Rebirth: Once Again With You

The transparent tubes slowly filled with red as a slight numbness crept up her arms. Li Caiyi watched blankly as the blood inside her vein flowed inside the tube and ended up in the small container prepared by Chu Kong.

The process didn't take a long time at all. Chu Kong worked without words, but he was meticulous. The way he pasted a band-aid on the place where the needle stabbed her was gentle as if he was concerned for her.

"Thank you," Li Caiyi said with a smile. He didn't respond like usual, and she didn't mind it as much as before. Chu Kong wasn't a bad person; he just didn't like to talk.

"Young Miss, drink this next. It will help you replenish the blood you had just lost." Detective Tang gave her a capsule with a glass of water, and Li Caiyi happily accepted it.

She drank the capsule and then inquisitively stared at Chu Kong.

"Mr. Chu, how long do you think it will take for you to be able to analyze my blood?"

Chu Kong said nothing, so Li Caiyi had no choice but to look at Detective Tang for an explanation.

"There are many things to do, so Kong can't say for certain. Young Miss, I understand your feeling but rushing things wouldn't make everything turn better."

"I know that. I was just asking." Li Caiyi looked down at the empty glass in her hand, and her disappointed expression reflected on it.

She knew that Chu Kong and Detective Tang got their hands full with their own matters, and she shouldn't urge them. Their objectives were mainly to crack the case, and Li Caiyi needed them to find more information on how to fix her sister's condition.

They weren't friends. Their interests just happened to align. So, she had to remember not to hinder them.

She probably couldn't think rationally if it weren't for her past memories. The thought that Li Chunhua would persist up to the age of 27 was the only thing that kept her mind sane.

Nevertheless, she didn't know what happened after she died, and with how much things had changed since she woke up again, she couldn't say for sure if the future would stay the same.

'I wonder if Brother Renshu remembers about that? Maybe I should ask what happened to Xiaohua after I died.'

While she was busy mulling over the thought, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She raised her head and saw Chu Kong fidgeted in his place before dropping something in the glass she held.

It was a piece of candy.

"Don't look so dejected. Although I say we shouldn't rush things, we will do our best to improve the situation." Detective Tang chuckled. "I can vouch for Kong's skill. He will not let you down."

Chu Kong fidgeted in his place, looking visibly uncomfortable about getting compliments. Was he trying to cheer her up by giving her this? Li Caiyi was a teenager in physique, not a child.

The corner of her mouth curled up, feeling touched by his awkward kindness. It reminded her a lot of a certain someone, and her heart grew warmer.

"Thank you, Mr. Chu, Detective Tang. I wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for the two of you. We don't know yet how the future will turn out, but let's have hope."

"Yeah. Glad to see you back to your usual self."

"I'm sorry, I become sensitive when it comes to this topic."

Detective Tang sighed. "Well, your sister's health is at stake. It will be weirder if you can stay calm about everything. Kong and I will do our best, but we are only two people in the end, and there is only so much we can do with our  limited resources."

"That's right. Please feel free to ask for my help anytime. As long as it's something I can do, I will do my best to help. What is the thing you need the most right now?"

Detective Tang pondered for a bit before answering. "Of course, it would be intel and fund. My investigation has been stagnant for the last few weeks, and I need more intel if I want to track the mastermind. Meanwhile, Kong will need a lot of money if he wants to produce a cure for that drug. But we don't have any of those right now, so this will be hard."

Information and money had always been the forces that moved the world. No matter how much brain and heart they put into this, they could hardly do anything without those two things.

Li Caiyi bit her lips hesitantly before saying, "I don't know if this is enough, but I have some money in my bank account. If this can be of any help, I want to become an investor for this project."

Detective Tang and Chu Kong stared at her meaningfully after hearing that.

"Young Miss, does your family perhaps own many properties and assets?"

The Li family did have some, but it wasn't much. Even more so after the divorce between her parents. Although the Li family could be said to have above-average wealth, Li Caiyi knew the research fund would require much more than that.

As of now, the Li family depended solely on their savings and those assets they had. At least until Li Junjie graduated, there wouldn't be any significant income, aside from the measly amount she earned. In other words, even if they sacrificed all their wealth for the research, it wouldn't be a long-term sustainable investment.

"No. Our family is not that wealthy." Li Caiyi said in embarrassment.

Detective Tang's meaningful smile deepened. "You don't have to feel embarrassed. We appreciate the thought, but unless you come from a super-rich family, one or two investors would hardly make any difference. No offence."

"Is there nothing else we can do about it?"

"Well, there is a way…." Detective Tang's words trailed off, and he seemed unsure whether to continue or not, "But we will need your help again for that, Young Miss."

Chu Kong tugged on Detective Tang's sleeve without words. She didn't know what meaning that gesture had, but it made the latter grimace.

"Don't look at me like that, Kong. There is no harm in trying. If she refuses, then there's that. I won't say anything about this anymore."

Listening to that made her even more curious. "What is it? If you have something to say, then just say it directly."

Detective Tang scratched her cheeks awkwardly. "Did you remember when I talked to you before about this? It's about that childhood friend of yours."

Li Caiyi quickly understood the meaning behind his words.

The Li family couldn't possibly be a strong backer for this project, but Meng Pharmaceutical would undoubtedly be a tremendous force.

Everything he had been saying before was his roundabout way of asking Li Caiyi to persuade Meng Renshu to be the investor.

Li Caiyi had to admit that although Detective Tang was calculative, his judgement wasn't wrong. If she told Meng Renshu about Li Chunhua's condition, she was confident that Meng Renshu would do anything he could to help. He probably would even mobilize every resource of the Meng family to find a cure and also find the mastermind behind all this.

This gave Li Caiyi complicated feelings. She agreed that Meng Renshu would help them greatly, but how would she explain all this to him?

Even now, she still felt so awkward whenever she met him, and now she had to 'plead' for his help?