Rebirth: Once Again With You

Dai Zhiqiang's steps halted when he saw a familiar figure sitting on the couch of his house. A sense of surprise flashed across his eyes for a second before it quickly retained its usual calmness.

"Caiyi, you are here?"

"Yeah. You disappeared when I wasn't looking, so I got a little worried about you." Li Caiyi stood up and walked closer to inspect his condition. The wound on the corner of his lips had already dried, but it swelled a bit.

"That looks hurt," Li Caiyi grimaced while reaching out her hand to it.

Dai Zhiqiang jumped in surprise and subconsciously avoided her hand by turning his head away. He regretted his action almost immediately because Li Caiyi retracted her hand with a guilty look on her face.

"It's because of me you are injured like this. I'm very sorry."

"No, this isn't your fault. I'm the one who volunteered myself to help you, and this is all happening because you saved my brother. If there is someone who should apologize, it's me."

Dai Shenqiang, who saw their grim expression, chimed in curiously, "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

"None of your business," Dai Zhiqiang replied curtly before he took out his wallet from his pants pocket. "You go out and buy some food first. Make sure to buy some for Caiyi as well."

"Brother, you are too late. Caiyi already bought our dinner. We were waiting for you to come home just now." Dai Shenqiang pointed his thumb at the dining table.

Dai Zhiqiang glanced at the amount of food on top of the table and frowned helplessly. "Then go buy some snacks and drinks for our guest."

Dai Shenqiang groaned lazily, but he eventually gave in and left, leaving only Li Caiyi and Dai Zhiqiang in the house.

Li Caiyi sneaked a glance at Dai Zhiqiang's stoic face. One wouldn't expect he could fight so well if they only looked at his appearance. He looked like a person who disliked violence and preferred to stay indoors. If Li Caiyi hadn't glimpsed how he fiercely fought back against the bossman earlier, she probably wouldn't believe it.

"Did you really come here because of me?" Dai Zhiqiang's deep voice broke the silence between them.

"Yes. I'm worried you would be in pain at night, so I brought ointments and ice packs for you."

"I see."

Li Caiyi couldn't tell if he felt annoyed or not from his voice, so she tugged on his sleeve instead. "Hurry and take off your clothes."

Dai Zhiqiang choked on his own saliva when he heard that. He coughed violently before he said with a dumbfounded expression. "Please be careful with your wordings."

"Huh? Why?" Li Caiyi tilted her head in confusion. "I bet you also have some bruises on your back. You can't treat those by yourself. I'm partially responsible for this situation, so let me apply the ointment to you."

"N-no, there's no need…." Dai Zhiqiang took a step backward, clearly looking uncomfortable.

"Are you perhaps feeling shy? Don't worry, I will only help you apply some ointments. Take this as a request from me, or I won't be able to sleep out of guilt tonight!"

Dai Zhiqiang couldn't win against her earnest expression. He wasn't really sure if this was right or not, considering there were only the two of them in this house right now. Although he knew nothing would happen, Dai Zhiqiang was still uneasy about this.

Li Caiyi noticed how reluctant he was and added, "If you keep dilly-dallying, Shenqiang will soon return. You don't want me to talk about your bruises and injuries in front of him, that's why you send him out, right?"

He didn't expect Li Caiyi would be so perceptive. He indeed sent his brother out so he could have some time to talk to Li Caiyi to keep today's incident secret from him. If not, he just knew his brother would unnecessarily feel bad for him.

Li Caiyi could feel his decision was wavering, so she pulled him to sit on the couch. "Now, don't be shy and show me your injuries!"

Dai Zhiqiang helplessly let himself be dragged by her. Why did he feel like he was being forced to do something indecent?

Under Li Caiyi's pressing gaze, Dai Zhiqiang reluctantly took off his blazer first. Then he started to unbutton his shirt one by one. She kept her gaze fixed on him throughout all that, making Dai Zhiqiang feel incredibly awkward.

Li Caiyi gasped when she saw the skin under the layers of his clothes. There were many bluish marks all over his upper body, from his torso, shoulder, back, and even on his arms. Some of them had already turned purple or black, and each of them looked more swollen than the other.

She was only looking at it, but she felt her body sore for some reason.

"Don't worry. This is not as hurt as it looks, and some of it didn't come from today's fight." Dai Zhiqiang said, attempting to console her, but his voice was still as stony as ever.

Li Caiyi gently touched his arm and said remorsefully, "I'm sorry for adding to your injuries."

Her touch barely grazed him, as though she didn't want to accidentally hurt him by exerting too much power, but it was enough to send electric shock all over his body. Dai Zhiqiang was conflicted because he felt uncomfortable and pleased simultaneously. He even wished that she would touch him longer.

However, her hand soon left his arm to pick up some ointment from her plastic bag. "Thank goodness I bought a lot of pain-relieving creams, just in case. Can you show me your back first?"

"Y-yes," Dai Zhiqiang suddenly became nervous. His heartbeat was beating loudly in his rib as he robotically turned around and showed her his back.

"Please tell me if it hurts. I will be very gentle with you."

Dai Zhiqiang could feel her warm breath on his nape, and her words only made his heart race even faster. He really wanted to scold this girl for her choice of words, but hearing them coming from her sounded very pleasant to his ears. Perhaps this was what they called a guilty pleasure.

Next, he could feel the cold and warm sensation of her hand rubbing his back in a circular motion. The coldness from the cream and the heat of her skin temperature felt so soothing. She rubbed him gently, as if treating something precious to her, and Dai Zhiqiang just couldn't get enough of it.

Li Caiyi's brows furrowed when she noticed Dai Zhiqiang was shivering. "Zhiqiang? Does this feel hurt? I'm sorry if I'm pressing too hard. Please don't be ashamed to cry out if you want. I'd like to know where it feels hurt and good for you."

Dai Zhiqiang cursed inwardly. This torture was so sweet that he suspected she was doing this on purpose. However, his rationality immediately told him there was just no way the pure Li Caiyi would mean anything with her words. It was all just his wishful thinking.

Li Caiyi was applying a generous amount of cream on his back when she noticed Dai Zhiqiang's reddened ears. She thought he might have felt cold for being topless, so she asked him, "Do you feel uncomfortable? Please wait for a bit more. It's almost done."

At this point, Dai Zhiqiang had thrown away his shame to the back of his mind and was thoroughly enjoying this situation. He was so against it a moment ago, but now he had gotten a taste of being taken care of by her; he wished time would just stop there.

It was all worth it to put his body on the line today.