After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 37.1

Cheng Siyu paused for a moment before typing her reply: “Your mom is trying to set me up on blind dates, so I won’t be coming back for now.”

On the other side, Cheng Hanyi sent back a “stifling a laugh” emoji, followed by: “My mom is being way too impatient. Besides, you’re a big star now; are you really afraid you won’t find a partner?”

“I’m not some big star,” Cheng Siyu replied. She set her phone down and returned to staring out the window, but a second later, the phone rang again. It was Cheng Wuxing.

After listening to the ringtone for four or five seconds, Cheng Siyu weighed her options and finally picked up.

“Hello, Xiaoyu? When are you coming back so your father can see you? Xiaoyi hasn’t seen you in a long time either.”

The middle-aged man’s voice came through as soon as the call connected. Cheng Siyu thought for a few seconds before answering, “I have to film a program these next few days, so I don’t have much time.”

“I… I see. Well, your aunt mentioned she introduced a potential match to you last time, but she said you already have a boyfriend. Is that true or false?”

“Yes,” Cheng Siyu confirmed directly. She knew Cheng Wuxing wouldn’t call her home out of genuine concern; he was clearly fishing for information after hearing from her stepmother that she was seeing someone.

“Where is he from? How old? What’s his family background like?” Cheng Wuxing threw out a string of questions. After a few seconds of silence, Cheng Siyu replied, “I don’t know yet.”

“Xiaoyu, I’m not trying to nag you, but I’m doing this for your own good. The man your aunt introduced is young and already has a car and a house. At your age, do you think you’ll find anyone better than him?”

“Are you that desperate to sell off your daughter? I don’t want your property, so stop arranging blind dates for me.” Cheng Siyu’s tone was flat, but Cheng Wuxing sounded as though his secret intentions had been exposed, erupting in humiliated rage.

“Is that any way to talk to your father? Cheng Siyu, your mother did so many terrible things back then. I’ve done more than enough by raising you this far. Do you think you can act so high and mighty just because you made a little money on some trashy show?”

As Cheng Wuxing continued his relentless nagging, Cheng Siyu simply gave a calm reply: “Then why don’t you just disown me?” She then hung up the phone.

Cheng Siyu felt that she had long since moved on, yet for some reason, her heart still felt heavy.

She wasn’t one to indulge in self-pity, but it seemed that throughout her life, she had never been treated with much kindness.

In all her years, she had never even experienced a hug from her father, let alone anything else. As for her mother, the moments of warmth she had provided were far too few.

After getting off the bus, Cheng Siyu returned to her dormitory and received a message from Cheng Hanyi: “Sis, did you get into a fight with Dad? He smashed his phone and said you’re no longer part of this family.”

Had there ever been a place for her in that home? Perhaps. When relatives came to stay, her “place” was the sofa. During New Year’s dinners, she was always the one stuck washing the dishes and mopping the floors.

While she worked, she would hear the family boasting, “This eldest daughter of yours is quite sensible.”

Then, a drunken Cheng Wuxing would say, “Yeah, if she weren’t sensible and turned out like that crazy mother of hers, I would have kicked her out long ago.”

Even though her stepmother would usually remind him not to say such things in front of the child, he would stubbornly persist: “She should be grateful I give her a meal at all, considering how her mother ruined me.”

Cheng Siyu didn’t understand the grudge between Cheng Wuxing and Lin Shuyu; she only knew fragments from her father’s drunken ramblings.

Apparently, Lin Shuyu had originally promised to wait until Cheng Siyu was born before divorcing him and giving him two houses in the settlement. However, the Lin family happened to go bankrupt at that exact time. He gained nothing and was nearly dragged down into their legal troubles.

Lin Shuyu, who had been traumatized by these events, was already mentally unstable. Yet, Cheng Wuxing insisted on a divorce regardless of the fact that she had just given birth.

He hadn’t even looked at the newborn Cheng Siyu before walking out of the hospital with the divorce papers.

Cheng Siyu also learned from him that he had only targeted her mother because the Lin family was the largest enterprise in the city at the time; he hadn’t realized that the glamorous Lin family was actually on the brink of collapse.

The vibration of a new message pulled Cheng Siyu back from her thoughts. It was Cheng Hanyi again: “It’s okay, Dad just has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He’ll cool off in a few days.”

Cheng Siyu simply replied tiredly: “It’s fine, let it be.” She was exhausted.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and didn’t wake up until her alarm went off the next morning. She remembered she had a live-stream promotion to attend today.

After a yawn, she got out of bed. Her roommates were still sleeping since they had no classes.

“Sister Siyu! It’s been so long since I saw you!” As soon as she got into the car, Li Yexing gave her a warm hug. Cheng Siyu just sat down quietly.

Only then did she have time to open her phone. There was a WeChat message from Ji Yun.

“My sister asked me to apologize to you on her behalf. She wants to treat you to dinner when she’s free.”

Cheng Siyu stared blankly at the screen, a bitter smile touching her lips. She replied: “No need.”

There was no need for apologies; she simply understood exactly how much she weighed in Ji Yun’s heart.

“Siyu, Siyu! So many celebrities are following you now!”

Cheng Siyu took the phone Lin Zhizhi handed her. Her follower list now included many familiar names: Jiang Shizi, Ji Yun, Xi You, Su Mingshu, and Wen Zhiluo. Most surprising of all was that even Qi Yan had followed her.

Recalling what Qi Yan had said last time—”I want to see what strengths you have that I don’t”—Cheng Siyu shivered for a moment. After checking her Weibo and finding only landscape photos and drama advertisements, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She handed the phone back to Lin Zhizhi but noticed a small detail: Lin Zhizhi’s wallpaper was no longer a provocative image, but a picture of a temple.

Upon opening her own Weibo, Cheng Siyu found that fans had dug up her old posts to like and comment.

She felt lucky that she had never posted any embarrassing photos or comments.

“Siyu, why don’t you post a selfie now and say you’re going to the live stream to promote the new drama?” Zhao Xixi suggested.

“I… I’m not very good at selfies,” Cheng Siyu admitted truthfully. She was the type of person who didn’t take photos; in the past, Shen Moxu always had to drag her into them during outings.

“It’s fine, let Lin Zhizhi teach you. She’s an expert. Every time I see her on Weibo, it’s a front-facing selfie,” Zhao Xixi added. Lin Zhizhi’s face turned bright red at the comment, and she explained softly.

“I don’t do it every time. Maybe just once a day, and only when I don’t have a partner.”

Hearing this, Cheng Siyu glanced at her, realizing she was also someone with hidden depths.

In the end, under Lin Zhizhi’s guidance, Cheng Siyu took a front-facing selfie in the car and uploaded it to Weibo. The caption, written by Zhao Xixi, read: “There’s a live stream for the Hard to Tell cast today. Remember to watch! smiley face smiley face.”

Not long after the post went up, it received a flood of likes and comments.

Badminton Boss: Siyu! You finally learned how to post a selfie! Ahhh!

Siyu’s Shuttlecock: Our daughter has grown up; she’s posting selfies! But why is there only one? Ahhh!

Siyu is Sleeping in My Arms: You finally know how to do business! You need to do this for every drama promo and live stream, okay? And one photo isn’t enough! You need to post more to lure us in, got it? Serious face

Cheng Siyu scanned the comments briefly and was about to put her phone away for a nap when a repost and comment from Ji Yun suddenly appeared.

“Okay, I will.”

That simple sentence sent the comment section into a frenzy for a long time. Cheng Siyu paused for a few seconds, assuming she was just doing her part to promote the live stream.

But after Ji Yun’s post, other celebrities started commenting on her Weibo one after another.

Jiang Shizi: Reposted “On the way.”

Su Mingshu: Reposted “Crap, I just woke up, but I’m at the venue. Hehe. Selfie included”

Cheng Siyu was stunned. It seemed the Hard to Tell actors were having a group gathering in her comments. However, as the saying goes, wherever Jiang Shizi goes, Qi Yan’s fans follow.

They began fighting with Jiang Shizi’s fans in the comments of the repost.

As if by coincidence, Qi Yan’s Weibo updated at that moment with a photo of He Wuyou. The caption read: “Remember to watch The Little Ones tonight. Xiaoyou and I will be waiting for you.”

Although the two posts were unrelated, Qi Yan’s fans suddenly began criticizing Jiang Shizi and Cheng Siyu. They argued that since both were guests on The Little Ones, focusing only on promoting their drama was a sign of disrespect toward the variety show.

Consequently, the comment section descended into chaos once again.

Cheng Siyu didn’t have much of an opinion on it; this was exactly the kind of buzz the directors wanted. However, Li Yexing grabbed her phone and began fighting passionately in the comments.

“Wait, isn’t this Qin Xiangqing’s official fan club? Why are they joining the fight?”

“What?” Cheng Siyu checked her phone and glanced at the IP address. She opened WeChat and messaged Shen Moxu: “You’re using the wrong account.”

Shen Moxu replied quickly: “I saw! But they’re being so mean to you. Let me finish this sentence before I switch back.”

Seeing the reply, Cheng Siyu rubbed her temples. This was very typical of Shen Moxu.

By the time Cheng Siyu got out of the car, the Qin Xiangqing fan club had posted an update: “Account was hacked, our apologies.” But the comments were full of people who didn’t believe it.

Soon, Qin Xiangqing’s fans were forced into the battlefield as well.

Cheng Siyu felt a headache coming on. She decided to turn off her phone and followed Zhao Xixi into the venue.

The venue was massive, but because it was a live stream, no audience had been invited. Only Cheng Siyu, Su Mingshu, and the staff had arrived early in the quiet hall.

Once they sat down in the dressing room, Su Mingshu started chatting with her again.

“How did you do it? The drama hasn’t even aired yet, and the CP (Couple) Super Topic for you and Jiang Shizi is already trending so high.”

Cheng Siyu replied calmly, “By risking being hunted down by Qi Yan and her fans. The Super Topic is filled with her fans cursing me out. Do you want this kind of ‘good fortune’?”

“I see. In that case, forget it. But I actually think I’d be quite a good match for a CP with you.” Su Mingshu pouted. In the drama, he and Cheng Siyu were actually the couple.

“Wait until you find a rich woman like Qi Yan and then dump her.”

It wasn’t Cheng Siyu who said this, but Ji Yun, who had walked up behind Su Mingshu at some unknown point.

“Whoa, you… you walk without making a sound? You scared me.” Su Mingshu was startled by Ji Yun’s sudden appearance, and he seemed to feel a thick sense of murderous intent in her gaze.

“Are you done with your makeup?” Ji Yun asked, looking at Su Mingshu.

“Yeah, I’m done.”

“Then get up. I need to use this spot,” Ji Yun said.

“Aren’t there several other seats?” Su Mingshu pointed around the room.

Ji Yun didn’t even look and repeated, “I want to sit here.”

“Fine, fine. You’re the boss. It’s yours.” Su Mingshu didn’t argue further and moved to the lounge area in the back.