The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Changes to Take the Black Moonlight Script - Chapter 55

Shang Shiqian had no idea that someone on campus had recognized her.

When they arrived at Tianhao Garden and she saw Wei Yixian sober, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Wei Yixian had been observing her since their meeting and naturally didn’t miss the subtle shift in her expression.

With a faintly mocking smile, she asked, “What? Worried I’d get drunk and do something to you again?”

Shang Shiqian, who hadn’t even considered that possibility, replied, “I was just concerned about your drinking habits. Over time, it could harm your health.”

“Hard liquor is bad in excess, but a glass or two of wine a day should be fine, right?”

“Where would you even get wine?” The liquor cabinet was stocked with spirits like whiskey, brandy, and tequila.

“There’s a wine cellar in the basement. All the red wine is stored there.”

Shang Shiqian: “…”

Is your side hustle selling alcohol?

No wonder she’d been so willing to hand over the liquor cabinet key, she had another stash hidden away.

Wei Yixian teased, “Care for a drink?”

Shang Shiqian shook her head. “It’s Monday tomorrow. Let’s finish class early and rest.”

Wei Yixian didn’t object.

During class, Shang Shiqian had a sudden flash of inspiration, a way to subtly warn Wei Yixian about the Zhou family.

She said, “Lately, Chen Yixun has been studying in the Go Room. She’s majoring in finance, and she idolizes you. Remember her? The one who had dinner with you?”

Wei Yixian replied coolly, “How could I forget? Isn’t her bracelet still hanging on your backpack?”

Shang Shiqian: “…”

So that day, she’d given her a gift because she was bothered by the bracelet?

“Ahem,” Shang Shiqian cleared her throat. “While she was studying, I overheard some points about corporate acquisitions in finance. She even used Wei Corporation’s takeover of Zhou Ran Group as an example to explain the process. But then it occurred to me wasn’t that deal called off? Did something go wrong?”

She paused.

“Not that I’m prying into trade secrets. It’s just that the Zhou family has a terrible reputation, they’re constantly being fined or reported for illegal activities, yet they never learn. Given how unscrupulous they are, if the failed acquisition cost them dearly, wouldn’t they seek revenge against you?”

Shang Shiqian’s words were convoluted, and if Wei Yixian hadn’t overheard her conversation with the system, she might have struggled to grasp her meaning.

It was impressive how she’d used Chen Yixun’s expertise to lend credibility to her fabricated concerns.

Wei Yixian, of course, didn’t expose her.

“No one in the Zhou family has clean hands,” Wei Yixian said. “Their integrity is nonexistent. And your concern isn’t unfounded, I terminated the acquisition after learning they were plotting against me. Naturally, I wouldn’t let them succeed. It’s possible they’ll retaliate, so you should be careful these days.”

“Huh? What does this have to do with me?”

Shang Shiqian didn’t understand why the conversation had circled back to her.

Wei Yixian explained, “They’d only resort to underhanded tactics like hiring thugs to hurt me. But with so many bodyguards around, they’d have a hard time getting close. So, they might target someone close to me instead.”

Shang Shiqian thought, Wei Yixian just said everything I wanted to say and considered it more thoroughly than I did!

But was she protecting the wrong person?

“They don’t know me or my relationship with you, so there’s no need to worry too much. However, others around you might become their targets perhaps you could warn them.”

Wei Yixian nodded. “I will.”

Shang Shiqian considered the rise in Heartbreak Points, which must have resulted from Wei Yixian doing something drastically different from the original plot involving Yin Zaishui. Therefore, Wei Yixian might not prioritize Yin Zaishui’s safety.

She said, “Your first love attended your grandfather’s memorial service the day before yesterday. Some media outlets are speculating about a rekindled romance. If the Zhou family takes it seriously, she might also be in danger.”

Wei Yixian chuckled. “You’re quite concerned about her safety, aren’t you?”

Shang Shiqian replied, “I just don’t want anything else to happen that would make you feel guilty. Shang Shiqian’s death had nothing to do with you, yet you carried that guilt for eight years, regretting ever giving her that umbrella. If something happened to your first love, wouldn’t you also be consumed by remorse?”

The smile faded from Wei Yixian’s lips.

She studied Shang Shiqian for a moment before lowering her gaze. “She recently helped me with something, and I’m very grateful. As repayment, I’ll remind her and cover the cost of hiring bodyguards. That’s the extent of my responsibility. Beyond that, it’s not my concern.”

Shang Shiqian: …

Well, now she knew where the Heartbreak Points came from.

While Shang Shiqian had three female bodyguards assigned to her in shifts, Yin Zaishui was left to hire her own with reimbursement.

She was convinced Wei Yixian had feelings for her, the disparity in treatment was glaring.

By the time their lesson ended, it was already 11 p.m. Wei Yixian said, “It’ll take you half an hour to get back, and by the time you shower and get ready, it’ll be midnight. Just stay here tonight.”

Shang Shiqian replied, “I already showered before coming.”

Wei Yixian tossed the Go stone back into the Go Stone Jar. “Then I’ll have my personal assistant wake up and drive you home.”

Afraid she might actually disturb someone’s sleep, Shang Shiqian quickly pressed her hand down. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t listen to you. I was worried I’d be too tired after the lesson, so I showered beforehand. That way, I could go straight to bed afterward.”

Hearing this, Wei Yixian visibly relaxed.

Shang Shiqian negotiated, “But could we adjust our lesson schedule in the future?”

“We’ll see.”

With a resigned smile, Shang Shiqian tidied the board and retreated to the second-floor guest room to sleep.

The next day, as Pu Feifei drove Shang Shiqian to East City University, she asked, “Xiao Shang, do you need us to help pack your things?”

“Pack for what?”

Pu Feifei was stunned. “You’re not planning to move back?”

If she was staying at Tianhao Garden every night, why leave her belongings elsewhere? It seemed unnecessary.

Shang Shiqian said, “I think living outside is fine.”

“But you and President Wei are…” Pu Feifei trailed off.

“We’re not together. And even if we were, cohabitation isn’t mandatory.”

Pu Feifei: )

Maybe this was just some playful dynamic between President Wei and Xiao Shang.

She didn’t press further.

–

On Monday morning, the campus was far busier than on weekends.

Shang Shiqian ran into Chen Yixun and her roommate, Chen Fangli.

After exchanging greetings, Shang Shiqian asked, “Do you have class, or are you heading to the library study room?”

Chen Yixun smiled. “Study room.”

“Are there even seats left at this hour?”

Chen Fangli said bluntly, “If there’s no seat, just sit on the floor. Anyway, the Go Room is off-limits now.”

Chen Yixun nudged Chen Fangli with her elbow and said, “Our other two roommates have already saved us seats.”

This piqued Shang Shiqian’s curiosity. “Why is the Go Room off-limits?”

Chen Yixun looked conflicted. “Uh… do you believe in superstitions?”

Shang Shiqian countered, “What kind specifically? Fortune-telling and divination, or daily reposts of wealth god memes for good luck on social media?”

Chen Yixun was speechless. “You actually repost those?”

“Of course not. So you can consider me Schrödinger’s superstitious.”

“Pfft!” Chen Yixun laughed. “In that case, you probably don’t believe ghosts exist.”

Shang Shiqian: …

That wasn’t up for debate, given she was literally a walking ghost.

Unaware of her subtle expression, Chen Yixun continued, “Then I don’t have to worry about affecting your mindset by telling you.”

Chen Fangli couldn’t wait to interject, “The Treasure Pavilion was haunted last night!”

Shang Shiqian gasped, “Really?!”

“Absolutely! Someone saw it last night.”

Shang Shiqian: “Wow!”

She poked her system: “I heard ghosts are a form of energy. Little Black System, was this your doing?”

System: […Energy accumulation in progress. Host, do not disturb.]

Driven by gossip no, scientific inquiry Shang Shiqian asked Chen Yixun and Chen Fangli, “Could it have been a misunderstanding? Maybe the witness was drunk and mistook laundry hanging outside for a ghost?”

“Impossible. The person who saw the female ghost was Yi Jing, an 8-dan Go master and one of our school’s most famous figures!” Chen Fangli said. “He’d just returned from a trip last night and wanted to play Go in the Go Room. As he passed the Treasure Pavilion, he saw a white figure flash by…”

Shang Shiqian listened intently. “And then?”

“At first, he thought it was a person, but then he realized it had no shadow!”

Shang Shiqian: “Maybe there was no light, so the shadow wasn’t visible?”

Chen Fangli choked. “…Stop nitpicking.”

“Fine,” Shang Shiqian said. “Maybe checking the surveillance footage could clarify things.”

“The school wouldn’t just let students review the footage! The Treasure Pavilion’s caretaker was also there. Yi Jing asked if they’d seen a girl pass by, and the caretaker swore no one had! The caretaker must’ve realized something was wrong because they turned and ran. Yi Jing was so scared he sprinted back to his dorm and now he’s running a fever today.”

Shang Shiqian wondered if the caretaker was Chu Fei.

But since this happened late at night, Chu Fei would’ve been off duty. Maybe it was the school’s night-shift security guard?

Chen Yixun sighed at Chen Fangli’s troublemaking.

She reassured Shang Shiqian, “There are a few scientific explanations. First, Yi Jing might’ve had the flu. He’d been competing nonstop, just returned from a trip, and was exhausted hallucinations can happen under such strain.

His sudden fever today fits flu symptoms.

The second theory is more conspiratorial. Some think someone targeted Yi Jing because he’s about to compete in the Center Game Tournament, trying to scare him into withdrawing.”

Shang Shiqian shook her head. “The tournament’s match list isn’t even out yet. No player would waste time on something so petty.”

Prize money for domestic-level Go tournaments isn’t particularly high compared to Japan and South Korea.

The Center Game Tournament champion used to receive 250,000 yuan, but now it’s been raised to 400,000 before taxes.

No player would risk their future for that 400,000 yuan.

Besides, Yi Jing wasn’t even a top contender for this year’s Center Game Tournament.

So conspiracy theories were the least plausible explanation.

Chen Yixun said to Shang Shiqian, “Yi Jing was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night with a high fever. How could he possibly have had the time to share such a bizarre encounter? It’s all just baseless rumors, you don’t need to be afraid.”

Shang Shiqian smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, I’d never be afraid of ghosts.”

Meanwhile, at the inpatient ward of East City Medical University Affiliated Hospital.

Weng Qizheng and Li Zhishen, representing East City University’s Go club, came to visit the hospitalized Yi Jing.

After Weng Qizheng left, Li Zhishen asked, “Has your fever gone down?”

Yi Jing replied weakly, “From 40°C down to 38°C… I guess that counts.”

“That flu hit you hard.”

Yi Jing waved a hand. “My bones ache like hell.”

Li Zhishen joked, “Want me to get you a protective charm?”

“Go ahead. Make sure you’re sincere about it.”

Li Zhishen was surprised. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” Yi Jing nodded. “Even now, when I think about what happened last night, I still feel chills all over.”

“Could it just be your fever spiking again?”

Yi Jing insisted, “I couldn’t have mistaken her, it was Shang Shiqian!”

Li Zhishen pulled up a plastic stool and sat down. “The fourth daughter of the Shang family? The one who was murdered eight years ago?”

Yi Jing’s face turned ashen as he nodded. “She’s my nightmare. I could forget anyone but her!”

At 26, he was only three years younger than Shang Shiqian, making them peers in the Go world.

Their backgrounds were similar too both started learning Go at five and turned professional at eleven.

But when Shang Shiqian first made a name for herself, he was still a nobody, grinding away at a training school.

It wasn’t until Shang Shiqian was 15 and he was 12 that they faced each other for the first time at the New Talent Championship.

He was utterly crushed.

That same year, Shang Shiqian defeated South Korea’s top female player to win the World Women’s Go Championship, jumping straight to 5-dan.

After that, every time Yi Jing encountered Shang Shiqian in a tournament, he suffered humiliating defeats, even racking up a 15-loss streak.

Shang Shiqian became his nightmare, his jinx.

Eight years ago, during the Center Game Tournament, he was relieved not to face Shang Shiqian because he was eliminated before he even had the chance.

Then, just before the finals, Shang Shiqian was kidnapped and murdered.

While he mourned the loss of a player who could have made history, he had also, in some hidden corner of his heart, felt a shameful relief that his nightmare was gone.

Without Shang Shiqian looming over him, he gradually carved out his own place in the Go world over the past eight years.

After last night’s supernatural encounter, he wondered did Shang Shiqian know about his ugly thoughts? Was that why she appeared to haunt him?

Li Zhishen just thought he was delirious from the fever. “If she wanted to scare you, why wait eight years? And she wasn’t even a student at East City University, nor did she die here. There’s no way she’d show up here!”

“But the Treasure Pavilion was donated by the Shang family! I heard she was the one who named it too.”

Li Zhishen: …

Hearing this, he also felt a bit unsettled.

…

As for the rumors about the Treasure Pavilion being haunted, Shang Shiqian didn’t take them to heart.

Every school has similar ghost stories, all following the same template.

Hospitals are another place where supernatural tales easily emerge.

Having died once already, Shang Shiqian was completely immune to such ghost stories.

However, with Zhu Yuanying and Li Xiao acting as messengers, the news still reached Shang Xiaowu’s ears.

Shang Xiaowu angrily denounced it in the group chat: “What nonsense! How could there be anything unclean in the Treasure Pavilion that our family donated!”

Zhu Yuanying said, “Sister Xiaowu, there’s another version of the story… don’t get mad when you hear it…”

“What?”

“Well, today some of us went to visit Yi Jing, and he said the female ghost he encountered was—”

Li Xiao intervened: “Alright, enough. Let’s not talk about this.”

But it was too late. Zhu Yuanying’s message had already been sent: “Shang Shiqian.”

The next second, the message was quickly deleted.

Li Xiao could already imagine how furious Shang Xiaowu must be on the other end of the phone.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xiaowu proactively asked: “You’re saying the female ghost he saw was Shang Shiqian?”

Li Xiao and Zhu Yuanying didn’t dare to respond.

Shang Xiaowu: “You scared me! I thought he’d seen some other ghost.”

She figured there was an eighty percent chance he’d encountered Shang Shiyu.

“?”

“???”

The couple both sent question marks.

Shang Xiaowu sent a sneering emoji and said, “Hmph, he must have done something wrong, why else would he be so scared?”

The group chat fell silent.

They probably hadn’t expected her thought process to be so unconventional.

Ignoring them, Shang Xiaowu directly called Shang Shiqian: “What time did you leave East City University last night?”

Shang Shiqian answered, “Around 9:30. Why?”

“Were you wearing a mask then?”

“It was late, and there weren’t many people around, so I took it off.”

Shang Xiaowu became even more certain of her guess and burst into laughter: “Some idiot probably ran into you but thought it was Shang Qiguan’s ghost, hahaha… Isn’t that hilarious?”

Shang Shiqian: ?

Wait a minute, why does this sound so familiar?

Could the “ghost” in the Treasure Pavilion haunting rumors actually be her!?

Does Yi Jing know her?

Shang Shiqian silently searched her memories before finally recalling who Yi Jing was.

Wasn’t he that male Go player who couldn’t control his emotions and would cry for half an hour every time he lost to her?

Nowadays, Go tournament broadcasts rarely show the players themselves. The recent Weijia League broadcast was no exception she hadn’t seen him on screen and had assumed it was just someone with the same name.

Moreover, Yi Jing’s playing style was different from what she remembered, so she hadn’t connected the two.

Suddenly, Shang Shiqian realized there was silence on the other end of the call.

“Shang Xiaowu, are you still there?” she asked.

Shang Xiaowu said tearfully, “If ghosts really existed, Shang Qiguan would never stay away from home. Why would she go to East City University?”

Shang Shiqian’s chest suddenly felt stuffed with cotton, and her nose stung.

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