I Am the White Moonlight that the Former Movie Queen Secretly Loves - Chapter 30

The lunch bag dangled between her fingers, the tight grip leaving a thin red mark.

Qi Sijia remained deep in thought, staring at the closed door without uttering a word.

Only when her eyelashes brushed against the cold surface of the goggles did a chill seep into her heart.

Finally reacting, she shifted her gaze to her fingers, carefully retracing why she had been met with such disdain.

At first, the other person’s gaze had been impatient, then it morphed into barely concealed disgust.

And in those final seconds of staring at her fingers, there had been a flicker of something almost fractured beneath the surface.

Was it really that bad? Qi Sijia’s lips twitched as she stared at the tightly shut door.

The heavy thud from earlier—when she had knocked—still lingered in the air, the owner’s frustration palpable even from their retreating back.

At this point, even a block of wood would have realized the other party had no interest in further interaction.

Standing there for a while longer, her phone buzzed several times in her pocket, but Qi Sijia had no mind to check it.

As the “Flower of Wealth” had said, most human perceptions were clouded by subjective misjudgments.

The probability of someone falling for another person they’d never even met was, statistically speaking, pitifully low.

Qi Sijia lifted her eyes slightly and rapped her knuckles against the door.

“Open the door first. I have something to say to you.”

Meng Jiang wasn’t in the right state of mind. Her left hand clutched her phone, while her right rested on the doorknob.

The door creaked open slightly, hesitation flickering in her eyes as they met Qi Sijia’s.

As if she wanted to say something, but Qi Sijia didn’t give her the chance.

“Thank you for this morning, Miss Meng,” Qi Sijia said quickly.

She was far from the proactive type—relentless pursuit, charging forward, facing adversity head-on—none of those traits belonged to her.

Now, with a clear mind, fully aware that the other person might not even want to be friends, Qi Sijia had enough self-awareness to turn on her heel, ready to leave.

But then, from Meng Jiang’s phone, a voice blared out:

“Are you free to talk? We’ve got leads on that young cleaner you were suspicious of. Do you know who she is?”

Meng Jiang’s carefully composed expression shattered once again. She was already on edge—last night’s cold dismissal from Qi Sijia, who had drawn a clear line between them without even seeing her as a woman, still stung.

Now, just as things had taken an unexpected turn, before she could even process the fact that she was the very person Qi Sijia had been secretly pining for all this time, she found herself caught in a mess of her own making.

The sheer absurdity of it all refused to leave her.

Even with her high IQ and open-mindedness, she had never imagined she’d end up in some ridiculous “I cuckolded myself” melodrama straight out of a cheap novel.

Everything had happened too fast. She had barely managed to calm herself down and think of damage control when Chen Cheng—bless his naturally loud voice—dropped that bombshell.

At those words, Qi Sijia’s head snapped up, her dark eyes locking onto Meng Jiang with unsettling intensity.

For a split second, Meng Jiang felt as though the entire universe was conspiring against her.

Stunned, she turned a slightly flustered gaze toward Qi Sijia.

Their eyes met, and then—Qi Sijia took a deep breath, touched her gas mask, pivoted, and strode toward the fire exit.

In a speed she hadn’t known she possessed, she vanished in seconds.

A long silence followed before Meng Jiang finally snapped back to reality, gripping her phone with icy fury.

“Do you have any idea how much I despise you right now?”

Chen Cheng: “What?”

“Suggest you see a doctor,” Meng Jiang said without emotion.

“I’m not sick.”

“Then go get sick—the kind where the doctor stitches your mouth shut.”

Chen Cheng: “…”

–

Qi Sijia sat expressionless in the elevator as it descended to the first floor. The moment she stepped out, someone walked straight toward her, colliding head-on. Quick to react, she sidestepped just in time.

The lunchbox dangling from her slender fingers slipped free and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. The round, insulated container tipped over, rolling a few times before the white porridge inside spilled across the polished marble floor.

“Are you alright?”

The man who had bumped into her was impeccably groomed.

Dressed in an Armani suit with a sapphire-blue tie, his hair—half black, half white—was slicked back with gel. His entire look exuded the sharp, refined demeanor expected of his age.

An assistant trailed behind him, carrying a briefcase.

Clearly someone who took great care of himself, the middle-aged man held a silver-gray thermos in his right hand.

Without wasting time on pointless arguments, the refined gentleman shifted slightly to avoid the mess, frowned, and shot his assistant a meaningful glance.

The assistant stepped forward, offering Qi Sijia a polite smile. “Are you okay? Would you mind letting us borrow some cleaning supplies? I’ll take care of the mess.”

The man himself remained silent throughout, his gaze never once settling on Qi Sijia.

So he completely missed the way she stood rooted in place, staring at his rigid face for a long moment without moving.

“Auntie?”

“Auntie?”

The assistant glanced around but didn’t spot a janitor’s closet. He called out to Qi Sijia several times, eventually drawing the man’s attention as well, who also addressed her as “auntie.”

The title hit like a splash of cold water.

For some reason, Qi Sijia suddenly felt like laughing. She wasn’t used to being called that, but considering she was wearing a janitor’s uniform emblazoned with the company logo “Blue Sky Sanitation” and a nearly opaque disinfectant mask covering her face, it made sense that Qi Jun would mistake her for one. She responded vaguely with a hum.

Father and daughter stood there—one inside the elevator, the other outside.

No matter how long they’d been apart, Qi Jun had an innate, bl00d-deep familiarity with his daughter’s voice. The air grew still for a moment as he turned his head, scrutinizing Qi Sijia with a measured gaze.

Qi Sijia lowered her eyes calmly. “I’ll handle this.”

“I’m the janitor for this building,” she added.

Qi Jun had sharp, single-lidded eyes that made his stare particularly piercing. As he assessed her, it seemed he was mentally weighing the likelihood of Qi Sijia actually being a janitor.

After a pause, he shook his head and withdrew his gaze, signaling his assistant with a look.

The assistant, ever the smooth operator, thanked Qi Sijia. “We appreciate it. Here’s my card—feel free to reach out if you need anything.”

With that, the assistant pressed the elevator’s up button for Qi Jun.

Qi Sijia lifted her gaze, watching as the elevator ascended until it finally stopped at the top floor.

She narrowed her eyes, unsure whether she felt more relief or frustration.

Ning City had a population of three million. Different circles meant people rarely crossed paths.

Yet somehow, against all odds, Qi Jun knew the owner of the penthouse.

No matter what relationship the two had, given Qi Jun’s personality, it was hard to imagine the chaos that would ensue if he found out his daughter was trying to pursue someone.

Qi Sijia couldn’t help but entertain a mischievous thought—maybe giving it a shot wouldn’t be so bad.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t bring herself to cross her own boundaries. Knowing the other party had already rejected her, she refused to cling on like a nuisance.

Standing still for a moment, she let out a long sigh.

At this point, her dislike for the penthouse owner only filled her with relief.

Thank goodness—

She hadn’t made any further advances.

The floor was a mess, not easy to clean up.

Unhurried, Qi Sijia went to the storage room to fetch cleaning supplies, sweeping both the spilled porridge and the thermal container into the nearby trash bin.

Truth be told, she had never been particularly passionate about this job. She mopped the floor at a leisurely pace.

Thinking about the penthouse owner’s clear rejection and Qi Jun’s earlier visit upstairs, she realized that stubbornly seeking help might only invite unpredictable trouble in the future.

There was probably no point in keeping this job any longer.

Qi Sijia was someone who always saw things through to the end. Without a word, she finished her duties for the day.

At three in the afternoon, after washing her hands and changing out of her cleaning uniform, she sat in the locker room, pulled out her phone, found SA’s contact, and dialed the number.

–

SA processed her resignation with surprising speed, showing no surprise that Qi Sijia hadn’t lasted long.

Even the resignation letter had been prepared in advance. The entire procedure took only ten minutes.

Once she received the resignation documents from SA, Qi Sijia stepped out of HR and called Ye Qianqian.

“What? You quit?”

“So suddenly.”

“Did you even bring up the treatment with that person?”

Qi Sijia held the phone slightly away from her ear, waiting for Ye Qianqian to finish.

Then she reminded her, “Lower your voice. You don’t know where I work—what if Fu Chuchu hears you?”

Ye Qianqian was currently at an art exhibition with her father’s illegitimate daughter. Realizing she had indeed been too loud, she obediently shut her mouth, excused herself, and found a quiet corner.

Then she said, “As much as I support you quitting, won’t resigning cut off any chance of you interacting with the person you wanted help from?”

“No chance anyway,” Qi Sijia replied.

“Why not?”

“Qi Jun knows her.”

“Knowing each other doesn’t change anything. Your bias against Qi Jun shouldn’t extend to everyone he associates with. It’s just about making a friend.”

Qi Sijia sighed. “I had… other intentions toward her.”

Ye Qianqian fell silent.

“Wait, the boss you had a crush on last time…”

“Yeah, it’s her. One-sided crush.” Qi Sijia answered bluntly. “She seemed to figure it out and made it clear she wants nothing to do with me.”

After a long pause, Ye Qianqian muttered, “Damn…”

“That boss has zero taste. You’re Qi Sijia—the one even Meng Jiang couldn’t win over.”

Qi Sijia chuckled. “After so many heartbreaks, I’m used to it.”

–

In the afternoon, after completing her resignation, she returned to the locker room to change.

Qi Sijia briefly explained the resignation process to Gui Xiaolian.

“I thought you’d at least finish the month.”

Qi Sijia said, “That was the original plan.”

“So why quit so suddenly? You were doing fine. Was it because of what the supervisor did? I heard she’s about to be replaced.”

Qi Sijia neither confirmed nor denied it. She had no interest in discussing irrelevant people.

Even so, Gui Xiaolian had an overwhelming desire to share. The conversation meandered from the company’s handling of two aunties to entertainment celebrities.

Qi Sijia sorted through the storage cabinet while occasionally responding to Gui Xiaolian’s chatter.

Suddenly, a blue velvet gift box tumbled out of her bag.

A stunning pink diamond, still with its tag attached, fell out with it. Gui Xiaolian, puzzled, picked it up for Qi Sijia. “It’s so beautiful—why aren’t you wearing it?”

Qi Sijia froze, as if finally remembering something she had yet to deal with. Clutching the gift box, she turned and headed upstairs.

–

Meng Jiang had been in a foul mood all day. That morning, Qi Jun had unexpectedly shown up at her doorstep, only to be stopped outside. Though the old man had come with sincere intentions—bringing a long-prepared contract.

In recent years, medical equipment reforms had hit the Qi family’s healthcare business hard.

Qi Jun was an ambitious entrepreneur who had recently set his sights on the booming digital media sector, hoping to dip a toe in and secure a share of the profits while pivoting his business.

Thus, he had his eyes on the capital in Meng Jiang’s hands.

Their industries were worlds apart, but with financing and restructuring in play, more and more entrepreneurs had been eyeing Meng Jiang as a potential partner in recent years.

Under normal circumstances, if Qi Jun had come to discuss business in earnest, Meng Jiang wouldn’t have refused a proper conversation.

But today, she wasn’t in the mood.

After patiently sharing two cups of tea with Qi Jun, Meng Jiang politely pushed the contract back toward him.

“If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll have Jiang Ru meet with you another day to discuss.”

Jiang Ru was Meng Jiang’s right-hand woman, overseeing investment and business development—effectively second only to Meng Jiang in authority.

Yet Qi Jun’s expression darkened. He had assumed that, given his status and sincerity, securing a deal with Meng Jiang wouldn’t be difficult.

Taking a sip of tea, the warmth in his eyes faded. Meeting Meng Jiang’s gaze, he shifted into negotiation mode, and the two began a back-and-forth.

In her bad mood, Meng Jiang offered no courtesy.

Adopting the unyielding stance of a shrewd businesswoman, she left Qi Jun stuck in an awkward position, thoroughly intimidated by her unrelenting demeanor.

In their circles, people usually left room for compromise—never burning bridges entirely.

Meng Jiang forced a smile and offered him an out:

“Here’s the thing—you’re a generation older than me, so we don’t quite see eye to eye. Young people should talk to young people—that’s where the real conversation happens. How about this? If you arrange for the eldest Qi daughter to join me for tea, we might just find some common ground. Who knows? If we hit it off, I might just agree to sit down and seriously discuss this contract with the Qi family.”

Meng Jiang’s words were meant as a polite deflection, but to Qi Jun, they sounded like a calculated move.

By the time he left empty-handed, he had already made up his mind—he would organize a banquet and ensure Qi Sijia attended, giving her a chance to mingle with Meng Jiang.

Meanwhile, Qi Jun’s sudden visit had eaten up much of Meng Jiang’s time. Her driver was already waiting downstairs for her afternoon variety show recording.

There wasn’t much time left to explain—not that she couldn’t skip work.

But Meng Jiang had no valid reason to take leave. Her vacation in Ningcheng had been announced weeks ago, and Lan Tai’s variety show only filmed twice a week.

With the set already prepared, skipping out at the last minute would be inexcusable.

Meng Jiang searched downstairs for Qi Sijia but couldn’t find her. She had no choice but to wait until after work to apologize.

At 8:30 p.m., Meng Jiang wrapped up and headed home, settling into the back of her extended limousine.

The first thing she did was pull out her phone and log into Huangjiang Novel Website. The conversation between Ji Liu and her was still stuck on the page where she had encouraged the latter to bravely pursue her.

The private message showed as unread.

Meng Jiang felt a mix of emotions as her fingers unconsciously swiped into Ji Liu’s column. What she saw next left her utterly stunned.

Ji Liu had taken down the hiatus notice!

The comment section of Sinking was filled with cheers and laughter.

Author, are you coming back?

So moved, the novel I’m following isn’t abandoned after all.

Ji Ji, did you find a new girlfriend? So happy for you—

…

After scrolling through the entire comment section, she couldn’t find a single reply from Qi Sijia.

However, Ji Liu had always been reliable—once she made a promise, she kept it.

Taking down the hiatus notice meant there was a high chance she had found a new romance and was ready to resume updates.

Based on Ji Liu’s decade-long pattern of updates, her veteran readers jokingly summarized: “Breakup equals hiatus, new love equals updates, no love equals no updates.”

As Meng Jiang watched the growing chorus of teasing in the comments, she absurdly rolled down the car window and rubbed her throbbing temples.

Forcing herself to calm down, she logged into WeChat.

Meng Jiang patted Qi Sijia.

Meng Jiang patted Qi Sijia.

Meng Jiang patted Qi Sijia.

Ten pats in a row.

Soon after, Qi Sijia replied: ?

Meng Jiang: Are you at home?

Qi Sijia shot back: What’s the matter?

What, are you worried I’ll come over to sleep at your place again tonight?

Qi Sijia: Meng Jiang!

Even through the screen, the resistance was palpable. Meng Jiang paused before continuing: After washing the dishes this morning, I wasn’t sure where to put them. If you’re home, could you check if I placed them correctly?

This time, Meng Jiang’s tone was much more normal.

Qi Sijia responded in kind: I’m not home.

Working overtime? Meng Jiang probed.

Qi Sijia: .

No denial meant confirmation.

If she was working overtime, there was no chance she was out on a romantic date with someone else.

Yet the fact remained—Ji Liu had indeed resumed updates.

Meng Jiang froze, a half-formed idea flashing through her mind.

As the car sped through the streets, lights flickering past, a firework exploded in the night sky. Meng Jiang’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Where’s your script, Qi Sijia?”

“I don’t have one. I can’t write it.”

“Why can’t you write it?”

“No reason. I can’t help you this time. I’m not in the right headspace. I just can’t write, understand?”

“I understand. So what would put you in the right headspace?”

…

“Let me rephrase—what part of the story are you struggling with?”

Qi Sijia met Meng Jiang’s gaze with a calm expression, then muttered, “Romance, attraction. I don’t have much experience. You’d better find someone else.”

“Hmm, have you considered trying with me?” Meng Jiang asked, noticing Qi Sijia stiffen and turn away.

“Stop joking,” Qi Sijia avoided her eyes.

That night on campus, someone was confessing their feelings. Fireworks bloomed in the sky, lights glittering brilliantly. Meng Jiang used the glow to study Qi Sijia, who kept her head down, indifferent to the spectacle. Her long fingers rested on the table, picking at bits of wood.

Sensing Meng Jiang’s gaze lingering on her ears, she reached up to tug at her black hair, covering the tips of her flushed ears completely.

In a soft voice, she said, “I’m not that kind of person.”

The usually composed Qi Sijia now wore a trace of unease, her eyes flickering, looking unbearably innocent.

Meng Jiang met that gaze, only for Qi Sijia to quickly look away.

Time seemed to freeze.

She couldn’t remember how long it had been, but Meng Jiang was squeezed into Qi Sijia’s narrow seat, bracing her arms as she leaned her head closer.

“Do I really have to spell this out for you too?”

Meng Jiang whispered into her ear with a soft laugh, “Actually… I’m not that kind of person either.”

The fireworks in the sky had long faded.

Silence settled around them, and in that prolonged quiet, no one could guess what Qi Sijia was thinking.

An eternity seemed to pass before she slowly lifted her gaze, locking eyes with Meng Jiang.

Her eyes were like water-polished pebbles, the light shimmering across them, dazzlingly bright.

Removing her glasses, she awkwardly clasped Meng Jiang’s hand.

Nervous yet earnest, she pressed Meng Jiang against the desk, halting all movement. “Is this how I’m supposed to respond to you?”

She asked.

Meng Jiang: “…”

That night, whether the script Qi Sijia wrote was sweet or not was hard to judge, but Meng Jiang remembered that her kisses were undeniably sweet. As they deepened, her usually cool and restrained face gradually flushed with a deep, intoxicating red.

More dazzling than the fireworks that night, it stirred an indescribable flutter in her heart.

The memory resurfaced, and unconsciously, Meng Jiang curved her lips. She loosely tied up her seaweed-like long hair with a hairband, revealing her slender neck. The heat within her subsided as she touched up her makeup in the mirror.

“Uncle Li, drive faster.”