Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Welcome back to our beloved Sunshine Broadcast, a place where students can freely express their opinion. I, Yan Ran, your energetic mic speaking!"

Li Caiyi tried to calm herself down while the lively MC gave her an opening greeting.

If she wanted to make everyone hear her, she couldn't think of anything better than using the lunch broadcasts, which always offered music and exclusive interviews during their break.

"Now, time for the quiz. A lovely girl sitting in front of me, which one of the twins do you think she is? Are you curious? Then, why don't we ask her to introduce herself first?"

Yan Ran gave a cue using her finger, and Li Caiyi immediately straightened her back. She had a brief rehearsal before this, so she knew what to do.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Li Caiyi from class 2-B."

"Thank you for introducing yourself. I see that you have undergone an image change. I almost mistook you for Li Chunhua at first."

"Haha, you flattered me. I just took off my glasses, but the rest is the same old me."

"But you are so pretty without your glasses on! You want to say you have been hiding this beautiful view from the world all this time?"

Li Caiyi felt more relaxed talking to Yan Ran. She brimmed with so much positive energy, which was infectious to those around her. "You are exaggerating it."

"Haha, are you shy? Sorry, I will stop teasing you now. Didn't you have something to announce?"

"Yes, this is regarding the rumor about me, which was spread by someone yesterday."

"Ooh, I heard about that. Everyone kept talking about it, so we wanted to have an interview with you, but I didn't expect you to come here by yourself before we could ask you."

Li Caiyi smiled. "At first, I was confused and shocked, so I couldn't explain anything. But then, I realized how many people were concerned about me, so I thought I should make a clarification before things get bigger."

"I heard you even collapsed yesterday due to shock. You must have been traumatized by this incident."

Li Caiyi put her hand on the side of her face while sighing sadly. "It was embarrassing, but it was indeed a bit traumatic. But I'm sure not everyone in this school is stupid enough to trust baseless rumors like that. That's why I took courage and showed up here."

Yan Ran laughed. "Some people can act stupidly sometimes. You came to the right place because Sunshine Broadcast is where everyone's voice would be heard. Please don't worry and say whatever concern you have in mind."

Yan Ran gave a cue again. This time, Li Caiyi shifted her position slightly, so she would face the camera directly. She looked at it firmly before speaking in a clear voice.

"My boyfriend is the only one I love, so I found this incident disturbing and extremely irritating. I don't want him to misunderstand, so I implore whoever is behind this to come out and face me directly if they have any misgiving about me. A cowardly move like this is so unbecoming of students of S International High School. That person should be ashamed of themselves. This is clearly bullying, and I have every right to report this to the school board."

Li Caiyi felt so much better. All her frustration and distress were poured into her words. Her body felt lighter as soon as she let everything out.

Across from her, Yan Ran clapped her hand happily.

"Well done! I agree that bullying shouldn't be tolerated and supported you thoroughly in this. Since the victim had come out to challenge her bully, I wonder what their action will be? It couldn't be that they were scared and refused to come out of their hiding?"

Li Caiyi smiled gratefully at Yan Ran. Those provocative words would make the culprit seethe in anger. She had a knack for giving reactions and directing the conversation.

"I'm sure they will respond KINDLY to my invitation. There was another thing I wanted to announce."

"Let us hear you out, then!"

"I was thankful for the 'surprise gift box' they gave me, so I want to do something in return by preparing the same surprise for them. I might be holding something you don't want other people to know. Please meet me personally if you are interested."

Yan Ran looked confused since Li Caiyi said something completely different from the script they discussed, but she wouldn't be able to become a professional broadcaster if that was enough to faze her.

"Is that a declaration of war? Now that's cool! I think you show us a completely new side of you today. Who would have guessed that quiet and feminine Li Caiyi could be so brave to call out her bullies? I salute you!"

"Thanks. I want to be brave for myself and people who put their faith in me." Li Caiyi uttered with a sweet smile. "I took my glasses off and gathered my courage for that. If that person thinks they can get away with this, they are mistaken."

This much should be fine. Li Caiyi didn't think that everyone's opinion of her would change just because of this interview. Her sole purpose was only to provoke and lure Lu Ruan out. The only thing left was to wait for the fish to take the bait.

Yan Ran received a signal from other members and clapped her hands again. "We have heard and seen your determination. Thank you for your time, Li Caiyi. And that's it for our lunch broadcast, guys. See you next time!"

Yan Ran's frantic wave to the camera ended the interview session.

Li Caiyi thanked the members of Sunshine Broadcast before making her way to the door. Right then, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She took it out and checked on the new incoming message. Her smile deepened when she read it.

"Already? That was faster than I thought."

***

Lu Ruan was furious. She was watching the lunch broadcast in the cafeteria, and Li Caiyi's sudden announcement caused a big stir.

"Is she really Li Caiyi? Not Li Chunhua acting as her twin sister? She looks so different from her usual self."

"I never saw her without her glasses. It turns out she is actually as beautiful as her twin sister. The air around her is usually so glum I didn't notice it before."

"No, but seriously, she barely had any sense of presence before, so seeing her speak so imposingly like that took me aback. Her face is literally glowing!"

"This is so confusing. Do you think the rumor about her is true? If it is, she must have the heart of steel to boldly announce something like that."

"Hmm, I don't know. She and Senior Meng did have an ambiguous relationship, but isn't it natural for childhood friends to be close? Furthermore, she had already denied that rumor once before."

"As for the older man, now that I think about it again, doesn't he look more like a friendly uncle? What if it's her relative?"

"I think so too. After seeing her speak for herself, I began to think that this might be just a huge misunderstanding."

Lu Ruan was baffled when she heard those words. How could they change their opinion so easily?

It hadn't been a day, but people's views of her had changed drastically just because she spouted some useless words.

"That white lotus bitch. Once again, she used her innocent facade to fool people. Unacceptable!" Lu Ruan cursed under her breath. Her glare at Li Caiyi's figure on the television was dark and hateful.

Lu Ruan was thrilled when she heard Li Caiyi had collapsed yesterday. She thought she could finally teach her a life lesson, but she didn't expect her to strike back and even turn the table against her.

Throughout her announcement, although Lu Ruan was seething in a fury, there was a sense of anxiety inside her when she heard her enemy mentioning a 'surprise gift box'.

Li Caiyi's gaze through the screen felt piercing as if she already knew who was targeting her.

Lu Ruan bit her nails fretfully. She wasn't afraid of that introverted girl, but what if she told Meng Renshu about it? If he knew she was the one who had been harassing Li Caiyi all this time, then she would be kicked out of school in no time.

And if that happened, she would be separated from her one and only prince.

"No, that can't be. That girl is not that bright. Surely she is just bluffing," Lu Ruan mumbled to herself.

Except for that shady man, there shouldn't be anyone who could relate her involvement with Li Caiyi's harassment. Although that man told her to be careful, Lu Ruan couldn't believe someone like Li Caiyi could outsmart her.

"That's right, there's nothing to be feared. What she did was just a pathetic attempt to buy people's hearts. She couldn't win against me, so she resorted to a dirty trick. Without Senior Meng, she is nothing."

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it made sense. Lu Ruan was confident nobody would know she was the one behind everything.

Chuckling to herself, Lu Ruan's composure returned, and she continued her meal.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes had been watching her intently from the other side of the room.

After observing Lu Ruan for a while, that person pulled out their phone. After sending a message with it, they rose from their seats and walked out of the cafeteria as if nothing had happened.