Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

On Xing Bi's side, she was peeking at what Sun Bai was doing with the man at the cafe. She was seated opposite him, her expression stern and steely. Xing Bi couldn't clearly see the man, but it felt he looked a bit fidgety.

"I have heard of Sun Bai," Nian whispered. "Jun has mentioned it once or twice I guess? She is quite a capable and serious employee."

"Indeed. Miss. Sun is really dedicated."

"Then why did you follow her till here?" He curiously asked.

"Well, I heard her talking one night and it seemed a little suspicious. Then she went on sick leave the next day, but I saw her meeting this same man somewhere in an apartment. Clearly, she didn't look sick..."

"If he is her boyfriend, then sick leave is a very common excuse, you know what I mean?" He grinned. "Don't worry. If you ever want to take a day off work, you can be straightforward with Jun and say that you want to spend some mushy time with me, hehe~"

That earned him an objectionable glare. "Get your mind off the gutter!"

"It's not gutter, it's heaven~"

Xing Bi ignored him and avoiding her range of sight, she took a seat at a table near Sun Bai's. She tried to perk her ears towards their conversation, which she could only hear some bits and pieces of.

"When will you give it to me!?" The man said with an urgency. He then realized he spoke a bit loudly and lowered his voice. "How long will it take...things ready?"

Xing Bi strained her ears, but Sun Bai's response was too soft to catch.

"Mind your limits. I already said...accept this. Don't...again. I won't..."

"Look, don't be like this...things out."

Tch. It's hard to hear, Xing Bi lamented. I just want to eliminate this odd feeling...I don't want Miss. Sun to be involved in anything shady.

Even if I get to know who this man is, it will help a ton!

"Lu Bohai," Nian lazily said as he munched on his sandwich.

"..."

"When did you order a sandwich?" She asked.

He shone like a blooming sunflower. "Do you want me to share with you? Let's eat half-half and-"

After a solid smack on his head, Nian sobbingly went back to his phone. "Cruel. This world is too cruel."

"Who is Lu Bohai?"

"The man talking to Sun Bai."

She blinked. "How do you know?"

"I searched for him."

"Where?"

Nian sheepishly grinned again. "Trust me, Xing Bi. Even though I have all sorts of shady contacts, I am not shady at all!"

Her mouth twitched.

A prankster like you is the epitome of shadiness!

"I thought you might want to dig a bit deeper about this man's identity, so I asked someone to find out about him while we were on our way~ I just got the information on my chat," he winked.

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

This man...actually did something useful for once!

The fact that he already read her mind and was quick to find the information about the man made her unsure of how to feel.

T-This is nothing special!

Though her heart was definitely saying the opposite.

She cleared her throat and looked away. "G-Good job. Thanks."

Nian hopefully leaned in for a reward. "Do I get a kiss on the lips?"

He saw Xing Bi smiling while simultaneously swirling the fork in her hand which gave him his answer.

"How about I Iet this fork to kiss your lips?"

He wiped his fake tears. "One day will definitely come when you will kiss me on your own..."

"Get to the point!" She whispered. "Who is Lu Bohai?"

"Well for starters, he is an employee working at my little brother's rival company. Shi Publishing."

--

"Jin!"

Shui panicked and kneeled beside him, seeing his worsening condition.

"Jin? What is happening?"

She shook him numerous times, but Jin looked to be in a deep trance. He was sweating profusely and the tremors in his body were painful to watch. She was clueless as to why he suddenly collapsed and seemed so pale.

Why is he acting so differently ever since he stepped his foot in this church!?

"Jin!"

The more unresponsive Jin was, the more tears grew rampant in her eyes. She could feel his temperature growing hotter as if he was getting a fever.

"I-I cannot stand like this and do nothing...Hospital? No, I should c-call Jun first!"

She fumbled with her phone, looking at it with a blurry vision.

"P-please be alright Jin...I will help you anyhow!" She quivered with a nagging fear.

"The only one who can help him is himself, my dear."

Shui looked up and noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench with a calm and peaceful smile on her lips.

When did she enter? I didn't see her at all...

Jin kept whispering to himself. "I won't...It's all a lie..."

The woman shook her head.

Shui asked, confused. "What do you mean by what you said before?"

Wait, I don't have time for this! I need to take Jin out of here.

She tried to move him, but he refused to budge. "Jin, please just a little bit..." she urged.

"He cannot get out of that trance until he faces the truth."

Shui glanced at the woman again, now feeling even more bewildered. "Who are you?"

"Nobody really," she mysteriously answered. "But somebody who knows what is happening to that young man."

She widened her eyes. "You do? Please tell me!" She rushed towards her. "What's wrong with Jin? How can I help him?"

She gently smiled. "I said it before. Only he can help himself. There is something in his heart that has been locked away...for far too long now. There is a boundary he has drawn that he has been refusing to cross it for far too long now. He has conditioned himself to act a very particular way. But this will only make his beautiful life a pitiful torture. He needs to accept whatever he has been hiding from himself."

Shui didn't understand her cryptic words at all. "I really don't..."

Shui's confusion was evident to the elderly woman. She asked, "Do you know what is the easiest way to not love a person?"

Her brows crinkled.

She smiled sadly. "It's to find a reason to hate that person."