So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 18

“Enjoying the Lie?”

Chi Qian couldn’t imagine how Shi Jinlan had managed to fish both herself and her out of the hot spring pool.

Or perhaps she understood that with her barren imagination, she would definitely assign Shi Jinlan an exceptionally comical and class-losing¹ action, so it was better not to randomly brain-supplement².

In truth, it hadn’t taken Shi Jinlan much effort to get herself out of the water and sorted.

It was the completely unconscious Chi Qian who gave her a good deal of trouble.

Shi Jinlan had never taken care of anyone before. She took a large, dry towel, threw it over Chi Qian, and gave her a rough, all-in-one wipe³.

Fortunately, the weather was warm now and the clothes were just a thin layer. After figuring out the front and back, Shi Jinlan pulled them onto Chi Qian.

The steaming white vapor from the courtyard surged into the living room through the open door, filling the entire space with a hazy mist.

After passing out, this person seemed to have no bones, leaning limply in her arms. The fear was gone, and the caution was gone too.

For some reason, Shi Jinlan’s gaze lingered on this version of Chi Qian for a long time.

The heat had baked her face red. Her small face, with a touch of fleshiness, was fair and clean, like a delicious, peeled peach.

It was just that this peach couldn’t be considered to have abundant fruit flesh⁴.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze flicked down, and with a light smile, she adjusted Chi Qian’s collar.

She didn’t like being too close to people for too long. After doing this, she got up to leave.

But her hand was clasped shut.

Or rather, it hadn’t been let go since they’d gotten out of the hot spring.

Shi Jinlan, wanting to leave, tried to pull her hand from Chi Qian’s grasp without hesitation.

“Ngh…”

But this person was unwilling, even frowning.

A soft whimper escaped her slightly parted lips, whimpering pitifully like a small, abandoned beast.

What is this?

Shi Jinlan’s brow furrowed deeply. She knew that when people were in danger, they would subconsciously lean toward a place they considered safe.

So in Chi Qian’s perception, she’s a safe person?

But how could she possibly be a safe person?

The hand that was about to be withdrawn hung in mid-air for a long moment, then fell as Shi Jinlan sat back down.

Shi Jinlan watched Chi Qian with a deep look in her eyes. Seeing her leaning against her, she had the inexplicable feeling that she was being relied upon by Chi Qian, her gaze obscure and unclear.

Because she likes me, she trusts me?

What kind of idiot logic is that.

How has this person managed to live until now.

Shi Jinlan’s brow furrowed even deeper as she couldn’t help but recall the question Chi Qian had asked her a few days ago.

“In a situation, how do you know who harmed you?”

Although she had deliberately diverted the topic, a question once asked could not cease to exist.

She was harmed by someone?

Who would harm her?

In all her days here, Shi Jinlan hadn’t seen anyone on bad terms with her.

Although the Chi family wasn’t a significant figure in Shi Jinlan’s eyes, on this island, her family was a significant figure.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze was fixed on Chi Qian. The mist crowded in, a hazy white film, making it impossible to clearly see that face draped in pink.

There were too many question marks surrounding this person.

Or perhaps she should ask:

Chi Qian, who are you?

Four eyes met⁵. Shi Jinlan lowered her gaze to look into Chi Qian’s pupils.

The clear, bright depths held a terror, even though just a moment ago she had been lying in her arms with her heart at peace and reason at ease⁶.

Shi Jinlan found this amusing. Her eyes curved slightly as she asked faintly, “Enjoying the lie?”

Perhaps it was the effect of the surrounding hot vapor, but the cool, clear voice held a trace of gentleness.

Shi Jinlan’s legs were well-proportioned and soft. Padded with smooth silk, they supported Chi Qian’s head—warm, fragrant, soft jade⁷, simply a hometown of gentleness⁸ that made one sink into indulgence.

Chi Qian was about to nod honestly out of reflex, but then she caught herself and stopped the motion.

Is Shi Jinlan asking me a question?

She’s clearly reminding me that I’ve been lying on her for too long!

Chi Qian reacted quickly, scrambling up from Shi Jinlan’s body. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Shi Jinlan watched Chi Qian with great interest.

Chi Qian had said before that she was scared of Shi Jinlan whether she was smiling or not, and that feeling was now even stronger.

“Don’t you think this house is really hot? Why is it so hot?” Chi Qian gave a couple of awkward laughs, her acting skills clumsy. “I-I’ll go out and ask Auntie Zhou, see, see if there’s a problem with the… temperature control in the room.”

With that, Chi Qian walked out the door.

Shi Jinlan didn’t stop her, just let her go. What was there to say?

Calm down, calm down.

Once out of the room, most of the tension in Chi Qian’s body instantly fell away.

She let out a huge sigh of relief, patting her chest and stomach to soothe herself, but she still didn’t know why her head felt so dizzy.

【I’m asking, just how long is your shitty system going to punish me?】 Chi Qian couldn’t help but ask.

【The system punishment has already passed.】 Thirteen indicated.

Chi Qian was dumbfounded: 【Then why does my head still hurt so much!】

【The Host fell into a coma when you lost consciousness. There may be a period of disorder.】

Hearing Thirteen say this, Chi Qian suddenly frowned.

She recalled, recounting to Thirteen: 【Thirteen, when I was in the coma, I saw Shi Jinlan’s past…】

【Shi Jinlan’s past?】 Thirteen was astonished and confused. 【How could that happen.】

Chi Qian felt she was once again seeing how unreliable the system was: 【Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?】

After her words fell, silence lingered in Chi Qian’s ears for a good while. After a long moment, Thirteen finally deduced: 【It’s possible that during the system punishment, the Host’s data was in disorder, and it just so happened that Shi Jinlan actively established a connection with the Host, leading to the data becoming cross-linked.】

“Heh.”

Chi Qian couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud in the hallway.

【You guys actually have no restrictions between different data sets, nor are they mutually independent? I really don’t know how you manage to run so many worlds. No wonder you need us to come wipe your asses.】 Thinking of the world number Thirteen had mentioned last time, Chi Qian couldn’t help but mock it.

This wasn’t the first time Chi Qian had mocked the system. Just like last time, Thirteen said nothing.

——As a professional programmer, Chi Qian’s roast⁹ was incisive—a case of one needle seeing blood¹⁰—and Thirteen couldn’t refute it.

It was a rare opportunity. Chi Qian complained as she walked, vowing to get it all off her chest.

Suddenly, she was interrupted by a voice.

“She’s about this tall, one meter sixty-seven, and should have quite a few wounds on her body.”

This description immediately put Chi Qian on alert.

At the end of the hallway, a man in casual clothes was standing in the lobby. He had deliberately tried to disguise his attire, but a single glance was enough to see he was different from the people here.

He was asking the front desk lady a question and had handed her a photograph.

Chi Qian happened to be standing in just the right spot; two steps forward and she could see the contents of the photo.

The scene on the other side of the screen was a world of paper drunk and gold infatuated¹¹, with spots of light like fish scales coming and going.

The edited photo immediately locked onto the person standing in the center—languid and indifferent, her lowered eyelashes exuding a natural nobility, dividing the world inside and outside the photo into two completely different realms.

It was Shi Jinlan.

This was the first time Chi Qian had felt the distance between herself and Shi Jinlan.

Brilliant light and shadow, surrounded by a crowd, so distant that she didn’t dare recognize this person as the one she had been with from morning to evening¹² these past few days.

She suddenly understood the words her grandfather had said to her that day.

If it weren’t for the fact that Shi Jinlan had been betrayed by someone and ended up adrift here, they would never have had any intersection in their entire lives.

For no reason, Chi Qian’s chest felt stuffy.

She didn’t know if this feeling originated from her, or from this body that didn’t belong to her.

In her daze, Chi Qian heard Thirteen say to her warily: 【Host, this is someone from Shi Jinlan’s uncle’s side.】

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The author has something to say:

The little dog saw a different Lanlan.

Qianqian: I’m not a little dog! (wags tail)

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