Rebirth: Once Again With You

After Li Caiyi left, a head slowly peeked out from behind the nearby tree. Li Chunhua watched how her sister left with a mixed feeling inside.

"Does she finally leave?"

"Yeah," Li Chunhua replied as he looked down at another figure sitting behind her, "We can come out now."

Shao Jingfei, who was forced to hide once Li Chunhua glimpsed her sister walking their way, grumbled, "Why do we have to hide? We are the first ones who come here. And you have a weird hobby of eavesdropping on other people's conversation."

Li Chunhua harrumphed. "Not other people, just my sister's"

"So you don't deny the 'eavesdropping' part?" Shao Jingfei shook his head helplessly. Then, he stood up and patted the dust away from his school pants.

"Anyway, aren't you going to go to Senior Meng's place? The man just got rejected, in a rather brutal way too. It must be rough. You guys are childhood friends, right?"

"Brother Renshu would be fine. I'm more worried about Xiaoyi. She is soft-hearted, so rejecting a person like that must disturb her conscience badly."

"Wow, I feel pity for Senior Meng now. No one taking his side at all," Shao Jingfei plopped himself down on his usual spot on the bench and took a sip of his strawberry milk.

"Do you think so? I feel bad for Brother Renshu, but I feel relieved when Xiaoyi rejected him so firmly." Li Chunhua asked while sitting down beside him.

"Hmm, you love your sister too much. It's not a bad thing as long as you don't do anything to bother both of them, I suppose," Shao Jingfei gave her a warning look. "Seriously, you'd better not get involved in this."

Li Chunhua pouted. "I will not. I have learned from my past failures."

"Good, then. At least you are learning something."

Li Chunhua fiddled with the ends of her hair before telling him in a low voice. "My sister told me to get a treatment."

"Treatment? You mean for your constitution?"

"No. She meant it psychologically. She said I need professional help and that she would be glad to accompany me in my treatment."

Shao Jingfei hummed in acknowledgment. "Did you agree?"

"....I said I will think about it. Jingfei, what do you think I'm supposed to do?" Li Chunhua stared at him in confusion. "Do you think I'm also acting too crazily, so she wanted me to get treatment?"

"Wow, wow, let's fix your mindset first, alright? Why do you think getting psychological treatment is bad?" Shao Jingfei quickly interjected. "Getting a psychologist to help you is the same as asking a doctor to heal your cut wound or diarrhea. It's just a bit hard to do since the wound is invisible and can't be treated using external means."

"I know, but I can't help but feel self-conscious about it. No matter how much I think about it, I can't understand what I did wrong."

"Then, why did you say you will think about it? There is no use if you agree just because your sister told you to do it."

Li Chunhua bit her lips and thought for a while about how to convey her opinion. "Because I thought my sister would probably be free if she sees me doing well."

Shao Jingfei was stupefied when he heard that. He straightened his back and stared at Li Chunhua straightly. "Are you serious about that? Didn't you say you want your sister only to be close to you?"

Li Chunhua sighed. She knew he would ask her that, but honestly, she didn't want to tell him the real reason. Who knows how turned up his nose would be?

Alas, she needed an answer now. Li Chunhua gritted her teeth and decided to take the bullet this time.

"It's because of you. When I heard your story about your family, I thought probably Xiaoyi couldn't leave because there are still many things holding her back. Of course, I don't like Xiaoyi leaving me, but if…." Li Chunhua paused briefly.

"....if by some chance, Xiaoyi also makes a sad and lonely face like you do, in the place where I can't see her, then maybe it's better if she leaves. I can't leave, but I want to help her live freely. That way, she wouldn't remember me as her burden, at least." Li Chunhua sighed.

"I don't really understand, but I can feel she is having a hard time."

Shao Jingfei: "...."

Li Chunhua waited for him to respond, but he didn't say anything even after a few seconds had passed. She looked to the side curiously, and her eyes widened when a pair of arms enveloped her body in a tight embrace.

Li Chunhua gasped in surprise and couldn't utter a single word until reality finally sunk into her. "H-hey, what are you doing? Don't you know that this is sexual harassment?!" Li Chunhua hid her fluster by yelling angrily and struggling vehemently, but Shao Jingfei refused to let her go.

"Thanks."

​ Her resistance weakened when she heard his shaky voice. "Ah?"

"For saying that, thank you…." Shao Jingfei's embrace was tightened around her as he said, "Can we stay like this for a bit? I don't want you to look at my embarrassing face right now."

Was it because of the wind, or did Shao Jingfei sound like he could cry any minute now? While thinking that, Li Chunhua's hands suddenly lost their way and energy before slowly falling to her side, obediently letting him bury his face on her shoulder.

Li Chunhua didn't understand why he would react so emotionally when all she talked about was Li Caiyi. However, hearing his steady breath beside her ear felt calming for some reason.

'Strange. I usually hate it if a guy carelessly touches me, but I don't feel uncomfortable with Shao Jingfei,' she thought inwardly, 'Is it because I subconsciously know he is one of my allies?'

They stayed like that for a minute before Shao Jingfei abruptly let her go with his usual grin on his face. "Haha, are you surprised? Sorry for that."

Li Chunhua blinked her eyes several times, feeling disoriented by his quick change in behavior. "O-oh… It's fine."

"Phew, I was so proud of you that tears came to my eyes," Shao Jingfei playfully wiped his eyes. "You have grown so much; that's great. You can think from other people's shoes, and not only think about yourself now. I'm so proud of you, my disciple."

Li Chunhua could tell he was trying to change the mood by joking and playing around. He probably didn't want her to ask about anything.

"Hmph, I'm always amazing from the start. You are just too stupid to know my greatness!" Li Chunhua harrumphed while folding her arms in front of her chest.

"O-ho~ Some confidence you have there. Then, how about you play at my place again, later? My kitties miss you a lot every day!" Shao Jingfei laughed when she recalled Li Chunhua's funny face as she was buried under dozens of cats. "Just kid—"

"I will go."

"Huh?" Shao Jingfei's smile froze when she interrupted his words.

Li Chunhua awkwardly cleared her throat before saying, "I said I will go there more often and play with the kitties. I can't let them miss me like that because I'm a generous person. Yeah, because I'm very generous!"

Shao Jingfei was stunned before he broke out in laughter, making Li Chunhua glared at him. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothing," Shao Jingfei stopped his laughter and reached out to stroke her smooth hair. "What a good girl you are. Thank you, really."

"Hey, don't treat me like a cat!" Li Chunhua protested but made no attempt to remove his hand.

"Hahaha!"