Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Mui was staring at her own reflection in the mirror as her chest heaved restlessly. She patted her slightly sweaty forehead and paced back and forth to calm down her racing heartbeats.

Zhong De, one of the Ren family's company designers, knocked and stepped inside.

"Everything is ready, Miss. Mui," he smiled. "The way I see it, your sister will soon face a very humiliating downfall tonight."

"Right…"

Mui still couldn't pacify her erratic heartbeats.

Why am I feeling so anxious? Everything is going as per plan…

"You can leave. I will be out sometime."

"Sure."

Mui collapsed on her chair, tired and lethargic. She eventually rose again and walked towards her cupboard. Opening it, she stared at a bunch of dresses that hung inside. Closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jolted in panic.

"Ah!"

Ren Luoyang's eyes widened. "I am sorry. Did I startle you?"

"Dad!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "Don't just…"

"I am sorry. You looked really stressed so I thought to-"

"Forget about it," she waved her hand in dismissal and rubbed her temple.

"What are those clothes?" He blinked.

Mui froze and shut the cupboard with a bang.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?" She asked impatiently. "Oh yes you were here because I looked stressed? Well, I am not. So don't worry."

"Mui…" his eyes cast a helpless glint. "You don't have to treat this as a competition between you and Alix. Just do the best you can."

She snorted. "You don't understand anything, Dad. But after tonight, it will become crystal clear as to who is the more capable daughter and you made a mistake favoring her more."

"You…! Cuifen and I have never shown bias against either of you. We punished you because you plotted against your sister at the party. What was I supposed to do? Pat your back instead? I don't understand why you hate Alix so much." What did she even do to you?"

She gritted her teeth, slightly digging her nails into her palm.

"Just leave me alone!"

She stormed out of the room, only to crash into Shui, who was coming from the opposite direction. She quickly stepped back, her eyes widening.

"Ah shit! I am sorry."

Mui grimaced upon recognizing Shui. "You…"

Shui stared at her and smiled. "Yes, it's me. Are you okay?"

"You don't have to act so concerned. Go cuddle up to my sister, who by the way, is hogging your supposed love interest's attention but you seem to be completely fine by it."

"So you really are in a bad mood. I wonder why. Aren't you confident about tonight?"

She pressed her lips in further frustration. "Just mind your own damn business!"

Shui watched her leave, dumbfounded.

What is wrong with her?

"Hey."

She turned and her lips bloomed into a smile seeing Jun. "Jun. What is with that ice-cream?"

"Pregnant wife's cravings," he dryly said, "Though she should be limiting herself."

Shui rolled her eyes. "Yeah good luck with that."

She noticed a faint hesitation in his eyes and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"How long have we known each other Jun? Just say whatever you are thinking about."

He lightly smacked his lips.

"...I heard what she said to you."

"Who, Mui?" She shrugged. "I don't know why she is in a bad mood."

"No I mean…" his expression tightened. "About Jin and Alix."

"Ah."

"Look, just tell me and I will squeeze his ears hard."

She was dumbfounded. "Why?"

Jun couldn't find his words any further than that. She shook her head.

"You are unnecessarily being harsh on Jin. Nobody is doing anything wrong here."

"But-"

"How did it fare for you when you fell for Ai? Could you stop yourself?"

Jun didn't respond.

"I think you are feeling guilty because at first, we were supposed to be together. Then Jin and my feelings became evident but now you understand that our relationship cannot blossom in that direction either. So you are probably disappointed both at yourself and Jin."

"Please…can you be more angry about this?"

"Do you want me to shout and scream and curse?"

"We are even ready for physical violence by your hands."

"See, that's why Ai calls you cute but you just don't accept it."

"You…"

Shui laughed.

"Don't worry, Jun. Yes, I will be honest that it hurts at times. But I am not so fragile either. I might have felt devastated six years ago but I think I am at a good place today. Mentally and emotionally. I had steeled my heart when Jin rejected me at the art exhibition day. I do want his love but neither do I want to be desperate nor I want to forcibly push Jin towards something he is not ready for. I learned that from our past relationship," she smiled.

She held her waist. "And if you can find an amazing woman like Ai and Jin can like Alix so why can I not find an amazing man too!"

"Of course you will," Jun answered without even the slightest hesitation.

He wanted to give her a hug but couldn't with the ice-cream he held.

"You hug me instead."

"I cannot. What if somebody clicks our scandalous picture? People might think that I am running to my past lover because my current crush rejected me," she gasped.

"..."

"Please don't add yourself into Grandpa's tomfoolery cult," he grimaced. "I want you to be a normal person."

"Always so serious."

As they started walking back towards the main event hall, Jun couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"Do you think Kang Yuze can be that amazing man?"

Her pace slowed down a bit, her expression turning somber.

"No. Not him," she said with certainty.

Jun arched his brow, surprised. "You seem sure."

"Yeah I am sure now. There was a lot of fog in between that I struggled to decipher things clearly. But I see it now. And everybody else will too."