Rebirth: Once Again With You

The door to Li Caiyi's room clamped shut behind her.

Shao Jingfei waited for a moment before taking out his phone from the top of the table and dialing a certain number.

It didn't take long before the line was connected, and a calm and refreshing voice could be heard from the other side.

"Good evening, Jingfei." Meng Renshu greeted him politely. "This should be your first time contacting me first. I was surprised since I thought you didn't like me that much."

Shao Jingfei chuckled. "I don't particularly hate or like you, Senior Meng. The other day, because Li Caiyi seemed to be on guard against you, that's why I behaved that way."

Meng Renshu commented nothing about it. "So, what's up? Did something happen to Xiaoyi?"

"No. I wanted to ask you something." Shao Jingfei scratched his cheek, contemplating whether he should ask or not before deciding to just give it a try. "It's you, right? The one who asked the editorial board to push Li Caiyi's work to be promoted externally?"

"I'm not sure what you are talking about. What makes you think that?" Meng Renshu replied with a hint of amusement in his voice, making Shao Jingfei doubt if his guess was correct or not.

"No matter how good Caiyi's book is, even I can't interfere that much about this stuff. Based on my knowledge, the books promoted on that platform have to reach a certain level of fame or popularity because they can go through the editorial board. The only way a new book from a rookie author like Caiyi could go through was if someone helped her from the inside."

"I see. That's a fair and reasonable guess, but I don't think it answered my question. Why do you think it was me who did it?"

"Among all the people around Li Caiyi right now, the only one capable of such a feat is me or you, Senior Meng. I wouldn't be surprised if your family knew someone from the editorial department with your connection. I'm asking because I want to make sure of this fact."

There was a brief silence from the other end before Meng Renshu burst out in laughter. "Haha, and here I thought I covered my track well. I should have known that even if I could fool her, there's no way I can fool you easily."

Shao Jingfei paid no heed to his compliment and asked seriously, "I can predict why you are doing that, but why didn't you tell her anything about it? As far as I know, it doesn't look like Caiyi has a good feeling towards you, Senior Meng. No offense. You probably can score some points if you tell her."

"No offense taken," Meng Renshu answered lightly. "Precisely because she hates me, she would be mad angry if she knew I interfered with her work. She wouldn't appreciate my effort and definitely asked me to mind my own business."

Considering Li Caiyi's attitude towards Meng Renshu earlier, Shao Jingfei thought that what Meng Renshu said made sense. That girl didn't even want to hear him mentioning her childhood friends, let alone knowing her book was pushed forward by the said person.

"Senior Meng, can I ask why you have to go so far? I don't have the right to judge you since what you did benefits the writer in the end, but why do you want to take a risk despite knowing how much she would hate it if she knew?"

"Hm, why I wonder?" Meng Renshu said mysteriously. "Maybe because I knew that girl would reach that pinnacle eventually. If she can reach that height faster with little push from me, then I don't see why not. Even if she hates me, if I can be by her side in her journey to reach that pinnacle, then I wouldn't mind."

"Well, I agree with you because she is such an excellent writer. But why does it sound like you know something I don't?"

There was a brief pause again before Meng Renshu spoke again. "Did I sound like that? That's just the extent of my faith in her."

Shao Jingfei's brows creased in doubt. Meng Renshu was like a puzzle that was hard to crack. Sometimes he spoke like he knew something would happen.

"I see. Well, I believe you will never try to harm Caiyi. However, if you can, please refrain from doing something like this again in the future. Although the boost in promotion is appreciated, if this goes on, Li Caiyi will receive a backlash for receiving too much 'favor' from inside. I believe you understand how much a person's reputation is in this line of work."

Shao Jingfei thought he would receive criticism for lecturing the Young Master Meng, but the response he got was totally unexpected.

"As expected, you are a nice guy. I was worried at first, that's why I came to meet you directly, but you are really a trustable person. I can see why Xiaoyi has such a good opinion of you. That kind of makes me jealous, though." Meng Renshu laughed again as though he found the situation funny.

His behavior was so strange sometimes that Shao Jingfei couldn't decide if she should stay vigilant or not. Meng Renshu seemed different from other wealthy's family young masters he knew.

As far as he watched, Meng Renshu didn't seem to be that bad? He wondered why Li Caiyi couldn't stand him so much.

"But still, Senior Meng, I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to pull the string behind the scene."

Rather than agreeing or denying it, Meng Renshu diverted the topic to something else.

"Jingfei, let me know if you need my help in the future. Since you have helped Xiaoyi and Xiaohua a lot, I will make sure to repay your kindness too."

"Ah? No need to bother. I didn't do anything special, really. I was just doing my job." Shao Jingfei answered, slightly flustered by the sudden compliment.

"No, let me thank you. You probably don't know, but your existence is a huge help for those two. What you think of as 'doing your job' is probably just the right thing the twins need the most. It was something I failed to notice before. I'm grateful for you to show them the right way."

His words bewildered Shao Jingfei even more. Once again, Meng Renshu said something that he couldn't comprehend. If he thought about it, Li Caiyi also thanked him immensely several times before, as though he had done a life-saving deed somehow.

At first, he only took it lightly, but from the way they spoke, it seemed like a big thing was happening under the surface, which he wasn't aware of.

Then again, he doubted those two would ever tell him about it even if he asked. So he decided to accept their gratefulness humbly.

"Senior Meng, you overpraised me. The twins are my friends, and I will hate it if something happens to them. I think you, who always did everything you can to help them from the dark, is even more amazing."

Meng Renshu: "...."

Unlike before, there was a long silence this time.

"Senior Meng?" Shao Jingfei called out to him.

"My deeds are not worthy of being proud of. I have gone through so many failures and made many mistakes in the past."

"Sorry? I can't hear you well."

"Nothing. If that's all you want to talk about, I will end the call here. I still have something to do, so let's talk some other time, alright?"

"Oh! Yes, sorry for taking so much of your time. Good evening, Senior Meng."

After the line was cut off, Meng Renshu put his phone slowly on his lap before looking out the window, where a crescent moon shone so bright in the dark night sky. His room was shrouded in comforting darkness, the thing he needed the most right then.

"It's true. I'm not worthy at all." Meng Renshu said bitterly to no one before closing his eyes.