The White Moonlight Who Went Mad in Silence [Rebirth] - Chapter 9

Yi An arrived quickly. Ming Lan sat on the sofa and turned around, leaning over the backrest to look at her.

“You’re finally here. I was so bored at home by myself.”

Yi An was changing her shoes at the door when she looked up and saw Ming Lan’s tilted head and playful gaze. Her movements paused for a moment. This version of Ming Lan looked nothing like the frail, sickly girl from her memories. Now she was healthy and radiant, even her complaints of boredom came with an innocent charm. She was so beautiful it felt surreal.

It was like seeing someone from a different lifetime. The shock and wonder had just begun to rise in Yi An’s chest when memories of them meeting just the day before came rushing back, reminding her that it had only been one day since their last encounter.

That strange dissonance brought Yi An back to reality. She pulled her gaze away from Ming Lan and walked toward her. No matter what the future might bring, she had already made up her mind. She would never let anything bad happen again.

“How’s your ankle?”

Yi An placed the bag with the clothes to one side and looked at Ming Lan’s ankle, which still appeared a bit swollen. The traces of medicine were messily applied.

“It’s alright. I just put some ointment on it. As long as I don’t move around too much, it doesn’t hurt.”

Ming Lan lifted her foot to show her.

“This won’t help if it’s not done right. Let me do it for you.”

The moment Yi An heard that Ming Lan had applied the medicine herself, she stood up and went to wash her hands. She then asked where the ointment was and began preparing to reapply it properly.

Ming Lan watched Yi An warm the ointment between her palms and then gently press both hands against her ankle. Her movements were so soft and careful that Ming Lan didn’t feel any discomfort at all. The warmth of the ointment seeped into her skin, and even the dull ache seemed to ease.

Taking the opportunity, Ming Lan rested her head on one hand and sighed dramatically.

“I can’t even manage something as simple as applying medicine. Auntie has some family matters to deal with and is taking a few days off. What am I supposed to do here all alone?”

Yi An looked up and met Ming Lan’s eyes, which were quietly peeking at her. She immediately understood what Ming Lan was getting at.

Since the words had already been spoken so clearly, Yi An decided to go along with her.

“It’s the weekend anyway. If it’s convenient, I can stay and take care of you for a couple of days.”

Ming Lan hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. The moment Yi An agreed, she immediately nodded before Yi An could change her mind.

After dinner, the housekeeper, who had been conveniently “called away on leave,” spent nearly half an hour giving a detailed rundown of Ming Lan’s daily habits, preferences, and health routines before finally leaving under Ming Lan’s gentle urging.

Once she was gone, Ming Lan looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at Yi An.

“I don’t actually have that many special requirements. Auntie was just being overly cautious.”

“It wasn’t that much. I remembered everything.”

Yi An had listened attentively earlier, though she had been a bit shocked. Many of the things the housekeeper said matched exactly with what Yi An already knew from her previous life—like Ming Lan’s allergies, her health habits, and even her small preferences. In fact, there were things Yi An knew that the housekeeper had not even mentioned.

In her heart, Yi An leaned more toward believing she had truly been reborn. The fact that she had reunited with Ming Lan this early was different from her past life, but perhaps it was due to some unexpected change.

Ming Lan noticed Yi An seemed deep in thought. She was about to ask when her phone began ringing.

It was on the other side of the sofa. She started to get up, but Yi An had already reached over and handed it to her.

Ming Lan glanced at the caller ID and frowned, then declined the call without hesitation.

But the phone rang again almost immediately. Gritting her teeth, Ming Lan answered.

“What do you want?”

Bai Tingqiu was silent for a moment, caught off guard by her cold tone. Just as Ming Lan was about to hang up in irritation, he finally spoke.

“I wanted to talk to you about the welcome dinner. I looked everywhere for you that day.”

“What, did my phone run out of service that night? You say you looked everywhere for me, but I didn’t receive even one missed call. And now two whole days have passed before you suddenly remember to mention this? Are you serious?”

Ming Lan couldn’t make sense of Bai Tingqiu’s logic. How could he be acting like he was the one who had been wronged?

Bai Tingqiu was at a loss for words. She had left him at the dinner that night, walking out without a word. He had been forced to face the awkward situation alone. Later, he heard she had left with Xiao Shaoyan. Furious, he cleaned up the mess on his own and spent the next two days stewing at home. Eventually, he couldn’t hold back and called her, only to be hit with this outburst.

When he still didn’t reply, Ming Lan hung up. Before she could block him, the phone rang again.

“Are you finished yet?”

She answered the call with clear frustration. Bai Tingqiu paused and spoke again, his voice softer this time.

“Ming Lan, you didn’t used to be like this.”

That tone made Ming Lan glance at her phone suspiciously. The way he was talking made it sound like she had broken his heart or something. The thought made her skin crawl.

“So what was I like before? Did I used to hide how unhappy I was just to protect your fragile pride and ego? I gave you face by showing up to that awful dinner, and you turned it into a mess. Did you ever stop to think that I might have been uncomfortable? Did you even consider how selfish and self-centered you were being?”

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She realized she had been too polite to him in the past. Maybe it was time to sign up for a proper class in how to argue. Right now, she could only ask questions. She was terrible at yelling.

“Ming Lan, I…”

Bai Tingqiu tried to speak, but she immediately cut him off.

“Don’t call me again. Don’t come to my house either. Stay away from me.”

She ended the call and blocked his number. Then, just to be safe, she deleted and blocked every possible way he could contact her.

At last, peace.

She had been looking for a reason to cut ties, and while this excuse might have been a little thin, it was enough.

After blocking the number and removing all contact information, Ming Lan looked up and found herself meeting Yi An’s gaze. She felt slightly embarrassed. She had been so caught up in her anger that she completely forgot Yi An was still in the room.

“Sorry about that. You had to see that.”

Yi An shook her head. When she had handed Ming Lan the phone earlier, she caught a glimpse of the caller ID. It said Bai Tingqiu. If her memories from the previous life were accurate, he was the heir to the Bai family, long-time allies of the Ming family. He was also one of the key people who later helped take the Mings down.

But Yi An could not bring any of that up now. She was not entirely sure if her memories were real, and even if she said something, no one would believe her. All she could do was gently offer a warning.

“If someone can make you that angry, he must have done something seriously wrong. Honestly, I think you went too easy on him.”

Ming Lan was surprised by Yi An’s response.

“But I left without saying a word. He had arranged that welcome dinner for me. Isn’t it rude to just walk out like that?”

She had left with the intention of cutting ties, but to outsiders, her behavior had looked abrupt and disrespectful.

“You don’t have to be polite to everyone. Some people deserve respect. Some people don’t.”

Yi An could not believe Ming Lan was still concerned about being polite when someone had clearly upset her. Even after being wronged, she was worried about making the other person uncomfortable.

Ming Lan’s eyes softened, touched by Yi An’s response. She was not used to someone taking her side so directly.

“But you don’t even know what happened. You don’t know him. How can you be so sure it was his fault?”

“I may not know him,” Yi An replied without hesitation, “but I know you. If you say he did something wrong, then he did.”

Ming Lan had never heard something so unreasonable yet so warm. It felt like no matter what happened, Yi An would stand with her.

No weighing of facts. No concern for fairness or who was right or wrong. She would always choose her.

Ming Lan leaned in a little closer and gently wrapped her arms around Yi An.

“You’re really kind to me.”

Yi An was stunned by the sudden hug. She froze, unsure of what to do. Her body stiffened, and her arms hovered awkwardly in the air.

She looked down at Ming Lan resting in her embrace. How could anyone have the heart to hurt someone like this? How could anyone justify betraying this kind of trust?

Slowly, Yi An placed her hands on Ming Lan’s back and held her carefully, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

If others had failed to cherish her, then they were never worthy of her in the first place.

But Yi An would stay as always.