Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1261: Collision course

The months that followed, to Chunhua, felt like her back had sprouted wings. The taste of first love was sweet, jittery and slightly anxious at times, yet incredibly fulfilling. The only place where she could feel truly safe and free was with Hai. Where a new relationship blossomed with him, the old ties with her parents had taken a sour turn when news of her rejection reached their ears.

Furious words were exchanged back and forth and none tried to understand Chunhua or her concerns behind her rejection. So her father went ahead and did what he swore to do - cut off her education fees. They continued to live under one roof, yet acted as complete strangers.

Naturally, Hai had come forward to take care of her college fees that wouldn’t break even a tiny sweat on his forehead, but as proud as Chunhua was, she didn’t wish to rely on him. She didn’t wish for money to come in between them when they had just barely started dating.

Yet, she was at a crossroads at the moment as she walked down the corridor. Her head hung low, tired and defeated.

"I checked all the places but nowhere am I getting a part-time job...The date to pay the fees is soon approaching. What will I do?" she muttered to herself.

Amidst her spiral of depressing thoughts, she noticed a woman in the distance, standing behind a pillar and taking peeks every now and then. Chunhua blinked and after some thought, approached her.

"Hello..."

The woman gasped, not realizing the company. "Oh my."

"S-sorry! I was just asking if you are looking for someone..."

"Oh! It’s okay, it’s okay! I-I was just passing by," she cleared her throat. "Anyway, we finally get to meet!"

"Yes?"

"Liling! I am Liling! Surely, my idiot brother would have mentioned me."

Her eyes widened. "O-oh! Yes, yes! Hai talked about you a lot! His sister, right? I am so sorry I didn’t recognize you!" She dropped a deep, apologetic bow

"It’s okay, it’s okay. This is my first time seeing you too. You are really pretty!" she shone.

She blushed. "Thank you. You are beautiful too. I mean truly..."

The genes are very powerful...

"Hehe~ At first, I couldn’t believe that he got a girlfriend. I mean seriously? Who would date that idiot dumbhead?"

Idiot dumbhead...

"So I wanted to meet you for a long time! I wanted to make sure that he wasn’t starting to just hallucinate now~"

Chunhua’s brow twitched.

Her trust in her brother is non-existent...

But relief flooded her. The past months, as sweet as they were, were also laced with an untold anxiety.

How would Hai’s family react to her? Will his family like her? Or will they object, considering that they came from different backgrounds?

But Liling’s temperament was in stark contrast to her expectations.

"Thank you," she said with all sincerity.

"Aish, no need to be so formal. We are family now, hoho~"

Her face brightened like sunshine. She then looked around and asked, "Is Hai here with you too?"

"No, no. He is busy with some stuff," she shrugged.

"Oh..."

Liling blinked and noticed a lunchbox in her hands. "Oh!! Did you cook for that dumbhead, perhaps?"

Her blush turned furious. "N-No, no!...I mean yes...Hai loves to eat so I just thought to m-make something for him. I don’t know if he will like it though..."

She looked up, taken aback by the tears in her eyes.

"You are so sweet...oh my God. Does that dumbhead really deserve you now I wonder?"

"..."

She sniffled, wiping away her dramatic tears. "He will definitely like it. No he will love it! He will gladly eat anything you give him, including you~"

"S-Sorry?"

She cleared her throat. "Nothing. Anyway! Can you give me a tour here, pretty please?"

"Sure, sure," Chunhua was thrilled to help her. "Are you looking to get admission here?"

"....No."

"Oh, okay. Then do you have family or friends studying here?" They chatted walking down the corridor with Liling giving terse answers.

Chunhua noticed her fiddling with her dress, a nervous expression across her face. Then that expression suddenly shifted, panic and jitter increasing tenfold.

"Is something the matter?" she followed her gaze and stiffened upon seeing the guest lecturer aka her date back.

Ah, I forgot he had another lecture today..!

Now she, too, mimicked Liling’s anxiety.

"Quickly here!" She grabbed her wrist and they hid behind a pillar.

From that distance, she watched him and felt like history repeating itself because there he was, facing Assistant Professor Chen Guiren once again, lashing out at him with some very vocal disagreement. This time though, two other professors were also included in the mix.

Chunhua pursed her lips.

This again...Why does he keep targeting the professors like that? Such a temper he has...

She glanced beside her only to see Liling’s countenance drop further. Her brows were furrowed with a distinct displeasure and dejection.

The chaos gradually settled down and Guiren started walking the opposite way, right towards them. He stopped beside the pillar behind which they were hiding, the latter standing straight.

"Miss. Huang."

"Good afternoon, Professor Chen!" She dropped a deep bow as if apologizing for witnessing the embarrassing scene like gossip.

"I am still an Assistant Professor."

"Ah. Yes. I-I am sorry."

Chunhua then caught Liling slightly jump as their eyes met next.

"Miss. Liu."

"P-Present!!!"

Chunhua - "..."

Guiren - "..."

At this point, her hair, makeup and expression were a complete mess.

"You are not a student here. Please be at ease."

She bit the corner of her lip. "I want to become a student here though..."

"I believe your family has some other great, elite colleges in their mind."

Her gaze dimmed at that.

"I will be on my way."

"U-Umm..!" She hastily tugged onto his arm, making Guiren look down.

"Yes?"

"Th-That...um...you...do-don’t feel sad!!"

He blinked once. "I am not sad. I don’t brood onto the words of people who don’t matter to me."

Even as he left, Chunhua’s questions grew more than ever now. She alternated her gaze between her and his distancing back.

"Do you...like him?"

Liling tried her best to hide the nervous blush on her cheeks but miserably failed.

"Ah! So that’s why you are here," she beamed. "You like Assistant Professor Chen."

Her face ripened further. "...Just a crush though..."

The talk of love and crushes only strengthened their bond and time passed by in a breeze as they chatted endlessly.

"It’s time to leave but I will definitely drop by to meet you again!" Liling expressed dramatically as if parting ways forever.

Chunhua chuckled, feeling the sense of drama that both siblings inherited. The sky had turned darker with daylight disappearing into night as she exited the college premises. Staring at her lunchbox, she sighed.

I couldn’t meet Hai today...

Then as if her wish was mysteriously granted, she came to a stop, catching his familiar handsome figure in the distance, seated on the same bench near the crepe shop where they had shared their first kiss. Joy filled her eyes, though a moment later, she sensed him to be a little brooding with how his arms were folded to his chest and his gaze stared ahead quite intensely at particularly nothing.

Chunhua raised her arm, eagerly waving at him. "Hai!"

But her call to him didn’t quite reach him as a sudden flash of a truck’s headlights blinded her from the opposite side, swaying zig-zag on the road that eventually violently crashed against a car that had just gone past Chunhua’s side. The impact overturned the car within a fraction of a moment, and it slid backward on its roof, its metallic parts flying left and right, finally coming to a deadly stop much farther away.

Chunhua stumbled back in pure horror. Everything had happened with such lightning speed that she could barely process the accident taking place right before her. Before she knew it, she joined the crowd, following the accident site with racing heartbeats.

That car...I recognize that car...

As she reached the center of commotion, deadly smoke was already coming off the crashed car. Everyone turned into a frenzy.

"That’s so horrible! The car is all crushed and beaten up!"

"No way the person inside could survive this."

"This is such a tragedy..."

Then came a fellow student’s gasp, standing right beside Chunhua. "Oh my God...I recognize this car! He is that lecturer who came to my college today! It’s definitely Mr. Liu’s car! I can recognize that lavish car anywhere!"

Chunhua blinked rapidly. She then slowly turned to face the student. "Mr. Liu?"

"Yeah. Oh, same ID card as me. You have seen him, right? The lecturer with that high temper who keeps scolding the professors. Liu Jinhai! It’s definitely him!"

Liu...Jinhai?

Liu...?

Chunhua didn’t quite know why, but she turned towards the crepe shop.

Hai, who was seated on that bench until a few moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.