A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You - Chapter 692-699
His fingers lingered over her face for a moment. Then he slowly moved over her brows as though he was treasuring something he couldn’t bear to part with. His fingers gently hovered over the shape of her brows, repeatedly drawing over them several times. Then he followed her tall nose bridge and wandered over to her lips.
…
Ji Yi awoke from her dream when He Jichen touched her brows.
At first, she thought she was just dreaming and instinctively wanted to open her eyes. However, before she could open her eyelids, she felt slightly-cold fingers tracing her eyes and nose.
Her heart shuddered at this tangible touch when she suddenly realized it wasn’t a dream. It was real and the person touching her was He Jichen…
With that thought, she then realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes and her body was tightly stuck onto He Jichen’s body. She also realized he was just as naked as she was…
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Having slept for several hours, Ji Yi was more or less sobered up. Having had hangovers before, she could feel the familiar sensation of her entire body wanting to fall apart, but then she immediately realized what happened between them last night.
She couldn’t quite remember everything, but with her scattered memory, she could remember that before he said goodbye, she started to drunkenly talk and kissed him… Following that, the sexual image of the two of them together washed over her mind.
Her heart suddenly raced and her fingers under the covers couldn’t help but tightly grip onto the sheets.
She stopped reminiscing when she felt an electric current on her lips.
All of sudden, Ji Yi stopped. She felt the tips of his fingers stopping on her lips and slowly tracing the shape of them.
Wave upon wave of this numbing sensation washed over her heart as she couldn’t help but hold her breath.
After who knew how long, he finally stopped teasing her. Just as Ji Yi was about to secretly exhale, she felt his face drawing closer to hers.
Ji Yi instinctively stopped breathing. Even with her eyes shut, her senses and intuition could feel his unwavering gaze upon her.
His gentle breaths brushed over her face every now and then, causing her heart to pound uncontrollably.
Just as she could no longer handle the racing of her heart, He Jichen shifted his head, causing Ji Yi to no longer feel the heat of his breaths.
She secretly let out a sigh of relief and loosened her clutch on the bedding. That was when she realized there was a thick layer of sweat on her palms that appeared unknowingly.
Without his breath upon her face, she wasn’t sure about his location or what he was doing anymore. Out of curiosity, she wanted to secretly open her eyes to sneak a peek. However, before she could act upon that thought, she heard him exhale. “Xiao Yi.”
He made a barely-audible sound; those two words were uttered under his breath. He never normally spoke to her like that, but it sounded unusually familiar, like Ji Yi heard it somewhere before.
Before Ji Yi could figure out what was happening, she heard He Jichen’s voice again. “Wish you the best,” he said in the same way.
Ji Yi’s fingers trembled over those five words and realized how familiar He Jichen’s manner of speech was.
This time, He Jichen didn’t stop at all but added another word under his breath. “Goodbye.”
Goodbye… Is he going to leave?
Goodbye… Does that mean we aren’t going to see each other again?
It felt like a large hand was brutally clutching Ji Yi’s heart as she suddenly winced in pain.
Yeah, it’s about time we said goodbye… He’s already a married man and I’m divorced from his older brother. The two of us are separated by a long and difficult path. If we hadn’t been drunk and I hadn’t drunkenly messed with him, last night never would’ve happened…
She already committed a great sin because of her drinking, so even if she couldn’t bear to say goodbye, she had no choice but to do it. This was the kind of goodbye where they would never see each other again.
They hadn’t parted yet, but the thought of it made Ji Yi’s eyes heat up.
Her fingers tightly clutched the bedding once more. She was afraid to suddenly cry and afraid for him to find out she was just pretending to be asleep.
Having said goodbye, He Jichen stared deeply at Ji Yi, who had a soft look on her face as she slept peacefully. He stayed like that for a while, as though he was trying hard to imprint her in his memory. Then he slowly lowered his head and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
The warmth of his soft lips between her brows lingered for a second before it dissipated.
When he pulled away from her face, Ji Yi heard an extremely faint sigh. Just when Ji Yi thought she was hallucinating, he abruptly and swiftly removed the covers and got out of bed.
His movements made Ji Yi suddenly remember something that happened in the past.
On the first Chinese New Year after she and He Jichen reunited, they got into an argument over a misunderstanding because of Lin Zhengyi. On the first day of school after Chinese new year, she went to a party with Bo He and Tang Huahua at the hot pot restaurant opposite the school, where she happened to sit at the same table as him.
That day, they didn’t speak to each other and he left early. Then the waiter went upstairs and told them that the wishing bell was going to ring.
Purely to join in on the fun, everyone in the building went down. When the lights went out, the wishing bell rang for five seconds and someone stole a kiss from her.
Before that person let go of her, he kissed the center of her brows. Then, as though he regretted that their time together was so short, he let out a soft sigh and swiftly left her.
That whole scenario was the same as what He Jichen just did. What’s more, the man who secretly kissed her even left by saying, “Actually I’m really not so bad. Do you want to try to fall in love with me?”
At that memory, Ji Yi couldn’t help but curl her body under the sheets.
It was no wonder she thought He Jichen sounded familiar when he spoke as he exhaled. S-so that night, in front of the wishing bell… he was the one who stole a kiss from me.
He even said those words to me… Did that mean he actually liked me a little back then?
But… But I realized it too late… He’s already married to the Cola Girl he loved deeply when he was younger. Later, I also fell for He Yuguang after reuniting with him again…
If I knew it was him that day, then maybe… maybe we wouldn’t have come to this end.
Ji Yi didn’t open her eyes but from the sounds of it, she could tell He Jichen had stepped into the bathroom.
Right after the bathroom door closed, the sound of running water was heard.
Soon enough, that sound stopped and the room slipped into silence. In one short minute, the bathroom door opened and He Jichen emerged from inside.
Like before, Ji Yi kept her eyes shut, but she could clearly hear He Jichen’s footsteps getting closer to the side of the bed. Eventually, he stopped by the balcony.
For a short while, it was silent again. Then Ji Yi heard rustling noises and realized that He Jichen was putting his clothes on when she heard a belt being buckled.
Ji Yi knew that with He Jichen’s departure this time, they would never have anything to do with each other again.
She really wanted to open her eyes and ask him, “Could you not leave Beijing?”
But she knew that she couldn’t do that. Last night, they weren’t supposed to have sex – she already hurt his wife, so she couldn’t make another mistake like that. All she could do was pretend everything that happened last night was all just a dream. Waking up from her dream, all she could do was force herself to endure the pain in her heart and pretend to not know what he was doing at that moment. She laid quietly in bed like she was still sleeping and let him leave.
As the sound of him getting dressed endlessly drilled into her ears, Ji Yi couldn’t help but pinch the bedsheets even harder.
Eventually, the silence in the room returned. Ji Yi knew He Jichen was done getting dressed. Her hands couldn’t help but start to tremble gently.
Fully dressed, He Jichen lingered in the room for just half a minute before he walked over to the door.
Ji Yi heard his footsteps moving further and further away. Tears finally poured from the corners of her tightly shut eyes.
She heard the sound of the doorknob turning and knew he had already walked up to the front door. She suddenly bit the corner of the sheets to muffle her own mouth then started to cry silently.
The door was silent for a while before she heard the sound of footsteps again. She knew it meant he had walked out the door. She curled her body into a ball and her face was drenched in tears as she trembled violently.
He took just two steps before the doorway fell silent again. This time, a long time passed before a soft “kacha” came from the door. Ji Yi knew He Jichen had closed the door behind him.
She abruptly flung the covers off like she had been electrocuted then jumped out of bed completely naked and headed over to the door. She stared blankly at the door for a while then crouched down as though she lost the whole world and sobbed helplessly.
He was gone. He left her with only “Wish you all the best.”
Tonight, their story had come to a full stop.
As the sound of Ji Yi’s cries got louder and louder, a slurred name escaped her mouth.
“Jichen, Jichen, Jichen, Jichen…”
She cried over and over again until the pain penetrated her heart, until her heart broke.
We’re still so young. We still have really long lives ahead of us, yet we’ll be spending it with other people. It seems like our time together ends right here.
He Jichen, I really wanted to stay within your radius. I don’t mind if you love me or not.
He Jichen, I love you.
He Jichen, goodbye.
–
He closed the door to Ji Yi’s room and quickly walked over to the elevator. He pressed the button, stepped in, and headed down to the first floor. As he emerged from the elevators, he took big strides to the hotel lobby… This series of actions was done in one breath.
On his journey, he didn’t dare to relax at all, nor did he dare to slow down in the slightest in fear that he would suddenly crumble after making such a difficult decision. He was afraid he’d turn around and run back to her hotel room and be with her, disregard everything and not care about any consequences whatsoever.
So, all he could do was continue to force himself to walk on and stay as far as possible from her. By the time he simply had no more strength left and stopped walking, he was already far away from the hotel.
The sky had just turned light, the streets were empty, and only one or two people passed by.
He Jichen had his back to the hotel like a statue. After standing for quite some time, he slowly turned his head and looked over the towering hotel building.
Last night, he was selfish. He acted on his impulses and took advantage of her while she was drunk and unconscious.
This was the third night they spent together and he was afraid it would also be their final night together. Because of this, he let himself be selfish one last time.
I wanted to disregard everything, hold your hand and stay with you till the end, but I can only be with you up to this point.
Ji Yi, I wish you all the best. I’m fine.
Ji Yi, I wish you all the best. Without you, I really can’t live.
Ji Yi, from here on out, I won’t look for you far and wide, nor will I wait for you. I’ll just love you.
Ji Yi, that girl I used to call “Cola Girl” when I was young. Goodbye.
A gust of wind blew into He Jichen’s eyes. It wasn’t a sandstorm, but a hint of redness appeared in his eyes.
He stared unwaveringly at the hotel building for a really long time, until the sun rose. As his shadow grew longer, he finally withdrew his gaze, hailed a cab and left Hengdian.
–
What happened that night didn’t change Ji Yi and He Jichen’s relationship. The two of them acted as though they never met up and they didn’t keep in contact.
What happened that night didn’t cause any major trouble for Ji Yi’s life. After crying bitterly, she walked into the bathroom and took a thorough shower. She applied her skincare then went downstairs to have breakfast as usual. After eating, she went on set, did her makeup, and waited to shoot her scenes.
She wasn’t as distracted as she was yesterday afternoon. In contrast, she was particularly in character and was able to memorize every single line with no problem. To the director’s surprise, she was able to grasp the emotions very well; she was even able to act out the scenes with breathtaking detail.
Three days later, “Jiuchong Palace” finished filming.
The end-of-production party was set for the day after at the China World Hotel, Beijing.
Ji Yi took an overnight flight back to Beijing the day they finished filming.
She didn’t go back to school or go back home because it was really late. Instead, she headed straight for the China World Hotel, Beijing and booked a room with Zhuang Yi.
Ji Yi fell asleep at four in the morning, so when she woke up, it was already two in the afternoon.
She ate some food then took a short break. She showered and applied her makeup for the end-of-production party at seven in the evening.
“Jiochong Palace” was YC’s release, so Ji Yi thought she’d bump into He Jichen at the party, but she never thought YC’s vice president would be there instead.
Midway through the party, Ji Yi didn’t manage to see He Jichen but she did hear some news about him.
He Jichen booked a flight to America for the next day.
The flight was booked in a hurry for ten in the afternoon. It was a one-way ticket, not a return.
What’s more, he handed in all his work to YC two days ago.
So… after He Jichen leaves Beijing, he’ll go to America for some time but as for his return date… it’s undetermined?
Ji Yi was enjoying a tall glass of red wine while in casual conversation with someone when she accidentally overheard someone mentioning this. Her heart instantly started to feel an indescribable sense of panic.
She knew he was going to leave, but she never thought he would actually leave in such a hurry. It’d only been a few days since she heard the news and just three or four days since they parted that night…
“Miss Ji? Miss Ji?” cried someone repeatedly.
Ji Yi snapped out of her daze and realized that the VP of Huan Ying Entertainment was introducing her to his business partners. Before she could greet them, she fell into a daydream thinking about He Jichen.
Ji Yi hurriedly cleared up the confusion on her mind and forced an apologetic smile to the person calling her. Then she pushed her wine glass forward and said, “Hello, Mr. Liang. My apologies for earlier.”
“Don’t worry. I hope we will get the opportunity to work with Miss Ji in the future.” Mr. Liang didn’t seem to mind as he smiled and clinked glasses with Ji Yi.
“Absolutely, absolutely.” Ji Yi put the wine glass to her lips and took a sip then continued to casually chat with the group.
In contrast to before, Ji Yi didn’t seem so distracted. Every now and then, she heard snippets of other people’s conversations. Sometimes, she still zoned out and her gaze would fixate on one area.
Ji Yi knew that with her current state of mind, it wasn’t best for her to continue socializing with others, so she found a right time to excuse herself to go to the restroom and left the party.
Ji Yi didn’t go to the restroom but took the elevator and headed straight upstairs.
When Ji Yi returned to her hotel room, she slumped back against the wooden door behind her and sat on the floor.
Since the night he left her in that room in Hengdian, she’d been forcing herself not to think about him. She’d been doing her best to focus on other areas.
However, when she randomly heard news about his departure tonight, Ji Yi instantly felt utterly defeated after several days of hard work to stay strong.
They were going to part eventually, but when it was time for it to really happen, she realized she simply couldn’t take it…
Ji Yi held the pain in her chest and buried her head between her knees.
While washing her hands after using the toilet, Ji Yi removed her watch from around her wrist and casually glanced at the time.
It was already ten in the evening.
There were twelve whole hours until He Jichen had to board a plane to leave Beijing…
Which meant that in twelve hours, they would no longer be in the same city. Between them, things would be just like they were four years ago. They would be in different cities, living lives that had absolutely nothing to do with one another…
With that thought, the pain in Ji Yi’s chest couldn’t help but make her arch her body, letting a single tear fall into the sink below.
She silently stared at the fallen tear for a while then suddenly reached out and removed her dress. After turning on the tap, she pulled out some makeup remover and quickly washed her face.
She used a towel to frantically dry her hair. She changed into a pair of leggings and a white t-shirt, grabbed her purse and sunglasses then hurriedly exited the hotel.
As Ji Yi stepped out of the China World Hotel, Beijing, she randomly picked a taxi by the road and pulled the door open. She told the driver He Jichen’s address and climbed into the car.
The roads at ten in the evening were pretty smooth. It took just twenty minutes for the taxi to stop outside the gates of He Jichen’s residential area.
JI Yi paid the fare. After the taxi drove off, she walked into the neighboring area.
After walking about five minutes through the quiet neighborhood, Ji Yi stopped outside He Jichen’s apartment building.
Ji Yi lifted her head. Her eyes shot up floor after floor until they finally stopped at the eighteenth floor.
The lights in He Jichen’s apartment were still on. Ji Yi had been to his apartment many times, so she knew where it was.
It’s so late now. Is he still busy working?
She wanted to tell him not to work so hard and to take care of himself.
She wanted to tell him to take a few days off and go on holiday, to not stay at the office or home office doing overtime.
She wanted to tell him to drink less when he had to entertain clients. If he could slip away from business dinners, she wanted to tell him to do so and to not stay up too late.
More and more thoughts popped up, but that’s all they were – just thoughts. All she could really do was quietly stand outside his building, staring up at his apartment lights and spending his final night in Beijing like that.
–
At the same time, outside the Ji family house.
He Jichen leaned against the hood of his car with his head slightly raised at the window of Ji Yi’s room. Through the window, he quietly stared at the dim yellow light.
His hand reached into his pocket then pulled out a cigarette. The evening breeze blew in, causing the tip to glow repeatedly. The ashes scattered endlessly with the wind and floated away.
–
The night gradually deepened.
As she stood outside his apartment for a while, the soles of her feet began to feel numb, so she shifted her stance.
As he stood outside her parent’s home with his head raised, he reached for another cigarette and put it to his mouth. He lit it up and quietly took a drag. He lit up so many that he lost count. For this one, he kept it between his fingers and like before, he didn’t touch it again.
The wind grew stronger. The midnight sky was dark and dreary with specks of rain that were as soft as silk, drifting along with the wind.
In spite of this, Ji Yi didn’t move from her spot outside his apartment building.
In spite of this, He Jichen continued to lean against the hood of his car instead of going inside.
The rain wasn’t heavy. Even after a long time, only their jackets and hair got wet.
Where Ji Yi was standing happened to be a drafty area, so she found another place to stand.
He Jichen reached into his pocket to grab another cigarette and lit it up.
As it approached morning, the rain gradually turned heavy. Ji Yi’s clothes were completely soaked, and the rain started to run down her clothes.
The morning joggers had already started to wake up and leave the apartment building.
Even with sunglasses on, Ji Yi really caught people’s attention since she was standing there foolishly in the rain. She was afraid someone would take a photo and post it online, so she withdrew her gaze from He Jichen’s apartment window. Then she walked over to the gates of the residential area.
After two steps, Ji Yi turned her head and glanced up at He Jichen’s apartment window again.
Meanwhile, He Jichen’s hair was completely soaked, yet from beginning to end, he never had any intention of getting into the car.
As drops of water streamed down his fine facial features, into his collar, and down his collarbone, this image of him looked tragic and touching.
The sky gradually got brighter and people ready to go to work emerged from the building with umbrellas.
Quite a few curious people glanced over at He Jichen, but it seemed like he couldn’t sense them at all. Still, he stared transfixed at her apartment.
At almost seven in the morning, the phone rang.
After a short while, He Jichen withdrew his gaze from the window of her apartment and lowered his head. He reached into his pocket for his phone.
Through the rain, he glanced at the phone screen and realized it was Chen Bai calling.
He slid his fingers across the phone screen to pick up the call. The moment he put the phone to his ear, Chen Bai’s voice rang through the rain. “Mr. He, there’s a little traffic on the roads this morning, so it’s probably time to leave for the airport.”
He Jichen instinctively raised his head and glanced at Ji Yi’s window. After about ten seconds, he let out a gentle “Mhm.”
“Mr. He, I’m heading to your place now and will be there in about twenty minutes.”
It seemed like He Jichen hadn’t heard what Chen Bai said as he continued to stare up at the apartment for a long time through the dense rainfall. It wasn’t until Chen Bai cried “Mr. He” over the phone that he snapped out of it and let out another gentle “Mhm.” Then he hung up the phone and glanced up several more times at the window before he walked around the car. He pulled the car door open and got in.
–
Last night, apart from Ji Yi and He Jichen standing all night in the rain, there was one other person guarding another building from night till dawn.
He Jichen was set to leave for Beijing the next day, so Han Zhifan set up a party the night before at the Golden Lounge as a farewell party.
Han Zhifan knew He Jichen was still angry with him because he got Ji Yi involved when he set up Cheng Weiwan. However, because He Jichen was suddenly leaving Beijing, he asked him to take care of Ji Yi, so that forcefully improved things between them.
He Jichen had recently been feeling down, but he hadn’t been showing it in the usual way when he was angry. Han Zhifan couldn’t quite tell what was wrong, but this time, he mostly stared at one spot like he was distracted and slipped into endless silence.
The farewell party was especially prepared for He Jichen, but he left before it was even eight in the evening.
Quite a few people came to see He Jichen off, so with him gone, everybody started to make excuses and left one after the other.
Han Zhifan wasn’t in a rush to go back home, so he stayed at The Golden Lounge until midnight. It was only after his interest subsided that he left the party room.
As he stood at the end of the hallway, Han Zhifan smoked another cigarette until it reached the very end. Then he finally called his driver and asked him to pick him up at the entrance of The Golden Lounge.
Han Zhifan casually took two drags then slowly put out the cigarette and swayed as he walked down the brightly lit corridor. There were several winding turns required for him to reach the entrance of the lounge.
The driver was already at the entrance. When he saw Han Zhifan leaving the lounge, the driver immediately got out to help him open the door.
As Han Zhifan had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, his stomach felt quite uncomfortable. The next second, he bent over and crawled into the car then swiftly leaned back into his chair and shut his eyes.
Since the end of last month, Han Zhifan hadn’t returned home or to his office for some reason.
When the driver asked Han Zhifan where he was heading, he didn’t mention the address to his apartment, so the driver asked, “Mr. Han, are we heading back to your office or to your apartment?”
There was no sound coming from the back of the car.
The driver remembered how Han Zhifan had been going back to his old house every day and was about to ask, “The old house again?”
But in the end, before the words left his mouth, Han Zhifan’s voice came from behind. “To Yongyi Gardens.”
Yongyi Gardens is Han Zhifan’s home…
Some time has already passed, so why did he take so long to think about going back to his own home?
Although the driver was confused, he politely replied, “Alright.”
The driver was met with a wall of silence.
The driver didn’t utter a word but stepped on the gas and headed for Yongyi Gardens.
When the car reached Yongyi Gardens, the guard in the security room was playing on his phone and noticed blaring headlights. He immediately opened the window and peered out.
He recognized Han Zhifan’s car. After he saw the license plate, the guard immediately opened the gates and politely greeted Han Zhifan who was sitting inside. “Mr. Han, you haven’t visited for a while…”
Han Zhifan didn’t say anything but glanced out at the guard from the window.
There was a speed bump at the gate, so the car drove slowly. Just as the car gradually drove into the courtyard, the guard said, “…On the contrary, Miss Cheng came by twice…”
Miss Cheng… Just as those two words entered Han Zhifan’s mind, he instinctively glanced at the driver through the rearview mirror.
The driver understood what he meant and slowed down the car even more.
“…But, speaking of which, a strange thing happened. One day, when I was on patrol, I happened to see Miss Cheng. She was standing outside the building in a daze. She didn’t actually go upstairs…” The guard saw Han Zhifan’s car slowing down to walking speed and knew he piqued his interest. Then he hurriedly explained everything. “…Oh, I almost forgot about some important business. Miss Chen came tonight. She’s been in for about half an hour now.”
Han Zhifan still didn’t say anything but raised his hand and rolled up the car window.
The driver saw this, so he quickly stepped on the gas and bolted off.
Han Zhifan’s apartment was right in the middle of the residential area.
They turned left about two hundred meters ahead. As they quickly drew closer to Han Zhifan’s apartment building, the driver’s sharp eyes glanced at the road ahead to see a familiar silhouette. “Mr. He, the guard wasn’t lying. It really is Miss Cheng…”
Han Zhifan, who had his eyes shut, abruptly opened his eyes and looked through the windshield straight ahead.
It was just as the driver said – Cheng Weiwan was quietly standing under the lamppost. She noticed the sound of the car, so she curiously turned her head when she heard it coming. Maybe she recognized the car because in the next second, she swiftly hid behind a randomly-parked car by the road.
“Why is Miss Cheng hiding…”
Before the driver’s confused voice settled, Han Zhifan said, “Stop the car here.”
“Huh?” said the driver in confusion as he stared about fifty meters ahead.
Han Zhifan then said, “I’ll walk over myself. You can drop me off here.”
The driver assumed Han Zhifan and Cheng Weiwan had things to talk about, so he hurriedly hit the brakes.
Han Zhifan got out of the car and after the driver turned around to leave, he calmly strode over to his apartment.
Cheng Weiwan hid behind the car and never peered her head out.
When Han Zhifan reached the front of his apartment building, he purposefully slowed down his footsteps.
