The White Moonlight Who Went Mad in Silence [Rebirth] - Chapter 7

After that, the two of them remained silent the entire way. Neither spoke, and a strange, heavy atmosphere filled the car.

Qinglan Hospital was located in the city center, so the ride was a bit long. In this silence, it felt even more unbearable. Yi An glanced at Ming Lan, who was quietly looking out the window. She didn’t know what to say and could only shift her gaze to Ming Lan’s swollen ankle. The injury looked even more frightening against her pale, delicate skin. It would probably take a while to heal.

Of course, Ming Lan noticed Yi An’s gaze. No matter how she placed her foot, it felt uncomfortable. Her toes curled slightly as she shifted her foot back a little.

Yi An noticed the movement and finally found an opportunity to speak.

“Is your foot cold?”

Since Yi An had spoken first, Ming Lan didn’t hold back. She simply nodded in response.

The driver was just about to remind them that there was a blanket in the side cabinet, but then he saw Yi An gently lift Ming Lan’s foot onto her lap. He kept quiet and focused on the road.

Ming Lan’s foot was indeed cold. Yi An placed it on her lap and opened the large front pocket of her hoodie. She carefully tucked Ming Lan’s foot inside, making sure not to touch the injured part. Then she gently pulled down Ming Lan’s skirt to cover her legs.

Ming Lan quietly watched her. That heavy feeling from earlier began to fade a little. She finally spoke the words she had been holding in.

“Please don’t keep talking about favors. I want to treat you as a friend. When you say things like that, it really makes me uncomfortable.”

She didn’t want to hear the word “favor” coming from Yi An. In her mind, what the Ming family had done for Yi An was no different from what any charity foundation would do for a student in need. It was simply a form of social responsibility. Especially in her past life, that small favor should not have demanded so much from Yi An.

Yi An looked up at her. Seeing the sadness in Ming Lan’s expression, she finally realized that she had misunderstood her intentions.

“I’m sorry. I was being too sensitive.” After she spoke, she met Ming Lan’s eyes and gently pressed her lips together. “Ming Lan.”

That name finally brought a bit of color back to Ming Lan’s face. She leaned against the armrest, resting her head on her hand. Her foot moved slightly in Yi An’s lap.

“Then why don’t you move into my place?”

Yi An looked uncomfortable as she gently held Ming Lan’s restless foot through the fabric.

“I don’t want to owe you too much.”

“It’s not a debt,” Ming Lan said after thinking for a moment. “If you can live with Cheng Yurong, then think of this the same way. Just keep me company. I’m starting a new job, and my house is too far from the office. I need to move out anyway. Honestly, I’m a little scared to live alone.”

“It’s not the same,” Yi An replied. She could tell Ming Lan was just trying to make her feel better, but she still couldn’t accept it with a clear conscience.

“How is it not the same? Is it because your relationship with Cheng Yurong is closer than with me?”

Ming Lan felt that had to be the reason. After all, Yi An had known Cheng Yurong for over ten years, while she and Yi An were practically strangers. This was probably only the second time they had met.

“Of course not,” Yi An immediately denied it. Seeing that Ming Lan still looked doubtful, she explained further. “It’s because Yurong and I split the rent. I couldn’t afford your place.”

There was no need to ask. Any property under Ming Lan’s name would be extremely expensive. Yi An’s monthly salary probably wouldn’t even cover the rent. If she lived there for free, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

“You two live in one room and still split the rent?”

Ming Lan frowned in confusion. She really didn’t understand how things worked. In her past life, she had gone from one extreme to the other. From luxury and wealth to being exiled and alone. After selling Qinglan Group, she had been placed under house arrest by Li Jue and lost all freedom. It was Yi An who rescued her, and after that, they lived together while fleeing overseas. That was where everything ended.

Yi An nodded.

“Of course. Even though it’s one room, we have two beds. So we each pay half.”

Ming Lan finally understood. No wonder something had felt off earlier.

As they talked, the car arrived at Qinglan Hospital. It pulled up to the entrance. After notifying the hospital director, a nurse came out pushing a wheelchair.

Ming Lan had to get out, and she was barefoot. Yi An glanced at her, then carried her out of the car and gently placed her into the wheelchair. The driver took a blanket from the cabinet in the car and covered her legs.

After checking her ankle, the doctor confirmed that although it looked serious, there was no bone damage. However, she needed to rest well and apply the medicine regularly. Otherwise, the pain would last much longer.

They applied the medicine at the hospital and picked up some to take home. There was no need for her to be admitted, so they could go back.

Once they returned to the car, Ming Lan saw Yi An still standing outside.

“Why aren’t you getting in?”

“You’ve got the medicine now. I’ll head back. Take your time on the way.”

Yi An had originally wanted to pay for Ming Lan’s treatment, since she had gotten hurt while helping send Cheng Yurong home. But this was Ming Lan’s family’s hospital. All the fees were already being handled by staff. She hadn’t had the chance to pay, so she planned to ask Cheng Yurong to visit Ming Lan another day.

Ming Lan looked at her, still as stubborn as ever.

“I twisted my ankle. I can’t go home and tell my parents. So I need to stay somewhere else for now. Stay with me.”

“But… won’t Mr. and Mrs. Ming find out anyway?”

Yi An didn’t believe this could be hidden. Especially since this was Ming Lan’s own hospital. Her parents were probably already aware. Not going home would only make them more worried.

“If I can hide it for a day, then that’s good enough. They’re going on a business trip in a few days. By the time they come back, I’ll be almost healed.”

Ming Lan knew her excuse was weak. But if she let Yi An leave now, and knowing how far away she lived, she had no idea when she would be able to see her again.

Under Ming Lan’s insistence, Yi An had no choice but to get back in the car. She took out her phone and sent a message to Cheng Yurong, letting her know she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.

Ming Lan asked where Yi An worked. It turned out she was employed at the Ye Group, which was conveniently located near Qinglan Group’s headquarters.

Ming Lan happened to have a property nearby, so they could stay there for the night.

When Yi An heard the address Ming Lan gave to the driver, she immediately understood. She had been right all along. Any random property Ming Lan offered would cost more than Yi An’s entire salary, and by a large margin.

The car entered a high-end residential complex. Yi An helped Ming Lan into the elevator. Only then did she realize that the entire floor belonged to Ming Lan.

The enormous floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of the city at night. The interior was elegant and luxurious, with no sign of being unused. Even though no one lived here regularly, it was clearly cleaned on a schedule. Everything was spotless and comfortable. The only thing missing was the warmth of daily life.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll have dinner delivered. Let’s keep it simple tonight.”

Ming Lan sat down on the sofa and spoke casually to Yi An before picking up the phone to order food.

Yi An didn’t know what to do in such a place. She quietly sat at the corner of the couch and stayed still.

After the call ended, Ming Lan noticed Yi An’s discomfort. But the truth was, she didn’t really know what to do either. In their previous life, Yi An had always been the one taking care of her, always the one starting conversations. Now that Yi An was silent, Ming Lan had no idea what to say.

“By the way, we still don’t have each other’s contact info, do we?”

After a long pause, Ming Lan finally remembered something important. Once she brought it up, Yi An agreed, walked over, and took out her phone. They exchanged contact details, then fell silent again.

Ming Lan glanced down at her phone. Yi An’s profile picture was extremely simple—a tree, seemingly taken a long time ago, with blurry image quality. Her username was just one word, “Yi,” and there was no additional information. Even her moments feed was completely blank.

With nothing to learn from the profile, Ming Lan set the phone down and searched for a new topic.

“Is that room okay for you? It’s a guest room. No one’s ever stayed in it before.”

“Anything is fine.”

Yi An had no objections. There was nothing about this place that one could possibly complain about.

“Then I’ll show you around.”

Wearing slippers, Ming Lan stood on one foot and began hopping forward. Yi An quickly stepped in to stop her from doing anything dangerous.

“I can take a look myself. If you hurt yourself again, that’ll be even more trouble.”

“It’s fine. Just support me.”

Ming Lan leaned on Yi An as they walked over and opened the guest bedroom door. The room was spacious and even came with a private bathroom. Ming Lan glanced at the dinner delivery time and figured that since they were just sitting around anyway, she might as well suggest something.

“You can go take a shower first. Dinner should be here around then.”

“Alright.”

Yi An agreed, then looked down at herself. She hadn’t brought a change of clothes.

Ming Lan noticed too and leaned against the wall, heading toward the master bedroom.

“There should be some clothes that were prepared for me here. You can pick out a set of my pajamas for now. Then just let me know your size and I’ll have someone send you a new set. I was going to have them bring over more clothes for me anyway.”

Unable to turn down Ming Lan’s kindness, Yi An had no choice but to accept.

After Yi An grabbed a set of pajamas and went to the guest bathroom, Ming Lan sat alone on the sofa and looked at the dress she was wearing. A new problem dawned on her.

What was she supposed to do?

Although the gown looked simple, with her current condition and no one around to help, it would be nearly impossible to change out of it. On top of that, her injured ankle couldn’t get wet.

It felt excessive to call a housekeeper over this late at night, but asking Yi An for more help again might be too much.

She lay back on the sofa, caught in a dilemma, until Yi An came out wearing Ming Lan’s pajamas. The clothes were brand new, but clearly tailored to Ming Lan’s size. What fit her perfectly left Yi An with exposed wrists and ankles.

After all, even with Ming Lan in high heels and Yi An in flats, the two of them were barely the same height. Fortunately, their body shapes were close enough that it still worked, even if not ideal.

“I’ll have them send over another set of pajamas for you.”

Ming Lan sent out another message.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Dinner had arrived.

Since Ming Lan couldn’t move, Yi An went to open the door. The service staff entered and carefully set the table, arranging each dish with professional courtesy. After offering polite well-wishes, they left. The service was thoughtful and elegant.

“You really didn’t have to go all out like this.”

Yi An looked at the beautifully prepared dishes. It felt a little extravagant for just the two of them.

“We’re celebrating our reunion.”

The dishes were delicate but not excessive, so it didn’t feel like too much was wasted.

In her previous life, Ming Lan had never gotten the chance to share a proper meal with Yi An. Now, at last, she had the chance to make up for it in peace.

Yi An looked down at the outfit she was wearing. It had been chosen and prepared by Ming Lan. Of course she had no idea how expensive it was, but after hearing what Cheng Yurong said, she immediately felt a little anxious.

She decided to take it off. There was no way she could accept something so costly from Ming Lan.

Yi An folded the clothes neatly and placed them carefully into the bag next to her. Then she changed back into what she had worn the day before and went to wash them. At first, she wanted to wash the other set too, but Cheng Yurong stopped her, explaining that the fabric required dry cleaning and that washing it with water would ruin it. She seemed very confident in her experience.

After tidying up and grabbing a quick takeout meal, it was already quite late. Yi An lay down in her bed, while Cheng Yurong was still awake, searching for jobs on her laptop.

As the night grew quiet, Yi An could not sleep well. She felt as if her body were floating, gently swaying in the dark.

It was not a pleasant feeling. Her eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to lift. She struggled, trying to open them, and finally, with all her effort, she managed to snap them open.

She saw herself, going to work just like she did every day.

Slowly, she merged into the figure she was watching and began repeating the same daily routine. Then one day, without any warning, the company announced that all employees would undergo a health check.

It was a standard procedure. Yi An went with her colleagues to the hospital, watched the nurse insert the needle into her arm, and saw a vial of bl00d drawn. Nothing seemed out of place, and she continued her usual life, commuting between home and work without any disruptions.

Two days later, someone at the company told her to go to the chairman’s office on the top floor.

She was just a regular employee. She had never even seen any of the senior executives in person. Being called to the chairman’s office made her incredibly nervous.

When she entered, she saw an elderly man with gray hair standing next to the chairman. A document was placed in front of her. It was a paternity test result confirming a biological relationship between two people, and one of them was her.

From that point on, Yi An felt like she was living inside the dream itself. Everything in it felt vivid and real. She learned that she was the long-lost heiress of the Ye family and the great-granddaughter of the old man she had seen. She was brought back into the family, sent overseas, and given every resource possible in order to become a capable and independent successor.

The process was long and intense. But before she had truly grown into the role, she saw a news headline while sitting in her office. It announced that the Li family, Bai family, Xiao family, and several others were officially launching a joint acquisition of Qinglan Group.

Seeing the familiar name immediately brought someone to mind. Yi An hurried back to the country, desperate to find out what had happened to Ming Lan. But by that time, Li Jue and the others had already locked down the entire city. She could not find any information at all.

That was the moment she realized just how powerless she truly was.

Everything that followed felt like a nightmare. She watched Qinglan Group disappear. She pulled a nearly unconscious Ming Lan from the basement of the Li family estate. Then the patriarch of the Ye family passed away, and Yi An was forced out of the family. She and Ming Lan went into hiding, living in exile.

Out on the ocean, Ming Lan stopped breathing in her arms. Yi An held her tightly and leapt into the deep sea with her.

The sensation of drowning was so intense that Yi An woke up gasping for breath. She clutched her throat, which burned as if it had been filled with seawater, and struggled to breathe.

In the darkness, only one thought filled her mind.

She was not dead.

She was alive again.

Yi An fumbled to turn on the light in the small bedroom. Everything looked just as she remembered. On the bed next to hers, Cheng Yurong had fallen asleep with her laptop still in her arms. It was exactly like the days right after they had graduated and rented this apartment together.

The lingering fear of death still clung to her. But she did not have time to dwell on it. She urgently searched for her phone. After checking the time, she was about to look up Qinglan Group’s current status when something clicked in her mind.

She glanced at the top pinned message on her screen. The contact name read “Ming Lan.” She opened it and saw their short conversation.

Something was off.

Holding her phone tightly, Yi An reached for the bag beside her bed. The clothes inside were still neatly folded. They were the same ones Ming Lan had given her.

This was not just a dream.

But then what was it?

The memories were too overwhelming, too vivid and detailed to dismiss. They felt real, as if she had truly lived through them. There was no way it had all been imagined.

But if her memories were real, why were things unfolding differently now?

Yi An gently set the clothes aside and sat quietly at the edge of the bed, deep in thought. She trusted what she remembered, but the idea of being reborn was still difficult to believe. A dream seemed easier to accept.

Her eyes, dark and steady, shifted toward the window. The moon outside was unusually bright.

In truth, there was a simple way to test whether she had been reborn.

According to what she remembered, the Ye family would confirm her identity as the lost heir within the next few days. If that event actually happened, it would prove that her memories were real and that everything she had experienced with Ming Lan had truly taken place.

Yi An picked up her phone again and opened the photo of Ming Lan. Her fingertip lightly brushed the screen. Under the image were two words: New Life.

Even if all those events were bound to happen again, it would be different this time.

This time, she would protect Ming Lan.

She no longer felt the slightest urge to sleep. Yi An remained sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing at Ming Lan’s photo. When the first light of dawn appeared, she got up and quietly dressed.

She looked at the bag on her nightstand. After thinking for a moment, she picked it up. It gave her a good reason to see Ming Lan again.

She had assumed that if everything had been a dream, the details would begin to fade with time. But as the day went on, the opposite happened. The memories became sharper, more vivid. She even felt slightly disconnected from her surroundings at work, and at one point, she nearly walked straight toward the chairman’s office out of habit.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Yi An looked around in confusion at the group of people staring at her. She had no idea what was going on.

A nearby colleague tugged at her sleeve and gave her a subtle hint, raising their eyebrows meaningfully.

“You were just going to get some tea, right? You’re not actually leaving for the day, are you?”

Yi An suddenly remembered. To avoid drawing too much attention to herself, she quickly explained.

“I just have something urgent to take care of, so I need to head home a bit early. I was just about to let the supervisor know.”

“Oh, you’re taking leave. Got it. Go ahead then.”

Her colleague relaxed and let go of her. The people around her turned back to their own tasks.

Yi An took a deep breath, then walked over and pushed open the supervisor’s door to inform him. As expected, his face immediately darkened.

“This kind of thing really shouldn’t happen again. You young people these days just don’t know how to handle hard work…”

Yi An didn’t catch the rest of what he was saying. She had already turned around and left. There was no point wasting her time listening to him ramble.

After leaving the company, she stopped by the nearby dry cleaner to pick up the outfit. Looking down at the bag in her hand, the desire to see Ming Lan again surged in her chest. Sitting in the back of a taxi, she pulled out her phone and sent Ming Lan a message.

Are you home right now? I’d like to return the clothes from yesterday. Is this a good time to come by?

After sending the message, she scrolled up through their chat history and, as usual, borrowed a playful “Are you there?” sticker and sent it too.

Ming Lan replied almost instantly.

Yes, I’m home. Come over.

On her side, Ming Lan smiled as she put her phone down, feeling pleased. It was already Friday, and she had been thinking of coming up with an excuse to invite Yi An over. She hadn’t expected Yi An to message her first.

Still…

She picked up her phone again and glanced at the time. It was just after five. Why had Yi An gotten off work so early today? Could it be that her company let people leave on time on Fridays?

That made sense. A company couldn’t possibly expect its employees to work overtime every single day. That would be inhumane.

“Auntie, prepare dinner for one more person tonight. And please tidy up the guest room again.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After giving her instructions, Ming Lan closed her laptop and stretched. Then she hopped over to the side, grabbed the bottle of medicine, and carelessly dabbed it on her injured ankle. After that, all she had to do was wait.

She wondered whether Yi An would believe her if she said the housekeeper had gone back to her hometown for personal reasons.