Rebirth: Once Again With You

Dai Zhiqiang opened his eyes again to see the source of his warmth, looking down at him worriedly. She had gentle eyes which conveyed thousands of stories and pretty lips which uttered words that resonated deep inside him.

"Caiyi…"

Sometimes he felt that even mentioning her name would ruin this happy dream forever.

He knew that indulging in this blissful feeling would hurt him even more when she finally left him. Still, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to be by her side, like a moth attracted to fire.

"Caiyi, don't go."

"I'm here. I'm with you." Li Caiyi gently said while stroking his smooth hair.

"If you want to go somewhere, then take me with you."

"Then you should take me with you too if you want to go somewhere." Li Caiyi said lightly.

Dai Zhiqiang didn't reply and only tightened his hold on the girl inside his arms. With her by his side, breathing became much easier, and his world turned into a colorful one just from seeing her smile. He had fallen so deeply into her without him noticing, with no way out.

His body instinctively moved closer to the warmth of her neck, and the smoothness of her skin tempted him to take a bite of it. Dai Zhiqiang's eyes swirled with darkness as he eyed her collarbone possessively.

'Mine, mine,' He thought inwardly. 'She likes me, so she is mine.'

Dai Zhiqiang opened his mouth, and his hot and damp-breath tickled the girl, prompting a soft whimper to come out of her mouth.

He loved to hear that. If he took a bite of her flesh, he wondered what kind of voice she would make? Would she look up at him with that alluring blushed face again, just like that night with rain?

His heart beat excitedly just at the thought of it.

"ZHIQIANG!!"

A shout of his name knocked him out of his thoughts. The next thing he realized, something—or someone had slapped his head violently, causing his head to ring for a moment.

While the momentary dizziness distracted him, Li Caiyi jumped out of his arm and took a few steps away from him. Her face was as red as a tomato, with one of her hands covering a spot on her neck.

"Wh-what are you doing? Don't scare me like that!"

"I was just charging myself." Dai Zhiqiang said with a shrug.

"Y-you shameless!" Li Caiyi looked around in panic and was relieved that the coast seemed clear. Then she glared at the boy in front of him. "From now on, no excessive skinship until I allow it."

Dai Zhiqiang was clearly astonished by her ultimatum. "What?"

"The moment I let you have your way with me, you won't stop doing whatever you want. You don't even care about the time and place anymore. That's it!"

A dejected look flashed across his eyes at her adamant refusal. "You don't like it when I'm showing my affection to you like this."

"Not that. I just don't like how you keep taking advantage of the situation to put your hands on me! You didn't even stop when I called your name repeatedly."

Dai Zhiqiang blinked his eyes obliviously at that. Did she call out to him? He was too immersed in his own world to hear anything.

"W-why did you do that? You surprised me."

"Do what?"

Li Caiyi glared at him like she couldn't believe he had just asked her that. "The thing you did earlier!"

"Ah, what's wrong with that? It wasn't the first time I did that."

"No, this one is definitely different from the last one. You knew what I mean and only pretended to be innocent on purpose!" Li Caiyi pointed at him accusingly with a funny-looking face. Because it was so red, like a boiled lobster.

Dai Zhiqiang's corner of mouth curved up at her flustered expression. It seemed he had gone overboard this time. Li Caiyi was thin-skinned, and doing this in broad daylight in a place where people could pass anytime must have triggered her.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Call it a moment of mistake, okay? You are just too alluring for me to resist sometimes."

"And that too! Stop speaking in such an ambiguous way!" Li Caiyi pointed at him again.

"Haha, yes, I will tone it down from now on, so forgive me, okay?" Dai Zhiqiang chuckled.

The girl harrumphed as she tried to calm down her erratic heartbeat.

This kid was too dangerous to be kept around. Although it was only for a moment, she could feel his teeth grazing across her neck, like he was searching for a good spot to bite. It sent a shiver down her spine, and the sensation almost lulled her rationality to sleep.

Thank god she still had a sense of shame in her. However, she wasn't sure if she could resist it if he did it in different circumstances.

The depth of his love for her felt like it could drown her sometimes. As much as it tasted sweet to indulge in it, she had to maintain some control. Or else this kid would think he could do anything he pleased.

"I'm serious. If you attempt to do this again without my permission, I won't talk to you again."

"Ouch, that would be bad, indeed," Dai Zhiqiang laughed forcedly. "I'll be careful from now on. So forgive me, okay?"

Li Caiyi became slightly calmer now that Dai Zhiqiang finally looked more like his usual self. The shock of hearing his mother's voice after a long time must have hit him badly.

"Zhiqiang, how are you feeling right now?"

"Much better, thanks to you. I didn't know what I would do if I confronted my mother just like that. Thank you for dragging me out here, Caiyi. Now, I feel more ready to face it."

"Are you going back inside?" Li Caiyi asked with a clenched fist.

"I can't let my sick father talk too long with that woman. If listening to her voice can disturb me to this extent, imagine how my father would feel."

There was no rebuttal from her because she was also worried about Dai Bolin's condition. "Then I will go with you, too. Just in case you need a third party to ease the situation later."

"I actually would appreciate it more if you don't see our family's ugly scenes, but you're right. At this point, I can't predict what will happen next."

Li Caiyi walked over to him and clenched his hand firmly. "You can do this. We can do this."

Dai Zhiqiang smiled weakly before giving her hand a squeeze, too.