Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Caiyi still couldn't calm down even after she abused her pillow out of irritation.

"Seriously, who does he think he is? I can't believe I share the same blood with that guy!"

Even though his words had a valid point, that didn't make it any less unpleasant to hear. Without knowing anything, he belittled her and labeled her a troublemaker who could inflict danger on Li Chunhua.

Then again, why did it disappoint her so much? Shouldn't she be the one who knew her brother's personality best, as someone who lived her life twice?

Perhaps because Li Junjie had been pretty supportive as of late, she forgot that he was a cold bastard who didn't give a damn about her. She would rather him ignore her like before if it meant she didn't have to hear such offensive words from him.

No one in this world cared for Li Chunhua more than her. Li Junjie hadn't changed the slightest bit from his previous self.

'Yes, living alone after being harassed is scary, but that doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to Xiaohua. He basically wants me to get hurt alone without dragging anyone else into it. I know he's biased towards Xiaohua, but isn't this just too much?'

Li Caiyi threw herself onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow. She thought this punishment would be easy peasy, but she didn't feel like seeing Li Junjie's face for a while. Too bad she couldn't avoid meeting him for the rest of the month.

"Whatever. He will be stuck in his room anyway."

Li Caiyi closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep when she heard a rustling sound. She opened her eyes and automatically glanced at the window, which was covered by a curtain. The window directly faced the big tree in their yard, so she naturally thought it was the sound of leaf rustling at first.

But then, she remembered that the leaves on the tree were supposed to have fallen off by now.

Her whole body instantly felt alarmed. Cautiously standing up, her gaze fell onto the umbrella hung on the wall beside her bed. It wasn't reliable as a weapon, but still better than nothing. She hoped she could get a cutter or scissors, but those tools were on her study desk.

Li Caiyi squinted her eyes, trying to find a silhouette of anything outside her window, but she couldn't see anything. A moment later, the rustling sound stopped.

She was tempted to go over and check if any burglar was trying to enter the house through the window, but later concluded it was too risky.

What if she pretended not to hear anything and turned off the light? No, that would make it harder for her to see, as the yard should be pitch black around this time.

Feeling undecided, she decided to wait as she sharpened her ears to get any subtle noises from outside. After a minute with no other strange noises, she heaved a sigh of relief, thinking she was just being too paranoid.

At least until she heard a clicking sound from her window, like something being unlocked.

Li Caiyi's blood rushed thrice faster as her heart kept pumping blood uncontrollably in her chest. Just from that sound alone, she could instinctively tell: someone was outside her window, and they were going to break in and attack her anytime soon.

Was it a burglar? A pervert?

Adrenaline coursed through her, providing her with extra courage to take action. Li Caiyi had no time to hesitate and moved forward before she could think about the consequences. The only thing on her mind right now was she had to defend herself and this house.

She leaped to the window, and as soon as she caught a glimpse of someone's hand peeking from behind the curtain, she thrust her umbrella forward with all her might. Thanks to the curtain, her attack was blocked from the intruder's vision, and they had no chance to avoid or stop it.

"Guarghh! What is this?!" A raspy voice of a middle-aged man could be heard from the outside.

If he were to step into her room, everything would be over. Li Caiyi only had this chance to push him out of her window!

Thus, Li Caiyi kept using her umbrella to hit and push the intruder away from her window. It wasn't easy, as the intruder was stronger than she thought.

"Stop it! I'm going to fall!"

Who in their right mind would stop attacking a suspicious person about to trespass into their house?

Li Caiyi saw he was grabbing the edge of the window to keep himself steady, so she focused her attack there. With the pointy edge of her umbrella, she stabbed his hand as hard as she could.

"Argh!"

That howl of pain was followed by the sound of something falling and dropping next. Li Caiyi's chest moved up and down, following her tattered breath. It took more energy than she thought, but at least it seemed she managed to force the man to fall off her window.

Mustering her courage, she carefully approached the window to check the situation. Although it was in self-defense, she would still feel bad if someone died because of her.

Her room was located on the second floor. The man's life shouldn't be in danger if he didn't land with his head first.

Li Caiyi's shaky hand was about to touch the curtain when a hand stopped her from behind. She instantly raised her other hand to attack again but was immediately calmed down when she turned her head back.

"B-Brother Jie?"

"Shh. Get behind me and call the police." Li Junjie answered in a cold and collected voice.

When did he come into her room? Did he learn the ninja's stealth technique or something? Because she couldn't hear him approaching until he got so close to her.

Even though it was surprising, she was a little relieved to see him at this moment. It was utterly contradictory to her thoughts from a few minutes ago.

Li Junjie moved silently and took a cutter from her study desk. Then, he opened the window curtain in one swift moment. He did it without warning, so she instinctively raised her umbrella again. However, aside from the tree, which had already lost its leaves, there was nothing else.

Li Caiyi felt a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulder. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth, but Li Junjie refused to lower his vigilance as he examined the situation outside.

"Did you get hurt?" He asked without looking her way.

"No. The man fell before he could do anything to me, so I'm not injured."

"It doesn't look like he is dead, but he is unconscious and probably had several of his bones broken."

After he fell from the second level, that much was expected. But at least he wasn't dead.

Li Caiyi must have looked worried as Li Junjie continued, "Even if he lost his life here, he deserved it. What you did was justifiable self-defense and not your fault."

She had no time to react as Li Junjie had already moved toward the door briskly. "Let me take a look outside. Call the police in the meantime."

"What? No! What if the man has friends outside? Don't go outside! Let's just stay inside until help comes." Li Caiyi strongly objected.

If Li Junjie was attacked outside, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. Although he was pretty decent in sports, he wasn't proficient in fighting like Dai Zhiqiang or trained in martial arts like Meng Renshu. He would be beaten to a pulp, and no one in the house would be able to help him.

Objectively speaking, it wasn't a wise move at all, and making a blunder in a decision like this was unlike him.

Seeing how Li Junjie almost behaved recklessly, he must have been pretty shaken up inside, more than he let on.

"It's too risky. There's not much you can do if you go outside, so it's better to stay put until help comes."

Li Caiyi expected him to agree after she reminded him of the danger, but contrary to her belief, Li Junjie stared sternly at her. A suppressed anger blazed inside his calm eyes as he answered in a cold voice.

"While we wait inside, that man could wake up anytime and run away. I can't let that bastard flee when he almost hurts you. I have to make sure he's properly apprehended so he won't be able to pull this stunt again."