The Cannon Fodder Roles I Play All Become White Moonlights [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 16

For the evening banquet, Lu Yaoqing came to pick up Su Qingmeng as early as noon, bringing gifts specifically for the children at the orphanage.

Seeing the dilapidated orphanage and the innocent children, Lu Yaoqing’s eyes suddenly reddened. Although she had participated in many charity fundraisers, she had never truly interacted with orphans in an orphanage before. She secretly resolved to donate more to the orphanage in the future.

Su Qingmeng noticed her thoughts but didn’t voice them, only gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “I once thought about giving up on college, but now I feel that attending university was the best decision I ever made, because it was there that I met you. Yaoqing, meeting you has been my good fortune.”

Lu Yaoqing, who had only been slightly teary-eyed before, couldn’t hold back her tears upon hearing these words. “Mengmeng, you’re so annoying, making me cry like this.”

Even as she said this, she hugged Su Qingmeng tightly. “Mengmeng, just follow me. I’ll make you a little princess!”

Though it was the usual annual New Year’s banquet, which Lu Yaoqing had always found boring and uninteresting, this time she was determined to make Su Qingmeng the most dazzling princess of the evening. She meticulously selected an evening gown for her.

Ling Yuanbai arrived in the evening with the Ling couple. Dressed in a white suit, silver-rimmed glasses, and with his handsome features and gentle smile, he was considered the most promising among the younger generation in the wealthy circles.

“When Yaoqing arrives later, make sure to take good care of her,” Ling Qin said, intent on forming a marriage alliance with the Lu family. The Lu family was already on par with the Ling family, and with Lu Yaoqing being the only daughter of her generation, if Ling Yuanbai could marry her, the entire Lu Corporation would effectively fall into the Ling family’s hands.

Ling Yuanbai glanced at Ling Qin. This man, who was exceptionally cruel at home, appeared refined and elegant in public. Ling Yuanbai had inherited this mask from him, he thought mockingly.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance. He looked over with little interest but immediately spotted Su Qingmeng beside Lu Yaoqing. Dressed in a light blue gradient mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline, she looked like a mermaid under the moonlight, so beautiful it was hard to look away.

Especially when her peach blossom eyes glanced over with a hint of a smile, it created the illusion that she was gazing at someone with deep affection, making hearts beat faster involuntarily.

As she entered, all eyes turned to her, and the young playboys crowded around her one after another.

Ling Yuanbai stepped forward, first greeting Lu Yaoqing, then turning to Su Qingmeng with a warm smile. “Su, you look stunning today.”

Su Qingmeng blinked playfully. “Senior Ling, you look quite dashing today as well.”

Ling Yuanbai’s gaze inadvertently fell on her alluring, moist lips, reminding him of that night when she smoked, and they shared a cigarette…

His breathing hitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and calmly averted his eyes. When the music started, he extended his hand to Lu Yaoqing, but she shook her head. “I need to stay with my Mengmeng.”

Ling Yuanbai watched as Lu Yaoqin openly linked arms with Su Qingmeng, observing other men gathering around her while she remained smiling and graceful, accustomed to being the center of attention. At that moment, he felt a flicker of understanding for Ling Qin’s intense desire to control Yao Jia. He let out a soft click of his tongue, unsure whether it was jealousy or self-disgust.

Halfway through the banquet, Lu Yaoqin was forcibly taken away by her father to greet the elders of various families. Glancing at Su Qingmeng, who was mingling effortlessly in the crowd, she felt reassured and left. As soon as she was gone, Su Qingmeng excused herself to go to the restroom and slipped away to a secluded corner.

Su Qingmeng deliberately sent Fang Mo a selfie along with a voice message: “A-Mo, come see your beautiful girlfriend.”

Just as she seemed about to send a second message, a large hand wrapped around her shoulder. Startled, she was about to cry out when another hand covered her mouth. Reacting swiftly, she bit down hard on the fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and forefinger. The bite was so forceful that even Ling Yuanbai, who was accustomed to pain, hissed in agony.

Ling Yuanbai pulled Su Qingmeng into a nearby room before releasing her. He glanced down at the bite mark on his left hand, which was already bleeding, and couldn’t help but laugh. He even licked the blood from the wound with interest.

Su Qingmeng didn’t seem surprised to see him, as if she had expected it all along. Calmly, she sat down on a nearby chair and asked, “I thought Senior Ling had mysophobia.”

Ling Yuanbai noticed Su Qingmeng’s right hand resting casually near a glass vase on the table. He had no doubt that if he made any untoward move, she would not hesitate to smash the vase over his head. The thought made him burst into laughter again.

After his laughter subsided, he reverted to the reserved and gentle Ling Yuanbai, sitting properly across from Su Qingmeng. “I wouldn’t call it mysophobia,” he said. He simply disliked being touched, though exceptions always existed.

He took the ruby necklace from his pocket and placed it in front of Su Qingmeng. “Put it back on,” he said. He had grown accustomed to listening to her voice every night, and without it, his already poor sleep had worsened.

Su Qingmeng looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Ling Yuanbai met her smiling peach-blossom eyes for only a moment before quickly lowering his gaze. He tapped his fingers on the table twice and asked abruptly, “When did you find out?”

When she didn’t answer, Ling Yuanbai laughed again. Unconsciously, their positions had reversed, and he had finally learned to compromise. He put the necklace back into his pocket. “Fang Mo has been making quite a stir lately. You’d better keep an eye on him.”

“What do you mean?” The smile faded from Su Qingmeng’s eyes, revealing genuine concern for Fang Mo.

Ling Yuanbai felt a knot tighten in his chest, but when Su Qingmeng looked at him, he smirked maliciously. “You should remember when I asked you to bring Fang Mo’s computer to me. You know my private ventures don’t involve software. Guess who wanted it?”

Su Qingmeng immediately thought of Ling Qin. The Ling Group had started in real estate and, in recent years, had been eager to break into the electronics sector. However, whether in e-commerce or software applications, they were no match for the Kang Group—which was precisely why Fang Mo had chosen to register his studio under the Kang Group.

According to the plot she had received, even in the later stages of the story, Ling Qin didn’t have much of a role. What was even more puzzling was that, in the end, Ling Qin showed no intention of acknowledging Fang Mo as his own, even when the Ling Group was on the verge of bankruptcy and Ling Yuanbai had already been imprisoned.

“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Ling.” Su Qingmeng stood up, ready to leave.

Ling Yuanbai moved faster, blocking the door before she could reach it.

Even with him in her way, Su Qingmeng wasn’t the least bit afraid. Lu Yaoqing, Yao Jia, and Ling Qin were all outside, there was no way Ling Yuanbai could keep her for long.

Her confidence grated on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go just like that. “Is your ‘thank you’ nothing more than a few empty words?”

“Dreamy, are you in there?” Lu Yaoqing’s voice came from outside, she was calling out toward the restroom next door.

Su Qingmeng took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Ling Yuanbai wanted to retreat, but with his back against the door, he had trapped himself.

She rose onto her toes, her breath brushing against his jaw, then lightly kissed his cheek. “Then thank you, Senior Ling.”

Thump, thump, thump.

Ling Yuanbai couldn’t tell if the sound was the click of Su Qingmeng’s heels as she walked away or the frantic beating of his own heart. He stood frozen in place until Ling Qin called, demanding to know where he was. Only then did he step into the restroom to look in the mirror, sure enough, a faint lipstick mark was visible on his cheek.

He stared at that mark for a long time before slowly, deliberately wiping it away. Then he removed his glasses. The eyes reflected in the mirror held an almost pathological intensity. He covered them with his hand, unwilling to face his own disheveled state.

By the time Ling Yuanbai returned to the banquet hall, Su Qingmeng was already standing beside Lu Yaoqing, laughing and chatting as if provoking him had meant nothing at all.

After the banquet ended, Su Qingmeng had already gotten into Lu Yaoqing’s car when she received a call from Fang Mo: “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”

Su Qingmeng asked Lu Yaoqing to pull over. Across the street, she spotted Fang Mo, who had also driven over, a car worth a few hundred thousand yuan, standing out conspicuously among the luxury vehicles of the other banquet attendees.

The aloof young man, clad in a bright red long down jacket, was equally striking against the night backdrop.

Fang Mo saw her step out of the car and immediately pulled out an identical bright red down jacket from his own vehicle. Before she could even call out to him, he draped it over her shoulders, creating a stark contrast with her evening gown.

Lu Yaoqing burst into laughter at the sight, quickly pulling out her phone to take a photo. She gleefully said to Su Qingmeng, “Dreamy, I’m posting this unflattering picture of you on my social media! This is what you get for flaunting your love and making singles like me suffer!”

“Yaoqing, don’t you dare!” Su Qingmeng stomped her foot helplessly as Lu Yaoqing sped off. She could only poke Fang Mo in the side and complain, “Where did this bright red down jacket come from? It’s so ugly.”

Fang Mo paused for a moment. “I thought you liked bright red.”

On New Year’s Day, he had seen her dressed head to toe in red and assumed she favored the color.

“That’s a red coat, but a red down jacket isn’t ethereal at all. It’s not even convenient for me to walk in this,” she pouted and complained.

Fang Mo didn’t say a word. He simply bent down slightly and lifted her in a princess carry right in front of everyone. Amid her surprised exclamations, he carried her to the passenger seat and helped fasten her seatbelt. Suddenly, he keenly sensed someone watching from behind. He immediately straightened up and turned around warily, only to see the Ling couple.

He had seen countless photos of them, but this was the first time he encountered them in person. Yao Jia’s phoenix eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at him, while Ling Qin’s expression was even more unpleasant. Coldly, Fang Mo withdrew his gaze, showing no emotion as he settled into the driver’s seat.

“Ah Mo,” Su Qingmeng suddenly spoke, gazing into the darkness ahead, “be careful of the Ling Group.”

Fang Mo’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.

A few days later, an unfamiliar number called Fang Mo’s phone. He recognized it, it was Ling Qin’s. When he answered, he indeed heard Ling Qin’s voice: “Xiao Mo, I’m your father. Let’s meet.”

Ling Qin’s voice on the phone was gentle and calm, like a caring father.

Fang Mo replied expressionlessly, “Time and place.”

Fang Mo and Ling Qin met once. Not much was said between them, Fang Mo was naturally a man of few words, and Ling Qin seemed unsure of where to begin, only mentioning that he had recently learned of Fang Mo’s existence.

Ling Qin’s gaze at Fang Mo was particularly complex, eventually softening into a helpless smile. “I was drunk back then and mistook your mother for my wife. That was my mistake. Although I didn’t love your mother, if I had known about you, I would have taken responsibility.”

“How would you take responsibility? By divorcing Ms. Yao Jia?” Fang Mo retorted sharply.

Ling Qin couldn’t stand anyone mentioning Yao Jia and nearly lost his temper. Still, he managed to suppress his anger and maintain his composure. “I deeply love my wife and will not divorce her. But I can compensate you. Call me if you need anything.”

…

The day before school started, Su Qingmeng returned to the tenement building from the orphanage. Without telling Fang Mo, she quietly went to the internet cafe, hoping to surprise him. Instead, she found Fang Mo in the breakroom with red-rimmed eyes and wrinkled clothes.

Fang Mo was also taken aback. Realizing how disheveled he looked, he quickly stood up, washed his face, changed his clothes, and sat neatly in front of Su Qingmeng. “Why didn’t you ask me to pick you up?”

“How long has it been since you rested?” Su Qingmeng frowned, not giving him a chance to answer as she pushed him to go to sleep.

Fang Mo truly hadn’t slept for several days. He thought he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but when Su Qingmeng held his hand, he unexpectedly drifted into a deep slumber.

He slept until five in the morning. When he jolted awake from the folding bed, he saw Su Qingmeng sleeping with her head resting on the computer desk nearby.

Her sleeping face, so close at hand, instantly cleared the hostility from his heart. He let go of the reckless thoughts of fighting to the death with others. As long as she existed in this world, he had reasons to hold on and cherish life. No amount of malice was worth abandoning her for.

His tightly furrowed brow relaxed. He carried Su Qingmeng to his folding bed and gently kissed her forehead.

Su Qingmeng opened her eyes to see Fang Mo working at his computer desk, with the breakfast he had prepared for her placed on the nearby table. “Ah Mo, is something wrong?”

Fang Mo’s fingers paused briefly over the keyboard, but he didn’t turn around. “It’s nothing. It’s just that the studio might have to be delayed.”

He didn’t tell Su Qingmeng that he had met with Ling Qin, and by chance, someone from the Kang Corporation had seen them. The Kang Corporation now suspected him of playing both sides, and the studio project needed to be reevaluated.

Coincidentally, the core code of a project he had been developing with his mentor was almost stolen. Fortunately, he had set up a self-destruct program that destroyed the code before it could be taken.

Fang Mo never believed in coincidences, especially when two incidents happened back-to-back.

“Have breakfast first. I’ll take you to register at school,” Fang Mo said, packing his things. He first dropped Su Qingmeng off at the Finance Department before heading to the Computer Science Department to request a month’s leave to focus on resolving his issues. However, the academic affairs office informed him that his leave request was denied. If he skipped classes for a month without a valid reason, he would face expulsion.

Fang Mo didn’t seem surprised by this response. He nodded silently without arguing. Such obstacles no longer troubled him, over the years, he had learned to mask his emotions with silence and always prepared for the worst.

Although Su Qingmeng hadn’t gotten any information directly from Fang Mo, recalling Ling Yuanbai’s words and the original plot, she could guess that Fang Mo was likely facing some kind of obstruction.

A few days later, before Fang Mo could even tell her, she saw on the news that his internet cafe had been shut down. Shortly after, Lu Yaoqing informed her that someone had sent emails to both the university president and the city’s education bureau, accusing Fang Mo of academic fraud. The emails included evidence of Fang Mo hacking into the school’s system in the past.

She immediately called Fang Mo, but he still insisted, “It’s nothing. I’ll resolve it soon.”

Su Qingmeng suspected that Ling Qin was behind it. Compared to Ling Qin’s methods, Ling Yuanbai’s previous tactics seemed almost childish, this was a true attempt to destroy someone.

“Yaoqing, can you help Ah Mo? All he needs is a chance to meet with your father,” Su Qingmeng pleaded with Lu Yaoqing. Aside from the Kang Corporation, the Lu family was capable of standing up to the Ling family.

Lu Yaoqing readily agreed.

Before any results came from Fang Mo’s discussions with the Lu family, Su Qingmeng received a message from Ling Yuanbai asking to meet.

Su Qingmeng agreed.

They met again at the same remote, uninhabited wetland. Winter was gradually fading, and the surroundings were tinged with a faint green, not much, but enough to hint at the hope of spring.

After finishing nearly a pack of cigarettes, Ling Yuanbai finally spoke. “Break up with him, and I’ll help him this once.”

Su Qingmeng studied him carefully. Ling Yuanbai sneered, “He’s too impatient and naive. Being with him won’t lead to a bright future. Someone as smart as you should know that breaking up with him is the best choice.”

“I still remember it was you, Senior Ling, who wanted to deal with Ah Mo before. Don’t you find your current stance contradictory?” Su Qingmeng mused thoughtfully. “And what I still don’t understand is, Ah Mo is just an ordinary college student. Why do you keep targeting him?”

Ling Yuanbai lit a cigarette, the smoke curling upward before dissipating in the wind, leaving nothing behind. “Su Qingmeng, knowing too much won’t do you any good. Break up with Fang Mo, and I’ve already applied to a university abroad for you. You can leave in two months.”

“My affairs don’t need to be decided by Senior Ling,” Su Qingmeng said with a smile, though her tone was resolute.

Ling Yuanbai’s lips tightened. “Su Qingmeng, do you think you can stay unscathed by Fang Mo’s side? Don’t forget you still have the orphanage director, and she still has an orphanage to run.”

Su Qingmeng laughed, calling him by his full name for the first time: “Ling Yuanbai, why do you always resort to threats to get what you want? Often, threats don’t help you achieve your goals, they only push you further away from what you desire.”

Ling Yuanbai was momentarily stunned. The tactics he had learned most from Ling Qin were threats and temptations.

Su Qingmeng stepped out of the car. A cold breeze from the wetlands swept through, lifting her long hair as she walked toward the marshland ahead.

Ling Yuanbai felt a sudden pang of anxiety. He followed her out of the car and grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”

Didn’t she know how dangerous the marshland ahead was?

“I’ve been here so many times, I just wanted to come down and enjoy the scenery,” Su Qingmeng said with a light laugh. “Actually, the view here is quite nice. It’s like,”

She suddenly reached out and removed his glasses, telling him, “You actually look quite good without them.”

In that brief moment of surprise, Ling Yuanbai snatched the glasses back from her hand, his voice nearly icy. “Su Qingmeng, do you really think I won’t do anything to you?”

Su Qingmeng’s red lips curved into a smile. “Yes, because you like me.”

Ling Yuanbai was about to mock her, but his hand, poised to put his glasses back on, froze at her next words: “But even if I break up with Fang Mo, I still won’t choose you.”