Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

14th February. Valentine’s Day.

A day meant for lovers to express their affection for each other. A day marked as the beginning for the spring to come soon. A day where no matter where one glanced, they would only see the place decorated with red hearts and balloons. Couples held hands with each other. Some confessed, some hugged while some kissed. Love and passion reverberated in the air.

The Author’s Summit was to start at 7PM sharp. Thirty minutes prior to that, spokespersons of various publishing companies were beginning to arrive at the location, eager and hoping the authors from their company would win the Summit. Winning the Summit not only boosted the author’s image but also the publishing companies to which the writer was associated.

It also served as a great networking event for authors to form connections with companies and other authors. It was not only a competition but also a conference for authors to learn and improve their writing skills and marketing skills.

The Summit had a number of authors participating, so the rule was for everybody to submit a short story which would be then sent to a panel of judges in three batches. Each batch had their own judging panel. Out of each batch, one top story would be selected by the judges. The final three authors from all three batches would then recite their short story in front of the Summit’s audience and also to the millions of viewers watching the Summit live.

The final judging panel will have three judges different from the ones who were included in the batches to avoid any bias to select the story of their own batch. The judges will decide among themselves and then announce the results about the winning work.

The authors who were beginning to fill the Summit were getting jitters about the event.

One of whom was Ai. She looked down and rubbed her hands together, her heart beating faster.

Today was a decisive time for her career. If she could win everybody’s hearts at tonight’s Summit with her story, then she could completely salvage her reputation. She took a few deep breaths and calmed down.

“Ai!!!”

Xing Bi came rushing and hugged her, who pressed her head against her chest. Ai recalled the time she was smothered by her when she first met her.

Ai hugged her back and felt her anxious heart further calming down. She looked up at her with a soft smile on her lips. “Xing Bi.”

Xing Bi beamed and furiously ruffled her head. “I know you will do great! You have worked hard. I have read your story, and I…” she sniffled. “I cried the whole night. You have improved a lot, Ai! I am so proud of you.”

Her expression was just like a doting elder sister, and her warm gaze was filled with pride.

“Don’t give a crap about what others say, okay? You are gonna hear a lot of dissing against MissImperfectlyFine, but don’t let it get to you! I am with you!” Her nostrils flared. “I will knock out everybody who dares to bully you!”

Ai stared at Xing Bi, her eyes slightly moistening. Recalling how Xing Bi died in her past life in a drinking and driving accident, her heart was gripped with pain.

She remembered when the news of her death had reached her, how devastated she had felt. She had left the writing world, but just a year before her death, she got her courage to write a new story. She decided it would be her last story ever based on her own life and the betrayal she got from Yating and Guiying. She would pour out all her emotions in this last piece of work.

Six months later as she continued working on her final story, she learned about Xing Bi’s death. What more shocked her was the fact that she died by drinking and driving.

Ai could never believe that Xing Bi would be an irresponsible woman who would put her and other’s lives at risk like that. She knew her family circumstances too.

Xing Bi’s father had abandoned her and her mother very early on. She was left to pay his huge debts, and her mother became a heavy drinker and ignored her responsibilities. Due to extreme alcohol consumption, her mother’s liver was damaged, and she died a few years later.

That’s why Xing Bi detested consuming alcohol. She hated alcohol and being in debts. But Xing Bi lost her job from Dream High and couldn’t get much success in other companies, forcing her to step into her mother’s path, which Ai couldn’t ever accept.

Xing Bi was a strong woman. If she could overcome her father’s debts, her mother’s alcoholism and later her death too, then she wouldn’t be the kind of woman who would be dragged down by her career and drown herself into alcohol.

Xing Bi was a fighter.

Refusing to believe the circumstances, Ai recalled how she had tried investigating a bit more about her death, but she never learnt anything more than what was already disclosed.

Xing Bi widened her eyes seeing the tears in her eyes. “Why are you crying? Did you hear anybody bullying you? Tell me their names!”

She shook her head and buried her face in her chest. “Xing Bi. You are the best. You are always…always by my side. But I couldn’t do anything for you.”

“Huh? What do you mean? You do so much for me! I love your stories, and more than them, I love your pure heart and cuteness! Your cuteness is what gives me the motivation to do my best!” She squashed her harder, making Ai breathless, but she didn’t mind.

Instead of seeing Xing Bi’s cold, dead body, she rather preferred to get strangled by her hugs and kisses.

Ai blushed with her appreciation.

Suddenly, the crowd went into a slight frenzy seeing Guiying, aka CherryBlossom walk into the venue. She was accompanied by Zhan Yahui, who was giving her professional smile to everyone.