A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You - Chapter 642-649
Qian Ge was afraid He Jichen would step on the gas and speed off in a second, so she cried loudly, “He Jichen, you’re only able to be so condescending in front of me because I like you. You know I like you, so you don’t think I’ll ruin you, am I right? Let me tell you – if you don’t agree to my terms, I’ll definitely leak the video. I would rather destroy something I can’t have over letting other people have it! Even if Ji Yi gets you one day, I want to make it hard for her to have you. After she gets you, it’ll cause her a world of trouble!”
He Jichen suddenly halted his foot above the gas pedal.
He didn’t look at Qian Ge but stared right ahead, silently.
“Firstly, I’m not using the fact that you like me to act all condescending in front of you because in my eyes, you’re not even a person. As for you liking me, that’s the biggest stain on my life, not the video you just showed me.”
“Secondly, I never assumed you wouldn’t dare to leak the video, but did you think I was afraid? Four years ago, if I dared to do it then I accepted the consequences. I’m telling you, Qian Ge. Even now, if you dare to take things too far against Ji Yi, I will reenact what happened four years ago just for you!”
“Thirdly, I will never talk terms with you. Who dares to freeze out the person I’m supporting? As long as I’m around, no one will ever get in her way. Even if I’m that person, I will relentlessly clear things up!”
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The second he finished, he swatted Qian Ge’s hand off his car door. He shut the door, stepped on the gas, and sped out of the parking lot.
He Jichen sped through the main roads of Beijing rapidly for quite some time until there were fewer and fewer cars on the road. The third time he drew close to B-Film, he took a quick turn at the road ahead and drove off the main road. With his emergency brakes, he stopped on the road under an old locust tree.
In the silent night, he leaned back in his seat and stared up at the dim streetlights out the window. After staring for a bit, he reached for a cigarette and lit it up.
He didn’t smoke it but let it burn between his fingers and fill up the car with smoke.
His chaotic state of mind slowly settled under the tobacco smoke.
Yes, if Qian Ge hadn’t brought the video to him, he really would’ve forgotten what he did four years ago.
She was right. As soon as the video got out, he would be targeted by everyone in the country. Then his career and YC would be affected; of course, as an artist at YC, that would include Ji Yi.
But it was just as Qian Ge said – he could lose his career as a director and YC could fall, but Ji Yi couldn’t be ruined!
So, he now had to race against time with Qian Ge.
He had to push Ji Yi up to the highest peak to promise her a comfortable future before Qian Ge publicized the video to the world.
As for him…
He Jichen didn’t think about it and softly lowered his gaze.
His eyes happened to catch a glimpse of the two marriage certificates from the corner of his eye.
With the cigarette between his fingers, his fingers suddenly shook as an indescribable pain instantly radiated throughout his body from his chest.
The pain stifled his breathing but after a while, he slowly lifted his eyelids. Through the shroud of smoke, he stared out the window.
… As for me, I’m afraid I might have t-to…
They went their seperate ways for four years. In those four years, he’d experienced how hard life was without her, so he gave up his prestigious school acceptance with no hesitation. He gave up his bright future and came to Beijing just to be closer to her.
He created YC to put her somewhere he could see her.
To take care of her, he impersonated his older brother, He Yuguang, with no hesitation and treated her well while using the identity of the person she liked.
He did it simply to get closer to her, closer, and even closer.
He’d liked her for a long time – so long that it made him satisfied and happy to find out something about her every day.
However, he now had no choice but to leave her in order to protect her…
All of a sudden, He Jichen’s heart felt incredibly stifled; it was a little difficult for him to breathe.
He rolled the car window down.
The cold wind in the early spring wafted into the car, flickering the cigarette spark. The intense smell of smoke entered his nostrils and irritated his eyes, making them feel sore and painfully swollen.
He never imagined that things would turn out this way…
A minute ago, he was like a kid who found love for the first time, excitedly ready to turn and confess to the woman he loved. The next second, everything was turning on its head…
There was a saying that between a man and a woman, destiny ruled; no matter how long people went around in circles, those who were fated to be together would eventually come together. He and Ji Yi probably weren’t destined to be together. After running around in circles for ten years, they were going to end up going their separate ways.
Their story didn’t have an ending where “She’s the most beautiful thing in my life,” but rather “She’s the worst memory of my life.”
The wind grew stronger and stronger while the heat in the car quickly enveloped the cold breeze.
With the temperature lowering, it was like He Jichen couldn’t feel a thing. He sat there stunned, staring out the window without flinching.
After the cigarette burned to the very tip, he woke from his daze with the slight warmth. He put out the cigarette and pulled a new one out then he returned to his earlier state.
He Jichen didn’t know just how long he was in a daydream for, but the sky slowly got brighter and the quiet city slowly started to wake up. There were more and more cars on the empty streets. He didn’t snap back to his senses until the sunshine pierced through his car window and hit his face.
So he sat in the car, absent-minded for a whole night…
He Jichen slowly turned his head and sat upright.
The trash can in his car was filled with various-sized cigarette butts and ashes all around him.
He gently moved his feet, attempting to drive, but he realized they were numb from holding the same position for too long.
He pushed open the car door and used all his strength to force himself out of the car.
He stood outside the car and stared at the busy road ahead filled with cars and people. His gaze turned into a daze.
After just two minutes, he was woken up by his phone ringing back in the car.
He turned around and reached for his phone to see that it was Chen Bai calling. He took the call. Chen Bai called to ask when he was going to leave so he could make the time to pick him up.
He Jichen wanted to reply “No thanks” but thought about his current condition. He wasn’t in the right state to drive, so he swallowed his words and told Chen Bai where he was.
The morning rush-hour traffic was bad. After he hung up the phone, He Jichen sat in the car and waited forty minutes for Chen Bai to arrive.
When Chen Bai saw He Jichen all dejected, his face looked stunned for a moment. After two seconds, he spoke with a discreetly cautious tone, “Mr. He.”
At the sound of his voice, He Jichen turned and glanced at Chen Bai. He gave a gentle nod in reply but didn’t say anything then got right out of his car, pulled open the door to Chen Bai’s car and took a seat.
Mr. He’s wearing the same clothes from yesterday, his hair is messy, there’s some stubble on his chin, his face looks pale white, and there’s an intense look of exhaustion on his face… He couldn’t have stayed in the car all night long after leaving the office yesterday, right?
Chen Bai stood by the car with a blank look.
He Jichen saw that Chen Bai was taking ages to get into the car so he knocked twice against the window.
Startled by the noise, Chen Bai suddenly snapped to attention and hurriedly got in.
When he started the car up, Chen bai shot a few glances at He Jichen through the rearview mirror.
He was probably tired as he was lying back in his seat and had his eyes closed like he was sleeping.
Chen Bai knew He Jichen hadn’t slept. After he shifted around in the car, he softly said, “Mr. He, are we…”
Chen Bai wanted to say “going to the office,” but seeing how awful He Jichen looked, he decided to say: “… going to your apartment first?”
“No…” quickly replied He Jichen to Chen Bai. “… to the office.”
“But…”
Before Chen Bai could finish, He Jichen realized what Chen Bai wanted to say and he added with his eyes shut: “There’s a set of clothes at the office.”
“Yes.”
Chen Bai responded quickly but didn’t say anything more and concentrated on driving.
The car slipped into silence.
At the back of the car, He Jichen looked like he was fast asleep as his breaths became slow and drawn out.
Chen Bai suddenly felt a lot more comfortable while staring straight at the road ahead. He didn’t seem as rigid as before.
Halfway into their journey, Chen Bai suddenly heard a voice from behind: “How’s the investment going for ‘Jiuchong Palace’?”
Huh! Mr. He isn’t asleep!
Chen Bai was so shocked that his leg shook and he almost hit the emergency brakes. Luckily, his reflexes were fast enough to control himself. As he let out an inaudible sigh of relief, he politely replied, “We’re almost at our destination.”
“When is ‘Jiuchong Palace’ scheduled to start shooting?”
“May.”
May. It’s just March… There are two more months… That’s too long… He Jichen thought about it for a moment then said, “When’s the earliest we can start shooting?”
Chen Bai pondered it for a moment then replied, “Early April.”
He Jichen remained silent for a moment then said, “We have to start shooting on March 20th. I know it’ll be a little difficult, but if we push it, we can make it in time.”
“I can fight for it,” said Chen Bai.
He Jichen didn’t reply.
The car fell silent once again.
After some time, He Jichen spoke again but with a more sluggish tone of voice: “How much did Qian Ge’s company’s stocks fall?”
“It’s been falling for two consecutive days now. I’m guessing it’ll fall today too,” replied Chen Bai.
“After today’s decrease, start buying stocks for Qian Ge’s studio tomorrow.”
“Mr. He, isn’t it a little too early? We could wait a little more. Qian Ge’s stocks will continue to fall for a week at least…”
“I said tomorrow, so tomorrow it is.”
Before Chen Bai could finish, He Jichen spoke again in a low but in clear voice. An intensely oppressive feeling came through and was mixed into his tone.
Chen Bai’s heart quivered. All of a sudden, he didn’t dare say too much and a hint of confusion came over his heart.
What’s with Mr. He? He wants to speed up the production time for “Jiuchong Palace” and quickly buy up stocks for Qian Ge’s studio ahead of time…
This was a different Mr. He from the one he knew. Although Mr. He often rushed the process, he never rushed it by this much… It was like He Jichen was afraid that if production was too slow, they wouldn’t get it done at all.
The more Chen Bai thought about it, the more confused he was. He couldn’t help but glance at He Jichen every now and then in the rearview mirror.
He Jichen was deep in thought as his sharp senses didn’t notice Chen Bai’s stares.
Chen Bai wasn’t sure just how many times he looked up to sneakily check on He Jichen, but He Jichen, with his eyes shut, suddenly moved his lips again: “Chen Bai.”
Chen Bai jumped in fright. He didn’t allow his gaze to linger on He Jichen and averted his eyes to the road ahead. “Mr. He, I’m listening.”
“Isn’t Ji Yi interested in Huan Ying Entertainment? Their vice president asked for a price before and said they’d pay anything to have Ji Yi signed to their company…”
Chen Bai heard this and vaguely understood what He Jichen meant. He couldn’t help but grip the steering wheel tightly. All of a sudden, he cut He Jichen off: “… Mr. He!”
It seemed like He Jichen hadn’t heard Chen Bai’s objections as he calmly kept his eyes shut. Then he continued to speak with a neutral voice. “… In the next two days, help me set up a meeting with the vice president. I want to talk to him.”
Chen Bai stayed silent for a long time before making a sound. He didn’t reply to He Jichen’s orders but asked a question on his mind: “Mr. He, did you and Miss Ji get into some kind of misunderstanding?”
Chen Bai was met with complete silence.
Mr. He likes Miss Ji so much. Till this day, she is YC’s only signed artist. Everything is done with her in mind, so why would he suddenly want to have her transferred to another company?
“Mr. He, even if Miss Ji made you angry, you can’t sent her to another com-”
“Chen Bai,” interrupted He Jichen once again.
This time, his tone of voice sounded a lot more serious.
Chen Bai instinctively slowed the car down and shifted most of his attention to He Jichen.
Behind him, He Jichen seemed to be forming his words as he stayed silent for some time before speaking. “… I hope that when I send Ji Yi away, you can go with her.”
Chen Be hit the emergency brakes furiously.
He didn’t even care that he stopped on a main road. He turned around in his seat to the piercing sounds of honking cars and stared at He Jichen. “Mr. He, am I doing something wrong? You want to send me away too?!”
“Mr. He, when I came to Beijing with you in the beginning, I said I’d never quit. You…”
“Chen Bai, I’m not firing you. I believe in you.” Having kept his eyes shut the whole time, He Jichen finally opened his eyes and looked deeply into Chen Bai’s eyes with a pleading look. “If it wasn’t you, I’d worry if anyone else worked by Ji Yi’s side.”
This atmosphere… why does it seem even more off?
Mr. He didn’t appear like he wanted to send Ji Yi away, nor did it seem like he wanted to fire Chen Bai. It seemed more like he was getting his affairs in order in preparation for his death… But He Jichen had a physical a few days ago. He got the report back from Dr. Xia and there were no problems at all…
Chen Bai’s heart suddenly started to worry. “Mr. He, did something big happen?”
He Jichen didn’t say anything. He turned his head and looked out the window.
“Mr. He, something happened to you, right? You’re afraid Miss Ji will be dragged down by your issues, so you’re in such a rush to start shooting ‘Jiuchong Palace,’ buy stocks for Qian Ge’s studio, and send Miss Ji away? You’re so worried about Miss Ji at Huan Ying that you even want me to follow her just to take care of her on your behalf?”
Chen Bai had worked for He Jichen for quite some time. Even if He Jichen didn’t say a thing, Chen Bai got the picture right away and was able to understand what was happening.
“Mr. He, what about you then? You’ve only thought about Miss Ji, but what about yourself?”
Completely still, He Jichen gazed out the window as though he hadn’t heard what Chen Bai said. There was a shroud of gloom over the dull expression on his face.
“Mr. He, it’s been over a year since I found out about Miss Ji. In this time, you’ve always been considerate of Miss Ji in everything you do. Even now, when you can’t manage things yourself, you make sure that Miss Ji is cared for. I can’t do that! In the past two days, many companies have approached me with an offer to be vice president, but I didn’t go. Now that something’s happened to you, how can I just go and leave? Sorry, Mr. He, there’s no way I can agree to this!”
“This is why I can leave Ji Yi in your care! Chen Bai, you know just how important she is to me. If you really see me as a brother and really want me to be well, do as I say. I’m not commanding you or ordering you around. I am begging you as a brother!” He Jichen paused for a moment then added, “Chen Bai, please.”
A bitter pain rose in Chen Bai’s eyes as he knew deep down that he couldn’t say no to He Jichen.
Not only was he the boss, but he was also someone who helped him greatly.
He Jichen may look distant, cold, and arrogant, but Chen Bai knew more than anyone that he had a good heart.
Chen Bai didn’t come from a good background and he needed the country’s support to be able to go to university. His mother got sick and her exorbitant medical bills left him desperate. It was He Jichen who helped him.
Till this day, he remembered the line He Jichen said to him: “Want to come with me to try our luck in Beijing?”
Chen Bai knew that although He Jichen let him follow him to Beijing, he was really going just to take care of her. After Chen Bai agreed that very night, He Jichen gave him three hundred thousand in cash.
But even though he knew he would agree to He Jichen, when it came to saying “I’ll do it,” no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t say it. After struggling for a long time, he eventually changed the subject, “Mr. He, what about you? What will you do in the future?”
“What can I do?” He Jichen stared out at the sun as a faint sense of sadness showed on his face. His tone of voice sounded unusually lighthearted as he said, “Continue to keep the world from knowing that I love her…”
With just one line, Chen Bai’s throat ached so much that he couldn’t utter a sound.
The car was silent for a while before He Jichen’s gentle and sluggish voice was heard again. “Besides, I’m used to it.”
Chen Bai’s heart suddenly contracted when he heard He Jichen. He turned his back to He Jichen abruptly with red eyes.
He’s used to it… There are people who are used to taking afternoon naps every day, people who are used to eating an apple a day, people who are used to taking walks, people who are used to watching a movie at the theatre every weekend… This was the first time Chen Bai heard someone say they were used to keeping the world from knowing that he loved somebody.
–
That night, Ji Yi cried for a really, really long time – so long in fact that her eyes were dried up and her head was dizzy before she finally got up from the floor and made her way into the bathroom.
She was afraid Tang Huahua and Bo He would suddenly come back to the dorms and see her eyes all red and swollen. She took a shower then immediately climbed into bed, pulled the covers over herself and pretended to sleep.
Waking up the next day, Ji Yi’s eyes were so swollen that there was no way she could let anyone see her, so she figured she might as well continue to act sick and skip class.
Ji Yi didn’t have any jobs lined up, so she spent most of her time at school.
Thanks to Qian Ge, her popularity rose considerably. The script for “The Tempestuous Grand Tang” wasn’t bad, and on top of it all, she had great acting skills. A reporter snuck into B-film and took photos of her in the cafeteria, in the lecture rooms and shopping at the local supermarket. Every now and then, she found her own photos posted on Weibo. With her increased exposure, her private life became increasingly public. It was so bad that there even were fans who found her dorm room and class locations and went to her school to look for her to get photos and autographs.
Ever since she found out He Jichen was married, she stopped contacting him.
However, she found out a few things about him from Zhuang Yi. For some reason, he’d recently been frighteningly busy with business dinner after business dinner and meeting after meeting.
Though she didn’t see him, Zhuang Yi sent her a photo of him once. In the few short days they hadn’t seen each other, she could clearly see he was a lot skinnier.
At the time, she was in a lecture and immediately lost all concentration to listen in class. She grabbed her phone several times, wanting to send him a message and tell him to take good care of himself. However, as she typed, she thought back to his marriage certificate and He Yuguang too, and eventually deleted every single word.
She knew very well that she and He Jichen could never be together, but she couldn’t control her own heart. She missed him, daydreamed about him, dreamed about him, and woke up in the middle of the night, calling his name. She spent afternoons reading her past messages with him and in the dead of the night, she secretly ran over to his apartment to see if his lights were on or off.
Ji Yi knew it wasn’t good to go on like this.
But there was nothing she could do. The more she told herself that she couldn’t continue to love him, the more she loved him. Day by day, her feelings grew deeper. Day after day, she missed him more and more…
In the end, despite knowing that He Jichen was busy and wouldn’t have time to go to school, she still couldn’t help but walk around the directing program building every day.
In just half a month, not only did He Jichen lose weight, but she did too.
Ji Yi really, really missed He Jichen to the point where she couldn’t eat or sleep, but she didn’t dare to look for him.
Maybe she missed He Jichen so much that her sincerity touched the heavens, creating a chance for her and He Jichen to accidentally bump into each other.
Maybe she missed He Jichen so much that her sincerity touched the heavens, creating a chance for her and He Jichen to accidentally bump into each other.
But before Ji Yi and He Jichen bumped into each other by accident, two other people came in the way and accidentally met them first.
–
“Do you know what a woman’s most afraid of? A woman isn’t most afraid of falling for you completely, sharing all her secrets, or completely trusting you whole-heartedly, but she’s afraid of you not loving her.”
When Cheng Weiwan wrote the script for “Jiuchong Palace,” she wrote this line for the young female lead.
She never imagined that there’d be a day when the words she wrote would happen to her, and it happened to be so similar to her situation like it was destined for her.
After she heard the shattering truth outside Han Zhifan’s office that day, she sat in a daze by the sidewalk till late at night. She didn’t come back to her senses until she started to feel a faint pain in her abdomen.
Even if she wasn’t considerate of herself, she still couldn’t bear to make the baby in her womb suffer, so she called a cab to take her back home.
After a hot shower and some food, Chen Weiwan took a cup of milk and sat by the window, staring at the beautiful, dazzling night sky. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like everything that happened was a nightmare.
Chen Weiwan knew Han Zhifan’s secretary must’ve told him she went to his office and stood outside his door for so long. The thought of that started to make her feel worse. Han Zhifan wasn’t stupid – he must’ve assumed she overheard his conversation with He Jichen.
After she turned and left, she had been waiting for Han Zhifan’s call. She was waiting for him to tell her that she misheard. As long as he called to explain, she would choose to believe him despite knowing the truth.
But Cheng Weiwan waited day after day. After receiving phone call after phone call, she never got one from Han Zhifan.
Cheng Weiwan wasn’t brave enough to see Han Zhifan and he didn’t contact her, so their story came to an end the moment she eavesdropped at his door.
In the past, Cheng Weiwan wrote many stories where the female lead decisively cut off all ties with the lying male lead. She also wrote female leads so weak that they gave up everything to stay by the man’s side despite knowing he didn’t love her.
She created those characters herself, and when she spoke with other people, she always confidently said that if something like that happened to her, she would definitely be cut-throat and break things off there and then.
He didn’t love her anymore, so what more did she want him to do?!
Chen Weiwan always thought that if something like that really happened to her, she would act without hesitation.
But after twenty-seven days, on the eleventh day “Jiuchong Palace” started shooting, March 31st, Han Zhifan visited the set as the main investor and unexpectedly bumped into her. At that moment, Cheng Weiwan realized she could be the cut-throat type. When Han Zhifan finished work and ran over to her to ask if she was free in the evening, Cheng Weiwan pretended that nothing happened, gently nodded at him and softly replied with her usual voice, “Yeah.”
After her voice fell, Han Zhifan stared at her for a while before moving his lips. “Let’s have dinner tonight. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Cheng Weiwan wasn’t sure if it was all in her head, but she felt like Han Zhifan’s gaze was a little cold. The sight of him made her heart start to feel cold too.
In this area, women are naturally intuitive. She knew exactly what Han Zhifan wanted to talk to her about that night.
Her heart couldn’t take it and started to panic. Even if she did know that this romance was a well-concocted lie, she was still afraid to lose it.
Because she had whole-heartedly fallen in love… No, she was wholeheartedly still in love…
Cheng Weiwan didn’t dare to look into Han Zhifan’s eyes. She lowered her eyes slightly and let out an “Mhm.” After some time, she finally said, “Come home tonight for dinner…”
“That’s too much trouble…”
“N-no trouble.” Cheng Weiwan didn’t wait for Han Zhifan to finish speaking and interrupted him: “I recently learned how to cook a new dish. I want to make it for you…”
Han Zhifan was silent for a while before he eventually complied with her wishes. “Alright, then you go work and find me afterward in the parking lot.”
Actually, Cheng Weiwan had already finished, but after Han Zhifan left, she lingered around the set for a long time before going to the parking lot.
“Jiuchong Palace” was shot in a film studio in the suburbs south of Beijing, so it took a long while to drive back to the city. Cheng Weiwan was afraid she and Han Zhifan would start talking in the car, so she pretended to look tired and shut her eyes as though she fell asleep.
The car stopped at Han Zhifan’s apartment where Cheng Weiwan raced to get out first. She hurriedly left after saying, “I’m going to the supermarket to buy some ingredients first.”
Carrying a bag of fresh ingredients, she headed back to Han Zhifan’s apartment. Unlike in the past, Cheng Weiwan didn’t use her key to open the door but knocked instead.
When Han Zhifan opened the door, she showed him the ingredients she brought back from the supermarket and flashed a smile that she worked hard on practicing several times. Without waiting for him to say anything, she walked right into the kitchen.
It was already eight o’clock by the time the food was ready.
Cheng Weiwan was in the dining room, staring in a daze at the spread of three dishes and soup for a long, long time before she called Han Zhifan over to eat.
When Han Zhifan sat down, Cheng Weiwan served him rice and soup attentively then even handed him a pair of chopsticks like she did in the past.
Cheng Weiwan served herself some rice. After she sat down, she was afraid Han Zhifan would say something, so she spoke first, “So hungry. Let’s quickly eat.”
Cheng Weiwan was really hungry. Since she was pregnant, she’d been eating a lot recently.
After her voice fell, she didn’t care if Han Zhifan had started eating or not as she lowered her head and started to eat rice.
After having a bowl of rice, Han Zhifan, who was sitting in front of her, said, “Cheng Weiwan.”
He used to call her “Wanwan,” but now he called her by her full name…
Cheng Weiwan’s hands holding her chopsticks shook. She then said with a flustered voice, “Errr, I’m still not full yet. Let’s talk later, okay?”
With that, Cheng Weiwan served herself another heaping bowl of rice and started to shove the food into her mouth.
Han Zhifan leaned back into his chair and lowered his head. Cheng Weiwan, who was eating furiously, felt like it was hard to breathe. He turned his head and stayed like that for a while. Then he realized the heavy feeling he had still showed no signs of disappearing, so he pushed out the chair behind him and got up. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
