After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 11

Cheng Siyu’s smoking habit dated back to her high school years. At that time, Cheng Wuxing and his wife were entirely devoted to Cheng Hanyi, remaining consistently deaf to the phone calls Siyu made back home.

It was during that period that Cheng Siyu learned to smoke. She always felt that alcohol made people lose their minds, while smoking allowed one to stay clear-headed.

However, she quit before entering university, only indulging once or twice later on when she argued with Ji Yun. But she never let Ji Yun know; Ji Yun’s nose was very sensitive, and she particularly loathed the smell of smoke—moreover, it was because Ji Yan did not smoke.

“Why are you sitting here alone?” Wen Zhiluo was the first to speak.

“Aren’t you doing the same?”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

Shortly after Wen Zhiluo spoke, Cheng Siyu heard Shan Xiyuan’s voice coming from the adjacent building.

“Old Wen, I found the basketball. Where are you?”

“Coming.”

Cheng Siyu looked up at Wen Zhiluo, only to find that he had already extinguished his cigarette. A flash of complex emotion flickered through his eyes before he tossed the cigarette into the trash can as if nothing had happened.

“I’m leaving first.”

Not long after the minor disturbance between Ji Yun and Cheng Siyu passed, Moonlight Over the Cold Summer was released.

No matter how much Cheng Siyu wished to avoid Ji Yun, she had to attend the promotional events for the sake of the film’s publicity.

Seeing Ji Yun again two days later, the latter had already recovered her spirits, acting as though previous events had never occurred. However, when she saw Cheng Siyu, she simply bypassed her directly to chat with Shen Moxu nearby.

Cheng Siyu said nothing. She found a relatively secluded chair and sat down. Just as she did, Wen Zhiluo took the seat beside her.

She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Cheng Siyu thought she saw Ji Yun’s gaze linger on them for a fleeting moment. Regardless of whether it was a hallucination or not, she no longer wanted to care.

“Did you have a falling out with her?” Wen Zhiluo finally asked after sitting for a long while.

“I suppose so,” Cheng Siyu replied after a long hesitation. She didn’t know why things had developed this way herself.

“She seems to like you quite a bit,” Wen Zhiluo said suddenly.

Hearing this, Cheng Siyu let out a short laugh. Ji Yun’s “liking”? That was the cheapest thing in the world.

“Perhaps,” she replied with a smile, but her heart remained entirely still.

As soon as Cheng Siyu finished speaking, the production crew arrived. They gave the actors a quick touch-up of makeup and pulled them toward the front venue. Waiting below the stage was a crowd of reporters, media, and some fans.

Once on stage, after everyone had introduced themselves, the host began to toss out questions.

“What was the happiest thing for the actors during filming?”

“Watching Director Yi get angry,” Shen Moxu was the first to jump in with an answer. At that moment, the cameraman pointed the lens at the director, whose expression stiffened for a second before shifting into a forced smile.

“When the director shouted ‘Cut,'” said the blunt Wen Zhiluo.

Cheng Siyu thought for a moment before finally speaking, “When someone treated the entire crew to milk tea.”

As she said this, Ji Yun looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

Was it the time I treated them? she wondered.

“And what about Ye Xingyue?” To make it easier for the audience to recognize the actors, the host used the character’s name.

“When the crew handed out lunch boxes,” Ji Yun said, feigning a whisper, though the microphone carried her voice to the entire hall.

After hearing their answers, everyone in the audience burst into laughter.

“Then, which character does everyone like the most?”

“Chi Li,” Wen Zhiluo answered first.

“Chi Xia.” “Chi Xia.”

Two voices spoke almost simultaneously—one was Cheng Siyu, and the other was Ji Yun. After speaking, both froze briefly and glanced at each other. Cheng Siyu quickly looked away, but Ji Yun remained staring for a moment.

“Ahem, it seems the character of Chi Xia is very attractive,” the host chuckled, breaking the stalemate.

The interview ended quickly. Afterward, Cheng Siyu planned to go to the restroom, but on the way, she saw Ji Yun standing with a man, seemingly involved in a dispute.

“What are you doing here?” Ji Yun’s tone was very poor; this seemed to be the first time Cheng Siyu had seen her angry since her rebirth.

“What? A father isn’t allowed to come see you?” The man’s tone was steady, showing no anger at the irritation of the person before him.

Hearing the voice and seeing the man’s face, Cheng Siyu suddenly remembered: this was Ji Yun’s father, Ji Wanli.

Cheng Siyu vaguely recalled that in her previous life, every time Ji Yun spoke to him on the phone, it usually ended with the two of them arguing and Ji Yun hanging up. There seemed to be an irreconcilable conflict between father and daughter.

Furthermore, in her previous life, Ji Yun had not signed with Siyu’s family company, but rather with their main competitor.

In the eyes of outsiders, Ji Wanli was a great entrepreneur who had started a company at a young age and was now a billionaire in his fifties. But in Ji Yun’s eyes, he seemed to be merely a stranger who called to harass her from time to time.

Cheng Siyu had once asked Ji Yun why their relationship was like this. At the time, Ji Yun’s face had instantly darkened, and she finally said, “He killed my mother.”

Because of that, Cheng Siyu had assumed the father-daughter relationship had deteriorated after the death of Ji Yun’s mother. But looking at the current situation, it seemed their relationship had never been good to begin with.

“No, you’re not allowed.” Having said that, Ji Yun turned to leave, only to be blocked by several bodyguards dressed in black.

“Xiao Yun, it was wrong of me to hide the fact that I invested in this movie from you, but can you guarantee that you wouldn’t have run into trouble without me?”

Ji Wanli walked unhurriedly back in front of Ji Yun and pulled out his phone to play a video for her.

Despite the distance, Cheng Siyu could roughly see that it was the scene from that day when Ji Yun had run to her dormitory in the rain to confront her.

“You’re monitoring me?”

Seeing the content on the phone, Ji Yun quickly reached out and slapped it away. Ji Wanli didn’t get angry, letting his priceless phone tumble across the floor.

“You are my daughter. Besides, if I hadn’t intervened, this video would have been leaked before the movie was released. You know the current level of tolerance for homosexuality in Country A…”

“I don’t need your charity.” Ji Yun’s tone became even colder. She moved to bypass Ji Wanli to leave. This time, Ji Wanli did not send anyone to stop her, but instead said unhurriedly:

“You are my daughter, I won’t let anything happen to you. But as for that girl you like…”

Realizing he was talking about her, Cheng Siyu’s step halted mid-air.

Ji Wanli’s words successfully tethered the departing Ji Yun. She turned back, and after what seemed like a period of mental struggle, she spoke:

“What do you want?”

As Ji Yun’s words drifted over, Cheng Siyu froze. A strange sensation rose in her heart, but she immediately pinched her finger hard.

She forced herself to remember the image of Ji Yun holding another woman and tossing a check in front of her. She even remembered the smell of alcohol at the time, the scent of the check’s ink, and the cloying perfume on that woman.

“Cheng Siyu, I’m bored of you.”

At this moment, she felt her stomach churning. She rushed into the restroom, having no energy left to listen to whatever else Ji Wanli and Ji Yun were saying.

…

After that day, Cheng Siyu seemed to fall into a state of silence. She stopped attending events and instead filled her schedule with work. When Zhao Xixi ran out of resources, Siyu turned around and went to Hengdian to work as an extra, returning to her dorm only at midnight before collapsing into sleep.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her; perhaps it was the way Ji Yun’s compromising gaze when she turned back to Ji Wanli had pierced her.

She had once turned back like that too, but the ending had cost her her life.

…

A few days later, on another ordinary afternoon, a ringtone sounded from beside Cheng Siyu’s bed.

“What is it, Sister Xixi?” Cheng Siyu had finally given herself a day off today, only to be woken by Zhao Xixi’s call.

“Are you still sleeping?” Zhao Xixi sounded surprised and a bit excited on the other end. “Didn’t I have you interview for ‘Western Regions’ last time? You passed! The manager over there wants to meet you in person to discuss the contract details.”

“Oh, okay,” Cheng Siyu replied unhurriedly, patting her head as she remembered the matter.

“What do you mean ‘oh’? Get up! Two o’clock this afternoon! I’ll send you the address on WeChat in a moment. You’re the first person I recommended who actually passed.” Zhao Xixi’s voice suddenly exploded on the other end.

“I know.” Cheng Siyu climbed slowly out of bed. She was about to call Shen Moxu to cancel their afternoon tea plans, but Shen Moxu beat her to it.

“Great Beauty Cheng, you actually answered. I thought you were still sleeping.”

Shen Moxu’s voice came through the phone, sounding as though she had also just woken up, thick with morning grogginess.

“Tell me, what’s up?”

The friendship between Cheng Siyu and Shen Moxu had reached the point where the moment Shen Moxu stood up, Siyu knew which direction she was heading. Usually, if nothing was wrong, Shen Moxu would chatter incessantly on WeChat before leaving the house; a phone call meant something specific was happening.

“There’s one piece of good news and one piece of bad news, you…”

“The good news,” Cheng Siyu predicted.

“Great Immortal, you truly see all. I received an interview notice from Xiyue Entertainment! And Qin Xiangqing is one of the interviewers.”

“And the bad news? Is it that you have to stood me up this afternoon to prepare for the interview?”

“Master! Please accept my bow.” Shen Moxu made a sound like a devoted believer over the phone. “So I have to go buy clothes this afternoon and go to my aunt’s place for a facial.”

“Go, go,” Cheng Siyu said, but then added, “I also received news that I passed the magazine interview.”

“Ahhh, really? Then after my interview, let’s find a time to have a big meal. I won’t say more, I’m going to brush my teeth and wash my face.”

Hanging up the phone, Cheng Siyu looked at her wardrobe, which contained only a few pieces of clothing. Ultimately, she chose a steady-looking long brown dress.

Two hours later, Cheng Siyu arrived at the Western Regions headquarters. Zhao Xixi had been waiting there for a long time; upon seeing her, she pulled her into an office.

Cheng Siyu was prepared to be made things difficult for, or even to have the contract rescinded. However, when she saw the person sitting inside the office, she froze.

That person was none other than Ji Yun’s father, Ji Wanli.