Rebirth: Once Again With You

After that, Li Chunhua became so listless that she wasn't suitable to give testimonies, so Li Caiyi did it on her behalf. By the time she finished, the sky had turned darker.

Li Caiyi glanced around, but she couldn't find Dai Zhiqiang anywhere. She intended to thank and apologize to him as well, but it seemed he had left as soon as he gave his testimony. He didn't even wait to say goodbye to her or send a message to her.

'Did he go to the hospital? The bruise on his face was pretty severe,' Li Caiyi thought worriedly. She thought of calling him when she saw Li Junjie walk over to her.

"Xiaoyi, have you finished your business?"

"Yes, I just finished," Li Caiyi contemplated a bit before asking, "Brother, how is Xiaohua?"

"She is fine. Renshu is accompanying her in his car right now. We were waiting for you to finish. Let's go home."

Li Caiyi shook her head. It was enough to hear that Li Chunhua wasn't alone. Although this was all her idea, Li Caiyi was still worried. Especially considering how much stuff happened to them today.

"I need to go somewhere else after this, so you can go on ahead without me, Brother."

"Where are you going?" Li Junjie asked in a flat tone, so she couldn't discern if he was truly curious or just being polite.

"Just something I need to do." Li Caiyi was reluctant to tell her brother about it for some reason.

Li Junjie was silent and scanned her sister up and down in suspicion. Li Caiyi, who felt uncomfortable, fidgeted in her place. "Brother?"

"You don't seem to be hurt. That's good."

So he was just checking if she was injured or not. For a second, Li Caiyi thought he would scold her for what had happened to Li Chunhua. She sighed in relief.

"Brother, please take care of Xiaohua. Make sure she drinks her medicine as soon as she arrives at home."

Li Junjie's brows knitted in confusion. "Why don't you just tell her herself? I noticed you two were behaving strangely earlier. Did something happen?"

Li Caiyi blinked her eyes in surprise because she didn't expect her brother would show some care for what happened earlier. She cleared her throat before answering, "Nothing much. Xiaohua was probably still in shock after what she had experienced today. Now that you and Brother Renshu are here, I feel reassured."

"About you and Renshu, did you guys hide something from us?"

Li Junjie's straightforward question caught her off guard. "Eh? Why did you think like that?"

"Both of you are behaving abnormally these days. You usually never raised your voice against anyone, and Renshu seemed to always lose his cool in front of you."

Li Caiyi tried her best to make her face stay neutral as he gave her answer, "Brother, you are overthinking. We are just having a minor argument because we were too tired, that's all."

"I can see that, but that's not what I meant."

"There is really nothing happened. Brother Renshu and I got along just fine."

For a few good seconds, Li Junjie said nothing. His sharp eyes narrowed down dubiously at her as if they could see through her lies. Eventually, he sighed in resignation. "Forget it. Don't come home too late."

"Yes, I will."

Li Caiyi's heart finally calmed down after her brother disappeared. Her brother always had this intimidating aura around him that made her feel nervous. He seemed suspicious of her about something, but it must be not that important since he let the matter go.

After all, her brother was never the kind of person to care about these things.

Once the coast was clear, she took out her phone and dialed a number. It didn't take a long time before the call was connected.

"Shenqiang? It's me. I was wondering if your brother is home yet?"

***

From Shenqiang, Li Caiyi found out that Dai Zhiqiang had yet to return. She initially wanted to call the person directly. Still, Li Caiyi doubted he would let her do something for him, considering his personality. He was just too polite for that. So she took it upon herself to buy him some ointment and ice packs for his injuries.

She had a feeling that Dai Zhiqiang hadn't eaten as well, so she also bought some food.

Standing in front of the Dai family's house, Li Caiyi knocked on the door. "Shenqiang? It's me, Caiyi."

There were sounds of footsteps coming from inside before the door was opened, revealing Dai Shenqiang's bright face.

"Caiyi, you really came!"

"Yeah. I bought some food for you and your brother," Li Caiyi raised the plastic bag in her hand while smiling.

"Come in!"

It hadn't been long since she was acquainted with the Dai brothers, but she felt she had known them forever. She was already comfortable with their house, so she didn't hesitate to take plates and bowls from the kitchen cabinet and put the food she bought in them.

"I'm sorry you have to take care of us like this every time. I felt like we owe you too much," Dai Shenqiang said guiltily while scratching the back of his head.

"I'm happy if I can be of any help to you guys." Li Caiyi was sincere when she said that. She had done a lot of thinking and thought that she should take her time to find Shen Qiang.

There was no guarantee that Dai Shenqiang was the Shen Qiang she was looking for, but if she recalled the little details of him, she knew her guess wasn't too far-fetched.

Dai Shenqiang loved mints, so his body and this house always had a faint smell of mint in it. Moreover, he shared similar traits with Shen Qiang, like how he disliked mooncakes and had little experience with girls. There was also the fact that Dai Zhiqiang's homemade honey lemon tea tasted the same as what Shen Qiang made for her. Dai Shenqiang probably would learn one or two tricks from his brother in the future.

All these small details were too similar to call it coincidence. Li Caiyi decided to put a moderate amount of trust in her judgment. She wouldn't mindlessly conclude that Dai Shenqiang was him or not anymore, but she would watch him closely.

Li Caiyi believed she would meet with Shen Qiang eventually, just like they promised.

After she put the food onto the plate, Li Caiyi glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost 7 PM, but Dai Zhiqiang didn't show any sign of coming back soon.

"Are you waiting for my brother?" Dai Shenqiang asked.

"Huh? Yeah. Do you know what time he will be back?"

"My brother sometimes returns early or late. He said it depended on how long his work went."

Li Caiyi knew that Dai Zhiqiang had another job aside from being a librarian in the school. It was this fact that made her admire him so much. He was still a high-schooler, but he was capable enough to balance his work and study time, all while taking care of his family. She couldn't even imagine how hard it must be.

"What kind of work did your brother do?" Li Caiyi asked curiously because she had never heard the Dai brothers mention it.

"He said he worked in a construction site." Dai Shenqiang's face color dimmed. "He would always return home with bruises or injuries in his body. I reckon his job takes too much toll on his body. My brother is strong, but I always feel bad seeing him working so hard."

Li Caiyi cast a sympathetic gaze at him. "Don't worry. Once your hand is healed, you will also have your chance. You still remember our deal, right?"

Dai Shenqiang perked up at the mention of their deal before he said determinedly. "You're right. I have to recover quickly so I can help my brother!"

She smiled, seeing him back to himself again. "Yes, I believe you can do it."

The sudden click noise from the door cut their conversation short. Li Caiyi and Dai Shenqiang turned their heads simultaneously to the door, just in time when Dai Zhiqiang came in with an exhausted face.

"I'm home."

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