Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Mr. Shao, I really appreciate your help, but I would like it if you refrain from giving comments about our marriage life." Meng Renshu reprimanded him sternly.

Shao Jingfei knew he had crossed the line, so he combed his hair back before laughing dryly.

"I apologize. I guess it's not my place to speak. You should have already read the book if you are a fan, correct?"

Meng Renshu averted his eyes. "I did."

Shao Jingfei shrugged his shoulders. "Although it was brief, I seriously consider your wife as a talented person. And she is also one of my friends. I will love it if everything written in this book has no relation to her real life."

Meng Renshu felt suffocated talking about this topic, so he quickly returned it to the original case.

"Is there anything else you know about Little Bird?"

"After talking with her for some time, I learned that she likes to write, aside from reading. Under my suggestion, Little Bird joined several writing contests and won. I read some of her works and was very impressed with them, so I offered her the chance to publish a book through our company. She always rejected me, though."

"Why?"

"She said she was unconfident, and she also didn't want anyone to know." Shao Jingfei said meaningfully as he caressed the book with a mysterious expression.

"It's a shame that her first and biggest work turned out to be her last work. I thought it was weird that she stopped contacting me after sending the manuscript for this book to me, but I never expected that she…."

Meng Renshu bit his lips bitterly. He knew Shao Jingfei didn't say those words with malicious intention, but it stabbed him so hard in the heart.

The reason why Li Caiyi never told anyone about it was clearly written inside her book. Because no one supported her and bothered to ask her what she wanted to be, including him.

Shao Jingfei raised his head and saw Meng Renshu's face scrunched up like he was trying to hold back tears. He sighed helplessly.

"President, your wife sent the file to me via email. Do you want to see it?"

'Because it was probably the last message she wrote to anyone in her life.'

Those words remained unspoken, but Meng Renshu could sense his meaning. He smiled gratefully.

"Sure, I'd love to see it."

Shao Jingfei fiddled with his phone before giving it to Meng Renshu. Their hands brushed against each other briefly. The cold radiating from Meng Renshu's hand from that contact made Shao Jingfei shudder.

Meanwhile, Meng Renshu took a deep breath before reading the line of text on the phone screen.

[This is my original story, and I brooded over whether or not I should send it to you until the end. I want to give this to you as a gift. Please read it if you have time. I hope you'll like it. Thank you for everything].

Looking at this message, it seemed like Li Caiyi really intended to leave no matter what happened. Her message was filled with gratitude and the will to end everything, but strangely, he could sense some joy and pride in her words.

She conveyed more emotions in that one text than in almost all their interactions in the past years.

"President Meng, are you okay?" Shao Jingfei asked with concern plastered all over his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just shocked, that's all."

"No, I mean…." Shao Jingfei looked troubled as he glanced around. In the end, he took out his handkerchief before giving it to Meng Renshu.

"I didn't have a hobby lending my handkerchief to a man, but I'll make an exception just for today. Please wipe your tears with this, President Meng."

"Huh?"

It took a while for Meng Renshu to register that he had cried.

When he was aware of it, there was nothing to stop it anymore. He thought he couldn't cry anymore after repeatedly reading Li Caiyi's book. He wanted to ingrain how much sin he had committed in his bones. However, it turned out he still had some tears left within him.

Just a simple text written by her could bring up the suppressed emotion deep inside him. Even though he knew he had no right to cry like a victim.

"Xiaoyi… I'm sorry…."

Shao Jingfei was vaguely aware of pairs of eyes looking their way, and he felt confused and uncomfortable all over. He had never dealt with a crying man before, so he didn't know if he should just let him be or offer a few comforting words.

It would be better if the one sitting in front of him was a woman, but he was a widower who grieved over his wife's death. This situation spelled awkwardness no matter what kind of role he took here.

"Uh, President Meng, I understand your feeling. But your wife is already in a better place."

A second after those words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered the cause of Li Caiyi's death, and he wanted to smack his head into the nearest wall. That was so insensitive of him!

He quickly added in fluster to fix his mistake. "I don't mean this place isn't good for her, but there is a probably better place for everyone…so what I mean—"

"It's okay, Mr. Shao. I understand what you are trying to say." Meng Renshu said before wiping his tears with a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry for losing my composure for a moment. I'm okay now."

Shao Jingfei watched how Meng Renshu forced a smile with swollen and red eyes with complicated feelings. He felt pity for him and was frustrated simultaneously because of how beautiful his crying face was.

"No, you shouldn't feel apologetic for grieving over your lost wife. I was troubled, but it's because I don't know how to deal with crying people."

"I think I understand why my wife trusted and looked up to you so much, even until her last moment," Meng Renshu smiled bitterly. Perhaps because he had just cried, he felt like confiding in someone about it.

"I assumed this is her way of showing how much injustice she had suffered throughout the years. She has suffered a lot because of me in the past."

"No, I don't think that's right." Shao Jingfei replied immediately.

"Ah? What do you mean?"

Shao Jingfei realized he had spoken out of line again and grimaced. "No, please don't mind it. It was just my opinion."

"I'd like to hear it, please. You probably understood something about her, which I didn't." Meng Renshu smiled.

​ "Well, this is just my thought, but I think your wife was happy during the last moment of her life."

"She was…happy?"

"I don't know why, but it's just how I feel. It's just my stupid thought, so no need to mind it."

Meng Renshu looked down at the book on top of the table, then at her smiling face in the picture. It was a picture of her wearing her white wedding dress.

He always had it with him because people kept questioning him why he didn't have his wife's photo in his wallet.

Among Li Caiyi's photos, he thought his wife's smile looked the best in that photo. She was pretty and radiant.

How nice would it be if she was also smiling like that before her death.

How nice would it be if he could see her smiling like that at him for the last time.

It was too late to regret now.