Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

One's instinctive assumption about Shui's painting was that she would have drawn a beautiful cherry blossom tree whose petals would be showering down.

But it turned out to be quite different.

The painting Falling petals depicted a mesmerizing moment of cherry blossom petals defying gravity, floating upward as if pulled by an invisible force. Each petal, painted in pastels of delicate pink and faded rose, appeared to be rewinding its journey.

The petals spiraled and swirled, caught in a gentle upward current that led toward a hidden light beyond the canvas as if representing an unreachable destination. The dark, muted background contrasts created a poignant sense of longing. Some petals appeared crisped and vivid, while others were almost translucent.

Beneath that fate-defying fall of cherry blossoms, a lone woman stood in a yellow dress. Her hand was stretched forward with her palm facing up as if wishing for a petal to land upon it. Her gaze held an indescribable emotion as if she wanted to float along with the petals too - and reach that far, faraway destination.

The guests were in awe as if something seemed to tug their heartstrings.

"Beautiful."

Shui stared at her painting and said, "This is Falling petals. It's a painting I have poured all my heart and soul into for the past six years."

One of them asked, "Why does it look like the petals are falling upwards?"

She held a light smile.

"Because they are. They are floating backwards. They cannot in real life but that is the theme of my painting. We cannot," her lips slightly trembled, "go back in our life. Life only moves forward because…time only moves forward. But don't we think at times? How great would it be if we could go back and change our past? It's a crazy wish. It's an impossible wish."

Ai stared hard at the painting, her eyes aching with mystiness. Nobody had to explain it to her. She trembled as she slightly clenched her fists.

Behind the rows of seats where the guests were seated stood another person who slightly clenched his jaw - Shui's painting evoking unsaid feelings in his heart.

Ailun furrowed his brows, watching a strange expression form on his father's face.

"Are you crying, Dad?"

Jun broke from his stupor and tried to slow down his shaky breaths.

"...A little."

"Why? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Ailun pursed his lips, concerned.

Jun smiled. "I am fine. Now. But…there was a time I was hurt a lot. Your mother too."

He frowned. "Who can hurt Mom and Dad? Are they not afraid of death?"

He couldn't help but laugh. "It's not always others who can hurt us. Sometimes we make mistakes that we fall into a deep, deep pit and we cannot come out of it."

"Surely, there must be a ladder somewhere," Ailun bobbed his head, coming to a logical conclusion.

He laughed again. "Well if there was a ladder, your mother sure as hell wouldn't be able to use it."

"Why not?"

"Because she would concentrate very hard for a mysterious force to magically suck her out of the pit."

"That's not very logical."

He shrugged. "But she is cute."

"So you and Mom got out of the pit together?" He blinked once.

He smiled. "Yes. With each other's help and…with a little outside help too," he thought about the mysterious golden clock. "It's the same help that your Aunt Shui wishes she could have too. It's what her art is all about…"

Ailun touched his chin in all his seriousness. Then he looked up at Jun and said very earnestly, "I will remember this."

He ruffled his head.

"Outside help is very important to succeed," he nodded. "My future homework is all set now. I can play all I want."

"..."

"Outside help comes to those who are sincere."

"I will make sure to express my sincerest sincerity."

His brow twitched.

It's all because of those damn twins!

—

Jin remained still at his place, staring at Shui's painting. His hands were trembling inside his pockets. People came and went by, but didn't move for a long time.

Change the past…

It was what he made possible for Jun and Ai to rewrite their future.

But what about his own past?

His own mistakes that hurt Shui to no end?

Even if they were not a part of this life because they never happened, the past life's memories were not so forgiving.

There was no way for him to rewrite his sins.

So there was no way for him to forgive himself.

And so…there was no future for him and Shui whatsoever.

—

Shui slowly stepped out of the washroom in a daze. A minute ago, her eyes were reddened with tears. It had taken all her strength to come out with her art in front of the whole world and especially in front of Jin.

She wanted Jin to understand that if the past was such a gruesome thorn for him to move on, then she wished she had the power to snip it off before it had taken root in the past. Only to lift Jin's burden off.

She was ready to do anything for those shackles to break and help him accept his feelings for her.

"That is not the problem, dear."

Shui turned her head towards the voice and her eyes blinked for a few seconds. It then widened with recognition.

"You…You are that passenger from six years ago. We were on the same flight to Guangzhou, remember?"

He smiled. "I don't forget anything."

And neither did Shui. He had made such a mysterious impression upon her that she never really forgot about him as if he was another random passenger she met by chance.

"I really didn't expect I would meet you here," Shui couldn't exactly pinpoint but she felt happy for some reason.

He walked towards her and handed her a tissue. "I think you need it."

She coughed. "...Thanks."

"I saw your art piece. It's wonderful."

"Thank you."

"But why do you want to break the flow of time and rewrite anything?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "So that a person very important to me would be left with nothing to forgive himself for."

"An admirable thought," he tilted his head with a smile. "But ultimately pointless."