After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 25.2

Of course, it was also possible that the aggressive comments had already been deleted.

Halfway through, she was interrupted by a call from Ji Yun.

“Hello?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Why didn’t you tell me you were discharged?”

As soon as she picked up, Ji Yun’s complaining voice came through. Cheng Siyu couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but the tone was almost the same as in her previous life—full of blame, as if reporting her whereabouts was something she should and must do.

After taking a deep breath, Cheng Siyu replied casually, “I was busy and forgot.”

“Then why didn’t you even come to see me today?” Ji Yun’s voice was full of helplessness and grievance. She had been waiting with her phone since noon, only just now unable to hold back. She had asked the bodyguard and found out Cheng Siyu had been discharged at noon.

“I didn’t have time.” Hearing Ji Yun’s voice reminded Cheng Siyu of the image of her laughing with Ji Yan, and she couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritability.

If she really liked Ji Yan that much, why did she have to provoke the “her” of her previous life?

“Only four words?” Ji Yun sounded like she was crying on the other end. Cheng Siyu forced her voice to remain steady as she said, “We’ll talk when you’re discharged.”

Just then, Cheng Siyu heard a familiar female voice on the other end: “Xiao Yu, why are you crying? Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?” It was Ji Yan.

Before the sentence even finished, Cheng Siyu pressed the end call button. What disgusted her was that Ji Yan’s voice also sounded a bit like her own.

Thinking back to the previous life when Ji Yun asked her to read bedtime stories or sing to her, she only felt like a joke.

Returning to the hotel, Cheng Siyu ordered a glass of red wine. After drinking only half, she was out cold.

She thought she had stepped out from under Ji Yan’s shadow, but Ji Yan’s appearance seemed to constantly highlight that she was merely a substitute.

She had a dream. In the dream, she was with Ji Yun for the first time. At the peak of their passion, she vaguely heard Ji Yun shout two words. At the time, she hadn’t thought deeply about it, but remembering it now, she was indeed calling for “Ji Yan.” In the dream, she wanted to struggle and flee, but her limbs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

When Cheng Siyu startled awake, tears had already blurred her vision, sliding down her face and onto the pillow.

She didn’t dare sleep again. Staring at the dimming sky outside the window, she lit a cigarette.

“Sister Siyu, did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Your eyes are so swollen.”

In the dressing room, Li Yexing looked at the red corners of Cheng Siyu’s eyes and asked.

“Something like that,” Cheng Siyu replied. Although her voice was still a bit raspy, it didn’t affect how pleasant it sounded; instead, it made it seem more magnetic and sexier.

“Sister Siyu, your voice is so beautiful.” Li Yexing’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but praise her.

Cheng Siyu didn’t speak again, focusing solely on the script in her hands, though her mind had drifted elsewhere.

After a while, a commotion brought her straying mind back.

“Sister Siyu, look, look! That’s Jiang Shizi.”

Cheng Siyu looked in the direction of the noise and saw a woman.

She had deep features that gave off a sense of detachment. Her eyes held a calm serenity, like a poet returning from a mountain seclusion.

Cheng Siyu remembered then—she had seen her on the cover of Western Regions magazine, but that was a very old issue.

As if noticing Cheng Siyu’s gaze, the woman spoke toward her: “Hello.”

Her voice was beautiful, like a storyteller on the radio. That was Cheng Siyu’s first impression of Jiang Shizi.

“Hello.” Cheng Siyu was a bit slow in coming back to her senses from those deep eyes.

“She’s pretty, right? Pretty, right?”

Only after Jiang Shizi walked over to the director did Li Yexing whisper excitedly into Cheng Siyu’s ear.

“Yes, very beautiful,” Cheng Siyu honestly shared her first impression.

“Right! So don’t be sad over some man. Sister Siyu, you should find a beautiful woman. That way, when you argue, you won’t even be able to stay mad looking at that face.” Li Yexing seemed to have reached her goal and began chatting away.

Cheng Siyu hadn’t expected this to be her real motive, but she let her talk.

A short while later, Jiang Shizi finished her conversation with the director and came over, sitting in the spot next to Cheng Siyu. She then asked Cheng Siyu, “I don’t have a makeup artist. Can I borrow yours?”

“Sure.” Again, Cheng Siyu’s reaction was half a bit slow. Jiang Shizi’s eyes had a faint sapphire blue tint that easily drew people in.

Li Yexing, however, was eager. She nodded several times behind Cheng Siyu. To be able to do make up for a goddess-level person like Jiang Shizi was one of her lifelong dreams.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

The two exchanged pleasantries, after which Cheng Siyu looked at her phone while Li Yexing excitedly began applying makeup to another great beauty.

At that moment, Cheng Siyu noticed a trending topic on Weibo: Jiang Shizi Comeback.

Clicking in, she saw a sea of fans mourning and celebrating.

“Shizi! You’re finally back!”

“Ahhh, I finally waited for it!”

“Shizi, Shizi, I haven’t seen you since your last movie Stars Under the Night.”

“Wake up, Grandma! The star you follow is back!”

Looking at the trending topics, Cheng Siyu subconsciously searched Jiang Shizi’s name on Baidu. She discovered that she was an award-winning Best Actress who had won many awards in both film and television. She had just been on a long hiatus and hadn’t made a comeback. In this era of information explosion, she had quickly been forgotten.

When Cheng Siyu entered the entertainment industry in her previous life, Jiang Shizi had already been retired for many years, so she had no impression of her.

“Smoking is bad for your health.”

While Cheng Siyu was deep in thought, she suddenly heard this sentence. She looked to the left and met Jiang Shizi’s gaze.

“Th-thank you for the concern.”

After confirming she was speaking to her, Cheng Siyu spoke with a tone of being flattered. Thinking back, she realized she must have been seen at the convenience store yesterday.

“But the way you smoke is very elegant,” Jiang Shizi said, either to Cheng Siyu or to herself. “You look a lot like a friend of mine.”

Hearing this, Cheng Siyu had a bit of a reflex. She realized today that she apparently had a “common face” and looked like everyone.

“Thank you.”

Despite feeling strange, Cheng Siyu responded. Jiang Shizi’s tone and behavior possessed a certain Zen-like quality; her speech was slow and steady, like a monk striking a wooden fish in a temple.

The atmosphere fell into a strange, awkward silence until the director called Jiang Shizi over to discuss the scenes.

Cheng Siyu took the opportunity to sit next to Zhao Xixi in the rest area, hoping to gather more information about Jiang Shizi.

“Her…” The usually talkative Zhao Xixi fell into silence after saying those words.

Ten seconds later, Zhao Xixi sighed and said, “There are some things you’re better off not knowing.”

Seeing this, Cheng Siyu didn’t press further and began reviewing the scenes she had to film today.

The set was exceptionally harmonious without Si Fei. Jiang Shizi’s acting was impeccable. Although Cheng Siyu wasn’t as perfect, her performance was acceptable. With many veterans used to urban dramas, everyone’s cooperation was very synchronized.

The morning passed quickly. In the afternoon, while everyone was eating, Cheng Siyu went to the restroom. When she came out, she unexpectedly found two people arguing in the hallway.

Approaching, she saw it was Jiang Shizi and another woman who looked very familiar, as if she were often seen on TV.

“Jiang Shizi, do you not even have a single word of explanation?” The woman’s voice was rational but carried a slight tremor.

“You’re already married. There is no debt between us. Why do I need to explain?” Jiang Shizi’s voice, unlike her usual tone, was incredibly hard.

At this moment, seeing Cheng Siyu, she seemed to see a savior. She naturally walked to her side and took her arm. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go back.”

The dazed Cheng Siyu was led back to the set. As she walked, she could vaguely feel a murderous intent behind her.

“Who was she?” As soon as they entered, Cheng Siyu pulled her arm away from Jiang Shizi.

“An ex-girlfriend.” Jiang Shizi glanced back a few times to make sure the person had left before explaining to Cheng Siyu, though her eyes revealed a hint of complexity.

Later, when Cheng Siyu opened Weibo, she remembered that Jiang Shizi’s ex-girlfriend was named Qi Yan. She was a very famous singer, but she had been married to a scion of a prominent family for over three years and already had children.

She had even met Qi Yan a few times in her previous life because Qi Yan was Ji Yun’s neighbor, and their mothers were close friends in their social circle.

How had she become Jiang Shizi’s ex-girlfriend? Cheng Siyu couldn’t help but remark that this circle was truly messy, but she didn’t think much more about it.

After lunch, Cheng Siyu hesitated before finally calling Ji Yun.

The phone rang for a long time without being answered. Cheng Siyu knew this was Ji Yun throwing a tantrum, so she didn’t call again, staring blankly at her phone instead.

Unbeknownst to her, behind her, Lin Zhizhi and Li Yexing had already started whispering.

“What’s wrong with Sister Siyu?”

“Fighting with her boyfriend. When I did her makeup this morning, her eyes were red.”

“That’s why I say, why bother with men? Aren’t girls great?”

“She has a boyfriend?” Suddenly, a voice dropped out of nowhere, scaring the two of them half to death.

When Li Yexing gathered herself and looked up, it was Jiang Shizi.

“Shi-Shi-Shizi, Sister.”

“Mhm, it’s nothing. I was just asking. Continue your chat.” After saying that, she sat in a spot near the two of them.

Lin Zhizhi and Li Yexing felt a chill and stopped talking altogether.

In the evening, after filming was finished, Cheng Siyu didn’t get into Zhao Xixi’s car to go for a big meal. Instead, she researched bus routes and went to a bookstore.

Late at night, while Cheng Siyu was busy at the hotel desk, she suddenly heard a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, the person outside surprised her: it was Jiang Shizi.

“What is it?” Cheng Siyu asked as she opened the door.

“I added you on WeChat but you didn’t accept. I thought you were asleep, so I came to try my luck. I saw the light was on, so I thought I’d drop by.” Jiang Shizi answered.

Cheng Siyu welcomed her in and turned to tidy up the scraps left over from her handiwork on the table. Then, she picked out a rose made from cardstock.

“You can make these?” Jiang Shizi marveled, taking it from Cheng Siyu.

“It’s been too long. I’m a bit rusty.” Cheng Siyu gave a modest smile and then asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I want to invite you to accompany me to a banquet tomorrow.” Jiang Shizi didn’t hide it. She sniffed the perfume-scented rose and said, “Name your terms.”

“Hmm…” Cheng Siyu thought for a long time but couldn’t think of any terms. However, she still agreed to Jiang Shizi’s request. After all, she was just a newcomer; even just showing her face at a banquet was a huge opportunity.

“Just help me play a role.” After saying that, Jiang Shizi reached out and used paper tape to stick the stem of the rose onto the seal of the invitation she had brought. She said goodnight to Cheng Siyu and walked out.

Looking at her tall, straight back as she walked away, Cheng Siyu sensed that she too was someone with a story.

But why her? With that question in mind, Cheng Siyu cut open the invitation. Seeing the name of the inviter—Qi Yan—she found some of the answer.

At the first light of dawn the next day, Cheng Siyu took her bouquet of roses, which she had spent all night folding, and went to the hospital. To prevent the roses from getting crushed on the bus, she chose to take a taxi.

She found Ji Yun’s hospital room with ease, but saw the bodyguard standing tall at the door.

“Miss Cheng, the young lady hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I’ll just leave something and go,” Cheng Siyu said. The bodyguard didn’t stop her and made way for her.

In the room, Ji Yun was sleeping soundly. In her sleep, she was like a little hedgehog that had tucked away its needles. Cheng Siyu placed the bouquet on the table before carefully closing the door as she left.

The breeze from the closing door blew up a card attached to the bouquet, which had clear and forceful handwriting that read, “My apologies.”

Perhaps because she hadn’t slept all night, Cheng Siyu’s condition throughout the day wasn’t very good. However, she didn’t have many scenes today—just one or two minor ones.

In the afternoon, she drifted off for a light sleep in the rest area of the theater. In her dream, she returned to the first time she folded roses. It was a tutorial she had seen on TV.

The process wasn’t complicated, but there were many creases and it was very tedious. However, the more creases there were, the better it looked. She had worked hard all afternoon to make one for Ji Yun. The moment she saw the surprise on Ji Yun’s face when she received it, she felt it was all worth it.

Only now, things had changed. she would not allow herself to fall in love with Ji Yun again, and naturally, she no longer felt that initial anticipation.

Cheng Siyu slept for quite a while. By the time she woke up, the entire afternoon had almost passed. Today’s major scenes were for Jiang Shizi and Su Mingshu; her scenes would have to wait until Ji Yun returned.

When she woke up, she picked up her phone and saw several missed calls from Ji Yun. She called back.

“Sister Siyu.”

The call was picked up almost the second it was placed. Ji Yun’s voice came from the other end.

“I’m here. I just fell asleep,” Cheng Siyu answered, sitting up from the lounger.

“Actually, I was also at fault for this, so…” Ji Yun took a deep breath on the other end. “Let’s make up.”

“Okay,” Cheng Siyu responded.

“I’m being discharged today and can go back to the set tomorrow! I missed you so much.” Ji Yun’s excited voice followed. On this end, Cheng Siyu laughed along with her.

After hanging up, Cheng Siyu felt as if she had completed a major task and let out a long breath.

In the evening, after checking in with Zhao Xixi, Zhao Xixi first instructed her on some things to watch out for at high-society banquets, then curiously asked how she had met Jiang Shizi.

To protect Jiang Shizi’s privacy, Cheng Siyu only said they felt like they knew each other, without mentioning the incident with Qi Yan that day.

“Be careful, don’t let her fool you.” Zhao Xixi specifically added this warning. Before Cheng Siyu could ask for details, Zhao Xixi’s phone rang, and she had to take it, ending their conversation.

A moment later, Jiang Shizi’s car pulled up in front of Cheng Siyu and told her to get in.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Shizi brought her to a small dressing room and handed her a gown, telling her to put it on.

Cheng Siyu looked at it for a long time. It was a thin, white, diamond-studded gauze dress.

Relying on the muscle memory of attending various gatherings with Ji Yun in her previous life, Cheng Siyu quickly got dressed and walked out.

When Jiang Shizi saw her walk out, her eyes flickered for a moment, as if she were remembering something. She then stood up and said to her, “This dress really suits you.”