Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

If Guiying was being honest to herself, then she wanted to write a story about her and MrPerfect. A sweet story of admiration culminating into love between a star and her fan.

But Zhan Yahui wasn't really thrilled with this idea.

'A story between a fan and a star? It does have a sense of mystery. But the fan's identity will play a major role. Is he secretly a rich heir? Or you can show that he poses as your enemy but is actually your well-wisher. As long as he is not 'just' a regular fan having a normal job.'

Guiying had disagreed. She didn't know who MrPerfect was, and it didn't matter to her if he was rich or not. She could write that MrPerfect was secretly a billionaire. But she didn't want to lie about him or her expectations from him.

This was her real story. She didn't want to make it one big lie.

In the end, Zhan Yahui urged her to write that story for some other time but not as a submission to something as important for the Author's Summit and risk her chances.

So, Guiying wrote another story, discussing with Zhan Yahui.

"'Ah, today is the blind date!'"

She began her story of a woman who went on a blind date. But the guy turned out to be a total jerk. She was too polite to get up and leave, only making her time more miserable. But fortunately, she was rescued by a handsome stranger who bails her out at the right time.

The story progresses as the woman falls in love with the stranger, who turned out to be a billionaire CEO. At first, it felt like a typical plot of a Prince Charming saving a damsel in distress until Guiying gave it a twist.

The CEO she fell in love with wasn't a Prince Charming at all. He was a hideous antagonist who used women for his pleasure and killed them. He was the mentally deranged, secret serial killer hiding behind the facade of a CEO.

Not only Guiying played with his identity, but it was revealed that the jerk of a blind date she went with wasn't a jerk in the first place. His sister had been one of the CEO's targets and using her, he had thrown the brother out and usurped his CEO's position.

There was a lot of background and mystery as to why he acted like a jerk, and it seemed impossible to show it all in a short story. But Guiying had skillfully handled it. She set a nice tone and background after the revelation of the fake CEO too and how her heart found love in the date she had dismissed as a resentful experience and how he overcame the grief from his sister's death.

Her story sent a strong message that looks are deceptive, and first impressions are not necessarily the right benchmark to judge someone. One needed to understand their past and their story to know what molded them to become the person that they were at present.

All this was difficult to pull off in a short story without making the readers bogged down, but Guiying managed it extremely well, earning praises from the judges.

Guiying ended the story on a sweet but melancholic note where the couple go to meet his sister's grave where he introduced her as her soon to be sister-in-law.

After Guiying finished, everybody clapped hard. Some had tears in their eyes, feeling bittersweet at the ending part.

"It was wonderful."

"I can see why CherryBlossom was selected."

"She is not Dream High's star for no reason."

The viewers watching the Summit live from their home also furiously praised Guiying's story and delivery. Her fans cheered hard for her and sent a string of appreciation messages on social media.

At the Summit, Guiying watched everyone satisfied and happy by her story. She felt her heart at ease.

She wondered MrPerfect's reaction on her story, and her chest drummed with anticipation and excitement.

Just like she thought, a certain figure clad in a dark suit was indeed watching her with pride. His lips formed an affectionate smile as he clapped for her too.

Guiying stepped down, and the emcee came back on the stage. "Thank you, CherryBlossom! It was beautiful. Ah, I still have tears in my eyes."

Guiying chuckled and sat back.

Zhan Yahui grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "You have bagged this for sure."

Guiying paused. "It's Ai's turn now."

She shrugged. "She won't be able to match you."

She parted her lips to speak but for some reason, she kept quiet. "You are wrong about that…" her irises flickered with an unknown emotion.

"Did you say something?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

—

From her past life, Ai already knew what her story was going to be. Even so, she felt the tears slip into her orbs.

Xing Bi patted her hand. "Now it's your turn. Don't be nervous and just give your best! You will definitely win this!"

Ai wasn't so sure. Guiying had won the Summit in her past life. She had pledged to herself to win this Summit but thinking about the past life's results, her confidence dwindled at times.

'You will win this Summit, Zhou Ai. You will for sure.'

Jun's resilient words rang in her heart, and the jitters within her calmed down.

"Now, for the second and the last entry, I would request MissImperfectlyFine to come to the stage," the emcee announced.

From above, Jun watched Ai walk with poise. He clenched the wine glass in his hand, his gaze fixed only on her straight back.

Yating straightened up and only

Nian, too, watched her with interest. He liked CherryBlossom's story so was looking forward to what Ai had to tell.

Jin's countenance didn't change much. He only wanted to leave from here, but Nian lost his confidence at the last moment to confront Xing Bi during the break. Now, they were back to square one.

Nian ignored Jin's accusing stares and exclaimed. "It's Ai's turn!"

"And you are gonna meet Xing Bi after this is over," Jin declared.

"...I know. This time, I have mentally prepared myself!"

"You did that last time too. It didn't give any results," he ruthlessly stated.

Nian glared at him. "Just enjoy the Summit!"

Jin sighed.

Ai climbed on the stage and as she watched everybody from a height, she froze.