Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

"Ah, so this is the talented young lady you were talking about, Mr. Liu," Mr. Jeng laughed. "She indeed shows some spunk."

Jing's nose grew long with pride. "She definitely has the spunk of becoming my protege. Don't I have an eye for treasure~?"

Yukito's brow twitched.

Alix came to you, not the other way around.

"So Miss. Ren, what are your plans for your business?" he asked with twinkling eyes.

Alix flashed a business smile. "For now I am focusing on restarting the stalled production of the clothes that was due to the issue with quality of raw materials."

"I thought you were looking to revamp your business model," Mr. Jeng blinked.

"That is for a little later when I would have learned all about fashion from Mr. Liu. But right now, I want to secure the starting line. The designs that we currently make is Mrs.- I mean, my mother's creativity," she slightly coughed, "That is the base of the company and I want to restore that first. I feel that element somehow got lost."

Jing nodded solemnly. "Never forget your roots."

"Then I would look to expand the designs in different sectors but still keep my mother's strengths as their base."

Mr. Jeng and his associates accompanying him were pleasantly surprised.

This wasn't the kind of sensible and mature talk they had expected from Alix, who until a year ago, only devoted her heart and soul in chasing after Yuze.

Jing chirped. "See? My gut feeling can never be wrong~"

Great-uncle only knows how to hog all the credit, Ailun scrunched his little brows.

Mr. Jeng smiled. He himself was quite convinced with Alix's attitude. It didn't look like she was going ahead without any plan. On top of that, she had Jin's investment and Jing as her mentor. In short, she had the Liu family backing her up.

And the Liu family had a reputation for having a keen eye for doing business and associating with trustworthy people.

He laughed. "Haha, you are right. I almost feel jealous of you. I wish I could have met a smart woman like her too as my protege."

"Don't you even dare to poach her, okay?" Jing glared.

"No way, no way. I wouldn't dare, Mr. Liu," he chuckled, "But I would indeed like to offer my help to Miss. Ren. Getting a business back on foot is quite tough. I would like to invest too. I have faith in Miss. Ren's vision."

Alix raised her brow a bit and smiled. "That means a lot to me. Thank you so much, Mr. Jeng."

"Aish, don't mention it," he waved his hand in dismissal.

Mr. Jeng and his company left and Alix turned towards Jing. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For introducing us and instilling trust in them about my company."

Jing sheepishly grinned. "I didn't do anything dear. You are very talented by your own accord. Anybody can sense it."

"But not anybody will trust it. I am not so foolish to believe that he solely believed in my merits. He believed me because Liu Jing believed in me and that Liu Jing gave me that check," she smiled. "The Liu family name is very influential and equally very useful. I wasn't wrong in threatening Liu Jin and bribing you."

Jing choked in his throat but gave her a thumbs up. "See that is the spunk I am talking about!"

Yukito couldn't help but chuckle too. "I must say you are one of a kind. People won't generally admit to that."

She shrugged. "Business is business. I am not out to keep anybody's feelings here."

Ailun's eyes sparkled. "Pastry aunt is so cool!"

"I think the correct words you are looking for are conniving, selfish and wicked."

"Which are all the qualities that the Liu family men are actually composed of," Jing chirped merrily.

Alix's brow twitched.

"So don't mind, dear. You feel like one of us~ Conniving, selfish and wicked is today's style."

"Great-uncle, even if you do my generation's hand gestures and expressions, it won't change the fact that you are old."

"Shut up, you brat!" Jing grabbed him and ruffled his hair so hard till it became a mess.

"My hair!" Ailun exclaimed.

"My heart!" Jing retorted.

Jing then crashed into Yukito's hug. "Console me, husband! He is calling me old!"

"We are old," Yukito plainly stated.

"Old is my old man! We are still young and full of energy," he squished his cheeks against his with a bright sunny grin.

Jing noticed Alix's stare and asked, "Why are you looking at us like that? Oh, oh! Are you jealous of Yukito and my blissful and happy marriage~? Don't worry, that happens a lot with a lot of people."

Yukito grimaced. "Don't feed thoughts into other people, idiot."

He pouted. "I can see she is definitely envious."

Alix said, "I am not envious."

"But you are wondering as to what makes me so happy being with Yukito, right? I will tell you all about my husband's awesome points!"

"Perhaps. I notice you smile and laugh a lot. You are a very jolly person."

And somehow, somewhere that was slightly irking Alix in her chest.

Exactly what kind of a life did Jing have that he had the luxury to be a happy-go-lucky man? Your next chapter awaits on empire

It was so far from her own reality that it stung her.

Jing chirped. "I am a jolly person as long as you don't touch my stuff, you know~?"

"Sorry?"

"I am a jolly person as long as you don't touch my stuff, you know~?"

This time, there was a distinct emphasis.

Suddenly, Alix took a trembling step back and exhaled a sharp but silent breath. Her lips quivered as she met Jing's gaze. The back of her neck tingled with fear.

A very familiar feeling of the past just broke through the walls of her heart as she looked at him.

His lips were smiling.

His eyes weren't.

Jing's expression coincided with an image that looked too much like him.

Liu…Jinhai…

Why did I suddenly think about him? Is it because he is his brother…?

Jing laughed. "That wasn't very jolly of me, right?"