Turns out I Was the CEO's White Moonlight [Rebirth] - Chapter 11

In an instant, Ji Wencheng felt as if he had plunged into an ice cellar, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. He abruptly turned his gaze to Shen Yelin beside him, staring at the other’s calm and composed face, his heart aching sharply once more.

In just five years, this person would die in a car accident, leaving this world forever.

Realizing this, Ji Wencheng thought of his own broken and despairing self from five years later. The words he had been about to speak now stuck in his throat, swallowed back with difficulty.

How fortunate he was to have learned of the future at this precise moment. Since fate had given him the choice to take a different path, he would seize it firmly, never allowing this opportunity to slip through his fingers.

“I’m sorry, I lied to you,” Ji Wencheng began after a moment of thought. “Actually, I’ve been avoiding you lately because I did something unforgivable to you. If you really want to hear the truth, I’ll tell you.”

He looked intently at Shen Yelin. “Every single word of it, I can tell you everything.”

Shen Yelin: “…?”

What madness has suddenly come over this person?

From Shen Yelin’s understanding of Ji Wencheng, the other was definitely not the type to willingly admit to something as embarrassing as taking liberties with his childhood friend. Before he knew of Ji Wencheng’s feelings for him, Shen Yelin had assumed it was due to Ji Wencheng’s rebellious streak acting like a carefree playboy to defy his parents. But then the system had mercilessly revealed Ji Wencheng’s true thoughts: it was all a facade to hide his real feelings and, incidentally, to make Shen Yelin jealous. It had nothing to do with delayed teenage rebellion and everything to do with Shen Yelin’s overwhelming charm.

Given this explanation, Ji Wencheng’s actions were hardly surprising. Shen Yelin had no intention of interfering with others’ lifestyles, but Ji Wencheng was certainly not the type to impulsively confess his feelings for the sake of momentary satisfaction. In Ji Wencheng’s mind, preserving their relationship was far more important than a confession with slim chances of success.

So, what was going on now?

Seeing Shen Yelin remain silent, Ji Wencheng continued, “Yelin, there’s something I’ve kept hidden in my heart for a long time, but I never dared to tell you. Because I was afraid that if I did, we wouldn’t even be able to remain ordinary friends.”

He paused briefly, not giving Shen Yelin a chance to respond, and quickly added, “But today, I suddenly changed my mind. I want to take this opportunity to tell you that I really like you. I’ve liked you for many years. Since middle school, I’ve secretly had feelings for you. I know you might not be able to accept it, but I still have to say it, or my heart won’t be at peace. As for what happened the other day… I saw you drunk and, like a fool, thought of taking advantage of the moment to kiss you. Thankfully, you snapped me out of it in time. I’m sorry.”

Shen Yelin: “…”

The system, which had been watching the scene unfold, dropped the metaphorical melon it was holding: “Host, he said it!! He said he likes you!!”

“Shut up,” Shen Yelin replied.

He frowned slightly with a headache, beginning to ponder how to gently reject this confession. They had been friends for many years, and their families had numerous business dealings, making their ties quite deep. Cutting off contact over such a small matter was impossible, and Ji Wencheng had likely anticipated this before suddenly speaking up. Although Shen Yelin didn’t understand what had caused the change in Ji Wencheng’s mindset, his intuition told him it wasn’t a good sign.

Shen Yelin asked, “Has Ji Wencheng also been reborn?”

The system, which had just been ecstatic over the skyrocketing peach blossom value, immediately froze into a statue.

It thought about what it had observed. Clearly, Ji Wencheng had been perfectly normal before entering the room, but once inside, he had become a completely different person. He had even suddenly confessed, openly admitting everything he had done, as if afraid Shen Yelin didn’t realize just how excessive his actions had been that night.

Could it be that they had entered some kind of confession room?!

Trembling with fear, the system worried it would be deemed useless by Shen Yelin again and said, “Maybe… I should investigate further?”

“No need.”

Shen Yelin knew the system’s capabilities well enough to understand that further investigation would likely yield no results. He turned to Ji Wencheng and said, “My answer is only one, and you should already know what it is.”

“I know.”

Even though he had anticipated this answer, Ji Wencheng couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain in his heart. He quickly composed his expression and said to Shen Yelin, “But even so, I won’t easily give up on my feelings for you.”

With that, there was nothing left to discuss.

Shen Yelin stood up from the sofa and said to Ji Wencheng, “Your mother told me she hopes you’ll mature a bit. I’ve delivered the message, and anything more would be pointless. I’ll take my leave now. Take care.”

With those words, Shen Yelin headed toward the door. Just as he grasped the handle, Ji Wencheng’s voice drifted from behind him.

“I know you’ve always despised my behavior and habits,” he said, his voice low and slightly hoarse. “I’ll change all of it. Rest assured, I won’t be like this anymore.”

Shen Yelin turned back in mild surprise. Seeing Ji Wencheng’s serious expression, he realized he was sincere this time. Although Shen Yelin had decided to keep his distance for a while, allowing Ji Wencheng to reflect on his actions, it wasn’t a bad thing for his childhood friend to resolve to change. Without saying anything more, he withdrew his gaze indifferently and left the room.

Ji Wencheng watched his retreating figure, clenching his fists tightly.

Heaven had chosen this moment to reveal the events of five years from now, intending to remind him not to let history repeat itself. Even if it all seemed like an illusory dream, Ji Wencheng dared not gamble on even the slightest possibility, even if it were merely a drunken fantasy.

He had no idea how his future self had managed to endure those five years. But just the thought of the other person possibly dying felt like his heart was being gripped by something, tearing at the flesh deep within, cutting him with pain so sharp he could barely stand.

Ji Wencheng walked out of the private room and looked at the crowd of so-called friends rushing toward him. His expression gradually darkened as he said, “That’s enough for today. Everyone, disperse. I won’t be attending gatherings like this anymore, so don’t come looking for me.” He turned his head and spotted Si Rui trembling in the corner. “As for you, don’t let me see your face again.”

Si Rui shivered and nodded hastily in agreement.

The sudden command left everyone stunned, their jaws nearly dropping as they stared in disbelief at Ji Wencheng’s serious expression. After all, who could have imagined it? The eldest son of the Ji family, who had always been immersed in pleasure-seeking and was the very embodiment of a life of luxury, had gone into the room for a talk with his childhood friend and emerged looking as though he was ready to turn over a new leaf and mend his ways. Everyone knew that this young master Ji was someone even his own father couldn’t control!

They couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect for Shen Yelin, who had just left, and suddenly understood why Mrs. Ji had sought him out to find Ji Wencheng.

This was more reliable than praying to the gods and hoping for divine intervention!

The crowd was amazed by Shen Yelin’s influence. Some lamented the loss of the powerful connection they had worked so hard to cultivate, while others quietly memorized the appearance of the Shen family heir, already scheming about how to climb the ladder of the Shen family’s influence.

Though his words had stirred up a storm, Ji Wencheng had no mind to observe the varied reactions around him. He called for the driver waiting outside the club, hurriedly returned home by car, and then, facing his overjoyed mother, calmly called out “Mom” and sincerely apologized to her. Immediately afterward, he went upstairs to the study, where he earnestly admitted his past mistakes to his stern-faced father and expressed his desire to join the company.

He had made up his mind. He couldn’t afford to waste the time he had unexpectedly gained. Before that accident happened, he had to secure control over most of the Ji family’s resources. In this life, he not only wanted to protect Shen Yelin well but also greedily desired more to make Shen Yelin his own and be together with him forever.

Faced with this transformed Ji Wencheng, both his parents were somewhat surprised but said nothing. His father calmly acknowledged his words and told Ji Wencheng that he would consider his request and try to arrange for him to enter the company for training as soon as possible.

Shen Yelin returned home exhausted.

What had happened at the club had left him unusually weary. Sitting in the back seat, he pressed his lips tightly together, his expression growing colder. Seeing that his boss was clearly in a bad mood, the driver didn’t ask any questions and drove quietly all the way, taking him directly back to his residence.

The system didn’t dare chatter in Shen Yelin’s ear this time. After all, Ji Wencheng’s reaction clearly seemed like a rebirth. No matter how you looked at it, this couldn’t be blamed on Shen Yelin the fault lay entirely with the system for dropping the ball at a critical moment. Although, when you got down to it, the rebirths of Fu Jianyi and Ji Wencheng didn’t affect Shen Yelin personally all that much. But given how charming its host was, yet still single after all these years, it was obvious he had a “no romance, please send a message via smoke signal” attitude. There was no way he’d be pleased about something like this.

As the host’s considerate little helper, the system firmly adhered to the principle of prioritizing the host’s will. If Shen Yelin said he didn’t like it, then the blame definitely fell on the system!

The system was almost moved to tears by its own diligent bootlicking.

Shen Yelin reached out and turned on the bedroom light, but his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Ji Wencheng’s mother. He answered the call, greeted her politely, and asked, “I hope it’s not too late for you to call. Is everything alright with Wencheng?”

“Yelin, I’m so sorry to disturb you this late,” she said gently. “Actually, I called specifically to thank you. Wencheng just came home and sincerely apologized to me and your uncle, saying he wants to turn over a new leaf and learn from you. That he could mature so much overnight is all thanks to your guidance. We’re truly grateful.”

“You’re too kind,” Shen Yelin replied. “It was just a small effort on my part. Besides, if he hadn’t been willing to listen, nothing I said would have mattered.”

“Oh, you’re the one being too modest,” Mrs. Ji said with a warm laugh. “Are you free this weekend, Yelin? Come visit us. I’d like to properly thank you, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen you. I’ll cook my signature dishes for you.”

This left Shen Yelin at a loss for words.

He had just turned down Ji Wencheng’s confession, so accepting Mrs. Ji’s invitation to visit their home immediately afterward would be inappropriate. Yet, fabricating a lie to deceive a well-meaning elder who genuinely cared for him felt equally wrong.

As if someone had a god’s-eye view, just as Shen Yelin fell silent, his phone conveniently buzzed with a new message perfectly timed and fitting his current dilemma:

“This weekend, would Mr. Shen happen to be free?

I’d like to invite you and your sister to a club I’ve invested in. What do you think?”