After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 2

Ring, ring, ring.”

Ji Yun was awakened by a persistent, urgent ringing. Seeing an unfamiliar number, she initially wanted to hang up, but her fingers seemed to move against her will, answering the call.

“Is this Ji Yun?” a cold female voice asked from the other end. Confused, Ji Yun managed a brief “Yes.”

“Cheng Siyu is dead.” The person on the other end paused, taking a deep, shaky breath. “You’re free now. You don’t have to tell her she’s annoying over and over again. Her phone has been reclaimed by the company, though I doubt you’d ever bother calling her anyway. There are things for you in her estate. Come to the hospital if you have time. If not, it doesn’t matter—I’ll just burn them.”

With that, the line went dead. After hanging up, Shen Moxu, who thought she wouldn’t feel any more waves of emotion, couldn’t help but burst into sobs.

On the other side, Ji Yun stared at her screen long after the call ended, unable to process the words. After a long moment of hesitation, she opened the news with a sense of skepticism.

To her horror, the top headline read: “Severe car accident at the intersection of No. 131, Baohua Road Villa District; one woman deceased at the scene.”

Though the accident photos were heavily pixelated, Ji Yun recognized the blue suitcase—the very one Cheng Siyu had taken with her that day.

With a clatter, her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor.

“You’re the freshman performing today, right? Turn left up ahead; the room with the clothes rack by the door is the one.”

Shen Moxu’s voice pulled Cheng Siyu back to reality. At that moment, Ji Yun, who had been standing at the door, gradually walked away.

“Wow, that girl is so beautiful. I wonder what her performance is.”

Once she was sure Ji Yun had headed to the dressing room, Cheng Siyu let out a sigh of relief and slowly regained her composure. She wasn’t ready to face the current Ji Yun yet.

In fact, it was better not to face her at all. Those cold eyes of Ji Yun’s were still etched deep in her memory, haunting her heart.

“Alright, we’re done with you two. Go sit outside and watch the show. The rest is for the boys who are late.”

“Okay.”

After saying goodbye to the club officers who had come to inspect, Shen Moxu planned to take Cheng Siyu to buy milk tea.

However, they were intercepted halfway by a group of freshmen asking questions.

Cheng Siyu, not one for social interaction, gallantly dropped the line, “I’ll go first, you cover the rear!” and abandoned Shen Moxu, running off alone.

After a short jog to the milk tea shop, Cheng Siyu looked at the menu she knew all too well. She almost ordered without thinking. It was only after the words left her mouth that she realized she had habitually ordered the Blue Curacao Sparkling Water—Ji Yun’s favorite.

In an instant, agonizing memories flooded back. It felt as though she were being violently pulled back into the past.

It was Cheng Siyu’s first birthday after they started dating. She had waited expectantly all day, but by late night, there had been no word from Ji Yun. Just as she lost hope and prepared for bed, she received a text.

“Come to the milk tea shop entrance.”

When she arrived, a slightly tipsy Ji Yun hugged her, crying softly as she whispered, “Sister, I’m sorry…”

Cheng Siyu, who had intended to stay angry for a while, felt all her frustration vanish. She stayed with Ji Yun on a campus bench until dawn.

Before leaving, Ji Yun had pulled a small plush rabbit from her pocket and clipped it onto Cheng Siyu’s hand.

It wasn’t until days later that Cheng Siyu learned that day had been the anniversary of Ji Yun’s mother’s death.

But these moments, which should have been the happiest memories of her life, had turned bitter under the weight of Ji Yun’s later words: “You’re the one who chose to chase me.” “Cheng Siyu, do you even deserve this?” “I don’t love you anymore. Get lost.”

Ten minutes later, Cheng Siyu returned to the auditorium with the drinks, but she couldn’t find Shen Moxu anywhere.

Just as she was about to find a seat and message her friend, the lights in the hall dimmed. A familiar, melodious piano piece began to play.

The melody made her feel, for a moment, like she had traveled back in time. Sure enough, when she looked at the stage, she saw Ji Yun in a pure white dress, sitting at the center of the stage playing the piano.

The graceful music flowed from those slender fingers. It had been ten years since Cheng Siyu had last seen this scene, though she had listened to this song countless times in private.

Unbidden, tears began to roll down her cheeks. She slowly crouched down on the floor, burying her head in her knees. At this moment, she hated herself—hated that her heart still skipped a beat seeing this.

“Sister, don’t leave me, you’re the only one I have.”

“Cheng Siyu! I’m bored of this; don’t you get it? What right do you have to control me?”

“Sister, I was wrong. It’s still most comfortable being with you.”

“Cheng Siyu, so what if I’m seeing two people? You’re just a pet I’m keeping.”

“Sister, I love you.”

Right then, the music on stage came to an abrupt halt. After a few seconds of silence, the audience erupted into thunderous applause.

“I am a freshman from the Performance Department. My name is Ji Yun. Thank you all for listening.”

“Siyu? Are you cosplaying as a beggar? Why are you sitting on the ground?”

After searching through the crowd, Shen Moxu finally found the vacant-looking Cheng Siyu sitting on the floor, two sweating cups of milk tea by her feet.

“I’m not,” Cheng Siyu replied, snapping back to reality. She feigned fixing her bangs to wipe away her tears.

“Pay up. Three hundred and ten yuan. Ten for the tea, three hundred for the delivery fee.”

“In your dreams!” Shen Moxu made a fake move to reach for her wallet, then suddenly snatched the milk tea from the ground and bolted.

Cheng Siyu was forced to stand up and give chase, shouting, “Shen Moxu! Give me your life!”

“The delivery fee is four hundred now!”

“Dream on!”

In the afternoon, after eating with Shen Moxi, Cheng Siyu went back to her dorm alone and slept heavily. Too much had happened today, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted. She slept deeply, without even a dream.

Towards dusk, she was woken by her phone. The caller ID showed Shen Moxu again.

Cheng Siyu rubbed her eyes and sat up. In her previous life, she hadn’t spoken to Shen Moxu for months. In this life, she still wasn’t quite used to her friend’s boisterous energy.

“Cheng Siyu! Are you awake?”

“What’s up?” Cheng Siyu yawned, smoothing her messy hair.

“Get up and get dressed! There’s a bonfire party tonight. There will be tons of handsome guys from our school and others, and loads of food! I’ve already signed you up!”

Shen Moxu sounded excited. Not wanting to refuse, Cheng Siyu agreed.

“Fine. I’ll pick you up at your dorm in half an hour!”

An hour later, a simply dressed Cheng Siyu—wearing a basic shirt and jeans—was dragged to the party by a meticulously styled Shen Moxu.

The event was held on a large lawn. A fake bonfire made of LED lights and plastic logs sat in the center. Small white round tables nearby were laden with snacks and treats.

“Wow, Siyu, look! Is that the ‘campus hunk’ from the Tech Institute next door? He’s so handsome.”

Cheng Siyu looked in the direction of Shen Moxu’s finger and saw several blurry male figures.

Because she had entered the industry early in her previous life, she had seen and worked with countless handsome men. Compared to them, she was more interested in the mousse cakes.

Furthermore, her last relationship had been so grueling that she had no desire to seek out someone new.

Cheng Siyu had just picked up a piece of cake and hadn’t even taken a bite when the social butterfly Shen Moxu dragged her into a game of Truth or Dare with the guys and some other students.

Just as they were about to start, Cheng Siyu spotted several familiar figures, including Ji Yun.

At the sight of her, her first instinct was to get up and flee.

“Hey, are you looking for the restroom? You probably don’t know your way around our campus yet. The three of us were just headed to the store for beer; we can show you the way.”

Three kind-looking upperclassmen noticed Cheng Siyu’s unease and assumed she was in a hurry to find the bathroom.

“Okay, thank you.” In her urgency, Cheng Siyu didn’t decline. After a quick word to Shen Moxu, she followed the seniors.

On the way, a confrontation with Ji Yun’s group was unavoidable, but the seniors just exchanged quick greetings and kept moving.

Ji Yun’s face was much more youthful and innocent than it had been ten years later, but those deep, sharp eyes still managed to pierce Cheng Siyu’s heart once again.

Inside the restroom, Cheng Siyu splashed cold water on her face to calm down. Staring at her reflection, she couldn’t help but wonder how the Ji Yun of her previous life had reacted to her death.

Would she have callously thrown all of Siyu’s things away? Would she have brought all her lovers back to the house? Or would she be out at some party, flirting shamelessly?

Regardless, none of the possibilities were what she hoped for. Their relationship was known to almost no one besides a few close friends. Yet, the moment she had walked out of Ji Yun’s door for the last time, she had still secretly hoped Ji Yun would chase after her.

Cheng Siyu dunked her face back into the cold water, letting her tears fall freely. She only pulled herself away after nearly a minute.

It’s fine. Since I’m starting over, I’ll let everything from the past life go.

She dried her face with a paper towel, making sure the traces of tears were gone before stepping back out.

The seniors were still there, waiting for her by the crates of beer.

“We were afraid you’d get lost, so we waited a bit.”

“Tha—Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it! Hahaha, do you have a boyfriend? Want us to introduce you to someone?”

“Yeah, our department has plenty of single handsome guys. Like this big dummy next to me.”

“Lao Lv, who are you calling a big dummy?”

“I didn’t name names.”

“Watch it, or I’ll hit you with this beer.”

The loud, youthfully exuberant banter of the boys brought a few rays of light into Cheng Siyu’s dark mood, and she began to chat with them comfortably.