Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Caiyi was restless throughout the trip but felt lighter once she saw her sister's face. Although Li Chunhua was still unconscious, and her sleeping face lacked the usual vitality, at least it looked peaceful, unlike last night, where it twisted in pain.

"Is there any new news regarding her condition?"

"Nothing we can do but monitor her for now."

Well, no news could be considered good news.

Li Caiyi glanced at her brother, who picked up a newspaper and leisurely read on the sofa before plopping herself beside him.

24 hours hadn't passed since their last argument, and she was stuck with him again. Li Caiyi could already tell today would be a long day.

"If you have something to say to me, out with it already."

"A-ah? What are you talking about, Brother?" Li Caiyi flinched.

"Why else are you sitting beside me voluntarily?"

Ugh. He got a point, but didn't it mean he noticed how uncomfortable she was being around him? Somehow it made her feel a little bad. But then, she remembered what he had said to her last night and calmed down.

"Nothing went past you. I do have something I want to ask you."

He didn't respond, which meant he gave her time to talk. Li Caiyi chose her words carefully before asking, "Brother Jie, have you decided what you are going to do after graduating."

That seemed to catch his attention. He raised his head from the newspaper and looked at her weirdly. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. You are studying diligently to the point I rarely see you in the house. Father forced you to study hard, but I realized you have never talked about what you truly wanted to do."

Li Junjie observed her sister carefully before folding his newspaper. "Did Renshu put some ideas into your head again?"

Li Caiyi couldn't hide her surprise. If he didn't want to be a doctor, Li Junjie could very well be a detective or fortune teller. If only his emotional intelligence was as high as his intellectual one.

She cleared her throat. "Well, there's that, but I'm also curious about it. Is there anything wrong with a little sister worrying about her brother? So, have you thought about it yet?"

"I don't know why you are suddenly interested in that, but nothing was set in stone yet. Just like you guys assumed."

"Are you having second thoughts about pursuing the medical path?"

"...I don't know. I despised everything related to our father and Li family. Still, the teaching has been deeply ingrained in my bones since I was a child. It's hard to part with it."

"But, is that something you want to do?"

"Aside from Mother, I don't think anyone ever asked me what I want to do. My path has been decided from the beginning, so I never think much about it."

He said it lightly, but it somehow sounded sad and lonely. Perhaps this was why Li Junjie cared for Su Suyin more than anyone.

Li Junjie's presence used to intimidate her a lot, and Li Chunhua was too obsessed with her to care about him. With a dominating father who kept putting pressure on him, little Li Junjie must have regarded their mother, the only one who listened to him, as his lighthouse.

If she thought about it again, her brother's life wasn't any less pitiful than hers or Li Chunhua's.

"But after taking various tests, I found out that the path I despised the most turned out to be the best path for me. Logically speaking, the answer should have been clear. Wasting my potential over personal emotion is stupid. It's just… I'm unsure whether that's really the best.

I studied hard so I could win against our father, but in the process, I became exactly what he wanted me to be. Talk about irony."

Li Caiyi couldn't understand the depth of his mind, but when talking about dreams, she felt like she had to say something.

"Brother, truthfully, you just don't want to let it go, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way I see it, you actually don't hate it. You are always very passionate about learning human anatomy, diseases symptom and preventive measure, or other medical stuff. When Father is not home, you are in charge of everyone's health and look proud of it."

Li Junjie was dumbstruck. Among the small number of expressions she had ever seen from him, this one was the dumbest. This must mean that she got a bullseye!

"If you need a reason to keep me going, how about I give you one?"

"Reason? What are you talking about?" Li Junjie could finally gather his thoughts together and form a response. But he looked as lost as a stray lamb.

"Brother, if you genuinely hate it, you won't have a hard time parting from it. The fact that you are struggling proves that you actually don't want to let it go.

If it's the usual you, you will cast the option away and go with the next best option. Since Father isn't here anymore, you think there is no reason for you to continue."

Li Caiyi could resonate with him as she used to make a lot of excuses for herself. She just didn't expect the day her brother would need guidance about this would come.

"Well, guess what? I can give you the 'reason' you like so much. From now on, you will continue the path you walk on because that's what you want to do."

"What…I want to do?" Li Junjie echoed her words with a perplexed face as if those words tasted foreign on his tongue.

"No one gives me any reason to continue writing, but if that's the case, I will make one myself! The solution is actually pretty simple." Li Caiyi smiled before holding her brother's big hand.

"Forget about complicated things like family teaching, and be honest to yourself. If you have something you want to do, then do it. We will support you all the way."

Li Junjie looked down at their hands. Then his eyes gradually softened, throwing her out of the loop. "How many years have passed since you held my hand like this? I think the last time we held hands together like this was when you were in kindergarten."

Why would he mention something that happened a long time ago? It was a bit embarrassing.

"You said it like it was my fault. You are the one who said that I shouldn't cling to you anymore." Li Caiyi huffed.

"Did I? I don't remember."

Li Caiyi rolled her eyes. "Of course. You only remember stuff that is convenient for you."

Li Junjie chuckled. It was a genuine smile she hadn't seen on his face for a long time. However, it didn't make her cringe like she usually felt. On the contrary, Li Caiyi felt relieved and happy.

But that happiness was short-lived since he pulled back his hand a second later. "I think that's enough hand-holding for now. We aren't kids anymore, but I'll make an exception just for today."

"You are seriously a handful one, Brother Jie." Li Caiyi pouted.

"I know. Thank you," he said while smiling faintly.

"Huh? What did you say just now?"

"Nothing. More importantly, tell Renshu to mind his own business next time."

Li Caiyi grimaced. "How can you know the exact words he wants to avoid? He is just concerned about you. Don't you think you are being too mean to him as his best friend?"

Li Junjie's brows raised interest. "Oh? Did I just hear you speaking up for him? Since when did you two get friendly again? You avoided him like the plague before."

"Well, I have a reason for that…."

Li Caiyi couldn't say they were in a partnership, so she evaded the topic by asking again, "By the way, I have another thing I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"The other day, I heard Brother Renshu mention how Uncle Meng kept praising you for becoming the head of the family now. Is it such a big deal?"

Li Junjie looked at her weirdly again, "You asked many strange questions today. Did Renshu ask you to do this too?"

Li Caiyi facepalmed inwardly. "Can you not answer my question with another question? It's not like I'm asking some kind of big secret here."

He was still skeptical but answered anyway. "I don't think so. The title is crap, anyway. If there is another person who can take it, I will gladly give it to them."

"No, not your personal opinion about it. I mean, objectively speaking, if you look at it from the general public's eyes, is it some kind of big deal?"

"I don't know. It probably caused a sensation since our Father and Mother suddenly divorced, and I'm too young to become the head of the family. But this is our family's internal problem in the end. It shouldn't have any significance to other people."

Li Caiyi knew it wouldn't be easy since her question was vague. Heck, how could she ask about something she didn't understand herself? Meng Yaoshu never mentioned blatantly about the reason for his wariness towards Li Junjie, so even if she wanted to gain information, she had no idea what to ask.

While she mulled over it, Li Junjie continued, "To be honest, I haven't the slightest clue why you would ask me this. But since it's Uncle Meng, I'm sure it was just a fleeting interest. Our families had known each other for a long time, so he might have heard one or two things about our family rules."

"What rules?"

"I'm talking about the right of inheritance. He probably found it fascinating that Father was usurped by the same rule he used against our grandfather."