I’m the Moonlight White That the Former Movie Queen Secretly Loved 5

Chapter 5:

As soon as Qi Sijia left, Meng Jiang followed.

Shu Ran failed to make a connection and didn’t even get a chance to show off the “luxury car” she had painstakingly borrowed for her grand confrontation.

Her mood was absolutely foul. She didn’t even know why she had let her ex leave so easily.

Shu Ran frowned, grabbed her bag, and was about to chase after her.

But after just a few steps, a waiter in a Tang-dynasty style suit stepped forward and blocked her path.

“Miss, the tea fee…”

Hearing this, Shu Ran laughed in anger. Just as Sister Chen had said, Qi Sijia had only one purpose in asking her here: to make her pay the bill.

Despicable.

Taking a deep breath, she cut off the waiter’s unfinished sentence.

“What kind of service is this?” Shu Ran said, arrogantly taking her anger out on him. “Why did you let her in if she couldn’t pay?”

It was only because Shu Ran had only become famous in the last month that her awareness hadn’t caught up. She had completely forgotten her status as a public figure and was throwing a tantrum in a public place, showing no professional etiquette.

Huaqing Garden was a very high-end establishment. It wasn’t in a bustling area, but it was always full of tea drinkers, all of whom were prominent figures.

This was because the owner of the teahouse was one of Ningcheng’s top real estate tycoons.

Every circle has its own rules. Out of respect for the owner, no customer ever made a scene here. The waiter was stunned by the scolding.

After a slow beat, he tried to explain, “That’s not it, miss, you…”

Shu Ran gave him no chance to speak. “I don’t know that woman. Get the tea fee from her.”

When people are angry, their voices naturally get louder.

Coupled with the fact that the teahouse was already quiet, Shu Ran’s words, laced with gritted teeth, carried.

Meng Jiang, who had already reached the staircase, suddenly turned around. A smile still hung on her lips, but there was no warmth in her eyes. She glanced coldly at Shu Ran. There was no mockery in her gaze, but that frosty look made Shu Ran feel as if she had been categorized into the lowest of the low.

By the time she realized it, Meng Jiang was no longer looking at her. She calmly called over a waiter.

“I know that lady,” Meng Jiang said with a gentle smile. “Put it on my tab.”

As she finished, Chen Cheng stepped out from behind Meng Jiang and gestured for the waiter to lead her to the front desk to pay.

But the waiter apologized profusely, his panicked gaze darting between Meng Jiang and Shu Ran.

Then he explained to Shu Ran, “Miss, you’ve misunderstood. The lady who was having tea with you prepaid when she arrived. It’s just that she prepaid too much. I stopped you to discuss a refund.”

Shu Ran’s face turned shades of green and white.

“If you’re not her friend, then…” The waiter hesitated, turning to Meng Jiang. It didn’t seem right to ask a famous actress to handle such a small matter, and he wasn’t sure if she would agree.

Unexpectedly, Meng Jiang was not at all arrogant. She rested her hand on the vintage-style eaves and, seeming to sense his predicament, said, “I can pass it on for you.”

Ahhh, she’s so gentle.

The waiter was overcome with excitement. Looking at the goddess’s flawless 360-degree beauty, he was so thrilled that he stammered, “Thank… thank you so much. I’d really appreciate it.”

Shu Ran: “…”

Qi Sijia didn’t know how she got back to the garage. She had just sat down in the car.

“So fast?” Ye Qianqian’s gaze swept over Qi Sijia’s shoulder as she asked, “Where’s your girlfriend?”

Without answering immediately, Qi Sijia pulled her crossbody bag to the front, took out a white pill bottle, poured a few pills into her palm, tossed them into her mouth, and chewed slowly.

These were her heart pills, which she only took when she had palpitations.

Ye Qianqian’s expression hardened. “Were there a lot of people?”

Logically, a place like Huaqing Garden shouldn’t be crowded, and each tea room had its own private space. In such an environment, no one would stare at a stranger, not to the point where Qi Sijia would need to take her medication.

Unless her girlfriend had caused a scene.

Ye Qianqian’s first thought was that Shu Ran was inconsiderate. Knowing that Qi Sijia’s social anxiety was severe, she still brought friends over. If her guess was right, this girlfriend was not a keeper.

Qi Sijia’s eyelids drooped slightly. She quickly denied Ye Qianqian’s suspicion.

After a moment, she looked up, met Ye Qianqian’s questioning gaze, and carefully chose her words. “I left early. She’s still back there.”

The air was silent for a second.

Confirming that Qi Sijia was not joking.

“No way.” Ye Qianqian was clearly stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. “You left your girlfriend in the teahouse and left by yourself?”

Qi Sijia hummed in agreement. “There were a lot of people. You know I can’t stay.”

Omitting the part where Meng Jiang was the heartless first love who had dumped her five years ago, Qi Sijia briefly described the situation to Ye Qianqian.

“Sister Jiang is actually in Ningcheng.” Ye Qianqian’s expression was shocked. She subconsciously looked out the car window. Seeing no one, she turned back and said, “I’ll introduce you to her another day. She’s the top figure in Beicheng’s circle right now.”

“Her status is on par with yours in Ningcheng. The difference is that you’re outside the circle, and she’s in it.”

Qi Sijia’s face was hidden in the shadows, her thoughts unknown. She stared out the window at the dark night and said softly, “I don’t want to meet her.”

Ye Qianqian didn’t mind. She understood the extent of Qi Sijia’s social anxiety. She just thought she was still refusing to socialize.

“Alright, alright, whatever makes you happy,” Ye Qianqian said. “But can you even have a relationship like this?”

Ye Qianqian probed, looking at Qi Sijia. “No matter how understanding a person is, they can’t accept a partner who hides at home every day, doesn’t go out, doesn’t go on dates, doesn’t watch movies…”

“Jiajia, it may be blunt, but it’s true. Have you ever thought that your partner might mind, or have you ever thought about opening up and leaving the house for her?”

Ye Qianqian had her own selfish motives. It was obvious Qi Sijia didn’t know if she liked her current partner.

Although every word hit Qi Sijia where it hurt, Ye Qianqian hoped she would turn back in time and see the scenery around her. “If you haven’t thought about any of this, are you sure you love her?”

Qi Sijia was stunned. She thought about it but had no answer.

She was becoming more and more reluctant to speak. Every morning, she saw a dark sky.

After realizing she couldn’t live a normal life no matter what, she had been trying to develop a normal relationship, but the light never seemed to shine on her.

She thought Shu Ran could be the one, but it didn’t seem to be working.

A house couldn’t solve her partner’s insecurity. As Ye Qianqian said, she had to try to change her social anxiety for her partner’s sake to solve the root problem.

Qi Sijia was silent for a moment, then turned to Ye Qianqian. “I’ll try.”

“Is Shu Ran breaking up with me because she’s angry that I left early today?”

Ye Qianqian met Qi Sijia’s slightly guilty gaze and felt a pang in her heart.

She pounded the steering wheel and said numbly, “I don’t know.”

Qi Sijia smiled. “I don’t get it either.”

The rain outside was heavy. Qi Sijia watched thoughtfully as the windshield wipers cleared the rain from the glass.

It seemed she had been dumped again. After that incident five years ago, the light never seemed to favor her.

Her mind was a mess. Perhaps seeing Meng Jiang had unlocked some memories.

It was a rainy day like this one.

Her dress was splattered with countless mud spots. A woman as exquisite as Meng Jiang, down to every strand of her hair, had never been so disheveled. She didn’t even care that her shoes were stepping in the mud. She ran several steps, grabbed Qi Sijia’s hand, and pulled her close, asking face to face, “Why didn’t you come? Qi Sijia, what do you take me for?”

Qi Sijia was so thin that her chin was just bone. She couldn’t even manage a smile. “I take you as my dream.”

They stared at each other for a long time, neither willing to back down.

That day, the luxury car behind Meng Jiang flashed its lights several times. It only took Meng Jiang a few seconds to go from clenching her fists to letting go, but it felt like a lifetime.

Under the streetlight, Meng Jiang gave a bitter smile and stumbled back. The dim yellow light broke her perfectly straight back.

Qi Sijia saw her chapped lips part as she said, “Alright, dreams are always out of reach.”

“Let’s break up, kid.”

Qi Sijia had always thought that only when Meng Jiang called her “kid” did she feel a deep-seated pleasure.

But after that day, “kid” was no longer a term of endearment in her world.

The rest of the way was silent.

When she got back, Qi Sijia immediately made a video call to Shu Ran to apologize.

“Too late. Remember Little Chili Pepper 8 from the game? I slept with her two weeks ago,” Shu Ran said.

Qi Sijia thought she had misheard.

Her fingers, which had been typing, paused. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, subconsciously revealing the pale, slightly flushed tip of her ear.

There was a small window in the bottom right corner of the computer screen.

Half of Shu Ran’s face appeared on the screen. She was probably too close to the camera; it was almost a close-up, revealing the tiny pores on her face.

This allowed Qi Sijia to see every single expression on Shu Ran’s face.

Qi Sijia asked, “What do you mean?”

“Still pretending with me?” Shu Ran sneered. “We just broke up.”

“You didn’t hear me, did you? Qi Sijia, at this point, what reason do you have to keep pestering me?”

At this point, Shu Ran had lost all face. Her expression was ferocious, and she spoke without restraint. “What kind of girlfriend doesn’t even let you hold her hand?”

“We’ve known each other for a month, and we’ve only met twice.”

“When I texted you that I wanted to top you, it wasn’t that I really wanted to top you. I wanted you to ravage me. And what were you doing?”

Shu Ran’s mood was terrible. The last question was almost gritted out, her tone hysterical. “Are we even dating?”

Qi Sijia narrowed her eyes, got up, took a popsicle from the fridge, and took a bite. The coldness was refreshing. “That’s no excuse for you to cheat.”

“Ha?” Shu Ran found it absurd. “Compared to your lack of attention, what’s my little thing?”

“I don’t even know what you do or if you can afford anything. At Huaqing Garden just now…”

Shu Ran asked, “Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?”

Having been dumped so many times for the same reason, Qi Sijia was used to it. Usually, she would apologize to the other person, admitting that her social anxiety had made them feel insecure.

But cheating? What was there to salvage? Qi Sijia thought emotionlessly, Shu Ran would not be getting an apology from her.

As for pestering her, there was no need to worry. She often didn’t know how to refuse people and would just stay silent.

But cheating in a relationship was a death sentence for her.

Shu Ran suddenly sensed that the atmosphere was off.

Qi Sijia, who was usually quiet and reserved on screen, suddenly looked up. Her eyes were monolids, long and narrow. Her lowered eyelids met Shu Ran’s angry gaze on the screen, giving off an inexplicable coldness and distance.

Perhaps it was the first time she had seen Qi Sijia so cold and detached. Shu Ran subconsciously shut up.

After she quieted down, Qi Sijia asked faintly, “Mmm, anything else?”

The question was infuriating.

On the screen, the person who had just been dumped showed no emotion, not even anger. She spoke calmly, as if urging Shu Ran to hang up.

Shu Ran was furious. Her eyes turned red, and she cursed in a fit of rage and shame, “I’ve finally confirmed it. You’re not asexual, you’re just not into women.”

“A straight girl pretending to be a lesbian. I hope you get sealed up with cement.”

“Don’t contact me again. I never want to see you again in my life.”

Qi Sijia: “…”

Before she could agree, Shu Ran hung up.

Qi Sijia savored the last bit of sweetness from the wooden popsicle stick. Biting on the stick, she spread her well-maintained fingers and examined them under the lamp.

A moment later, she pulled open a drawer. The drawer under her computer desk was full of hand masks. Qi Sijia threw them all into the trash without batting an eye.

She had actually tried. Her last girlfriend had liked her hands, and Shu Ran also liked to stare at them.

“11cm long hands, Qi Sijia, you’re the ultimate prize in the lesbian circle. You have to take good care of them.”

For that, Qi Sijia had even diligently done hand treatments every day. But she had been cheated on and even had her sexual orientation questioned.

Qi Sijia sat back in her swivel chair, her lips pressed together, silent for a long time.

It was quiet. A green plant on the desk drooped down, and a very old orange cat was curled up underneath, motionless.

As the cat grew older in recent years, the house became quieter. In the empty room, she couldn’t remember when she had started talking to herself.

Everyone is afraid of loneliness. Qi Sijia was afraid that after her cat died, she would truly be trapped in that endless loneliness.

She had to change.

As Ye Qianqian said, “No matter how understanding a person is, they can’t accept a partner who hides at home every day, doesn’t go out, doesn’t go on dates, doesn’t watch movies…”

Qi Sijia lowered her eyelids, walked over to the plant, bent down, and picked up the orange cat. Her gaze met its beautiful, glassy eyes. After a long time, she said softly, “If this goes on, Mommy will be just like you, unable to have a normal social life.”

“So, will I find one if I go out?”

The answer was a long, drawn-out “meow.” The orange cat patted the back of Qi Sijia’s hand with its soft paw, as if in encouragement.

Under the lamp, a person and a cat. The cat was old, its fur not as thick. Its body was clumsy, and it didn’t move much; its bones were almost degenerating. Qi Sijia watched it, stroking its head for a while before it moved clumsily a couple of times.

Qi Sijia found it a little amusing and curled her lips. Her lips were flat, and their natural color was grapefruit.

Her smile wasn’t overly bright, but it was a faint, perfectly beautiful smile.

“Alright, it’s time to go out and take a walk.”