I’m the Moonlight White That the Former Movie Queen Secretly Loved 32p1

Chapter 32 p1

The nanny van was heated to a comfortable temperature, and the car’s air freshener was a blend of jasmine and magnolia.

Meng Jiang, from the corner of her eye, saw a hint of favor in Qi Sijia’s eyes, but she didn’t offer any cloying words of comfort. The situation was not appropriate.

She decisively gave the back seat to Qi Sijia and got into the passenger seat herself.

The lights in the car dimmed, and a melodious nocturne began to play, as if to aid sleep.

Qi Sijia was not in the mood to sleep. Her head rested against the cold glass wall, her eyelids trying to resist the encroaching fatigue.

But accompanied by the howling wind, in this narrow shell where even breathing seemed too quiet and peaceful, Qi Sijia’s eyelids grew heavy as her heart calmed down. The only sound in the car—the nocturne finished, and the next song began. It was a piece of opera that the car’s owner had been looping for five years.

A long-forgotten announcement came through the car’s excellent sound system: The next performance is Hua Dan.

Produced by Ningcheng University’s Drama Club and 385 Sound Factory, supervised by Professor Kang Minglan, written by Qi Sijia, and starring Meng Jiang, Hua Dan.

The famous host, who was at the peak of his career, was still a greenhorn with a buzz cut that year. Fortunately, his enunciation was clear, and the announcement had a rather hypnotic effect.

Before the prelude to the opera began, Qi Sijia could not resist the drowsiness. Before she lost consciousness, she vaguely heard a series of fake coughs from the front of the car.

“Why are you playing this? Turn it off.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Someone called her, “Miss Qi?”

“Qi Sijia?” They called several times, a very expensive female voice, with a hint of sweetness.

Subconsciously, this was a voice so familiar that she could fall asleep peacefully.

“Asleep?”

“What a pity. I thought I was going to be exposed. Forget it, I wasn’t planning to hide it anyway. It’s so demeaning.”

Qi Sijia had a long dream, fragmented and without any pattern. The timeline jumped back and forth, almost awakening her long-sealed memories.

In high school, Qi Jun and Wei Yunfang had discussed taking Qi Sijia back.

Qi Sijia disagreed, and so did Grandma Qi.

She said to the couple with a straight face, “You didn’t care about her when she was little. Now you want to take her back just like that?”

Qi Jun put down his chopsticks, his brows furrowed tightly. “Mom!”

When the old lady was young, she was a person who would not let go of an argument, especially in front of her own son.

Her words were direct, giving Qi Jun no face at all. “When Jiajia didn’t have enough to eat, where were you?”

This sentence left the couple who had come to ask for their child speechless.

That year, Qi Sijia hadn’t even learned how to change a lightbulb. The incandescent lamp in the living room was covered in dust, and the dim light settled on the couple’s brows.

Qi Jun’s decisions were never changed.

He was in the wrong, but he was still the old lady’s son.

He called out “Mom” twice in a gentle tone.

The old lady finally stopped saying harsh words. She could not be the executioner who cut off the relationship between her granddaughter and her son. She hummed in a compromising tone, waiting for Qi Jun to state his position.

But Qi Jun was born a refined egoist.

He loved his career more. He had spent his life weighing the pros and cons, seeking to maximize his interests.

That way of doing things in the business world was almost ingrained in his bones.

“Yunfang and I are Jiajia’s biological parents after all. We gave birth to her and raised her. You can’t subjectively label us as good-for-nothing. I promise you that what happened in America a few years ago will not happen again.”

There was disappointment in Grandma Qi’s eyes, but she was unwilling to argue in front of Qi Sijia, afraid that the child would be traumatized.

She rubbed her graying temples and didn’t waste any more words on Qi Jun. She said, “Alright, as long as you two promise to fire the nanny at home and take care of the child personally, what’s there for me to disagree with? Jiajia has needed her parents’ care for so many years.”

“But if you can’t take care of her personally, and just keep Jiajia at home like a pet, coming back to see her when you have time, and not caring about her for three or four months when you’re busy, then please leave.”

The couple could not make a promise.

The orange cat had been with Grandma for many years and was quite human-like. Seeing that Grandma Qi was not happy, it bit Qi Jun’s pant leg and pulled him out.

In this chaotic retreat, Wei Yunfang managed to maintain a smile. She asked Qi Sijia, “Jiajia, Mom wants to hear your opinion. You don’t want to go back with Mom and Dad either?”

When you’re young, you have innocent and romantic hopes for the world. You long to be loved, but you would never ask for it. You need to be discovered by others.

You always think that that is the willing and pure love of parents.

But time was too long, and those immature feelings were worn away by time.

Unlike now, where she could be indifferent to others’ love and hate, not worth mentioning.

If there is no love, then love yourself.

But at that time, she didn’t have the awareness of adulthood. The words she said were often the opposite, saying whatever would hurt the most.

That year, Qi Sijia stood by the dining table, a trash can at her feet. She lowered her eyes, stared at the discarded plastic cup in the trash can, and answered Wei Yunfang, “If there’s nothing next time, you don’t have to come specifically. I’m fine here.”

These words angered Qi Jun greatly.

When he slammed the door, he accidentally broke the orange cat’s tail.

Later, during the surgery, the orange cat suffered a great deal. Qi Sijia personally held it in her arms and fed it.

Grandma Qi would laugh at it. “You beast, you’re usually so lazy you’re afraid of mice, but this time you had to be a hero and protect your master. I think you want Jiajia to give you a special treat again, right?”

Grandma Qi chuckled as she wiped her reading glasses. The orange cat would meow and look at Qi Sijia. Perhaps it thought that after this experience, its little master would buy it more and more kinds of dried fish as a reward.

But until it was discharged from the hospital, Qi Sijia had never bought it any more expensive cat food.

Because Miss Qi of Ningcheng, from that day on, for the sake of a single word, “birth and upbringing,” had cruelly cut off that connection. She was broke.

Many people said that Qi Sijia was quiet and harmless, like a circle without any sharp edges. When someone kicked her, she would often not react, as if she were enclosed in her own world, rarely retorting.

But in fact, she was even more harsh than Meng Jiang in her bones.

This harshness included her treatment of herself.

The difference was that one was hidden in her bones, and the other was sharp and outward.

Qi Jun had tried to exchange birth and upbringing for a father-daughter relationship, but Qi Sijia had never touched a penny of Qi Jun and Wei Yunfang’s money.

Grandma never knew until she died that Qi Sijia’s tuition and miscellaneous expenses all those years were earned by her own hands, with the help of a group of foreign screenwriter friends.

But in fact, those screenwriter friends were introduced by Wei Yunfang. With just a little inquiry, or if the two of them had just checked the untouched balance on the bank card, they would have known the truth.

But the irony was that it wasn’t until the year Qi Sijia was released from the reform school that Qi Jun and Wei Yunfang discovered that the bank card they had given Qi Sijia for living expenses had not been touched.

Perhaps at that moment when they learned that she had not used their money, Wei Yunfang and Qi Jun had also been deeply hurt. Because later, the two of them carefully and coincidentally confessed to Qi Sijia.

And Qi Sijia was harsh, giving them her back as an answer.

She was a circle without any sharp edges, but her harshness was dried in her bones.

If someone threw her away, she would never give them a chance to start over or reform.

She was unwilling to go back to the starting point with anyone, including herself.

…

She met Meng Jiang during the most difficult years of Qi Sijia’s life.

One day, while running errands and delivering coffee, she fainted from low blood sugar and bumped into Meng Jiang’s slender back.

A head of seaweed-like hair, the scent of her shampoo not too strong or too light, rushed into Qi Sijia’s nose.

When she woke up, she met a pair of slightly narrowed phoenix eyes.

Her pupils were not round, but long and powerful. Her eyelids were folded, very deep, a bit like the shape of a peach blossom, but compared to the clear waves of her eyes, they were less frivolous and had a charm that a girl of that age should not have.

“Awake?” the girl with the exquisite hair said. “Do you remember before you fainted?”

Qi Sijia was stunned. Her memory returned. Her gaze moved down from the person’s face and finally settled on the military green notebook she was holding.

The notebook had fallen out of her schoolbag and had been opened. It was not closed, and on it were dense notes written in small, regular script with a fountain pen.

The paper was yellowed and looked old.

It was wrapped in a military green cover, and the corners were worn out.

While Qi Sijia was sizing up Meng Jiang, this person was also sizing up Qi Sijia. Her head was slightly tilted, her fair chin resting on the white skin, her eyes sideways. I don’t know if it was because she had been sizing up Qi Sijia for too long, but she suddenly curved her eyes and broke the silence. “Why are you looking at me without saying anything?”

Strictly speaking, that was the first time Qi Sijia had met Meng Jiang.

Snow-white skin, dark hair, phoenix eyes, red lips, and a not-so-obvious beauty mark at the corner of her eye.

When she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved downwards.

Qi Sijia stared for a long time, until the other person laughed again.

She seemed to like to laugh, easily capturing people’s attention with her beauty.

A nurse knocked on the door and came in to change Qi Sijia’s IV drip. She stood by and watched until the nurse closed the door, bent down, lifted the sheet, and covered the back of Qi Sijia’s hand, which had been exposed to the air.

As she leaned over, her breath sprayed on Qi Sijia’s ear. Qi Sijia heard the other person’s very soft whisper, “Could she be a little mute?”

In those years, how could she understand what was meant by “pulling at one’s heartstrings”?

She just felt that the sun was just right, and the breeze was rustling.

Qi Sijia narrowed her eyes. After getting used to the dizziness, she frowned and moved away from the stranger’s rare closeness.

That feeling was not unpleasant, but besides not being unpleasant, there was no liking.

She just felt that this person was too presumptuous. After all, there was no such thing as getting close for no reason in the world.

Withdrawing her gaze, Qi Sijia put on a distant expression and asked the beautiful girl in front of her about the situation.

Learning that the coffee she had been holding before she fainted had stained the other person’s dress, Qi Sijia only frowned slightly. She had no intention of avoiding responsibility. After calculating her savings, she asked frankly, “Can I pay in installments?”

Perhaps it was the first time she had met someone who was so indifferent to her charm and had drawn a clear line.

Meng Jiang was silent for a strange moment and coughed lightly.

“Are you hungry? The doctor said you have chronic low blood sugar.”

Meng Jiang casually handed a bottle of milk that she had prepared to Qi Sijia.

Half of her fair arm was as white as a lotus root.

The straw was at the corner of her lips. Qi Sijia couldn’t speak. After the initial surprise, she glanced at it and slowly typed a question mark.

She gestured for the other person to “get straight to the point.”

This time it was Meng Jiang’s turn to be surprised. She laughed softly and muttered, “The kid is quite wary.”

But her face still had that bright smile that wouldn’t give up until she achieved her goal.

“You’re from Ningcheng University, right?” Meng Jiang said. “What a coincidence, so am I.”

Qi Sijia was impatient with this kind of advance. “So…”

Putting on a cold mask that clearly did not accept any attempts to get close, anyone else would have backed down long ago. Only Meng Jiang unexpectedly bent her finger and flicked her on the forehead.

“Kid, has anyone ever told you that it’s very rude to interrupt someone when they’re trying to make friends?”

Qi Sijia was stunned. The other person seemed to be able to see through her. In a moment of confrontation, she laughed. “Alright, let’s both take a step back. If you think we’re not close, you can just add this bottle of milk to the bill you owe me.”

After she finished, Meng Jiang ignored her. She took off the pen cap with a serious face, unfolded a tissue, and wrote an IOU. “Hospitalization fee 28r, milk 5r, dress self-washing fee, should I also write this down? Let’s say 3r, that’s 36r in total. You can give me 40. Is it okay to pay in installments of ten yuan a month?”

Qi Sijia really couldn’t hold it in. She opened her mouth to say, “Don’t be ridiculous,” but as she opened her mouth, the straw in the milk cup went into her mouth.

A strong milky taste covered her slightly bitter tongue.

With no reason to refuse, a soft laugh came from the side. The bottle of milk was stuffed into Qi Sijia’s hand without any room for refusal.

Qi Sijia looked up and met Meng Jiang’s beautiful eyes directly. This time, the other person’s eyes were filled with genuine joy.

“What, you think it’s too much?” Meng Jiang asked.

Qi Sijia: “No…”

“Then you think it’s too little. In that case, add another ten yuan as interest for the installment payment,” Meng Jiang said bluntly.

Qi Sijia: “…”

In Qi Sijia’s life, there had rarely been a person like Meng Jiang who would blatantly display her intentions and not be dissuaded by her own indifference.

So much so that when Meng Jiang lowered her head, at that noon, her eyebrows curved, and she extended a fair hand to her.

As a sign of friendship.

“Let’s get to know each other. My name is Meng Jiang. What about you?”

Qi Sijia stared for a few seconds. She didn’t shake her hand, but when Meng Jiang’s hand was lowered, she saw the conspicuous stain on the scallion-green dress.

Qi Sijia closed her eyes and heard herself say, “I know you.”

Then she took off her school uniform jacket and gestured for Meng Jiang to come closer.

Her arms went around her loosely. She could feel Meng Jiang’s stiff waist. Qi Sijia just thought she was embarrassed.

She quickly tied her own jacket around Meng Jiang’s waist and casually tied a shapeless knot.

The coffee stain on the dress was completely covered.

Qi Sijia looked at it once and then leaned back against the headboard with satisfaction.

The situation was actually quite awkward, but Qi Sijia didn’t feel it.

So she completely ignored Meng Jiang’s narrowed eyes and her wanton gaze that swept over her face several times.

“Alright, so you’re a little fan.”

Is she that happy?

Qi Sijia thought about it with confusion and explained, “Last year’s opening ceremony, you played a Mozart piano piece as an outstanding student representative.”

Meng Jiang laughed. “Was it good?”

Unlike an ordinary person who would casually say it was good, Qi Sijia seriously recalled it, nodded, and said, “It was good, but it’s strange. Why did you play The Marriage of Figaro at the opening ceremony?”

It was quiet all around.

After waiting for a long time, Meng Jiang did not speak again. It wasn’t until Qi Sijia looked up that Meng Jiang finally spoke. The fleeting daze from just now had faded. She looked deeply at Qi Sijia. “You listened so carefully?”

“You like me?”

Qi Sijia asked back, puzzled, “What?”

“No?” Meng Jiang smiled and looked at Qi Sijia.

A few seconds later, Qi Sijia understood. She pushed up her glasses with the back of her hand and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t make friends.”

“Is that so?” Her gaze landed on the glasses on Qi Sijia’s nose and stayed there for a few seconds.

I don’t know what she was thinking, but she suddenly changed the subject. “What a coincidence, I like to make friends.”

Qi Sijia was speechless. Meng Jiang had a lot to talk about. As long as she wanted, she could talk about anything from piano music to architectural principles.

In one afternoon, by the time Qi Sijia came to her senses, Meng Jiang could already casually put her arm around her shoulder.

So that day, after Meng Jiang had consolidated this friendly relationship, she finally revealed a corner of her ambition.

“Junior, are you interested in joining a club?”

Her phoenix eyes curved downwards with a smile. Meng Jiang said to Qi Sijia, “Our club’s screenwriter is hired. The kind that pays.”

…

After knowing each other for a long time, Qi Sijia learned that the salary of the drama club had always been paid from Meng Jiang’s private account.

That year, Meng Jiang was preparing to start a company after graduation.

Ningcheng University had gathered top students from all over the country in the performing arts industry. She had set her sights far and, before these people had made a name for themselves, she had planned to form a team and gather them as her own talent reserve.

At that time, Meng Jiang was only in her early twenties, but she thought much further than a normal student. She was good at using people and would do whatever it took to achieve her goals. She wanted to win, and she wanted to do things beautifully.

Working with her was actually a disaster.

Despite this, Meng Jiang’s public reputation was still excellent. She was intelligent, beautiful, and good at socializing, a goddess-like existence at Ningcheng University. It seemed that everyone around her was clearly being exploited, but after leaving her team, there were absolutely no complaints.

She handled social situations perfectly. The only difference was that in front of Qi Sijia, Meng Jiang’s well-rounded social skills became a little lazy. She would blatantly display her ambitions and then drain all of Qi Sijia’s labor value.

So much so that after getting to know her deeply, she realized what kind of person she was.

Even if she was two-faced and had many flaws, she was still a woman who had stunned Qi Sijia’s entire youth. So much so that by the time Qi Sijia realized it, she wanted to throw that person out of her world like Qi Jun and Wei Yunfang’s bank cards, but she found that it was not that easy.

A year later, she could still feel the pain in her bones.

It wasn’t until Qi Sijia learned to have preferences that were the opposite of Meng Jiang’s.

She didn’t pay attention, didn’t ask, and banished her outside the wall.

That time at the class reunion, during the late-night chat, Qi Sijia was confident that Meng Jiang would no longer cause her any pain.

But tonight, after getting into a stranger’s car and falling into a deep sleep, the long-sealed memories of five years ago came rushing back like a balloon pierced by a needle.

In her dream, a pair of all-too-familiar eyes was clearly reflected.

…