A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You - Chapter 858-865
The more Han Zhifan heard, the angrier he got. Eventually, when she stopped, he couldn’t help but cry out, “Are you done? If you’re done, get out!”
Cheng Weiwan’s fingers tightly clutched her sleeves against her will. Deep down, she repeatedly told herself that he wasn’t listening. She continued to finish where she left off. “And I know you’ll get married eventually. If it’s possible, I hope you can postpone marrying for Hanhan. Wait until he’s a little older and can take care of himself before you get married…”
She was afraid that if he married too soon, the child would be mistreated.
“…I know it’s an unreasonable request. I beg you…”
“Beg me? What right do you have to beg me?” Perhaps Han Zhifan was too angry as there was a faint tremble in his voice. “Let me tell you this! Getting married or not is my business and finding a step mom for my son is MY business! Even if my step mom abuses my son, that has absolutely nothing to do with you. After all, my son is mine alone, so I get to call the shots!”
“Honestly speaking, I didn’t even want you – did you think I would want the child you gave birth to?”
Support our WebNovelGo(com)
“I only stole my son back to make you suffer!”
Cheng Weiwan had her head hung low, but when she heard Han Zhifan say this, she suddenly lifted her head and looked over at him.
He knew she was pale white, but he never imagined that her face would look so pale that it looked damn near translucent.
Her eyes were very dry as she stared at him; there wasn’t a trace of wetness. Her pupils were lifeless like she didn’t even know him.
The way she stared at him made him abruptly stop talking. He thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure out what to say. In the end, he furiously roared at her, “Get out!”
She blinked gently as though she was coming back to her senses. Then without uttering a word, she shot him a glance, turned around, and silently walked towards the door.
He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but he suddenly felt she looked a little pitiful as he stared at her back.
For a moment, he actually thought he went overboard.
Furthermore, when she walked up to the door and reached to open the door, he instinctively took a step forward and wanted to cry her name.
But before he could do a thing, he snapped back to his senses. Then he instinctively gulped back the words “Cheng Weiwan.”
What’s with me? I actually wanted to call her and let her see her son one last time…
She’s the daughter of Cheng Weiguo, the murderer who killed Lili. I got closer to Cheng Weiwan to make Cheng Weiguo suffer and to let him know that his own daughter felt everything Lili felt. That’s why I won’t go soft on her, feel sorry for her, or even pity her!
Everything I’m doing is right. I didn’t go overboard. Not at all. If Cheng Weiwan wants to blame someone, she can blame her father!
Han Zhifan forcefully pinched the cigarette between his hands as he repeated that line over and over in his heart.
He didn’t turn his head until he heard the sound of the front door opening from beyond the study door. Through the window, he watched her slender body walking out.
The front doors closed but she stood still outside. He didn’t understand what was going on with her. The next second, he threw the cigarette butt to the floor, stomped on it, and kicked the floor lamp beside him.
…
As the front door slammed behind her, Cheng Weiwan slumped to the ground like she lost all strength in her body. She started to cry.
Mum was gone and dad was never home. She’d been alone ever since she was very, very little.
Other people said family was the most important, but she never really had a family.
Later in her life, she met him and thought he could give her a sense of family, but she never imagined that was overthinking things.
Thereafter, she had Hanhan and she finally got a taste of family. But not long after, Hanhan left her too.
She was on her own again…
Cheng Weiwan cried for a really long time before she stopped.
She swayed where she stood and stared at the streetlights not too far away. All of a sudden, she felt a little lost and didn’t know what to do next.
In a daze, she took two steps forward and reached for the phone in her pocket. She opened the call log, stared at “dad” for a long while then made the call.
The phone rang several times before it was picked up. “Hello?”
That was her biological father’s voice. She could tell it was his voice, but to her, it sounded like a stranger.
It’s probably been over half a year since I called him, right?
Cheng Weiwan was stunned for a moment then she finally cried out, “Dad.”
“Oh… Weiwan?” It had been over half a year since the father and daughter were on the phone together, yet Cheng Weiguo didn’t sound the least bit surprised. In fact, his voice was so flat that he sounded a little halfhearted. Without waiting for Cheng Weiwan to speak, he continued to say, “What are you calling me for? Are you in need of some money? I’ll ask assistant Zhang to send you some tomorrow. I’m busy here. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up…”
“Dad…” Cheng Weiwan blurted in fear of Cheng Weiguo hanging up.
“Now what?” asked Cheng Weiguo in an obviously impatient voice.
Over the phone, Cheng Weiwan heard the sound of singing and drinking on Cheng Weiguo’s side over the phone… So when he said he was busy, he was busy having fun… Cheng Weiwan instinctively said, “Dad, I’ve recently been having a terrible time.” She spoke so suddenly that the words lingered by her lips.
Cheng Weiguo didn’t wait for her to say anything else and just hung up right away.
Cheng Weiwan listened to the busy tone for a long time before she lowered the phone from her ear. She turned and glanced at her phone for a long time. Then she had a thought deep down: “They all really don’t want me, huh…”
–
Having cancelled several jobs, Ji Yi was suddenly incredibly free. Since He Jichen didn’t leave the country and since he had no immediate plans to go back to Sucheng to take over He Enterprises, he was also free. For the next few days, aside from when they had to use the restroom, the pair were practically inseparable.
Considering how she had so much time on her hands, Ji Yi figured she would pick up the game she dropped a while back.
He Jichen didn’t really play the game nor did he now, but he spent most of his time sitting by Ji Yi as she played. Every so often, when she was just about to lose, he would take her phone and turn the game around.
Despite having not played Kings for a few days now, Ji Yi seemed to have unknowingly reached the final stage. She needed just one more star to get her first King’s emblem ever since starting the game two years ago.
Who knew that Ji Yi would play the final match several times to no avail? With her patience drained, all she could do was sit aside and peel fruit as He Jichen helped her play the match.
He Jichen turned to Ji Yi with conditions. “I can help you play, buy you’re gonna have to answer a question for me.”
“What’s the question?”
He Jichen wasn’t in a hurry to answer Ji Yi, so after elegantly cutting the fruit and putting the knife down, he picked up a fork and stabbed a slice of apple. He brought the apple to the corner of Ji Yi’s mouth then said, “Answer the question I asked you last night in bed.”
The question I asked you last night in bed… Ji Yi bit into the apple slice then chewed as she thought about the question.
After about ten seconds, she suddenly stopped chewing.
Last night, He Jichen pressed down on her body and asked what her favorite position was…
She shyly replied she forgot. He bit her collarbone then sluggishly told her not to worry about forgetting. With that, he revisited the positions they used the past few days…
Thereafter, she fell asleep in exhaustion.
She thought he was just flirting with her last night and that the topic would be dropped after they had sex. She never imagined he actually remembered it…
“Have you forgotten again?” asked He Jichen. Seeing that Ji Yi didn’t reply for so long, he picked up a grape and fed it to Ji Yi.
Ji Yi chewed on the grape a few times. “Then we’ll have to revisit those positions again tonight. Only when you’ve fully answered the question will I help you play Kings,” said He Jichen in a casual tone.
Ji Yi was so surprised that she gulped down the grape she hadn’t even finished chewing then clutched her chest as she coughed a little. She turned and glared at He Jichen. “He Jichen, why do you think about this every day?”
In contrast to Ji Yi’s anger and embarrassment, He Jichen’s tone of voice was as calm as always. “Because I want to make up for our lost time.”
Lost time… Those two words felt like a thin needle stabbing Ji Yi’s heart and painfully pricking her chest.
But before that pain could subside, He Jichen’s voice bore into her ears. “It’s been almost seven years since our first time. There are fifty-two weeks in a year, so that’s three hundred and sixty-four weeks in seven years. A normal married couple has sex two to three times a week. If we calculate using two times a week over three hundred and sixty-four weeks, that’s over seven hundred times…”
So, this is the lost time he was referring to?
She was really mindblown; her heart actually ached when he said the two words “lost time.”
Ji Yi didn’t wait for He Jichen to finish as she bolted up and walked out of the bedroom.
He Jichen put his fork down then slowly got up and caught up to Ji Yi. “…But think about it. I have unusually good stamina. It’s too little to push you once a week and twice a week would be looking down on my abilities, so let’s go for three times a week. Three hundred and sixty-four weeks equates to one thousand and ninety-two times. I’ll give you a discount, which means one thousand times…”
After getting changed, Ji Yi randomly picked out some clothes from the changing room and chucked them at He Jichen’s face. “Thank you for your discount. Hurry up and get changed then come with me to the supermarket to check out those discounts.”
He Jichen pulled a top over his head while he said, “You’re welcome. …Think about it. A thousand times! If I don’t work hard now, I’ll never make up for the lost time. I reckon that in this lifetime, we’ll never make up for it…”
Ji Yi didn’t wait for He Jichen to finish speaking as she grabbed her purse and walked out of the bedroom then out the front door.
…
It was Thursday so most people were at work. There weren’t many people at the supermarket, which made it easier to shop around.
When she passed the frozen foods section, Ji Yi went to pick up some yogurt while He Jichen went to look at the fruit.
When He Jichen picked out some fruit and was about to go find Ji Yi, he incidentally overheard two girls murmuring as they stood next to him picking fruit.
“Look at this headline. I’m speechless!”
“What headline?”
“A woman actually slept with someone to become the King. Everyone’s teasing them; one bang to become the king…”
He Jichen slowed down his footsteps for a moment then slowly sped up.
He took the yogurt Ji Yi handed him and put it into the cart. As they walked over to the vegetable section, he sluggishly said, “Xiao Yi, you don’t have to answer my question. Promise me something else and I’ll help you with Kings.”
“What’s the catch?” Ji Yi stopped at the frozen foods section and picked up a box of white Ji mob shrimps.
He Jichen wanted to say “one bang to become the King,” but he figured that wasn’t so classy. He hesitated for two seconds then said, “A thousand miles to Jiangling.”
“What?” Ji Yi asked. “What do you mean by a thousand miles to Jiangling? A thousand miles to Jiangling…”
Ji Yi instinctively wanted to say “what the hell do you mean by ‘a thousand miles to Jiangling’?” But as she said this, she suddenly thought back to the Chinese idiom “a thousand miles to Jiangling repaid in a day.” Then the words in her mouth suddenly stopped there.
“But what are a thousand miles anyway? Think about our lost time. A thousand times will take us at least ten thousand miles to Jiangling…”
A thousand miles to Jiangling repaid in a day would mean it’d take ten thousand miles and ten days to be repaid… Ji Yi raised her foot and fiercely kicked the cart He Jichen was pushing around. She gritted her teeth and cried “In your dreams!” Then she left He Jichen, sped up, and headed for the vegetable section.
Ji Yi picked out some vegetables for a while then turned around to see if He Jichen had caught up to her.
She looked all around but couldn’t find He Jichen’s silhouette and furrowed her brows. She put down the vegetables in her hands and was about to pull out her phone to call He Jichen. Then she suddenly heard the hesitant voice of a woman. “Ji Yi?”
Deep down, Ji Yi’s heart fell. Then she abruptly stopped reaching into her pocket.
Before she left the house, she deliberately put on a face mask. How did someone recognize me?
She didn’t turn her head and hoped the person who called her name would drop it and walk away.
Who knew that the person who called her not only wouldn’t leave but decided to edge in closer? “It really is you! Ji Yi!”
The voice sounded familiar. It didn’t seem like a fan… Ji Yi felt a little uneasy inside as she turned and looked over to the source of the sound.
The person calling her looked a little familiar. Ji Yi recognized her as a B-film classmate who stayed in the same dorm as her. They occasionally crossed paths. It was just that after graduation, she wasn’t sure what her name was. To avoid embarrassment, Ji Yi didn’t say hello.
When the person who called her name met her gaze, she added, “I saw your back from far away and thought it might be you. Coming in closer, you looked even more familiar. What a coincidence for us to bump into each other here.”
After the person who called her finished speaking, she added, “I’m Ruan Jie. It’s been almost two years since we’ve seen each other. Do you still remember me?”
“Yeah…” Ji Yi replied with a little guilt. Afraid Ruan Jie would see through her lie, she quickly continued by changing the subject. “…so you’re here shopping?”
“Yeah, I got married and my husband’s house is nearby. We’ve finished eating all the food at home, so we’re just stocking up. After Ruan Jie answered, she then asked, “How about you? Don’t tell me you live nearby too?”
Ji Yi vaguely remembered how Ruan Jie was quite talkative in school. She never imagined Ruan Jie was just the same as before. Unlike the talkative Ruan Jie, Ji Yi merely nodded softly.
“Then we really must’ve been fated to meet…” Ruan Jie smiled as though she was really happy then she blurted out, “Huh?” She pulled her smile back and asked curiously, “…I remember your apartment wasn’t around here before. Did you buy a new apartment here?”
Ji Yi shook her head. “No.”
“Are you staying at a friend’s place?” Ruan Jie was obviously being nosy. “It can’t be your boyfriend’s place, right?”
As she said this, Ruan Jie then thought back to the raging news about her online and suddenly, her eyes shot wide open. “Ji Yi, are you really dating that murderer?”
Murderer… Ji Yi lowered her eyes to hide the flash of annoyance in them. Her voice sounded slightly cold when she spoke. “Excuse me, his name is He Jichen.”
Ruan Jie was clearly an airhead as she didn’t notice anything weird about Ji Yi. “Of course I know his name. After all, he was a well-known person at our school. It’s just a shame that he stabbed someone. I can’t accept his views. His behavior was too destructive…”
Ji Yi wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation with Ruan Jie and found an appropriate time to cut her off. “Excuse me, I have to go take a look over there. Let’s talk later…”
“What a coincidence, I have to go over there too. Let’s go together…” As she said this, she clung onto Ji Yi’s arm and turned around to where Ji Yi pointed, cutting her off. “…And Xiao Yi, you’re young and pretty. You can find any guy you want. Why did you have to go and be with that kind of man? Think about the people online cursing you. For him, is this all worth ending up like this?”
“Are you in it for the money? But there are so many rich people in the world. With your looks, it won’t be hard to find someone richer. Are you in it for his good looks? You guys work in showbiz as it is. There are plenty of people who look good, so you didn’t have to choose him. When his temper rises, he was willing to kill someone, so who knows when you’ll be his target? Even if he doesn’t hit you, he has a criminal record, so what will people think of you? You have no idea… Because of him, several of us didn’t invite you to our last alumni meet up…”
“Are you done?” Ji Yi simply couldn’t listen on as her tone of voice ran cold.
Her voice must’ve been overly cold as Ruan Jie slowly but finally noticed something was wrong and shut up.
The atmosphere between the two of them froze for a short while before Ruan Jie apologetically said, “Ji Yi, don’t be mad – I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just saying it for…”
Deep down, Ji Yi was a little mad. People might not even be able to take care of their own affairs; who had the time to worry about other people?
Without waiting for Ruan Jie to finish apologizing, she turned and looked over at her while cutting her off. “For my own good? But you aren’t me, so how would you ever know that I…”
Before Ji Yi could finish saying “…don’t care for you worrying about me,” she caught sight of He Jichen, who was standing frozen nearby while pushing the cart.
In comparison to before, there were now more things in the cart. It was now filled with her favorite snacks.
Deep down, Ji Yi suddenly felt bad, followed by an unspeakable sense of panic.
Although Ruan Jie said some things that made her feel terrible and even though she would immediately share this experience with He Jichen, she was afraid he heard what Ruan Jie said.
He never really showed his emotions – the blank expression on his face revealed no emotions.
Ji Yi stared at He Jichen for a while but didn’t notice a thing out of place.
Whereas Ruan Jie noticed that Ji Yi stopped mid-sentence and furrowed her brows in confusion. Then she realized Ji Yi was staring at a certain spot, so she turned her head in that direction. The second she met He Jichen’s eyes, Ruan Jie evidently took a step back.
Her little movements shocked Ji Yi.
Without even looking at Ruan Jie, Ji Yi walked right up to He Jichen.
“Weren’t you picking out vegetables?” asked He Jichen quietly when Ji Yi walked over to him.
He sounds no different than usual, so mustn’t have caught anything Ruan Jie said, right…? thought Ji Yi for a moment before arching her eyes and softly replying, “I bumped into my college classmate and chatted with her a little.”
“What did you girls talk about?”
He’s just chatting with me casually, yet I’m acting all nervous… Ji Yi calmed down. “Nothing, we were just randomly chatting.”
“Oh.”
“I picked out some vegetables now. Aside from the one time when you cooked as Yuguang Ge, I haven’t eaten your cooking.”
“Alright.”
“…”
After leaving the supermarket, He Jichen drove to the apartment then waited for Ji Yi to get out of the car before he drove to the underground car park.
After the car stopped, He Jichen was in no hurry to get out of the car. Instead, he reached for a cigarette and lit it up.
Through the cigarette smoke, his ears suddenly rang with what that unknown woman said to Ji Yi in the supermarket…
— Xiao Yi, you’re young and pretty. You can find any guy you want. Why did you have to go and be with a man like that?
— Think about the people online cursing you. For him, is this all worth ending up like this?
— Even if he doesn’t hit you, he has a criminal record, so what will people think of you? You have no idea… Because of him, several of us didn’t invite you to our last alumni meet up…
With that thought, He Jichen suddenly raised his hand and took a harsh drag of his cigarette.
Because he inhaled too harshly, he choked on the cigarette smoke, making him cough violently.
After a while, He Jichen slowly came to his senses and stopped coughing. He raised his head and caught a glimpse of the cigarette between his fingers in the car window.
He stared at the flickering cigarette butt for a while before shutting his eyes.
I’ve always treated her well, but in the end, I’m dragging her down.
He knew she was completely willing to endure all this, but because of this, he felt terrible, especially thinking about what happened at the supermarket. There was panic in her eyes the moment she saw him, which left him instantly both warm and hurt deep down with a bittersweet feeling.
The cigarette burned till the end. He Jichen felt a heavy burden on his chest which didn’t leave, yet he didn’t dare to linger on the feeling in fear of her finding out.
He put out the cigarette and turned the car engine off. He Jichen got out of the car and stood in the underground car park for a while. After the cigarette smell dissipated from his clothes, he made his way into the elevator.
When he reached his floor, He Jichen was just about to step out of the elevator when his front door opened. Ji Yi had her phone raised as she came rushing out in a hurry. When she saw him, she immediately came to a stop. “It was no wonder I couldn’t get through to you. You were in the elevator…”
He Jichen walked a few steps up to Ji Yi then asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t I promise to play a guest role for the new movie on ‘Jiuchong Palace’?”
He Jichen knew that wasn’t the main point, so he softly and tenderly let out an “Mhm” then walked into the apartment with Ji Yi in hand.
“They’re starting production tomorrow, so there’s a dinner party at Lotus Park. Zhuang Yi told me about it two days ago, but I forgot. Zhuang Yi sent me a message to ask if I was out the door yet. That was when I suddenly remembered we can’t eat at home tonight…”
We? He Jichen suddenly stopped removing his shoes.
“He Jichen, I have to take a shower and get changed. Watch the time or we’ll be really late. That’s so embarrassing.” After Ji Yi said this, she headed upstairs into the bathroom.
Ji Yi took a quick shower, did her makeup, and got changed. When she headed downstairs, she saw that He Jichen was still wearing the same clothes from that afternoon when they went grocery shopping. The center of her brows started to crease as she said, “How have you not gotten changed yet? We really won’t make it…”
He Jichen reached out and took Ji Yi’s bag. He walked to the door with her then he nonchalantly replied, “I’ll take you there, but I’m not going to the dinner. The past few days, Han Zhifan and I have had business to discuss. Seeing as you have a dinner tonight, I’ll go meet up with him instead.”
“So that’s how it is…” Ji Yi believed him, so she didn’t force He Jichen to go to the dinner party with her.
…
It was seven o’clock by the time she reached the China World Hotel, Beijing – half an hour late from the meeting time.
Ji Yi didn’t want to waste time, so she immediately opened the door when the car stopped. She got out and cried, “I’m heading out first.”
“Mhm,” responded He Jichen. Just as Ji Yi was about to close the door, he added, “When you’re just about done, send me a message in advance and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Alright,” replied Ji Yi with a smile. She shut the door then waved at He Jichen through the car window and walked into China World Hotel, Beijing.
Through the glass, He Jichen watched as a female attendant escorted Ji Yi into the elevator. It wasn’t until after the doors closed completely that he stepped on the gas pedal and slowly drove off.
…
This time, the new movie that was about to start production by the director of “Jiuchong Palace” was called “The Fleeting Years.”
As she was making a guest appearance, Ji Yi didn’t have many lines to act, so she was done filming after about two to three days.
The leading actress for “The Fleeting Years” was an experienced senior actress who was famous all over China ever since Ji Yi was discovered by a scout after graduation. The male lead was a young, popular actor who didn’t have particularly good reviews within the industry. Ji Yi had never worked with him before. Although they usually bumped into each other at big events, they normally only exchanged quick greetings. Come to think of it, tonight’s dinner party was the first time they truly met face-to-face.
The male lead was called Yang Li. He was pretty handsome, witty, and was friendly to Ji Yi.
And yet, Ji Yi was quite half-hearted with her replies to Yang Li’s endless flirting.
Ji Yi had a natural eye for people and could more or less see through someone like Yang Li. She knew he was showing particular interest in her just to shoot his take with her.
Aside from the male and female leads, Ji Yi was rather familiar with everyone there as they practically all worked on “Jiuchong Palace” together.
Yes, they were all practically the same crew with one exception. Despite there being one exception, Ji Yi was still very familiar with that person.
That one exception was Xie Siyao, the girl who conspired with Qian Ge to cause her car accident.
Last year, Ji Yi caught wind that Xie Siyao had a boyfriend with a wealthy family background. Because of her boyfriend’s influence and hefty investments, she was able to take part in small roles in several major movies.
Now that Ji Yi saw them together today, she realized the rumors were actually true.
Although Xie Siyao’s rich boyfriend’s family background wasn’t too bad, it was far from what the tabloids were saying. He just had a bit of money, that was all.
She could tell Xie Siyao was pretty pleased with her rich boyfriend. Throughout the dinner, she never strayed far from the words “my sweetie dearest.” Every time Xie Siyao said it, she deliberately glanced over at Ji Yi. Once or twice, she purposefully brought the topic back to Ji Yi. “So Yi Jie, how are you and your boyfriend lately?”
Of course, Ji Yi knew Xie Siyao was doing this on purpose. Although she pretended to play dumb and ignored her, deep down, she couldn’t help but complain. Birds of a feather do flock together! She’s just the same as Qian Ge.
On Ji Yi’s left was Yang Li, who was flirting with her non-stop, and on her right was Xie Siyao, who was inadvertently verbally attacking her. This dinner really was quite difficult for Ji Yi to take.
No matter how well-composed Ji Yi was, towards the end of the dinner, she couldn’t take it much longer and found an excuse to go to the restroom to leave the room.
After calming down, Ji Yi washed her hands and emerged from the restroom. As she was just about to head back to the room, she happened to bump into Han Zhifan, who came out of the men’s toilets at the same time.
“Xiao Yi?”
Ji Yi was just as shocked as Han Zhifan was. “So you and He Jichen are meeting up here?”
The smile on Han Zhifan’s face turned stiff. “Chen Ge? I’m not meeting up with Chen Ge tonight…”
He’s not meeting up with He Jichen?
Ji Yi’s heart skipped a beat and her brows started to furrow of their own accord.
Han Zhifan sensed something was wrong with Ji Yi. He was going to ask Ji Yi “What’s wrong?,” but before the words could escape from his mouth, the phone in his pocket started to vibrate like crazy.
Han Zhifan shot Ji Yi an apologetic look as he quickly pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. Without a moment’s hesitation, he swiped the phone screen and took the call. “What’s wrong?”
“What? He still isn’t eating?”
Ji Yi wasn’t standing too far from Han Zhifan, so although she couldn’t exactly hear what the person on the other line was saying, she could vaguely make out sounds of a child crying.
“You’re calling to ask me what to do? How should I know? If I could do everything myself, why would I have spent money to hire you bunch of useless idiots?!”
She wasn’t sure what the person said over the phone, but Han Zhifan suddenly got irritated. “Shut up! Quit calling for mummy. Let me tell you this! Your mummy’s dead!”
The child’s cries got louder and Han Zhifan’s fingers gripping the phone started to tremble. This time, his voice sounded significantly softer. “A fever? Then call a doctor! What? You called the doctor and you can’t get him to take the medicine? Alright. Got it. I’m on my way back.”
After he said this, Han Zhifan hung up. Without a moment’s hesitation, he strode over to the elevator. After just two steps, he suddenly realized Ji Yi was still there, so he stopped and turned around. “Xiao Yi, did you just ask me what I meant? Did something happen to Chen Ge?”
Without much thought, Ji Yi had an inkling of what happened. He Jichen only lied because he didn’t want to go to the dinner party with her. He didn’t want to attract more rumors and odd looks or drag her down because of the incident with Qian Ge.
Ji Yi didn’t give Han Zhifan any details but replied with, “It’s nothing. I might’ve heard wrong.”
Luckily, Han Zhifan just got off the phone, so he had other things on his mind and didn’t notice Ji Yi was lying. After he heard what she said, he let out a dazed “Oh… if there’s nothing else, I’ll be off.”
“Okay. Bye,” replied Ji Yi with a smile.
Han Zhifan smiled back, but it looked slightly forced. Then he turned around and strode off.
After Han Zhifan stepped into the elevator, Ji Yi picked up her phone and gave He Jichen a call.
The call was quickly picked up and his usual elegant voice came from the phone. “Done?”
“Yeah, almost…” replied Ji Yi quietly before asking, “…how about you? How’s your talk with Han Zhifan?”
“Almost done.”
“Oh.” Ji Yi knew He Jichen was lying, but she didn’t call him out on it.
“So should I come pick you up?”
“Sure. I wanted to leave ages ago…”
“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?” He Jichen’s tone of voice clearly sounded worried.
All of a sudden, Ji Yi’s heart warmed up, and her voice sounded a little sweet but annoyed. “Nobody’s bullying me. I just bumped into Xie Siyao. She kept on showing off her boyfriend at the dinner table. Something about how her boyfriend bought her a handbag yesterday and a bracelet the day before then the day before that, he bought a pair of shoes… so annoying…”
After hearing that, He Jichen clearly let out a sigh of relief over the phone.
Ji Yi’s complaining suddenly came to a stop as she felt her heart softening.
He was probably the only man in the world who would listen to her complaints and get worried like this.
The corners of Ji Yi’s lips couldn’t help but lift as she clutched her phone, ready to continue speaking wth an annoyed yet sweet voice. “But don’t you just think it’s meaningless for Xie Siyao to show off in front of me like that? My boyfriend’s better than her boyfriend by far…”
Just as she was about to finish speaking, she heard something from He Jichen’s end…
