A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You - Chapter 767-774
After the waiter softly closed the door, the room instantly flipped into a wall of intense silence.
Ji Yi’s eyes were glued to He Jichen’s face as her tears couldn’t stop flowing.
They continued to stare at one another for a while then Ji Yi finally said, “He Jichen…”
Ji Yi’s crying made He Jichen’s fingers quiver violently as a big chunk of ash burnt off. While it rustled to the floor, some ashes fell on the back of his hand and burned him slightly.
He Jichen hadn’t moved an inch since he saw Ji Yi. He finally blinked gently and removed his hand from the corner of his lips.
After putting the cigarette out, he froze for two seconds before turning to look back at Ji Yi.
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“You’re finally back…” the tears in the corners of Ji Yi’s eyes fell violently. “…Do you know that I’ve been looking for you non-stop for over a year now, and I’ve been waiting for you to come back all this time?”
He Jichen looked as though he hadn’t quite returned to his senses since their sudden reunion. His eyes stared unwaveringly at Ji Yi without any hint of looking away.
“How could you be so silly? Why didn’t you tell me about so many things while quietly carrying the burden on your own…”
“Why did you just leave and where have you been for over a year?”
Every day and night for the past year or so, Ji Yi had been longing to reunite with He Jichen. Every day and night, she’d also been thinking about what she was going to say to He Jichen if they ever really met one day.
She recited this script countless times and played out that scene in her dreams a million times. However, now that it really came down to it, she completely forgot what she wanted to say. Her delighted and excited mind went blank and the words that came out of her mouth were incoherent.
“How have you been the past year or so? And when did you get back? After you returned, why didn’t you call me first? You were at TE cafe on Chinese New Year, weren’t you?”
On her own, Ji Yi asked many questions and only stopped when she realized that He Jichen hadn’t said a word.
Ji Yi stared at the silent He Jichen for a while and figured she could find a day to slowly ask him in more detail.
Now that she got to see him after so much difficulty, she couldn’t ruin the mood…
With that thought, Ji Yi walked over to He Jichen.
As she drew closer, she realized that aside from his dark eye bags, he was no different from how she pictured him in her dreams. After over a year, he hadn’t really aged.
After Ji Yi walked over to He Jichen, she raised her head. Looking at him up close, she smelled the unique yet faint scent of his body.
Her throat tightened as she stared at him for a short while before forcing herself to say, “Look at me, babbling non-stop. I forgot about the most important thing. What would you like to eat? I’ll call the waiter over to take our order.”
With that, Ji Yi raised her menu, flipped through the pages, and handed it over to He Jichen. “Let’s get set A. When you ate here before, you always chose A.”
After Ji Yi decided, she flipped through the drink menu. “What would you like to drink? Red wine, just like before?”
Seeing as He Jichen didn’t have much of a reaction, Ji Yi decided on her own to call the waiter over to place an order for the set she just suggested.
After the waiter left, Ji Yi pulled out a dining chair. “He Jichen, sit down and let’s talk slowly.”
He Jichen didn’t utter a word or move an inch, just like his old self.
Seeing how unconcerned he seemed, Ji Yi walked over to He Jichen, reached out and gently tugged on his sleeve. “Come, sit.”
Ji Yi’s touch snapped He Jichen out of his daze. He stared deeply into her eyes with a glimmer of light as though he was pleasantly surprised. The glimmer in his eyes lasted for ten short seconds then gradually dimmed before they returned to their deep and dark state. Then without any emotion at all, he said, “How come it’s you?”
Those were the first words he said after their reunion.
How come it’s you?
Cold and indifferent words. That cold and indifferent tone of voice.
It was as though they were two complete strangers.
It felt like Ji Yi had a bucket of cold water thrown over her. The heat from her burning heart from finally seeing him again slowly turned cold. “This is my event. Didn’t you anonymously pay to take part in my event?”
He Jichen furrowed his brows. “Anonymous?”
“Yeah…” Ji Yi nodded then said the anonymous name He Jichen used. “…Aren’t you Ning Ning?”
When He Jichen heard the two words “Ning Ning,” he instantly understood. This was set up by Ning Ning.
Her father really was sick and she did need the money, but for the past few days, she’d been asking for a bunch of money. She didn’t use it for her father. Instead, she used it to take part in Huan Ying Entertainment’s Pre-New Year event for Ji Yi…
Don’t tell me that’s why Ning Ning used every method possible to stop me from going back to France lately. Deep down, she already had this plan in mind!
A sliver of anger crept into He Jichen’s eyes.
At that moment, the waiter happened to push open the door to the room and placed dish after dish onto the large marble dining table that Ji Yi ordered.
Even though He Jichen didn’t say anything, Ji Yi took the initiative to say, “He Jichen, the food’s here. Let’s have dinner.”
As Ji Yi said this, she pulled He Jichen’s arm and dragged him over to the dining table. “There’s so much I want to say to you. Let’s eat and…”
Her final word “chat” never escaped her mouth because He Jichen suddenly pulled himself free from her grasp.
Ji Yi turned her head in confusion and looked over at He Jichen.
Her gaze hadn’t met his eyes when he bent over and picked up his jacket from the sofa. Then he walked around her and strode over to the door.
“He Jichen!” cried Ji Yi instinctively.
He Jichen didn’t slow down, acting as though he hadn’t heard what she said. He walked out of the private room.
Ji Yi instinctively raised her feet and chased after He Jichen.
He Jichen took big strides with his long legs. Although Ji Yi ran after him, by the time she reached the elevator, he had already gotten into an elevator and started to head down.
Ji Yi hurriedly pressed the button for the elevator beside her, but because it was the peak time for diners, the elevator was very slow. Ji Yi was afraid to lose He Jichen, so she ran over to the emergency exit, pushed the door open and ran down the stairs.
Because her heels were so inconvenient for her to walk in, she took them off and ran barefoot down the stairs.
Tang Huahua was in the first-floor lobby, waiting for Ji Yi while playing on her phone. She didn’t pay attention to anybody walking in or out.
Tang Huahua thought she was hearing things when she heard Ji Yi hurriedly saying, “Sorry, excuse me” from behind. After hesitating for two seconds, she turned her head to see Ji Yi running to the door while holding her heels in one hand and raising her dress in the other without a care about her image.
If someone took a photo and uploaded it online, wouldn’t there be some kind of uproar?
Tang Huahua bolted up from the sofa without even bothering with her bag and ran over to Ji Yi’s direction.
“Miss, Miss, Your bag!” cried the waitress carrying out her bag when she noticed that Tang Huahua left it behind.
After running for about five meters, Tang Huahua heard the waitress’ voice then instinctively stopped running. She turned around and headed back to the waitress then hurriedly said, “Thanks.” She took her bag then quickly ran out of the lobby.
After some distance, Tang Huahua caught glimpse of a barefoot Ji Yi looking left and right, walking back.
She looked like she was searching for something.
Tang Huahua instinctively thought that Ji Yi’s old sickness was flaring up again and she was hallucinating again, looking for He Jichen like she did on New Year’s Eve. She felt a dull pain in her heart and slowed down. After a few seconds, she waited for the pain to subside then sped up and walked up to Ji Yi. “Xiao Yi.”
When Ji Yi heard someone calling her, she abruptly turned around as though she was pleasantly surprised by something. Without waiting for Tang Huahua to finish, she leaped over to her and grabbed her arm. “Huahua, do you know who I saw?” Ji Yi asked in excitement.
“You won’t believe me, but I saw him!”
“Back then, in room number one, I saw him! I really saw him! He Jichen’s back! He’s really back!”
As Ji Yi went on, she cried excitedly with her head up, revealing the mess on her face. She was so ecstatic that she completely jumped up. “I’m not lying, Huahua! It’s true! He’s Ning Ning. He’s Ning Ning!”
When Tang Huahua heard this, she realized Ji Yi wasn’t hallucinating, but she didn’t dare to believe it. All she could do was change the topic and comforted Ji Yi: “Xiao Yi, put on your shoes first. People are watching you and it’d be bad if they took photos.”
“Oh, oh,” said Ji Yi two consecutive times. After she swiftly put on her shoes, she grabbed Tang Huahua’s arms and said, “Huahua, he’s finally back! Do you know how hard it was waiting for him? He’s finally back! This time, I definitely won’t let him leave me!”
“Xiao Yi, be reasonable. Don’t get so worked up. You say you saw He Jichen, but where is he?”
Tang Huahua silenced Ji Yi with her question.
Ji Yi saw how happy He Jichen was, but he said just a few cold words in an indifferent tone then left…
A bleak look surfaced on Ji Yi’s face as she looked down and softly replied, “He’s gone.”
“Gone?” Tang Huahua furrowed her brows.
“He didn’t even eat dinner with me and left,” said Ji Yi softly.
“I know he’s only doing this because he’s afraid to drag me down. When he saw me, he didn’t even stick around to chat and just left…”
Ji Yi spoke with a soft and gentle tone like she was speaking to herself.
“But it’s fine. He’s liked me for so many years and has done so much for me, so I’m not going to be mad… I’ve waited over a year for him, so it’s really fine. I can wait twice the time, or even ten times that for him to be with me.”
Ji Yi was quiet like before, but there was some certainty in the tone of her voice. “Yeah, it took me so long to wait for him to come back. I can’t be defeated or give up just like that. I have to find a way to find out where he lives and find out how to contact him…”
As she said that, Ji Yi looked like she had slipped deep in thought to think of a plan.
About a second later, her brows started to furrow impatiently.
Just as she was about to speak and ask Tang Huahua what she should do, the corners of her eyes caught the words “Lilac.”
She was supposed to meet Ning Shuang there for dinner tonight, but He Jichen was the one who actually turned up. It didn’t matter if He Jichen was or wasn’t the winner, because at the very least, she knew someone named “Ning Shuang” left her phone number, so she could be contacted. If He Jichen entered with his name, he would’ve had to use his phone number. Since it wasn’t under He Jichen’s name, the person with that phone number would definitely know He Jichen…
With that thought, Ji Yi secretly cursed herself for being stupid then hurriedly asked Tang Huahua, “Huahua, what’s Ning Ning’s phone number?”
–
As He Jichen stepped out of Lilac, he hailed a cab without hesitation and headed back to the hotel.
He took the elevator up to his room. When He Jichen stepped out, he didn’t head back to his own room. Instead, he stopped right in front of the door next to his room. He reached out and forcefully pounded the door.
The voice from inside sounded unusually crisp: “Coming!” However, He Jichen continued to pound the door viciously as though he hadn’t heard the voice from inside.
“Who is it?!” came an annoyed voice from inside the room. The door opened to reveal Ning Shuang with messy hair. When she saw He Jichen, the annoyance on her face from having been woken up by the knocking at the door disappeared and in its place was a confused look. “Huh? Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be eating at Lilac?”
He Jichen ignored Ning Shuang’s questions and looked right into her eyes with two dancing flames and said with a cold, angry voice, “Who allowed you to take matters into your own hands… to go and do that?!”
Ning Shuang, who wanted to ask what happened when he met Ji Yi, gaped at He Jichen’s yelling as she swallowed back her questions.
“When did you have the right to meddle in my business? Do you really have nothing better to do?!”
The more He Jichen spoke, the more he took things too far. As Ning Shuang listened, the more it started to irk her and she quietly started to explain herself. “Wasn’t I just doing it for you? I did it because you like her so much, and I couldn’t watch you like this anymore. I wanted to get you guys to see each other just once…”
“If I wanted to see her, I wouldn’t have left her in the first place! Why don’t you get that? Do you know just how much trouble you’ve given me by blindly stirring things up?!”
“How could you say it gave you trouble?!” Ning Shuang started to get angry over He Jichen’s heavy words. The tone of her voice was no longer as soft as before. “I was clearly trying to help you! The first time I met you at the bar, you were calling her name. When I got off work and came out of the bar, I saw you crouched by the side of the road in a complete daze. I walked up to you and talked to you, but you didn’t reply.
“We saw each other again two months later, yet you were the same drunken mess, collapsed by a garbage can. Someone stole your wallet and you didn’t even realize it. Those thugs were drunk too, so when they got annoyed after stealing your money, they kicked you! I was the one who ran up to you and took you back home again. Did you know that while I was bandaging you up, you cried her name all night?!”
“From that moment on, I knew she was extremely important to you! I saw you only a few times, but every time I did, you always had a phone in hand, staring at her number. You looked like you wanted to make the call but didn’t dare go through with it.”
“I don’t get it! Why did you leave her if you liked her so much? All I know is that since you love her so much, you should have the courage to love her fully! I admit that I really did come back to China this time to see my dad, but I also lied about having a lot of things I didn’t handle right and hoped you would come back to help me. I did that just to get you and her to see each other! However, it was all for your own good! I don’t want to see you up alone every night while everyone’s sleeping. I also don’t want to see you pacing up and down the street and daydreaming whenever you see someone who looks like her!”
Maybe He Jichen was too harsh on Ning Shuang or maybe it was because she mentioned how He Jichen had lived for the past year or so, but Ning Shuang’s heart started to ache a little. As she went on, a hint of red surfaced in her eyes. “I didn’t mean anything by it. At first, maybe it was because I wanted to help you and I thought I could use the money, so I started to care about you with a motive in mind. But later on, my dad got sick and I begged for an advance with my boss at the bar, yet he wouldn’t give it to me no matter what. He even wanted to fire me, but you stepped in and gave me the money!”
“At the time, I thought you were my savior and we became close friends, so I figured I should do something for you. I sincerely hoped you could be happy, so I put all my effort into setting tonight up! I don’t understand what happened between the two of you, but I didn’t blindly mess things up. I’m sure that if she and you are together, you’d be at your happiest. My objective was simple – I just wanted you to be happy and wanted you to live well!”
Ning Shuang had always been talkative, but now that she was angry, she sounded even more agitated.
She said her long speech practically without taking any deep breaths.
After she finally stopped talking, the hallway instantly slipped into a strange wall of silence.
The anger between He Jichen’s handsome brows was still there, but his tone of voice didn’t sound as harsh as before. Instead, there was a faint hint of heartache as he spoke. “But did you know that I’ve never thought about my well-being? I’ve always cared about hers!”
“Aren’t you worried about how much she could be suffering or how unhappy she is without you by her side? She’s the person you like so much. If she was being bullied by a man or cried over another man, wouldn’t you worry about her? Don’t tell me there’s someone better than you who makes her feel at ease? You like her so much, yet you’re just going to give up on her? Are you really alright with that?”
“Yeah, I do worry about her, I do feel uneasy, and I’m really not alright with that, but…”
He Jichen’s eyes drooped. His face didn’t show any emotions, but Ning Shuang could sense the intense heartache emitting from his body and coming right at her. He was silent for a long time before he continued to say, “…It’s better than her taking on the label of a murderer’s wife…”
As those two words “murderer’s wife” slipped between his teeth, it seemed like He Jichen had broached a touchy topic. His hands suddenly clenched into fists.
“This is the best that can be done. I suffer a little, but she can live an envious lifestyle. Everything was worth it, right?”
As he said this, He Jichen didn’t bother waiting for Ning Shuang to speak. He turned around and took big strides over to the elevator.
“He Jichen, where are you going?!” asked Ning Shuang as she instinctively walked out of the room and cried at the silhouette of He Jichen’s back.
He Jichen completely ignored her and pressed the button for the elevator. After waiting for the doors to open, he stepped in.
Ning Shuang had known He Jichen for over a year now. Though she didn’t know him inside and out, she knew him well enough to know that after seeing Ji Yi tonight, he must be feeling even worse inside. Leaving like this, he was probably going to find somewhere to drown his sorrows with alcohol.
There was one time last winter when he drank until his stomach bled. The doctor warned him seriously to quit drinking. If he continues to drink, then I’m afraid he really doesn’t want to live anymore!
With that thought, Ning Shuang went back into the room, grabbed her room key and jacket, then chased after He Jichen.
When Ning Shuang reached the first floor and stepped out of the elevator, He Jichen happened to have walked to the hotel entrance.
She apologetically said “Sorry, excuse me” to the people in front of her. Then, she reached out and shoved people out of the way while running over to the entrance.
Ning Shuang ran really quickly, but when she leaped out of the hotel doors, He Jichen was already down the stairs and about to hail a cab from the sidewalk.
Ning Shuang instinctively wanted to call He Jichen’s name, but someone beat her to it. “Jichen?!”
Ning Shuang suddenly stopped running, and at the same, she and He Jichen turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
It was a young woman dressed in a mink fur coat with a shiny handbag in her hands and bright red lipstick. She was staring at He Jichen with a look of disbelief and pleasant surprise.
Who’s she?
Ning Shuang instinctively wanted to ask He Jichen, but he had already made his way over to the woman.
Because they were quite some distance away, Ning Shuang couldn’t catch what she was saying. He Jichen nodded and got into a car with the woman.
Without thinking twice, Ning Shuang hailed a cab and got in.
As she watched the car drive into a luxurious residential area, Ning Shuang’s eyes suddenly widened.
Why would He Jichen go home with another woman?
She instinctively reached for the phone in her pocket with the intention of calling He Jichen when she realized she missed several calls from an unknown number while her phone was on silent during her nap. In the midst of her curiosity about who called her, the same unknown number called again…
Ning Shuang hesitated for a few seconds before sliding her finger across the screen and taking the call.
–
Tang Huahua quickly sent Ning Shuang’s number to Ji Yi’s phone. With no hesitation at all, Ji Yi called Ning Shuang.
The call went through, but nobody picked up.
To Ji Yi, this number was the only clue she had of finding He Jichen and it was her one last hope. Even though nobody picked up, Ji Yi didn’t give up at all. Every so often, she called Ning Shuang’s number again.
With He Jichen gone, the dinner date with her fan was ruined.
Ji Yi ordered a table full of dishes, but she had no appetite after suddenly reuniting with He Jichen. Even though Tang Huahua tried her best since she did have an appetite, there was still a lot of food wasted.
When it was time to pay the bill, Ji Yi called Ning Shuang’s number again.
As Tang Huahua entered the passcode, she glanced over at Ji Yi, who had her phone in hand. She couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Yi, maybe the phone isn’t by the owner’s side. Just wait a little while longer before calling again.”
Despite replying with an “Mhm,” Ji Yi called the number countless times again during the time it took her to take the elevator down to the underground parking lot and get in the minivan.
Just like her previous calls, the phone rang for a long time but nobody answered it.
The second after Ji Yi hung up the call in disappointment, Tang Huahua got a call from Zhuang Yi.
Tang Huahua was driving, so she put her phone on speaker. As she spoke with Zhuang Yi, she paid attention to the road ahead of her.
The first thing Zhuang Yi called to ask about was how the dinner date with the fan went tonight.
Tang Huahua explained every detail of how Ji Yi bumped into He Jichen, to which Zhuang Yi was both shocked and pleasantly surprised for a while. Then she dived into real business. “My flight’s for midday tomorrow, so I’ll land in Beijing at three in the afternoon.”
Because Tang Huahua mentioned He Jichen, Ji Yi unlocked her phone screen again and checked her call logs. She found Ning Shuang’s number and made another call.
“Do you need me to pick you up?” As Tang Huahua talked with Zhuang Yi, she steered the wheel into a corner up ahead.
Before Tang Huahua could finish speaking, someone actually picked up Ji Yi’s call.
Ji Yi was so nervous that her heart felt like it was going to leap into her throat.
“That’s okay. I booked a ride. I’ll have to head back home to unpack, so I’ll see you girls the following day.” Zhuang Yi paused for a second on the phone like she just thought of something then continued to say, “Oh yeah! A friend just sent me a screenshot of Qian Ge cussing at someone on her WeChat Moments. Without a question, I bet she was cussing at Xiao Yi. Was Xiao Yi in a bad mood and decided to take her anger out on her again?”
As Zhuang Yi said a series of things, Ji Yi heard a voice through the phone, “Hey! Hello, may I ask, who is this?”
It’s a woman’s voice… Ji Yi instinctively clutched her phone more tightly.
“This time, Ji Yi really didn’t go looking for trouble – Qian Ge was looking to get picked on!” At the mention of what happened in the afternoon, Tang Huahua became more excited and was incredibly enthusiastic to tell Zhuang Yi what transpired.
As Tang Huahua talked, the woman on Ji Yi’s call had waited for a long time for someone to say something. Then she repeated, “Hello? Is anyone there?”
Ji Yi snapped back to her senses and hurriedly replied, “Hello, I’m Ji Yi. May I ask if you’re Ning Shuang?”
Over the phone, Ning Shuang remained quiet for over ten seconds as though she was shocked by what Ji Yi said. “Ji Yi?” she asked in surprise.
Ning Shuang didn’t wait for Ji Yi to confirm as she added, “The same Ji Yi who played the leading actress in ‘Jiuchong Palace’?”
“…Yes.” After Ji Yi replied, she was silent for a moment before asking the main question, “It’s like this… I’m calling to ask you about someone…”
“You want to ask about He Jichen, right?” said Ning Shuang before Ji Yi could even finish.
“Yeah…” Moreover, Ji Yi wanted to ask what the woman’s relationship was with He Jichen. However, the words lingered in her mouth as she didn’t dare ask.
They had parted for over a year now, which wasn’t a long time but it wasn’t short either, and many changes could’ve happened in that time.
Ji Yi knew full well what she was afraid of. She was silent again for while. Perhaps she wasn’t very confident because when she spoke again, she quietly asked, “…do you have He Jichen’s number?”
JI Yi was afraid Ning Shuang and He Jichen’s relationship was no ordinary relationship. After she asked, Ji Yi was afraid Ning Shuang wouldn’t give her He Jichen’s number, so she added, “I was looking for him to talk about…”
“He has a number, but before I give it to you, there’s something important I want to tell you.” In comparison to how uneasy Ji Yi sounded, Ning Shuang spoke directly and went straight to the point. “Honestly speaking, I was the one who set you and He Jichen up for dinner tonight. I’m not sure what happened, but not long after He Jichen left, he came back. He was a little mad at me, and after he blew up in my face, he turned around and left. I’m afraid he’s gone to drink again, so I quickly went after him…”
From what Ning Shuang said, Ji Yi could sense that she had a pretty good relationship with He Jichen.
She even cares about He Jichen’s drinking…
Ji Yi would be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous, but she assumed that their relationship was as she thought it was, so she didn’t say anything. All she could do was quietly listen to what Ning Shuang had to say.
“…up to the hotel entrance. I finally caught up with him and was about to stop him when a particularly well-dressed pretty young woman beat me in calling out his name!”
A particularly well-dressed pretty young woman… Ji Yi furrowed her brows as alarm bells rang in her heart.
“…then I’m not sure what He Jichen and the woman said, but he ended up getting into the woman’s car!”
Ji Yi creased her brows like crazy.
“I thought they were going to find a cafe or a bar to discuss, but who knew… after I sneakily followed them, they actually went into a residential area!” As Ning Shuang said this, something inside her clicked. “But your call came just in time – I was just worrying about what to do. How about…” she continued.
“…you come and take a look?” Ning Shuang was about to say. However, she never managed to get the words out before she heard Ji Yi say, “What residential area?”
“Wait a min! I didn’t pay attention to that, so I had to check the gates…” As Ning Shuang’s voice fell, Ji Yi heard the hurried footsteps through the phone.
At the front of the car, Tang Huahua, who was talking to Zhuang Yi over the phone, reached the peak of the story between what happened between Ji Yi and Qian Ge. Her voice sounded increasingly ecstatic as she said, “You don’t even know! Xiao Yi was so cool at the time. She was like a queen!”
