Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Thick blanket of snow had covered Beijing city as the first morning of the year arrived. The clouds were grey and a light rain of snow was still adding more layers to the already thick blanket.

Jun served two bread toast slices with full-fried eggs on each on two separate plates. He slid one plate towards Ai's side of the chair.

He waited in silence.

Ai didn't come out of her room.

Jun had expected this. He glanced towards her room's door for a moment.

To his slight surprise, the door opened and Ai stepped out all showered and dressed. She silently took her seat and pulled the plate closer to her.

Usually, she would always thank him for making the breakfast. But today, talking to him about anything was a task as huge as a mountain after last night.

They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they shared that kiss. They had quietly gone back to their own rooms, but nobody could get a wink of sleep.

It was as if they had unanimously decided in their minds not to raise the subject or ask any questions about the kiss. They knew it happened in a moment of weakness and vulnerability when they longed for comfort the most.

The kiss just happened. Nobody felt really guilty, but nobody touched that subject either. But even if it was so, it was hard for the atmosphere between them to go back to how it was before. It was similar to when that accidental kiss occurred.

It had broken their pace. It took days for the ice to break between them. Now, that layer of ice was forming once again, and nobody knew how long it would take this time.

They couldn't even wish new year greetings to one another.

Jun hadn't expected at all that she would even come out of her room today. He lowered his gaze and ate his breakfast in silence and so did Ai.

Where the world was celebrating the new year with vigor, the first day for these two living together in this particular house was filled with only silence.

—

Two days later, Mrs. Quan Su returned, and the library was reopened. To Jun and Ai, it brought immense relief as things had been quite awkward at home.

Ai wanted to start on her short story drafts, but she couldn't concentrate with Jun's presence in the house. It was the same with Jun. He couldn't get any work done related to Sky at all.

Jun opened his laptop and checked all his pending emails since last week. He inwardly thanked his luck that there was a high workload today.

Great, I won't keep thinking about Ai anymore.

He paused and suddenly felt annoyed at himself.

It wasn't like I was thinking about her all this time in the first place!

He mumbled and furiously typed on the keyboard. Its sound reached till Ai's ears. She looked at him, puzzled.

So dedicated to get back to work, she thought.

Ai studied her notes she had made when she was observing Jun for all these days. She tapped her pen on the page, thinking about her story.

First, she decided to focus on one aspect of Jun's personality to come up with some plot. She recalled the night he killed that robber. His sheer indifference as he stabbed him to death still made the back of her neck tingle.

'You saw me kill that thief that night, right?'

'Tell me. You are scared of me, aren't you?'

The knip of the pen between her fingers moved on the page, and she slowly began to write.

A few hours later it was lunch time. Jun stretched his arms after finishing his piled up work. His gaze automatically caught Ai even amidst the crowd rushing out for lunch.

Among all the confusion that happened over the New Year, Jun had completely forgotten about Ai's wish to come to Sky.

Is she working on her drafts?

Ai seemed to be focused on her work. He then noticed her hand slip inside her bag as she continued writing. A small candy came out. She unwrapped it with the same hand itself and popped it in her mouth.

Five candies later...

"..."

Is her bag a hidden candy treasure trove? He was speechless.

Jun thought back to the storytelling event held in the library where she distributed candies to the kids.

His mouth twitched.

I thought she specially brought the candies for them. Didn't know she was a candy machine herself.

A call from Yunru broke his daze. He complained from the other end, "Bro! Didn't you say a writer named Butterfly will soon submit her drafts? But I haven't received any! Is this person even going to do it?"

Jun once again glanced at Ai, who was popping the sixth candy in her mouth.

…You sure you want to eat that many?

"Yeah, I think it will be soon. If she doesn't stop eating the candies…"

"Huh? What? Candies?"

"Nothing. I will call you back."

"Hey! Don't dismiss me so soon! You are cruel. Bro, I think you are not getting any time for me these days!"

His mouth twitched. "You are talking as if some girlfriend is complaining to her boyfriend."

"That complaining right is reserved for your dear girlfriend, Shui," he rolled his eyes.

Jun slightly stiffened. But he didn't let it bother him for long.

"I am saying as brothers! As brothers!" He whined.

"Buy whatever you want. Bill is on me, but stop your whining. It's creepy."

"Thank you bro! You are the best! Who says you don't make any time for me? Your money always does~" his voice took a full one-eighty degree turn.

"Idiot," Jun snorted and hung up.

He got up and headed outside to have lunch when he turned and stared at Ai again. He was actually quite curious about her draft.

Well I am the CEO. I am gonna read it anyway one day…

He put his hands in his pocket and quietly walked along the table's length. Ai didn't notice his presence behind her chair at all.

Jun craned his neck and took a glance at what she was writing from above. His gaze darkened as he read her plot.

"Rejected!" He exclaimed.

Ai gasped in shock and jolted upright in her seat. She touched her chest and lifted her gaze to see him giving her a not so friendly expression.

"Y-You scared me…Don't creep from behind me like that," she let out a breath. "I am already scared of monsters creeping out from under the bed at night. Now, you will make me afraid if somebody is behind me at all times too…"

"..."

"Why did you suddenly come here?"

Jun dangerously smiled. "Miss. Zhou Ai. Is that story you are writing based on real events? Particularly about a night when a certain someone killed another certain someone witnessed by a third certain someone?"