So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 146
by Little PandaExtra
Song Tang x Yuan Ming (1)
Song Tang felt her heart skip a beat.
Cicadas clung to the treetops, their chorus rising in waves.
The summer evening still burned with the day’s heat. Weeping willows swayed across the plaza at the school gate, their deep green visually softening the high temperature.
The final bell had just rung. After the last class of the afternoon, the tide of students leaving school surged from the teaching building like seawater.
At No. 1 High School, boarders and day students were evenly split. Among the crowd, boarders rushed to grab food at the cafeteria, while day students shouldered their backpacks, ready to head home.
“Ah Qian, see you tomorrow!”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget my battery.”
“Don’t worry!”
With her friend’s cautious, quiet reminder, Song Tang flashed her an OK sign.
She wasn’t a boarder, so the responsibility of charging her friend’s phone fell entirely on her shoulders.
After saying goodbye to her friend, she walked toward the school gate with light steps.
Though she didn’t have a companion to walk home with, she did have a childhood sweetheart who came to pick her up every day.
Only Song Tang’s story wasn’t like those tales of childhood sweethearts growing old together.
This childhood sweetheart wouldn’t be hers. Her lover was waiting in a distant future—she had known this since she was very, very young.
Though Song Tang was only eighteen now, she had already lived once before.
And now she wasn’t called Song Tang. She was called Chi Qian.
She wasn’t from this world.
She had come to this world with a mission, as a task-taker from the System world.
Because of a deliberately orchestrated “accident,” Song Tang had died on a pitch-black night when she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.
Perhaps the heavens knew she had died unjustly. When she opened her eyes, she had become this little girl living on an island—Chi Qian.
Only Song Tang didn’t know if the System had made a mistake. Her mission target was supposed to appear when “Chi Qian” was in her twenties, but she had arrived at age six.
Heaven only knew how utterly broken Song Tang felt when she saw this tiny body of hers.
But the System in her mind told her that experiencing another life was a rare opportunity, and the points would double.
Song Tang didn’t care about points or no points. She just wanted to experience a different life.
And so, tempted by the System, Song Tang diligently played the role of “Chi Qian,” waiting until age twenty, when she would save her destined lover by the sea.
But things never went as planned. The more certain the outcome seemed, the more likely it would deviate from the predetermined path.
Song Tang’s world had begun to change from the moment she saved Yuan Ming, who had been pushed into a flower bed by a classmate.
While waiting alone for her bride, she had met a young woman four years older than herself.
This jiejie was wonderful. Even when she herself fell and was covered in blood, she would instead comfort Yuan Ming.
Her voice carried a gentle quality when she spoke, like clouds at the horizon—always soft and mild.
“It hurts a little. Bear with it.” Song Tang held the family medicine kit and, in Chi Qingyan’s absence, began tending to Yuan Ming’s wounds.
Though Yuan Ming nodded, when the alcohol-soaked cotton swab passed over her broken skin, she couldn’t help but let out a soft sound. “Mm.”
Song Tang’s hand stopped. She looked up at Yuan Ming.
This person had beautiful eyes—black with a hint of brown. The physiological tears from pain hung in her eyes like seawater at noon, catching the light in shimmering ripples.
Song Tang felt her heart skip a beat. Waves at the shore suddenly crashed, their white foam splashing across her world.
That day, Yuan Ming took the initiative to tell Song Tang her name—Yuan Ming.
And Song Tang actually wanted to tell her that she knew her name. She was the top student everyone in the school knew.
Later, this top student jiejie became her grandfather’s disciple.
She, the “good-for-nothing” granddaughter, had somehow made amends by bringing her grandfather an excellent successor.
Since Yuan Ming became Chi Qingyan’s disciple, Song Tang spent even more time with her.
Every morning, they took the earliest ferry to Canshi for school together, and ate lunch together.
Not long after they met, Yuan Ming advanced to the middle school division.
Song Tang would always skip her class’s nap time and run to the middle school division to find Yuan Ming.
The middle school division had dedicated dormitories—small rooms housing six people—and Song Tang was always jokingly called an unofficial member.
Everyone teased the friendship between Yuan Ming and Song Tang but welcomed it. Every time Song Tang came, she would be fed until she was full, then climb the ladder onto Yuan Ming’s bed.
Whether winter or spring, that narrow little bed would always hold two people.
The aged fan creaked as it turned, hot air rolling around inside, barely dropping a hint of coolness onto the upper bunk.
At noon, the dormitory was quiet, only the faint sound of breathing rising and falling.
What Song Tang loved most was lying beside Yuan Ming, secretly opening her eyes to watch her sleeping face.
The harsh sunlight was blocked by the curtains, falling gently onto Yuan Ming’s face.
This person had long lashes that hung thick and low, outlining a gentle, refined profile.
Song Tang used the sunlight as her brush, tracing along Yuan Ming’s forehead and the bridge of her nose, carefully sketching her features.
Her quietly raised arm was tucked under her head. She never tired of looking at this scene before her.
But even this life lasted only three years.
The summer after the high school entrance exam, the cicadas sang with particular intensity. Yuan Ming’s parents hosted several banquet tables to celebrate Yuan Ming becoming the top scorer and getting into the best No. 1 High School in the province.
Song Tang remembered the braised pork with preserved vegetables1 at that banquet being especially delicious. But at the time, focused entirely on eating meat, she never imagined that Yuan Ming, busy with high school studies, would go from seeing her every day to only on weekends—when Song Tang would go to No. 1 High School to find her.
The walls of No. 1 High School were so high. Song Tang stood at the school gate watching for Yuan Ming to come out, feeling like she was chasing Yuan Ming’s footsteps but always missing her because of the age gap.
When she got into middle school, Yuan Ming was already starting high school. And when she finally got into Yuan Ming’s high school, Yuan Ming had become the top scorer again and gone to the best medical university in the country.
That period was both Song Tang’s lowest and most motivated time.
The four-year gap, because of Yuan Ming’s combined bachelor’s-master’s-doctoral program, was no longer a problem. The once-insurmountable divide now seemed like it could be bridged. Song Tang thought that even if she couldn’t be a top scorer, she would still get into Yuan Ming’s university.
Song Tang vowed she would get into the same medical university as Yuan Ming!
In her senior year of high school, Song Tang became even more determined about this. She cheered herself on in her heart, and as soon as she walked out the school gate, she saw Yuan Ming.
That chiffon long skirt was caught by the wind, billowing. A clean moon-white color lightly leapt into Song Tang’s line of sight, and simultaneously lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Ah Yuan!” When Song Tang saw Yuan Ming, her eyes instantly lit up. She shouldered her backpack and quickened her pace toward her.
“Ah Qian.” Yuan Ming returned the greeting, watching gently as this wild-cat-like figure made her way through the sea of people.
University life was freer than middle school. The medical university was also in Canshi, so now Yuan Ming could come pick up Song Tang every day, and incidentally provide after-school tutoring for the senior-year student.
“Did you do an experiment today?” Song Tang opened the basket of Yuan Ming’s bike and placed her bag alongside Yuan Ming’s, keenly noticing the white lab coat peeking out from Yuan Ming’s bag.
It seemed like time had been tight, so Yuan Ming hadn’t had time to properly fold the white lab coat—she’d just stuffed it in carelessly.
Yuan Ming didn’t hide it either. Hearing the question, she nodded. “Yes, I did a slide today.”
As she spoke, she took a small object from her pocket and showed it to Song Tang. “Look at this slide. Doesn’t it look like a rose?”
Song Tang took the slide from Yuan Ming’s hand. The red mycelium spreading across the glass really did look like a rose.
She liked such rich colors and flowers, so she declared boldly, “For me?”
Yuan Ming looked at Song Tang’s manner—as if even if she didn’t agree, Song Tang would take it anyway—and smiled, nodding. “If I’m giving it to you, of course it’s for you.”
“Ah Yuan, you’re so good!” Song Tang was so happy, immediately sitting on the back seat of Yuan Ming’s bike.
At this time, Song Tang, though she had heard friends describe all kinds of love in both this life and her previous one, still didn’t know what it meant for a heart to race.
She simply tucked away the rose Yuan Ming had given her. The wind passed over her chest, and that heart was beating uncontrollably with joy.
“Going straight home?” Yuan Ming prepared to set off. Her rental apartment was what she and Song Tang called “home.”
“Ah Yuan, let’s go to the night market for dinner, okay?” Song Tang proposed a different plan.
As she spoke, she naturally wrapped her arms around Yuan Ming’s waist. “My deskmate said a new fish-scooping2 stall just opened on the street to the east a couple days ago.”
The young woman’s voice was crisp as a bell, her movements completely unselfconscious.
Yuan Ming looked down at Song Tang’s arm pressed against her. A young person’s body ran warm—it burned against her, making her pause. Slowly, she nodded. “All right.”
The summer night market was crowded and muggy. Stir-fry stalls sent flames leaping high—lively indeed.
Song Tang squeezed through the crowd first to buy the wheel cakes3 her deskmate had strongly recommended, taking a big bite in the sweltering summer night.
Vanilla ice cream quickly spread across her mouth. Sweetness wrapped in cold shot straight to her temples.
She was caught off guard by the chill, but once it passed, she exclaimed with excitement, “Delicious!”
“Want to try mine?” Yuan Ming had also taken a bite of her wheel cake, revealing the generous taro paste filling.
The fine pale purple filling oozed like a lava center. Song Tang felt tempted.
Between her and Yuan Ming, there weren’t so many distinctions of yours and mine. She nodded and leaned in to take a bite…
“Xiao Ming, is this your little sister? She’s so cute.”
Before Song Tang could bite into Yuan Ming’s wheel cake, a cheerful voice rang out.
Song Tang watched as the wheel cake that had been right before her eyes was shifted away by Yuan Ming. Someone approached from not far away.
“Xincheng?” Yuan Ming was a bit surprised, her eyes holding a gentle smile.
“I was wondering why Xiao Ming ran off right after finishing the experiment—turns out you had other plans.” The young woman teased, naturally linking her arm through Yuan Ming’s.
She was a beautiful young woman in a black camisole paired with distressed wide-leg pants—the complete opposite of Song Tang’s current style.
And standing there beside Yuan Ming, that adult style achieved a perfect harmony in that instant, a striking sense of compatibility.
Noticing Song Tang’s gaze, Yuan Ming quickly introduced her. “Ah Qian, this is my classmate, Fang Xincheng.”
“You must be Chi Qian. Xiao Ming talks about you all the time—makes me a little jealous, actually.” Fang Xincheng smiled and wrinkled her nose at Song Tang.
It was like hearing a name that didn’t belong to her spoken by a stranger. Song Tang’s chest tightened at the words.
In the height of summer, even the night wind carried heat. Song Tang was brushed by this wind, feeling like she might catch fire at any moment.
The author has something to say:
Song Tang: Am I just a little sister? QAQ
Yuan Ming: Little sister says purple has a certain charm~
Footnotes
- Mèicài kòuròu is a classic Chinese dish of pork belly steamed with preserved mustard greens. The preserved vegetables impart a savory, slightly salty flavor to the rich, fatty meat.
- A popular carnival game in East and Southeast Asia where players use a paper scoop to fish small fish or toys from a shallow pool. The paper scoop breaks easily, adding challenge and excitement.
- Chēlúnbǐng, also known as wheel cake or wheel pie, is a popular street snack shaped like a wheel. It consists of a crisp exterior filled with various sweet fillings such as custard, red bean paste, or ice cream.
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