Rebirth: Once Again With You

Dai Zhiqiang didn't even bother to listen to his provocation. He was in the middle of restraining himself from turning this place into dust. If he followed his wish, he wanted nothing but to massacre everyone in this room. Yet, his last string of rationality prevented him from doing so.

Seeing him frozen in place, they thought he had finally realized his position and was tempted by Xi Min's offer. A few guys stood up and surrounded Dai Zhiqiang.

"Heh, you entered in such a flashy way, so I thought you were some kind of bigshot, but it turned out you are weak for cash. I guess it's normal for a poor bastard like you."

"Wait a minute. Now that I take a closer look, your face seems familiar. Don't tell me you are Dai Shenqiang's brother?"

The whole room stiffened at the mention of Dai Shenqiang's name, including Xi Min. Didn't he only have a sick father in his family? He had never heard of him having an older brother.

But if yes, then so what? He just had to appease them with money, and they would yield.

Compared to the trouble they could get by going against him for useless Dai Shenqiang, making peace with him was a much more profitable and reasonable choice.

Xi Min wanted to laugh, imagining both Dai brothers bowing before him.

"So you are that loser's family member. At least he could do good for his family by dying. I'm really doing a big favor for him."

Dai Zhiqiang could hear something snap inside him.

***

Dai Zhiqiang didn't exactly remember what happened after that. Only that he went berserk, followed by their scream of horror.

When he came to his senses, he held a tattered and beaten-up Xi Min in his hand, practically lifting him off the ground by his collar.

There was no trace of his previous arrogance, as he was out of cold with tears and snot wetting his face or what was left of his face.

Dai Zhiqiang had beaten him beyond recognition, so even his parents wouldn't be able to recognize him. Since he had such a hateful face, Dai Zhiqiang did him a favor by reconstructing his face bones while he was at it. He should feel grateful.

Dai Zhiqiang wanted nothing but to continue to beat him up so he could feel the pain Dai Shenqiang felt. But he would kill him if he did more than this.

Dai Zhiqiang wasn't afraid to dirty his hand, but he still had his father to worry about. He was the last family member Dai Bolin had now.

Letting go of Xi Min's collar, he fell flatly right on his broken nose, but Dai Zhiqiang ignored it and sat down on the chair as he looked at the scattered bodies in front of him.

Some were lying on the floor, and some leaned against the wall limply. Few of them have their limbs bent in unnatural directions. He did some fine artistic job, if he could say so himself.

Dai Zhiqiang didn't kill them, but he did break some of their bones.

They should be grateful he let them get away with just that much. Beating scum like them couldn't even be counted as exercise. If he wasn't careful, he could have accidentally killed someone.

He thought he would feel slightly better after taking revenge for his brother, but he only felt empty. Even if he killed them, his brother still wouldn't come back. The thought depressed him, making him lose all his energy.

"This is ridiculous. Why would you even follow people like them? I thought you had matured, but you are still the same crybaby Shenqiang." Dai Zhiqiang spoke to no one as he leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes.

"You should have told me, and I will run to save you like always."

His words are filled with deep sorrow. However, his tears had dried up by this point.

***

Dragging his heavy feet, Dai Zhiqiang stepped into Dai Bolin's ward carefully. His father slept peacefully and seemed to have gotten older ten times faster than the last time he saw him. His heart ached to see him all skin and bone like this.

Dai Zhiqiang sat beside his bed while staring blankly at him. Recently, Dai Bolin spent more of his time sleeping than waking up.

The news of Dai Shenqiang's death must have shocked him; to make it worse, Dai Zhiqiang couldn't be around him that much.

Toward his father, he told him that Dai Shenqiang had passed away due to an accident since he couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth. Dai Bolin's soul would be crushed to smithereens if he knew his son chose to end his life himself.

"Father, what should I do now? I'm afraid I will make a wrong decision again and harm you. I don't think I can stand it if you are gone too."

Dai Bolin didn't stir, much less open his eyes.

"I have wronged Shen in the past few years. Father, you must have been very disappointed in me. In the end, I can't do anything. I only make everything worse for you. Not only did I brush off Shen's silent plea to help, but I also chose to work rather than visit you. Please don't ever forgive an unfilial child like me."

Dai Zhiqiang's voice quivered. "I hope you can wake up soon, Father. There are a lot of things I want to tell you. We have a lot to catch up on, and I want to hear you scolding me again. Tell me where I did wrong."

Just like before, Dai Bolin didn't wake up even when he kept talking beside him.

Then, there was a loud beeping noise from the equipment beside him.

Dai Zhiqiang was immediately alarmed before frantically pushing the button on top of the bed. Then, his terrified gaze shifted to Dai Bolin's peaceful face.

"Father?!" He held Dai Bolin's shoulder as fear began to overwhelm him. "No. This can't be. You can't leave me too. Please, I beg you!"

No matter how many times he called, his father didn't budge. Dai Zhiqiang almost went crazy from anxiety and fear.

Not long after that, a doctor came rushing in with some nurses. They immediately checked on Dai Bolin's condition, but based on the doctor's grave expression, he knew this couldn't be good.

"Doctor, my father will be fine, right? Please save him! He is the only family member I have left!"

"We will try our best."

After leaving vague words like that, they pushed Dai Bolin's bed and rushed him to the operating room.

Dai Zhiqiang spent a restless night without a wink of sleep, waiting for the surgery to end. The wait felt like forever, yet so brief at the same time. By the time the doctor emerged from the operating room, it was already dawn.

Dai Zhiqiang was never one to pray, but he prayed desperately that night, wishing for god not to take his father away.

"How is my father's condition?" Dai Zhiqiang asked impatiently.

The doctor made a regretful expression before breaking earth-shattering news to him. "We have tried our best, but I'm afraid there is not much left to do anymore. Your father's chance to survive this is very small, and he didn't have much time left. I'm sorry, but we should prepare for the worst."

Dai Zhiqiang couldn't hear anything more than that. That ominous beeping noise was forever etched in his brain and replayed non-stop in his head. The sound got louder, and it gradually became unbearable.

The next thing he knew was that he had collapsed on the ground, and there were many distant noises of people around him.

Dai Zhiqiang was extremely tired, so he readily gave in to the darkness. He desperately hoped that everything was just a nightmare.

He wished he would see his family smiling for him again when he woke up.