Always Chasing My White Moonlight Omega - Chapter 71

After several more days of snow, the filming of “Cui Yan Jue” had unknowingly completed nearly two-thirds of its schedule.

Since the confession on the first snowy day, Qu Shanshan had neither visited Ruan Yang again nor sent her any messages.

However, during today’s shoot, Ruan Yang received a message from Director Wu Jun.

She had just finished filming a scene and was taking a break when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw that Director Wu Jun was asking if his current lead actress, Qu Shanshan, had anything to do with her recent unusual behavior over the past few days.

Just as she was about to reply, Xu Zhiyi, who was sitting beside her to keep warm, caught a glimpse of the message on the screen.

Watching Ruan Yang type her response, Xu Zhiyi pressed her lips together slightly. “He seems quite concerned about you and Qu Shanshan,” she remarked.

Her tone sounded normal, yet there was an underlying hint of something else in her words.

[I don’t know.] Ruan Yang replied with three simple words before turning to Xu Zhiyi. “I don’t care.”

In the warm room, for some reason, hearing these words made Xu Zhiyi’s cheeks flush slightly. She turned her head away and muttered softly, “I didn’t ask if you cared or not.”

As she moved, the loose strands of hair hanging by her earlobes swayed in a delicate, graceful arc.

Ruan Yang’s lips curved upward, but she said nothing.

A few seconds later, perhaps trying to change the subject, Xu Zhiyi asked Ruan Yang, “When are you going to the Zhilan Awards ceremony? I’m going too. Should I help you book the flight tickets together?”

The Zhilan Awards were the ones for which Ruan Yang’s short film had been nominated. It was a long-standing, influential award. As times changed, it had recently begun focusing on emerging trends. This year, a new category was introduced, and Ruan Yang’s short film made the cut, a stroke of luck in the eyes of industry insiders.

Although there was no specific award for short film directors, Ruan Yang still received an invitation from the organizers since her film was nominated.

“Sure, I’ll go whenever you do,” she said, then asked, “Is it the Best Actress category you’re nominated for?”

“Yes,” Xu Zhiyi replied, her gaze growing distant and her tone noticeably dropping.

Ruan Yang knew she was likely thinking about the Golden Tree Awards from a few months ago and the Best Actress award that Zheng Tang had snatched away.

“The Zhilan Awards are much more influential than that award. They can’t be manipulated,” Ruan Yang said, realizing this was the only way she could think to comfort Xu Zhiyi.

“Mhm,” Xu Zhiyi responded softly. She didn’t mind Ruan Yang’s lack of comforting skills and added, “If I really win this award, shouldn’t you give me some kind of reward?”

“What kind of reward?” Ruan Yang asked.

Xu Zhiyi lowered her head in thought for a moment. “Haven’t decided yet. I’ll tell you after I win.”

With that, she stood up and rummaged around the break room for a while, eventually finding two bottles of soda water.

After sitting back down, she handed one to Ruan Yang.

“Let’s celebrate with this for now,” she said with a smile.

Just as Ruan Yang was about to speak after taking the bottle, Xu Zhiyi interrupted her, “Not for me for you.”

“For me?” Ruan Yang’s fingers tightened around the soda bottle, slightly deforming the transparent plastic.

“Yeah.” Xu Zhiyi was the first to twist open the soda bottle cap. The pent-up bubbles surged out with a soft fizz.

“To your short film winning an award in advance and ” She raised the bottle toward Ruan Yang, her eyes bright.

“To you becoming a great director!”

Becoming a great director a truly, truly great director, known and recognized by everyone.

Admired and revered by all.

Ruan Yang stared at Xu Zhiyi for a long time. She could hear her own heart pounding, and as she twisted open her own bottle cap, it felt as if her love was about to burst forth along with the bubbles.

“I will,” she said, her eyes also shining, as she raised her soda bottle and clinked it against Xu Zhiyi’s.

I definitely will.

Two days later, during finals week, Ruan Yang took a day off to return to campus for a final exam.

When she sat down in the classroom, she noticed the seat behind her was empty.

It wasn’t until about ten minutes after the exam had started that Lu Yiye finally appeared and took the seat behind Ruan Yang.

Ruan Yang didn’t look up, but the gaze was too intense, it had been fixed on her from the moment Lu Yiye entered the room.

Even during the hour-and-a-half-long exam, Ruan Yang could feel Lu Yiye’s eyes occasionally drifting to her back.

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, Fang Yao eagerly squeezed his way from the other corner of the classroom toward Ruan Yang.

“Yiye, Ruan Yang!”

He raised his hand to greet the two of them, only to see Lu Yiye walk right past them and head toward the classroom door.

Ruan Yang didn’t look at her either. It wasn’t until Lu Yiye reached the doorway that she seemed to sense something and glanced in that direction.

Through the crowded room, Ruan Yang’s eyes met Lu Yiye’s from afar.

Then, in the next second, Lu Yiye averted her gaze, turned, and left.

Fang Yao asked, “What’s going on with you two? Yiye said you moved out of the dorm. Why? What exactly happened between you? You’ve got to tell me, I’m dying of curiosity here.”

“Nothing,” Ruan Yang said. “You shouldn’t be asking me.”

Fang Yao was truly exasperated. These two were both so tight-lipped, keeping everything to themselves, leaving him alone to suffer from unbearable curiosity.

He waved his hand impatiently. “Forget it, forget it. I won’t ask about that anymore. Hey lately, everyone in the department’s been saying you’re on your way to becoming a big director. Is it true? And that super popular short film from a couple of months ago, what was it called. After Transmigrating, I Became the White Moonlight of My Rival did you direct that?”

Before Ruan Yang could even answer, Fang Yao continued on his own, “You have no idea, I heard that a lot of the acting majors are kicking themselves now for not auditioning for your project. You know how it is, if someone unrelated to them had made it big, they might not care, but it just had to be that girl from their department Qu Shanshan, right? And she got famous from a short film none of them even considered. They’re all so worked up about it now.”

Then, realizing he might have misspoken, he glanced at Ruan Yang’s expression and quickly added, “Of course, I’m not saying your short film was bad or anything.”

“It’s fine,” Ruan Yang cut him off. “I already know.”

As for what exactly she knew, she didn’t elaborate.

Fang Yao patted his own mouth and followed Ruan Yang out of the classroom, continuing, “Speaking of Qu Shanshan, the reason I remember her name is because of a huge scandal! In our department, there’s this guy named Su Xinzhi, he actually dared to drug Qu Shanshan and got arrested by the police!”

For various reasons, the police only announced Su Xinzhi’s crime and did not disclose Ruan Yang’s name to the public. As a result, aside from those involved that night and the police, no one knew it was Ruan Yang who helped the authorities apprehend Su Xinzhi.

“They say the sentencing is happening soon,” Fang Yao sighed. “I heard his family is spending a fortune trying to pull strings to get him out. This Su Xinzhi, he could’ve just messed around with ordinary Omegas, but he had to target Qu Shanshan, who’s a Class A Omega with a pretty high rank. Rumor has it her family has some influence too. Who knows how this will end for him.”

Hearing this, Ruan Yang glanced at Fang Yao.

It wasn’t just Fang Yao; in fact, many people around Ruan Yang were like this. In this top-tier academy, most were elite Alphas. Among them, many treated Omegas as mere playthings.

They looked down on Omegas yet were enslaved by their Alpha instincts, often toying with lower-class or high-ranking but socially disadvantaged Omegas.

They had already left the teaching building. Standing under the winter sun that had finally broken through after several days, Ruan Yang bid farewell to the chattering Fang Yao, who showed no signs of stopping, and declined his party invitation.

She hadn’t given Su Xinzhi a second thought.

Attempting to drug and assault a high-ranking Omega against their will was a severe crime under the Empire’s laws not something money could cover up.

Just as she was about to head toward the school gate, Ruan Yang received a call from Jiangjiang.

Answering as she walked, she heard Jiangjiang’s rushed voice without any preamble: “Yangyang, where are you? Zhiyi was hit by a prop while filming!”

At those words, Ruan Yang’s eyes widened instantly, and her walking pace shifted into a run.

“I’ll be right there!” Hanging up, she stuffed her phone back into her pocket and sprinted to the school gate at top speed to hail a cab back to the film set.

While waiting endlessly for a ride, it suddenly struck Ruan Yang that if she knew how to drive, she could return as fast as possible to check on Xu Zhiyi.

Once this thought surfaced, it lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.

Half an hour later, she finally reached the set. The moment she stepped out of the cab, Ruan Yang called Jiangjiang, learned that Xu Zhiyi was in the infirmary, and immediately hung up, rushing toward it.

“Zhiyi!” She flung the infirmary door open, only to find it crowded with people. Spotting her arrival, they parted to reveal Xu Zhiyi standing in the center.

“Are you okay?” Ruan Yang rushed over, gripping Xu Zhiyi’s shoulders and scanning her up and down nothing seemed amiss.

“I’m fine.” Xu Zhiyi patted the back of Ruan Yang’s hand, then glanced at the assistant director and staff intently watching them before gently removing Ruan Yang’s hands.

She pointed to the hospital bed behind her and said, “I’m really fine. A wooden frame on the set fell and almost hit me, but Jiamu blocked it for me. I’m completely unharmed, but Jiamu got hit on the shoulder, and the nurse said it’s quite serious.”

Ruan Yang first glanced at Cheng Jiamu, who was sitting up in the hospital bed, then turned her gaze to Jiang Jiang beside her.

Jiang Jiang waved her hands innocently. “Yangyang, I wanted to tell you, but you hung up as soon as I finished speaking. I even sent you a message afterward saying Sister Zhiyi was fine.”

Ruan Yang took out her phone and saw that there were indeed many unread messages from Jiang Jiang.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She had been too anxious on her way over and hadn’t noticed.

Catching the hint in Xu Zhiyi’s eyes, Jiang Jiang quickly understood and suggested to the others in the room that they go for lunch, letting the director take care of the actors. Everyone gradually left the room.

Soon, only Ruan Yang, Xu Zhiyi, and Cheng Jiamu remained in the ward.

Ruan Yang thanked Cheng Jiamu, “Thank you for blocking the wooden frame for Zhiyi.”

For some reason, Cheng Jiamu’s expression was somewhat indifferent. He turned his head away, avoiding Ruan Yang’s gaze. “It’s nothing, Director. No need to thank me.”

“Then rest well for now,” Xu Zhiyi said with a smile to Cheng Jiamu, then took Ruan Yang’s arm. “The director and I will head out now. We’ll come see you when we have time.”

With that, she led Ruan Yang out of the ward.

The medical room was located in a small building, with a corridor outside. A cold wind whistled through the dim, unlit hallway.

As they walked down the corridor, Ruan Yang took off her scarf and wrapped it around Xu Zhiyi. While doing so, she asked, “How did that wooden frame fall?”

“It was just an accident. The crew went to check and said the props team cut corners. Such a tall wooden frame was already unstable, and with the strong wind today, it just toppled over.” Xu Zhiyi’s small face was tucked into the scarf as she spoke softly.

“What’s wrong?” She found Ruan Yang’s question a bit odd. “Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“It’s just,” Ruan Yang thought back to the evasive look in the ward earlier and frowned. “I just think Cheng Jiamu is acting strangely.”

She paused, glanced back at the ward, and said in a thoughtful tone, “Was what happened earlier really just an accident?”

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