Best Actress A and Her White Moonlight - Chapter 2

A pure white ceiling greeted her eyes. Under the dual effects of the inhibitor and the sedative, Lin Wanchun had managed a rare, deep sleep until broad daylight.

The medication hadn’t completely worn off yet. Propping up her aching forehead, she sat up on the hospital bed and accidentally caught sight of the calendar on the nightstand.

December 7, 3203.

There were still sixteen years and three hundred and fifty-five days until the moment she would win Best Actress.

A sharp pain shot from the back of her neck; her overused gland was slightly swollen. The moment her icy fingertips touched the soft flesh, it triggered a dense layer of goosebumps.

The hospital in this small town wasn’t large; even the most luxurious private isolation room appeared exceptionally crude in Lin Wanchun’s eyes.

She fumbled for the remote in the nightstand drawer and turned on the television. It happened to be time for the morning news. A clean-cut anchor began reporting in a clear, resonant voice:

“Good morning, viewers. Today is Friday, December 7, 3203. Welcome to…”

Lin Wanchun pressed down hard, the soft buttons of the remote sinking under her thumb. The old screen mounted on the wall went dark instantly.

She really had returned to seventeen years ago.

[So,] the System chirped, arriving late to pick up the topic interrupted yesterday, [have you made your choice?]

Lin Wanchun recalled the choice the System had given her before she lost consciousness: between her thirty-three-year-old self and her sixteen-year-old self, only one could live.

Perhaps growing impatient, the System began whispering a cost-benefit analysis in her ear:

[Look, the sixteen-year-old you is young and vibrant. She hasn’t experienced the slander and rumors yet. If you replace her…]

It paused, its primitive electronic voice dripping with temptation:

[You can make up for every regret of these seventeen years. You can accomplish everything the future you could not.]

With the pros and cons laid out so clearly, what was there to hesitate about?

Lin Wanchun pulled back the covers, got out of bed, and picked up the dirty blue-and-white school jacket draped over the chair.

An Alpha in the middle of a pheromone riot is exceptionally sensitive to their possessions. The doctor, fearing the jacket held some special significance to the Alpha, hadn’t dared to take it away and had left it in the room.

The sixteen-year-old girl hadn’t presented her second gender yet; even after wearing the jacket all day, it didn’t carry much of her scent.

Furthermore, having been saturated by the thick fragrance of camellias, the garment now bore no trace of its original owner.

The heating in the ward was well-controlled. Even though Lin Wanchun was wearing thin hospital scrubs, she didn’t feel cold.

She curled up in the chair, the dusty school jacket resting on her knees.

“Alright.”

Despite sleeping for over ten hours, she still lacked energy. Her head hung listlessly. She seemed to smile faintly, or perhaps she didn’t. “Who wouldn’t want to rewrite the past?”

The System let out a raspy laugh, saying with satisfaction: [Lin Wanchun, I will help you.]

Lin Wanchun pushed open the iron gate of the old apartment. The interior was sparsely furnished and the items were dated, emitting the scent of a place long uninhabited.

But the moment she stepped inside and closed the door, the scene before her transformed instantly.

In the blink of an eye, the dilapidated little apartment turned into a sophisticated, minimalist luxury flat. The smart home system sensed the owner’s return and immediately began operating, humming as it released a gentle, warm breeze.

“Welcome home, Lin Wanchun.”

The housekeeping system issued its programmed greeting. Lin Wanchun kicked off her high heels and the military-green coat the doctor had kindly given her, then walked further inside.

Every piece of furniture and decor here was identical to the residence she frequented most in the future.

She poured a cup of hot water and held it; the perfect temperature warmed her stiff fingers.

Lin Wanchun slowly drank the water before it cooled. Her parched throat found relief. She walked into the bedroom and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out several credit cards, including a black card her manager had procured for her just last month.

Holding the most valuable black card between her slender fingers, she thought for a long moment and asked, “Can a card from 3220 be used in 3203?”

The System answered with a slightly proud hum.

The luxury flat, the bank cards…

The “help” the System spoke of was truly, unpretentiously useful.

With these things, the obstacles to what she needed to do would be significantly reduced.

At the very back of the drawer, she felt two cards. She spread them out: one was her own ID, and the other belonged to a twenty-year-old Gu Chenxing.

In the ID photo, the twenty-year-old Gu Chenxing looked a bit less childish and a bit more steady than the version she had seen yesterday.

Lin Wanchun gently brushed her finger over the photo. So, by the time she was twenty, the light in Gu Chenxing’s eyes had already begun to fade.

Gu Chenxing…

Lin Wanchun whispered the name in her heart. Joy and suppressed pain surged forth together, spreading through her chest.

Gu Chenxing, this time, I will never let you die in loneliness and despair.

“Hey, did you hear?”

The moment the bell rang, the three-person clique rushed out of the classroom. Once they were outside the teaching building, Zhou Xi immediately began sharing the gossip she’d been holding in all day: “There was an Alpha riot at the school gate yesterday.”

Her desk-mate spoke up in surprise: “For real?”

Zhou Xi glanced around to make sure a teacher wouldn’t suddenly pop up, then lowered her voice: “Eighty percent sure it’s true. I went to ask around during the break. A senior from the third-year block said there’s still a scent lingering at the North Gate!”

“Holy crap, that’s intense?” The desk-mate was genuinely shocked. “A whole night passed and the scent hasn’t dissipated? They must be at least an A-rank, right?”

“Tell me about it! I heard that when school started today, several Omegas felt their legs go weak just from the smell. There was even an Omega who just presented last week—she couldn’t control her pheromones and almost went straight into heat.”

Zhou Xi curled her lip, her face full of regret: “I wish I could smell what an A-rank Alpha is like.”

Unfortunately, those who hadn’t presented their secondary gender traits yet couldn’t smell pheromones except in special circumstances.

“Xingxing, why are you spacing out?” Zhou Xi nudged Gu Chenxing with her elbow. “You’ve been distracted all morning.”

The desk-mate laughed immediately: “Just the morning? She’s been like this since we ran into that red-dressed beauty yesterday! I’d say her soul was snatched away by that lady!”

That hit the mark.

The tips of Gu Chenxing’s ears turned hot. In a fit of embarrassment, she pushed the two of them away: “Go, go, go! What nonsense are you talking about! I was just thinking…”

Her voice cut off abruptly. She spotted the woman standing at the school gate at a single glance.

The woman’s slender, graceful figure stood out exceptionally among the crowd of bulky high schoolers. The cold wind brushed past her cheeks, tossing her smooth, long hair. She didn’t have to do anything; simply standing there, she was a breathtaking sight.

The “bad friends” beside her also noticed the person waiting at the gate. They immediately linked arms and shoved Gu Chenxing forward: “The beauty is here for you, hurry up and go!”

Gu Chenxing stumbled from the push. She looked back and glared at them, muttering under her breath: “She might just be passing by? Why would she be here for me?”

Despite her words, she summoned her courage and trotted over.

Gu Chenxing didn’t know why, but despite only meeting once, she had been pathetically worried about this woman.

Probably because…

Because she was too beautiful, and her tears were simply too heartbreaking.

“You…” Gu Chenxing walked to the gate. After a moment of hesitation, she asked softly, “Are you okay?”

Lin Wanchun nodded and handed over a bag: “Much better. Thank you for the clothes.”

Inside the brown paper bag was the laundered school jacket. As Gu Chenxing took the bag, she caught a faint, fresh scent of citrus.

She peeked up at the woman, thinking that the scent suited her in an indescribable way.

For a moment, they stood in silence. An awkward atmosphere spread between them. Just as Gu Chenxing was about to break the tension and say goodbye, she once again heard the woman’s voice—cool and clear, like a flowing spring:

“Gu Chenxing.”

Gu Chenxing looked bewildered and answered instinctively, like a soldier: “Present!”

It was very energetic.

“I am your future best friend, Lin Wanchun.”

[Are you crazy?! How could you tell her such important information—]

Lin Wanchun ignored the System’s frantic voice in her head, staring single-mindedly at the girl before her.

The north wind began to howl again. Her gentle words were shattered by the cold wind the moment they left her mouth. Gu Chenxing shivered; her frozen brain couldn’t react for a moment.

“I come from seventeen years in the future.”

The flow of students at the school gate increased, and the street vendors began shouting even more vigorously. The sounds of various loudspeakers mixed together, creating a lively and noisy scene.

The sweet and sour citrus scent lingered at the tip of her nose. Gu Chenxing’s heart seemed to contract suddenly, and her upturned lips slowly fell.

She tilted her head, her clear, fawn-like eyes expressing her confusion perfectly: “Are you… okay?”

Hearing such an absurd statement, Gu Chenxing’s first reaction was naturally disbelief. Her gaze lingered on Lin Wanchun’s face, and the skepticism in her voice softened by half as she offered a polite reminder: “Do you want me to take you to a hospital for a check-up?”

Such a beautiful woman, Gu Chenxing thought, who knows what kind of mental shock she suffered to become so delusional.

Gu Chenxing sighed inwardly, her face unconsciously showing a hint of pity.

“I’m telling the truth.” Lin Wanchun had anticipated that Gu Chenxing wouldn’t believe her. Facing the look of suspicious sympathy, her expression remained unchanged. “You, Gu Chenxing, sixteen years old, first semester of second year, birthday is June 8th…”

Gu Chenxing’s gaze gradually turned wary. She gripped the bag in her hand and took two steps back: “How do you know all this?”

Lin Wanchun answered softly: “You told me.”

She’s really committed to this ‘from the future’ story.

Gu Chenxing curled her lip: “Then tell me the winning numbers for the next lottery. If I actually win five million, I’ll believe you.”

Leaving aside the fact that Lin Wanchun never followed the lottery, even if she had, how could she possibly remember a set of numbers from seventeen years ago?

Lin Wanchun remained silent. In her time, Gu Chenxing had been dead for ten whole years. Blurred memories and long-term longing had long since made her forget Gu Chenxing’s true appearance—

The sixteen-year-old Gu Chenxing was still just an ordinary high school girl. Even her dreams were so unpretentious: she just wanted to win five million.

“Alright, then.” Gu Chenxing waved her hand. “Don’t say these weird things next time. And don’t go around investigating people in secret; doing bad things will get you sent to the police station.”

“December 7th. After evening self-study, you go home and walk right into the middle of your parents’ divorce argument. They start fighting over who will raise you. You try to break it up, but you’re hit by a flying porcelain shard, right here…”

Cool fingertips touched Gu Chenxing’s brow bone. The cold sensation made Gu Chenxing shiver slightly, and for a moment, she forgot to pull away.

“It leaves a scar about three centimeters long.”

It sounded so real.

The corners of Gu Chenxing’s mouth dropped completely. Even her eyes lost their sparkle, showing a flash of anger: “You better stop talking nonsense. My parents’ relationship is—”

“Is it?” Lin Wanchun twitched the corner of her mouth, ultimately restraining a mocking retort that would only add fuel to the fire. “No need to be in a hurry to contradict me.”

The hand pressing against the brow bone slid down slightly, resting on Gu Chenxing’s somewhat dry lips.

“There are only a few hours left. Whether I’m telling the truth or not, there will be a result very soon.” A faint look of nostalgia flowed from the depths of Lin Wanchun’s eyes. She gently tucked a strand of hair that had been blown wild by the wind behind Gu Chenxing’s ear.

“Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I will be with you.”