After The Cannon Fodder Died, She Became The Female Lead’s White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 25

The day after Shen Sijin watched the movie, she woke up with a headache, coughing non-stop, and feeling completely weak.

She endured the discomfort and attended her morning classes. When the class was mostly empty, Shen Sijin couldn’t stand up because her body was too weak.

She sat alone in the classroom for more than ten minutes before finally leaning on the desk and slowly leaving the room.

Her head started throbbing. She coughed every few steps. Shen Sijin felt like she was walking on cotton wool.

On the way back to the dorm, she walked past a wisteria trellis. Shen Sijin didn’t see the person in front of her and bumped into them, falling forward weakly.

“Hey—what’s wrong?” A pleasant female voice rang out, and a pair of hands held her steady.

Shen Sijin was dizzy and couldn’t speak. The owner of the voice helped her sit down on a long bench.

“Are you alright?”

Shen Sijin tried her best to open her eyes and see who had helped her.

When she recognized the person, Shen Sijin felt like she had seen her somewhere before. She hesitantly said the answer in her mind, “Sang He?”

“You know me,” Sang He said, used to being recognized. “You look like you can’t stand steadily. Are you feeling unwell?”

Shen Sijin’s confused thoughts went back to last night. Although she was dizzy last night, she had clearly heard the conversation between Che Gulai and Sang He.

She vaguely remembered that Che Gulai had initially intended to ignore her for someone named Sang He. She only returned to her later for some unknown reason.

Shen Sijin remembered the name.

In the phone call, their interaction sounded close and affectionate. Che Gulai was cold by nature. Shen Sijin couldn’t remember her ever having such an intimate friend.

Shen Sijin’s mind was muddled. She subconsciously treated Sang He as a rival and suddenly grabbed Sang He’s wrist.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Sang He was confused why this girl suddenly grabbed her hand.

Shen Sijin’s breathing was labored from coughing, so she first took a few low breaths, her voice weak. “What is your relationship with Che Gulai?”

“What?” Sang He said. “Do you know Sister Gulai?”

“Mhm.” Shen Sijin covered her mouth with her other hand, coughing heavily, as if trying to cough out her lungs. Sang He kindly patted her back.

“Please answer—cough, cough—me.” Shen Sijin stubbornly insisted on getting an answer, staring straight at her with her moist, amber eyes.

“I’m an artist at her company.” Sang He felt this was common knowledge and not worth hiding.

“Really?”

“Yes, many people know.”

Shen Sijin’s initial anxiety slowly eased. So she was an artist at her company. If she was her company’s person, then Che Gulai caring about her should be understandable.

She had thought…

“Student, could you please let go of my hand?” Sang He requested softly.

Shen Sijin quickly let go, nodding apologetically. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

Sang He thought she was quite polite and smiled. “No worries, no worries. But you—” Sang He looked at her flushed face and severe coughing, concerned. “You don’t look very well.”

Shen Sijin couldn’t hear her clearly. She only knew she needed to get back to the dorm. She tried to stand up but slumped back weakly.

“Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?”

Shen Sijin heard that clearly. She waved her hand, about to say no, but she couldn’t hold on and passed out.

When she woke up again, Shen Sijin found herself lying in a hospital bed. Bai Mingyu was sitting by the bed looking at her phone.

She turned her head and looked at her hand, which had an IV drip attached.

Bai Mingyu heard the movement and put down her phone. “Xiao Jin, you’re awake!”

“I…” As Shen Sijin opened her mouth, she found her throat was very dry and hoarse. Bai Mingyu quickly poured her a glass of water.

“You had a high fever. Senior Sang He brought you to the hospital.” Bai Mingyu knew what she was going to ask, so she explained first.

Shen Sijin didn’t speak.

Bai Mingyu added, “This isn’t the school’s infirmary. A lot of people have fevers at school lately, and there were no beds, so they sent you to an outside hospital.”

Shen Sijin slowly drank the water. “Did Senior Sang He leave?”

“She left a long time ago. She had to rush off to film.” Bai Mingyu peeled an apple for her, saying, “How could you not even know you had a fever? You came back soaking wet last night. What have you been doing all day?”

“Nothing, really.” Shen Sijin’s throat was itchy. She turned her head and coughed.

“Now you’re lying to me.” Bai Mingyu handed her the peeled apple. “Eat some.”

Shen Sijin didn’t have much appetite, but not wanting to disappoint her friend, she accepted it and slowly ate.

Bai Mingyu was usually quite unsympathetic, but with Shen Sijin, she couldn’t help but adopt a motherly demeanor. She tapped Shen Sijin’s head. “Xiao Jin, pay attention to your health. Don’t ruin yourself like this. Understand?”

Shen Sijin smiled. “I know.”

“Oh, right, I told Sister Gulai you were sick.” Bai Mingyu said casually.

“What?” Shen Sijin moved abruptly. Blood almost rushed back up the IV line.

“Why are you so agitated?” Bai Mingyu pressed her down. “Don’t move around. You’re still on a drip.”

Shen Sijin was anxious. “Why did you tell her? She’s so busy. There’s no need for her to worry.”

“What kind of thinking is that?” Bai Mingyu said. “Isn’t it normal for a girlfriend to come and see you when you’re sick? I just hope she doesn’t do what she did last time and not show up.” Bai Mingyu felt annoyed just thinking about it.

Shen Sijin wasn’t very hopeful. Che Gulai dedicated most of her time to her company.

After all, she was different from herself. She was strong and successful. Why would she constantly think about her like an idle student?

Shen Sijin understood her, so she could tolerate the reality of rarely seeing each other.

She was very afraid of causing trouble for others. She was afraid of becoming a burden in other people’s eyes, thereby incurring their disgust.

Especially Che Gulai, who was her anchor and the person she loved in this world. Che Gulai allowed her to feel normal, and she accepted the love of someone as inferior as her. She was always different from others.

The one thing she couldn’t tolerate was Che Gulai hating her.

Since Bai Mingyu had class, Shen Sijin urged her to leave. Bai Mingyu tucked her in, worriedly telling her, “Message me if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I know.” Shen Sijin smiled softly. “You’ll be late for class. Hurry.”

Bai Mingyu left. She was alone in the private room.

Shen Sijin’s head was still a bit dizzy, so she lay down on her side, staring blankly at the trees outside the window.

She thought a lot of things.

Many, many things—the bad ones and the happy ones—were filtered through her mind.

Some unhappy events were automatically filtered out and hidden in a corner of her heart, gathering dust. Only the joyful parts remained, like candy.

This was her self-preservation mechanism since childhood. There were too many painful things. If she kept dwelling on them, she would go insane. To live without excessive pain, she would bury the unpleasant things deeply in a corner and refuse to think about them again.

Only occasionally, when the wind blew, would a corner of the pain reveal itself.

She constructed a personal utopia. After a round of self-comfort, her gray heart regained its color.

She thought of some happy things. For instance, her supposed rival, Sang He, was actually just Che Gulai’s artist. Che Gulai’s care for her was merely the sentiment between a boss and an employee.

Her relationship with Che Gulai was the most intimate.

Thinking this, Shen Sijin’s headache subsided a little. She was about to take a nap when someone pushed the door open.

“Mingyu, why are you back?” Shen Sijin thought Bai Mingyu had returned. She sat up and looked at the door.

Then her eyes widened. She thought she was seeing things.

“Gulai?”

Che Gulai smoothed her hair, coldly needling her. “They weren’t wrong when they called you useless. You’re in the hospital again.”

Shen Sijin clutched the blanket, her face filled with undisguised happiness. “Why did you come? Isn’t the company busy?”

“It is busy.” Che Gulai sat on the sofa, crossing her legs. “But Mingyu told me you were hospitalized again. I came to see how useless your body has become.”

“I forgot to remind her not to tell you. You’re so busy,” Shen Sijin said, ashamed, pinching her earlobe.

“Forget it. I chose to come myself,” Che Gulai said calmly. “After all, my actions caused you to get sick.”

Shen Sijin quickly said, “No, it’s really because my body is too weak.”

Che Gulai supported her chin with one hand, her expression unreadable. “Don’t argue with me. If I hadn’t failed to pick you up last night, how would you have gotten sick?”

For some reason, Shen Sijin’s mood improved dramatically.

“Sang He is an artist in my company.” Che Gulai suddenly changed the subject. “She was drunk last night and needed me to pick her up.”

Shen Sijin looked at her.

Che Gulai met her confused gaze and said flatly, “Don’t overthink it.”

Shen Sijin’s ears immediately turned red. Che Gulai knew about her questioning Sang He earlier that day.

So she was explaining herself to me now?

“Why… are you telling me this?” Shen Sijin asked, secretly hopeful.

Che Gulai took in her expression. She felt no internal turmoil. She spoke sweetly, as usual. “I’m afraid you might overthink things and misunderstand me.”

She had heard about the incident from Sang He today and knew that Shen Sijin had overheard their conversation. Although she didn’t think there was anything wrong with her actions, Shen Sijin’s question showed that she was starting to doubt her.

That wouldn’t be good. She wanted Shen Sijin’s fervent love. If Shen Sijin became suspicious and lost her feelings for her, the whole thing would become meaningless.

Che Gulai enjoyed Shen Sijin being completely obsessed with her. It gave her a strange satisfaction.

The person she once deeply hated now adored her, naively believing she had found love, unaware that it was all just her own passionate delusion.

Ridiculous and desperate.

Che Gulai understood the feeling of gaining something only to lose it. It was like her childhood, when she thought she had been adopted by kind people and finally had a home, only to receive endless abuse and coldness.

That feeling was the worst.

She believed Shen Sijin felt the same way.

She liked having control over Shen Sijin’s emotions, as if she were her personal possession.

She wasn’t tired of this game yet. She wouldn’t allow any mistakes.

To appease the white rabbit, Che Gulai didn’t mind giving her a taste of sweetness. After all, it was just an act of pretense.

Thinking this, Che Gulai took out a string of Buddhist beads from her bag. She walked to Shen Sijin’s bedside. “Hold out your hand.”

Shen Sijin was confused but obediently held out her hand.

Che Gulai rolled up her sleeve. Seeing her wrist, her first thought was how thin.

It was snow-white, like a cold jade carving, yet extremely slender, with prominent bones. One hand could easily wrap around it.

How could she be so thin?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Che Gulai put the bracelet on her.

“This is for protection. I had someone specially ask a monk to make it at the temple,” Che Gulai said flatly. “Wear it well. Don’t get sick easily.”

Shen Sijin was overwhelmed. “You specially requested it for me?”

“Mhm.” Che Gulai nodded without changing her expression.

It wasn’t true. She had originally requested the bracelet for her deceased friend, but her friend died from her illness before she could send it.

Since it couldn’t be given to its intended person, the bracelet became meaningless. She was thinking of throwing it away anyway. She might as well give it to Shen Sijin to earn some goodwill.

As expected, Shen Sijin was overjoyed, her pale face suddenly regaining life.

Shen Sijin was genuinely happy. Few people had ever given her gifts, especially one with such a beautiful meaning, and given by the person she loved. The significance was immense.

In some aspects, Shen Sijin was very easy to please.

She looked at the Buddhist bead bracelet, cherishing it as if it were a precious treasure.

“I haven’t given you anything,” Shen Sijin said, blushing.

“It’s fine.” Che Gulai looked at her brilliant smile. She felt a primal revulsion, but also a strange, bright color appeared within her.

She was still repulsed by Shen Sijin’s smile. Che Gulai looked away and said casually, “You’re my girlfriend. It’s normal for me to give you things.”

She said the word “girlfriend” very lightly, like the wind, easily blown away.

Shen Sijin was surprised. This was the first time Che Gulai had openly acknowledged their relationship. The memory of the previous unhappy incident was completely buried in Shen Sijin’s heart. Now, only pure happiness surfaced.

She stroked the bracelet, looked up, and smiled at her. “I will cherish it.”

She smiled so widely that her throat became itchy. She covered her mouth and coughed to the side. The coughing was severe this time. Her spine, under the loose hospital gown, bent weakly.

She was afraid there were viruses here. She covered her mouth and struggled to speak. “Gulai, there are—cough, cough, cough—a lot of germs here. You should leave if you don’t have anything else to do.”

She said this while bending over and coughing. Her whole body trembled like a fragile, white flower easily broken.

Che Gulai first watched her painful coughing with cold indifference. Then, seeing her on the verge of collapsing, Shen Sijin’s coughing image strangely overlapped with that of her deceased friend.

That was her only friend, even now.

Che Gulai had originally intended to leave as Shen Sijin suggested, but she suddenly, impulsively, went to pat her back.

Shen Sijin glanced at her with wet eyes. When the coughing stopped, she said hoarsely, “Thank you.”

Che Gulai realized what she had done and immediately felt a sense of rejection again. What did Shen Sijin’s coughing have to do with her?

It was probably because her fragile appearance reminded her a bit of her dead friend.

An occasional pitying gesture would be a sweet reward for her.

Che Gulai thought with extreme coldness.

Shen Sijin stayed in the hospital for a few days until her fever completely subsided, and then she was discharged.

As soon as Shen Sijin left the hospital, she messaged her immediately.

[I’ve been discharged.]

Che Gulai was watching Sang He take photos. She glanced at her phone when it vibrated.

After reading Shen Sijin’s message, Che Gulai thought of ignoring it. But then she remembered her plan, clicked on her profile picture, and changed her contact name to [Princess and the Pea].

“Sister Gulai.” Sang He took a break and immediately went to Che Gulai.

“Did someone message you?” Sang He asked casually.

“Just someone unimportant,” Che Gulai said, adjusting her hair.

“Is that so?” Sang He recalled something. “Sister Gulai, what is your relationship with that hospitalized girl from last time? She suddenly grabbed my arm and asked about our relationship. She scared me.”

Che Gulai said indifferently, “No relationship.”

“Oh.” She was shooting a period-style photo with thick, hot clothes. Sang He fanned herself with one hand while drinking the iced drink Che Gulai had ordered for her. “She looks like she’s not very healthy, even thinner than I am.”

“Mhm.” Che Gulai’s attitude toward Shen Sijin was cold.

Sang He, however, was still interested. “She seems polite, and don’t you think her figure looks a lot like—”

Sang He’s words suddenly stopped. She smoothly changed the subject. “Sister Gulai, I want French cuisine later. Take me there.”

“Okay.”

After Shen Sijin recovered, Bai Mingyu suggested taking her to a unique small town in the suburbs. It had a strong ethnic flavor and unique scenery.

Shen Sijin was reluctant to go. Bai Mingyu used soft tactics, constantly acting spoiled and cajoling her. Shen Sijin was easily swayed by gentle requests, so she agreed.

Two male friends joined them. The four chose a beautiful sunny weekend and drove out.

“What’s your name?” The short-haired male friend sitting in the back asked Shen Sijin.

Bai Mingyu was driving, so Shen Sijin sat in the passenger seat. She wasn’t good at socializing with strangers and was silent the entire time.

Startled by the sudden question, she replied, “Shen Sijin.”

The short-haired boy’s features were sharp, and he looked cool. Seeing that Shen Sijin was sweet and cute, he couldn’t help but want to talk to her more.

“You’re very pretty,” the boy complimented her.

“Ah, thank you.” Shen Sijin smiled awkwardly.

“Zhang, don’t get any ideas about her,” Bai Mingyu saw through her friend’s intentions instantly. “She already has a partner.”

“Is that so?” The short-haired boy was a little disappointed.

What a pity. This girl was exactly his type.

The town was far away, requiring several hours of driving. Halfway through, the four were horrified to realize the car had broken down.

“Holy shit, we’re done,” the other blonde male friend complained. “Such bad luck.”

“I can’t believe it. We’ve only driven halfway,” Bai Mingyu was frustrated.

They were on a highway with no houses around, surrounded by vast open land.

It was a newly built road, and there weren’t many cars. They couldn’t even find someone to help them.

The four were stranded.

Shen Sijin found a jacket in the car and gave it to Bai Mingyu. “It’s windy here. Don’t catch a cold.”

“I’m sorry, Xiao Jin,” Bai Mingyu said dejectedly. “I shouldn’t have brought you. You just recovered, and now we’re stranded here. I’m afraid you’ll get sick again.”

“It’s nothing,” Shen Sijin’s voice was soft. She coughed lightly a few times. Although her fever was gone, she was left with a persistent cough.

“Don’t blame yourself. I volunteered to come,” Shen Sijin comforted her sympathetically.

Bai Mingyu was afraid Shen Sijin would get sick again. She decided to call her brother for help. Even if her brother yelled at her, she didn’t care anymore.

When Bai Yu answered his sister’s call, he was sitting in the office with Che Gulai, discussing a major IP project proposal.

“Mingyu, what is it?” Bai Yu asked casually, looking at the analysis on the proposal.

“Brother, save me—” Bai Mingyu’s voice suddenly echoed in the office. It was so loud that Che Gulai, sitting across from him, looked up.

Bai Yu gritted his teeth. “What are you howling about, you dead girl?”

Bai Mingyu explained their situation, pleading for help. “Hurry, Brother! It’s freezing here! Xiao Jin just recovered. I’m afraid she’ll get sick again. Just hurry up and come!”

Che Gulai heard Shen Sijin’s name and looked up at him again.

Bai Yu rubbed his forehead, annoyed. “Why do you always cause trouble as soon as you come back?”

“We can argue later, Brother. Just hurry up. It’s almost dusk, and the temperature will drop sharply.”

Che Gulai was annoyed at his sister. “Let’s talk about the proposal tomorrow.”

He grabbed his car keys and suddenly asked, “Are you coming? I think that girl is there too.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Che Gulai’s expression was calm. “I’m not going.”

“So, you didn’t even keep track of whether you drank or not?” Che Gulai drove, her voice incredibly cold.

Bai Yu made an “Ay ya” sound and joked, smiling, “I forgot I drank just now. Anyway, that girl is there, you should go see her too.”

Bai Yu had realized he drank alcohol right before driving. He frantically begged Che Gulai to go with him.

Aside from being drunk, he was also terrible with directions. Che Gulai’s sense of direction was much better than his.

Che Gulai was forced to be the driver, looking exasperated. “Shut up.”

The distant sky was painted with the colors of dusk. The land was wide and dusky yellow. The four of them didn’t have the luxury of admiring the beautiful scenery.

“Why isn’t my brother here yet?” Bai Mingyu complained, sitting in the car.

Shen Sijin looked at the sunset outside and couldn’t help but take pictures with her phone. The signal here was poor, but she planned to send them to Che Gulai later.

She wondered what she was doing right now.

Shen Sijin touched her bracelet. She should be having dinner now.

The four finally saw Bai Yu’s car half an hour before sunset.

“My brother is here!” Bai Mingyu excitedly jumped out of the car. Shen Sijin also got out.

Bai Mingyu waved at him. “Brother—”

Bai Yu got out of the car. “Bai Mingyu, all you do is cause trouble for me!”

Shen Sijin felt a little cold. Her throat was itchy. She instinctively tucked her chin in.

She was about to go back to the car to take her medicine when she saw another person get out of the car.

The sky was dim. Shen Sijin couldn’t clearly make out the face, only that the figure looked a lot like Che Gulai.

But she thought that couldn’t be possible.

The figure walked closer, and Shen Sijin’s heart pounded faster and faster.

“Why are you following them?” Che Gulai’s cold, clear voice reached her ears.

It really was Che Gulai!

“You have too much energy,” Che Gulai stood in front of Shen Sijin, mocking her.

“I—” Shen Sijin choked out a word, then didn’t know what to say.

To be honest, during the hours they were stranded, Shen Sijin was scared. It was too vast, and there was no one around. They felt abandoned by the world.

Shen Sijin was naturally afraid, but Bai Mingyu was constantly blaming herself for bringing her. To ease her guilt, she couldn’t show her fear. She had to pretend everything was fine to reassure Bai Mingyu.

In this situation, Che Gulai appeared before her again.

It was as if Che Gulai could always find her every time she was in trouble.

Shen Sijin’s fear vanished completely. She only looked at Che Gulai and smiled.

Che Gulai was forced to come. Seeing her silly smile, she clicked her tongue. “Why are you smiling like an idiot every day?”

Shen Sijin said seriously, “Because I’m happy. You’ve appeared before me.”

The wind tousled their hair. Their clothes billowed slightly in the wind. The two beautiful women stood on the long highway, with the deep purple night sky behind them. They seemed to have an invisible boundary around them, looking serene and beautiful.

If you ignored the two hearts that were never close.

The short-haired boy had intended to call Shen Sijin over, but seeing this scene, he inexplicably stopped.

He felt like an outsider who couldn’t intrude on their dynamic.

Since all four were exhausted and hadn’t eaten, and it would take several hours to drive back to the city, they decided to find a place to sleep for the night.

They found a nearby guesthouse. Since some rooms were under renovation, there weren’t many available.

In the end, the two boys shared a room, Bai Yu took one room, and there were two rooms left.

Bai Mingyu was very perceptive. She made an excuse that she was a bad sleeper and refused to share a room with anyone. So, Shen Sijin and Che Gulai shared a room.

Che Gulai internally refused.

But she couldn’t show it.

“You should go wash up first,” Shen Sijin said to Che Gulai.

“Mhm.”

Shen Sijin sat on the bed, feeling extremely nervous.

Although they had slept in the same room before, they had separate beds. Now, there was only one bed, meaning they would have to sleep together.

This was the first time since they started dating that they would be facing such close proximity.

Shen Sijin was terribly nervous.

She instinctively reached for her bracelet and her pupils contracted.

Where was the bracelet?

She immediately searched her bag. It wasn’t there.

Not only that, she searched the entire room, and it was nowhere to be found.

Shen Sijin panicked.

Che Gulai finished washing up and walked out. “I’m done.”

“Gulai, the bracelet is gone,” Shen Sijin said, her voice sounding tearful.

“What bracelet?”

“The one you gave me, the one you told me to wear well.”

Che Gulai finally remembered. She said dismissively, “If it’s lost, it’s lost. Why are you panicking?”

“You gave it to me,” Shen Sijin’s eyes were starting to well up. “You told me to wear it well before, but it’s gone.”

“It’s just a bracelet. It’s not a big deal.”

Shen Sijin was distraught, like a child who had lost a beloved doll. “It’s very important to me.”

Che Gulai genuinely didn’t understand. “Why is it important?”

“Because you gave it to me.” Shen Sijin helplessly crouched down.

“Its significance is huge. I can’t lose it.”

Che Gulai’s hand, holding the towel, hung at her side. Her long, black lashes drooped low, and she remained silent.

After a long time, she said with a strange expression, “Why are my things so important?”

“Because you are the person I like.”

Shen Sijin decided she had to look outside. She stood up. “I’m going to look outside.”

“Can’t you just let it go? It’s just a bracelet,” Che Gulai said meaningfully.

Shen Sijin held the doorknob, turning back, her expression serious.

“How can a person casually treat anything belonging to the person they love?”

---

Author’s Note:

Sang He does not have that kind of feeling for Che Gulai.

I’ll say it again: it’s a happy ending (HE). Even if many people curse me, I will not write it as a sad ending (BE). The main characters will not die in the end. If I wrote it as a sad ending, my outline would be ruined, and I would lose my inspiration to write.

Thank you.