Chapter 2: Am I Your White Moonlight? (2)

Lin Yiren froze for a few seconds. The moment she came back to her senses, terrified that Jiang Ning might change her mind, she nodded quickly. Then, tentatively, she tugged at Jiang Ning’s sleeve, and when the latter didn’t object, she took her hand and led her toward her own car. The entire way, she kept a careful eye on Jiang Ning, terrified that the moment she let go, the woman would do something reckless and jump.

Jiang Ning watched Lin Yiren with an amused, half-smiling look, then flipped her wrist and laced their fingers together properly. Pretending not to notice her burning red ears, she let out a soft laugh. “You’d better hold on tight, then.”

Lin Yiren froze for a beat, and then her heartbeat began pounding faster and faster. She felt like she was dying, as if the whole world had faded into nothingness, leaving only the person beside her and the soft warmth in her hand.

Even after they got in the car, Lin Yiren still felt dazed, unable to quite believe it. Sitting in the back, she kept staring out the window without turning her head, while Jiang Ning never once let go of her hand. All Lin Yiren could manage was to blush, at a complete loss for words.

“What, already regretting taking me into the car?” Jiang Ning knew perfectly well that Lin Yiren was just embarrassed, but she teased her on purpose.

“No.” Lin Yiren shook her head vigorously at that, and to make it more convincing, she looked up at Jiang Ning with wide, earnest eyes.

Jiang Ning, for her part, wasn’t the least bit reserved. She gave Lin Yiren’s palm a squeeze, deliberately teasing her until her face flushed scarlet before she spoke. “Then why haven’t you said a word this whole time?”

Lin Yiren couldn’t exactly admit that she was afraid if she opened her mouth, Jiang Ning would suddenly realize they still hadn’t let go of each other’s hands. She changed the subject instead. “Sister, my name is Lin Yiren. What’s yours?”

“A name is just a code. You might as well keep calling me Sister.” As if blind to the disappointment on Lin Yiren’s face, Jiang Ning looked down at their clasped hands, her smile seeming somehow unreal.

At least in Lin Yiren’s eyes, it looked utterly fake.

But she also knew Jiang Ning wasn’t someone easy to get along with. Following her home now was most likely just a passing whim, and Lin Yiren even suspected that if Jiang Ning got tired of it, she could simply walk out the door the moment they arrived.

Pingjiang Bridge wasn’t far from the Lin family home. When they reached the gate, Lin Yiren found that everyone except her older brother was still awake, waiting for her in the living room. Her heart warmed. After a quick word of thanks to the driver, she led Jiang Ning inside.

“Oh, my precious girl, you’re finally home!” Mother Lin heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of her, grabbing Lin Yiren’s hand and calling out to her affectionately.

“I told your mother you’d be back tonight, but she just insisted on waiting up.” Father Lin put on a look of grumbling disdain, though his face remained expressionless.

“And this is…?” Mother Lin eyed the girl her daughter had brought home right after returning to the country, puzzled.

“Hello, Madam. My name is Jiang Ning. Miss Lin and I struck up a conversation on the road and got along well. As it happens, I ran into some trouble just now, and fortunately Miss Lin stepped in to help. Since it was already so late, she kindly brought me home. I hope I’m not imposing.” Jiang Ning was quite respectful toward elders, speaking in a calm, unhurried manner that made a decent first impression.

It really was very late, so Mother Lin didn’t press further. After a few brief words, she sent the two of them upstairs to wash up.

Father Lin’s expression stayed grave the whole time, and his eyes followed Jiang Ning’s back with a thoughtful, searching look.

Mother Lin rarely followed business news, so she didn’t recognize Jiang Ning. But Father Lin had crossed paths with Jiang Tianci a few times in the past, and after the man’s accident, he had looked into the matter. The moment he saw Jiang Ning, she had seemed familiar, and hearing her introduce herself now, the pieces clicked into place. Still, something about her was different from the rumors.

The Original Host had taken over a business she knew nothing about while her family suffered a devastating blow. Her temperament had always leaned toward the cold, but afterward she became so expressionless she bordered on gloomy, and at times she flew into rages over the smallest things. That behavior cost her plenty of opportunities, and plenty of people in high society had written her off.

Though Jiang Ning had only said a few words just now, her bearing was noticeably different from the rumors. Father Lin glanced at the clock and said nothing more, but a thread of caution took root in his mind.

Lin Yiren led Jiang Ning upstairs. Since Mother Lin often invited guests over to discuss theater, the guest rooms were always kept ready, with fresh sheets and new toothbrushes. Lin Yiren picked a room close to her own and showed Jiang Ning in.

Since Jiang Ning had no change of clothes, Lin Yiren fetched some of her own unworn clothes and handed them over. The two of them barely spoke. Jiang Ning simply sat on the bed, watching Lin Yiren bustle back and forth, lost in some unknown thought.

The truth was, the fact that Jiang Ning had followed Lin Yiren home meant she had settled on her task approach: getting close to the Female Lead directly. Lin Yiren might have known the Original Host, and their bond might have run deep, which could be exploited, but there was a downside too: the better she knew the Original Host, the easier it would be to break character. Unless a personality was truly unbearable, Jiang Ning generally avoided going out of character for the sake of the money. Minor adjustments to make a personality more plausible, though, were acceptable.

Mentally sorting through the Original Host’s life history, Jiang Ning discovered, to her surprise, that the woman even had a boyfriend. They had started dating two years ago, and not long after the Original Host returned to the country, he had followed her back and signed with Jiangtian Entertainment, where he was now one of the company’s pillar stars. Lin Xiao’s unwavering loyalty had deeply touched the Original Host, and she had funneled plenty of resources his way.

Lin Xiao was hardly bad-looking, with a gentle temperament and a bright smile. Add in his top-student image and Jiangtian Entertainment’s wholehearted backing, and he had quickly amassed a crowd of Visual Fans. On top of that, his strong self-discipline meant he never ran wild, so he had relatively few scandals.

Back then, Lin Xiao had been studying abroad, and his return had coincided with his final thesis defense. He had also been planning to pursue further studies at another prestigious university, which had even triggered a near-breakup with the Original Host. According to Lin Xiao, his sudden return was because he’d learned she was in trouble and chose to come back and stand by her.

But that was exactly where the problem lay. When Jiang Ning returned to the country, she hadn’t told a soul what she was doing. Her classmates abroad all assumed she’d come home for a competition and then gone into seclusion, rarely staying in touch. So how would Lin Xiao, a man with no connections who kept his nose buried in his books, have known about the Jiang Family’s catastrophic downfall, or that Jiang Ning was struggling to hold everything together alone?

Besides, the two of them had already fought to the point of breaking up. His attitude had been utterly hardline, as if he couldn’t wait for her to disappear to the ends of the earth. Yet the moment she ran into trouble, he came rushing back with all this enthusiasm. Jiang Ning didn’t believe a word of “true love.” The Original Host had simply been drowning at the time, mistaking a drifting piece of duckweed for a lifeline.

There was one more thing. No matter how outstanding Lin Xiao was, given how openly the Chen Family coveted Jiangtian Entertainment, they were bound to fabricate scandals and drag the man bringing the company both traffic and working capital right off the screen.

The Original Host had assumed it was her own protection that kept him safe, but Jiang Ning doubted that even in those circumstances, Jiangtian Entertainment’s PR team could have been that effective. Someone had to be shielding Lin Xiao, and the only reason to shield him would be a desire for the Jiang Corporation’s assets.

So had this boyfriend approached the Original Host with ulterior motives from the very start, or had he been bought off only after the Jiang Family’s collapse, lying in wait for the chance to deliver a fatal blow to Jiangtian Entertainment?

However many mysteries clung to Lin Xiao, the very idea of a boyfriend-relationship made Jiang Ning’s skin crawl. She sent a breakup text from her phone, then blocked the number outright.

Taking the clothes Lin Yiren had given her into the bathroom, she came out to find a fresh change of clothes for the next day already laid out on the bed. Jiang Ning eyed the underwear hidden at the very bottom with a half-smile, and at the sight of the size, her eyebrows lifted.

Who would have guessed. The Female Lead had a truly fine figure.

Lin Yiren had no idea what sort of nonsense Jiang Ning was thinking. Everything that had happened tonight still had her reeling. Thank goodness she had glanced out the window back then, and been given the chance to pull that light back from the darkness.

When she first spotted Jiang Ning on the bridge, Lin Yiren had assumed the woman was just out to clear her head, so she’d merely told the driver to stand by. It was only when Jiang Ning made that dangerous move that she’d decided to step in and stop her. And the words she’d spoken tonight were simply the feelings she’d carried ever since Jiang Ning saved her back then.

Nothing was more precious than being alive. Death was forever, an eternity without any chance to see a better world, or better people.

By the time Lin Yiren surfaced from her memories, dawn had already broken. She opened the window, and moist air came sweeping in on the breeze. It seemed to have rained overnight. Down below, the Butler was sweeping up fallen leaves, and he looked up to greet her with a smile.

After washing up, Lin Yiren went to the guest room to check on Jiang Ning, and found her sitting on the edge of the bed as if she’d been waiting. A glance at the clock showed it was only seven. She’d assumed that after such a late night, Jiang Ning would still be resting.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Younger Sister Lin.”

Lin Yiren wasn’t tall, just 1.6 meters, with a slender figure that made her look rather petite next to the 1.7-something Jiang Ning. But Jiang Ning’s way of addressing her was pure teasing, a jab at how easily Lin Yiren cried.

After all, Jiang Ning had once again heard the notification chime of Points being deducted last night, which meant that after Lin Yiren returned to her room, she’d failed to keep her emotions in check and ended up with her eyes brimming with tears all over again. The realization left Jiang Ning feeling rather helpless, and she made a few small adjustments to her plan.