So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 3

Her First Kiss Was Destined for Shi Jinlan

The waves washed over the shore. As if by prior agreement, the seabirds perched on the reef suddenly took flight together, crying out in the air.

No one else came running to the Chi family home in a panic. All around was quiet, with only Chi Qian’s wildly unbalanced heartbeat thumping against her eardrums.

Help me.

Chi Qian never would have thought that Shi Jinlan would suddenly open her eyes.

That oppressive feeling, born from the decisiveness to kill and conquer¹ in the business world, was like the seawater that had suddenly crashed in last night—beneath the calm, an undercurrent surged, and the air was thick with danger.

Chi Qian didn’t want to meet Shi Jinlan’s gaze, but Shi Jinlan’s eyes were fixed tightly on her.

The black flames emanating from her body trembled along with her lowered voice. The storm had clearly passed long ago, and the sunlight outside the window was warm, yet Chi Qian felt as though a storm was rolling up the earth to come again².

…She just wanted to earn a meal, so why did she have to see something like this?

“Can’t speak?” Shi Jinlan looked at Chi Qian, who was staring blankly at her, and guessed the person might be a mute, though she wasn’t entirely sure.

So, a pale, cold hand gripped Chi Qian’s wrist tightly, and after a moment, the pressure increased.

Pain, pain, pain…

Chi Qian felt as if it wasn’t her wrist being squeezed, but her heart.

Her head was a mess. I’m the one who saved Shi Jinlan, so why am I the one suffering like this!

Wait.

Right, she had saved Shi Jinlan, not harmed her. What did she have to be guilty about? What was she afraid of?

So she got caught with her packet grabbed³ while sneaking a peek, so what? She didn’t believe for a second that Shi Jinlan would keep treating her like this after she explained things clearly.

She was Shi Jinlan’s savior, the villain’s future white moonlight!

With that thought, Chi Qian’s fear of Shi Jinlan subsided a little.

She composed her words in her head and forced herself to speak calmly. “What… what else would I be doing? Checking to see if you’re okay, of course.”

“Do you have any idea how pale you were when I rescued you yesterday? You were on the verge of death. But——” As Chi Qian spoke, she began to examine Shi Jinlan’s face with an air of expertise. “You look much better now than you did yesterday.”

With that, Chi Qian feigned composure and tried to straighten up from under Shi Jinlan’s grip, a look of relief in her eyes.

A very clumsy look of relief.

Shi Jinlan let out a soft laugh, her eyes fixed on the completely unfamiliar woman before her. She stared so intensely that Chi Qian’s scalp tingled, and her attempt to move was pinned firmly in place.

Faced with this woman who had suddenly appeared before her claiming to be her savior, Shi Jinlan’s eyes were full of vigilance.

Who knew if this reaction of hers was just an act. The people around Shi Cheng⁴ were all drama club pros, especially the ones he’d bought and planted by her side. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have…

At this thought, ripples disturbed the calm of Shi Jinlan’s emotions.

Chi Qian’s feigned composure failed. The black flames flared up and shot toward her face, licking past her eyebrows.

Pain… it doesn’t hurt at all?

Her eyebrows… seemed to still be there.

Chi Qian only now remembered that the flames emanating from Shi Jinlan were her golden finger⁵, not something that truly existed in the world.

The introduction said it was a reflection of Shi Jinlan’s emotions.

But Chi Qian felt it was more like her aura—an aura that could send a chill to the bone and devour everything.

As expected of the future ultimate villain.

Chi Qian’s wrist was pressed against Shi Jinlan’s palm, a coldness seeping into her bones.

Having already tried to escape once, she didn’t dare make another move now and could only wait for Shi Jinlan to act.

Anyway, she probably can’t do anything to me… right?

“Where is this place?”

Just as Chi Qian was trying to comfort herself, Shi Jinlan’s cold, rough voice sounded again.

She maintained her grip on Chi Qian’s wrist with the same force, her wary eyes scrutinizing every inch of Chi Qian’s expression.

“This is Xiaoyu Island⁶,” Chi Qian answered truthfully.

This name fell into a blind spot for Shi Jinlan. “Xiaoyu Island?”

“It’s an island that belongs to Can City⁷,” Chi Qian continued to explain. “But it’s very far from Can City. The fastest boat takes two hours, but to take a boat, you have to cross a bridge to get to Dayu Island over there.”

Shi Jinlan knew of Can City. It was adjacent to Ning City⁸, where the Shi family was located, and was also a coastal city.

She had been forced to jump off a cliff last night; it was possible the sea had carried her here.

According to this person, this place was far from the mainland, with underdeveloped transportation.

Even with Shi Cheng’s suspicious nature, his people couldn’t possibly find this place so quickly.

Assuming, of course, that this person was telling the truth.

The vigilance in Shi Jinlan’s eyes didn’t fade in the slightest. She tightened her grip on Chi Qian’s wrist, pulling the woman closer. “How did you find me? The storm last night was no small thing.”

This person’s voice had been faint from the start, like the morning mist by the sea that had yet to dissipate.

And the mist was ethereal, making one instantly forget the oppressive feeling her eyes had first conveyed. Looking at them now, all that remained was a dark calm.

But the emotions manifesting behind her were not like that at all.

The murky black color burned fiercely. Even though Chi Qian knew it couldn’t hurt her, it was still terrifying.

Chi Qian felt like she wanted to cry but had no tears over this ability.

During Shi Jinlan’s pause just now, she had been frantically trying to turn the ability off.

But this damn broken ability that deserved to be sliced by a thousand knives⁹ just wouldn’t turn off, no matter what she did. The black flames burned before her eyes, subjecting her to constant psychological pressure, making her fear that one wrong word would displease Shi Jinlan and the flames would leap over and really eat her.

Especially at a time like this.

The details of last night were too long to recount, and Chi Qian had no intention of telling Shi Jinlan about their kiss to transfer air.

First, of course, was because this was Chi Qian’s first kiss. And also, she didn’t want to give her first kiss to Shi Jinlan in such a muddled way.

As Shi Jinlan’s future white moonlight, their first kiss had to be meaningful!

In Chi Qian’s view, a first kiss should be extremely romantic, subtle, and full of girlish sentiment.

Although this damned capture¹⁰ mission meant her first kiss was destined for Shi Jinlan, this was really not what she had imagined.

——Having her body controlled by the system to give her first kiss to an unconscious Shi Jinlan by transferring air.

What kind of muddle-headed business was that?

In any case, Shi Jinlan didn’t seem to remember what happened then, so it was better to just cover it up and pretend it never happened.

Maybe Shi Jinlan didn’t want that kiss either.

What she was doing was for the good of them both.

Chi Qian thought this secretly, incredibly thankful that she and Thirteen had already agreed on an answer beforehand. “That’s right, people definitely don’t go out in a storm, but my cat ran out.”

“I had just found it, and nursed it back to health, how could I watch it run out again! So I chased after it and ended up at that shore on the west side.”

This was the story Chi Qian had prepared long ago. For the past month, Thirteen had made her recite it almost every day.

By repeating it so often, she had subconsciously tricked her own brain. The lie had become fact, and Chi Qian’s gaze naturally took on a sincere and honest look.

Shi Jinlan watched her without blinking but found no logical loopholes.

However, she couldn’t understand: in such a dangerous situation, would a person really risk their life for a cat?

Human lives themselves couldn’t even be valued equally.

Let alone an animal’s.

“Meow~”

Doubt floated in Shi Jinlan’s mind. Just as her flames were about to lick at Chi Qian again, an impossibly sweet cat’s cry came from the sickroom doorway.

The new calico cat the Chi family had taken in walked over with its tail held high. With a light leap, it crossed the threshold and brazenly entered the sickroom that Chi Qingyan¹¹ had explicitly forbidden it from entering.

The sound drew Shi Jinlan’s attention for a moment. She shifted her gaze slightly from Chi Qian and looked toward Thirteen.

The sunlight couldn’t penetrate Shi Jinlan’s pale face. Her pupils, glancing sideways, exuded a chill. Thirteen, who had been walking lightly toward the bed, froze mid-step.

“Is this the cat you were talking about?” Shi Jinlan asked.

Thirteen’s arrival gave Chi Qian a bit more confidence. “That’s right.”

She looked at Thirteen, and an idea sparked in her mind. She said to Shi Jinlan, “Miss, my grandpa has a rule that cats aren’t allowed in this sickroom. Could you let me go? I have to go shoo it out.”

Hearing this, Shi Jinlan first glanced at the cat strolling in so nonchalantly, then back at Chi Qian.

Although she couldn’t understand it, she saw that the woman’s face was full of tension, but not a hint of guilt. After a long pause, she complied with Chi Qian’s request and released her hand.

She would tentatively believe that this was a… kind person who would save both her and an animal.

The flames on Shi Jinlan’s body softened for an instant. Chi Qian let out a huge sigh of relief, but before she could fully calm down, she immediately and dutifully became a cat-shooer.

“Who told you to come in here, get out, get out.” Chi Qian walked over to Thirteen.

Thirteen cooperated. As Chi Qian’s hand shooed it over, it nimbly leaped over the threshold and out of the sickroom, then said to Chi Qian in her mind: 【Host, the army’s first expedition is not victorious¹².】

【Yeah.】 Bitterness filled Chi Qian’s heart.

If Thirteen hadn’t come in, she had no idea how much longer Shi Jinlan would have held her there.

Those pitch-black flames were just too scary.

【Hey, do you know how to turn this ability off?】 Chi Qian couldn’t figure it out herself, so she had to ask Thirteen for help.

【Why would the host want to turn it off? It can help the host observe Shi Jinlan’s emotions very well.】 Thirteen was confused.

【Don’t you think it’s too scary?】 As Chi Qian said this, she shivered reflexively.

Even though she was speaking to Thirteen in her mind, and even with her back to Shi Jinlan, Chi Qian spoke in a super quiet voice when she mentioned her: 【I mean, why are Shi Jinlan’s emotions displayed as black? Can’t I customize the color? White, pink, orange, any of those would be fine. Can we get some warm tones?】

【Apologies, but the color is also a form of emotional expression.】 Now that Thirteen was out of the sickroom, there was no need to act for Chi Qian. It lay down in a patch of sun and began to lick its fur unhurriedly. 【Warm and cool tones represent different emotions.】

【So, you’re saying Shi Jinlan is in a very bad mood right now?】 Chi Qian asked.

【She just experienced a corporate coup. The people around her betrayed her, and her own family tried to hunt her down and kill her.】 Thirteen reminded her.

【Oh, right.】 Chi Qian laughed sheepishly.

If that had happened to her, she’d be the same way, maybe even burning brighter than Shi Jinlan.

【She’s a pitiful person, too.】

Sighing, Chi Qian realized Thirteen had led her astray. 【So you still haven’t told me if I can turn it off or not.】

【Not at present.】

Chi Qian was good at catching keywords. Her eyes lit up. 【But I can in the future?】

【The host needs to receive a sufficient amount of Shi Jinlan’s emotions to upgrade.】

“…”

A sea breeze blew from the courtyard into the sickroom, carrying the chill of early spring.

In an instant, the hope that had just filled Chi Qian’s eyes died out.

That was the same as saying nothing at all.

Her goal was to capture Shi Jinlan. As they progressed, their relationship would surely get better, and Shi Jinlan’s emotions wouldn’t be as terrifying as they were now. Maybe by then, Shi Jinlan would be surrounded by pink bubbles. With such a harmonious and beautiful scene, why would she even want to turn it off?

【What a vicious upgrade rule.】 Chi Qian lamented.

【The main system has its own considerations for the thresholds of its golden fingers.】 Thirteen corrected.

【Did it consider that I’m a novice who has to fight the big boss right from the start?】 Chi Qian was unconvinced.

【The host is the no-second-person choice¹³ for this mission.】 Thirteen said with the utmost seriousness.

【Don’t think I’ll be happy just because you say that.】 Chi Qian rejected the compliment.

She was worried, thinking: 【If only I had a kitty to pet whenever I wanted right now.】

As she thought this in her mind, Chi Qian looked at Thirteen.

But the detestable cat acted as if it couldn’t hear her, continuing to lick its fur at a leisurely pace, licking its back leg after its front leg.

This cat was always like this, dead serious, keeping people a thousand li¹⁴ away, without a trace of the cuteness a cat ought to have.

The more Chi Qian felt this way, the more she wanted to see a different expression on Thirteen’s face. She reached out, wanting to pick Thirteen up.

But cats are far more agile than humans. Thirteen flipped over and dodged her outstretched hands, then lay down in the sun without a word—languid and casual, a sight that made one’s blood boil.

Chi Qian sat down on the threshold and grumbled, “Boring, bad cat.”

She was speechless over the golden finger’s settings and annoyed by Thirteen’s indifference, letting out a heavy sigh.

She was completely unaware that from the hospital bed, Shi Jinlan’s gaze had been fixed on her back the entire time.

Before waking up, Shi Jinlan had had a very long dream.

In the dream, she leaped from a cliff. The seawater slammed against her back, as biting as the cold of early spring, like blades of ice.

The intense pain made her subconsciously gasp for breath. Her nasal passages instantly stung and swelled, and the sea’s surface floated above her head as the agony of suffocation rushed over her.

She could not see the path she had come from, nor could she feel the way home.

The seawater pulled her body down, down, down. The sunlight from the surface gradually failed to penetrate, and darkness was about to swallow her whole, to execute this useless heir on Shi Cheng’s behalf…

“!”

Just as Shi Jinlan’s consciousness was about to fade completely, a force suddenly gripped her wrist.

That force had a scorching temperature, and damp fabric clung to her body.

She was no longer sinking. Her numb nerves once again felt the cold, and pain pierced her marrow, yet it also felt as if it were being driven out, stripped away.

It seemed light could get through now, too.

Blinding, dazzling, making one subconsciously want to hide behind something to adjust.

Warmth touched Shi Jinlan’s breath, and fine, downy hair brushed the tip of her nose.

It was a patch of very delicate skin. Warm blood flowed beneath the thin surface, radiating the freshest warmth.

She craved this sliver of warmth with both restraint and madness. She didn’t even care if the seawater behind her was constantly crashing against the reef with a roar, roaring that someone had waded into her troubled waters and stolen its prey. She treated it as plain¹⁵.

…But she shouldn’t have treated it as plain.

She shouldn’t have been saved.

No one had ever saved her. She had only ever been able to rely on her own strength.

Shi Jinlan’s brow furrowed slightly. The hand hanging by her side clenched and released, then clenched tightly again after a moment.

Her memories had been scrambled by the seawater, and she couldn’t recall a single detail of that moment. Her calm gaze gradually grew deep and unfathomable as she looked at Chi Qian, who had her back to her.

Light filtered through the old door into the sickroom, casting a soft glow on the figure sitting on the threshold.

She didn’t know what the person was thinking, just that she was propping her chin up and looking outside. The light enveloped her thick eyebrows in a hazy shroud, revealing a faint, heroic air.

…Just like what she had seen through the shimmering water.

The tossing waves had muddled Shi Jinlan’s memories, jumbling them with her dream, making it impossible to tell which second was reality and which was a near-death hallucination.

Was the lukewarm touch of skin on skin, the warmth clearer than the seawater, and the calm that made her feel secure all from this person?

But she had just said she found her on the shore.

She was lying.

This person was hiding something from her.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze grew even deeper, locked tightly on Chi Qian.

Then she saw the person sitting on the threshold stand up, turn to face her, and smile.

“Oh, right, are you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday. Let me make you some congee¹⁶ to eat.”

Chi Qian’s abruptly rising figure broke Shi Jinlan’s train of thought.

To be honest, Shi Jinlan hadn’t eaten since last night. Her entire body ached, and gripping Chi Qian’s hand had already been a struggle. Now that she was reminded, she was indeed a bit hungry.

“Okay,” Shi Jinlan nodded.

“I’ll go then.” A joy radiated from Chi Qian from the inside out.

Finally, I can be away from Shi Jinlan for a little while.

Thanks to that damn golden finger, I really need to cool down right now.

Chi Qian was both tactful and cunning. After getting Shi Jinlan’s answer, she immediately turned, wanting to get out of Shi Jinlan’s line of sight as quickly as possible.

One step, two steps…

But who would have thought that just as the light of victory was in sight, Shi Jinlan would speak again.

Her cold, rough voice cut through the warm sunlight, tripping Chi Qian with a single sound:

“Wait.”

Chi Qian couldn’t believe her ears. She turned her head stiffly to look at Shi Jinlan. “Is there something else?”

Shi Jinlan watched with great interest as the tension returned to Chi Qian’s face. Without saying much, she simply raised a hand toward Chi Qian. “You’re standing too far. Come here and talk.”

Her well-defined fingers were covered in scars, pale and grim. She tapped them twice with a lazy, elegant air, like a serval reclining in a high place, just waiting for Chi Qian to walk over on her own.

---

---