The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Changes to Take the Black Moonlight Script - Chapter 32

Wei Corporation CEO’s Office.

Xie Mei sat on the sofa, her dark circles under the eyes barely concealed by makeup, yet she still maintained the composed demeanor of a corporate elite.

“All retrievable photos of Fourth Miss Shang have been taken down. I also specifically instructed the tech department to crawl the keyword ‘Shang Shiqian’ using web-scraping techniques to ensure Fourth Miss Shang’s photos won’t resurface in searches anytime soon.”

Wei Yixian frowned. “Anytime soon?”

Xie Mei stifled a yawn. “After all, Fourth Miss Shang was once so famous in the chess world. There are bound to be people who still have her photos tucked away in their albums. We can’t predict if someone might suddenly decide to post one of her pictures on social media on a whim.”

Wei Yixian gave a noncommittal hum. “You’ve done more than enough. Go rest, you’ve worked hard these past two days.”

Xie Mei smiled faintly and was about to leave when curiosity got the better of her. “Are you worried someone might notice Shang Shiyu’s resemblance to Fourth Miss Shang and cause trouble?”

Wei Yixian merely glanced at her, neither confirming nor denying.

Unable to decipher anything from her ambiguous response, Xie Mei pressed, “You’ve only mentioned they look alike, but how similar are they, really? Would I have the honor of meeting her?”

“Add her to the entourage list for the 7th Aviation Expo and arrange a visitor pass for her.”

Xie Mei pondered the instruction and quickly pieced it together.

On the 7th of this month, Wei Yixian would attend the aviation expo’s opening ceremony as an industry representative.

Though Xie Mei often handled Wei Yixian’s more discreet affairs, her primary role remained that of a top-tier executive assistant. Naturally, she would accompany Wei Yixian to such an important event.

By including Shang Shiyu in the entourage, Xie Mei would finally get a chance to see her in person.

–

Chen Yixun closed her browser.

Muttering to herself, she said, “Shiyu’s surname is Shang, she’s part of the ‘Shi’ generation, and she bears a fifty percent resemblance to Shang Shixing and Shang Shidai… Could it really be a coincidence?”

Though she hadn’t managed to find any photos of Shang Shiqian, biological sisters usually shared some similarities. It stood to reason that Shang Shiyu would also resemble Shang Shiqian to some degree.

“Could she be a lost daughter of the Shang family?”

Her roommate barged in and asked bluntly, “Yixun, what are you muttering about?”

Chen Yixun turned to her. “Hey, how many daughters does the Shang family’s third generation have?”

The “third generation” referred to the descendants starting from Shang Yu Feng and Shang Yu Huang’s generation.

Her roommate scoffed. “Shouldn’t you know that better than me?”

“Ever heard of information bubbles? Just answer what you know.”

“Five. Shang Shixing, Shang Zhaotang, Shang Zhaoyan, Shang Shiqian, and Shang Shidai.”

“No one named Shang Shiyu?”

Her roommate burst out laughing. “Isn’t Shang Shiyu the name of your friend? Have you been binge-watching those cheesy short dramas like ‘My Friend Is a Hidden Heiress’ or something?”

Ignoring the teasing, Chen Yixun pressed on, “Just hypothetically speaking, let’s entertain this wild idea for a second. How likely do you think it is that the Shang family has an illegitimate daughter?”

“Zero chance! With someone like Shang Yunyu and Shang Yunpei’s status, how could they possibly have an illegitimate child? Now, if you’re talking about the eldest or second princess of the Shang family slipping up and leaving behind some romantic scandal, that might be plausible.”

Chen Yixun murmured, “Isn’t it precisely those with special status who are more likely to conceal scandals by hiding things?”

To cover up the scandal, they didn’t register the child’s household registration.

But because it was their own child, they wouldn’t be too harsh and would compensate financially.

Perhaps this could explain why (Shang Shiyu) remained unfazed while riding in luxury cars worth millions and dining on premium meals costing tens of thousands treating it all as commonplace.

Because she had lived such a life since childhood.

Delving deeper, the fact that she could name the origin of Treasure Pavilion on her first visit to East City University might be because her family had donated its construction.

She also had a grandfather who was a national-level Go player, which explained her lack of official rank yet formidable skills.

The absence of a rank might also stem from the Shang family’s desire to keep her out of the public eye.

Without this background, how could someone from a poor or even orphaned background have the chance to interact with someone like Wei Yixian!

Looking back now, after (Shang Shiyu) started dressing more elegantly, she once mentioned that the person who helped her was like half-family to her.

What if that person was Wei Yixian?

Wei Yixian was practically half a member of the Shang family!

The more Chen Yixun thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Moreover, when Wei Yixian invited her to lunch that day, apart from asking her some inexplicable questions, his attitude and the intent behind treating her were clearly meant to convey, you don’t belong to our class, know your place and stay in your lane.

Chen Yixun’s face turned pale.

If these speculations held, it meant Shang Shiyu had lied to her.

Yet emotionally, she leaned toward believing Shang Shiyu hadn’t deceived her.

After an internal struggle, Chen Yixun ultimately chose to trust her friend.

–

After signing the mentorship agreement with Weng Qizheng, Shang Shiqian officially began her role.

Her responsibilities were minimal simply playing Go with the competing students, employing her full strength to push the rules to their limits, training their mid-game resistance, endgame tactics, stress resilience, and on-the-spot adaptability.

The university Go championship had a tight schedule, spanning only six days.

With numerous participating teams and players, the time allotted per game was much shorter compared to professional tournaments each side had a base time of 40 minutes, with three 20-second byo-yomi periods; exceeding this resulted in a loss.

Competitors had little time to strategize or ponder each move.

Under pressure, mistakes were inevitable, so they had to adapt to a faster pace.

Thus, students who had played against Shang Shiqian before noticed she seemed like a different person her moves were swift, precise, and ruthless.

The moment her opponent placed a stone, she would counter within five seconds.

Yet she wasn’t playing recklessly.

The students facing her felt like they were being relentlessly pursued by a tiger, breaking into a cold sweat without realizing it.

Even the spectators held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Weng Qizheng, who had just finished teaching and stopped by, patted Li Zhishen’s shoulder. “How’s it going?”

Li Zhishen turned. “Professor.”

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Noticing this, Weng Qizheng smiled knowingly. “Scared?”

Li Zhishen gave a bitter smile. “I already thought her chess skills were on par with Du He and Yi Jing, but after seeing her today, I realize I still underestimated her. While I was still thinking about the next move, she had already finished hers, and without any mistakes.”

Weng Qizheng said, “That means she already had the whole game in mind when you were just making your first move. The reason she could immediately follow up after each of your moves is that every step you took was within her expectations.”

Li Zhishen nodded in deep agreement.

Weng Qizheng continued, “I studied the game records of your matches with her and found that she wasn’t entirely hiding her true strength before. Rather, she was unfamiliar with some of the current standard patterns, so she spent more time testing and learning during the games. Now, it seems she has almost mastered these new strategies.”

“So, in your opinion, Professor, how does she compare to Du He and Yi Jing?”

“That’s hard to say. But what you should focus on isn’t just how strong her chess skills are, but how remarkable her learning ability is. Think about it, it’s only been a few days since she first played against you, and she’s already grasped your playing style. Could you do the same?”

Only then did Li Zhishen realize that Weng Qizheng’s remark about their every move being within Shang Shiqian’s expectations was because she had already figured out their playing patterns through previous matches.

No wonder Weng Qizheng was willing to pay out of his own pocket to bring her in as their coach.

…

This tournament also limited each team to six members, with no more than half being professional players.

As a professional fifth-dan, Li Zhishen usually competed in high-level tournaments, so having him play here would be unfair. Thus, Weng Qizheng made him the team leader.

Among the remaining students, there were four male students, one professional second-dan, one professional first-dan and two female students, neither of whom were professionals.

After thoroughly defeating each of them once, Shang Shiqian patiently pointed out their weaknesses.

During the second round of matches, she slowed her pace.

When Li Zhishen asked her why, she said, “It’s like high school studies you need a balance of intensity and relaxation. Now that we’ve moved to the next stage, it’s time to start forging.”

“Forging?”

“Repeated hammering.”

Li Zhishen: “…”

Should he be glad he wasn’t the one being hammered?

…

At five in the afternoon, Shang Shiqian called Pu Feifei to say she’d be back late and that there was no need to pick her up so early.

Then, with the keys and access card Weng Qizheng had given her, she headed to an old residential area near East City University.

Shang Shiqian didn’t take the east gate because Weng Qizheng’s small apartment was on the southwest side of the campus, making the south gate a shorter route.

The buildings in this neighborhood, like those on Wenming Street, were two or three decades old. Due to the low compensation offered for urban renewal projects, many residents opposed redevelopment, leaving the area cramped and outdated.

The complex had walk-up apartments, nine stories high, with two units per floor facing each other.

The apartment itself had two bedrooms and a combined living-dining area, but all functional spaces kitchen, bathroom, and balcony were intact, covering about 60 square meters in total.

There weren’t many signs of daily life here, but traces of chess were everywhere, a small bookshelf in the living room held old chess manuals and sports newspapers, and a photo of Weng Qizheng sat on the table.

Shang Shiqian was quite satisfied with the place.

She locked the door and left, walking to the entrance of the residential area where she spotted a beat-up pickup truck parked by the roadside, bearing the Forestry Bureau’s logo.

The road wasn’t wide to begin with, and without marked parking spaces, the parked vehicles instantly turned it into a one-lane street.

However, this particular pickup wasn’t the only one illegally parked it hardly stood out among the lineup of violators.

The reason Shang Shiqian gave it a few extra glances was because a vaguely familiar woman was leaning against the truck’s door.

The woman wore sunglasses, but Shang Shiqian could sense her gaze.

“Shang Shiqian,” the woman called out.

Shang Shiqian suddenly remembered. “Xiao Luomeng?”

Xiao Luomeng walked over, removed her sunglasses, and smiled. “Getting to see you isn’t easy.”

Shang Shiqian usually traveled by car, making it hard for Xiao Luomeng to approach her.

Yesterday, she had taken the bus instead, but with a bodyguard in tow, Xiao Luomeng worried that tailing her too obviously might raise suspicion, so she held back.

Fortunately, today there was a fire safety education lecture at East City University, and Xiao Luomeng seized the opportunity to enter the campus under the guise of promoting forest fire prevention.

After the lecture, while fretting over how to locate Shang Shiqian in the parking lot near the south gate, she spotted someone who looked like Shang Shiqian leaving through that exit.

The person wore a hat and a mask, but Xiao Luomeng, having worked as a police officer for several years, quickly recognized her by her build.

Shang Shiqian said, “Oh, you’re curious about why Captain Sun didn’t pick me up that day, right?”

Xiao Luomeng felt there was some misunderstanding but didn’t deny it.

After Shang Shiqian explained the mix-up from that day, Xiao Luomeng asked, “So, what’s your situation now?”

“I’ve taken refuge with a friend, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

Xiao Luomeng found it both frustrating and amusing. “You’re really good at dodging the main issue. I’m asking is your real name Shang Shiqian?”

Shang Shiqian thought to herself, No wonder she used to be a cop her questions cut straight to the point.

Faced with Xiao Luomeng’s skepticism, she wasn’t the least bit nervous. However, over the past ten days, she had left too many traces under the alias “Shang Shiyu.” Continuing to use her real name risked exposing her lies.

After a brief consideration, she decided to lie: “No.”

Xiao Luomeng was taken aback.

You’re really blunt about it.

But why weren’t you this straightforward earlier?

Worried that being too aggressive might scare her off making future contact difficult Xiao Luomeng asked instead, “Then what’s your real name? You already know mine it’s only fair I know yours, right?”

Shang Shiqian smiled. “My name is Shang Shiyu.”

“Still the ‘Shang’ as in Shang Yang?”

“Mm. ‘Shi’ and ‘Yu’ as in ‘Time Waits for No One.'”

Xiao Luomeng recalled a line and said, “So at least two characters of your name are real.”

Shang Shiqian laughed.

Xiao Luomeng probed further, “So, are you a student at East City University?”

“Can I not answer that?”

Xiao Luomeng shrugged. “Of course. I’m not a cop, and this isn’t an interrogation. I’m just glad to see you’re okay.”

Shang Shiqian said, “I should thank you, actually.”

Xiao Luomeng smiled. “Do you have a contact number now? Since we’ve met, let’s add each other as friends!”

Shang Shiqian had a favorable impression of Xiao Luomeng and naturally didn’t refuse.

After adding each other, Xiao Luomeng left.

Once in her car, she sent the phone number to a friend.

A quick check confirmed the owner was indeed Wei Yixian.

Based on the information she currently had, it could be inferred that Shang Shiyu was either an undocumented person or, as her master had said, someone deliberately made to resemble Shang Shiqian through plastic surgery by Wei Yixian for some purpose going so far as to spend eight years laying the groundwork…

Suddenly, the car window was knocked on.

Xiao Luomeng turned her head and instantly froze.

Standing outside the window was none other than Shang Shiqian.

Xiao Luomeng struggled to remain calm as she rolled down the window and asked, “You haven’t left yet?”

Shang Shiqian smiled. “You’re the one who hasn’t left yet? I did leave, but there was something I wanted to ask you, so I came back. I saw your car was still here, so I didn’t call.”

Xiao Luomeng let out an “Oh” and said, “I was on a call, so I couldn’t drive. What did you want to ask me?”

Shang Shiqian looked thoughtful as she asked, “Do you know me?”

Goosebumps erupted all over Xiao Luomeng’s body.

It was the kind of tension one feels when undercover in a den of thieves and suddenly exposed.

Yet when she looked at Shang Shiqian, she found her gaze still as clear as ever.

Xiao Luomeng couldn’t tell if she was genuinely naive or just an exceptional actress who had fooled even her.

Without waiting for an answer, Shang Shiqian explained why she had asked:

“Your master came to see me, but he didn’t say anything. And then you just happened to show up here… If you just wanted to confirm whether I was safe, there was no need to come all this way. So I thought, maybe you know me or know this face and are trying to figure something out?”

Shang Shiqian suspected the other woman most likely knew her as “Shang Shiqian” and, upon seeing her identical appearance, had grown curious.

Coincidentally, everyone who believed she was Shang Shiyu wouldn’t casually bring up “Shang Shiqian” around her.

If Xiao Luomeng knew “Shang Shiqian,” then perhaps she could learn some hidden details about the eight years “Shang Shiqian” had been missing.

…

Xiao Luomeng felt a chill run down her spine.

Shang Shiqian waved her phone. “Well, we’re friends now. If you have any questions, you can ask anytime… though I might not always have the answers.”

…

Watching the figure in the rearview mirror grow distant until it was blocked by passing cars, Xiao Luomeng finally exhaled a breath she’d been holding for a long time.

After a while, she suddenly chuckled.

“Interesting.”

Xiao Luomeng: This doesn’t make sense, isn’t she supposed to be the dumb college student type?

System: She’s just a Go brain, not an idiot.

Chen Yixun: She’s just slow with emotions, not an idiot.

Wei Yixian: Hmm, she’s an idiot.

Shang Shiqian: ?

Xiao Luomeng (grumbling): Then why doesn’t she use that sharpness on Wei Yixian?

Shang Shiqian: Because Wei Yixian is family.

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