Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Xiaoyi? Are you busy? I have something I want to talk to you about."

Li Caiyi's throat became dry upon hearing her sister's voice. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and made her face look as presentable as possible before taking a deep breath and saying hoarsely, "Come in."

There was a clicking sound, and Li Chunhua's head slowly peeked in from the outside. "Did I wake you? It took you a while to respond."

"No, I'm fine. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Li Chunhua stepped into the room and went to sit beside Li Caiyi. She looked nervous for some reason, but thanks to that, it didn't seem she noticed Li Caiyi's reddened eyes.

"I want to talk to you regarding the thing you mentioned before. About the treatment…." Li Chunhua said while fiddling with the end of her hair.

Li Caiyi flinched when she heard the word 'treatment,' and a gloomy feeling enveloped her like a thick blanket. "What about it?"

"You see, I have been thinking about it for some time, and I want to try it."

If only Li Caiyi had heard about this before she knew what her father had done to her sister, she probably would feel happy about her decision, but now, it only made her heart ache for her. She painstakingly controlled her emotion before asking again in a dry voice.

"Have you already decided?"

"I'm still unsure, and honestly, I'm a bit scared. Even so, I want to try it! If there is something wrong with me like you said, then I want to change it."

"...I see."

A heavy silence descended on the room before Li Chunhua added, "For as long as I can remember, treatment is not a way out, but only a routine for me. So I didn't understand when you said I needed it at first. Still, after thinking about it again, I won't lose anything, even if I added one more routine to my list. My time, probably, but it'll all be worth it, right?"

Any kind of words failed Li Caiyi at that moment. What could she say to her sister, now that she wasn't sure if even counseling would do her any help?

"Someone told me that if I want to change myself, that desire should have come from myself and myself. I think I understand it a bit after witnessing you go through so many changes in the past months. I want to heal myself and become like you, too. Do you think I can cure myself, Xiaoyi?" Li Chunhua said sincerely, albeit with a lowered head.

Li Caiyi clenched the hem of her pajama tightly as frustration and sadness welled up inside her. She knew she should have encouraged Li Chunhua and told her that everything would be alright as long as she kept trying hard. However, even those simple words felt heavy on her tongue right now.

'You weren't born like that or influenced by people around you. Someone designed it to happen, and he robbed you of your happiness.'

Li Chunhua waited for a while expectantly for her answer. However, since she didn't hear any response from Li Caiyi, she looked to the side and was surprised when she found her sister trembling while biting her lips until blood trickled down from the edge of her mouth.

"Xiaoyi, what are you doing?!" Li Chunhua exclaimed and pinched her sister's chin. "Loosen your mouth right now. Your mouth is bleeding!"

Li Caiyi could feel the lower temperature of her sister's skin on her chin, which depressed her even more. If only she had grown up healthy, then there was no way her temperature would be this cold.

Li Chunhua heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Li Caiyi stop gnawing on her lips. "What happened to you? Did I say something wrong again, by chance?"

"No, it's not your fault. It's not your fault at all, Xiaohua," Li Caiyi said, with her head still lowered.

"Then what is it? Ah, that looks hurt. Let me fetch a first aid kit tool first, then we can talk." Li Chunhua said sternly, "And no biting your lips anymore!"

After that, Li Chunhua walked out of the room briskly, leaving Li Caiyi alone in the room.

She covered her eyes with her hand and thought how pathetic she was. Li Chunhua was clearly the one who was having a hard time, and she let her emotions get the best of her. Although there was no guarantee that psychological treatment would help her sister any help at this point, she shouldn't lose hope yet.

If Li Caiyi gave up now, then who would help her sister?

Li Chunhua was slowly changing for the better, proving that she wasn't as weak as those research reports claimed her to be. Li Caiyi would never let her sister become 'broken', just like they carelessly claimed it.

In the next minute, Li Caiyi somehow regained her composure. Then, Li Chunhua came back carrying a white box with a red cross on top of it in her arms.

"I'm back. Let me see your wound."

Li Caiyi stared at Li Chunhua, who was busy pouring some antiseptic into a gauze. "Don't move, okay? This will only hurt a bit."

Li Caiyi had long gone past the period where she would cringe in pain at a minor wound like this. The pain her body had gone through in her previous life was much more overwhelming than this; she grew numb to it.

She didn't flinch when she obediently let Li Chunhua dab the wet gauze on the wounded area in the corner of her mouth.

"Hmm, that should do." Li Chunhua smiled before pulling out a band-aid from the box and sticking it on her wound. "Done."

Li Caiyi caressed the band-aid and realized that this was probably the first time Li Chunhua ever helped her treat her wound, not the other way around. She usually has to fix her wound herself.

Li Chunhua quietly put everything back in the box and left it on the side. "Now you can tell me, what are you thinking just now?"

Thankfully, Li Caiyi was already prepared for her answer. "You are so determined about it. I was so touched and proud of you I had to bite my lips so I wouldn't weep in joy. I'm glad you can come to that decision, Xiaohua."

Li Chunhua's pupils slightly enlarged before a faint blush crept to her cheeks. "It's nothing amazing at all. I don't even know if this will really work or not."

"Nevertheless, I'm happy to see you change for the better," Li Caiyi slowly reached out and clasped her sister's hand in hers tenderly.

"Don't worry about anything and just move forward step by step. I will absolutely not let anything happen to you."

Li Chunhua was actually confused with Li Caiyi's words, which sounded more like a promise than an encouragement, like what she had expected. However, when she looked down at their interlocking hand, she felt like such details didn't matter anymore.

She giggled happily and promised herself inwardly to give Shao Jingfei something to thank him for his advice later. More like she couldn't wait to tell this joyous news to him and bragged about it.

'My sister praised me. Yay!' Li Chunhua rejoiced inwardly.