Transmigrated as the Short-Lived White Moonlight, I Ended Up Happily Ever After With the Female Lead - Chapter 3

The night deepened, and the snow had yet to stop. The Ji Residence was still as bright as day, with candles lit in every courtyard, creating a scene of brilliant illumination.

Song Yi returned to her secluded sleeping quarters, where even the light from the lamps was weak. The flowers and plants in her courtyard had withered, completely incomparable to Ji Yan’an’s courtyard, which was full of rare flowers and exotic plants even in the snow.

However, everyone was accustomed to this sight. The maids who passed Song Yi’s courtyard wouldn’t even spare it a glance. In the magnificent and grand Ji Residence, perhaps only Song Yi’s corner was this desolate.

Jinxi also remained silent. Upon entering the courtyard, she began preparing to boil water to serve Song Yi’s bath. However, Song Yi quietly signaled Jinxi out of the room, her meaning clear: she didn’t require attendance.

Jinxi was rebuffed. She pouted slightly and didn’t insist, choosing instead to stand by the door and wait.

Meanwhile, Ji Yan’an was restless. After exploring her own courtyard entirely, she kept wondering how dilapidated the small courtyard where Song Yi lived in the original novel truly was.

No sooner said than done, Ji Yan’an tidied herself up slightly and stepped out the door. Most of the maids in the Ji Residence were currently serving the guests in the main hall who had come to offer congratulations, so there were few idle servants. It was only due to Ji Yan’an’s status that a large group of servants waited by her door, awaiting her command.

Jinxi had been instructed by Ji Yan’an to serve Song Yi, so a new little maid timidly stepped forward and asked, “Miss… the snowy path is slippery tonight… Where… where are you going?”

Ji Yan’an heard the voice and looked over, seeing a face she had never seen before. The maid wore a peach-colored jacket and skirt, and her lovely, round face was full of apprehension.

“Strange, is the ‘White Moonlight’ persona really that terrifying?” Ji Yan’an pondered silently, but she still smiled and said, “I’m going to take a stroll to Miss Song’s courtyard. I know she’s not asleep, and she just saved my life, so I should go and check on her, shouldn’t I?”

The little maid seemed surprised that the eldest miss would speak so gently. She asked with a hint of delight, “Then, let Le Yan accompany Miss!”

Le Yan’s eyes were full of expectation, as innocent as a fawn that had never been hunted. Ji Yan’an also liked the maid’s simplicity, finding her much better than the clearly worldly and shrewd Jinxi. Thus, Ji Yan’an nodded and agreed readily, taking only Le Yan with her.

“No one else is allowed to follow,” Ji Yan’an couldn’t possibly allow her visit to the protagonist to become a commotion. She wanted to be discreet!

Le Yan, however, was flattered, and she became even more attentive in leading the way for Ji Yan’an.

“Miss! Why are you here?” Jinxi, waiting at the door, was utterly shocked to see Ji Yan’an. Ji Yan’an, at this moment, was also too overwhelmed to speak.

This was the legendary residence of the female protagonist? The windows of the side room in this courtyard were shattered, and the inside was cluttered with miscellaneous objects.

This room was more dilapidated than a woodshed; only the main room looked somewhat presentable, at least the furnishings and windows weren’t broken…

“Has… Miss Song always lived here?” Even though she had read the description in the original novel and was mentally prepared, the sense of contrast upon actually walking from her own gold-inlaid courtyard to this place was enough to make Ji Yan’an feel disheartened.

When Song Yi first arrived at the Ji Residence, Ji Yongning was meticulously caring for her, almost raising her as his own daughter, and had even granted her the Plum Blossom Courtyard. But Song Yi’s nature was aloof and rebellious. Ji Yongning gradually became unwilling to offer warmth to a cold shoulder, so he simply allowed Song Yi to fend for herself in the back courtyard.

“Miss Song was moved after she secretly took the coral jade that Consort Liu had bestowed upon the Master. Miss, did you… forget?” The moment Jinxi said this, Ji Yan’an realized she hadn’t been careful enough. If she revealed any more flaws, wouldn’t she be doomed immediately?

Ji Yan’an reflected on her carelessness while dealing with Jinxi. She fled into Song Yi’s room, heedless of Jinxi’s attempts to stop her outside.

“Miss!!” Jinxi’s eyes widened, watching helplessly as Ji Yan’an went inside. “Miss Song is still bathing…”

Ji Yan’an, still relieved that she had escaped Jinxi’s questioning and hadn’t had time to survey the room’s furnishings, suddenly heard the sound of water splashing.

Ji Yan’an followed the sound of the water around the screen, and what met her eyes was Song Yi’s smooth back and her long black hair, damp from the water.

Ji Yan’an’s mind went blank. How could she forget that Song Yi was bathing!!

Song Yi hadn’t noticed anyone behind her yet and was using her fair hands to scoop up water and wash her arms. On the upper right of her snowy white back was a cinnabar mole, like a blazing fire.

It was like a red plum blossom dotting the snow. The cinnabar mole was set against Song Yi’s flawless white back. As Ji Yan’an watched, she felt her throat dry up and could only swallow repeatedly.

“Who!” Song Yi finally sensed the intrusion. She let out a cold shout, which brought Ji Yan’an’s mind, which had flown far away, back to reality. She quickly turned around, flustered and incoherent: “I-I-I… I really didn’t mean to peek at you bathing!!”

After Ji Yan’an spoke, there was a long silence behind her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to apologize again, Song Yi had already dressed and was kneeling before Ji Yan’an.

“Greetings to the Eldest Miss.” Still that cold demeanor, Song Yi looked at Ji Yan’an as if she were a stranger, with not a ripple of emotion in her eyes.

For some reason, Ji Yan’an felt a deep sense of powerlessness when staring into Song Yi’s eyes. It was as if any words she might say would be pale and futile. Song Yi’s heart was already like dead ashes, making it very difficult to rekindle.

“Song Yi…” Ji Yan’an tried calling her, and Song Yi obediently nodded in response. Suddenly, both of them had nothing to say.

To escape the awkwardness, Ji Yan’an helped her up and then began looking around the room.

Other than the lack of expensive porcelain and antiques, the room wasn’t too bad, except for one thing: there was no fireplace. In this freezing weather, Ji Yan’an wondered how Song Yi would manage to get through it. She even had to use a screen to block her bathing area; there was simply no extra room for her to bathe…

Ji Yan’an’s eyes gradually moistened. She pulled her fur-collared cloak tighter around herself, walked over to Song Yi, and without giving her much time to react, firmly grasped her hand.

Ice-cold… She didn’t feel at all like someone who had just bathed. If Ji Yan’an hadn’t personally witnessed Song Yi bathing just now, she would hardly believe she was holding a hand and not a lump of ice.

“Miss, please don’t hold it. My hand is cold.” Song Yi subtly withdrew her hand from Ji Yan’an’s palm, even stepping back slightly.

Ji Yan’an frowned. How was she supposed to proceed if the female protagonist was already distancing herself from her?

To survive, she had to cling to the protagonist and build up her favorability! Ji Yan’an made up her mind, grabbed that icy hand again, and exclaimed, “Beauty… I mean, Song Yi! How can you, who saved my life, live in such a small courtyard? Besides, I know you were wrongly accused back then. How about this: you move into the side room in my courtyard for now!”

The saying goes that to gain the female protagonist’s attention, you must live close to her! In any case, her Eldest Miss Ji’s side room was a hundred times more refined than Song Yi’s current residence, so she wouldn’t be losing anything.

Ji Yan’an thought Song Yi would readily agree, but Song Yi pointed at Ji Yan’an’s nose with a deadpan expression: “You… have a nosebleed.”