Rebirth: Once Again With You

To Li Caiyi's surprise, the ambulance came earlier than she expected. Li Junjie must have called them as soon as he was kicked out of the room. The peaceful Li family house became crowded quickly, with police and nurses running around.

No material things were lost, and no one lost their life, but the damage was still there. From the nurse's diagnosis, Li Chunhua probably had to stay in the hospital again. Looking at her sister's ashen complexion and her mother's worried face, Li Caiyi felt guilty.

Such a sight wouldn't happen if she didn't stay in her family's house. No, from the beginning, if she weren't involved in something she shouldn't, Li Chunhua wouldn't have to suffer like this.

Li Caiyi and Li Junjie needed to stay behind to answer some of the police officers' questions, so only Su Suyin boarded the ambulance to accompany Li Chunhua. As soon as her questioning session ended, she wanted to go to the hospital but stopped in her tracks when she saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"Caiyi! Are you alright?!"

Dai Zhiqiang rushed to her once their gazes met and hugged her tightly. She was tense throughout the questioning but slowly melted in his warm arms.

"Let me see your face. Are you hurt?" Dai Zhiqiang worriedly checked her body for any injuries but was stopped by her.

"Zhi, shouldn't you be in the hospital right now?"

"Our phone call was suddenly cut after a loud noise, and I couldn't reach you again, no matter how much I tried. I was worried and rushed here immediately."

"...I see. You came here without stopping anywhere?"

"Of course. When I arrived, I saw a police car parked outside the house and panicked. Thankfully, an officer filled me in regarding the situation."

Li Caiyi was relieved to feel his presence near her, but she couldn't bring herself to smile for some reason.

Hu Jian's parting words from before swirled inside her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she noticed the oddity in his words.

No, that wasn't right. This oddity had been there for a long time, but her mind subconsciously brushed it off as nothing. Because she wanted to believe in him.

There was no way he knew about Hu Jian from the beginning, right?

"Caiyi? What's wrong? Your face color doesn't look well. Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?"

Li Caiyi shook her head before staring at his face earnestly. His concern for her didn't look like a mere facade from every angle.

After everything they went through, there was no one she believed in more than Dai Zhiqiang in this world. The series of betrayals she suffered in her previous life made her unable to open up easily to anyone in this timeline. Li Caiyi was careful not to trust and depend on anyone too much. But he was the only exception.

She felt uncomfortable because it looked like she believed a crazy bastard like Hu Jian more than her boyfriend. But the doubt he planted in her couldn't be erased easily. Even more so when the sign was already there.

If he were to hide something big related to her, would she be able to trust him again?

"Zhi, please tell me the truth. Do you know a person named  Hu Jian?"

Dai Zhiqiang was taken aback by her sudden question. "Isn't that the person who pushed you down from the cliff? Why do you ask that?"

"...He was here. Just a few minutes ago."

"What?" Dai Zhiqiang's eyes widened in surprise, with a trace of apprehension. "Did he do something to you?! That bastard was trying to kill you before!"

Li Caiyi rubbed her forearms uncomfortably when she recalled the cold blade of his knife. Then, she answered, "I'm fine. But he…I mean Hu Jian, he mentioned something about you."

Dai Zhiqiang visibly stiffened. He observed Li Caiyi's strange expression before asking, "Is that the reason you are so guarded against me?"

"....Zhi, put your hand on your chest and answer this: did you hide something from me? Something related to me?" Li Caiyi grabbed him by his hem clothes as she stared at him with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. "If you answer me with no, I promise I won't say anything about it anymore. Because I believe in you!"

Dai Zhiqiang: "...."

Li Caiyi waited for him to answer, but seconds passed without him trying to explain anything. Her doubt intensified, and she became scared of what she would hear from this point.

Every person had one or two secrets they wanted to keep. She could understand that. But if what Hu Jian said was correct, then Dai Zhiqiang had been deceiving her all this time.

"Is it hard for you to answer that question?" Li Caiyi laughed dryly.

"There is no point when you already decided to doubt me."

"At least try to make an excuse!" Li Caiyi unknowingly raised her voice. It attracted people's attention, so she had to calm herself down before speaking again, "And don't even think of guilt-tripping me. The thing I hated the most in this world is to be controlled by someone else."

Dai Zhiqiang bit his lips. "I never lied to you."

"I guess not saying anything is the same as not lying to you." Li Caiyi replied sarcastically. "Since you don't want to answer that question, let me ask you another. How do you know I'm here? I don't think I ever told you I'm staying with my family for some time?"

"That…." Dai Zhiqiang trailed off. For the first time, he looked disturbed  before saying, "I went to your apartment, but you weren't there."

"Didn't you just say you came here without stopping anywhere?"

Dai Zhiqiang made a face as if he had just been caught red-handed when doing something wrong. He gazed imploringly at her with a trace of regret and self-blame, "I was wrong to say that. Please listen to me first."

"You didn't want to when I gave you a chance, so why are you begging me now?"

"Yi Yi…."

"And this isn't the only time you know something I haven't told you before. Do you remember the last time I went to your house? You asked me why I must go to the beach with Brother Renshu? I never mentioned anything sort to anyone, even my friends."

Dai Zhiqiang made a painful expression, but he stayed silent and looked down, like a sinner admitting his wrongdoing.

Li Caiyi pulled out her necklace's pendant from the inside of her pajama and held it out for him to see. "As you told me to do, I never once took this off of me. I cherished it so much I can't bear to part with it. "

Truthfully, she was scared and unsure what to do if what Hu Jian said was right. Because it meant Dai Zhiqiang had been spying on her life all this time.

It made her think back to when she visited Ye Wang and accidentally bumped into him. Did he already know it was her from the beginning?

What about Lin Xiang? Come to think of it, the fact that he tried to keep her necklace was already strange. It was an accessory that could be easily hidden behind the clothes, so he had no reason to keep it. Were the two secretly planning this behind her back and playing with her?

"I never knew you used this to keep a tab on me. Now I don't know how I should feel about this. Should I be thankful that you care so much? Or should I feel offended you gave me something like this as your first gift?"

"Yi Yi, I..."

Li Caiyi waited for him to explain. Although he looked like he had a lot to say, the words failed him in reality. He affirmed the truth through his silence.

Hu Jian: [You cherished it but didn't even know what that was. I feel sorry for you].

Meng Renshu: [He is a criminal and can't be trusted. Don't get too close to him].

Li Chunhua: [Xiaoyi, why can't you see that he is not the right guy for you?]

At this point, Li Caiyi didn't even know what to trust anymore. Her head was filled with so many things, making her light-headed.

The next thing she knew, the world turned upside down in front of her.