So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 28

“Yuan… Ming.”

Dawn broke, and a white-hot golden light rose from the sea surface.

Waves continuously washed against the port; moored ships prepared to set sail, and other ships gradually approached—busy activity began to cast shadows.

From the distance came a few crows of roosters, the elongated sounds awakening the slumbering island.

Last night was a rare peace; no new patients were sent over, and the Chi family was quiet.

Yet, it was not as quiet as it appeared.

In the Chi family’s courtyard stood several men dressed in Western suits and leather shoes; each one wore sunglasses, suppressing their vigilant gazes.

These tall, upright shadows were distributed like a black mass throughout the courtyard. Birds skimmed past the branches, daring not to make a sound.

Inside Chi Qingyan’s room, three silhouettes stood.

Chi Qingyan stood before the bookshelf, eyes lowered and brows furrowed, as if considering something.

Shi Jinlan sat upright in a wheelchair, hands resting on her knees, pupils calm and waveless, waiting for Chi Qingyan’s decision. Ah Ning stood right beside her.

“Miss Shen, I still do not quite understand why you insist on me treating you. I always believe that in the big cities, there are doctors better than me, and the poison in your body does not necessarily require Chinese medicine¹ to resolve.” As if having made a decision, Chi Qingyan turned to look at Shi Jinlan.

There was much confusion and helplessness in his voice, but even more determination: “But since this is your choice, I respect your choice and thank you for your trust. I can continue to treat you, however, I have one request.”

“Please speak,” Shi Jinlan nodded slightly, her attitude respectful.

Chi Qingyan stood with his hands behind his back, taking a long look at Shi Jinlan, then looked at Ah Ning standing beside her, his tone cautious: “I do not know if this time was truly just an accident, but through this incident, I also know you are not an ordinary person. Therefore, I hope your affairs will absolutely not involve Qianqian in the future.”

As soon as Chi Qian was mentioned, Chi Qingyan’s eyes softened, yet simultaneously filled with much sorrow: “That child Qianqian has lived with me since she was small. For over twenty years, she has been almost entirely on this island and has not come into contact with too much of the outside world’s you deceive and I cheat². She and you are not children of the same world; I think you should be able to understand.”

What Chi Qingyan said to Shi Jinlan came from the bottom of his heart; it was entirely a grandfather’s worry for his granddaughter.

Shi Jinlan listened just like that, her heart suddenly tightening. Especially his last sentence—it made her heart feel stifled, as if blocked by something.

But very quickly, Shi Jinlan regained her calm, using rationality to analyze Chi Qingyan’s words.

From the moment she arrived at the Chi family home, she understood there was an insurmountable gap between her and Chi Qian. It was just that in the past, she thought only those in high positions had the right to be picky about gaps; she never thought her identity would also become a disadvantage for others to pick at.

Shi Jinlan paused for a moment, then guaranteed to Chi Qingyan: “I understand.”

“They will leave in a while; they won’t let Chi-xiaojie discover them. I am just a patient here with you, without any other identity.”

Hearing this sentence from Shi Jinlan, the heart Chi Qingyan had been holding up finally dropped down a little.

He requested Shi Jinlan to keep her identity secret not just for herself, but also for Chi Qian—so she wouldn’t know too much, and the parting wouldn’t be that painful.

“Then we can consider the agreement reached,” Chi Qingyan said.

“I will have to trouble you in the days to come,” Shi Jinlan nodded.

Her goal was achieved.

She would continue to stay on this island.

She wanted to continue staying on this island.

The sun had already risen from the east, and the dawn light of daybreak paved the entire courtyard.

Chi Qingyan watched Shi Jinlan’s retreating back, his gaze obscure and unclear, and he sighed heavily: “I don’t know if this is right or wrong…”

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Chi Qingyan discovered Chi Qian’s accident on the second day after returning home from an off-island house call.

At first, he thought Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan were still at the hot spring hotel, and Auntie Zhou also thought Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan had returned home safely.

The two met at the vegetable market the next day and mentioned it in passing; only then did they discover Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan were missing.

Auntie Zhou cried out in her heart that it was bad and hurriedly went back to check on that man.

But she found that the man was still asking around for news of Shi Jinlan everywhere; it didn’t look like he had captured Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan.

And so, Auntie Zhou dared not make a scene. She first took her sons and, together with Chi Qingyan, searched along the route Chi Qian took home.

They passed the small path where Chi Qian had ridden the bike carrying Shi Jinlan several times, lingering on the hillside, but they couldn’t find any traces of anyone falling down. Chi Qingyan was so anxious he could neither eat nor sleep well.

The turn of events appeared on the second day after Chi Qingyan discovered Chi Qian was missing.

First, Auntie Zhou discovered early in the morning that the man had inexplicably left in a hurry the previous night. Then, a woman came to Chi Qingyan’s home.

This person was dressed appropriately, her long hair combed meticulously and coiled low at the back of her head.

She showed Chi Qingyan old photos of Shi Jinlan and said she could find Chi Qian.

Chi Qingyan had no other method; he had to treat a dead horse as a living horse³ and followed the woman down the mountain.

Sure enough, they found Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan in a cave.

Chi Qingyan looked at Chi Qian, whose whole body was burning hot from a high fever, his heart aching endlessly.

He didn’t know if Chi Qian rolling down the hill and going missing had a direct relationship with Shi Jinlan—whether this was truly just a bicycle loss-of-control accident, or if someone had premeditated it.

But he was truly angry.

Angry to the point of wanting to make Shi Jinlan leave immediately and seek medical treatment elsewhere.

But a healer’s heart is like a parent’s heart⁴.

The poison in Shi Jinlan’s body was extremely difficult to deal with. Chi Qingyan couldn’t be at ease; the words reached his mouth, then were swallowed back down.

Moreover, calming down, he also understood that even if he was angry, he shouldn’t take it out on Shi Jinlan.

She had also been harmed by someone. Furthermore, when he saw her last night, in order to keep Chi Qian warm, she had been in close contact with her; her body was already radiating a low fever. If they had come a day later, she would have burned up too.

Let it be.

It is all an ill-fated relationship.

Better to find the antidote prescription early so Shi Jinlan can leave faster, and I can have a clear conscience.

It’s just this granddaughter of mine…

Thinking of this, Chi Qingyan sighed again.

He looked up out the window. When he saw a figure carrying a medicine bowl passing the main hall, his gaze relaxed slightly.

Fortunately, Yuan Ming was back now.

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The morning light was bright and beautiful, sprinkling brilliantly and warmly into the bedroom.

Without curtains to cover it, the light shone unscrupulously into Chi Qian’s eyes. Birds flashed past; the light and shadows were chaotic, causing one to frown.

“…”

Chi Qian lifted her eyelids, but perhaps due to being sick, she felt somewhat lazy about opening them, so she lay in bed slowly regaining her senses.

Dust motes floated in the sunlight; the air was filled with warmth.

Chi Qian had a momentary illusion, feeling she had returned to her home in her original world, to her small and soft bed.

Lazily, Chi Qian hugged the quilt and prepared to turn over to continue sleeping.

But she suddenly discovered this bed seemed bigger than her small bed; her leg slid across and didn’t hit the edge of the bed.

“?!”

Suddenly, Chi Qian opened her eyes.

She looked blankly at the surrounding environment, gradually transforming the surrounding strangeness into familiarity. Memories gradually retraced; this was not her bedroom. This was the bedroom of the person named “Chi Qian” in the book.

She had transmigrated into this book to do tasks.

She remembered she seemed to have rolled down a hillside with the text’s future big villain, Shi Jinlan, and was trapped in that place by the damn system in the name of protection.

But how was she in this place now?

Did she restart?

Or could it be…

She and Shi Jinlan were saved?

【Thirteen, are you there】 Harboring two completely different outcomes, Chi Qian called out to Thirteen uneasily.

【Host, you’re awake!】 Immediately, Chi Qian received an excited, even somewhat moved voice in her ear.

【Mn.】 Chi Qian nodded.

Although she felt Thirteen’s current reaction meant it shouldn’t be the very bad ending, she still didn’t understand the situation: 【I am currently…】

【You and Shi Jinlan were saved by Shi Jinlan’s people,】 Thirteen explained. 【Shi Cheng’s people withdrew from the island yesterday, so the system’s protective shielding was also withdrawn.】

Chi Qian frowned involuntarily as she listened: 【But how could Shi Cheng’s people leave suddenly? It’s only been a few days.】

Thirteen thoughtfully offered the story that happened while Chi Qian was unconscious: 【It was Shi Jinlan’s people who intentionally released a signal to the dark lines Shi Cheng buried around her, indicating she had transferred to a certain coastal city and made contact with them. Shi Cheng’s people have now gone to cast a wide net in every coastal city across the country; the island far from the mainland has instead become the safest place.】

【So that’s how it is.】 Chi Qian understood and couldn’t help but smile. 【Shi Jinlan really is smart.】

However, Chi Qian didn’t maintain this smile for long. Next, Thirteen dealt her a blow to the head: 【Host, don’t be happy first. I found a system punishment for you; execution time is undetermined.】

【Hah?】 Chi Qian collapsed, protesting loudly in her mind. 【Why? I even got a fever so your big villain could live well!】

Thirteen scratched its face: 【It seems it’s because you called Shi Jinlan “Miss Shi” yesterday. The system judged that this behavior of yours carries the suspicion of exposing the system.】

Hearing this sentence, a look of speechlessness appeared on Chi Qian’s face.

She was burning up in a daze yesterday; she didn’t even remember what she said: 【Fuck, is there something wrong with you systems?! I had a fever! How could I distinguish between “Shi” and “Shen”!】

As she said this, Chi Qian discovered that because of her heavy nasal congestion, she couldn’t pronounce the “i” and “en” sounds clearly, so she protested even more fiercely: 【Also, my state at that time was even more serious than now; “Shi” and “Shen” couldn’t be heard apart at all!】

【That is why the system only gave the Host a low-level punishment. If the system was truly exposed, you would be sent for destruction.】. Not knowing if it was because Chi Qian’s voice was too domineering, Thirteen’s voice sounded weak.

It was truly somewhat worried about Chi Qian, nagging wordily: Host, you better be careful.

【The Main System’s judgment has its own logic. A tiny mistake by a task-taker can trigger a butterfly effect. Previously within the system, there was a precedent where a protagonist awakened and nearly destroyed the world. At that time, it triggered a chain reaction, destroying three small worlds, resulting in the death of over twenty systems and the sacrifice of over one hundred task-takers before balance was restored to the various worlds. Since then, the Main System has had to be stricter with judging task-taker violations.】

As a fellow task-taker, no one dared to guarantee they wouldn’t become one of those one hundred-plus sacrificed task-takers in the future.

Moreover, Chi Qian’s own task was with such a big villain who would later kill a god if a god blocks the way⁵.

If Shi Jinlan awakened.

Wouldn’t she be the first to bear the brunt?

Chi Qian shivered involuntarily as she thought about it.

She didn’t expect a single slip-up of hers could trigger such a dangerous event.

No, she had to find a chance to change her form of address for Shi Jinlan.

Otherwise, with how careless she was, sooner or later there would be a day when she clearly shouted the three words “Miss Shi” to Shi Jinlan’s face. At that time, she would be done for.

“Knock knock.”

Just as Chi Qian was worrying in her heart about how to dog out her life⁶, someone knocked on her door.

The old door was pushed open with a “creak.” Chi Qian looked up; what appeared in her line of sight was a strange woman.

The sun beat into the room through the window glass, covering the woman’s body in gentle light.

A bright yellow skirt hem jumped out from the surrounding low-saturation colors. A pair of peach blossom-shaped eyes⁷ curved slightly; just looking at them made one feel a sense of closeness.

“Yuan… Ming.” Chi Qian sluggishly matched this name in her head.

She remembered; the person before her eyes was the original owner’s good friend who grew up with her, Yuan Ming.

Although the original owner didn’t have any talent for studying medicine, she brought Chi Qingyan a good seedling.

Yuan Ming was simply born for medicine. In elementary school, she could recite the 《Bencao Gangmu》⁸ from memory; in junior high, she started writing prescriptions with Chi Qingyan.

Later, she tested into the country’s best medical university for a combined Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. The day she got into university, her parents happily held a banquet for three days.

A study tyrant⁹.

A terrifying medical big shot.

Chi Qian had been here for a month and had only heard Yuan Ming’s name but never seen the person; at most, she understood this person through the original owner’s photos with Yuan Ming.

Only now did she finally see the real person.

And the real Yuan Ming was even more exquisite and vivid than those photos Chi Qian had seen.

Sunlight painted a layer of demureness between her brows and eyes; a slight curve of her eyes was tenderness itself.

“Ah Qian, you’re awake.” Yuan Ming walked in carrying medicine.

“Mn.” Chi Qian was still a bit dazed by Yuan Ming’s appearance. “When did you come back? Shouldn’t you be at school?”

“Hearing the news that you were missing, I rushed back overnight last night,” Yuan Ming said as she naturally sat on the edge of Chi Qian’s bed and put down the medicine she was holding. “Teacher even wanted to hide it from me.”

“Grandpa was also doing it for your own good; aren’t you doing your Master’s defense recently?” Chi Qian spoke up for Grandpa.

Yuan Ming disagreed: “How can a graduation thesis be as important as your matters.”

Yuan Ming said this sentence very smoothly, even with a kind of reproachful casualness.

Chi Qian didn’t know why, but she always felt these words were a bit strange. But thinking it over and over, between good friends, saying this was also nothing… right?

While she hesitated, a handful of warmth landed on Chi Qian’s forehead.

Yuan Ming reached out her hand, brushed away the stray hair on Chi Qian’s forehead, and placed her hand on it: “Let me test your temperature.”

Chi Qian paused for a moment.

She didn’t know how she should react, nor was she clear if the original owner and Yuan Ming were this intimate in the past.

Thirteen had just reminded her that the butterfly effect of task-takers was a terrifying existence.

So she dared not act rashly and stiffened her body, letting Yuan Ming test her temperature.

It was just that this kind of intimacy made Chi Qian very uncomfortable, even feeling a bit weird.

Yuan Ming’s palm pressed tightly against her forehead, soft and also warm. She just didn’t know if it was because she had adapted to Shi Jinlan’s temperature, but she always felt this warmth made her agitated.

Inexplicably remembering Shi Jinlan’s palm…

Chi Qian’s thoughts flew a bit far, and her line of sight also drifted to the side.

Yuan Ming didn’t close the room door after entering. At this moment, her bedroom door was wide open, and in the doorway that should have been empty sat a shadow.

A set of wheels stopped at the door of Chi Qian’s room.

Her heart inexplicably thumped. Her line of sight slowly moved upward, and she saw Shi Jinlan’s eyes.

Outside the window, the sun was bright and beautiful; the spring heatwaves blew the cold air until it had nowhere to hide.

Yet at this moment, Chi Qian felt the temperature of her hand suddenly being drawn away. In the gentle breeze and smooth flow¹⁰, she saw an ice flood¹¹.

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