The White Moonlight is So Scheming - Chapter 8

No new verification messages had come in.

Shifting her long legs uncomfortably, Ji Zhijie pressed her lips together and expressionlessly turned off her phone.

Tch, how ridiculous.

It didn’t take a genius to guess, how could that spoiled young lady genuinely want to study? And yet, she had actually considered
helping her. Talk about a dog trying to catch mice.

The phone screen suddenly lit up again.

Her slender fingers, resting on the draft paper, curled slightly. Ji Zhijie casually tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear,
revealing a fair, delicate earlobe.

She opened the screen absentmindedly, only to find a shopping notification from Taobao.

The faint smile on her lips froze instantly, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on the phone.

This time.

She simply powered it off completely.

The hour-and-a-half-long movie finally reached its end.

Stretching her neck, Shen Juexia turned off the projector, yawned, and picked up her phone surely Ji Zhijie had accepted her friend
request by now?

The moment she opened the app.

Shen Juexia frowned in frustration.

What era was this, where someone could go hours without checking their messages? Whatever, she’d just talk to her at school
tomorrow.

Humming a tune, Shen Juexia bounded lightly up the stairs. Just before entering her bedroom, she suddenly remembered something and
leaned over the railing, calling downstairs, “Auntie Xu, make two breakfasts tomorrow~”

“Understood.” Without asking further, Xu Qing simply acknowledged the request.

—

The distant skyscrapers, stripped of their daytime sharpness, now blurred into a warm haze. The golden streetlights lining the
roads stood like silent heralds of the night, quietly awaiting the dawn.

Walking home alone, backpack slung over her shoulders.

Only her shadow kept Ji Zhijie company.

When she had proposed moving off-campus to rent an apartment near the school, the board had reasonably amended the accommodation
fee waiver to a monthly housing subsidy of 2,000 yuan.

Located in the city center.

S City’s First Hospital and Shengde High School were quite close.

Rent in the downtown area was exorbitant. Without the 2,000-yuan monthly subsidy, her family wouldn’t have been able to afford an
apartment near the hospital.

Initially, Ji Zhijie had refused dormitory living and rented off-campus to make it easier for her mother to attend follow-up
appointments.

But now…

Though the chemotherapy had been effective, unfortunate side effects had emerged, and the hospital recommended Ji Wan stay for
observation.

Standing at the door, she pulled out her keys, adorned with a tiny persimmon charm, her gaze softening.

When Ji Wan had her head shaved.

Ji Zhijie, who rarely cried, had reddened her eyes.

Before entering the chemotherapy room, Ji Wan had pressed the handmade persimmon charm into her daughter’s hand, saying, “This is
Mom’s lucky little persimmon. Keep it with you, Zhizhi, and everything will go smoothly.”

Later, under the charm’s protection.

The chemotherapy had succeeded, her mother’s condition had improved significantly, and the doctors were optimistic.

Flipping on the lights, Ji Zhijie changed out of her shoes.

Gazing at the empty living room, she clenched the little persimmon tightly in her hand.

When.

Would her mother finally come home from the hospital?

At the same time.

In the Shen household’s first-floor guest room, Xu Qing stood on the balcony, dialing an overseas call.

M Country, hotel suite.

Midway through lunch, Shen Tinghan set down his fork and knife at the sound of the ringing phone, wiped his fingertips with a
napkin, and picked up the receiver. “Auntie Xu.”

“Miss, the second young miss is willing to go to school tomorrow.” Hearing Shen Tinghan’s voice, Xu Qing quickly shared the good
news.

“Thank you for your efforts. I’ll be returning to the country next week.” With a slight lift of her brow, Shen Tinghan’s tone
noticeably lightened.

Setting her phone aside, she picked up her knife and fork and resumed her meal.

Twenty minutes later.

She had another meeting to attend.

“And also…” Xu Qing tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes.

She wasn’t sure if she should bring this up to the young miss.

“What?” For some reason, an uneasy premonition suddenly settled in Shen Tinghan’s heart.

“The second young miss she asked me to prepare two breakfasts tomorrow.” Licking her lips and hearing no response from the other
end, Xu Qing hesitantly added, “She might have made a new friend at school. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

After all…

The second young miss had no friends at all.

The knife screeched sharply against the porcelain plate. Her knuckles whitened as she clenched her fingers, and Shen Tinghan
replied softly, “Mm, I see.”

“But Miss—”

Beep beep beep…

Before Xu Qing could finish, Shen Tinghan had already hung up.

Staring into the vast night, Xu Qing held her phone tightly, her emotions tangled. The young miss had impeccable manners, she
rarely hung up on anyone.

Country M.

“President, the other party has arrived.” Secretary Chen, waiting outside the room, knocked twice when Shen Tinghan still hadn’t
emerged despite the scheduled time.

“Let’s go.” The door swung open, revealing Shen Tinghan’s darkened expression.

Nodding stiffly, Secretary Chen lowered her head and trailed behind like a quail, wishing she could bury herself in the ground.

SOS!

The president is terrifying!!!

Once in the car, Shen Tinghan retrieved a glasses case from the front pocket, slipping on a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles to
soften the sharpness in her gaze.

Silently watching the cityscape pass by, her eyes gradually darkened. She reminded herself: Xia Xia is growing up. It’s normal for
her to make friends.

But the next second.

Her gaze turned icy again.

Why would Xia Xia’s emotions fluctuate so much just from making a friend?

Is it really just an ordinary friend?

Or…

The next day, Thursday.

After raining all night, S City was shrouded in a dull gray haze, as if spring’s lingering lethargy had seeped into summer.

Stifled from the humidity, the classroom air hung thick and sticky.

As usual, Ji Zhijie was the first to arrive. After setting down her bag, she pushed open all the windows.

Cool air rushed in, dispersing the stagnant dampness. Taking a deep breath by the window, she was about to sit down when her
peripheral vision caught a small figure beneath the parasol tree.

Her lips pressed into a tight line.

Her gaze shifted from hidden delight to humiliated resentment. With a sharp snap, she shut the window.

Last night, before bed, she had inexplicably accepted Shen Juexia’s friend request. She had even gotten up, turned on the light,
and painstakingly photographed all her recent notes to send over.

The status showed online.

But there had been no reply. She had been fooled again.

The shadows in her eyes deepened as her gaze flickered with unspoken turmoil.

A strange and unfamiliar emotion seized Ji Zhijie’s rationality. She smacked her forehead hard, trying to drive these chaotic
thoughts out of her mind.

How absurd.

Wasn’t she just some spoiled young lady who liked to tease people? Ji had met plenty of that type. Why should she get angry over
someone like that?

The voice arrived before its owner.

Spotting a figure in the corner through the corridor window, Shen Juexia loudly demanded before even entering the classroom: “Ji
Zhijie! Why didn’t you accept my friend request?”

The villain strikes first?

Ji Zhijie, who had planned to pretend to sleep and ignore her, let out a cold laugh and sat up straight.

Clicking her heels across the classroom floor, Shen Juexia stood at the front door, glaring at Ji Zhijie sitting in the second-to-
last row. “Why didn’t you accept my friend request?”

She was curious.

Just how would this young lady try to twist black into white?

Leaning back in her chair with arms crossed, Ji Zhijie raised an eyebrow with amusement. “I didn’t accept it?”

“No, you didn’t!” Pulling out her phone, Shen Juexia opened WeChat and shoved it in Ji Zhijie’s face. “See for yourself!”

Ji Zhijie immediately spotted herself in the contact list.

A red dot indicated six unread messages.

“The third one unless I’m blind that should be my profile picture.” Tapping the screen lightly, Ji Zhijie gripped the phone’s metal
frame and turned it toward Shen Juexia.

“What the—?” Muttering, Shen Juexia lowered her eyes to look.

Her gaze froze. After less than three seconds of silence, she immediately declared: “It’s your fault for accepting so late! Do you
know I waited by my phone all night yesterday until I fell asleep?”

The more she spoke, the more confident she became.

By the end, she was even pouting in complaint.

“And now you’re blaming me?” Looking at the clearly guilty young lady, Ji Zhijie found her mood inexplicably improving.

“What else?” Shen Juexia said as she pulled out a chair and sat down, retrieving two identical lunch boxes from her bag. “Even
though you messed up, I’m magnanimous enough not to hold it against you. Here, I specially brought you breakfast.”

Wordlessly parting her lips, Ji Zhijie stared at Shen Juexia.

Shoving chopsticks into Ji Zhijie’s hand, Shen Juexia pursed her lips impatiently. “Why’re you looking at me? Eat! Or do you want
me to feed you?”

“I’ve already eaten.” Placing the chopsticks on the lunch box, Ji Zhijie subtly pushed it back.

Not pressing further, Shen Juexia opened her own lunch box and murmured, “Then I’ll bring you some tomorrow. But remember, don’t
eat breakfast tomorrow.”

Fingers twitching slightly, Ji Zhijie thought silently: Tomorrow? Who knows if you’ll even come to school tomorrow?

Just then, in the quiet classroom—

An untimely gurgling sound erupted.

Chewing on a crystal shrimp dumpling, Shen Juexia glanced around before finally looking at Ji Zhijie beside her. “What was that
noise?”

Her face burning red, Ji Zhijie turned away from Shen Juexia’s probing gaze.

“Why aren’t you answering? Why are you blushing?” Tugging at Ji Zhijie’s sleeve, Shen Juexia adopted an expression of relentless
determination. “Out with it!”

Annoyed by her persistence, Ji Zhijie covered his eyes with his hand. “It’s my stomach.”

Fine, go ahead and laugh.

Opening the lid again, Shen Juexia pushed the lunchbox back in front of Ji Zhijie. “When you said you’d already eaten breakfast
earlier, I thought this would go to waste. Now it’s perfect timing.”