Chapter 3: Am I Your White Moonlight? (3)

Hearing how Jiang Ning addressed her, Lin Yiren’s face flushed with embarrassment, but since she couldn’t think of a way to object, she simply let the address stand and led her downstairs for breakfast.

Lin Yiren had studied theatrical performance abroad and was in her final year of college, about to graduate. She had already published her thesis and completed her credits, so she had gone to audition for the lead role in a play written and directed by Sibrey. Because the production was to be performed before the Imperial Family, all the cast members were restricted from contacting the outside world until it ended.

As soon as Lin Yiren learned that something had happened to the Jiang Family, she rushed back immediately. She hadn’t really caught up with her parents in a long while either. After a simple breakfast, the family chatted in the living room, while Jiang Ning tactfully went outside for a stroll.

It was the height of summer. Even after the rain, the air still felt a little stifling and heavy, and the fragrance of osmanthus drifted on the breeze. Jiang Ning remembered what Lin Yiren had said last night, that the osmanthus trees at home made it hard for her to leave. These four-season osmanthus trees bloomed nearly year-round, so there was probably never a time she’d be willing to go.

Bending down, Jiang Ning picked up a petal and rubbed it between her fingertips, bringing it to her nose. The scent carried the damp freshness of morning, lighter than ordinary osmanthus but still lovely. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to find Lin Yiren and smiled, pressing her lips together.

Jiang Ning hadn’t worn any lipstick today, so her lips were pale. Her faint smile suited the osmanthus well, giving her a completely different look from the night before.

Only then did Lin Yiren realize with a jolt that it had been many years since she’d last seen Jiang Ning. After Jiang Ning went abroad, she had asked around for news of her, but by then Jiang Ning already had a boyfriend, so she hadn’t made any special effort to keep track, only paying attention now and then when she missed her.

The Jiang Ning she’d seen last night, and the one she saw today, were both a little different from the girl she remembered as a child. Perhaps the net of time had woven itself between them, and some things had quietly changed.

“Why did you stop talking?” Jiang Ning assumed she’d need to stay outside a while longer.

“Mom and Dad went out for a walk to settle their food.” The truth was that whenever Lin Yiren couldn’t see Jiang Ning, an uneasiness crept into her heart. She worried she would leave, and worried something would happen to her.

To Lin Yiren now, Jiang Ning was like a porcelain doll that needed to be carefully protected.

“Do you need to settle your food too?” Jiang Ning asked Lin Yiren to hold out her hand, then placed a sprig of flowers into her palm, speaking softly.

Lin Yiren felt a tickle in her palm. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiang Ning’s fingers had deliberately brushed against it just now. Her eyes flickered as she looked at Jiang Ning, and she nodded, leading her in a slow circle around the little courtyard.

Their conversation mostly revolved around idle small talk. Lin Yiren wanted to learn more about what Jiang Ning had been through, but every attempt was deflected, leaving her a little disheartened. Still, she quickly recovered her spirits.

“Didn’t you say there’s a dog at home that scratches at your door every day?” The butler had indeed prepared milk for Lin Yiren, and the osmanthus in the courtyard was lovely, but the dog was nowhere in sight.

“Black Knight got injured a few days ago. He’s at the vet’s right now. He probably won’t be back for a few more days.” Feeling tired from walking, Lin Yiren sat down on a nearby swing and looked up at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning had noticed that Lin Yiren loved wearing white dresses. Today’s dress was a bit shorter than yesterday’s, covering her knees and revealing her gracefully slender calves. Her long black hair hung loose to her waist, and now, as she sat on the swing gently rocking herself, she looked like a princess with no quarrel with the world.

Picking up the thread of the conversation, Jiang Ning asked why she had named the puppy Black Knight. Lin Yiren put her feet on the ground to stop the swing, looked at Jiang Ning, and answered with a smile: “Because someone once told me I was a princess, and that a knight would come to protect me. But I waited and waited, and no one ever came, so I raised my own Black Knight.”

Jiang Ning found herself agreeing with this “someone” Lin Yiren spoke of, because she felt the same way. She chose a stone bench nearby and sat down, and in looking down, missed the flash of dejection on Lin Yiren’s face.

As time wore on, the sun grew harsh and merciless, so the two of them went back inside. Jiang Ning didn’t mention anything about leaving, and Lin Yiren pretended not to notice. After lunch, she returned to her room to discuss some matters with her mentor abroad. Her trip home had been so rushed that a great deal remained unhandled.

Back in her own room, Jiang Ning received a friend request. It was Lin Xiao, with a verification message attached. Apparently he had discovered that Jiang Ning had deleted him, and was starting to panic.

Jiang Ning ignored it and had the System transmit the plot to her.

“How does this world unfold?” she asked, lying on the bed.

【One moment, uploading now.】The System pulled up the world’s information and streamed it into Jiang Ning’s mind in the form of a novel.

The world’s core story was called The Fair One Wastes Away Alone. From the title alone, one could tell the Female Lead was Lin Yiren, a girl born into privilege. The Lin Family stood as one of three great powers in Jiangcheng, alongside the Xiao Family and the Chen Family. Since an older brother was there to inherit the family business and run the company, no one placed heavy expectations on Lin Yiren’s choice of career.

For reasons unknown, after graduating high school she chose not to attend a top domestic university and instead went abroad to study theatrical performance. Her distinctive acting style delighted her mentor, and this year she was set to represent Siliton Academy at a performance competition in Country M. With Sibrey’s support behind her, her path had been smooth sailing all the way. Then, upon learning of Jiang Ning’s circumstances, she gave up that rare opportunity and came home.

According to the world’s original trajectory, Jiang Ning had already taken her own life. Investigating the matter afterward, Lin Yiren discovered that the Male Lead, Xiao Yisheng, had been crushing Jiang Ning’s company, driving her to such despair that she jumped into the river. The hatred Lin Yiren felt for her loss transferred onto Xiao Yisheng, and she opposed him at every turn. At first, she signed with Jiang Ning’s former entertainment company, intending to use her connections to win back Jiangtian Entertainment. To her surprise, the Male Lead took an interest in her and began courting her.

Lin Yiren rejected him at first, but Xiao Yisheng’s unguarded sincerity gave her a new plan. She agreed to date him, and over the course of their relationship, fed a great deal of classified information to the Chen Family, the Xiao Family’s sworn rivals. She kept the entire scheme hidden from her own family, not wanting her revenge to drag them into it.

What no one expected was that the truth would eventually come out: the car accident that killed Jiang Ning’s parents had been the Chen Family’s doing. By comparison, Xiao Yisheng, who had merely acquired Jiang Ning’s company, was not the true culprit after all. Businessmen put profit above everything; seeing a piece of meat on the table, who would ever let it go? The Xiao Family wolf had simply been the one to win the hunt. Like it or not, Lin Yiren’s year of deception and ruthless suppression had gone far beyond the pale.

And Xiao Yisheng’s personal charisma worked on her, too. Gradually, without meaning to, Lin Yiren fell for him. She planned to end things with the Chen Family and confess everything to Xiao Yisheng, but he learned the truth through another channel. The two fought bitterly and broke up. Having lost her White Moonlight upon returning home, and having witnessed so much darkness in the course of her revenge, Lin Yiren only just came to understand her own heart at the moment she lost her love. It would take more than tears to bear it.

What made things worse was that the Chen Family harbored grand ambitions and wanted to use the situation to attack the Lin Family. Xiao Yisheng, seeking revenge against Lin Yiren, chose to side with them, and the latter half of the plot treated Lin Yiren even more brutally. All in all, The Fair One Wastes Away Alone was a story whose first half played out in the entertainment world and whose second half played out in the business world, filed neatly under the genre of tragic urban romance.

If it were merely a novel to read, Jiang Ning wouldn’t have been the least bit interested. But having actually met Lin Yiren now, she found it hard to imagine that a girl who blushed at the mere touch of a hand could ever become a queen of vengeance. It was hard to say whether that was a testament to her acting skills, or to how deeply she had loved the Original Host.

As things stood, the trajectory still favored Jiang Ning. As long as she cut off the first tragedy and saved her own life, none of the catastrophes that followed would ever come to pass.

【Host, don’t underestimate this world. The Original Host was supposed to die. By inheriting her body, you may well find yourself influenced by the World Consciousness.】In other words, even if Jiang Ning never tried to kill herself, someone else would inevitably come for her life.

Jiang Ning fell silent for a moment. What is wrong with this World Consciousness? Does it just refuse to rest until it’s made the Female Lead cry?

“If she cries, I lose Points?” She eyed her one thousand Points. Going by last night’s deduction rate, ten more incidents and she’d be packing her bags and booted out of the Spacetime Bureau.

The System fell silent, lit a virtual cigarette, and brooded a little gloomily. It was confirmed: back when it had been explaining the rules, Jiang Ning must have blocked it out entirely!

Before the System could finish striking that invisible cool-guy pose, Jiang Ning’s voice came through, cold and flat: Don’t smoke in front of me.

System: ???

System: You smoked one right in front of me last night!

Jiang Ning gave a cold laugh. “Are you saying I blew the smoke into your brain?”

The System froze for a beat, silently mourning its lost authority, tossed the e-cigarette away, and opened its work manual.

【There are judgment criteria for the Female Lead’s crying. Something like last night’s five-star grief caps out at one hundred Points. Beyond that, deductions are assessed according to her emotional state. If her mood is controllable, there’s a chance the deduction can be reduced. For example, if she cries from physical pain, so long as you promptly distract her or make her smile, only one-fifth of the Points will be deducted.】

One hundred Points looked like a small number, but at the Spacetime Bureau’s exchange rate, it was equivalent to a hundred thousand yuan.

Reading through the System’s rules, Jiang Ning had to admit they weren’t entirely without compassion. After all, no normal human being could go through life without crying. Even the coldest, most heartless person would encounter a grief that pierced the heart, one beyond all control.

“I have a question about the rules you just explained. What if the Female Lead cries from happiness?”

【The System has no data on that scenario. The Female Lead has had a miserable life, so whenever she cries, it’s bound to be from pain, sorrow, anger, or some other negative emotion.】

At last, Jiang Ning understood why this position had been vacant for so long. Every previous agent had probably been cried to death.