After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's "White Moonlight" - Chapter 57

Forget it. Cheng Siyu snapped back to reality; no matter how much she struggled, it seemed she couldn’t change anything.

“Siyu, I’m a little bit sad.”

Shen Moxu suddenly hugged her arm. Cheng Siyu looked down at her.

“Hmm?”

“My purity was actually given to such a person; it simply disgraces the reputation of my Shen family.” Shen Moxu’s words turned somewhat melodramatic, and then she added in a tone that was half-cursing, “Why did it have to be my sister? It could have been anyone else.”

Cheng Siyu patted her head, comforting her just as she had before, “It’s not your fault.”

“If she had told me earlier that she had dated Qin Xiangqing, I would have used my 800-meter sprint speed from my physical exam to stay as far away from her as possible.”

“And then you would have failed the exam as usual, right?” Cheng Siyu’s cold remark instantly deflated Shen Moxu’s sorrowful mood.

“How can you say that!” Shen Moxu held onto Cheng Siyu’s arm, making a gesture as if she were going to hit her.

“Alright, I’m going to go cook. What do you want to eat? We’re entering the production set the day after tomorrow, and the crew’s boxed lunches won’t be as good as my cooking.”

Cheng Siyu brushed her hand away, stood up, and slipped the apron that Shen Moxu had just taken off onto herself.

“I want to eat…”

“Never mind, I’ll cook whatever I have.”

Before Shen Moxu could speak, Cheng Siyu interrupted her, tied the apron, and walked into the kitchen. Left stunned in place, Shen Moxu pouted aggrievedly, then trotted after her into the kitchen.

Cheng Siyu took the opportunity to give her a lesson:

“This flat-bottomed pan can’t be used for stir-frying; it’s only suitable for searing. For stir-frying, you need to use a wok…”

Shen Moxu nodded, listening while appearing to only half-understand. Just then, Cheng Siyu’s phone, sitting in the living room, suddenly rang.

When Cheng Siyu turned off the stove and walked out of the kitchen to pick up the phone, she found it was an unknown number. After hesitating for a moment, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Siyu, do you know where Jiang Shizi is?”

As soon as she picked up, Qi Yan’s anxious voice came from the other end.

“No, why? What happened?”

“It… today is her mother’s death anniversary. My mother said something to her again, and now she’s gone missing. I’ve looked in so many places and can’t find her.”

Qi Yan’s voice was rarely filled with such helplessness. “Xi You is away for a lecture and can’t make it back. I could only come to ask you. I’m afraid she’ll do something rash; if she does, I’ll really owe her for a lifetime.”

“Don’t panic. Where are you?”

Cheng Siyu’s mind remained relatively calm. In her impression, Jiang Shizi was not someone who would harm herself. Qi Yan was likely in a state of panic and grasping at straws.

“I’m at home. I just had a fight with my mother. Now I’m going to drive to her mother’s gravesite to take a look.”

“Send me your address. I’ll go look with you.” Cheng Siyu untied her apron without a second thought. She was afraid that Qi Yan, in her near-breakdown state, might get into an accident while driving.

“Siyu, you…” Shen Moxu stood there, not understanding what was happening.

“Jiang Shizi is missing. I’m going to look for her with Qi Yan.” After weighing the situation, Cheng Siyu decided to mention Qi Yan’s name.

“She’s missing?” Shen Moxu recalled for a long while before a memory of such a person surfaced from the depths of her mind. She asked back, “Haven’t she and Qi Yan already broken off their relationship?”

“I’ll explain it to you when I get back. I’ll bring you something delicious later.”

Hearing this, Shen Moxu seemed frozen to the spot. For a moment, she felt as if she saw a shadow of her own sister in Cheng Siyu.

After leaving the house, Cheng Siyu felt a bit improper. She and Qi Yan were merely casual acquaintances, and she was at most a drinking buddy with Jiang Shizi. Going out to search like this might not be entirely appropriate.

But then she thought, Jiang Shizi and Xi You were best friends; helping her could be seen as a way to repay Xi You.

After getting into Qi Yan’s car, Cheng Siyu smelled a heavy scent of smoke. She frowned; in her memory, Qi Yan never touched cigarettes or alcohol, whether on a program or in private.

“Do you smoke?” She buckled her seatbelt.

“Yeah. I quit before because of Xiao You.”

Cheng Siyu understood the reason she had started again and didn’t ask further. She simply sat in the passenger seat, sending messages and making calls to Jiang Shizi.

The messages went unreplied, and the calls only showed that the line was busy.

The car gradually drove to the cemetery. A solemn atmosphere spread through the air. Cheng Siyu just watched; she didn’t fear the gravity of the cemetery; instead, she had an illusion of returning home.

It made sense; after all, her only family was already resting here eternally.

But the cemetery held only rows of tombstones; there was no sign of a person.

It was then that Cheng Siyu remembered—hadn’t her mother refused to see her even before she died? Why would she come here to cause her more distress?

“Is there anywhere else?” Cheng Siyu turned her head and asked Qi Yan.

“I don’t know, I… I don’t know.” Qi Yan was full of defeat. Exhausted, she bowed deeply before Jiang Shizi’s mother’s grave.

“What did your mother say to her?”

When the two sat back in the car, Cheng Siyu leaned against the window and asked.

“Probably some extreme words,” Qi Yan said, both hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her fingers turned white. “She apparently sought her out this morning and only told me just now.”

Seeing Qi Yan like this, Cheng Siyu didn’t know what to say, but she still comforted her softly, “If we really can’t find her, let’s call the police.”

Cheng Siyu had a gut feeling that Jiang Shizi wouldn’t do anything reckless. If she were going to do something because of Qi Yan’s mother’s words, she would have done it during those three years.

Perhaps she had just found a place where she felt safe to hide away, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

“Let’s… let’s look a bit more.” Qi Yan suddenly found a direction and drove toward a specific place.

The car slowly reached the seaside not far from the cemetery. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks was exceptionally loud, and occasionally, seabirds would cry out as they flew by. The day was late, and the streetlights began to flicker.

Soon, the two saw a lonely figure sitting on a bench. She almost blended into the darkness; if not for the streetlights casting her shadow, probably no one would have noticed someone was sitting there.

Cheng Siyu recognized Jiang Shizi at a glance and felt a sense of relief, while Qi Yan impatiently ran toward her as soon as she parked and opened the door.

Watching the two of them talk, Cheng Siyu had the self-awareness not to step forward. She simply looked at the scene where the sea met the sky, feeling a sudden urge to light a cigarette.

Under the sunset, Qi Yan crashed into Jiang Shizi’s embrace and began to cry bitterly. Cheng Siyu watched from a distance, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes, but it was only momentary. She understood that she was not worthy.

“I said the two of them wouldn’t have any trouble, right?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from nearby. Cheng Siyu looked up and saw Xi You’s calm and indifferent face.

“Weren’t you at a lecture?” Cheng Siyu hesitated for a few minutes before her hand was taken by Xi You in the next second.

“I’m creating an opportunity for them, otherwise I think Jiang Shizi really would have done something reckless.” Subsequently, Xi You pulled Cheng Siyu into her arms. The two of them watched Jiang Shizi and Qi Yan in the distance as she asked, “Are you envious of them?”

“Perhaps.”

Cheng Siyu turned her head away, shifting her gaze to a seabird spreading its wings to fly from the railing. Xi You’s embrace was too warm, making her involuntarily want to stay longer, but she reminded herself that the person before her was not the right one. Time would take away the passion, and then they would inevitably repeat the same mistakes.

By the time the four of them returned, Qi Yan, who had been high-strung all day, had fallen asleep leaning against Jiang Shizi. This time, Jiang Shizi did not pull away; instead, she straightened her body, wanting to let her sleep more comfortably.

Xi You sat in the driver’s seat while Cheng Siyu sat in the passenger seat looking out the window. At this time, the car stereo softly played the song “Mist”—it was the version sung by Cheng Siyu.

“I like listening to your voice in this song.” Xi You’s voice came from the driver’s seat. Cheng Siyu didn’t answer, only giving a soft hum in response.

The scenery outside the car changed along with the song, shifting from the sparsely populated suburbs back to the bright lights of the city.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Home. You can just drop me off at Century Mall.” Cheng Siyu rubbed her temples. There was a braised food shop there that Shen Moxu liked, and she planned to buy some to take back.

“Okay.”

While the car fell into silence, a phone ringtone sounded. Cheng Siyu felt her pocket and found it was her own phone. She glanced at the caller ID; it was “Cheng Hanyi.”

Since Cheng Siyu was discharged from the hospital, Cheng Hanyi hadn’t contacted her again. She had only heard that Cheng Wuxing had gone to prison and that Cheng Hanyi was living with her stepmother.

“Sister.”

When the call connected, Cheng Siyu didn’t speak, but Cheng Hanyi took the initiative to say, “I’m going abroad.”

Cheng Siyu could clearly sense that she was intentionally keeping her tone light, but there was still an unmaskable hint of tears. She rubbed her fingers against the back of her phone case a few times, then said,

“Remember to stay safe.”

“Okay, I’m boarding now. I feel relieved hearing your voice.” By the end of her sentence, Cheng Hanyi’s voice carried a tremor. Cheng Siyu wanted to say something more, but before she could speak, the other girl hurriedly hung up.

A few seconds after the busy tone sounded, Cheng Siyu finally put down her phone. Although Cheng Wuxing had brought all of this upon himself, she couldn’t help but feel pity for Cheng Hanyi.

“What’s wrong?” Xi You noticed the change in her expression and lowered her head to ask.

“Nothing.” Cheng Siyu put her phone back in her pocket.

…

“Siyu, how did you know I like the duck legs from this place? They’re super delicious.”

The foodie Shen Moxu came out to open the door for Cheng Siyu. Before she even let her inside, she snatched the bag of braised food.

“Eat up, eat up. No one is going to fight you for it.”

After arriving home, before Cheng Siyu could even catch her breath, her phone rang. It was the number for Qi Yan that she had just saved that afternoon.

“Siyu, there’s something I forgot to mention just now.”

“What is it?”

“Since Ji Yun woke up from the car accident, she’s been saying she wants to see you. Although I know you’re not together anymore, she keeps asking me to pass on a message to you, saying she was wrong.”

Hearing these words, Cheng Siyu finally remembered there was still a Ji Yun lying in the hospital after a car accident. However, words like “I was wrong” didn’t seem like something that would come out of her mouth.

She rubbed her temples and only gave a soft refusal, “I’m entering the production set in two days. Maybe when I have time.”

“Mhm.”

At night, as Cheng Siyu was lying in bed about to fall asleep, she habitually checked Weibo, only to find a sudden mountain of mentions. She opened them and discovered that Ji Yun had, at some point, used her main Weibo account to her, copy-pasting the same message several times:

“I’m sorry, I was wrong.”