After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 49

“I’m sorry. My parents didn’t have a good relationship growing up, and I’ve never been in love before. I don’t know how to treat someone well.”

If it were the past, Cheng Siyu would have smiled and comforted her, saying, “I’ll teach you,” even though she had never truly experienced that feeling herself. But now, she only spoke with hollow eyes:

“There’s no need to say sorry. It’s not your fault.”

After the banquet ended, Ji Yun had to leave early for an advertisement shoot. Cheng Siyu intended to take a taxi back to the hotel, but as she reached the entrance, she ran into Xi You.

“Alone?” Xi You asked upon seeing her.

“Yes,” Cheng Siyu did not deny it.

Hearing this, Xi You stepped closer, glancing at the coat draped over her shoulders. “Where are you heading?”

“Back to the hotel,” Cheng Siyu told her frankly.

“I’ll give you a lift.”

“Thank you.”

Once inside Xi You’s car, Cheng Siyu leaned her head against the seat. Today, Xi You wasn’t driving that high-profile flame-red sports car, but a different, pure white one.

Previously, Cheng Siyu had subconsciously believed that people who replaced things quickly or owned a vast variety of them were unfaithful—Ji Yun was like that. But now, it seemed Xi You wasn’t.

At the very least, since she had decided to pursue Cheng Siyu, no other gossip or scandals had surfaced.

“Are you staying in a hotel for now?” Xi You asked while turning the steering wheel.

Cheng Siyu replied, “Yes. The dorms aren’t open yet. I’ll move back to school once the semester starts.”

“I have a few empty rooms at my place,” Xi You said, her tone an invitation.

Cheng Siyu replied languidly, “What? Are you planning to keep a mistress in a golden house?”

“I don’t know if you’re interested,” Xi You said playfully. “But if your little girlfriend found out you were staying at my house, she’d probably lose her mind, wouldn’t she?”

“Why worry about her?” Cheng Siyu said nothing more. She tapped her phone; the top trending topic was still the two of them, herself and Jiang Shizi, appearing on the red carpet together. At that moment, she remembered something.

“Is Jiang Shizi still living at your place?”

“No, she moved out a month ago,” Xi You said, adding, “Aside from me, there are only two cats at home—one named Seven and the other Caloi. You don’t have to worry about being seen by anyone.”

Sensing a hint of ambiguity in Xi You’s words, Cheng Siyu only asked, “Then how should we calculate the rent?”

“No need. The feeling you give me is worth much more than money.”

True enough, the one thing Xi You didn’t lack was money.

That night, after returning to the hotel, Cheng Siyu took a shower first to wash away the smell of alcohol and her fatigue.

The moment the hot water hit the wounds on her body, it was still very painful, yet she seemed to have no sensation of it.

However, after she stepped out, she heard the doorbell ring. Looking through the peephole, she saw Ji Yun. She had arrived in a hurry, with a thin layer of snow still on her down jacket.

“Good evening.”

After the door opened, Ji Yun rubbed her hands together and placed a large pile of things she had brought on the nearby shelf. The oversized down jacket made her movements look somewhat clumsy.

For once, Cheng Siyu leaned against the wall and watched her with a light laugh. If only she knew nothing—if things could just stay like this forever.

“This coat is so hard to wear; it wraps me up like a zongzi (rice dumpling).”

Once the indoor heating had warmed her up, Ji Yun took off her outer coat and immediately hugged Cheng Siyu, who was still steaming from her shower.

“I missed you so much, so much.”

The sudden embrace pressed against Cheng Siyu, making it hard to breathe. She subconsciously wanted to pull away, but she was held even tighter.

Cheng Siyu was still not used to physical intimacy. Perhaps it was her past experiences reminding her that the deeper the affection, the greater the potential for pain.

However, she knew she would never fall for Ji Yun again. That kind of heart-wrenching emotional experience was enough to last a lifetime.

“Go shower first.”

After a while, Cheng Siyu finally pushed the clinging Ji Yun away. She was about to speak, but the range of motion was too large and pulled at her wound, leaving her momentarily speechless from the pain.

“Did I hurt your wound?”

As she spoke, Ji Yun unhesitatingly lifted Cheng Siyu’s sleepwear, only to find that the skin on her fair waist and abdomen was covered in bruises.

“It’s nothing, it’s almost healed.”

Once the surge of pain passed, Cheng Siyu regained her composure and pulled her clothes back down to cover the area. “You go shower first.”

She was not someone who liked to show weakness, especially not in front of Ji Yun. She still wanted to maintain a shred of dignity.

“The injury is this serious? How is that ‘nothing’?” Ji Yun was somewhat indignant. It seemed Cheng Siyu was always like this—hiding her wounds and pretending nothing had happened.

Ji Yun’s words entered Cheng Siyu’s ears, but she only brushed them off with a smile. In her previous life, she had been hospitalized several times because of Ji Yun, yet Ji Yun never bothered to visit her once.

Only after returning home drunk and finding no one there would Ji Yun angrily call to interrogate her, followed by several days of cold war while letting gossip and scandals dominate the headlines.

“What are you laughing at?”

Seeing Cheng Siyu’s cold, abrupt smile, Ji Yun’s anger seemed to dissipate instantly. “You really don’t know how to take care of yourself.”

“It’s fine, don’t I have you?”

Cheng Siyu had once been captivated by this sentence from Ji Yun, only to realize later that Ji Yun just enjoyed the bottomless service she provided. This sentence was merely a sweet date offered before a slap in the face.

“I can’t do anything with you,” Ji Yun said helplessly. But she had to admit, right now she enjoyed the feeling of looking after the person she liked. She reached out and brushed a strand of Cheng Siyu’s hair, sniffing it in her hand.

“Go shower,” Cheng Siyu said as she walked into the room, and her hair subsequently slipped from Ji Yun’s fingertips.

While the sound of the shower came from the bathroom, Cheng Siyu, who was looking for something, discovered that among the items Ji Yun had brought—aside from daily necessities and skincare products—there were quite a few adult toys.

After picking them up and examining them for a few minutes, Cheng Siyu put them back where they were.

The Ji Yun of her previous life never liked these things, preferring simple and fast forms of intimacy. Now, it seemed she had simply changed her tastes.

When Ji Yun came out after her shower, Cheng Siyu was staring at her phone, lost in thought.

She had another filming offer—an investigative variety show produced by Xiyu. They had invited her to be a permanent guest with a substantial fee. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t refuse, but what made her hesitate this time was that Ji Yun’s name was also on the list of invited guests.

“What are you worrying about?”

Cheng Siyu was so absorbed that she didn’t even notice Ji Yun walking up behind her.

“Nothing.” Hearing the voice, Cheng Siyu instinctively hid her phone, but she didn’t realize Ji Yun had already finished reading the contents of the invitation.

“Are you conflicted about this? This theme is quite new. I see the company intends to develop it vigorously; they want to use this to break into the variety show market.”

“Mm…” How could Cheng Siyu not understand? In anyone’s eyes, this invitation was a lucrative opportunity. The quote for a single episode of a variety show was not low, let alone for a permanent role. It was just that she had finally managed to use filming to distance herself from Ji Yun, and she didn’t want to be tied to her again.

“A few of the scripts for this variety show were written by my cousin,” Ji Yun added.

Cheng Siyu was stunned for a moment, her tone turning somber. “Your cousin is truly talented.”

“She’s alright, but she’s not as smart as me. She’s a bit dim in some areas,” Ji Yun said to herself. Cheng Siyu nodded in agreement, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.

“Do you still need to apply medicine to your wound?”

It wasn’t until Ji Yun’s hand touched her waist that Cheng Siyu snapped back to reality, rejecting her with a half-beat delay. “I already applied it myself just now.”

In reality, after being discharged from the hospital, she had already forgotten that there was a procedure for applying medicine. To her, applying medicine was just the difference between healing a bit faster or slower; since she could still endure it, there was no need for the trouble.

“Liar.” Ji Yun somehow found a box of ointment that was still wrapped in heat-shrink film, with a doctor’s note beside it about daily application after discharge.

“This is the second bottle; the first one is finished,” Cheng Siyu used a clumsy excuse, but her eyes flickered the moment they met Ji Yun’s.

The Ji Yun at this moment looked too much like the version of her right before she would lose her temper in Cheng Siyu’s memory. Even though a long time had passed, that deep-seated sense of fear engraved in her memory still surged up.

“The receipt shows only one bottle was issued.”

“I was too busy, I forgot.” Cheng Siyu stopped arguing and simply pointed to a corner of the table. “Leave it on the table; I’ll apply it myself later.”

“Now. You’ll just forget again later.” Whenever Ji Yun was displeased, her tone would become oppressive. Cheng Siyu was terrified of this feeling to her core, and under the circumstances, she could only get up and comply.

Cheng Siyu rarely looked at her own wounds—perhaps she had never looked at them at all. It was only at this moment that she realized the bruising had spread from her waist almost to her shoulder blade.

It seemed she really had touched Cheng Wuxing’s nerves. However, the thought of him being hauled off to the station in disgrace still brought her joy.

She felt nothing looking at the wounds herself, but Ji Yun couldn’t sit still. She snatched the opened ointment from her hand. “Lie down properly, I’ll help you apply it.”

Cheng Siyu was silent for a long while, but in the end, she didn’t struggle further. She wasn’t used to being served. When Ji Yun’s fingertips touched the wound, although she turned pale from the pain, she didn’t make a sound.

Ji Yun seemed to understand why the hospital caregivers said Cheng Siyu didn’t act like a public figure. It was because even if she was suffering, she would rather endure it to the end than reveal her vulnerability to others.

Like a hedgehog forever curled up with its spines out, never exposing its soft belly.

Thinking this, her movements became even lighter.

By the time Ji Yun finished applying the medicine, a thin layer of sweat had broken out on Cheng Siyu’s body, but her expression remained unchanged.

“Thank you. I can do it myself next time.”

The words were very polite. Ji Yun’s brow furrowed in an instant, her tone carrying a hint of irritation. “There’s no need to say thank you.”

When these words reached Cheng Siyu’s ears, she suddenly realized she didn’t understand Ji Yun. She didn’t know where her anger came from. What was engraved in her bones was obedience; the fact that Ji Yun would apply medicine for her was already a blessing—how could she dare crave it a second time?

Furthermore, she didn’t want to have too much intimate contact with Ji Yun.

“Don’t be as polite to me as if I’m a stranger, okay?”

Ji Yun capped the ointment and placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the table. She looked at Cheng Siyu, who was lying on her side, her eyes carrying a bit of a plea.

“Okay,” Cheng Siyu couldn’t understand, but she responded anyway.

“Do you have work tomorrow?”

After a moment of silence, the atmosphere was broken by Ji Yun’s voice.

“Yes. Going to film the last episode of ‘Little Ones’ for this season.”

Cheng Siyu spoke truthfully while looking at her phone.

“Is Qi Yan still making things difficult for you?” Ji Yun’s voice came again.

Hearing this, Cheng Siyu’s finger paused on the screen. She looked up at Ji Yun, her gaze hiding a trace of surprise.

“No,” Cheng Siyu responded. Ever since the incident where Qi Yan’s mother caused a scene on set, the two of them hadn’t spoken a single word outside of necessary interactions for the show. Even He Wuyou seemed to have been disciplined into being well-behaved and no longer took the initiative to approach her.

Cheng Siyu didn’t feel much of anything about it. Perhaps the blow from the Jiang Shizi incident was simply too great for Qi Yan.

“I’m going to participate tomorrow, too.”