Rebirth: Once Again With You

The heat from his hand permeated through her skin and flowed to her whole body. He held her hand naturally like it was the most obvious thing to do.

Dai Zhiqiang interlocked their fingers together, with his thumb lightly caressing the back of her hand. "Do you want to enter and eat something first? Or should we go shopping first?"

"I-I'm not hungry, so we can shop first." Li Caiyi replied nervously.

"Yeah, let's shop first, then we can relax before heading to the hospital."

"Y-yes."

"Why are you so stiff? Just act like you usually do with me."

The problem was that Li Caiyi couldn't calm down. The more she tried not to think about it, the more nervous she became. And the more anxious she was, the more clammy her hand became. She wanted to retract her hand to wipe it, but he refused to loosen their intertwined hands.

Li Caiyi just hoped he wouldn't feel disgusted about her sweaty hand.

"Are you even listening?"

"Huh? Yes, I know, right?" Li Caiyi laughed forcedly, causing a frown to form on the young man's brows.

"Did you feel uncomfortable? Your face is pale." Dai Zhiqiang pressed his palm to her forehead and felt it was slightly hot. "You are a bit warm. Do you want to sit for a while?"

Li Caiyi fanned herself with her hand before replying. "No, I'm not feeling sick. It's just that the weather is very hot today."

"Do you want to drink something cold? I can buy it for you."

"No, let's just go shopping now."

Dai Zhiqiang cast a skeptical look at her, "Tell me if you don't feel well. You don't have to force yourself."

His concern made her happy, but how could she admit that walking beside him made her feel cold and warm inside?

"Shall we take a look at things first? Unfortunately, I rarely go out like this, so I don't know which places are good to visit."

Li Caiyi suppressed her urge to smile. Shen Qiang also said the same thing, so for that reason, she had prepared a few good places to stop by beforehand. A date needed planning, especially on the first date!

"There are a lot of interesting places to check out in the mall. There is one that is pretty big near here. How about we look there first?"

"Sure, I can go anywhere with you."

Li Caiyi looked around to make sure no one heard that before glaring at him. "Can you please not say embarrassing lines like that in the middle of the street? Are you a playboy?"

Dumbfounded by her statement, Dai Zhiqiang's brows raised. "What makes you think that?"

"You said you have never been interested in any woman, yet you seem very skillful in saying stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?"

"That's…" Li Caiyi was at a loss for words. It wasn't so embarrassing when she was on the receiving end. But not when she was the one who had to say it.

"You are really amazing. To be able to speak those lines, I respect you."

Dai Zhiqiang laughed at how her impression changed one hundred and eighty degrees. "Nothing is amazing about it. I'm just saying what I thought and not feeling ashamed of it. For example, I noticed the fragrance on you is stronger than usual. Did you dress up for me?"

"So what? There is nothing wrong with a girl dressing up for an outing."

"Yes, but the fact that you did it for an outing with me put me in a good mood. I might say many embarrassing things today, so you'd better thicken your skin."

Li Caiyi felt her cheeks heat up again. It was so easy for him to make her flustered.

A word from him, and she would melt into a puddle of water. She hated how much she had fallen for him sometimes.

"Let's stop wasting time and start looking around instead."

Li Caiyi hastened her steps but soon realized that she couldn't move further because Dai Zhiqiang stayed rooted in his place.

"Are you embarrassed? How cute."

"Zhiqiang, we need to hurry if we want to visit your father today," Li Caiyi said helplessly.

"Before that, can you do something first? I'm actually pretty tired and need a charge of energy right now."

Li Caiyi knew well what he meant by 'charging', and she glared at him with reddened cheeks. "Lies. We barely did anything. There's no way you are feeling tired already."

"But is it the truth? I can't move a step if I don't have any energy. If someone can give me a quick charge, then this will become a breeze for me."

Currently, they were standing on the side of the street and surrounded by many people walking by. From his smirk, she knew he was teasing her again. He was so shameless and proud of it.

"There are too many people here. Are you not ashamed at all?"

"Why would I when I can brag that you are mine?"

An invisible arrow strikes her heart again. Dai Zhiqiang's straightforwardness would be the end of her sometimes.

It wasn't like she hated hearing romantic lines like that from him. Nevertheless, she wished he would say that when they were alone and not in the middle of a crowd.

Observing her expression carefully, Dai Zhiqiang knew he was on the winning side again. A playful smirk crept up his lips as he opened his other arm wide. "Hurry up. The more you dilly dally, the more we will waste our time here."

Li Caiyi looked at his tempting posture and almost couldn't resist the urge to jump into his arms. She was very embarrassed, so she shut her eyes and mind before gingerly walking into his arms.

Her heart beat furiously in her chest, especially when she could feel his accelerated heartbeat when she put her hand on his chest.

Before she could relish the moment to the fullest, Dai Zhiqiang had pushed her away gently, with a devilish smile on his lips. It took Li Caiyi aback, and she blinked her eyes dumbly.

Lowering his head, he whispered into her ears.

"I'll save the rest for later. A bigger charge is needed, so it won't end with just a hug. Are you happy?"

Li Caiyi raised his hand and smacked him on the shoulder out of embarrassment. "You are the devil!"

Dai Zhiqiang burst out in laughter before tugging her hand to follow him. "Come, I want to be tired quickly so I can recharge fast."