Rebirth: Once Again With You

Not long after they arrived at the Dai family's house, Dai Zhiqiang announced he would go to work soon. It hadn't even been an hour since he returned home, but he had to go again.

Dai Zhiqiang was currently in his bedroom, preparing for his departure. Li Caiyi felt bad looking at him, working so hard like that.

"Don't worry too much. My brother will feel bothered if you make such a face," Dai Shenqiang said upon noticing the sour look on her face.

"What kind of face did I make?" Li Caiyi asked while pressing her cheeks with her palms.

"You looked like a worrywart wife, or perhaps a mother? Hahaha."

Li Caiyi chuckled. "I didn't remember ever giving birth to two big boys like you."

"Then, do you prefer to be my brother's wife instead?" Dai Shenqiang asked while moving his brows teasingly.

Li Caiyi flicked his forehead lightly with a frown on his face. "If you have time to speak nonsense, then help me a bit."

Dai Shenqiang rubbed his forehead, and a trace of confusion appeared on his face. "Help with what?"

"Preparing some food for your brother. He might not have much time to buy his dinner, so it's better if he brings some from home. Your hand is already healed, so help me prepare it."

"Oh, you really act like my brother's wife now. So, am I going to be your brother-in-law soon?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I will not make any for you."

"Ah, no! I'm so sorry, I will zip my mouth now!" Dai Shenqiang said in a panic as he hurried to the kitchen.

Right around the time she finished making some fried rice for Dai Zhiqiang, the said person came out of the room with his bag on his shoulder. He was wearing a simple plaid shirt and jeans while busily typing a message on his phone that he didn't notice them standing in the kitchen.

"Brother, wait! Don't go just yet!" Dai Shenqiang quickly called out to him, stealing his attention from his phone.

"You guys can take your time talking here. I have to go now."

"Zhiqiang, please take this with you too," Li Caiyi said as she quickly packed the food and ran over to him. "Shenqiang and I made this together. We were worried you won't have any time to buy dinner, so take this with you."

Dai Zhiqiang showed an astonished look when he looked down at the box in Li Caiyi's hand.

It had been so long since the last time someone packed some food for him. He thought he would never have someone who would make something like that for him anymore, but Li Caiyi did it so naturally, as though she were a genuine member of their family all along.

Dai Zhiqiang was happy and touched at the same time. He took the box from her hand stiffly while saying in a small voice, "Thank you."

Li Caiyi smiled. "No problem at all! You will need a lot of energy to work, so make sure you eat well. No matter how busy you are, don't eat in a rush and chew it properly, okay?"

Dai Shenqiang made a whistling sound with a playful smirk plastered on his face. "Caiyi cares so much about brother. She nitpicked about ingredients all the time while cooking; I thought I would never hear the end of it."

Li Caiyi was embarrassed because Dai Shenqiang exposed her, but she tried to maintain a calm face and retorted, "He will need a lot of energy, so naturally, the food needs to have balanced nutrients in it. What's wrong with that?"

Dai Shenqiang folded his arms behind her head. "Nobody said it was wrong. Why are you so defensive? Are you feeling shy now that my brother found out about it?"

Li Caiyi wanted to smack this kid's head so badly. "Shenqiang! Just you wait—!"

"No violence, please! My hand just healed!" Dai Shenqiang ran out of the house before Li Caiyi could do anything more, leaving her and Dai Zhiqiang standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

Li Caiyi unknowingly felt self-conscious after hearing Dai Shenqiang's silly remarks. She nervously tucked the strands of her hair behind her ears before saying, "U-um, good luck with your work. I know it's hard for you, but you can never be complacent with health."

"I know. I really appreciate this."

"I-it's nothing compared to everything you have done for me." Li Caiyi said with a lowered head, finding it difficult to meet his eyes right now.

Then she felt a weight on top of her head. It made her look up and greeted with Dai Zhiqiang's fond smile at her. His hand, which he put on her head, slowly stroked her head like he was trying to compliment a child.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon. Until then, take care of yourself."

Then, he walked out of the house without looking back. Li Caiyi stood frozen in her spot as the scene earlier kept replaying in her mind.

Shen Qiang once also said the same thing to her. He told her to wait at his apartment while he went out to buy some things and that she should stay inside and keep herself warm.

Li Caiyi's heart started to beat erratically again.

Ever since her suspicion grew, she became more and more unclear about her feelings. After she had previously caught the resemblance between Dai Zhiqiang and Shen Qiang, she became overly self-conscious of him.

Every little thing he did remind her of Shen Qiang, to the point she could see the mirage of Shen Qiang overlapped with Dai Zhiqiang from time to time.

The problem was she wasn't sure if it was caused by her desperate desire to meet Shen Qiang again, which made her try to connect everything to him subconsciously. Or because Shen Qiang and Dai Zhiqiang were the same person all along.

All of these were just mere speculation, but there was no way to figure out the answer.

Li Caiyi touched her chest and could feel the rumble inside. This heartbeat she felt under her palm right now, was it caused by her memories of Shen Qiang or Dai Zhiqiang himself?