WMSG Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Transmigration

White Moonlight Self-Help Guide

The pig butted open the gate.

On the highway, a large trailer truck suffered a tire blowout, emitting a deafening noise. Losing control, it swerved across the median strip, suddenly bursting out from behind a row of cypresses. The bus driver, who had just pulled into the innermost fast lane to overtake, could only widen his eyes, caught completely off guard as the vehicles collided.

Ye Yueshen, the only passenger on the bus not dozing off due to motion sickness, witnessed everything. Helpless, he watched as the bus’s front end hurtled towards him with lightning speed.

In that instant, his mind went blank. He felt no sadness or fear, only a sense of absurdity.

Bang!

An automated ticketing machine had replaced the ticket collector. The female attendant, her arm muscles suggesting strength, was merely organizing the luggage racks. When she took Ye Yueshen’s bag, she gave him a bright smile, “Such a handsome young man.”

Ye Yueshen responded with an awkward smile, almost overwhelmed by her kindness.

He sat in the window seat in the middle of the bus, gazing at the baijiu advertisement on the back of the seat in front of him, with the small print indicating the origin and destination.

Savoring the earlier smile, his eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably. It seemed his life was finally turning a new page, gradually approaching the control panel that would allow him to take charge of his own destiny.

However…

Ye Yueshen’s body, along with the overturning bus, was thrown against the opposite window. Amidst the screams of pain and calls for help, his thoughts drifted.

He actually wanted to wipe his eyes, as blood was smeared across his eyelashes, gradually blurring his vision.

But his arm was stuck somewhere, preventing him from moving. A young woman, restrained by her seatbelt, looked at him with terror.

From her vantage point, she could see that Ye Yueshen’s arm was bent outwards at an unnatural angle.

Ye Yueshen slowly closed his eyes. The noise assaulted his brain, and amidst the chaotic din, a pitying voice, like the lingering echo of a drum, resonated in his mind: “My child…”

Could it be… his never-before-seen mother?

Ye Yueshen was an orphan, without parents from birth. He only managed to gather fragmented information about his parents when relatives were scolding him.

But those descriptions were filled with intense negativity and malicious misdirection, even contradicting each other.

Some said his father was a good-for-nothing who indulged in drinking, gambling, and whoring, while his mother was a wicked woman who only knew how to dress herself up flamboyantly.

Others said his father was a useless man who couldn’t earn a living, while his mother was outwardly aloof, but who knew what she was doing behind the scenes.

Still others claimed his father was an unlucky wretch, while his mother was a beautiful but ill-fated woman who brought misfortune to her husband.

Ye Yueshen grew up in a state of neglect, shuffled between various relatives. These slanders and curses against his parents accompanied his growth; for at least five years, his life was no different from that of a vagrant.

At the age of twelve, he slept on a bench in the wetland park and was awakened by the freezing night temperatures. Overwhelmed by feelings of resentment, he momentarily walked towards the artificial lake as if possessed.

But a pair of aged hands grabbed his shoulder, and a gentle, trembling voice said to him, “Hold on for a few more years. When you grow up, everything will be alright.”

Having rarely seen kindness, Ye Yueshen was captivated by the compassionate face of the stranger, and the idea of living became an obsession implanted in his brain.

There were many times when he stared blankly at the mess and the disarray, his willpower eroded by suffering. But that obsession miraculously pushed him to where he was now.

The day he received his university acceptance letter was also his eighteenth birthday. Standing in the sunshine, he felt that life was truly improving.

And now, lying in a pool of blood, he felt as though he was being mocked by fate.

He felt his soul plummet into an abyss, sinking lower and lower.

In the final moments of his fading consciousness, something sharp appeared, like a fishhook, hooking his soul and yanking him upwards.

Ye Yueshen opened his eyes. All he could see was a lake-blue fabric, smooth to the touch.

A woman beside him was weeping, her voice sounding familiar: “Yueyue is my precious baby. I’ve never been willing to lay a finger on him. Your father is insane… my Yueyue’s tender butt, beaten with dozens of strokes from the spanking paddle, this will be the death of me… Your Ye family’s life is suffering, we might as well part ways. I’ll take Yueyue back to the Zheng Family…”

“Mother,” a calm male voice advised, “Please don’t say such things in anger. Father may have been harsh, but he was also infuriated. Little Yue offended the Fourth Prince in the palace, acting without thinking. The princes’ quarrels are matters for the Imperial family; how could Little Yue intervene? Father’s spanking paddle was partly to discipline his son, but mainly to apologize to the Emperor.”

“It’s not that I’m spoiling my son. It’s just that Yueyue has delicate skin. I wouldn’t nag if he only received a few token spanks. But my poor boy is all bruised and swollen. He was really trying to kill him…”

Ye Yueshen felt a pang in his heart upon hearing the woman cry. He unconsciously tried to exert strength in some direction, finally distancing himself from the lake-blue fabric.

When the scene registered in his eyes, Ye Yueshen realized he was lying face down on a bed, and the pain from his posterior made him understand that he was the “Yueyue” they were talking about.

– Are they talking about me?

Ye Yueshen wasn’t sure. Thin layers of silk gauze draped before his eyes, and a dazzling array of gold and silver objects adorned the tops of cabinets and shelves.

“Little Yue is awake,” the male voice reminded.

Ye Yueshen looked in the direction of the voice. The young man had well-defined features and a gentle expression. When he stood up, the hem of his robe swayed, exuding a calm and dignified aura.

Ye Yueshen had previously interacted with wealthy businessmen who had provided financial assistance to him, and he was familiar with the aura emanating from the man before him.

Almost at first glance, Ye Yueshen was certain: he must have never had his self-esteem crushed, perhaps not even once.

The woman sitting on a soft chair by the bed also immediately stood up, stepping onto a footstool by the bedside with some agitation. Ye Yueshen even worried for a moment that she might fall.

Before he could clearly see the person approaching, Ye Yueshen was enveloped in an embrace, and tears began to fall onto his neck.

The feeling of being embraced was unfamiliar. Ye Yueshen couldn’t recall the last time he had been embraced, or perhaps he had never been embraced at all.

“Mother,” the man behind him said, his tone almost helpless, “Mother, please be careful. Little Yue can’t move around right now. Don’t hurt him further.”

Ye Yueshen felt like a pillow, suddenly picked up and then quickly put down.

Finally, he clearly saw the woman’s face. It was kind and familiar, causing his thoughts to freeze, like a broken cassette tape stuck on pause.

The woman was indeed a matron. She had delicate eyebrows, almond eyes with dark pupils, and a peony velvet flower adorning her hair, along with various golden ornaments, making her appear incredibly elegant and dignified.

But beyond the dazzling exterior, Ye Yueshen saw endless love in her eyes.

Ye Yueshen had never seen such an expression before, but the moment he saw it, he felt overwhelmed by the surging love, causing him to breathe more slowly.

“Mother…” The man sighed and reached out to gently stroke Ye Yueshen’s back to soothe him.

“Acting without respect for elders,” the woman glared. Ever since her youngest son was beaten, she was tired of hearing her eldest son’s reasoning: “Good for you, Ye Yuanshen, now that you’re an official in the court, you’re even lecturing your own mother.”

Ye Yuanshen?

Ye Yueshen’s eyes widened in shock. Last night, he had packed his bag and lay in bed, unable to sleep. He had gotten out of bed repeatedly to check his belongings, fearing he would leave behind important documents.

Attending university held great significance for him, so he was too excited to sleep.

Realizing he really couldn’t sleep, he opened a novel he had seen advertised on the homepage of his secondhand smartphone.

When he saw the novel’s protagonist was named Ye Yueshen, he didn’t expect it would have any connection to him.

But the man before him was called Ye Yuanshen, the name of the protagonist’s older brother in the novel.

“Ye Yuanshen…” Ye Yueshen subconsciously spoke.

Ye Yuanshen smiled slightly, contradicting his mother, “The one who acts more disrespectfully is the third brother. How will Mother punish him?”

Unexpectedly, his youngest son betrayed him. Yongning Junzhu pinched Ye Yueshen’s delicate cheek, “Didn’t receive enough spanking paddle strokes?”

His mother’s hands were warm and dry. Almost the moment he was touched, Ye Yueshen’s heart ached unbearably.

“Ai…” Yongning Junzhu leaned over, cupping Ye Yueshen’s face in her hands and gently rubbing it, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears from beneath his eyes: “I’m not a stepmother. How did I make you cry by simply pinching you?”

“Mother,” Ye Yuanshen whispered in Yongning Junzhu’s ear: “Little Yue is upset from the spanking paddle strokes. If you stay here watching him, he might feel embarrassed. Why not let him calm down alone?”

What Ye Yuanshen said was reasonable. The child was growing up and becoming more self-conscious. Yongning Junzhu instructed Ye Yueshen not to move around and to call for someone if he needed anything, then left with Ye Yuanshen’s assistance.

Ye Yueshen’s gaze followed the two figures, his eyes full of reluctance. Even his breathing trembled, and a desperate sob escaped his throat. He wanted to hold onto the loving and kind mother from his dying dream, but he couldn’t make a sound.

He released his strength, his face falling forlornly onto the pillow. The pillowcase was made of excellent fabric, so comfortable even for Ye Yueshen, whose skin was naturally delicate and easily irritated. With each breath, he could even smell the bittersweet aroma of the medicinal herb pillow filling.

If this was a dream, it was too real.

Ye Yueshen twisted his waist, and the movement of the flesh on his buttocks caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

Enduring the pain, Ye Yueshen felt a suffocating sensation in his chest, as if being overwhelmed by a flood.

He gradually realized that this was not a dream.

He had appeared in the novel he had been reading last night, becoming the early deceased white moonlight of the male protagonist Gong Shengyin.

In the original storyline, Gong Shengyin always regarded Ye Yueshen, who had spoken out righteously and saved him from danger, as someone he admired.

However, by saving him, Ye Yueshen had also offended Gong Shengyin’s enemies and was repeatedly hunted down, ultimately dying less than a year later in early spring.

His death separated them, turning Ye Yueshen into a beautiful, unattainable white moonlight in Gong Shengyin’s heart.

The other protagonist would stay by Gong Shengyin’s side as Ye Yueshen’s substitute. Gong Shengyin would become the heir to the throne, and after an eight-hundred-round sadomasochistic love affair with the protagonist, he would be rewarded with both power and love.

All of this was so absurd that Ye Yueshen chuckled to himself. What an old and cheesy story. When Ye Yueshen was a child, living as a dependent, he would hear similar melodramas playing on the television in the homes of the families he served, while he was sweeping and mopping the floors.

Ye Yueshen raised his head, leaving two damp circles on the pillow.

Even such a simple action as raising his head caused pain in his lower back. He had been beaten with a spanking paddle by his “father,” so the storyline had already passed the point where he saved Gong Shengyin.

He was going to die again.

The people hunting him might already be on their way.

The original text hadn’t focused too much on him, this supporting character who lived in Gong Shengyin’s memories. The limited storylines involving him mainly focused on describing his breathtaking beauty and his gilded existence, used to add twists and turns to the relationship between the two protagonists.

As for how he was killed—upon hearing about this, Gong Shengyin was filled with overwhelming grief and completely turned dark. The author only used this descriptive technique focused around the protagonist.

Later, Gong Shengyin killed all the stumbling blocks on his path to seizing the throne. Before his death, the Crown Prince mentioned Ye Yueshen, hoping to provoke Gong Shengyin.

Looking at the Crown Prince’s desperate gaze, both Ye Yueshen as a reader and Gong Shengyin in the story knew that this was a trap constructed to protect himself and ensnare Gong Shengyin.

Gong Shengyin’s response was: “No need, I will kill all of you, and one of you is sure to be the culprit.”

Therefore, regarding the person who would murder him and the means they would use, Ye Yueshen had basically no clue, other than that he had offended someone for Gong Shengyin’s sake.