Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Caiyi remembered that to avoid misunderstanding, her parents wanted Li Caiyi to be the one who first suggested the idea to Meng Renshu.

No matter how dull she was, Li Caiyi knew this wasn't right, considering Meng Renshu and Li Chunhua's past relationship. If words got out that Meng Renshu let a woman who had a previous relationship with him work so close to him, then various rumours would float around.

So Li Caiyi refused initially, but her parents kept pressing the issue, convincing her that no such rumor would spread. Because Li Caiyi, the legal wife, would initiate it first.

As long as Li Caiyi was aware and agreed to it, it wouldn't be a problem.

Under the pressure and urging of her parents and sister, Li Caiyi finally gave up.

There was a part of her heart who was unwilling to let her sister come close to her husband, but then she remembered that she was only a substitute wife. The memory of their first night was still fresh in her mind. Even though almost a year had passed since then.

Her heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand knives, but she got to know her place. For Meng Renshu and her parents, she was nothing compared to Li Chunhua.

With that thought in mind, she resigned herself and brought the matter up to her husband once he was finally home.

At that time, she thought Meng Renshu would be delighted at the news. Because this meant that he could spend more time with Li Chunhua.

But contrary to her thoughts, Meng Renshu was furious.

It was shallow of her, but knowing that Meng Renshu felt even a bit reluctant to help her made her happy. Li Caiyi was relieved, knowing that her husband thought about her, even a little.

"Even if you don't care about your position, you should be more aware that any insult directed towards you will also ruin my reputation. Yet, you still insist that I accept Xiaohua as my secretary? I never knew your family was so selfish."

The little bit of happiness in her heart faded away hearing those words. By that, Meng Renshu implied that he didn't actually care about her but for his own reputation.

Li Caiyi felt a sting in her heart but endured it. This was what she started, so she shouldn't cry.

"I'm sorry. I know this is a big request to ask, but Xiaohua will be very thankful for you if you accept it. Don't worry. As long as I explain it to people, no one will think badly of you."

"So what? Do you think everything will be settled just like that? Just how naive can you be? And that's not even the core of the problem here!"

Li Caiyi flinched when he raised his voice. She could sense his contempt even without raising her head.

Meng Renshu's fury was too much for her to bear, so she apologized in a small voice.

Unbeknownst to her, it only made him even more furious.

"You really will do anything for your family, huh? What a filial child you are. In the end, you are the same as everyone else. You disappointed me. I was the stupid one for expecting anything from you!"

Meng Renshu clicked his tongue before stomping out of the house in anger.

Li Caiyi watched his departing back with tears welled in her eyes, but no sound came out of her throat as if it was blocked by something.

A few days later, Li Chunhua was officially accepted as Meng Renshu's secretary. He spent more and more time at work and only came home a few times a month.

Then the scene changed to that day when everything crumbled down, and this time, Meng Renshu didn't bother to ask for her opinion anymore.

Looking back, everything was the result of her bad choices. One thing led to another, and she had ultimately used up all of his trust in her.

Even though she was angry for being abandoned. Deep down, she couldn't really blame Meng Renshu for that.

But she couldn't acknowledge that. If she did, she would blame herself again, regret it, and beg for everyone's forgiveness again. Like a pathetic person, she was.

Li Caiyi was tired. Enough was enough.

She would rather kill herself rather than wallow in that horrible feeling again.

Then, someone came along and saved her from that vicious cycle of self-hate. A person who was subtly endearing with his awkward kindness.

'The person I love the most, but why can't I remember his face? I clearly feel strongly towards him, but why can't I remember what we did?'

A gust of wind blew past her, and she felt a chill. Following the cold was the throbbing pain in every part of her body.

"Ugh."

Her body felt heavy like a lead, but the pain forced her to open her eyes. Once her eyes were adjusted to her surroundings, she found herself in the middle of the forest.

"That's right. I fell from the cliff." Li Caiyi muttered and coughed up some dirt from her mouth.

'How long has it been since I passed out?'

Li Caiyi looked up to find the sky was tinted with the color red and orange, meaning that a few hours had passed since then. What about Hu Jian?

"Agh!"

A stinging pain came from her belly when she tried to sit up. It was so painful; tears welled up in her eyes, but she couldn't just stay there forever. Who knows what kind of creature lurked in the forest at night? Lying down here was just asking for death.

Despite the ache all over her body, Li Caiyi gritted her teeth and managed to pull herself up by relying on the tree trunk beside her.

Even that little movement cost a lot of her energy. She wasn't sure, but it felt like some of her ribs were broken, and she had a lot of scratches here and there. Her PE uniform was dirty and torn in a few places.

"Ah, this sucks. My luck is bad as usual. Even my forehead is bleeding." Li Caiyi mumbled absentmindedly when she tasted dirt and blood on her tongue. She spat out some saliva before examining the wound on her forehead.

Thankfully, it didn't seem to be that big of a wound. Thank goodness she didn't land on her head first. She remembered that the trees around her lessened the impact of her fall.

The sun was about to set, and Li Caiyi felt slightly anxious. However, she tried to calm herself down and recalled what had happened one by one.

"I was walking down a mountain to check on Xiaohua. Then Senior Hu slipped and accidentally pushed me toward the cliff. I shouldn't have stood near the cliff."

But still, Hu Jian must have informed the teacher by now, and help should have come soon. Li Caiyi cheered herself up that way.

In the meantime, she should find a safe place to wait first.

The cold wind hit her skin and caused a stinging pain in her wounds, but she endured it and rose to her feet.