he could convince Mother because he couldn't convince his children."

"Well, you are right, but in the end, you are still the one who possessed the inheritance now, Brother. Wouldn't that mean he would also have to convince you in the end?"

"I have been wondering about that too." Li Junjie pinched his chin as he fell into deep thought.

A burst of soft laughter broke the siblings from their thoughts. Meng Renshu, who had been silently listening to them talking, looked at them with an amused smile.

"Aren't you guys forgetting about something important?"

Li Caiyi and Li Junjie exchanged glances of confusion, hearing Meng Renshu's question.

"What are you trying to say? Stop being cryptic and just say it directly," Li Junjie said.

"Well, there is still a possibility that they were just having a married couple fight, right? Uncle—your father might not want to divorce Auntie."

"Impossible," Li Junjie and Li Caiyi replied simultaneously.

"Brother Renshu, you can say that because you don't know what kind of despicable things he did to our mother."

"A greedy man like him would never miss an opportunity to create more benefit for himself. Your logic has too many flaws in it."

Meng Renshu raised both of his hands in defeat. "Hey, I'm just offering another possibility here. And honestly, you guys are underestimating human nature so much."

"Are you going to give a philosophical talk about love and something along that line here?" Li Junjie sneered.

"No, not necessarily love, but guilt. A person can fall out of love, but guilt is fair to everyone. It wasn't a simple feeling to escape from. In fact, it is more plausible to manipulate someone using their sense of guilt rather than love."

Li Caiyi didn't know how to respond to Meng Renshu's theory. Although she could see where he was coming from, the way he said it was devoid of any warmth and emotion, almost sinister. She felt cold just from listening to him.

"Do you want to say that Father tried to manipulate Mother using her sense of guilt?" Li Junjie asked again.

Meng Renshu shook her head helplessly. "'It was the opposite. I assumed your father was guilty about what he did and came to your mother for another chance."

"You are not making any sense," Li Junjie sighed exasperatedly.

"Again, I'm just saying a possibility. It was common for a married couple to divorce and reunite."

"Brother Renshu, you must have already known this, but our father cheated on our mother. To feel guilt, you have to love something to some extent first. But our father didn't love our mother anymore. If he loved her, he wouldn't be cheating on her."

"How naïve," Meng Renshu said in an indifferent tone. "Humans are much more complicated than you think. You can love someone but still can't keep your loyalty to the said someone. In the same way, how a couple without love can co-exist harmoniously. In the end, it was only a matter of integrity whether or not you will cheat on your partner."

"Xiaoyi, don't bother entertaining his theory. He is often like this. No need to pay attention to everything he said," Li Junjie discouraged her from rebutting.

Meng Renshu only smiled mysteriously when he heard Li Junjie's words. For some reason, that smile unsettled her, but better not to delve further.

"Then, what happened to Mother? Did Father hurt Mother or threaten her?"

"I only heard about this from Mother, so I don't know if she was telling the truth or not, but it seemed Mother chased him out."

"Mother did?!" Li Caiyi gasped in disbelief.

Su Suyin, who used to be obedient to everything Li Jirong said, could do such a thing. It was a significant improvement, yet also concerning in a way. That means that the divorce affected her that much.

"Apparently, she threatened she would convince Renshu to cancel his deal to give him job opportunities if he kept pestering her."

Meng Renshu snorted. "Auntie did? She sure hit him in the sore spot."

"Well, as long as he has that opportunity you gave him. Family or his current career, he could throw it all without worry."

Meng Renshu seemed to pick something from Li Junjie's words just now. "You don't mean…."

Li Junjie nodded, but it confused Li Caiyi because she couldn't keep up. "What is it? Tell me."

"Father quit his current job. I don't know what he is thinking, but he is pretty confident he can start a new life in a new place. With the news of his divorce circulating, he had been having a hard time, or so I heard. Not that I care enough to investigate further."

"Do you want me to do it instead?" Meng Renshu pointed at himself.

"No. Save your resource instead of wasting it on a human like that."

"Wow, you are so harsh as always, Junjie," Meng Renshu chuckled.

"Rather than laughing, you'd better tell us now."

"Hmm, about what?"

"About why would you go so far to offer something like that to our father? What are you planning, Renshu?"