After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 17

“Siyu, what are you looking at?” Zhao Xixi’s voice pulled Cheng Siyu back to reality. Xixi had intended to pull her further ahead to keep looking around, but Cheng Siyu took her hand instead and led her out through the back door.

“I saw my ex,” Cheng Siyu blurted out, offering a reason that wouldn’t make Zhao Xixi suspicious. “With her current partner.”

After saying this, she let out a sigh, a look of lonely resignation flickering in her eyes. Seeing this, Zhao Xixi didn’t question her further.

That night, Cheng Siyu lay in bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep. Frustrated, she sat up, hugging the small bear plushie by her bedside while staring out the window.

In a daze, she seemed to see a vision of the past—of her and Ji Yun sitting side-by-side on a bench by the sea, telling each other that they only had each other left in the world.

In just an instant, everything had changed.

The next morning, Cheng Siyu was awakened by the persistent ringing of her phone.

She had watched the scenery outside her window until dawn, only falling into a hazy sleep when the sun began to peek over the horizon.

When the phone rang, she didn’t have the strength to answer it. She simply rolled over and went back to sleep; the ringing stopped after a while.

However, about half an hour after she drifted off again, she heard a roommate walk over to her bed.

“Siyu, someone is outside looking for you.”

“Okay.” Only then did Cheng Siyu wake from her dreams, struggling to climb out of bed.

After she got up, she vaguely heard some whispers from her roommates. Their scrutinizing gazes made her feel uncomfortable, but she walked toward the door anyway.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a frantic Ji Yun. If it weren’t for the fact that the time and Ji Yun’s outfit were different from the last time, she would have suspected that time was repeating itself.

“How…”

Before Cheng Siyu could speak, Ji Yun pulled her into a tight embrace.

“The person on the school bulletin board… it wasn’t me. It was—it was someone taking random photos last night.”

She started with a string of logically garbled words. Cheng Siyu was confused, but the image of Ji Yun and Ji Yan walking arm-in-arm yesterday resurfaced in her mind.

Cheng Siyu instinctively wanted to push her away, but her hand stopped mid-air. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She closed her eyes and told herself it was because of the contract with Ji Yun’s father.

It was definitely not because she still craved her embrace.

“What happened?”

Fifteen minutes later, Cheng Siyu had done a quick wash-up and taken Ji Yun to the breakfast shop closest to the dormitory.

They couldn’t stay in the dorm because of the burning stares of her roommates, who seemed ready to burn a hole through the two of them to get to the truth of the matter.

“It’s this.” Ji Yun pulled a crumpled poster from her jacket. Cheng Siyu took it and looked; it was a photo of Ji Yun and a man kissing.

The photo was taken under hazy lighting, creating an ambiguous atmosphere.

Cheng Siyu could tell at a glance that the two weren’t actually kissing; it was just a forced perspective shot.

Ji Yun continued to explain, “I don’t know who posted it. I saw it on the bulletin board this morning. I don’t know how many people saw it. I’m sorry.”

Cheng Siyu listened quietly, her face showing no emotion, her fingers merely tapping on the table. Surprisingly, she found herself still waiting for Ji Yun to explain the situation with Ji Yan.

After taking a deep breath, she spoke. “It’s fine. I believe you.”

“Really?” Ji Yun grabbed her hand excitedly.

“Yes.”

Cheng Siyu instinctively wanted to pull away but restrained herself. She predicted this matter wouldn’t escalate too much because of Ji Wanli’s influence. Furthermore, whoever was behind this—regardless of their motive—likely wouldn’t have a good ending.

Sure enough, by the time the two left the breakfast shop, the photos on the campus network and bulletin boards had been completely deleted.

Moreover, a bunch of “insiders” began explaining that the photo showed obvious signs of being photoshopped, and others spoke up to clear Ji Yun’s name.

By the afternoon, the person behind the rumors had been caught. It was a student from the same department as Ji Yun. Out of jealousy over Ji Yun being cast in a movie and her being the headliner for the freshman concert, she had started the rumors.

The ordeal ended with the student receiving a major demerit for malicious slander, and her name appeared across the bulletin boards and campus network in various ways.

In the afternoon, while watching the public opinion shift, Cheng Siyu received a call from Shen Moxu.

“Siyu! Do you know what? I went to a bar last night, guess who I ran into?”

Shen Moxu was bursting with excitement the moment she picked up, causing Cheng Siyu to reflexively pull the phone away from her ear.

“Who?”

“You’ll definitely never guess.”

“Hmm…” Several figures flashed through Cheng Siyu’s mind before she finally settled on one. “Qin Xiangqing?”

“…” On the other end of the line, Shen Moxu fell into a brief silence before finally speaking. “Master Cheng, you truly are a divine psychic.”

“Ahem, and what happened after you saw her?” Cheng Siyu hadn’t expected to get it right on a random guess.

“She said she was university classmates with my sister. She even left her contact info with me and is treating me to dinner tomorrow. Do you think… I might have a chance?”

Even through the screen, Cheng Siyu could imagine Shen Moxu staring at her phone with stars in her eyes.

Cheng Siyu keenly sensed that something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She simply cautioned, “Well, stay safe.”

She vaguely remembered that in her past life, Qin Xiangqing’s reputation within the industry wasn’t very good.

“How are things with you and Little Ji?”

Suddenly, Shen Moxu shifted the topic to Cheng Siyu. Given how much she loved gossip, there was no way she didn’t know about the afternoon’s drama.

“The usual. Also, I signed with Xiyu. Five years,” Cheng Siyu answered briefly. It seemed that because of the drama with Ji Yun, she had even forgotten to tell Shen Moxu the news of her signing.

“Great! Remember to treat me to a meal!” Shen Moxu replied.

“Okay. When are you free?”

Cheng Siyu realized it had been quite a while since she and Shen Moxu had gone out for a meal.

“Tomorrow night, after the variety show filming is done.”

“What variety show?” Cheng Siyu’s heart skipped a beat.

“Did you lose your memory? The variety show the cast is participating in! I remember you and Ji Yun were the first ones to confirm.”

“Oh, right.” Cheng Siyu remembered now. No wonder Zhao Xixi told her she looked forward to seeing her the day after tomorrow when they said goodbye yesterday.

“Truly, people in love turn stupid,” Shen Moxu sighed, patting her own “clever” head. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she gossiped, “Siyu, do you know about Ji Yun’s family background?”

“Hmm?” Cheng Siyu knew that for Shen Moxu to ask this, she must have found something out. She didn’t actually know much about Ji Yun’s family, only that her mother was seriously ill and her relationship with her father was terrible.

In her past life, Ji Yun was unwilling to discuss it, and Cheng Siyu had been sensible enough not to ask.

“She’s actually a legitimate ‘old money’ heiress from a wealthy family,” Shen Moxu said. “Today, when I saw the photo of her kissing Shan Xiyuan on the campus homepage—which vanished really quickly—I went to investigate her background.”

So the man was Shan Xiyuan. He was probably photoshopped too much, which is why Cheng Siyu hadn’t recognized him.

“I didn’t know until I looked… Siyu, you’ve really hit the jackpot.”