Rebirth: Once Again With You

Su Suyin was pleasantly surprised when she saw her three children talking and laughing together. Aside from Li Chunhua, she rarely saw Li Caiyi or Li Junjie laugh, so looking at them like that made her want to join in the fun, too.

"Oh? What are you doing here? You look like you are having fun."

"Mom! You came at the right time!" Li Chunhua jumped on Su Suyin the way she jumped on Li Junjie and squeezed her arm. "Xiaoyi has good news she wants to tell you."

"What kind of news? Judging from your reaction, I bet it must be a good one, isn't it?"

"Mom, it will be less surprising if you hear it from me. Xiaoyi, go on and tell Mom too!"

Li Caiyi smiled shyly before she told her mother about the news. Su Suyin was astounded when she heard it. Her mouth was hung open, so she needed to cover it with her hand.

"Xiaoyi, is what you said really true?"

"Yes, Mother. I should be able to get my hand on the first print tomorrow."

Li Caiyi thought her mother would also congratulate her, just like her siblings, since her attitude had considerably gotten softer towards her. However, Su Suyin just stood there, with an increasingly panicked expression each second. Li Caiyi sensed that something wasn't quite right then.

"Mother, is there something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, um…" Su Suyin stuttered on her words as her eyes darted around like she tried to avoid looking Li Caiyi in the eyes.

"Xiaoyi, I didn't know you still continue to write and to hear you even tried to publish it stunned me."

"Mother, whatever I did has nothing to do with Father anymore. I have won the bet, remember? That means Father doesn't have the right to stop me anymore."

"I know that, but I can imagine how furious he must be if he came to know about this. Xiaoyi, I think you shouldn't tell your father about this, or he might go ballistic."

Li Caiyi shook her head lightly. "No, I will tell him eventually, Mother. I have no intention of hiding what I like to do anymore."

Su Suyin bit her lips as her hand slowly clasped Li Caiyi's hand gently in hers.

"I know you feel wronged. Let me talk with your father about this first. He probably wouldn't be so angry if you just take this as a hobby and not your goal. You also understand what kind of person your father is, so let's not provoke him, okay?"

Li Caiyi cast a disappointed look at Su Suyin before slowly retracting her hand.

"Mother, I love writing, and I don't want to make it just as a hobby. It's something I want to pursue wholeheartedly. Please don't discourage me from doing that because that is the only thing I can be proud of."

"Xiaoyi, that's not what I mean…."

"I know Mother fully supports Father, but I don't understand why everyone should always follow his decision. Why is that as long as Father said it, everything should go according to his wishes? I can't accept it, not when Father clearly didn't treat us kindly!"

Her outburst surprised not only Su Suyin but also Li Junjie and Li Chunhua. Li Caiyi took a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing.

"I understand your worry, Mother. You were just trying to protect me from Father, right? If he knew I was serious about walking on this path, he would probably disown me." Li Caiyi smiled mirthlessly. "But I'm ready to face those consequences, Mother. If not, I wouldn't even dare to think of going against him even once."

"Xiaoyi…"

"Are you not frustrated at all, Mother? Whenever Father told you to do this and that, burdening you with his unreasonable demand, but still blaming you in the end when things don't go his way, don't you feel frustrated?"

Su Suyin couldn't form a reply, so Li Caiyi changed her target to Li Junjie. "You too, Brother. Aren't you pissed every time Father tries to force his dream into you? He kept you in the house and forced you to study almost all night since you were a child, to the point you can't even make friends properly!"

Li Junjie: "...."

"Xiaohua, you probably don't understand this since you said you can't see what is wrong with our family, but I'm sure you can feel it too. If not, then how come you don't want me to leave you alone here? It's because you subconsciously know you won't be able to live freely as long as Father is still here, right?"

Li Chunhua was about to look down when she glimpsed another person from the corner of her eyes. Once she noticed that, her face color immediately turned ashen.

"Xiaoyi, let's just stop this!" she exclaimed in a hurry, but it was already too late.

"It seems you have a lot of opinions about this father of yours. Why don't you say it directly to my face once again?"

Su Suyin and Li Chunhua were visibly shaken when Li Jirong walked over with darkened faces and slightly wet clothes from the storm outside. His murderous eyes made him appear like a serial killer from the movies.

Li Caiyi cursed her bad luck inwardly before slowly turning her body around. She raised her head, and her gaze locked with Li Jirong's fierce one. If looks could kill, then Li Caiyi probably had already been dead a thousand times.

However, when she recalled what he had done to Li Chunhua, she couldn't feel anything but disgust and fury toward this man.

'As long as this man is gone… If only he wasn't here!'

"What's with that look? Are you trying to test my patience even more than this?" Li Jirong's voice was cold and menacing like he wasn't talking to his daughter but to his mortal enemy.

"I was working hard in the hospital lately. I was tired, and my mood was bad because I got drenched in the rain, yet the first greeting I got was my daughter's poisonous words to me? How admirable of you. Your pathetic hobby makes you think you own the world. You aren't afraid of your father anymore."