Stealing My Ex's White Moonlight - Chapter 2

The System watched Cheng Yun’s dejected figure retreat and opened its mouth. “Host, you really went all out.”

“Just right,” Shi Mi replied.

Having thoroughly beaten up the scumbag woman, Shi Mi’s gloomy mood vanished completely. “Time to go home and sleep.”

Housing prices in Yangjiang City were exorbitant. Due to the plot’s forced arrangement, the original owner had saved for three years to buy a second-hand apartment outright—intended as her marital home with Cheng Yun.

The apartment was on the fifth floor, accessible only by stairs.

Though small, with just two bedrooms and a living room, the original owner had made it feel cozy and inviting.

Returning home, Shi Mi switched on the living room light, sat on the sofa, and began strategizing how to complete the Brilliant Star Path.

The original owner had solid acting skills but never achieved true fame. Besides bad luck, her choice of roles had also played a part.

She had started as an extra, gradually working her way up to featured extra, small supporting roles, and larger supporting roles. Eventually, she caught the director’s eye and landed the role of the fourth female lead with significant screen time.

Though the character was unpopular, the original owner managed to gain a small degree of fame through the role.

After that, similar roles flooded in.

The original owner didn’t understand at the time. By the time she had enough recognition to choose her own scripts, she found herself typecast, unable to break free from these roles.

It seemed fulfilling the original owner’s dream of becoming Best Actress wouldn’t be easy. First, she needed to transform her image and shed her existing labels.

The System floated out. “Host, paparazzi captured the scene of you hitting Cheng Yun earlier. If you had parted ways peacefully, Cheng Yun would have suppressed those photos. But now, they’ll be used as weapons against you.”

“Mm, I know.”

“You’re remarkably calm,” the System remarked, unsure whether to praise or criticize. “No wonder you’re the Ace of Aces in the Villain Department.”

Shi Mi scoffed. “You think a few photos can force me out of the entertainment industry? Think bigger! This is just free publicity.”

“Uh… that makes sense… But Cheng Yun wants to freeze your career?”

“A newly crowned Best Actress with no real influence? She can’t just freeze my career on a whim. At most, she’ll make it harder for me to get roles.”

The System remembered something else. “You’ve offended Cheng Yun. Completing the ‘peaceful breakup’ mission will be even harder now, right?”

“That’s the easiest part.”

A question mark slowly materialized above the System. No way! Cheng Yun is notoriously petty. After you beat her so badly, you still expect her to agree to a peaceful breakup?!

The next day, Shi Mi drove to the set of Midsummer Night’s Endless.

The original owner of her body had played a scheming green tea b1tch in the drama—a character who seduced the male lead, tried to climb the social ladder, and ultimately got humiliated by the Third Female Lead.

Today’s scene involved the Third Female Lead humiliating the green tea b1tch and warning her to stay away from the male lead.

After changing into her costume and applying her makeup, Shi Mi was soon called to the set.

The original owner’s acting skills were no joke. Within three seconds, Shi Mi slipped into character, her voice trembling with pitiful vulnerability: “It’s not what you think…”

Suddenly, the Third Female Lead grabbed a glass of water from the table and splashed it in Shi Mi’s face. “B1tch!”

Shi Mi froze, stunned.

This action and line weren’t in the script at all.

“Cut! Song Wei, what the hell was that?!” the director yelled.

Song Wei immediately feigned hurt. “I’m so sorry, Director! I got too caught up in the scene. When I saw the water on the table, I instinctively grabbed it and threw it.”

Instead of apologizing to Shi Mi, Song Wei glared at her with blatant provocation.

Shi Mi remained calm, as if she hadn’t been the one drenched in water.

As the villain in the drama, Song Wei harbored a deep obsession with Cheng Yun. In the early stages, she schemed to separate Cheng Yun and Jiang You, and later sabotaged Cheng Yun’s relationship with his “white moonlight” (idealized love interest). Desperate to get Cheng Yun into bed, she plotted to drug him, only for her plan to backfire and ultimately bring Cheng Yun and his “white moonlight” closer together.

In the end, Song Wei’s family was ruined, and she died by jumping off a building.

Song Wei had bullied Jiang You countless times. The original Jiang You, long subjected to Cheng Yun’s gaslighting, had become meek and submissive, forced to silently endure her torment due to the script’s control over her character.

But now… Shi Mi had returned.

Excellent.

Old scores and new grievances would be settled together.

“Remove the water from the table. Touch up Jiang You’s makeup. Everyone, take a break.”

Shi Mi sat down on a stool under the sunshade, her assistant wiping the water from her face while the makeup artist quickly retouched her makeup.

“Action!”

“It’s not what you think…”

Slap!

Song Wei raised her hand and delivered a swift, brutal slap.

Five clear finger marks appeared on half of Shi Mi’s face. She narrowed her eyes.

The entire set froze. Previously, Song Wei had confined her bullying of Jiang You to cold taunts and petty sabotage. Now, she had resorted to physical violence in full view of everyone.

What had Jiang You done to provoke such fury from Song Wei?

On set, Jiang You was quiet and withdrawn, her aloof personality making her unpopular. No one dared speak up, fearing they’d become targets themselves, and instead they watched Jiang You, the punching bag, with a mix of schadenfreude and apprehension.

They were surprised. The Jiang You who usually lowered her gaze in humiliation seemed different now, her eyes sharp and calm.

The Director was the first to react. “Get an ice pack for Jiang You’s face, quick!”

“Right away!”

A junior assistant rushed over with an ice pack. “Sister Jiang, are you alright?”

Shi Mi remained silent.

Song Wei, feeling triumphant, texted Cheng Yun: Sister Cheng, I was so furious I couldn’t help but slap her.

Earlier that morning, she had messaged Cheng Yun to ask about the progress of his breakup with Jiang You.

Cheng Yun replied: Jiang You refuses to break up.

Song Wei: Why?

Cheng Yun: She’s clinging to me desperately.

When Song Wei saw the photo Cheng Yun sent—his face swollen from the slap, his usual handsome features distorted—she felt a surge of protective anger. She wanted to slap Jiang You twice as hard.

The slap had momentarily quelled her fury.

After condescending to take the role of the Third Female Lead in this production, she finally felt she was getting some payback.

Shi Mi entered the restroom, locked the door, and kicked open each stall to confirm no one was inside.

Song Wei, fixing her hair in the mirror, watched Shi Mi’s series of manic actions, her gaze finally settling on Shi Mi’s face. “Quite artistic, isn’t it?”

Shi Mi remained silent.

Feeling like she’d punched cotton, Song Wei grew even more infuriated. “Someone like you isn’t even worthy of carrying Sister Cheng’s shoes. If you had any self-awareness, you’d break up with her immediately.”

“Sister Cheng dating you is a blessing you’ve earned across lifetimes.”

“People should know when they’ve had enough.”

With a calm expression, Shi Mi walked to the mop sink, filled a bucket with water, lifted it, and poured the entire contents over Song Wei from head to toe.

She held grudges and usually retaliated on the spot.

“Ah—!”

Soaked to the bone and looking like a drowned chicken, Song Wei had lost all her earlier arrogance.

Her eyes widened, and she shrieked, “Jiang You, what the hell are you doing?!”

Shi Mi scoffed.

“You damn country bumpkin! How dare you—”

Completely enraged, Song Wei lunged forward to grab Shi Mi’s hair. But before she could touch a single strand, a slap landed squarely on her face.

Smack!

Shi Mi tilted her head to meet Song Wei’s incredulous gaze, her movements crisp and decisive as she shook her stinging hand. “You’re being too loud.”

Song Wei spun around in a full circle, her mind reeling. She touched her cheek, muttering in disbelief, “You dared to hit me? You actually dared to hit me?”

“A country bumpkin like you dares to hit me?”

“Do you even know who my father is?!”

Her eyes burned with resentment and malice as she raised her hand to slap Shi Mi. But Shi Mi caught her wrist, and with her other hand, she gripped Song Wei’s throat, pinning her against the wall.

Shi Mi’s voice remained calm. “What do you think you are?”

“Ugh—”

Song Wei’s face flushed crimson, her mouth gaping as she gasped for air. She instinctively clawed at the icy fingers tightening around her neck, but her efforts were futile.

Terror seized Song Wei’s soul. Her face turned deathly pale, veins bulging on her forehead, her eyes rolling back in their sockets. The rasping sound of her throat struggling for air filled the room.

The sensation of impending death flooded her mind. Memories flashed through her consciousness like a film reel: the light at the end of a tunnel, the feeling of her spirit leaving her body, floating weightlessly above.

The System promptly intervened: “…In a law-abiding society, you can’t just kill people.” After a pause, it added, “You’re a supporting character, not a villain.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Yeah, you know? The woman’s practically dead, and you still think you know? What a load of crap.

Seeing Shi Mi ignore its warnings, the System escalated: “Host, release her immediately. In a law-abiding society, you can’t just kill people. Failure to comply will result in expulsion from this world.”

“She’s not dead yet.”

Shi Mi slightly loosened her grip.

Song Wei gasped for air, her eyes wide with the terror of narrowly escaping death. Suddenly, her face went cold, and her entire body began to tremble.

Shi Mi had produced a folding knife. The icy blade pressed against Song Wei’s cheek, slowly sliding down to her jawline.

“Jiang You, w-what are you going to do?” Song Wei’s eyes followed the knife’s movement, terrified that Shi Mi might accidentally slash her face.

At that moment, Song Wei felt like she was on a guillotine, the blade poised above her neck, ready to fall at any moment.

The agonizing wait for death amplified her fear to its breaking point.

Shi Mi murmured, “Such a beautiful face… a few cuts would only make it more stunning, don’t you think?”

“You… you wouldn’t dare…”

With a scoff, Shi Mi pressed harder. Tiny beads of bl00d welled up on Song Wei’s cheek. “Oops, my bad. It just slipped.”

“You…”

Song Wei’s eyes widened, her last psychological defenses crumbling under Shi Mi’s utterly calm expression and nonchalant gaze. She stammered, “I… I… I was wrong. Waaah, I was wrong!”

Shi Mi tapped her cheek with the dagger. “Just focus on acting. Cause trouble for me, and I’ll make sure you regret it. Understand?”

“…I understand.”

Terrified to meet Shi Mi’s eyes, Song Wei slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor, her palms clammy with cold sweat, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Clinging to the wall, she struggled to her feet after several attempts and stumbled out of the room in disarray.

Shi Mi washed her hands, hearing the sharp click-clack of high heels approaching.

She glanced up and saw her own cold, elegant face reflected in the mirror.

Lin Wanqing.