I Turned Out to Be the Dead White Moonlight of the Canary - Chapter 25

As soon as Yan Sheng released Shijiu, the system complained indignantly: Host, how could you do this!

What were you doing last night? What couldn’t I see?

Yan Sheng countered innocently: What could you see?

Shijiu: ……

So what did you do after locking me away last night? Shijiu persisted.

That’s not for kids to ask about. Yan Sheng replied sheepishly.

Shijiu fell silent, still unable to comprehend how its once pure and innocent female lead had turned out like this!

Fine, forget it. Gu Qinghe and Cheng Yunheng are both coming soon. Since you and Song Shi’an have deviated from the plot, other storylines have shifted too. The original novel is completely irrelevant now—you’ll have to figure things out yourself. Shijiu sighed.

Yan Sheng responded indifferently before suddenly asking curiously: Shijiu, are you really here to save me?

Shijiu rolled its eyes: No, I’m not here to save you. I’m just here to save this world—it’s my job!

Yan Sheng lowered her gaze and chuckled: Good.

Her words were cryptic, leaving Shijiu utterly confused. Yet, seeing her blackening value remained stable, Shijiu couldn’t decipher her thoughts.

Just as their conversation ended, Song Shi’an seemed to remember something and picked up her phone, likely making a transfer.

Soon after, Yan Sheng received a notification—a deposit of 300,000 yuan.

Song Shi’an cleared her throat lightly. “This month’s salary.”

Yan Sheng: ……

“Thank you, sister.” She leaned in and kissed Song Shi’an’s cheek.

“Mhm.” Song Shi’an was pleased but maintained her usual composed expression.

Unsure what else to say, Yan Sheng lapsed back into silence with her.

Before long, the housekeeper informed Song Shi’an that a guest had arrived—Miss Gu, who had brought her home that night.

Song Shi’an was surprised. “Qinghe? Why is she here?”

“Please let her in,” Song Shi’an told the housekeeper.

Gu Qinghe arrived bearing small gifts, even thoughtfully bringing one for Yan Sheng.

They weren’t health supplements—for Song Shi’an, it was a finely crafted bow.

“You mentioned liking this before, so I had it custom-made. It just arrived yesterday,” Gu Qinghe explained with a smile as Song Shi’an examined the bow.

She then handed Yan Sheng a small box containing a pair of elegant earrings.

Yan Sheng tried to politely decline, but Gu Qinghe laughed. “It’s bad manners to return a gift. I’d planned to give it to Shi’an if you weren’t here, but it suits you unexpectedly well.”

So smooth. But isn’t she into Song Shi’an? Why compliment you? Shijiu perched on Yan Sheng’s shoulder, enjoying the drama.

Honestly, Yan Sheng still hadn’t figured out what purpose this system served—it seemed to exist solely for gossip.

Song Shi’an glanced between Gu Qinghe and Yan Sheng before meeting Yan Sheng’s questioning gaze. “Keep it if you like it. Otherwise, give it back to her.”

Gu Qinghe half-jokingly closed the box and pushed it back into Yan Sheng’s arms: “Don’t you dare say you don’t like it—that’d be denying my taste!”

With her saying it like that, Yan Sheng truly didn’t know how to refuse gracefully and could only awkwardly accept it in the end.

“Thank you,” Yan Sheng said politely.

Gu Qinghe chuckled. “No need to be so formal. Just call me Qinghe. I still don’t know your name?”

“Yan Sheng. ‘Yan’ as in language, ‘Sheng’ as in music and song,” Yan Sheng replied shyly.

“Alright then, little Yan Sheng.”

As soon as Gu Qinghe finished speaking, Song Shi’an gave her a thoughtful glance but quickly averted her gaze, unnoticed by either of them.

Song Shi’an placed the bow back in its case. “It’s too precious. You should keep it.”

Though she liked it, the bow was hard to come by, and Song Shi’an knew Gu Qinghe was also an archery enthusiast. She couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

“Why the politeness between us?”

“I already have plenty at home—one more won’t make a difference. Besides, this one doesn’t really stand out to me, but it seems you like it more.” Gu Qinghe smiled warmly at Song Shi’an.

Song Shi’an showed little reaction, merely nodding indifferently. “Fine then.”

“Thanks,” she said, not looking particularly excited.

“How’s your leg?” Gu Qinghe’s gaze shifted to Song Shi’an’s leg, her tone concerned.

“Just resting it.” At first, Song Shi’an had been frustrated by the injury, but over the past few days, she’d grown more accepting of it.

With Yan Sheng taking care of her, it didn’t seem so bad. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way.

The two chatted casually about their usual outings and happenings in their social circles.

Yan Sheng couldn’t join the conversation and simply listened quietly, her script revisions forgotten for the moment.

Her eyes occasionally lingered on Gu Qinghe. Objectively speaking, Gu Qinghe was beautiful—her features soft and gentle.

Completely different from Song Shi’an’s cool elegance. Yan Sheng wondered if Song Shi’an liked that type.

But she wasn’t like that. She wasn’t like Gu Qinghe either.

From where she sat, Song Shi’an could see Yan Sheng stealing glances at Gu Qinghe—those curious looks made it hard not to suspect she might have a thing for Gu Qinghe.

After chatting for a while, Song Shi’an suddenly received a call.

A glance showed it was from her mother.

“I need to take this,” she said. It wasn’t a call she could ignore.

“Of course,” Gu Qinghe replied with a smile.

Yan Sheng had already set aside her laptop but remained silent, unable to contribute to the conversation between Gu Qinghe and Song Shi’an.

While Song Shi’an was on the phone, Gu Qinghe turned to Yan Sheng without hesitation.

“Little Yan Sheng, are you still in university?” Gu Qinghe asked curiously.

Yan Sheng shook her head. “No, I just graduated this year.”

As Song Shi’an took the call, she overheard their conversation shift to discussing careers.

Gu Qinghe seemed capable of talking about anything—even Yan Sheng’s work as a screenwriter appeared to be within her knowledge.

“Yunchang will be coming over later. Do entertain him. You two had a marriage arrangement since childhood—if you like him, you could try developing something. Honestly, an omega like you pretending to be an alpha every day and failing to find a partner just isn’t sustainable.” The gentle female voice on the phone carried a hint of helplessness when mentioning her act as an alpha.

Though she had indulged Song Shi’an’s alpha facade, deep down, she pitied her for enduring each heat cycle alone.

“Since when did you become so boring, nagging about these things? And that so-called marriage arrangement—I told you I don’t acknowledge it. What era is this? How outdated can you get?” Song Shi’an replied dismissively.

Yan Sheng and Gu Qinghe appeared engrossed in their own conversation, but both were secretly listening to Song Shi’an’s call. Similarly, while seemingly focused on the phone, Song Shi’an had been tuning in to their exchange.

Host, it matches up. Song Shi’an’s current attitude is pretty close to the original novel. Shijiu, perched on Yan Sheng’s shoulder, reminded her.

And their first meeting scene is similar too, except in the original, Song Shi’an wasn’t injured, and you weren’t her lover.

Yan Sheng fell silent for a moment. [How is this ‘similar’? It’s worlds apart! Don’t force the comparison. In the novel, Gu Qinghe wasn’t present during their first meeting, neither were Zhu Yuandong nor Yan Wuyou, and it took place at Song Shi’an’s parents’ villa—with Cheng Yunchang’s parents also in attendance.]

Shijiu chuckled. Well, there are still overlapping elements.

If she insisted on framing it that way, Yan Sheng truly had nothing left to say.

By the time Song Shi’an hung up, Gu Qinghe and Yan Sheng had moved on to discussing their favorite online novelists—apparently even sharing some preferences.

Song Shi’an, who never read web novels, had no idea who these authors were.

“A few more friends are coming over soon,” Song Shi’an remarked before taking a sip of coffee. “You all sure know how to pick your timing, showing up on the same day.”

Zhu Yuandong and Yan Wuyou were understandable—they’d given advance notice. Then there was that woman Yan Sheng didn’t recognize from yesterday, who’d also mentioned visiting today.

Cheng Yunchang and Gu Qinghe, however, were genuine surprises.

Still, having everyone arrive together saved Song Shi’an the trouble of hosting them separately.

Yan Sheng had asked Shijiu about the unfamiliar woman yesterday, only for Shijiu to shrug and say she wasn’t a character from the plot.

Sometimes, Yan Sheng genuinely doubted Shijiu’s claims. Was this world really just a fictional one?

Yet aside from those tied to the storyline, everyone else existed with such vivid authenticity—could this still be called a novel’s world?

She didn’t feel like everyone was rigidly following a script either.

With a silent sigh, Yan Sheng gave up trying to make sense of it.

Before long, the woman from yesterday arrived. Song Shi’an briefly introduced her to the group.

She wasn’t some wealthy heiress but a self-made entrepreneur—Jiang Qingtang, the current CEO of Xingyan Tech.

Xingyan Tech specialized in social platforms, with its flagship product, Grey Rhythm, initially targeting omega users before gradually attracting alpha participation.

A rising star in the industry, Grey Rhythm had climbed to a top-five user ranking among social platforms within just five years of its launch.

The entire platform was initially built by Jiang Qingtang alone, who then gathered a group of omegas. Later, it became famous for its good social atmosphere, and Jiang Qingtang went on to secure investments herself, gradually expanding the business step by step.

She’s bold and sharp-minded—though an alpha, she shows great respect toward omegas.

Yan Sheng had only heard rumors about her but had never met her in person.

Now thirty, Jiang Qingtang once had a fan—a girl who worked with Yan Sheng at a bar—who adored her.

Every time the girl shared snippets from Jiang Qingtang’s interviews, Yan Sheng felt too embarrassed to admit she didn’t even know what Jiang Qingtang looked like.

Besides, her shifts at the bar were short-lived, and after work, she was always too exhausted to bother searching.

Jiang Qingtang fit the image of a capable female CEO, aligning perfectly with Yan Sheng’s previous imagination of what such women were like.

When Song Shi’an introduced Yan Sheng, she casually referred to her as “little sister.”

Jiang Qingtang nearly asked when she’d gotten a sister but held back out of politeness—she probably understood.

Gu Qinghe, however, didn’t catch on and even smiled, saying, “So you’re Shi’an’s sister—no wonder she asked you to take care of things.”

Is she genuinely clueless or just pretending? Even Shijiu couldn’t figure it out.

How was Yan Sheng supposed to know? Song Shi’an hadn’t explained, so was she supposed to blurt out, “Oh, not that kind of sister”?

How ridiculous.