After The Cannon Fodder Died, She Became The Female Lead’s White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 17

Upon returning to Lan City, Che Gulai first dealt with company matters. This entertainment company was one she had invested in and co-founded with others after university graduation. It had recently gone public, and she was swamped with things to do, so much so that she didn’t even have time to get a physical exam to see if she had any lingering health issues.

“You’re pushing yourself this hard the minute you’re back.” A man’s voice sounded.

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since I returned.” Che Gulai said, looking at the documents in her hand without lifting her head.

“What else? Dealing with that matter, of course.” The speaker was a young man with single eyelids and medium-length hair, looking handsome. He was sprawled on the sofa with poor posture, exuding a devil-may-care casualness.

The man, named Bai Yu, was the partner who had co-founded the company with Che Gulai. He was shrewd, full of dirty tricks, and got along well with Che Gulai.

“How did it go?” Che Gulai asked flatly.

“What do you think?” Bai Yu smiled at her, his narrow eyes filled with calculation. “Zhou Zi’s company has long been full of holes and deficits. Although he concealed it cleverly, it won’t withstand scrutiny. It will collapse soon.”

Che Gulai put down the document, a dark light flashing in her phoenix eyes. She rested her chin on her hand. “What about that luxury hotel project?”

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes. “He took it. That project is a money pit, requiring huge amounts of capital. It looks like a juicy piece of meat, but unfortunately, it’s rotten inside.”

This project was specifically designed by Che Gulai and Bai Yu to trap Zhou Zi. Zhou Zi had inherited his parents’ company after graduation, but the company had long been on a downward slide. Zhou Zi had desperately tried to salvage it over the years, using every scheme, both overt and covert, but it was still a spent force.

Che Gulai had done a rigorous analysis of the project, uncovering complex legal disputes behind it. The land associated with the project was not state-owned but privately held from a long time ago. Once Zhou Zi took it on and poured a large amount of capital into it, he would realize it was all for nothing, and his cash flow would completely seize up. At that point, his company would likely reach its end.

Che Gulai sneered. “After he’s dealt with, the last one will be Chen Youfan.”

She intended to slowly pay back both men for all the malicious deeds they had done to her.

Bai Yu felt a chill down his spine when he saw her smile. When he first met Che Gulai, he only thought she was beautiful, aloof, and quiet.

Only later did he realize that this beautiful woman harbored the heart of a venomous snake, vengeful, ruthless, and dangerous.

“Ah, let’s not talk about that.” Bai Yu casually picked up a grape and tossed it into his mouth. “I heard you were picked up by Shen Sijin after your car accident. What happened?”

“Nothing much,” Che Gulai clearly didn’t want to mention her and replied perfunctorily.

Bai Yu’s curiosity was piqued. “Tell me about it. How did she just happen to pick you up? She was following you.”

He stated the last sentence as a fact.

He also knew about Shen Sijin. She was like a persistent ghost, following Che Gulai daily, just waiting for a chance to bite Che Gulai hard.

Che Gulai didn’t respond.

Bai Yu asked casually, “How are you planning to deal with her?”

She lowered her long, thick lashes, her eyes dark. The corner of her mouth lifted into a very faint curve. No one could tell what she was thinking.

Seeing her like this, Bai Yu knew she was probably thinking of some cruel way to torment Shen Sijin.

He couldn’t help but pity that woman.

A few days after Che Gulai left, Shen Sijin also went to Lan City. Upon arriving, she first visited her grandmother.

The old woman lay alone in bed, with no one else around, like a lonely, withered flower.

A sudden pang of sadness hit Shen Sijin’s heart. She walked up to her and called out, “Grandmother.”

Seeing her, the grandmother immediately smiled. “Oh, Xiao Jin, you’ve come to see your grandmother! Come here and let Grandmother look at you.”

Shen Sijin walked over and sat by her bed.

The old woman held her hand and said with a pained concern, “Oh dear, why are you so thin? You’ve lost all your weight. Haven’t you been eating properly?”

Shen Sijin felt a long-lost parental warmth. Her whole body felt warm, and she surprisingly grew quite fond of this elder.

“I’ve been eating properly,” Shen Sijin decided to take over for the original owner and take good care of her grandmother. “Grandmother, how have you been lately?”

“I’m useless now,” the grandmother said in an indifferent tone. “My body is getting worse day by day. Now I only live to see my good grandchild.”

Shen Sijin pretended to be angry. “Don’t say that, Grandmother. I don’t like hearing those things.”

“Haha, alright, alright, Grandmother won’t say it again.” The old woman patted Shen Sijin’s hand. “Xiao Jin, you seem much more cheerful than before. That’s good. Young people should be happy, not look so sad all the time like you used to.”

Shen Sijin’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the first part, afraid the old woman had realized something, but she finally relaxed when she heard the rest of the sentence.

“I know, Grandmother.” Facing her continuous chatter, Shen Sijin experienced the feeling of family for the first time.

After saying goodbye to her grandmother, Shen Sijin followed the original owner’s knowledge and found her house.

She lay in bed, resting and looking at her phone, and saw a news headline featuring Che Gulai.

Since Che Gulai left, they hadn’t seen each other again. Shen Sijin didn’t have Che Gulai’s contact information. Even though Shen Sijin knew the name of Che Gulai’s company, she didn’t dare to go there. She was afraid Che Gulai would retaliate against her as in the novel.

But she actually missed Che Gulai a little.

After Che Gulai left, Shen Sijin slowly started having insomnia again. It wasn’t a big deal; she was used to it anyway.

She was just unaccustomed to not having Che Gulai around. There was no one to listen to her rambling, no one to speak to her in a cold tone, and no one to eat the food she cooked.

She didn’t know why she kept thinking about Che Gulai.

What was this feeling?

It felt like she had lost something as precious as a gemstone.

Shen Sijin stroked the puppy; she had brought the puppy with her to Lan City.

“Puppy, do you think she remembers me now?”

“If she remembers me, what kind of memory is it? Does she still hate me? Will she retaliate against me?”

“Puppy, why do I keep thinking about her?”

The puppy couldn’t talk. It only licked the back of Shen Sijin’s hand with its wet tongue, rubbing against her affectionately.

Shen Sijin wanted to find Che Gulai, but she couldn’t find a reason. One day, she suddenly remembered that she had once broken Che Gulai’s watch.

She felt deeply apologetic and promised Che Gulai she would fix it. Che Gulai hadn’t shown any emotion and simply let her take it.

The watch looked expensive and must have been important. She had completely forgotten about it these past few days.

She quickly found the watch and took it to a repair shop, but the watch’s parts were unique and complex, and many repair shops didn’t have them.

Shen Sijin didn’t give up and visited many shops. Finally, she heard about a highly skilled elderly master specializing in watch repair in a small alley.

She took a long, circuitous route to reach the shop. The elderly master looked at the watch and shook his head.

“Is it very difficult?” Shen Sijin asked anxiously.

“It’s not too difficult, but one of the parts is hard to make.”

“Can you make it? Master, please help me,” Shen Sijin pleaded softly.

“Is this watch so important?” the master asked casually.

“Yes, it belongs to someone who is… quite important to me.”

The elderly master agreed but said it would take a few days before she could pick it up.

Shen Sijin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked him.

After leaving the alley, she went to a nearby shopping mall. Since the New Year was approaching, she planned to buy some clothes for her grandmother.

As soon as she entered the mall, her gaze swept over a large billboard for a beauty counter. It was an eyeshadow advertisement, and the model’s eyes were zoomed in large, instantly catching attention.

Shen Sijin only glanced at it, but her whole body felt frozen, as if she were in a freezer. The mall’s air conditioning was strong, but she felt intensely cold.

Why do those eyes look so much like that woman’s?!

They looked exactly like her mother’s eyes.

Her breathing became constricted. A familiar nauseating feeling rose in her throat. She covered her mouth and stumbled toward the restroom.

She bumped into someone halfway but didn’t notice.

She rushed into a stall, clutching her chest and vomiting violently. She hadn’t eaten much that morning, so only a little water came up.

But the feeling of nausea didn’t subside. Even though there was nothing left to throw up, she continued to retch severely, her eyes bloodshot, and cold sweat soaking her back.

It’s that woman again.

She can be seen everywhere.

Shen Sijin was breaking down.

She won’t leave me alone.

At this moment, she inexplicably thought of Che Gulai. She was terrified and desperately needed someone to be by her side.

If Che Gulai were here…

Shen Sijin didn’t want to think any further and started vomiting again.

When she finally ran out of strength, her face utterly pale, she slowly stood up, supporting herself with the door.

She didn’t dare to leave, convinced that the woman was following her again.

Her hand trembled constantly on the doorknob. Her weakness returned, and she didn’t even have the courage to open the door.

She gritted her teeth and opened the door.

A woman was at the sink, washing her hands with her back turned to Shen Sijin.

Shen Sijin didn’t think much of it and stood blankly beside her to wash her hands.

“Shen Sijin.”

A clear, cold voice rang out.

Shen Sijin was startled and looked at the woman next to her.

Long hair, phoenix eyes, pale skin.

It was Che Gulai.

Shen Sijin found it unreal, her eyes glazed over, and her heart thumped rapidly.

She felt like she was dreaming. The person she had just been fantasizing about was now standing in front of her.

“Why do you look like death warmed over?” Che Gulai asked with disgust.

She was at the mall today accompanying a female investor, who was a shopaholic and had dragged Che Gulai along.

She had been bumped by someone midway and Che Gulai thought the figure looked very familiar, very much like Shen Sijin.

Shen Sijin regained her senses and, seeking comfort, instinctively hugged Che Gulai tightly.

Che Gulai was naturally unwilling. She said coldly, “Let go. Don’t make me say it a second time.”

Shen Sijin smelled the familiar scent. Her frantic heart slowly calmed down. She let go of her hands.

“Che Gulai, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for work,” Che Gulai evaded the question. She shook the water off her hands, showing no intention of catching up, and turned to leave.

“Wait—” Shen Sijin grabbed her sleeve.

Che Gulai glanced at her.

Shen Sijin quickly released her hand. Seeing her about to leave, she called out, “That… do you have time?”

Che Gulai looked at her coldly.

“I want to talk to you for a bit,” Shen Sijin said innocently, stating her purpose.

Che Gulai’s phone rang. It was the female investor.

[My driver is here to pick me up. I think the project you mentioned is good. I’ll get back to you with an answer. I’m leaving now. Thank you for shopping with me.]

Che Gulai was free now. She had planned to leave but was curious about what Shen Sijin wanted to say. It had been half a month since they last saw each other.

She had been so busy these past few days that she had almost forgotten she still had Shen Sijin to deal with.

The two found a coffee shop.

“What do you want to talk about?” Che Gulai got straight to the point.

Shen Sijin held her cup. There were many things she wanted to ask, but she didn’t have the courage to ask any of them.

She looked at Che Gulai greedily several times, only thinking that she seemed to be getting even more beautiful.

“Speak,” Che Gulai tapped the table.

“I took your watch for repair,” Shen Sijin said.

“Watch?” Che Gulai was confused for a moment.

Shen Sijin hummed. “I thought it was quite important to you, so I took it to be fixed.”

Che Gulai finally remembered the matter. The watch was a birthday gift from Bai Yu. It wasn’t exactly important, as Bai Yu had simply taken a random watch from his house and given it to her.

Bai Yu didn’t miss the watch.

“When it’s fixed, I’ll bring it to you,” Shen Sijin said, testing the waters without changing her expression, trying to create an opportunity for them to meet again.

“Mhm.” Che Gulai didn’t mind. She found talking to Shen Sijin boring and had expected her to say something important.

She was thinking of an excuse to get rid of her.

“Che Gulai,” Shen Sijin mustered her courage, bit her lip, and asked the question she wanted to ask the most.

“Have you… been thinking about…” She seemed to have difficulty speaking, her expression extremely conflicted.

“What exactly do you want to say?” Che Gulai was impatient.

“Have you thought of me!” Shen Sijin closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she blurted it out.

Che Gulai frowned. “What did you say?”

Ah, ah.

Was that too sudden?

Shen Sijin felt a pang of regret. Who asks someone else a question like that? Not to mention their relationship wasn’t good; Che Gulai and the original owner were sworn enemies.

Am I crazy?

Shen Sijin wanted to smack herself.

How can I be so thick-skinned?

I was so self-centered.

Shen Sijin’s face was flushed with embarrassment.

She was starting to regret asking that question.

I should have asked more tactfully.

I’m going to die.

She wanted to leave.

“What answer do you want to hear?” Che Gulai suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Shen Sijin was stunned.

“If I say I have, then what?” Che Gulai rested her face on her hand, her eyes playful and cold, giving her the answer she wanted to hear.

“I…” Shen Sijin hadn’t expected this result. She was a little speechless.

“Naturally, I’d be happy.”

Che Gulai sneered internally, finding her reaction amusing. She said calmly on the surface, “Then, as you wish, I have occasionally thought of you.”

Shen Sijin’s heart felt as if it were gently filled to the brim with soft feathers. She had never felt this way before.

Her ears were completely red.

Her usually pale face was also completely flushed.

She didn’t know what to say, only letting out a dull “Oh.”

“Can I add you on WeChat?” Shen Sijin suddenly asked.

Che Gulai was silent for a few seconds, then took out her phone.

The two exchanged WeChat IDs. Che Gulai wanted to leave. Shen Sijin asked her, “Can I come find you in the future?”

Her eyes were sincere and hopeful, like light-colored glass beads.

Che Gulai didn’t like that look in her eyes. It gave her a strange sense of guilt, and she disliked Shen Sijin’s eyes.

She gave a cold “Mhm” and left.

Shen Sijin felt incredibly lucky today.

Looking at Che Gulai’s WeChat on her phone, she thought for a moment and saved her contact as [Ice Block Miss].

Che Gulai sat in the car, thinking back on Shen Sijin’s usual behavior, and saved Shen Sijin’s contact as [Crazy Bunny].

Thank you for reading 😀