So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 30

“Chi Qian, do you have to bring home every injured person you see?”

The wind rose. The branches outside the window were swayed incessantly by the wind, disturbing the light inside the room.

Shi Jinlan’s voice was neither light nor heavy, perhaps even a bit casual, yet it smashed onto Chi Qian’s head with exceptional solidity.

Question.

What question?

——“If there are, what do you intend to do?”

Shi Jinlan’s words immediately flashed inside Chi Qian’s head, causing her to lightly purse her lips.

Had she infected Shi Jinlan?

Did she really pass the cold to Shi Jinlan?

Chi Qian now seemed to somewhat understand Shi Jinlan’s flames from that time.

Her body wasn’t that great to begin with right now, and as a result, she was also infected with a cold by her.

Chi Qian thought of Chi Qingyan’s words from before, and teng—sat up abruptly from the bed, verifying with Shi Jinlan: “Is your body feeling very uncomfortable right now? Is it that that poison is making you uncomfortable again?”

If it was like that, her sin would be great.

Her favorability rating here with Shi Jinlan would surely drop kua kua¹ down.

The wind swayed the shadows of the trees, casting the light onto the bed in shifting patches.

Chi Qian propped herself up with both hands, her brows tightly furrowed. The eyes looking toward Shi Jinlan held scattered starlight, and every single star was filled with tension.

It was dazzling.

Shi Jinlan’s gaze was lightly stunned; she hadn’t expected Chi Qian to have this kind of reaction at all.

Such… caring for her.

Dust drifted in the light, tiny yet distinct.

Chi Qian leaned her body to the side. The loose nightgown revealed a pair of clear collarbones. In the past, Shi Jinlan didn’t notice it, but at this moment, she saw her thinness; beneath the fair skin, a weakness permeated.

For the first time, she generated an emotion of wanting to put a person at ease.

It even covered over that stuffiness that had just swelled in her chest.

“No.” Shi Jinlan shook her head. “I am alright.”

Chi Qian heaved a sigh of relief and snitched a piece of huameigan² that she wasn’t allowed to eat just now: “That is good then.”

With a huameigan in her mouth, this person’s words were not spoken clearly.

Shi Jinlan watched Chi Qian’s calm and composed appearance as she lay back down, and couldn’t help but recall what happened just now. Her expression was faint: “That person just now, have you known her for a long time?”

“Are you saying Yuan Ming?” Chi Qian asked.

“Correct.” Shi Jinlan’s voice turned inexplicably cold for a moment. “She seems… older than you.”

“Ang, she is four years older than me.” Chi Qian pretended to recall, rummaging through the introduction Thirteen gave her before. “There was one time our class and their class had PE class together. She was pushed down from the flowerbed by someone, and her leg had a huge cut. I carried her on my back to Grandpa’s place here, and then we became friends.”

Shi Jinlan listened from the side, and no matter how she listened, she felt this story was familiar.

Shi Jinlan was picked up by Chi Qian from the seaside; Yuan Ming was picked up by her from a flowerbed.

Not knowing where the displeasure sprang from, Shi Jinlan’s heart, which had just been relieved, became blocked again.

Her gaze heavily watched the person lying on the bed, her deep, pitch-black pupils reflecting a gloomy light.

“Carried on the back?”

Shi Jinlan savored this word on her lips with great interest, pondering it, milling it over, and suddenly laughed once: “Chi Qian, do you have to bring home every injured person you see?”

Accompanying the laughter, there was also a cluster of flames that teng—swept onto Chi Qian’s finger.

She hadn’t felt this kind of pain for a long time; it burned so much her heart jumped fiercely.

But mostly, it was confusion.

She just narrated the process of how she met Yuan Ming, was it necessary to get this angry?

Moreover…

“Isn’t this how it should be?” Chi Qian was extremely puzzled, trying her best to explain the reasoning clearly to Shi Jinlan. “My home is a hospital; we can’t just see death and not save, right?”

Hospital.

Hearing these two words from Chi Qian’s mouth, Shi Jinlan’s gloomy pupils fiercely stunned.

Yes, this person could be said to have grown up in her grandfather’s home hospital. Saving the dying and healing the injured, bringing patients home was how it should be.

Wasn’t she brought here exactly because of this?

Wasn’t that Yuan Ming the same?

What was she minding?

Why would she feel mindful about this?

This place was just her temporary foothold; it shouldn’t make her generate so many emotions.

Shi Jinlan’s pupils slowly changed back to their usual appearance.

That mass of pitch-black stillness, unfathomably deep, was paved over with cold ice. With a speed invisible to the naked eye, it crushed across Shi Jinlan’s chest, stiffly and violently extinguishing that stifling feeling.

“En.” Shi Jinlan nodded with a faint voice, turning her wheelchair, preparing to leave Chi Qian’s room. “You rest, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

The sun’s rays were a few shades fainter than before, and a few heavy clouds pressed over from the window’s side of the sky.

Chi Qian gazed at Shi Jinlan’s departing back figure. She didn’t know why, but her heart beat in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

She slowly sat up from the bed and spoke to Thirteen in her head: 【Thirteen, why do I feel Shi Jinlan is suddenly so strange.】

【Host, I feel you are the strange one,】 Thirteen said, letting out a “meow” at the door.

The three-colored calico with clean fur stretched a lazy waist, then jumped onto Chi Qian’s bed with a swagger.

Chi Qian wasn’t annoyed that it got on the bed, only turning her body and head to look at it: 【Why?】

【Just now Shi Jinlan was obviously minding that the reason you brought her home and the reason you brought others home is the same!】 Thirteen said, even excitedly revealing its claws.

Chi Qian possessed an elm wood head³ and remained puzzled: 【But my home is a hospital, hey. I will definitely bring many people here. Didn’t your broken story also have the start of the story because of this?】

【It’s not the same!】 Thirteen felt a bit of hate for iron not becoming steel⁴. 【What Shi Jinlan minds is that, in your eyes, she has no difference from others.】

【Ah? Ah! It’s actually like that!】

Chi Qian demonstrated the complete process in front of Thirteen: from confusion and puzzlement to understanding a little, followed by sudden enlightenment.

After that, the despair on her face increased bit by bit.

【Heavens, I actually obliterated our unique memory.】

Chi Qian’s voice didn’t have a hint of bounce, but rather a disappointment calm to the extreme.

She really didn’t say that on purpose, nor did she want Shi Jinlan to think that way.

【Find a chance to make up for it later.】 Thirteen didn’t know what was good to say, so it could only comfort Chi Qian. 【There will still be chances later.】

“Later” is the most boundless thing in the world; Chi Qian’s heart didn’t feel any better because of this comfort.

On the contrary, she felt so sad, her nose stuffy, and the voice in her mind was the same: 【If she hadn’t mentioned Yuan Ming, it would have been fine.】

【Yuan Ming came back, and I had zero preparation.】 Chi Qian had a headache, speaking distressfully to Thirteen. 【And I feel the original owner and Yuan Ming definitely had a relationship that wasn’t ordinary.】

【Host is very sharp on this point.】 Thirteen didn’t forget to encourage Chi Qian, who was deep in frustration. 【Although in the setting, the original owner and Yuan Ming were green plums and bamboo horses⁵, and the original owner always treated Yuan Ming as a very good friend, sharing everything with her in the past, Yuan Ming did not treat the original owner as an ordinary friend.】

Hearing Thirteen say this, Chi Qian’s eyelashes fell, her voice heavy: 【Thirteen, I have a bit of a sense of guilt.】

【Why?】 Thirteen tilted its head.

【The person Yuan Ming likes was replaced by me, but she doesn’t know, and is still liking “me”.】 When Chi Qian said “me,” she raised two hands and gestured two quotation marks.

Thirteen disapproved, bringing out the original text: 【But in the original text, the original owner fell in love at first sight with Shi Jinlan the moment she saw her at the seaside. There is no moral issue of her abandoning old love to chase new joy. You completely don’t need to be like this.】

【If you have a sense of guilt toward her, then what about Shi Jinlan? Host, do you still want to do your mission or not?】

Speaking to here, Thirteen’s voice became even more devoid of emotion, reminding Chi Qian: 【Please, Host, do not project too much emotion onto the mission world. You are a task-doer, only playing a role in this world.】

Chi Qian listened, and her brows not only didn’t relax but furrowed even deeper: 【Yes, “I” am not “me”.】

【I am not…】

When saying this sentence, Chi Qian clearly felt her heart being clutched.

She felt the sentence she spoke made her so sad. Her body, already invaded by the cold, felt light and floating, as if it didn’t belong to her, and now this feeling was even stronger.

She didn’t belong to this world.

She would leave sooner or later.

Leave… Shi Jinlan.

The emerald green of the mountain stream constantly flashed before Chi Qian’s eyes, and the breath between her nose seemed to still retain the warmth of leaning together with Shi Jinlan.

Thinking of this, Chi Qian suddenly felt her whole person becoming increasingly unwell; her head hurt terribly, and her heart pained so much it couldn’t be relieved.

But even so, Chi Qian still had to speak.

She had to make it clear with Thirteen, with this damn system: 【You say I am only playing this role, then why is there a need for me to play it? Where did the original owner of this body go?】

Thirteen, who could still give calm reminders upon hearing Chi Qian’s first few sentences, instantly became alert upon hearing her last sentence.

That tail woven of three colors swayed slowly and heavily in mid-air. Thirteen raised its eyes to look at its host in front of it, its expression complex: 【En… Host’s question is indeed a question.】

【So where did she go?】

Dang dang dang.

Just as Chi Qian was pressing for an answer, the window of her room was knocked on by someone.

Just like Thirteen’s timely rain.

Chi Qian looked toward the window with displeasure and confusion. From a distance, she saw Auntie Zhou smiling and waving at her, mouthing the motion for her to: “Come out.”

With no other way, Chi Qian could only temporarily put down her confusion regarding the debate with Thirteen in her mind, nod at Auntie Zhou’s signal, and get up from the bed.

The weather today was quite nice; the wind sunned by the sunlight was gentle.

Chi Qian walked out of the house and saw Shi Jinlan, who was angry at her, also in front of Auntie Zhou.

Thinking of the unpleasantness that happened just now, she wanted to ease things with Shi Jinlan, so she walked straight over and stood by Shi Jinlan’s side.

Under the sun, a shallow shadow fell gracefully into Shi Jinlan’s palm.

Shi Jinlan hadn’t yet raised her eyes when she heard that familiar voice speak to her with a hint of a smile: “Miss Shen, I’m here.”

Shi Jinlan’s hand, holding the book, squeezed casually, and she lifted her head to look at Chi Qian.

This person’s eyes were always curved when she smiled; her apricot eyes were more like a pair of cashew nuts, golden and glittering, making one feel they were delicious.

Thus, unconsciously, Shi Jinlan’s gaze, originally coldly flipping through the book, also softened, and she responded to Chi Qian’s greeting: “En.”

Auntie Zhou watched from the side, rubbing her clasped hands, her face beaming with joy: “Just now I was only concerned with coming to kill the chicken, I forgot there was still serious business to tell you two.”

“Serious business?” Chi Qian hadn’t expected Auntie Zhou to have other business with her and Shi Jinlan, and couldn’t help but be curious. “What serious business?”

“Isn’t it almost San Yue San⁶? Our island worships the Mountain Goddess every year on San Yue San. This time, for Lingji⁷ and Miss Ah Qing, I want to find you two to play them.” Auntie Zhou spoke to Chi Qian, her eyes also looking toward Shi Jinlan’s side.

Shi Jinlan had never come into contact with this kind of thing, but she had heard of such customs.

In places that believed in gods, there would be festival activities on special holidays every year. This Mountain Goddess was likely the god the villagers on the island believed in. As for the latter two…

“Who are Lingji and Miss Ah Qing that you speak of?” Shi Jinlan did not do things she wasn’t clear about.

“The two of them, ah, one is a jiao⁸ in the sea, which is what we often call a mermaid. The other is a girl who lived on the island a long, long time ago.” As Auntie Zhou spoke, the smile on her face became increasingly rich. “They were a pair of deeply loving biren⁹, guarding our island’s hot springs together.”

Listening, Shi Jinlan’s gaze involuntarily paused.

She actually didn’t know that in a place like this, they surprisingly still believed in the love story of two girls like this.

Mermaid and human.

As Auntie Zhou spoke, Chi Qingyan, who was drying medicinal herbs nearby, also heard.

He was very surprised by Auntie Zhou’s proposal and couldn’t help coming out to ask: “The two of them?”

“Sister-in-law Zhou, have you already asked?”

“Not yet.” Auntie Zhou shook her head, walked between Chi Qian and Shi Jinlan, and patted their shoulders. “Am I not here to ask these two children? If they agree, tomorrow is a good day, just right for us to go to the temple and cast the divination blocks.”

“Is that so.” Chi Qingyan lowered his head and thought slightly upon hearing this, then added: “I think Qianqian has no problem, it’s just that Miss Shen still has injuries on her body. Physically and energetically, she might not be quite able to handle such a thing.”

Speaking thus, he then handed over his proposal: “Yuan Ming is back. Last year it was her who played Lingji. The person chosen by the Goddess last year… letting her continue this year should also be acceptable, right?”

Hearing Chi Qingyan’s words, Auntie Zhou looked somewhat troubled: “Actually, parading on the flower float doesn’t consume much physical strength.”

In her heart, she still preferred Shi Jinlan more, but it wasn’t good to refute Chi Qingyan’s face. She reluctantly responded: “If it’s Yuan Ming, it is possible… I just don’t know if she has time—”

However, Auntie Zhou’s reluctance wasn’t finished before she was rescued.

Shi Jinlan lightly parted her thin lips. Her voice was faint, yet carried a few points of determination: “Auntie Zhou, I feel I can handle it. You don’t need to find anyone else.”

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The author has something to say:

Lanlan: I just like cosplay.

Pigeon Translator: Cosplay as a villain boss, and play with Qianqian~

Yuan Ming is not a tool person; she has her own fulfillment.

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