So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 26

Host, Shi Jinlan is different towards you~

The sun withdrew the last trace of its light scattered across the sky, and the world grew dim.

The gradually rising temperatures of spring had already made the nights nothing to fear, but the moment the sun went dark, Chi Qian still felt a chill.

Without the caress of the light, the warmth on Chi Qian’s body retreated in all directions.

Until she was enveloped by Shi Jinlan’s jacket.

A fragrance coiled around Chi Qian’s back, its scent light yet exceptionally distinct.

Chi Qian looked up at Shi Jinlan’s placid features. They were clearly calm without a ripple, yet they seemed to stir up ten-thousand-zhang-high waves¹ toward her.

In an instant, Chi Qian no longer felt cold. A heat, its source unknown, burned her cheeks red.

Yesterday, they had rested at sunset, and today was the same.

After taking her medicine, Chi Qian groggily fell asleep after the sun went down.

In her dreams, she was hot one moment and cold the next. Chi Qian felt as if she were in the Sahara Desert one moment and at the North Pole the next.

The fluctuating temperatures tormented her until her head felt swollen. Her curled-up body struggled ceaselessly, and it seemed she was whimpering as well.

“Ngh…”

In the quiet night, the clear light illuminated a furrowed brow.

Shi Jinlan stopped editing the message and turned her head to look at Chi Qian.

It seemed this person was running a fever again, her face all flushed.

What was more fatal was that, seemingly because she felt too hot, she had even pulled open the collar of her clothes. A simple camisole strap lay across her chest, revealing her shoulders and collarbones, the fair, smooth skin rising and falling with her breaths.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze tightened, lingering on this scene for a long while.

It wasn’t until a small insect flew over, drawn to the wavering light of the phone, that she seemed to snap back to her senses.

The signal was quite good tonight; the messages Shi Jinlan sent were all being received. She couldn’t miss an opportunity like this, so she hadn’t slept.

She didn’t know whether she should be glad she hadn’t slept, but in any case, she reached out a hand to tuck Chi Qian’s clothes back in properly.

Shi Jinlan repeated this action many times throughout the night.

Gradually, Chi Qian’s dreams began to improve.

She felt as if she were being enveloped by something, just like the big teddy bear at her home in her original world—huge and soft, making her feel as if she had returned to the past, and she slept soundly.

When she woke up, the sun was warm and gentle.

Birds flew past the sky in front of the cave, and the shadows of the trees flickered, dancing across her face.

Chi Qian frowned slightly, as if unable to bear the disturbance, and finally, slowly opened her eyes.

The world that had been dim in her memory before sleep was now brightly lit. A brilliant golden orb hung high before her eyes; it seemed to be noon already.

Emergency Rations! (Specifically the nickname of the rabbit lol)

The agreement she had with Shi Jinlan immediately flashed through Chi Qian’s mind. Thinking of today’s lunch, which was still not settled, she startled into sitting up from a deathbed illness² and looked toward the Emergency Rations’ cage.

The sunlight was bright, even a bit glaring as it shone on the verdant grass.

A figure sat in the empty green space, the hem of her linen-colored dress spread out on the grass. Her long hair cascaded down, and her thick, dense eyelashes were dyed a pale gold by the sunlight.

Shi Jinlan was right there with the Emergency Rations.

Chi Qian didn’t know how Shi Jinlan had gotten over there, and along with her confusion, her heart clenched even tighter.

The Emergency Rations couldn’t have already…

Just as Chi Qian’s heart was suspended between whether the Emergency Rations was dead or alive, a sprig of fresh green leaves in her line of sight twitched slightly, continuously being fed into the cage by Shi Jinlan’s slender fingers.

That was the grass she had prepared for the Emergency Rations yesterday.

Shi Jinlan was using the things she had prepared to feed the Emergency Rations!

Recalling Shi Jinlan’s resolute attitude yesterday, the current Chi Qian simply couldn’t believe her eyes.

Thirteen was also watching from the side, its voice faintly floating over: 【According to the system’s display, the past Shi Jinlan would absolutely never have done this. Host, Shi Jinlan is different towards you~】

This guy was absent when it should have been present, and when it shouldn’t have been, its mechanical voice floated over with a rising, teasing tone.

Chi Qian didn’t know how she should react; only her heavy, feverish breathing hitched for a moment.

She just watched that beautiful silhouette in her line of sight. A thought stirred in her heart, like spring rain tapping on banana leaves, and something was born within her.

It was just that it was suppressed by her current feverish and swollen head from the cold; she couldn’t figure it out, nor did she have the energy to think it through.

With a thump, Chi Qian, her heart now at ease, fell back onto the bed, drained of strength.

The pile of straw rustled, as if echoing her disbelief.

And the wind blowing across the grassland also made a rustling sound. Shi Jinlan watched the rabbit eating grass with a blank expression, a similar disbelief hidden in her eyes.

She was actually feeding Chi Qian’s rabbit right now.

All because this person, after catching a cold yesterday, still hadn’t forgotten to beg her, asking her to take pity on her, and not to eat it.

The Han language was truly marvelous; same sound, different character. ‘She’ and ‘it’ were also indistinguishable to the ear.

In fact, realizing early on that Chi Qian’s condition probably wouldn’t be much better today, Shi Jinlan had indeed entertained the thought of eating this rabbit.

She wouldn’t let herself go hungry for the sake of some so-called kindness or love for animals. In her eyes, a fish and a rabbit were the same kind of thing.

But when she came before the rabbit and saw the grass Chi Qian had stored beside it yesterday, her eyes narrowed slightly.

The reserve provisions’ reserve provisions, what should that be called?

Following that person’s line of thought, shouldn’t it be called Emergency Rations the Second?

“Heh.”

With a soft chuckle, Shi Jinlan laughed out of nowhere.

By the time she came back to her senses, she was holding a handful of grass, as if ghosts and gods were at work³.

This rabbit was interesting enough, too; it came right over when it saw the grass.

After it finished eating, it even nudged Shi Jinlan’s outstretched hand with its nose.

That cool, damp nose puffed out rapid breaths, coiling around Shi Jinlan’s fingers in little wisps.

An animal’s breathing is faster than a human’s, so it can lead one to the sentimental, mistaken impression⁴ that it is afraid and trying to curry favor.

Shi Jinlan frowned. She didn’t like this feeling and mercilessly withdrew her hand.

Then, she tapped the cage with the fingers that the Emergency Rations had nuzzled and said to it, “Don’t try to curry favor with me. It’s a certain someone who doesn’t want you to die, not me.”

The little rabbit couldn’t understand human language; it just tilted its head and looked at Shi Jinlan.

And the person who didn’t want it to die now felt like she was about to die herself.

【Thirteen, why do I feel so awful…】 Chi Qian lay on the straw bed, feeling as if her head was about to be stuffed full of something unknown, making her completely dizzy.

【The Host has a fever, a wind-heat common cold⁵. Current body temperature is 39 degrees.】 Thirteen stated.

【But didn’t I take Grandpa’s medicine?】 Chi Qian was confused.

【If the Host hadn’t taken the medicine, it would be even more severe than it is now. The river water was too cold, and the cave is drafty. Even with Shi Jinlan giving you her clothes, you couldn’t sweat it out. With wind-chill entering the body⁶, it’s already very good that you’re able to wake up now.】

Having said this, Thirteen sighed at Chi Qian: 【Actually, it would have been better if the Host had listened to my health warning yesterday.】

【Who knows if you’re accurate or not… You’ve never been right once before.】 Chi Qian retorted, but she didn’t even have much energy to argue now.

Seeing Chi Qian in this state, Thirteen didn’t say much more, only stating: 【Host, fear not the ten thousand, but the one-in-ten-thousand chance⁷.】

“Hmph.”

Chi Qian snorted through her stuffy nose and complained: 【It should be, the moment you don’t believe it, it immediately comes true.】

It wasn’t clear if this sentence was just Chi Qian’s mood, but as she said it, she squeezed her eyes shut and said uncomfortably: 【Sigh… stop talking to me. My head hurts the moment I use my brain.】

Her body ached all over from the fever. In the surrounding silence, Chi Qian thought she could hear the sound of her own bones burning.

She had never felt this miserable when she was sick before. Even with such a big sun shining on her, she still felt a chill.

Cold and hot at the same time, it was more than just a little uncomfortable.

“Mm.”

Right at that moment, a patch of coolness was suddenly applied to Chi Qian’s forehead.

Unlike the cold seeping out from her own body, this coolness was gentle and soothing, making her unable to resist letting out a hum.

A breeze blew over from the distance, and a light, fresh scent drifted onto Chi Qian’s lips.

Her lips parted slightly, tasting it gently, only finding the scent familiar.

As if realizing something, Chi Qian abruptly opened her eyes.

In her sun-drenched vision, she saw Shi Jinlan’s brows tightly knitted as she reached out a hand to test the temperature of her forehead.

Shi Jinlan had come.

How did she get over here?

Though her head felt like it was splitting⁸, Chi Qian’s mind couldn’t help but bubble with questions.

But among all these questions, the one she was most concerned about was still: “Emergency Rations…”

“It’s not suitable to eat rabbit meat when you’re sick,” Shi Jinlan said faintly, withdrawing the hand that was on Chi Qian’s forehead.

Chi Qian’s head was throbbing, and she couldn’t quite process Shi Jinlan’s words, yet she also seemed to understand her meaning. She decided to ask for confirmation: “So we’re not eating it today, is that…”

In the sunlight, Chi Qian’s face was pale but tinged with an unnatural flush.

Her eyes weren’t fully open, and the brown irises hidden by her lowered lashes looked exceptionally frail.

Shi Jinlan just looked at Chi Qian, watching how she couldn’t even take care of herself, yet was still here worrying about others.

And what she was worrying about wasn’t even a person, but just a provis… animal.

When the thought of Emergency Rations came to mind, Shi Jinlan paused inexplicably, even correcting her own term for it.

Her gaze grew obscure and unclear. She stared at Chi Qian for a long while before finally nodding. “Right.”

“Really?”

This was simply the best thing Chi Qian had heard since she fell ill.

She discovered that Shi Jinlan could be soft-hearted after all. Speaking nasally, she tried to curry favor with Shi Jinlan: “Miss Shi, you’re a really good person.”

This person had a pair of beautiful almond eyes that would curve into two cashews when she smiled.

The sunlight sprinkled upon them, shimmering with golden light, making them look even more delectable.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze paused for a moment, then she took out the medicine bottle again. “Take your medicine first.”

“Oh.” Chi Qian nodded obediently, propping herself up with her heavy arms.

She took the pill and swallowed it with the determination to face certain death.

The misery of her cold made it hard for her to even frown, her small face looking utterly pitiful.

So bitter.

Chi Qian habitually closed her eyes, and then a dried, salted plum⁹ was placed in her mouth.

Her lips brushed past a fingertip, the heat distinct.

Shi Jinlan haltingly withdrew her hand, looking at Chi Qian’s state—her breathing was rapid, and the high fever had flushed her cheeks crimson, as if she were not long for this world.

Shi Jinlan had always been calm and restrained, able to control situations without showing any emotion.

So it wasn’t in her character to be unable to hold back and reveal her hand to just anyone.

But just looking at her now, she still inexplicably revealed her hand to Chi Qian: “Hold on. The day after tomorrow at the latest, someone will definitely come to rescue us.”

Chi Qian was astonished. “How do you know someone will definitely come the day after tomorrow?”

“I’ve contacted someone,” Shi Jinlan replied.

“Your unc… the text message you sent was received!”

Chi Qian was running a fever and her brain couldn’t keep up. She blurted out, wanting to say that the people sent by Shi Jinlan’s uncle had left, so the system’s signal block on them had disappeared, but she slammed on the brakes just in time.

Shi Jinlan isn’t part of their system, how would she know about these things?

If Shi Jinlan found out, she would be punished again. She’s already running a fever; if she gets punished again, it would really be the death of her.

Shi Jinlan frowned at Chi Qian’s strange statement.

However, she assumed it was a side effect of Chi Qian’s fever and didn’t probe deeper, simply replying to her, “The phone you gave me has a satellite function. Its ability to receive signals is relatively strong.”

Hearing this, Chi Qian was delighted.

I finally managed to help Shi Jinlan, she thought, smiling with great effort. “I told you buying this phone for you would be useful.”

Good news always makes one relax. As Chi Qian spoke, her eyelids started to fight¹⁰. “That’s great… Can I sleep for a little while then?”

She was truly exhausted. The cold and fever had completely overdrawn her physical strength.

【Host, you’d best not——】

“Then why did you make me chrysanthemum water back then?”

Seeing Chi Qian’s eyelids fighting, Thirteen began to remind her anxiously.

But before it could finish, Shi Jinlan’s voice overlapped with its words.

Chi Qian opened her eyes again, not understanding why Shi Jinlan would ask her about such an insignificant little thing at a time like this.

But Shi Jinlan looked at her with exceptional calmness, her dark pupils showing no emotion. “Chrysanthemum clears the liver and brightens the eyes¹¹, and it can also reduce internal heat¹².”

She paused here.

Her crow-feather-like lashes lifted slightly, revealing a hint of gloominess as she looked into Chi Qian’s eyes, then asked, “Do you think I have a bad temper?”

Chi Qian was suddenly wide awake.

Her mind was a mess. She subconsciously nodded, then immediately shook her head. “Yes, it is… no, it’s not.”

Her cold made her nose particularly stuffy, and she spoke with a nasal tone. Her nervousness was tinged with a sickly, timid quality as she mumbled softly, “It’s just… if your liver fire is too excessive¹³, you’ll be short-lived, you know? I used to drink it like this too.”

“Used to? How long ago?” Shi Jinlan seemed very interested in Chi Qian’s words, pressing on with her last sentence.

Chi Qian had a guilty conscience, like a thief¹⁴. She had already been punished by the system once for saying “used to,” so this time she just shook her head. “No, no ‘used to’…”

Her brain couldn’t keep up, and the loopholes in her speech were increasing.

Chi Qian had the urge to escape, which made her want to sleep even more. She dragged out her words, wheedling with Shi Jinlan, “Miss Shen, I’m so sleepy, can you let me sleep for a bit?”

“No.” Shi Jinlan’s attitude was firm.

Chi Qian was a little unhappy. “Why!”

“You’re a lot of trouble when you’re asleep,” Shi Jinlan said, speaking the plain truth. Looking at Chi Qian’s drowsy and frail appearance, her brows furrowed tightly, and a caramel color Chi Qian had never seen before burned within her gaze.

Chi Qian didn’t have the clarity of thought to distinguish such complex colors, only staring fixedly at Shi Jinlan. “How am I trouble? If I’m quiet and don’t talk, wouldn’t Miss Shen like that more?”

This voice had more spirit than before. Hearing it, Shi Jinlan pressed on just as insistently, “Why would I like that more?”

“Because you like quiet,” Chi Qian answered.

“How do you know?” Shi Jinlan asked again, a natural disbelief in her cool voice.

This was a hook she had deliberately set.

And Chi Qian was her fish.

“I just know,” Chi Qian bit the hook, the words tumbling out naturally, even with a hint of confidence.

“Miss Shi, I’ve been seriously keeping track of what you like and don’t like, you know.”

As she spoke, a proud smile appeared on Chi Qian’s flushed face.

Her feverish breath tumbled out with the long string of words, rushing first toward Shi Jinlan, who was closest to her.

The hot air gushed forth. For the first time, while attempting to unsettle the other person, Shi Jinlan heard her own heartbeat first.

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The author has something to say:

Lanlan: She really likes me so much.

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