Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Sky Publishing.

Jun was listening to Hou Lin’s report but without paying much attention. He was there physically, but his mind was somewhere else altogether.

“Sir, what do you think of this proposal? Personally, I think it will benefit our writers, though I also feel that we can make some adjustments to finetune it. This will give a lot of exposure to new authors with a good boost in their book promotions.”

Jun didn’t answer.

Hou Lin blinked. “Sir?”

This time, he snapped out and stared at him. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was saying to finetune this proposal a bit to be more flexible for new authors.”

“Yes, definitely. I want everybody to get fair and equal marketing. Do the adjustments and send me the final plan.”

Hou Lin nodded and bowed. As he was about to leave, he paused and asked with concern, “Sir, are you not feeling well?”

“…No, I am fine.”

Hou Lin said nothing.

“What?”

“Sir, pardon my rudeness, but you tend to overwork yourself at times, which is not good for you. If you are not feeling well, you should rest. Miss. Sun and I can handle things here.”

Jun smiled. “Thanks. I know you two are really capable. But I am really okay.”

Hou Lin respectfully nodded.

Jun then quickly stopped him. “Wait a second.”

“Yes, sir.”

He asked with uncertainty. “Is Ai here?”

“No, Sir. I didn’t see Miss. Zhou with Miss. Xing today. At least, not yet. Shall I go and check for you?”

“No need,” he smiled it off, “you can leave.”

He nodded again and left.

Jun clasped his hands together and bumped his forehead on the desk, feeling defeated.

What was I expecting after I left without even talking to her?

Jun stayed in silence for a while but unable to concentrate, he left his office in frustration. On his way, he almost crashed into Xing Bi.

“Woah, woah! Slow down, young man.”

He quickly apologized. “Sorry, Xing Bi.”

“It’s fine,” she noticed the creases on his forehead and his disturbed countenance. She knew it was definitely related to last night’s chaos. Considering how Ai was also not here yet, she wondered if something was wrong between them.

“Is everything okay?”

I hope they didn’t fight…

Xing Bi wasn’t sure why but she got the feeling that Jun and Ai must have definitely fought back home.

Jun slightly stiffened. “Yeah, good. I am just going out for some fresh air.”

It’s hardly been an hour and a half since he is in the office…

“See you later.”

Jun strided away and left in a rush.

Xing Bi sighed.

“I hope everything gets back to how it was before soon…”

—

Jun was randomly taking a walk, zigzagging across roads whatever that came in his way. He wanted to feel the cool wind on his face and forget all the feelings he had been suppressing in his heart.

Whenever he closed his eyes, the only scene that flashed in his mind was of Ai and Yating together.

Dancing together, spending time together…everything was too hard to bear.

Fuck! When will these feelings disappear!?

He stopped at a spot, huffing and puffing. He took deep breaths and let them out.

From a corner somewhere, he heard a few boys giggling and laughing.

“Tsk, this cat is so weak.”

“Hey hey pinch this shit’s ear more. I wanna see this cat hissing.”

“Yeah that was so cool but ultimately pointless.”

Jun saw a group of four young boys ganging up around a cardboard box. There was a cat inside the box, watching the four boys with distaste and caution.

When one of the boys wanted to bully her, the cat scratched his hand with her paws and jumped back in the box, hissing at him with her fierce eyes.

*Meow!*

“T-this bitch! She scratched me! You should definitely twist her ear now!” The boy exclaimed, enraged.

“Yeah let’s beat this cat up!”

One of them reached out to pull the cat’s ear when Jun kicked on his abdomen, throwing him off in a far trajectory.

The young boys froze with an adult suddenly barging in and filling the space with an air of iciness where it was hard to even move an inch.

W-who is this man…?

“Is it fun bullying someone weaker and helpless than you?” His cold voice sharply but intensely pricked their ears. “You do realize this is animal abuse, right? Or do you think you get a free pass because you are teenagers?”

They swallowed hard. The one who fell on the ground was in too much pain.

Jun peered into their eyes with lethality. “Do you want me to show you how it feels when your ear is twisted? It will be fun,” He smiled evilly. “Practical lessons are far more useful than just giving pointless lectures, you know?”

The boys paled. Even though they were more in number than him, they instinctively knew that Jun alone was enough to beat the shit out of them.

Shit, this man is bad news!

Jun slowly said, “Get lost but know this. I will be keeping an eye on you four. I have a cop friend. The moment he sees you pulling out such shit again, you will directly land in jail. You won’t get any mercy just you are fucking teenagers. Get out!”

They jolted and scrambled away as fast as they could for their lives.

Jun bent on his knees and smiled at the cat who was staring at him cautiously. He looked into her irises which were light brown just like how Ai’s eyes were. Pretty and beautiful.

“Are you okay?”

He wanted to pet her, but he knew she wouldn’t want a stranger to touch her, especially after the bullying episode.

The cat stared at him silently, not hissing at all, though she maintained her distance too.

“I am sorry you had to bear this. You will be okay now,” he smiled.

He said after a pause, “For some reason, you remind me of Ai. She has the same eyes as you.”

A gentle and unhurried voice came. “Indeed. This cat reminds me of my Ai too.”