After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 56

Not long after Cheng Siyu and Shen Moxu found a house, school started. However, since they were close to graduation, there were very few classes.

It was during this time that the contract for the drama Tower of Mystery arrived. Cheng Siyu looked over the contents and looked up, intending to ask Shen Moxu about it, only to find her standing right in front of her.

Her state of mind had been fluctuating these past few days. Cheng Siyu pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you still want to film this?”

“Why not? I’m not the one in the wrong.”

A flicker of ruthlessness flashed in Shen Moxu’s eyes. Looking at her, Cheng Siyu felt a sense of growing familiarity, because the Shen Moxu of her previous life had been exactly like this. “I still have many things I want to ask her.”

It went without saying who “she” referred to. Cheng Siyu didn’t press further, only promising, “If you go, I’ll go too.”

“Siyu, since you’re being so loyal, I’m treating you to a big feast tonight!”

After saying this, Shen Moxu hooked her arm around Cheng Siyu’s neck. For a moment, Cheng Siyu felt as though they had returned to the days when they were close, back when they weren’t plagued by so many troubles. That felt like a very, very long time ago.

“Okay,” she laughed, but then mischievously stuffed her ice-cold hand into Shen Moxu’s clothes.

“What are you doing?!”

Shen Moxu dodged away as if she’d been electrocuted. Cheng Siyu just sat there laughing; Shen Moxu turned back to meet her eyes and began laughing along with her.

Over the next few days, Cheng Siyu was busy with various advertisements and filming projects. She knew that no matter how well Xi You treated her, there would come a day when she grew tired of her. She had to secure her status before Xi You lost interest, so she wouldn’t end up like in her previous life—abandoned by everyone and left with nothing.

She was so busy that she sometimes lost track of time.

“Siyu, what’s going on with you? You just got out of the hospital and you’re already taking on so many jobs.”

In the car, while Cheng Siyu was trying to catch up on sleep while heading to the next ad location, Zhao Xixi finally found a spare moment to look over her schedule for the past few days.

Since Cheng Siyu had managed to climb into the ranks of second-tier stars, she had a significant amount of say in her work. She could choose her own contracts and roles, so Zhao Xixi hadn’t interfered.

But it was only today that she realized Cheng Siyu had accepted every single invitation sent her way, regardless of the pay.

“Nothing, I just want to focus on my career,” Cheng Siyu replied, waking up at the question and rubbing her eyes.

“Did you and Ji Yun get into a fight lately? I haven’t seen you two chatting.”

Zhao Xixi suddenly leaned in close. Cheng Siyu felt a bit uncomfortable and answered honestly, “We broke up.”

“Siyu, why? Was her car accident because she broke up with you and then…”

Li Yexing chimed in at some point. Cheng Siyu refuted, “That was her own fault for drinking and being careless. What does it have to do with me?”

She wasn’t conceited enough to think Ji Yun would go drag racing and get into an accident because of her. How could the person who never offered her even a shred of love in her previous life suddenly changes her nature in this one? Cheng Siyu looked at the scenery flashing past the window and gave a cynical smile.

“Siyu, why did you break up?”

“She got bored.”

“What?”

“She got bored of it.”

It was she who had subjected her to cold violence time and time again, bringing other women home. Cheng Siyu wasn’t so self-centered to believe that living a second life could change Ji Yun; at most, it only extended her time.

She only wanted to leave at a moment when Ji Yun was still immersed in the relationship, using a trivial reason so that she might occupy a space in her heart—even if Ji Yan was there, so what? She didn’t love her anymore.

This was perhaps the best ending Cheng Siyu could imagine for their relationship.

“Someone could get bored looking at this face?” Li Yexing gasped in amazement, reaching out to touch Cheng Siyu’s porcelain-smooth skin. He then muttered to himself, “In that case, do I have a chance?”

Before he could finish, Li Yexing was smacked hard by Zhao Xixi.

“Office romances are forbidden! Violators will be fined a month’s salary.”

“Ow.” Li Yexing clutched his head and whispered to Cheng Siyu, “It’s okay, we can date in secret and not let Xixi know.”

Hearing this, the corners of Cheng Siyu’s mouth curled up a few degrees, and Li Yexing was inevitably smacked by Zhao Xixi again.

“It’s fine. You’re in the rising stage of your career, so dating really isn’t a good idea. Once you’ve stabilized later on, you can date as many people as you want,” Zhao Xixi comforted her. Cheng Siyu nodded.

During a break while filming an advertisement, Xi You called.

“Is it convenient?”

“Wait a moment,” Cheng Siyu replied, walking out onto the balcony. “Is it about the matter I asked you to investigate? Are the results out?”

“Yes.” Xi You responded on the other end and paused, followed by the sound of her flipping through documents. “You said that friend of yours… is her name Shen Moxu?”

Cheng Siyu’s heart skipped a beat. She had only told Xi You that a friend had been burned by Qin Xiangqing, but after a moment’s hesitation, she admitted, “Yes.”

“Then that’s right. When Qin Xiangqing was in university, she had a relationship with Shen Zhinian. They broke up later for unknown reasons.”

“What does that have to do with Shen Moxu?” Cheng Siyu was puzzled.

“It was Shen Zhinian who dumped Qin Xiangqing back then. She probably felt slighted, so she went after the younger sister.”

“I see…” Cheng Siyu was silent for a while before asking, “Was their relationship good?”

“It should have been quite good. For Shen Zhinian’s sake, Qin Xiangqing even changed her ways and stopped going to nightclubs, sticking to her side every day.”

“Okay, I understand.” Cheng Siyu’s brow furrowed. After a long pause, she finally said, “Thank you for the trouble.”

“Don’t be so polite. You’re technically my lover now. The people before you took everything as a matter of course, so why are you being so formal?”

Then, Xi You added, “If you really want to thank me, why don’t we do it again?”

Xi You’s words gave Cheng Siyu a start. The last time… the last time was out of revenge against Ji Yun. After that first time while drunk, their relationship hadn’t progressed any further.

It seemed she had unknowingly become the type of person she hated most.

Forget it. Cheng Siyu agreed anyway.

“When are you free?”

“I’ll send it to you on WeChat. If you’re free, I’m at your service anytime.”

Xi You’s voice came through, and for a moment, Cheng Siyu felt as if she were standing right next to her. She replied with a “Fine” and hurriedly hung up.

On the other side of the phone, Xi You stood in place, stroking the head of the cat at her feet. “You miss her, don’t you? I do too.”

When Cheng Siyu returned from the balcony, she heard Lin Zhizhi call out, “Siyu, someone is looking for you.”

Cheng Siyu looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a back. When the person turned around, Cheng Siyu saw the face of Shen Zhinian.

“Siyu.”

Her voice carried a deep exhaustion, completely devoid of her previous high spirits.

“Is something the matter?”

Seeing her, Cheng Siyu froze for a few seconds, seemingly not expecting her to come looking for her here.

“Is Xiaoxu doing well?” Shen Zhinian looked at Cheng Siyu, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears.

“Yes, she’s doing well.” Cheng Siyu took a deep breath. The respect and admiration she once felt had vanished over the events of the past few days.

“Is it convenient for you to talk now?” Shen Zhinian glanced at the people bustling about the set.

“Yes,” Cheng Siyu replied. The two of them then sat down on the seats in the hallway.

“Xiaoxu will probably never forgive me in this lifetime.”

As soon as she sat down, Shen Zhinian let out a long sigh, a bitter smile appearing on her face. Cheng Siyu gave a muffled “Mhm” and then said,

“What you did isn’t something easily forgiven.”

“Siyu, whether you believe it or not, I never intended for things to turn out that way. I just went to find her for a drink, and then we both got drunk. When I woke up again, it was to the sound of Xiaoxu’s voice.”

“It doesn’t matter if I believe it or not; what matters is if she believes it. Besides, just because she invited you, did you have to go? Didn’t you two break up?”

Cheng Siyu countered. Her tone carried a hint of impatience, but she ultimately held back and didn’t say anything more hurtful. She simply stood up, looked Shen Zhinian in the eye, and left her with one sentence:

“I don’t believe you are the type of person to do such a thing.”

Then, Cheng Siyu walked back to the filming set without looking back.

“Siyu, was that… was that Shen Zhinian just now?” Zhao Xixi asked curiously as she walked back.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Wasn’t she just on the financial news a few days ago? Siyu, how do you know her?”

“She’s my best friend’s… sister,” Cheng Siyu replied after a few seconds of thought.

“I see.”

That night, when Cheng Siyu returned home, Shen Moxu was rarely in the kitchen cooking, making a series of clattering noises.

“Old Shen, what are you making?” Cheng Siyu poked her head into the kitchen doorway. As soon as she did, she saw Shen Moxu stir-frying a lump of black “unidentified matter” in a pot, which was emitting billows of black smoke.

With her years of cooking experience, Cheng Siyu rushed in, calmly turned off the stove, and opened the window and exhaust fan.

“Are you trying to burn yourself and the house down just so I have to pay the mortgage alone for the rest of my life?”

“No!” Shen Moxu, her face blackened by soot, explained aggrievedly, “I was invited to participate in a cooking variety show, and I… I wanted to give it a try.”

After dragging Shen Moxu out of the kitchen, Cheng Siyu haphazardly wiped her face with a wet wipe before asking, “Which show invited you?”

” I Am the Chef,” Shen Moxu said softly.

The name made Cheng Siyu’s eyes light up. In her previous life, Shen Moxu had gained her fame through this very variety show. Back then, many people in the comments section called her a “lovable airhead,” and she attracted a large fan base with her humorous and witty personality.

Thinking of this, Cheng Siyu patted her shoulder and suggested gently, “How about we sign you up for a class?”

“Okay,” Shen Moxu added, “My parents are coming back soon. I wanted to cook a meal for them myself.”

Cheng Siyu froze. “Do you plan on telling them about you and your sister?”

“I won’t.” A look of decisiveness appeared in Shen Moxu’s eyes, and she said calmly, “They are getting old.”

“Mhm.” Cheng Siyu suddenly didn’t know what to say. Instead, she looked at the kitchen and sighed.

“Poor plate of premium Wagyu beef.”

“Failure is the mother of success, don’t you know? You should encourage me!”

“Fine, okay, you’re great,” Cheng Siyu replied perfunctorily.

“That’s more like it.” After saying that, Shen Moxu slumped onto the sofa and pointed to a cardboard box in the corner, suddenly sighing,

“She sent my things over without a single word of explanation. It seems I really was just treated as a tool.”

At that moment, Cheng Siyu also remembered: would the things she left at Ji Yun’s house in her previous life have been thrown away by her too?

But then again, Ji Yun had long wished there were no traces of her in the house. Perhaps the moment she stepped out the door, her things would have been swept out immediately.

Even though she had known it would be so for a long time, Cheng Siyu still echoed Shen Moxu’s sentiment, murmuring,

“Is there not a single linger of attachment?”