After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 45

Two days later, the repairs to the film set and the compensation claims had mostly been handled. Cheng Siyu received a message in the production group chat that filming was set to resume.

The compensation for the slap from Qi’s mother had been deposited directly into her account. Looking at the amount, Cheng Siyu could only marvel at the sheer financial power of the Qi family.

Arriving at the studio early once again, Cheng Siyu immediately spotted Jiang Shizi, who was staring blankly into the makeup room mirror.

Cheng Siyu sat down beside her, the sound of the chair moving making Jiang Shizi turn her head.

“Morning,” Cheng Siyu said, looking into her dull eyes.

“Morning,” Jiang Shizi’s voice sounded dry and lifeless.

While her makeup was being applied, Cheng Siyu took out her phone and opened Weibo. Ever since her follower count increased, she rarely checked Weibo except for necessary promotional activities.

Her comment section was usually a chaotic mess, and today was no exception. Her finger scrolled through the hot searches, finding the hashtag Qi Yan Divorce pinned at the number one spot.

Clicking on it, she saw a post Qi Yan had updated in the early hours: “Three years have ended,” accompanied by a photo of a divorce certificate.

The comment section was filled with fans congratulating her on escaping her misery. Since the two had married, He Jinnian’s various scandals had never ceased. Qi Yan had always remained in a state of neither responding, nor denying, nor admitting. Divorcing now was perhaps the most dignified outcome.

However, Jiang Shizi’s fans soon dug up the video of Qi’s mother causing a scene on set to demand justice for Jiang Shizi. The scene where Cheng Siyu was hit also appeared in the video, and her fans joined the fray to voice their grievances for her.

Cheng Siyu felt a sense of strangeness at being defended by others, but she instinctively felt it wasn’t a bad thing. She tapped the screen to exit the hot searches, no longer throwing herself into the battlefield.

The scene being filmed today was a sequence of Yi Mi writing in her diary. Cheng Siyu was arranged to sit at a desk in a rented room, writing down a series of things from Yi Mi’s memory.

On her first day in this big city, after visiting several apartments, she settled on this one. Later, she went to a second-hand furniture market to buy some damaged but functional furniture, which finally made this place feel a bit like home.

So tired, I’ll stop writing here. I start work tomorrow! I must be the first one to arrive at the office!

At the end of the first page of the diary, she had even drawn a smiley face.

“Cut,” Xiyu’s voice called out to stop.

They only needed to film the snippet of Cheng Siyu writing; the contents of the diary would be replaced and edited in post-production because Cheng Siyu’s handwriting didn’t quite match Yi Mi’s.

Yi Mi’s handwriting looked childish and carefree, with the final smiley face carrying a young person’s sense of anticipation for the future. Cheng Siyu’s handwriting, however, was already set—locked into a fixed framework. It wasn’t that it didn’t look good; it just lacked vitality.

Once Cheng Siyu finished her scene, Jiang Shizi took her place at that same spot. Xiyu wanted to capture a shot of the two people in the same location—one writing and one reading.

“Sister Siyu, which of these two photos do you think looks better?”

In the rest area, Cheng Siyu had just sat down and picked up her water bottle when Lin Zhizhi leaned in with her phone. The photos showed her sitting and writing just moments ago.

“Are you working part-time as a fan site master?”

“No, Sister Xixi asked me to take a photo to send to her as a ‘leaked’ still for future promotion.”

“I see. I think they both look good,” Cheng Siyu replied thoughtfully, and then answered with a serious face.

“I’ll just ask someone else,” Lin Zhizhi sighed dejectedly, whispering a complaint. “I knew that extra chicken leg at lunch wouldn’t be so easy to earn.”

At that moment, Li Yexing, who was sitting behind them, leaned over.

“Sister Siyu, Ji Yun’s latest magazine cover is out. Have you seen it? It’s truly beautiful.”

Cheng Siyu took the phone Li Yexing handed her. On the hot search list was the tag Western Regions Magazine Cover.

The image featured a set of magazine covers where Ji Yun wore a trench coat with Chinese ink-wash painting patterns.

Cheng Siyu stared at the photo for a long time. Ji Yun’s features had matured significantly; the childishness had faded, replaced by a deep, inscrutable look. She carried a natural aura of nobility. The person in the photo was too dazzling. She knew very well that it was this version of Ji Yun who had pushed her into the abyss of no return.

In her previous life, she had seen this set of photos while on a film set. She had been deeply attracted by Ji Yun on the cover and couldn’t resist picking up her phone to send a message to the person she had kept her distance from after adding her on WeChat.

“I saw you in a magazine.”

A simple greeting. Ji Yun replied to her an hour later. Looking back now, Ji Yun had already discovered the resemblance between her and Ji Yan at that time. Every step thereafter was taken because she treated her as Ji Yan’s substitute, while she had foolishly immersed herself in the joy of Ji Yun’s willingness to acknowledge her.

“Wow.”

Lin Zhizhi’s exclamation pulled Cheng Siyu out of the flood of memories. She returned the phone to Li Yexing and shifted her gaze back to the script in her hand.

However, her mind was constantly thinking of Ji Yun. After she died, would Ji Yun feel sad? Would she feel she had finally shaken her off, or would she regret losing such a perfect substitute?

No, she remembered Ji Yun once telling her that many people liked her, and that she was the most persistent and annoying one she had ever seen. At that time, she had hoped her persistence would change her mind, but the end result was her staying forever on that rainy day, on that muddy concrete road.

That was the road Ji Yun had to take to work, right? Would she think of her when she passed by? Or would she take a detour because she found her disgusting?

It was so difficult; even after dying once, she still couldn’t help but think of the Ji Yun from her previous life.

Cheng Siyu smiled mockingly at herself. Regardless of what the Ji Yun of the previous life was like, it had nothing to do with the self of this life.

Just then, Cheng Siyu’s phone rang. The caller ID showed someone from the Ji Group.

She made an excuse to go to the restroom and walked outside to the prop room to answer the call. She thought it would be the same mechanical female voice as last time, but when she answered, it was Ji Wanli’s voice.

“Miss Cheng.”

“President Ji.” Cheng Siyu kept her voice calm. “Do you have any instructions?”

“Nothing much. I just hope Miss Cheng remembers the contents of our agreement. I don’t want to see any more news about my daughter being a lesbian in the gossip papers, especially… with you.”

Ji Wanli’s voice was as composed as ever. Cheng Siyu responded calmly, “Yes, I know.”

“Also, I hope Miss Cheng keeps her emotions in check and doesn’t cause unnecessary trouble.”

“I understand.”

After hanging up, Cheng Siyu opened WeChat and realized her assistant had sent her a piece of gossip news at some point. The headline was: “Cheng Siyu Suspected of Secretly Meeting a Young Lover at Night, Not Jiang Shizi.”

Closing her phone, Cheng Siyu intended to head back, only to find someone already standing at the door.

“Are you one of Ji Wanli’s people?”

Xiyu’s questioning voice came. Her eyes didn’t show the alertness of someone discovering a spy from a rival company; instead, they were full of playfulness.

Cheng Siyu looked into her eyes; Xiyu’s eyes hidden a pool of quiet water.

“Yes.”

Cheng Siyu had already planned to jump ship from Ji Wanli’s control, so since Xiyu had found out, she didn’t bother hiding it.

“So that ‘acting for the occasion’ you mentioned that day was referring to this.” Xiyu’s voice sounded a bit realization-heavy.

“What else could it be?” Cheng Siyu’s tone also held a hint of confusion.

“I thought you had some kind of dirt on her.”

Xiyu had been in the industry for many years and had seen many dirty and ambiguous transactions. She thought Cheng Siyu’s distance from Ji Yun was because Ji Yun was using power to threaten her. She could see affection in Ji Yun’s eyes, but only indifference in Cheng Siyu’s.

“What dirt could I possibly have?”

With that, Cheng Siyu walked out from the other side of the door. Whether in the previous life or this one, she was always alone.

As for the agreement with Ji Wanli—what did Cheng Wuxing losing his job have to do with her? She was only after the resources promised in the agreement.

She also wanted to use this opportunity to let Ji Yun experience the pain of having all the responses she received be based on conditional attachments.

In the evening, Xiyu invited all the actors from the cast to a KTV to sing. Cheng Siyu, not knowing what else to do with her night, went along.

After arriving, Cheng Siyu sat alone in a corner drinking juice. Although she didn’t like crowds, watching the others play together occasionally made her smile lightly.

At some point, Xiyu sat down beside her, holding two glasses of alcohol.

“Why aren’t you drinking?”

“I don’t like it.”

“The alcohol content isn’t high; you can try it.”

Cheng Siyu looked at the look in Xiyu’s eyes. She understood she couldn’t avoid this drink, so she took it and took a small sip. The liquid didn’t burn the throat like other strong spirits; instead, it was somewhat cloyingly sweet.

“I think you’re quite interesting.”

Under the flickering lights of the KTV, the atmosphere between the two was tinted with a hint of ambiguity.

“Thank you,” Cheng Siyu replied politely, placing the glass back on the glass table in front of her. She understood that in this atmosphere filtered by alcohol, anything the person opposite her said seemed normal and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Once upon a time, Ji Yun had also kissed her in front of all her friends in such a neon-lit atmosphere. She had thought she was the exception, but in reality, she was just a toy for people to watch.

Ji Yun’s friends all knew she was just a lover; in Ji Yun’s heart, she was a substitute. Only she had been foolishly immersed in the illusion Ji Yun had created.

Cheng Siyu looked at the reflection in her glass, feeling as if she had returned to that night, until Xiyu’s words drifted into her ears, pulling her consciousness back.

“I’ve actually seen you before, at your school.”

“Really?”

The first time Xiyu saw Cheng Siyu was when she went to attend a mentor’s lecture. She saw her in the backstage playing around with Shen Moxu, and she thought she looked beautiful when she smiled.

Although she had seen many different kinds of women, for some reason, Cheng Siyu’s smile was remembered by her. On the day of the banquet, she recognized her at a single glance.

Only by their third meeting, she could keenly sense that something about Cheng Siyu had changed.

Just that one small sip, but the feeling of being tipsy still attacked Cheng Siyu’s brain.

“You’re drunk.”

Xiyu was not the type to take advantage of someone. She liked people to submit beneath her voluntarily. Seeing the blurred look in the eyes of the person before her, she intended to stand up, but unexpectedly, Cheng Siyu reached out and hooked her arms around her neck.

It was a highly aggressive French kiss.