Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

There was a slight distance between Guiying and Zixin as they walked along the length of the corridor. In that short amount of time, Guiying confirmed her observation that Zixin talked only to the point. He spoke as much as necessary. From his expression, it might seem that he is indifferent to the conversation, but his eyes showed that he seriously listened to everything.

She asked, "Getting used to your job after the accident must be difficult, right?"

Zixin paused. "Not a job. My family owns a company. Tomorrow, I will go back."

Guiying was taken aback.

Wait, it makes sense.

His attire was quite elegant and classy that just oozed out the wealthiness from his aura. Everything he donned upon his body was quite expensive.

I am only an idiot to notice that now, she facepalmed.

She smiled. "That's even better actually. You won't feel too anxious with your family's support."

He nodded. "What do you do?"

She stiffened. She parted her lips to tell him about her writing, but she held those words back. She lowered her gaze, thinking about her loss in the Summit and her dwindling popularity.

"I um..."

He blinked.

She awkwardly smiled, slightly fidgeting with her fingers. "N-nothing fancy really..."

Zixin wondered if he accidentally pressed on her sore point. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me."

"Bro! Where are you?" Yunru called out, searching for him. "You are taking forever in your own party!" He sobbed.

Guiying widened her eyes. "Your party?"

"Party to celebrate my recovery."

Her jaw dropped. "So you are the center of attention of the party, but you were with me until now. Everybody is waiting for you. Ugh...I am really sorry for wasting your time."

Zixin shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. Of course, I had to thank you."

This man is very polite.

"You should quickly leave. I will head back to my friend too."

Zixin nodded after a pause.

"It was nice to meet you again," she smiled and turned to leave.

"I like cherry blossom," his voice echoed.

Her steps abruptly stopped, and she turned again. "What?"

"That day, you asked me if I like cherry blossoms. I didn't know at that time, but now I do."

He smiled and affirmed. "I like cherry blossom."

She froze. For a moment, she thought he was talking about her as CherryBlossom writer.

"Oh...Oh yeah," she tucked her hair behind her ear. His gentle smile rang something in her heart. "Th-thanks..."

Zixin blinked.

Thanks?

It made her stunned for a second before she realized that he was referring to cherry blossom flowers. Guying corrected her mistake and quickly said, "I mean, it's nothing. It's good to know. I-I will leave. Bye."

"Hm."

Zixin pondered over her last reaction and turned. He realized he somehow missed asking for her name again. He bumped into Ai, who was walking back in her own dazed state after her conversation with Yating.

"Chen Zixin. Sorry. I wasn't looking."

"No problem."

From the corner of her eye, she recognized Guiying turning into a corner. "Guiying?"

"Who?"

"Oh, the woman who just turned that way."

He blinked. "You know her?"

Ai asked, "You do too?"

"Not much really. I met her at the hospital one day."

I think it was that time she came with Bro Lingyun, Ai thought.

"I see," she nodded. "Yes, I know her."

She wasn't sure of what to say about her. "Guiying is my...friend."

Zixin tilted his head. "Oh. So, you are friends."

"Yes. She is also a writer just like me."

"Writer...I see." He then curiously asked, "What sort of books does she write?"

"Romance. We write in the same genre."

"Bro! Sister-in-law!" Yunru furiously waved his hand. "Finally! Come back you two! It's game time!"

"Yes, yes," Ai said. She looked at Zixin. "Let's go."

Zixin asked a final question, "How to know what books you write?"

She smiled. "We have pen names. My pen name is MissImperfectlyFine. Hers is CherryBlossom."

His eyes widened.

CherryBlossom...

​ --

The night at the condo for both Jun and Ai was conflicting filled with turmoil in their hearts. Neither of them could get a wink of sleep as their minds wandered to the past life and then the conversations they had with Jin and Yating respectively.

Jun quietly asked, sensing Ai shifting. "Didn't sleep yet?"

"...I am not getting any. You?"

He faintly smiled. "Same here."

Jun slowly said, "Ai, I apologized to Jin today."

Her eyes slightly widened. She asked, feeling hopeful. "Did he say anything?"

"No. I didn't expect either. I just wanted to let him know what I felt."

She nodded.

"Also..." he pursed his lips, "I lied about my death to him. I didn't want to disappoint him by my suicide, so..."

Ai stared at him. "What did he say to that?"

"Nothing. He was silent. I didn't want to sound suspicious, so I didn't stay for longer."

"...I see."

She kind of understood why Jin might not have confronted him with the truth he already knew.

Jun softly held her and kissed the back of it. "If Jin wants to kill me this time, don't blame him for it."

She gave an encouraging smile. "I am sure it won't come to that."

"He hates me," his gaze dimmed.

"Not more than how much he loves you. Fate gave us a second life to mend the things that went wrong in our past lives. I know it means a new beginning for you and Jin too."

"Really?" He asked with a tinge of hopefulness.

She firmly reassured him. "Yes."

He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Jun. I met Yating today."

His eyes widened. "In the same hotel as us?"

"Yes. Guiying was with him too."

Naturally, his expression displayed full hostility. "What did those two have to say? Why did you even meet that guy? It was better to ignore him."

"At first, I thought that way. But considering how the past life and this life are going so differently, I wanted to ask questions about their relationship."

"What did he have to say?"

"Jun," her gaze looked uneasy. "Every time I feel that there was nothing more hidden in the past life, something else stands before me that makes me question just how much did we even know the truth and how much...were we kept in the dark?"