Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Ai got up and softly dusted her dress without looking into their eyes for a few moments. Her knees were slightly numb with the position she had been standing in for sometime. She finally met their eyes and beamed upon seeing Jin. "Hello."

Jin didn't return her enthusiasm with the same intensity. "So you were spying on us."

"Of course not," Ai seriously rejected his accusation.

"I wonder if you actually went to the library, Zhou Ai," he cocked his brow.

"Of course, I did. You can ask Mrs. Quan if you want. I was very diligent with my work," she nodded.

Jun asked, "How much did you hear?"

Ai pursed her lips. "Are you two ganging up on a helpless woman with sore and painful knees who is even unable to stand properly now?"

His brow twitched while Jin had an urge to strangle her. Once again.

She then narrowed her eyes at Jun. "I don't want to hear any accusation in your voice, Mr. Liu Jun, who heartlessly threw shade at his own girlfriend that I stuffed the house with spaghetti. That is not true. Just admit that you wanted him to eat your dish and made me the scapegoat."

"..."

Jun's face reddened with embarrassment.

She heard that part!?

Jin lazily said, "I don't need to know this from you. I already knew. Bro sucks at lying."

"..."

So it was useless?

Ai didn't end her attack even so. "I also heard you appreciating my 'baking' skills. Such humiliation I tell you..." she faked some tears.

Jun grimaced. "You should stop being in the twins' company so much. You are becoming more and more like them!"

"Now you are even raising your voice at your girlfriend whose knees are sore and painful and who is unable to even stand properly..."

His gaze darkened.

Ai ignored his daggers and looked at Jin. "Anyway, it's so good to see two brothers back to being brothers again. Now, we will work together to solve the mystery!" Her eyes sparkled.

Jin stared at her like she was an idiot. "Excuse me? When did I say I will work with you?"

"You just agreed with Jun."

"Yeah with him. Not you."

She blinked. "I am his girlfriend. You work with him, you work with me. Same thing."

"No, it's not! Like hell I will cooperate with you! I don't even want to see your face!" He exclaimed.

"Why not? I resemble my father a lot, so I am very beautiful and charming," she proudly said.

The hell...

Jin accused his brother with bloodshot eyes. "Just what did you see in this narcissist woman!? Was it that much of a trauma getting rejected by Shui that you had to choose THIS?"

The THIS he pointed to was Ai.

Jun seriously replied. "She can be very adorable."

Ai bobbed her head. "Jin is being selectively blind to my cuteness."

"..."

After a lot of black fumes that Jin emitted from the top of his head, he finally decided to leave before his sanity threatened to leave him. He glanced once at Jun and said, "Call me if you need me."

He left but not before throwing a dagger at Ai.

Ai hopped to hug Jun and gave him her brightest smile. "I am so happy to see you together."

Jun lowered his gaze to see the little culprit beaming before him brilliantly. He pinched her cheeks. "You suddenly left me alone. I was counting on your support."

"And it was wise of me to leave," she countered. "You two needed some time alone. I would have only hindered your heart-to-heart conversation. I knew you would eventually sort it out. You both just needed a push."

Jun wrapped his arms around her and exhaled. "My girlfriend is too intelligent."

"Indeed."

He bumped his forehead on hers and whispered. "Thanks Ai."

She grinned. "That's what partners are for."

He smiled and kissed her on her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"So how should I punish you for spying on Jin and I?"

"..."

"Your knees are sore and painful, right? How about I give them a massage?"

The massage clearly didn't have any innocent meaning.

Ai rebuked. "In that case, I should also punish you for falsely accusing me."

Which was just what Jun wanted to hear. He let out an evil smile. "You got a point. How about we punish each other in the bedroom? Then it's fair, right? We both get to settle the scores."

p She realized she fell into a trap. "I am hungry..."

"Even more great. Let's do some exercise and work up on your appetite. Food will taste more delicious that way."

"..."

It was too late for Ai before she was already picked up in his arms and led into the bedroom.

--

A few days later, Gu Rong's bail application was approved, and he was set free. Though not completely free, the evidence of him not having access to S3's automatic message deletion software was enough to release him and conduct a deeper investigation of the case.

Yijun said, "I have been keeping an eye on that other judge, Mr. Wang, for some time. If I learn something, I will let you know."

Yating smiled. "Thanks Soo Yijun."

Gu Rong beamed upon seeing Yating after completing the formalities. "Yating!"

Yating smiled and hugged him. His heart winced seeing him thin and frail.

"Thanks for listening to me, Yating. I knew Zhu Chyou will definitely be able to help you. Is she here by the way?"

"She wanted to but she got urgent work at the last minute. But she sent her regards and told me she will meet you later."

"Oh, that's good, that's good," he nodded with appreciation.

As they stepped out, Yating stopped in his steps which made Gu Rong pause as well. "What is it?"

"Dad, I know why you wanted me to work with her. It's not just to prove your innocence but also to set us up, right?"

He averted his gaze. "Of course not. Why will I think of that?"

"Chyou told me everything. It was her I was supposed to meet at the banquet. I didn't, so you used this chance. Dad, I want to tell you. Chyou is a good woman. No doubt about it. But anything between us is not possible."