The Cannon Fodder Roles I Play All Become White Moonlights [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 17.1

Ling Yuanbai hadn’t put his glasses back on yet. He felt uncomfortable, as the direct sunlight on his eyes made it hard for him to adjust.

Slowly, he put his glasses back on and curled his lips into a faint smile. “Su Qingmeng, being self-absorbed is just as foolish as being overly clever.”

Su Qingmeng watched him quietly, her bright eyes seeming to reflect his most hidden thoughts.

Ling Yuanbai took a deep breath and, for once, offered an explanation. “I helped Fang Mo, but it wasn’t for you.”

“Hmm.” Su Qingmeng lazily leaned her entire body against the car, gazing into the distance. “I never really noticed before, but the scenery here is actually quite nice.”

Ling Yuanbai glanced at her sideways and stood beside her, slowly smoking a cigarette. His posture remained rigid and upright, he couldn’t bring himself to indulge in the same carefree ease as Su Qingmeng.

A long silence stretched between them before they both spoke almost simultaneously.

Su Qingmeng asked, “So, even if I didn’t break up with Fang Mo, you would still help him, right?”

“Su Qingmeng, why did you…” Kiss me that day? And then have Fang Mo pick you up? Ling Yuanbai stopped mid-question, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke.

If Yao Jia and Ling Qin hadn’t seen Fang Mo that day, if Yao Jia hadn’t fallen ill, perhaps Ling Qin wouldn’t have discovered Fang Mo’s existence so quickly. But someone like Fang Mo, who could rise no matter how much he was suppressed, would have been found out sooner or later anyway.

He wasn’t exactly a good person, carrying the blood of two despicable individuals, Ling Qin and Fang Tinglan. But Yao Jia had been one of the few sources of warmth in his childhood, and Fang Mo was Yao Jia’s son. Originally, he had intended to spare Fang Mo’s life.

“Not necessarily,” he replied indifferently to Su Qingmeng’s question. If helping Fang Mo meant losing the leverage to bring down Ling Qin, he wouldn’t have intervened.

The wind blew in gusts. Su Qingmeng tugged at her clothes. With Fang Mo away these past few days, she hadn’t been wearing a down jacket and was genuinely feeling cold. She lowered her gaze and smiled faintly.

She got back into the car and leaned out to call to Ling Yuanbai, “Ling Yuanbai, let’s not meet again. Every time, you leave me reeking of smoke. It’s unpleasant.”

Ling Yuanbai curved his lips into a smile, as if deliberately defying her wishes, and got back into the car, still carrying the scent of smoke.

Surprisingly, this time, Ling Yuanbai drove Su Qingmeng back to the tenement building. His car couldn’t enter the narrow alley, so he simply watched as she walked in alone. The surrounding decay clashed starkly with her clean, delicate figure, as if she didn’t belong to this world. The moment she disappeared around the corner of the alley, he suddenly felt an illusion, as though she had abandoned this filthy world and vanished.

His heart raced with a frightening intensity. On impulse, he wanted to get out of the car and grab her.

“Yuanbai?”

Turning his head, he saw Fang Tinglan, her face lit up with pleasant surprise. She hadn’t seen Su Qingmeng get out of the car and asked eagerly, “Are you here to see me? Xiao Mo hasn’t been home these days. Would you like to come in for a while?”

Ling Yuanbai hesitated, the words of refusal lingering on the tip of his tongue. Glancing back at the alley where Su Qingmeng had disappeared, he found himself nodding almost involuntarily. But as he followed Fang Tinglan inside, he began to regret it, especially once he stepped into the house.

All the housework at home had been handled by Fang Mo alone over the years. Since he hadn’t returned these past few days, Fang Tinglan hadn’t bothered to tidy up, leaving the house in complete disarray. Ling Yuanbai stood at the doorway, not even wanting to step inside.

Perhaps his expression of disgust was too obvious, as Fang Tinglan gave an awkward smile and hurriedly wiped a stool with a clean towel. “Have a seat. Do young people all like milk tea? Let me order some for you.”

“I don’t care for that,” Ling Yuanbai replied politely. “I have matters to attend to, so I won’t stay, Ms. Fang.”

Fang Tinglan opened her mouth, wanting to ask if he couldn’t spare a little more time for her. After all, she was his birth mother!

Ling Yuanbai glanced at her coolly. Even though he still wore a faint smile, Fang Tinglan felt the pressure of his presence and didn’t dare say another word.

Frowning, Ling Yuanbai walked alone through the narrow alley once more. He deliberately paused beneath Su Qingmeng’s building for a while. He knew she lived on the sixth floor and wanted to see the environment she lived in, but he was self-aware enough to realize that Su Qingmeng probably wouldn’t welcome him.

His throat itched, and he felt the urge to smoke again.

Su Qingmeng had no idea he was standing downstairs, and just as he expected, even if she knew, she wouldn’t invite him up. After returning home to change into a thick down jacket, she headed straight to a women’s prison. Following the visitation application approved days earlier, she went to see someone.

Truthfully, her memories of the woman had grown somewhat hazy, but they gradually sharpened upon seeing her in person. The woman before her was identical to the one from her original world, just like the orphanage director. Su Qingmeng lowered her gaze, a vague suspicion forming about the nature of this so-called transmigrated world. However, her theory was still incomplete and required further evidence.

The woman clearly didn’t recognize her either. “I don’t know you. Why did you want to see me?”

“Take a closer look. I don’t think you’ve forgotten me,” Su Qingmeng said, her smile fading as her expression turned as icy as in the photo taken when she was nine. She hadn’t been one to smile much as a child, only later learning to be diplomatic in the entertainment industry. Ling Yuanbai wasn’t wrong to say she wore a mask, though her mask differed somewhat from the constraints he was forced to bear.

The woman stared at her for a long time before finally recognizing her. In an instant, she grew agitated, lunging forward as if she wanted to tear Su Qingmeng apart on the spot. But with the transparent glass barrier and prison guards watching, she couldn’t lay a finger on Su Qingmeng.

“Was it you? Did you get my sentence extended? I always knew you were no good, you wretched brat! Hurting me once wasn’t enough, you had to do it again!” the woman screamed hysterically.

Su Qingmeng quickly picked up on the information: someone in this world had helped her deal with this woman. She could guess who it might be. Coldly, she said to the woman, “It’s just a pity you weren’t sentenced to death along with your husband back then.”

Ignoring the woman’s curses and sobs, Su Qingmeng turned and left the prison without looking back. Just as she stepped out of the prison gates, she received a call from Fang Mo: “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up. We’re having dinner tonight with President Lu and Lu Yaoqing.”

It seemed his negotiations with the Lu family had gone rather well.

At the dinner table, Su Qingmeng could tell that Lu Yaoqing’s father was quite pleased with Fang Mo, with a subtle inclination to pair him up with his daughter. That was likely why Fang Mo had brought her along, to signal Mr. Lu to drop the idea. Lu Yaoqing seemed to catch on as well, nearly confronting her father on the spot.

Realizing that both his daughter and Fang Mo were fond of Su Qingmeng, Mr. Lu had no choice but to let the matter go, though he felt a tinge of regret. As the only cherished daughter of the Lu family, Lu Yaoqing’s happiness mattered most. Rather than an arranged marriage for business ties, he preferred a capable son-in-law who could join their household. Fang Mo, with no family background but exceptional talent, seemed perfect for her. He even recalled how, during her early college days, Lu Yaoqing had asked him to inquire about Fang Mo.

Lu Yaoqing, probably remembering the same episode and unwilling to let Su Qingmeng know she had once had a crush on Fang Mo, kicked her father under the table and shot him a fierce glare, warning him not to bring up her embarrassing past.

All in all, the evening was quite pleasant. With Fang Mo on one side and Lu Yaoqing on the other, Su Qingmeng thoroughly enjoyed herself. Even Fang Mo, who had been frowning for nearly a month, seemed to relax a little.

Fang Mo had initially pretended to be poor to mislead and guard against the Ling family. But now that he had openly confronted them ahead of schedule, he saw no reason to keep up the act. He swapped his bicycle for a car, though driving back to the tube-shaped apartment building proved less convenient, the parking lot was too far, making the walk longer than his bike commute. Still, he found it rather nice to stroll side by side with Su Qingmeng.

“What about the report?” Su Qingmeng hesitated to ask.

“Don’t worry. I have evidence to refute it, and my professor can vouch for me,” Fang Mo replied, unconcerned about the accusation. He gazed ahead at the dimly lit alley, where only two streetlights flickered, and the neglected road was rough and uneven, hardly ideal for his girlfriend, who loved wearing all kinds of high heels.

He bent down in front of her. “Hop on.”

“I can walk by myself,” Su Qingmeng said, but she obediently climbed onto his back.

“Once things settle down, let’s rent a place near the campus first, then take our time looking for a home. Where would you like to settle?” Fang Mo’s breathing remained steady even while carrying her, though he paused slightly at the word “home.”

Su Qingmeng rested on his back without answering. After a moment, she said, “A Mo, we’re still young. It’s too early to talk about these things. Who knows what the future holds? We might even break up someday without realizing it.”

“We won’t,” Fang Mo said firmly, quickening his pace. Even when Su Qingmeng urged him to put her down as they climbed the stairs, he ignored her and carried her all the way to the sixth floor.

Su Qingmeng hopped off his back and gently tugged at his sleeve, calling out helplessly, “A Mo…”

But he suddenly covered her eyes and sealed her lips with his. His phoenix eyes, dark and intense in the night, held a near-pathological obsession he was afraid she would see if she opened her eyes:

Su Qingmeng, since you’ve chosen to entangle with me, you’re not allowed to leave me.

Before long, Fang Mo’s previously shut-down internet cafe was reopened and resumed normal operations. The rumors about him circulating within the school were eventually debunked by the administration. As for the collaborative project with his mentor, Fang Mo had long prepared a separate backup copy.

The troubles Ling Qin had stirred up for Fang Mo were all resolved one by one. During this period, an issue arose with one of the Ling Group’s projects, which kept Ling Qin occupied and temporarily unable to focus on Fang Mo. By the time he finally freed up his hands to deal with Fang Mo again, Fang Mo’s collaboration with the Lu Group had already been finalized. In a twist of fate, this turn of events actually accelerated Fang Mo’s partnership with the Lu Group compared to the original timeline.

To celebrate this collaboration, the Lu family held a modest banquet, intending to formally introduce Fang Mo into the business world. Although Fang Mo and Lu Yaoqing currently had no romantic interest in each other, Mr. Lu still held Fang Mo in high regard. He believed that even without relying on the Lu Group, Fang Mo was destined for great success. Thus, he thought it better to act as a patron while Fang Mo was still in his early stages, so that in the future, Fang Mo would remember the Lu family’s recognition and support.