Chapter 167 - First Project's Discussion

"Hey, what happened to you?" Dai Shenqiang looked at Li Caiyi in puzzlement because she only stood absentmindedly in the middle of the room.

"Ah, no. Nothing. Has your brother gone yet?"

"He did. Anyway, didn't you come here to talk to me about something?" 

Li Caiyi recalled her main aim for coming here and regained her wits together. This wasn't the right time to be muddled with other things. 

"You're right. Let's sit down first, shall we?" Li Caiyi gestured for Dai Shenqiang to sit with her. After they sat facing each other on the couch, she spoke. "I want to talk to you about our agreement the other day."

Dai Shenqiang's back immediately straightened upon noticing the serious tone in her voice. "My hands are completely healed already. I can start immediately if you want."

"Yes, I have consulted with my friend who would help us. I want to create a specific time range for our first project. It doesn't have to be long since my friend will only use this chance to evaluate us. I will make the draft first, so can you draw it in two weeks?"

"Two weeks, huh?" Dai Shenqiang brooded over it for a moment. "If it was only about 15-16 pages, then I probably can make something. Perhaps 20 if I squeeze the time to make it in between my study."

"That's good enough. While waiting for your hand to heal, I have done various research on the latest popular manhwa, and I already have the gist of what I want to make inside my head. Do you want to discuss it a bit with me?"

"Sure. Brainstorming would be easier if we combined our brains to do the work."

After that, Li Caiyi spent another two hours discussing with Dai Shenqiang about what kind of story they should make for their first project. They also discussed the equipment needed for making it. 

The discussion went smoothly because they talked about something they were passionate about. As a friend, they could speak freely about anything in their mind. 

Li Caiyi gained a whole new perspective for Dai Shenqiang after this discussion. She thought that Dai Shenqiang would be more adventurous in deciding the theme and genre, but he was surprisingly level-headed and calm. He didn't suggest only based on his preference, but carefully laid out the reason based on the market demand and popular theme.

As for a person who went back in time, his insight and circumspect opinion saved Li Caiyi. Even though she had lived her life once, she had never delved too deep into the manhwa world. She was pretty much clueless about what kind of story was prevalent in this timeline.

The sky had become darker before they knew it. They wrapped up their discussion when Dai Shenqiang's stomach rumbled in the middle of their conversation.

The younger boy rubbed his belly with an embarrassed grin. "Sorry about that. It's already time for dinner, so I feel a little hungry."

"We are too focused on this discussion that we forget about the time. How about we stop here for today and eat dinner?"

"Good idea. We are pretty much done talking about everything, anyway. All that is left is to put our brain and hand to good use!" Dai Shenqiang huffed while rubbing his palm together, looking like he couldn't wait anymore. "I have been so patiently waiting for my hand to heal. It's been a while since I used my right hand to draw. I'm so excited!"

Li Caiyi chuckled, seeing his enthusiasm. "You sure seem spirited. Alright, let's eat dinner first. Your stomach probably can't wait anymore, too."

With Dai Shenqiang's help, Li Caiyi quickly made a simple chicken stew with potato and a seaweed soup. Based on her observation, Dai Shenqiang was more adept at cooking than his brother. She only needed to instruct him once, and he could mimic her well. 

It seemed he was the type that actually could do anything if he tried but was just too lazy to do it.

Li Caiyi couldn't help but compare the brothers to Shen Qiang again. If, by one in a hundred chance, Shen Qiang lied to her about his name, then was there a possibility that he used the name of his closed one to hide his real name? 

However, there was also a possibility that he only used random names without thought too. After all, who could guess what was in the mind of a soon-to-be-dead person?

'This is so confusing. I don't know how to tell which one is the correct train of thought with no clue!' Li Caiyi scolded inwardly. She also secretly bore a grudge to Shen Qiang for hiding such a crucial fact while knowing fully she had no right to be angry.

"Hey, that's the wrong bowl you are taking there." 

Li Caiyi raised her head when she heard Dai Shenqiang's voice. Then, she automatically followed his line of sight and looked downward and found she was currently holding her rice bowl to her mouth. She totally thought she had taken her soup bowl, but it seemed her mind wandered too much.

"I don't mind if you want to eat your rice that way, just want to make sure you will not regret it."

Li Caiyi pouted at his teasing tone before replying, "Don't make fun of me. I was just thinking about something, so I zoned out a bit."

"Did something happen? I can hear you out. As thanks for making me a delicious dinner today."

Li Caiyi contemplated a bit, but she guessed it wouldn't hurt to tell him about it. 

"If a person you know all this time is actually not a person you have had in mind all along, what would you do about it?"

"Hmm… It depends, I guess? If that person deliberately lied to me, then I would probably feel hurt, but if that person didn't do that because they wanted to, then that's another story."

"Can you continue to believe that person when you find out what they have been hiding all this time?"

Dai Shenqiang tilted his head and fell into silence for a while before replying, "I think it's not about whether you CAN believe them or not. It's more like whether you WANT to believe them or not. This isn't something you can decide just by asking other people's advice, but you need to feel it for yourself. If that person is important to you, I don't see why you shouldn't believe them. They might have their own reason for hiding those important things from you, after all."

"What I want to believe…." Li Caiyi's words trailed off as she tried to ingest Dai Shenqiang's words in her system.

Even after she thought hard about it, she still couldn't find the answer in the end.