Rebirth: Once Again With You

The only thing she had in mind right now was regarding Meng Renshu. When he went to school relying on the crux to support his injured legs, everyone was shocked. Well, to be precise, his fans were the ones who got shocked.

There were commotions in class 3-A because everyone was curious about how he could get hurt. Li Caiyi didn't want to invite more hostility by showing up there, considering her rumor with Meng Renshu. Apparently, Li Junjie chased all the noisy girls away.

Of course, she kind of felt bad about it, so she would check on his condition from time to time via text or phone calls occasionally.

The contacts were out of obligation, but doing so made her feel weird because it felt like she was cheating behind Dai Zhiqiang's back. Despite knowing that Dai Zhiqiang wasn't officially her boyfriend yet. Hence, she tried to keep the contact as minimal as possible.

It's been three days since then, and Meng Renshu still used the crux every day. She was concerned, but at least she didn't have to worry about him not having enough people to help him in his daily life.

Li Caiyi was thinking of buying Su Suyin something nice too on this trip with Dai Zhiqiang. Hopefully, it would cheer her mother from officially becoming a divorcee.

,m Feeling giddy about her 'date' with Dai Zhiqiang today, she felt the school went significantly longer than usual. They promised each other to meet at the new cafe recommended on social media a lot. Li Caiyi found it with Zhou Ya's help and told Dai Zhiqiang about it.

Li Caiyi jumped from her seat as soon as the bell rang and bade her goodbye to her friends. Then she went back to Shao Jingfei's place to prepare.

It was still 3 hours before the promised time, but Li Caiyi wanted to take a bath and dolled herself prettily.

This would be her first time outing with Dai Zhiqiang, after all. The first outing after they confessed their feelings to each other, and not a quick trip for grocery shopping like previously.

Li Caiyi took a long shower, making sure to use a lot of shampoos with the lavender fragrance he liked. She dried her hair and opened her wardrobe, only to find that most of the outing outfit she got was left behind in her room in the Li family's house.

"There's no time to go back," Li Caiyi facepalmed and took out a few that looked somewhat decent.

"Should I go in a skirt? Or go for a casual outfit with jeans?" Li Caiyi put the clothes in front of her body and stood in front of the mirror, feeling excited but also nervous at the same time.

Come to think of it, she hadn't asked Dai Zhiqiang yet about what kind of girl was his type. Would he prefer a feminine girl? Or would he rather like an outgoing and fun girl?

"What should I do? I have got nothing to wear!" Li Caiyi scratched her hair and almost went panicky when she glanced at the time and only an hour and a half left until the promised time.

In the end, she snatched a feminine-looking cream-colored long skirt and sleeveless navy blue shirt.

On her way back from school, she stopped by an accessories vendor and bought a cheap but cute star-shaped necklace, so she also put it on.

Li Caiyi looked at her reflection in the mirror. The shirt was tucked inside her skirt, making her waist look smaller and her legs longer. Her fair arms looked glowing after she applied some lotions to them and contrasted with the sleeveless navy blue shirt. The necklace and wristwatch gave her appearance a slight flare.

"Not bad," Li Caiyi muttered before opening her makeup bag and applying some to her face. "Only an hour left. I hope I won't be late."

Thankfully, Li Caiyi had mastered the art of quick makeup. Meng Renshu would occasionally get invited to a party on short notice. Being his wife, Li Caiyi must always show her best self in a short minimum of time.

By the time she checked on her wristwatch for the nth time, it was only thirty minutes left from the promised time.

"Crap, I'm so late!" Li Caiyi exclaimed and didn't bother to re-organize her messy room. She snatched her handbag and phone before storming out of the room in a rush.

***

She arrived right on time. It was only three minutes before 3 PM when she checked the time.

Li Caiyi heaved a sigh of relief when she didn't glimpse Dai Zhiqiang anywhere around the perimeter. It seemed he had yet to arrive.

"Phew, at least some time to take a breath." Li Caiyi was walking in front of the glass window of the cafe when she caught her reflection from the corner of her eyes.

She just ran without thinking because she was in a rush, and now her perfectly organized hair was a tad messy. Li Caiyi quickly tried to neat it down again by using her hand.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have let down my hair today," Li Caiyi regretted her choice as she combed her hair with her fingers.

"Why? You look pretty."

"Eeek!"

Li Caiyi's soul almost left her body when she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Out of surprise, she let out a weird yelp, causing a few pedestrians to look at her weirdly.

Dai Zhiqiang chuckled. "Did I surprise you? I'm sorry. I thought you could see my reflection in the glass window."

Her heart skipped a beat when the person she had been waiting for finally stood in front of her.

Li Caiyi was used to seeing him in uniform or in his work suit, but Dai Zhiqiang in the casual outfit was blinding, to say the least. He wore a white t-shirt with an unbuttoned black shirt above it. The black long pants and sneakers made him look like a cool teenage boy, and his subtle smirk added more to his charm.

Li Caiyi was speechless and couldn't utter a single word until Dai Zhiqiang approached her with a smile. "You don't wear your glasses today?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I took it off just for today," Li Caiyi tucked her hair behind her ears in fluster with this sudden proximity.

"Are you going to be okay? I mean, don't you need it to see?"

"No, I'm okay. It's actually a non-prescription glasses."

Dai Zhiqiang smiled. "I see. You are cute when wearing glasses, but your beauty stands out when you don't wear them."

He gripped her hand firmly in his, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"I need to make sure this beauty will stick close to me."