After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 29.1

Cheng Siyu had just finished checking the clarification draft she had written and sent it to Zhao Xixi for confirmation when Ji Yun’s call came through the very next second.

Imagining Ji Yun’s tone in her mind, Cheng Siyu hesitated for dozens of seconds before finally answering.

“I saw the trending searches,” Ji Yun’s voice on the other end was excessively flat. Cheng Siyu knew this was her signature tactic—she was waiting for an explanation.

“Mm, as you can see,” Cheng Siyu didn’t offer a rebuttal. She quietly added a piece of kindling to the fire already simmering in Ji Yun’s heart.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t associate with her anymore? I thought you promised me that night.”

Cheng Siyu’s indifferent reaction caught Ji Yun off guard; her tone softened slightly. “This matter hasn’t blown up yet and can still be resolved. Can you please not associate with that person named Jiang next time?”

Ji Yun’s voice carried a tone of desperate pleading. As Cheng Siyu listened to that familiar inflection, she remembered how this scene had played out countless times before—only back then, the one pleading had been her.

Back then, Ji Yun would always dismiss her with a single line: “What right do you have to interfere with me?”

The next second, Cheng Siyu exerted herself to mimic Ji Yun’s tone from her previous life, answering coldly, “This is my own business.”

“Are you saying I’m meddling in things that don’t concern me?” Ji Yun asked back, freezing for a few seconds as she caught the underlying meaning.

“I don’t want to be controlled regarding where I go or who I’m with. I’m in a relationship, not looking for a bodyguard.” Cheng Siyu didn’t answer directly but continued her point.

“I’m not controlling you, I’m just… reminding you.” Ji Yun’s voice grew smaller, losing its confidence. For a fleeting moment, Cheng Siyu felt like she was looking at her past self.

But she didn’t soften her heart. Maintaining her cold demeanor, she said, “Thank you for the reminder, but I don’t accept it. Jiang Shizi isn’t that kind of person.”

At the very least, she is much better than you were in our last life, Cheng Siyu thought to herself.

After a few seconds of silence on the line, Ji Yun’s voice came through again. “Siyu, have you… had a change of heart?”

“No, you’re being paranoid,” Cheng Siyu said calmly.

“Did something happen the day before yesterday that made you angry? Why have you become so strange since then?”

Usually, shouldn’t lovers become more intimate after that kind of thing happened? Ji Yun wondered why she and Cheng Siyu seemed to be drifting further and further apart.

“No,” Cheng Siyu countered. If there was anything that made her angry, it was Ji Yun going to the bar with Ji Yan and lying to her.

“I have things to do, I’m hanging up.”

Before Ji Yun could say another word, the line went dead with a busy signal.

At that moment, Zhao Xixi replied. Just as Cheng Siyu was about to post the PR statement, she saw that Jiang Shizi had already released a clarification. It was just one sentence:

“Just friends. Taking things out of context is shameful.”

This style was very Jiang Shizi. However, once she spoke, everyone believed it. After all, Jiang Shizi was the type to officially announce every partner; even if she was caught by paparazzi, she would usually just post a kissing photo to confirm the relationship.

Cheng Siyu immediately posted her own clarification. A moment later, she received a message from Jiang Shizi:

“Sorry for causing you trouble.”

“It’s fine,” Cheng Siyu typed back. She hadn’t expected someone of her low-tier status to be sniped by paparazzi.

Once both sides had released their PR, the matter quickly dissipated online. Although many gossip marketing accounts tried to create hype, the rumors were groundless and were soon swarmed by Jiang Shizi’s newly reorganized fan club.

Just as Cheng Siyu thought the matter would fade away like usual, Zhao Xixi suddenly brought her some news.

“There’s a child-rearing observation variety show inviting you to film.”

It was during a certain afternoon while Cheng Siyu was eating that Zhao Xixi walked up to her and said this.

“Huh? Do I look like someone who has a kid?” Cheng Siyu looked puzzled. Zhao Xixi continued:

“The show is inviting you to be a guest for one episode. This show can give you great exposure because the data from previous episodes has been at the top. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Cheng Siyu asked.

“The main observing guest for this show is Qi Yan.” For some reason, after saying this, Zhao Xixi suddenly felt like lighting a cigarette.

“Cough, cough-cough.” Cheng Siyu was caught off guard and choked. She suddenly understood why this show’s ratings remained so steady.

After taking a sip of water to soothe her throat, Cheng Siyu spoke again, “Can I refuse?”

“This came from the higher-ups, so…” Zhao Xixi patted Cheng Siyu’s shoulder and comforted her, “The appearance fee for this variety show is very touching. It’s equivalent to ten episodes of a TV drama.”

The image of Qi Yan looking at her with resentful eyes surfaced in Cheng Siyu’s mind. Suddenly, the chicken leg rice in her hand didn’t seem so fragrant. She went quiet for a few seconds and asked:

“Does getting beaten into the hospital count as a workplace injury?”

“It counts! And the treatment should be just as good as your last hospital stay,” Zhao Xixi encouraged her, as if she had long expected Cheng Siyu to ask that.

“Fine then.” Cheng Siyu accepted it resignedly; she didn’t have the right to refuse anyway.

After that morning call with Ji Yun, the two of them seemed to have fallen into a bizarre, cold war atmosphere. Cheng Siyu thought she could use this opportunity to clear her head.

At the same time, it would let Ji Wanli know his attempt at driving a wedge between them was successful.

“Okay, get ready. Tomorrow, in K-City—it’s not far from here. But you have to record for the whole day, so it might be a bit tiring.”

After Zhao Xixi nagged her about several precautions, she went off to handle other things, leaving Cheng Siyu to think about how to face Qi Yan.

While waiting, she searched for the variety show Little Ones to watch. The general content featured four celebrity families showing their daily child-rearing lives to the audience.

Qi Yan was one of them. She had always been the top topic of this show, and her views on education and parenting were constantly praised.

But right now, Cheng Siyu wasn’t worried about whether Qi Yan could raise a child; she was worrying about how to avoid conflict between the two of them.

While Cheng Siyu was thinking, she received a notification—it was a voice call from Jiang Shizi. Ever since the incident with the paparazzi, they hadn’t spoken for several days, not even on WeChat.

Cheng Siyu answered the call and learned from Jiang Shizi’s slightly troubled tone that the production crew wanted her and Ji Yun to shoot a set of dual posters.

Originally, it was supposed to be Cheng Siyu and Ji Yun, but because Jiang Shizi’s status and resume were higher, Cheng Siyu was automatically demoted to the third lead, so the crew replaced Cheng Siyu with Jiang Shizi.

“Your little girlfriend has quite a temper,” Jiang Shizi added. It turned out that because of Ji Yun’s lack of cooperation, there had been no progress on these posters.

Jiang Shizi didn’t originally care, but seeing the whole crew waiting on the promotional posters made her a bit sentimental.

“Born with a silver spoon, raised in a jar of honey,” Cheng Siyu said truthfully. Afterward, she mentioned that she was going to participate in the variety show with Qi Yan.

“I don’t know how Qi Yan will make things difficult for me.” Cheng Siyu’s tone took on a hint of worry, matching Jiang Shizi’s.

“She was also born with a silver spoon,” Jiang Shizi laughed on the other end. “If you want to talk about the only hurdle she’s faced in her life, it was meeting me.”

“I get it, you big romantic.”

“She shouldn’t do anything to you on the show; after all, the cameras are recording.”

“I hope so.” Since their previous two encounters were less than pleasant, Cheng Siyu could only mentally prepare herself. Then, remembering Ji Yun, she added, “You should also look out for yourself.”

The two didn’t chat for long. After hanging up, Cheng Siyu looked up Qi Yan’s public reputation online.

Qi Yan was straightforward and decisive; if she could do something, she wouldn’t say two extra words. Her reputation both inside and outside the industry was positive. Her only untouchable “reverse scale” was Jiang Shizi—this was the only point that could make her lose emotional control.

Three years ago, she and one of Jiang Shizi’s former flings participated in a show together. Because that person said, “I thought you were so capable, but in the end, you were replaced anyway,” a physical fight broke out in the studio, forcing the live broadcast to be cut.

Back then, as she was being pulled away, she shouted, “I wasn’t replaced, I wasn’t! I just lost her, she’ll be back soon!”

There was another time, a few days ago, when she was on a talk show and someone casually asked, “Jiang Shizi has made a comeback, have you two met?” Qi Yan smashed the microphone and walked out on the spot.

Therefore, the fact that Jiang Shizi was a forbidden topic in front of Qi Yan was common knowledge.

But the production crew loved to cause trouble. After seeing the trending search, they immediately thought of inviting Cheng Siyu.

Cheng Siyu had an inkling—was it possible they wanted to invite Jiang Shizi at first? But since Jiang Shizi claimed she wanted to focus on acting and rejected all variety shows, it fell to her.

Regardless of the truth, Cheng Siyu was destined for a storm tomorrow.

I hope the clarifications online have dampened her hostility a little, Cheng Siyu thought.

Time without plot always flies by. Soon, Cheng Siyu was in the car heading to the recording site.

“Siyu, just show your face and act like a mascot.”

On the way, Zhao Xixi briefed her on the seating arrangements in the studio. Fortunately, the crew had some conscience and placed their seats quite far apart.

While in makeup, Cheng Siyu could clearly feel the oppressive atmosphere. Although people would greet her kindly on the surface, gossip was unavoidable.

However, she didn’t care. She might only see these people once; being polite on the surface was enough.

Since Qi Yan had a private dressing room, Cheng Siyu didn’t run into her until just before the recording.

While a staff member was fitting Cheng Siyu with a microphone, she felt a wave of killing intent pass by. Then, she saw Qi Yan.

After Qi Yan greeted every guest present except Cheng Siyu, she walked into the recording studio without looking back.

“Welcome back to our show! Today, we’ve invited two special guests to serve as our observers. They are the newly minted father, Zeng Moxuan, and our rising star in the acting world, Cheng Siyu.”

My title has absolutely nothing to do with this show, Cheng Siyu grumbled internally.

Despite her thoughts, she maintained a refined and cultured smile as she walked into the studio.

“Hello everyone, nice to meet you. I am Cheng Siyu.” Her voice was somewhat reserved, but it matched her unconventional looks and didn’t seem out of place.

Behind her, although Qi Yan feigned a generous and poised appearance, her eyes couldn’t help but betray a few sparks of killing intent.

After everyone introduced themselves, the show began. Cheng Siyu tried to focus on the big screen, but she still felt a chill coming from behind her from time to time.

The content of the show was simple: watching videos of celebrities raising children at home, with guests observing and analyzing the children’s states.