So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 119

I’m Not Going to Be the White Moonlight

In Broad Daylight! An Insult to the Refined!

For a moment, it was as if the world’s mute button had been pressed.

The noisy sparrows outside fell silent. The waves lapping the shore suddenly made no sound.

            

Thirteen clung to Chi Qian’s shoulder, its short, thick calico fur pressing against her. On its round face, a pair of innocent, guileless eyes shone brightly.

Who would have thought that such a harmless-looking little cat could say something so unspeakable!

The small pharmacy suddenly felt sweltering. Chi Qian grabbed Thirteen by the waist and set it on the floor. “You… don’t stand so close to me.”

            

“Meow! (Host, you’re just like Lord Ye with his dragons¹!)” Thirteen protested.

It sat on the floor, looking up at Chi Qian with feline pride, and complained discontentedly: 【Host, you used to want to hold me so badly. Why are you treating me like this now that I’m throwing myself at you!】

“Can’t I just be hot?!” Chi Qian fanned her face with a clumsy hand before quickening her pace grinding the herbs, her eyes darting about.

            

【The Host isn’t hot because of me. You’re hot because you remembered things from the past.】 Thirteen saw right through her, mercilessly exposing her guilty conscience. It lifted a paw and began to groom itself unhurriedly. 【The Host’s memories are so large that they’re slow to load. My words just now simply helped you load the memories that were skipped over for a faster response.】

“Meow~ (Isn’t that right?)” As it spoke, Thirteen looked up at Chi Qian.

Sunlight spilled over the pharmacy’s threshold, making Thirteen’s short fur gleam.

            

Chi Qian saw a human-like expression on the cat’s face—proud, smug, and infuriating.

But the reason she was infuriated was that Thirteen was right.

The memories that had suddenly burst into her mind were fresh yet familiar. Her hand, gripping the handle of the stone roller², felt cool and smooth, just like Shi Jinlan’s wrist when she held it.

            

In the bright light of day, the sun seemed to intensify the lustful aura.

Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, Chi Qian was too embarrassed to discuss such things with Thirteen. She gave it a flick on the forehead. “You’re so noisy! I have to work!”

With that, Chi Qian began to look for the herbs on the prescription list.

            

Perhaps she was too flustered, but she searched for a long time and couldn’t find one of the ingredients.

Chi Qian stared at the prescription, her brow furrowed.

Her restless heart made her particularly irritable. But then, as if she’d found the perfect excuse to get away from Thirteen, she grabbed the list and stood up from her chair. “I’m going to find Grandfather!”

            

The bitter scent of medicine couldn’t dispel the new memories in her head. Her steps were unsteady as she crossed the threshold.

Her mind was split in two. One half was thinking about how to “compensate” Shi Jinlan, while the other half was reining in her thoughts, fuming, “An insult to the refined³! In broad daylight⁴!”

With her mind so divided, Chi Qian had just left the pharmacy when she ran into Shi Jinlan, who had just come out, in the courtyard.

            

It seemed Shi Jinlan had just finished organizing the gifts they had brought for Chi Qingyan and was now coming to the pharmacy to find her.

Knowing Shi Jinlan’s likely path, Chi Qian glanced at her, then deliberately quickened her pace to bypass her and head upstairs.

Shi Jinlan had once said that Chi Qian was a terrible actress. The way their eyes met was too obvious, as was her panic.

            

But this panic didn’t seem to stem from having done something wrong. It was more like she had learned something and was now too shy to face her?

Shi Jinlan found Chi Qian’s reaction extremely odd. The moment Chi Qian passed her, she grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”

“I… I think there’s a mistake on the list. I’m going to ask Grandfather.” Chi Qian looked at Shi Jinlan, but her mind was filled with the image of Shi Jinlan leaning against the steps behind her, kissing her. She held up the prescription, trying to explain while simultaneously using it to block Shi Jinlan’s face from her view, to stop her own memories from running wild.

            

Shi Jinlan noticed the deliberate gesture. She took hold of Chi Qian’s wrist with one hand and took the list she was holding so high with the other. “Let me see.”

Shi Jinlan quickly scanned the prescription Chi Qingyan had written but saw nothing wrong. “Grandfather wrote it correctly. This is a formula for regulating liver stagnation.”

—“Then let me test you. There’s a punishment for wrong answers, you know.”

            

The voices of Shi Jinlan from different timelines sounded in Chi Qian’s ear at the same time. The fountain pen in Shi Jinlan’s hand moved under the desk, slowly and deliberately parting the hem of her skirt.

The cool touch of the metal against Chi Qian’s skin, though only a memory, felt like a real physical sensation.

She snatched the list back from Shi Jinlan’s hand, her words stumbling out. “I… I’ll just go ask! Go and ask.”

            

And with that, she fled.

The long breeze lifted the hair of the fleeing figure, tracing a crescent of red on her earlobe that landed squarely in Shi Jinlan’s line of sight.

Shi Jinlan watched the blush on Chi Qian’s ear, her eyes narrowing slightly.

            

Before she even stepped into the pharmacy, she saw Thirteen emerge, tail held high.

Shi Jinlan immediately sensed something was amiss and held out a hand to the cat.

Thirteen obediently trotted over and meowed at her. “Meow~ (Master).”

            

“Mm,” Shi Jinlan acknowledged, slowly stroking Thirteen’s head.

Her narrowed eyes curved even more.

With a soft laugh, she said, “So that’s what this is all about.”

            

---

After the courtyard was renovated before the New Year, some of the things originally stored in the first-floor warehouse had been moved to the second floor.

Following Chi Qingyan’s habits, Chi Qian went to the second-floor storeroom and, sure enough, saw him inside, rummaging for something.

“Grandfather.” Chi Qian knocked on the door to announce her presence.

            

Chi Qingyan kept his eyes on the shelves in front of him, not turning to look at her. “What is it?”

“This one. I don’t think I could find it. Was it written incorrectly?” Chi Qian went over and handed the list to Chi Qingyan.

Hearing this, Chi Qingyan took the list in disbelief and examined it carefully. Then he handed it back, giving her a light tap on the head as he did. “How is it that after one trip away, you’ve forgotten everything? It’s correct. It’s in the southeast corner, in that gray bag.”

            

Hearing this, Chi Qian blinked blankly. A memory of such a bag did seem to surface.

But she had been so flustered by Thirteen’s words that she’d forgotten whether she had even opened it to check.

Seeing her absent-minded state, Chi Qingyan’s expression grew serious. “I think it’s necessary to start giving you weekly quizzes again.”

            

Chi Qian’s heart clenched upon hearing this.

Wasn’t that what happened between her and her grandfather in their last life?!

But, according to what Thirteen had said, if she thought about it carefully… the setting the System had changed for her was from child prodigy to good-for-nothing. As a child, she had been quizzed by Chi Qingyan every week.

            

But…

“Grandfather, how many years has it been!”

Chi Qian was truly terrified of that discipline ruler. The palm holding the list tingled with a phantom ache. She pressed her hands together and swore an oath. “I promise I’ll never make a mistake again!”

            

Chi Qingyan was unmoved. “Promises are useless.”

His mind was made up. As he spoke, his gaze remained on the shelves. He pointed to a box. “Help me get that down.”

Arguing was one thing, but Chi Qian still obediently did as he asked.

            

She let out an “oh,” then stepped onto a stool and tapped the box he had indicated. “This one?”

“Mm.” Chi Qingyan nodded, standing by to steady her as she brought the box down. Only then did he say, “These are your childhood books. We’ll start with the basics. I’ll quiz you next Sunday.”

The moment Chi Qian’s feet touched the floor, the box in her arms suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

            

She had thought his words were unrelated to their previous conversation, but it turned out he had been in the storeroom preparing for this all along.

“Grandfather…” Chi Qian wanted to try and negotiate, to at least plead for the quizzes not to be weekly.

But Chi Qingyan had already decided. “Don’t waste your time.”

            

His expression was more serious than ever, his tone carrying the profound gravity of a parent’s love, which always plans for the child’s distant future. “Xiao Lan has her own career. You can’t be a dodder flower⁵ that clings to her, understand?”

Sunlight grazed the edge of the doorframe, illuminating a corner of the dim storeroom.

Chi Qian thought she understood why Chi Qingyan had suddenly decided to resume the weekly quizzes. The gap in status between her and Shi Jinlan was simply too vast. He was still worried about her.

            

It wasn’t that her grandfather wanted her to surpass Shi Jinlan—after all, very few people in the entire world could.

It was that everyone has their own reason for being, and everyone should shine in their own field. Equality is the foundation of a lasting relationship, not one person depending on another.

But how could her grandfather be so sure she could learn?

            

She was, after all, currently playing the part of an unlearned, wasted prodigy⁶.

Chi Qian grumbled internally, a sudden chill rising in her heart.

Could it be that Grandfather knows something?!

            

“Stinky girl, what are you staring at me for? Can’t figure it out?” Chi Qingyan saw the look in her eyes and ruffled her hair.

His hands were old, but still strong.

His long, thin fingers sank into her hair, patting her head again and again, just like when he praised her for doing something good as a child.

            

“No.” Chi Qian shook her head. How could Grandfather know? she thought. He’s so old. How could he withstand being tormented by the System?

At that thought, she glanced down at the pile of books in her arms and promised Chi Qingyan, “Don’t worry, Grandfather. I’ll pick it all up again!”

“That’s my Xiao Qian.” Chi Qingyan was gratified.

            

His fingers slid down her hair to the back of her neck, squeezing gently as he asked in a soft voice, “Are you happy with Xiao Lan?”

“I am!” Chi Qian nodded, her voice louder than it had been for any of her previous answers. “Grandfather, when you retire someday, I’ll take you to Western Europe for a trip.”

“Grandfather is never going to retire,” Chi Qingyan said calmly, gazing out at the island he had guarded his entire life.

            

He looked at the small boats bobbing on the sea and the last of the autumn leaves on the trees, then brought his gaze back to Chi Qian.

The baby girl who had once been shorter than his forearm was now so tall. She had endured several great disasters without being crushed, without even losing an arm or a leg. She was still so vibrant.

Chi Qingyan reached out and pinched Chi Qian’s cheek, the wrinkles on his face crinkling into a benevolent, elderly smile. “But if Xiao Qian wants to take me out, I can pause for a couple of days.”

            

To see his granddaughter’s world.

---

The night was silent. The gentle rush of waves on the shore became the backdrop to the darkness.

The island’s residents rested early. A few scattered lights twinkled across the island like fallen stars.

            

Chi Qian emerged from the bathroom, towel in hand. She had finished washing up early and now snuggled up next to Shi Jinlan, sliding into her own quilt.

That was right. On the island, everyone was still accustomed to narrow quilts⁷, so even as newlywed wives, Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan each had their own.

The bright red wedding quilts⁸ were spread on the bed, and moonlight filtered through the Double Happiness character still affixed to the window.

            

Chi Qian quietly took in the room’s furnishings, feeling as if she had returned to the day of their wedding.

“!”

Just as she had curled up and warmed her spot in the bed, lost in thought, a touch of coolness pried open her quilt and pressed against her leg.

            

Chi Qian’s eyes flew open. She turned to look at Shi Jinlan, who was sleeping beside her. “Ah—mmph…”

But before she could finish, Shi Jinlan’s leg skillfully slipped between her closed knees.

Those obsidian eyes curved slightly, a sly smile blooming within them. “Has Ah Qian thought about how to compensate me?”