Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1150: The friendship

In the months that followed after Alix's revelation, things had slowly started falling back to normalcy - or maybe that was what Shui wanted to believe.

"Have you talked to Alix?"

Her sister-in-law, Nuo, asked her one day. It was evident to her how Shui had been torn apart between Jin and Alix. She especially enjoyed her friendship with Alix but now that was suddenly gone.

Shui looked up from her plate. They were currently alone at the dining area, so Nuo knew she could talk freely with her.

"I don't have anything to say to her…" Shui quickly focused back on her food.

"You look a mess, Shui," Nuo's voice was laced with concern. "I don't want you to think about her by just taking Jin into the picture. She is your friend too. You have a separate relationship with her."

Her gaze dimmed.

Friendship…I don't know what to think about that.

"I know you might not want to accept it but you do miss her. You aren't just conflicted because of Jin but because of your own relationship with her. It's hard to lose a good friend. You will gain nothing with silence. It's fine even if you want to be angry at her, lash out at her but please talk about something…"

She felt a nail strike right on her heart. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I will think about it…"

Nuo let out a sigh. She wanted to help Shui but the only thing she could do now was standing by her side with full support.

But on Shui's side, she didn't immediately heed to Nuo's suggestion. It wasn't until shocking news exploded upon everybody one day that Jin was now in jail. The reason? Sexually assaulting Wang Xia.

"...What? What just happened?"

Shui blankly looked at her assistant, who came running to give her the news. It was then that she saw all over the social media how Jin was arrested for assaulting Wang Xia.

Wang Xia…?

Her expression contorted into fury. "Damn it! That…That…!"

She wanted to curse out loud but somehow barely maintained her composure in front of her assistant.

"This is bullshit!"

But she calmed a few minutes later thinking that this was obviously a misunderstanding and that Jin would be free in no time.

He didn't. Not because he couldn't but because he didn't want to.

"Are you an idiot!?"

Shui didn't control her curses this time as she faced Jin behind a glass panel in the in bureau. He had actually made it a special request for not allowing her to meet him, but Shui wasn't going to take that crap. She had Yijun on her side. She bulldozed her way in anyway.

"Why are you just sitting there and doing nothing!? It's not some minor accusation!"

Jin had only stared at her and it was that complicated gaze which told Shui everything she needed to hear.

"You are…doing this nonsense for Alix to react?"

He remained silent. He could agree in front of anybody else who asked that question but towards Shui, he felt he didn't have a voice.

"You are impossible!" She gritted her teeth, enraged. "Is this the only way you got for her to come to you!?"

"...She is not talking to me," he whispered.

"Because I believe she has a good reason not to?" Her palm banged on the table with the weight of her frustration.

He said nothing.

"How long are you going to play this out?"

He didn't respond.

"What if she never comes to meet you?"

"Then I will remain here."

Her jaw clenched. "And put your family and m-...!"

The part about 'me' blurted out but she held it back.

"...And your family through unnecessary pain and misery?" She quietly asked.

"Shui, you-"

"Oh please. Let's not talk about me. I'm not even in the equation so don't bother considering me."

"That's not what I-"

"So if you care about me, then will you stop this nonsense? There are other ways to get her attention instead of putting yourself at jeopardy."

His eyes ached. "There is no other way. I have been trying to reach out to her but she just doesn't…This was the only last resort I could think of."

As Shui left the room, Yijun asked, "He didn't budge, did he?"

Her silence made his gaze darken. "Why is he doing this? I should go in and punch his face for good! How dare he hurt you like this?"

She stopped him in his way and held his shoulders. "Don't, Yijun. It's complicated…"

"I don't care how complicated it is but he is hurting everyone! Especially you…"

Shui left the bureau, heaving out a sigh.

'Please talk to her…'

Shui remembered Nuo's words. She had been escaping from that conversation because she simply didn't know how to face Alix. What would she tell her? What would she listen to?

Her fingers hovered her name, struggling to press the dial button. But fate saved her from the conundrum when she saw an incoming call from Alix herself.

Her heart stopped beating in her chest as if she was dropped right into the depths of a sea. To pick or to not pick was the question. But Jin was in jail. He would continue to be in jail if something wasn't done.

She took a deep breath and said, "Hey."

—

"Did he get into an accident in these four months that I don't know about?"

"No, he didn't."

Shui was now finally facing Alix, the one meeting she was dreading to have. She thought she wouldn't be able to breathe, maybe cry out in front of her, but she relatively composed. She couldn't understand why.

"Don't tell me he refused to meet you too?"

She wryly smiled. "He especially refused to meet me."

Though she didn't say the part that she forced her way through anyway. Along the way Alix called her sister Mui and demanded for Wang Xia to be in front of her within twenty-four hours.

Shui had an inkling of what she was planning.

"You think she would listen to you?"

Alix lifted her gaze at her with a smile.

"If you know who you are talking to, then yes. People like to talk to me very much, you know? Particularly when she will find herself very close to being thrown out of a twentieth floor window."

It was at that moment that Shui broke down.