Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Chunhua was about to retort, but Shao Jingfei's phone suddenly rang. The boy checked on his phone, and a scowl formed on his face. Without hesitation, he rejected the call.

"Why didn't you pick up the call?" Li Chunhua asked in wonder.

"It's not important anyway. My brother will probably call me to nag at me again."

Li Chunhua hummed in understanding. "Come to think of it, you seem busier these days. Did something happen?"

Shao Jingfei shrugged. "Nothing much. My family had grown restless after the raid at our anniversary party the other day. I wasn't informed of the details too, but not that it concerned me."

"Oh yeah. Is your father alright after that incident? If I remember correctly, he was kidnapped separately from the others, right?"

"Yeah. But it seems those terrorists weren't planning to harm him. The leader of the group only wanted to talk with him. He refused to divulge any information regarding that, though."

"Hmm, that's kind of suspicious." Li Chunhua blurted the first thing that came to her mind but realized she probably had misspoken later. "Oh! I didn't imply anything when I said that. I'm sure your father has no relation to those people."

Shao Jingfei laughed. "You don't have to be so careful around me. Anyone who knew about that would feel suspicious. That's why the police have become frequent visitors to our company. Apparently, their investigation is stuck, but they can't force my old man to talk."

"Well, I can see why it will bother your family. But are you alright with that too?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

Li Chunhua was about to ask whether he felt worried for his family, but perhaps that would be a stupid question, so she changed her question. "Wouldn't it disturb your work if the police loitered around your workplace?"

"It's fine. No unauthorized personnel can get through the first floor, so although their presence caused some uneasiness, they didn't disturb our work."

"Thank goodness. So it shouldn't be bothering Xiaoyi, right?"

"She didn't even work in the company; you are worrying too much."

"I can't help it. Xiaoyi is just that important to me. If I lose her, I think I will die too."

"What's with that? Even though the two of you are twins, you guys are still a separate entity."

Li Chunhua twirled her hair even more with inexplicable emotion on her face. "No. My life would be meaningless without her. There is no point in living like a dead person. Dying is scary, but I'm more scared of dying after my sister."

Shao Jingfei could tell she was serious when she said that. Was that her way of saying she would kill herself if something happened to Li Caiyi? The amount of devotion she had was mind-blowing.

It was a bit scary but admirable at the same time. After his mother's passing, Shao Jingfei refused to let anyone enter his heart too deeply. He felt like he would really break if he had to lose someone important to him again.

Listening to Li Chunhua talk about how she didn't mind throwing her life away like that made him uncomfortable and restless. Although he couldn't tell the reason behind it.

"Chunhua, promise me you won't skip your therapy session."

"Why are you suddenly bringing that up? Let me tell you, I've never skipped any session so far."

The lunch break ended without Shao Jingfei being able to eat anything.

***

The first thing Li Caiyi did after she returned was to grab her present for Li Chunhua. However, her sister seemed adamant about avoiding her because she left the school before Li Caiyi and hadn't returned home until now.

"Perhaps she is busy, don't mind it too much." Su Suyin comforted her as she pruned a tree branch. "She will return when it's time for dinner. You can give her the present at that time."

"Yes. But Mother, don't you feel worried about letting Xiaohua outside without supervision?"

Su Suyin still remembered how she would reprimand Li Caiyi harshly if she took her eyes off her sister even for a second. With an apologetic look, she said, "I only focused on her physical health, that I neglected her mental health. After you convinced me to let a psychologist check on her, I decided not to bind Xiaohua too strictly.

Lately, she is always talking about how enjoyable the school has been. According to the psychologist in charge of her, Xiaohua showed promising signs of recuperating, and I didn't want to impede that growth."

"I see. That must be a tough decision to make for you, Mother. You cherish her so much like a pearl in your hand."

"Xiaoyi, I would do the same if it were you too!"

Li Caiyi was stunned. She didn't mean that her words had a double meaning, but her mother seemed to misunderstand her. "Mother, you don't have to feel concerned about me. I didn't mean anything by what I said."

Su Suyin held her hand gently. "After you left the house, I have repeatedly reflected on my mistakes. I don't deserve to say this after everything I put you through, but you are my child, and there's no denying that. Please don't think you are any less than your brother and sister just because incompetent parents like me."

Her mother's heartfelt words left a deep trace on her. Regret and sadness surged inside her, thinking about how happy she would have been if Su Suyin had said those words before everything got too late.

There were so many changes that happened after she returned to the past. A dream-like scene in front of her was actually a reality.

Unsure of what to say, Li Caiyi slowly retracted her hand from her mother's grasp.

"It was all in the past, Mother. I'm not the same child who used to think lowly of myself, and I bear no grudge against you."

"Even if you did, I wouldn't dare to hold it against you because you have every right to feel like that. I'm actually surprised you agreed to stay here for a month."

Li Caiyi laughed dryly before changing the topic. "Since Xiaohua isn't home, I will go out too."

"Where are you going?"

"I want to visit my friend's father in the hospital."

Su Suyin smiled meaningfully. "Are you sure it's only a 'friend'? Both of my daughters seem to be pretty close to boys lately."

There was no reason for her to hide it, but Li Caiyi felt now wasn't the right time to tell her mother about her relationship with Dai Zhiqiang.

"You read too much into it, Mother. I need to go now!"

Before Su Suyin could barrage her with questions, Li Caiyi quickly walked out of the house.

***

"You're here earlier than I thought," Dai Zhiqiang smiled at her right after he opened the door.

"I'm so curious about this thing you want to show me that I can't help but come quicker," Li Caiyi answered while entering the Dai family's house.

It had been a while since she came here, but everything was still the same as the last time she remembered.

"Is Shenqiang not here?" Li Caiyi asked as she looked around.

"No. He is still waiting for my father to regain consciousness," Dai Zhiqiang replied gloomily.

"I see," Li Caiyi couldn't help but think about Dai Bolin again. Although the doctor said his life was no longer in danger, there was no guarantee his sickness wouldn't relapse again.

She looked up at Dai Zhiqiang and gingerly played with his fingers affectionately. "Are you okay? Did you have enough sleep?"

"It wasn't easy, but Shenqiang and I had been taking a turn watching over my father."

"What about your work?"

"My boss allowed me to stay by my father's side for now. But I don't know when he will ask me to return to work."

"Can't you ask for some days off? Your father is in a precarious condition now." Li Caiyi asked, annoyed that his boss didn't give him much time.

Dai Zhiqiang intertwined their hands as he smiled, "There's no helping it. I owe the boss a big debt. I will visit my father whenever I'm free, so you don't have to worry."

"Seriously, what kind of work did you do to demand so much of your time? You rarely come to school and can't stay by your father's side for long. I don't believe you are there simply to be a bodyguard."

The last time she went to Ye Wang, it looked like Dai Zhiqiang had some significant influence on the group. Wouldn't typically someone like that has more leisure in taking days off?

"Tell me the truth. Did something happen in your workplace? I noticed how you have become more and more distant these days. What exactly did your boss do? And why did he need you, a mere high schooler, so much? I won't let you get away without answering this time," Li Caiyi pulled out her hand and crossed her arms, expressing her defiance.

"That's…I can't tell you…." Dai Zhiqiang answered hesitantly. It made her squint her eyes further in suspicion.

"I knew it. You have been involved in something dangerous, aren't you?"

"Why would you think like that? Yi Yi, you don't have to worry about it."

The more he tried to hide it, the more annoyed Li Caiyi became. However, she was determined to hear the reason from his mouth today.

"How about this? If you answer my question, then I will also answer one question from you. I'm sure you also still have something you want to ask me, correct?"