Quick Transmigration: Saving the White Moonlight in a Matriarchal World - Chapter 8

After lunch, Lin Qingchi went upstairs for a nap. Shen Yunzhou, with nothing to occupy him, washed some grapes and sat in the living room watching cartoons. 

The two bears on the screen were adorable, and they made Shen Yunzhou laugh a few times. But as the show went on, his laughter faded, and his expression grew blank. 

Hadn’t he decided to stop deluding himself? Then what was he doing now? 

Here he was, in Lin Qingchi’s home, sitting in her living room. Even worse, last night, and this morning, he had let himself fall into her arms again, half-heartedly resisting but never truly stopping himself. 

Shen Yunzhou turned off the television. 

He felt a surge of self-loathing. 

Unable to resist even the smallest temptation, he kept giving in, over and over, simply because he knew that Lin Qingchi liked him. Every time she beckoned, he found himself powerless to say no, indulging himself again and again. 

During the two months Lin Qingchi was abroad, he had rented a small apartment, taken on a new job, and seemingly forgotten about her. 

But yesterday, just catching sight of her car, without even being sure she was in it, had made him take the first step toward her, as if on instinct. 

Shen Yunzhou felt lost. 

Back in college, he had liked Lin Qingchi. 

But after that misunderstanding, he had forced himself to stop thinking about her, to stop dreaming. Later, he started dating Fang Qiong out of curiosity, and over time, he genuinely fell for her. 

He had loved Fang Qiong. 

Because of that love, he had refused to break up with her, even at the cost of his grandmother being sent to a nursing home and himself being sent abroad. 

At least, that’s what Shen Yunzhou had always believed. 

But two days ago, in this very villa, Lin Qingchi had asked him a piercing question: Why, when he was with Fang Qiong, had he refused to let her touch him? 

Lin Qingchi hadn’t forced herself on him. She hadn’t cornered or trapped him. And yet, he hadn’t run away. On the contrary, in the end, he had willingly leaned into her embrace. 

Her question had struck him like a bolt of lightning, leaving his mind in shambles. For the past two days, he had refused to think about it, refused to ask himself why he hadn’t run. 

Was it curiosity? 

Or was it something deeper, something darker, a willingness to fall? 

If the first time could be excused as a lapse in judgment, then what about last night? What about this morning? 

Was it greed? 

No, he wasn’t that insatiable. 

So much time had passed, and after everything that had happened, even after his relationship with Fang Qiong, Shen Yunzhou began to wonder: Could it be that the one he had truly loved all along was Lin Qingchi? 

It was absurd. 

【he figured it out so quickly! Qingchi, you’re amazing!】 

“Quiet.” 

Lin Qingchi, who had supposedly gone upstairs to nap, was already awake. “Fang Qiong’s car just entered the estate. You should head downstairs.” 

【Drama incoming!】005 buzzed with excitement, its data stream rippling like waves. 

Bang, bang, bang! 

Suddenly, a loud pounding echoed from the foyer. Shen Yunzhou’s face turned pale, convinced it must be Lin Qingchi’s mother. 

While he stood frozen, unsure of what to do, Lin Qingchi’s voice drifted down from upstairs. “Zhouzhou, go open the door. It’s Fang Qiong. She’s here for me.” 

Fang Qiong. 

Shen Yunzhou looked up to see Lin Qingchi standing at the top of the stairs in her robe. He let out a small sigh of relief and walked to the door to open it. 

“What are you doing here?!” Fang Qiong demanded the moment she saw him, her hand still raised mid-knock. 

Shen Yunzhou didn’t answer. He turned, intending to leave, but before he could, his wrist was yanked back. Fang Qiong slammed him against the door. 

“I didn’t say you could leave!” she snapped. 

“Let go!” Shen Yunzhou winced as the back of his head hit the door, his brow furrowing in pain. 

“Why are you—” 

Fang Qiong’s furious questioning came to an abrupt halt. In their scuffle, Shen Yunzhou’s collar had slipped down slightly, exposing his shoulder. 

There, against his skin, were a series of marks, some faintly bruised, some a deep crimson. The fresher ones, still vibrant, were unmistakable. 

Fang Qiong’s eyes reddened instantly. 

Her throat bobbed as she tried to swallow her emotions. 

“Let go of me!” Shen Yunzhou, noticing her gaze, struggled harder. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Lin Qingchi!” 

“Fang Qiong,” Lin Qingchi’s calm voice descended from upstairs as she walked down the stairs, “let him go.” 

Fang Qiong froze, her eyes reddening further. She cast a deep, lingering look at Shen Yunzhou before suddenly releasing him. Without missing a beat, she strode toward Lin Qingchi and raised her hand to slap her. 

Shen Yunzhou’s face turned pale. 

Slap! 

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the room. 

It wasn’t Lin Qingchi who got hit. Fang Qiong’s head snapped to the side, her cheek swelling red. 

Lin Qingchi retracted her hand nonchalantly, brushing past Fang Qiong as she walked toward the door. She pulled the dazed Shen Yunzhou into her arms, gently inspecting the back of his head. 

“No bump. Does it hurt?” she asked softly. 

Shen Yunzhou blinked, then replied, “It hurts.” 

Lin Qingchi’s expression darkened. “In that case, I should’ve slapped her harder.” 

Shen Yunzhou: “…” 

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, a strange happiness bubbled up inside him. “It’s fine. No need to hit her again, her face hurts more than mine.” 

Her cheek was already swelling. It probably wouldn’t heal for days. 

“Go upstairs,” Lin Qingchi said. “Head to the study, read a book, play a game. I’ll handle things here.” 

Shen Yunzhou nodded. “Okay.” 

Lin Qingchi watched him ascend to the third floor before turning her gaze to Fang Qiong, who had been standing motionless since the slap. 

What she saw surprised her. 

Fang Qiong’s face was twisted with fury, her bloodshot eyes filled with malice. The swelling on her left cheek only made her expression more ghastly. 

“So, it was you who told me to meet her,” Lin Qingchi said directly, wasting no time. 

“And if it was?” Fang Qiong’s voice was sharp, like a blade. Her eyes burned with anger. “I treated you as my best friend, and you, you slept with my boyfriend! Not just once, but multiple times!” 

Lin Qingchi chuckled lightly. “When did I ever sleep with Jiang Zhou? Why don’t I remember?” 

“Don’t play games with me!” Fang Qiong exploded. “You know I’m talking about Shen Yunzhou! Lin Qingchi, you knew I still loved him. How could you touch him? How dare you?!” 

“You love him?” 

Lin Qingchi’s laugh grew louder, tinged with mockery. 

“Fang Qiong, if you loved him, you wouldn’t have asked if he took that 20 million yuan.” 

“…What?” 

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Fang Qiong’s head. 

Lin Qingchi clicked her tongue. “If you truly loved him, you wouldn’t have let Jiang Zhou parade you in front of him. If you truly loved him, you wouldn’t, even after all these years, be unaware of the things your dear mother has done.” 

Fang Qiong’s expression faltered, panic rising in her eyes. “What did she do? Do you know something?” 

Not telling. 

Lin Qingchi plucked the memory from her thoughts like picking lint off her sleeve and suddenly asked, “Fang Qiong, back then, did you realize Shen Yunzhou liked me? Is that why you made sure he overheard those things?” 

Jinghua University was enormous, with thousands of classrooms spread across its campus. How had Shen Yunzhou just happened to pass by that particular room? 

Lin Qingchi was only speculating. 

But the way Fang Qiong’s pupils contracted and her expression froze was all the confirmation she needed. Her face practically screamed, Ah! I’ve been found out. 

“Get out,” Lin Qingchi said coldly. 

Fang Qiong froze. 

Eight years of secrets, buried and hidden, had finally unraveled. She stumbled out of the villa in a daze. 

The sight of bustling cars on the street brought her back to her senses. Gritting her teeth, she suddenly accelerated. 

She needed answers from her mother. 

Lin Qingchi had no reason to lie. She knew Shen Yunzhou’s character well enough to be sure he would never have taken those 20 million yuan. 

It had to be her mother. She must have done something. Something that forced Shen Yunzhou to leave. 

Fang Qiong pressed the accelerator to the floor, running red lights as she sped all the way home. 

Fuming with anger, she stormed into the family’s old estate. But the sight that greeted her inside, the sight of Jiang Zhou sitting comfortably beside her mother, doused her fury like another bucket of ice water.