Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Letting Chyou inside, Yating briefly described the incident that had transpired years ago between him and Ma Dong. It was a nightmare he wished would have never happened. But everyday he woke up, reality harshly made its presence known to him.

"...It was the reason why I hesitated so much to save you during the fire on the set. It was just…" he shook hard, "all those memories came back to me and I feared I would lose you, I would hurt you and I would disappoint you the way I did to him too. And now out of nowhere, I saw him last night after years and then today too…"

A soft flutter of air passed and soon he was pulled into a hug. His eyes blinked at first and then slightly widened with surprise. He felt soft pats on his head and a sweet scent invaded his nostrils. Chyou's head was pressed by his head's side, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"You didn't lose me or hurt me or disappointed me, okay?" She spoke in a gentle, whispering voice. "I only know the fact that you saved my life. And now I respect you even more. Despite your trauma and bad memories, you overcame it to pull me up."

His eyes reddened. He tried hard not to let his tears form. "It was only because of your trusting words in me. To be honest, you saved yourself or I would have-"

"Sshh! Don't question the Queen's words!" She flared her nostrils. "You are negating everything you have gone through and underestimating the awesome feat you achieved. I might have nudged you a bit but you were strong enough to grab onto that nudge. Don't you keep belittling yourself like that."

She felt his body tremble and heard his hoarse voice.

"I still remember his fall so vividly…He was unconscious on the ground, bleeding from everywhere. And I remember…my empty hand quivering…I was supposed to pull him up but I failed. He could have died, he could have become paralyzed…everything had become so blank and vacant for me at that time. It still is…That night still haunts me to this day."

Tears rimmed in her eyes thinking of a teenager Yating going through such a nightmarish ordeal all by himself.

"O-Oof you will ruin my makeup you know? Nobody makes the Queen cry!" she sniffled as she wiped the corner of her misty eye.

She continued patting his back and said, "I am not saying that you should forget the past. I wish you could but I know it's not easy. But you also remind yourself of two things. First is that even though you were a teenager, you handled the horrifying incident in the best way you could to save him. You didn't purposely let him fall."

He tightly pressed his lips.

"Secondly, you should teach yourself to overwrite the bad memories with good ones in which you have grown and stepped forward. Ma Dong fell, but I didn't. We were in the same situation, but you were able to save me. You should think of the present where the cycle didn't repeat and it didn't repeat because you were strong and determined to not let it occur again."

She pouted and looked at him, withdrawing from the hug. "You should be proud of yourself and not continue to delve into the past. Otherwise, what would be the meaning of a person becoming stronger? What I mean to say is that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Cherish the fact that you didn't let your trauma win."

Yating hadn't considered that but now as those pleasant words fell on his ears, he felt his burden easing off just a tiny bit. He was still far away from truly walking past the past but somewhere, a sense of freedom embraced his heart.

"Thanks Chyou…You are right."

She harrumphed. "The Queen is always right."

"I will try and think positively the way you are saying," he awkwardly smiled. "I don't know if I will be able to do it though."

She threw him a glare. "You definitely will! I will make you do it. The Queen is very stubborn, you know~"

He laughed and his hand automatically went up to pinch her cheek. "You are cute."

The very next second, he froze hard and immediately released his hand.

What the hell did I just say!?

"...I-I-I mean…I mean no it's not like that-"

"Hawww, you mean to say that I am not cute?" Hurt you flashed in her eyes.

"..."

"I-I meant that I didn't mean it that way and d-definitely not t-

touch your cheek like that…I am extremely sorry-"

"Hm," Chyou narrowed her eyes. "That was quite bold for a subject to approach the Queen like that."

Yating began to sweat and felt his voice abandoning him.

"Do you care about my image at all?" she put her hands on her waist.

"I-I am really very sorry, Chyou-"

"Hahahaha just look at your face. It was so funny. That was a good laugh," she held her stomach. "You looked as if you saw a ghost."

That was even more nerve wracking than meeting a ghost! He screamed at himself.

"I am really sorry," he guiltily said, "I didn't mean to cross my boundary like that…"

Especially after Cheng Yin has some misunderstanding about our friendship, he cursed himself.

Chyou waved her hands in dismissal. "It's fine. I understand you. I mean it's really hard to not adore my cuteness."

"..."

"And my cheeks are very soft. My friends squish and pinch it all the time and then I bask in their glory and compliments that I have flawless skin."

"..."

Yating went back and forth in his mind. "Has anybody perhaps told you about your narcissism?"

She innocently blinked. "Is it wrong to appreciate yourself?"

"Your male friends could get wrong ideas."

She curiously asked, "Did you get any wrong ideas?"

"I am a gentleman," he solemnly said.

"A gentleman cannot get wrong ideas?"

"Do you WANT me to get wrong ideas?"

"Hah! I am in a very happy and loving relationship~" her nose grew longer in pride. "It's alright to feel jealous."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," he rolled his eyes.

"Hey you are being too casual!" She glared.

*Click*

As the two of them were lost in their conversation and banter, unknown to them, the first sign of the trouble was silently beginning to creep its way towards them.