Rebirth: Once Again With You

The cheerful voices and the cutlery clinking inside the cafe sounded overwhelmingly loud. More and more people were walking in, and it became noisier, yet it couldn't dispel the heavy silence on the corner seats where the two of them sat.

Li Caiyi had told Meng Renshu everything, but it seemed Meng Renshu was so shocked he couldn't say anything. She didn't blame him. After all, Li Caiyi cried hard when she first discovered the fact.

Meng Renshu looked stiff all over, and colors drained from his face. He reached out to take the cup of coffee, but his hands shook terribly. In the end, he put it back onto its saucer.

"Xiaoyi, I can't understand. No, I can't believe this."

It was the exact same reaction as hers. Li Caiyi knew how much Meng Renshu adored and cherished Li Chunhua. Their love didn't have a happy ending, but he must have had some lingering feelings for her. Even though it probably wasn't romantic love anymore.

Just like how Li Caiyi couldn't bear to see him get hurt.

Li Caiyi took her phone and slowly offered it to him. "Here. Perhaps you will feel more convinced if you see the hard evidence."

Meng Renshu stared at her phone with a conflicted expression on his face. Li Caiyi didn't urge him and waited until he finally took it.

As the sole heir of a pharmaceutical company, Meng Renshu must have been more familiar with the terms in those documents than Li Caiyi. No explanation was needed as the despair slowly crept up on his face.

"Are you alright?" Li Caiyi asked carefully.

"Ha." Meng Renshu let out a twisted smile. "What kind of joke is this? This is just too cruel even for that person to do. Why?"

"You know what kind of person he is." Li Caiyi felt anger bubbling up inside her whenever she remembered Li Jirong. "He never really thought of us as daughters. We are only commodities for him."

Meng Renshu suddenly slammed his fist onto the table, startling Li Caiyi and everyone else inside the cafe. She was flustered and quickly apologized to other people.

"Brother Renshu, I know this is probably hard to accept, but please refrain from breaking public property."

"Xiaoyi, how long have you known this? How many people have you told about this?"

Li Caiyi was hesitant, but she still answered him. "I only found out about this after I regressed. That was before my parents divorced. I asked a private detective to dig for information about his affair but accidentally found this in the way. Except for that detective, I haven't told anyone about this. You are the first."

"Why did you keep something as important as this by yourself?!"

Li Caiyi was taken aback. Meng Renshu suddenly raised his voice, and people started to look weirdly at her.

"Hey, did you hear that? Did they have a fight?"

"The guy looked very upset. Don't tell me, is she cheating on him?!"

"I think so too! The guy is so hot, but the girl is cheating on him? What a waste. He should have dated me instead."

Those people didn't even bother trying to lower their voices. Li Caiyi could feel people's scornful eyes directed at her.

"This won't do." Li Caiyi stood up, but Meng Renshu swiftly held her by the wrist.

"Where are you going? I'm not done with you."

Li Caiyi sighed in exasperation. Could he be more oblivious of his surroundings? He was so shaken up he lost his composure. Not that Li Caiyi couldn't understand, but they wouldn't be able to talk with so many eyes watching them.

Choosing a cafe as the place to talk about this matter was a great mistake.

In the end, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Let's move to some other place first. I'll tell you everything there."

He gazed at her like a lost child with shaky and confused eyes. Li Caiyi felt pity for him.

"It's okay. We still have so much time. I won't let my sister suffer a sad end like that anymore." She said gently before tugging his hand, "Let's go."

As if enchanted, he obediently followed behind her. His gaze fell on her hand, gripping his tightly as if telling him everything would be alright. Her small back looked so firm, and she led him with so much confidence it eased him a lot.

Meng Renshu felt embarrassed for acting like this in front of her but also very happy.

***

Li Caiyi closed her eyes, feeling the cozy wind on her cheeks. The scent of the sea made the tension leave her shoulder.

After leaving the cafe, Li Caiyi realized she didn't know where else they could have a serious private conversation. Then, she saw a familiar bus and spontaneously dragged him into it.

She looked back and saw the brooding Meng Renshu sitting on the concrete stairs. She carefully approached him and sat some distance away from him.

"Have you calmed down yet?"

"Yeah. Sorry for freaking out back there." Meng Renshu replied as he covered his face.

Li Caiyi picked up a pebble before throwing it into the sand, "I don't blame you. I was pretty much in a much worse state when I found out the truth."

"It must be hard for you. And you have kept it to yourself for a long time."

Li Caiyi: "...."

She didn't know how to reply, so she kept silent instead.

Meng Renshu noticed the gloomy look on her face and shifted the topic. "So, what do you want me to do? You need my help with Xiaohua's situation, right?"

Li Caiyi nodded. "As of now, through that detective I have told you about, I found a certain man capable of developing a cure for her condition. But he will need a lot of information and funds to do that."

Meng Renshu gave her a knowing smile. "I understand. Who are this detective and the so-called 'capable' person you talk about? Are you sure we can trust them?"

"I can't tell you the details since they asked me to keep it secret, but they have their own motive for doing this. So I doubt they will betray us."

"Fair enough. When can I meet them?"

"Huh?" Li Caiyi exclaimed in bewilderment.

"I trusted you, Xiaoyi. But I don't trust a promise without a contract. Will you let me meet them?" Meng Renshu smiled gently at her.

Li Caiyi couldn't find any reason to refuse. "Alright. Let me ask them when is the best time for that."

"Thanks." Meng Renshu straightened his legs as he stared at the sky tinted with red above. He had a distant and gloomy look on his face. "I really don't know anything. Now I feel silly and stupid for trying to protect you."

"Well, I won't say it was silly or stupid, but you were indeed pretty arrogant." Li Caiyi replied bluntly, and it made him burst into laughter.

"You don't mince your words at all. It was kind of refreshing."

Li Caiyi recalled how Meng Renshu used to love it when Li Chunhua pushed him around. Was he a masochist deep inside?

Her train of thought was interrupted when he suddenly stood up and cleaned the dust from his pants. He turned to her and offered his hand to her.

"Now that we have the same goal, I hope we can work together on this."

Li Caiyi stared at his hand when a thought sprang into her mind. "Are you sure about this? You won't gain anything by doing this. Just because we have known each other since childhood, you aren't obligated to do this."

"What are you talking about? Xiaohua's life is at risk. There's no way I will just turn a blind eye to it."

Li Caiyi sighed in relief. Any little doubt she had was blown away by his remarks.

"Thank you. Let's make sure she has a happy ending this time." She said as she put her hand in his, in a handshake.

"You too. I'll make you happy," Meng Renshu muttered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something just now?"

"Nothing." Meng Renshu smiled before pulling her along. Li Caiyi yelped in surprise.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?!"

With a boyish grin on his face, Meng Renshu looked back at her as the humid breeze brushed past them. "Now that we have that settled down, how about we have some fun?"