NOVEL NEXT Chapter 300-307
Chapter 300: Pampered Collectively by the Production Team (10)
The waitress replied, “You’re welcome,” then quickly walked away in her high heels.
After the waitress was some distance away, Ji Yi took a few steps forward and stopped in front of the Cladrastis Pavilion. She reached her hands out and pushed the door open.
The lights were off, so it was pitch-black.
With the light from the corridors, Ji Yi saw a line of long tables with all different kinds of gourmet food and good wine.
The room was big, but with the light from the corridors, she could only see a small area; everything else was hidden in the darkness.
It was like there was no one in the room… complete silence. There wasn’t even the sound of breathing.
Ji Yi stopped at the door for some time before she took little steps into the room.
After she walked about a meter into the room, the door behind her automatically closed shut. Without the light from the corridors, the entire room was frighteningly dark.
Ji Yi instinctively stopped walking. Deep down inside, she panicked and thought it was a little strange, but her curiosity stopped her from turning around and leaving. Instead, she stood there and scanned all areas of the room, but all she saw was darkness. Ji Yi furrowed her brows and was just about to ask “Is anyone here?” when all of a sudden, she saw a bright light from the corners of her eyes.
She turned around to see a tiny light coming down from the roof, illuminating a round white circle of light on the floor.
There was a person standing in the white circle wearing a Snow White costume, just like from the fairytale.
Ji Yi was stunned, but before she could snap back to reality, there was another white circle of light about five meters away from Snow White. Inside the circle was someone dressed in a Cinderella costume.
Another light started to appear, then another and another, with the same short intervals as before. Underneath each light was a person – the Snow Queen, the Little Mermaid, the Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty… practically all the popular fairytale characters appeared.
Ji Yi turned around non-stop, checking out the people in the costumes. Before she could figure out what was happening, she suddenly heard a muffled “bang.”
Her body shuddered in shock. She patted her chest, and just when she was about to calm down, she saw something glow in the dark in front of her. It looked like snow floating down from the rooftop. After some time, they fell on her and covered the floor all around her.
The glow in the dark paper was still falling when Ji Yi vaguely heard the door open.
Her gaze followed the sound, and under the dim circular beams of light, she saw someone pushing a little cart slowly to her.
The cart was covered, so she couldn’t see what was inside.
The person pushing the cart was a waitress.
Just when the cart was about two meters away, the beams of light suddenly went out and the entire room was engulfed in darkness again.
Ji Yi vaguely heard footsteps of people leaving and others drawing closer.
They walked gently but she could feel that they moved quickly.
About three minutes later, Ji Yi heard the rustling of what sounded like the cover being removed.
She instinctively looked over to where the waitress had parked the cart just now, but before she was able to do so, she suddenly heard the smooth sound of a piano. It was playing a melody that she was more than familiar with.
Chapter 301: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (1)
Amidst the soothing piano music, Ji Yi heard the sound of people singing from all around her. “Happy birthday to you…”
The cart she turned to look at earlier slowly came into her field of view.
A beautiful and finely decorated cake gradually filled appeared as though in slow motion. The light from the candles on top shone into her eyes.
When the cart was about to reach her, Ji Yi recognized the two familiar faces under the candlelight pushing the cart: Bo He and Tang Huahua.
Their smiling eyes stared at her as they sang happy birthday along with the piano music.
There were loads of people following behind them; some faces were hidden in the dark, so she couldn’t see them clearly. She could only just about make out their silhouettes. However, the people that she could see, she recognized as the entire cast and crew of “Three Thousand Lunatics.”
Ji Yi’s mind hadn’t settled from all her racing thoughts when happiness filled her chest.
She didn’t quite know how to react in a situation like this. It wasn’t until the piano music and singing had stopped that someone gently reminded her, “Xiao Yi, blow out the candles.” She blinked then snapped out of her shock and awe.
With so many surprises, there was no way she could take it all in. All she could do was follow everyone’s gentle reminders. She softly took a step towards the cake, crossed both palms to her chest, looked down and sincerely made a wish.
When she opened her eyes, bent over and blew out the candles, the people next to her also blew with her.
The second the candles went out, all the lights in the room lit up. There were many people walking over to Ji Yi’s side holding flowers.
Some people wore casual clothes and others wore their fairy tale character’s costume like Snow White and Cinderella.
As everyone handed her flowers, they didn’t forget to wish her “Happy birthday.”
Very soon, Ji Yi’s arms were full of fresh flowers.
Her eyes shot wide open in disbelief as she stared around at all the faces wishing her well. Then she scanned the finely decorated room until finally, her gaze landed on He Jichen who was sitting not too far away, hidden behind the piano.
So, the so-called get-together tonight wasn’t really a get-together but a meticulously planned birthday party?
She knew that today was her birthday. When she woke up that morning, she received birthday greetings from her parents. It was just that on the set, she was all alone without a single close friend by her side, so she never thought to celebrate her birthday…but now…the birthday she never planned to celebrate had become the most amazing birthday she’d ever had in her life.
An elegantly dressed He Jichen, who she had been staring at, got up from the piano and casually walked up to her. “Ji Yi, happy birthday.”
His naturally melodic voice caught Ji Yi off guard and firmly overloaded Ji Yi’s senses, producing a violent storm which rolled wave after wave in her heart.
She looked back at his charming complexion under the crystal lights, and her fingers clutching the bundle of fresh flowers started to gently tremble.
Did he plan everything?
That night when he told her there’d be a party next Friday, he already had his mind set on holding a party for her birthday?
No wonder Chen Bai was acting so strangely in the lobby. It must’ve been He Jichen’s idea to have Chen Bai stall her just to prepare this unexpected surprise?!
Chapter 302: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (2)
Ji Yi wanted to give He Jichen her thanks and her lips moved silently, but she was so deeply emotional that she couldn’t make a sound.
He Jichen’s expression became unusually soft in front of the speechless Ji Yi. The corners of his lips formed an overflowing smile. He stared at her for some time before his gaze fell on the cake behind her. “Cut the cake.”
Ji Yi let out an “Mhm” and continued to stand there for a moment. She waited for her raging emotions to settle down a little before she handed Tang Huahua standing next to her the fresh flowers. Then she took the knife Bo He gave her and walked over to the cake.
…
After the cake was distributed, a row of people wished Ji Yi happy birthday. Everyone hadn’t eaten since the moment they finished shooting till now, so they dispersed on their own, heading to the long buffet tables nearby.
Since today was Ji Yi’s birthday, there were drinks prepared for the party. What’s more, her birthday was single-handedly arranged by He Jichen, so no matter if it was out of respect for the birthday girl or to get on He Jichen’s good side, everyone had to endlessly drink to her.
Although Ji Yi only sipped a little each time, dozens of people in the room continued to drink one gulp after another until even Ji Yi couldn’t hold her drink any longer.
There were still people at the party holding continually topped-up wine glasses with smiling faces surrounding her.
Having drunk so much ice wine on an empty stomach, Ji Yi’s stomach was churning like crazy. In reality, she hadn’t wanted to entertain people for a long time now. Even if He Jichen was building her up to be a queen, she wasn’t really a queen. Out of respect for He Jichen, everyone respected her too. She couldn’t act like a diva, so all she could do was endure the pain in her stomach as she continued to drink with all the people who ran over to respectfully toast her.
Just after Ji Yi sent off three more well-wishers with much difficulty, she thought about taking this opportunity to slip away to hide in the toilet for a while. That was when someone cried, “Miss Ji.”
Ji Yi turned her head and saw four people holding tall wine glasses walking over to her. She secretly cursed in her heart but tried hard to welcome them with a smile.
“Miss Ji, happy birthday. Because we didn’t know in advance, we couldn’t prepare a birthday gift for you. Please forgive us.” The person right at the front was an actress from “Three Thousand Lunatics.” She stopped about a meter in front of Ji Yi and apologized to her while pushing a wine glass in front of Ji Yi.
No matter how reluctant Ji Yi was to drink again, she clutched the wine glass tight then raised her hand to clink glasses with them.
But before the two glasses touched, another person beside her called her name: “Miss Ji.”
Ji Yi and the four people in front of her turned their heads at the same time when they heard the cry.
It was Chen Bai.
The four of them practically shot a beaming smile and said, “Assistant Chen” at the same time.
With a friendly expression on his face, Chen Bai greeted them with a gentle nod then looked over at Ji Yi. “Miss Ji, Mr. He’s looking for you.”
After saying this, Chen Bai didn’t even give Ji Yi a chance to respond – he swiped the wine glass from her hands then looked over at the four people standing beside her. “Apologies, I’ll be taking Miss Ji away first. If you have unfinished business, you all can talk about it later.”
Everybody knew Chen Bai was He Jichen’s assistant. Since he asked, who would dare refuse him? All four of them nodded and shared some nice parting words.
Chapter 303: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (3)
With a polite expression on his face, Chen Bai smiled at the four of them and replied with a “Thank you.” Then he placed the wine glass he stole from Ji Yi’s hands onto a waiter’s tray as they walked past him. Chen Bai turned his head and said to Ji Yi: “Let’s go,” and he led the way over to the set of sofas in front of the tall windows.
Ji Yi really thought He Jichen needed to talk to her about something, so she shot the four of them an apologetic smile. Then she hurriedly caught up with Chen Bai.
On the way, quite a few people stopped their conversations just to greet Chen Bai and Ji Yi.
Seeing as Chen Bai didn’t stop walking, Ji Yi didn’t stop either. Just as Chen Bai did, she replied to those people by shooting them a smile and gentle nod of the head.
As they drew closer to the sofas in front of the tall windows, Ji Yi could clearly make out that not only was He Jichen sitting there on the sofa but Han Zhifan was there also.
The two of them probably had work to discuss as there were two files on the coffee table between the sofa.
“Mr. He, Miss Ji is here,” said Chen Bai when they reached the sofa, completely disregarding what He Jichen and Chen Bai were talking about.
Though He Jichen was interrupted, he didn’t seem the least bit annoyed. He turned to glance over at Ji Yi, ignored Chen Bai and pointed right at the sofa in front of her. “Sit.”
It probably wasn’t good for her to sit there while he was talking business with Han Zhifan, right?
Ji Yi helplessly turned her head and glanced at Chen Bai. When she saw a slight nod of the head, she proceeded to walk over to the sofa He Jichen pointed at and took a seat.
He Jichen didn’t speak to Ji Yi, but his gaze found its way over to Chen Bai. With just his eyes alone, he hinted something to Chen Bai. Chen Bai seemed to understand the message and turned to leave.
After Han Zhifan and Ji Yi smiled at one another, He Jichen continued the conversation from earlier.
Ji Yi couldn’t understand why He Jichen called her over, but out of courtesy and respect, she tried her best to stay quiet in order to not disturb the business conversation between the two men in front of her.
About five minutes passed before Chen Bai returned. Behind him was a middle-aged man in chef’s clothes.
He Jichen must’ve heard the footsteps as he looked over at Chen Bai arriving yet continued to talk to Han Zhifan.
He Jichen only stopped talking when Chen Bai and the chef reached the sofa. “What would you like to eat? Just tell them,” suggested He Jichen casually to Ji Yi sitting in front of him.
Ji Yi never imagined that He Jichen called her over to have dinner. She stared at He Jichen, stunned on the scene.
Seeing how dazed she looked, He Jichen didn’t speak for some time. He turned his head and looked over at the chef standing next to Chen Bai. “What are your some of your specialty dishes? Name a few for her.”
“Yes, Mr. He,” politely replied the chef. He then looked over at Ji Yi and smoothly listed a series of dishes.
There were fine French dishes, traditional Japanese dishes, and there were dishes he claimed as his personal specialty Imperial dishes…
The Grand Hyatt was a five-star hotel, so naturally, the chef was first-rate. After Ji Yi heard the list, she recognized that these cuisines were of great quality. It was such a shame that she really didn’t have the appetite for gourmet food after having drunk quite a lot of wine. All she wanted was to eat something she was in the mood for, so after the chef finished listing the dishes, she hesitated for a moment but eventually said, “Could you make me some hot and spicy soup?”
Chapter 304: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (4)
Did she actually ask this grand chef of a five-star hotel for hot and spicy soup?
As though he heard something unbelievable, the chef was startled on the spot, staring dumbstruck at Ji Yi.
Sitting next to He Jichen, Han Zhifan was holding a glass of wine when he burst out laughing with a “poof!” and almost spat out the wine in his mouth.
Chen Bai didn’t dare laugh, so all he could do was tightly purse his lips to hold in his laughter. But he couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from slowly curving into a smile.
After hearing what Ji Yi said, He Jichen was the only one who looked calm as he looked over at the chef, “Can you?”
The chef snapped back to his senses and said, slightly embarrassed, “Mr. He, I’m afraid we can’t…”
Before the chef even said “can’t,” He Jichen’s brows started to furrow.
Are there needs I can’t satisfy for her? What’s more, today’s her birthday…
He Jichen didn’t give the chef a chance to finish as he turned his head and shot Chen Bai a look.
When he caught He Jichen’s gaze, Chen Bai immediately reached his hand out to grab the chef’s shoulder. “Let’s have a talk over there.”
With that, Chen Bai grabbed his arm harder. It looked friendly but the power he used felt a little threatening as he escorted the chef away.
After Chen Bai and the chef left, He Jichen and Han Zhifan continued their previous conversation.
Ji Yi really was hungry. She looked at the crystal dishes full of nuts on the coffee table, casually grabbed a bunch of pine nuts and started to eat.
The hard pine nuts were a little tough for Ji Yi to shell as her fingertips turned red trying to do so. However, the pine nuts were roasted so well that Ji Yi couldn’t stop nibbling on them.
Perhaps she looked like she was really enjoying them, because He Jichen, who was sitting opposite her, started to also shell the pine nuts.
After Ji Yi ate about a small handful of pine nuts, Chen Bai appeared again.
This time, however, there was no one behind him, and there was a tray in his hands.
“Miss Ji, the hot and spicy soup you wanted.” Chen Bai bent down and placed the tray in front of Ji Yi.
After the chef was taken away, Ji Yi assumed there was no chance of her getting the hot and spicy soup. She figured that after He Jichen and Han Zhifan finished their conversation, she would just head over to the buffet table for some food after asking He Jichen why he was looking for her.
She never imagined that after some time, Chen Bai would actually come back with a portion of hot and spicy soup…
Ji Yi stared at He Jichen, a little surprised. He and Han Zhifan were deep in conversation, so she didn’t notice his gaze as his fingers quickly shelled the pine nuts.
“Miss Ji, eat it while it’s hot,” warned Chen Bai kindly before he straightened up.
Ji Yi snapped back to her senses and quickly withdrew her gaze from He Jichen then politely told Chen Bai, “Thank you.” She picked up the chopsticks, put her head down and started eating.
This time, after Chen Bai reappeared, he didn’t leave He Jichen’s side. Instead, he leaned against a nearby table and played casually on his phone.
Quite a few people tried to walk over, perhaps to engage in casual conversation with He Jichen, but they were all stopped by Chen Bai. “Apologies, Mr. He has some business to discuss over there, and he’s asked to not be disturbed.”
Just when Ji Yi was about to finish the bowl of hot and spicy soup, Tang Huahua and Bo He must’ve come back to find her after taking photos with the male lead for “Three Thousand Lunatics.”
Rather than stopping them, Chen Bai politely escorted them over to where Ji Yi was sitting. He Jichen must’ve told Chen Bai that Tang Huahua and Bo He were her friends.
Chapter 305: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (5)
Before Chen Bai left, he casually called the waiter to help take Ji Yi’s empty bowl away.
The waiter carried the tray, took out a towel and wiped down the table. Just as they were going to leave, Bo He asked, “Excuse me, can I please get three glasses of wine?”
As He Jichen was listening to Han Zhifan, he stopped shelling the pine nuts for a moment and also asked, “Can I get a glass of hot milk?”
“Sure. Sir, Miss, please wait,” said the waiter as he politely retreated.
Together, the three women were bound to chat away, so Ji Yi deliberately reminded Tang Huahua and Bo He to keep their voices down as He Jichen and Han Zhifan were discussing business.
Ji Yi was just as peckish as she was before the hot and spicy soup, so she grabbed another handful of pine nuts.
After eating the hot and spicy soup and quite a few pine nuts, Ji Yi’s mouth was dry, so she picked up the glass of wine. Just as she was about to drink it, He Jichen’s hand reached over and snatched her glass from her fingertips without warning.
Ji Yi was still in a state of shock when He Jichen gave her a cup of milk instead. With that, she heard the carefree voice of He Jichen whisper into her ear: “You just had quite a lot to drink. If you drink any more, your stomach’s going to hurt.”
He probably had something important to discuss with Han Zhifan since after he casually slipped her that line, he turned back to look at Han Zhifan.
With the cup of milk in her hand, Ji Yi stared at He Jichen for a moment, who was listening attentively to Han Zhifan. It wasn’t until Tang Huahua nudged her arm that she came back to her senses. She put her head down and continued to chat with Tang Huahua and Bo He.
In actuality, He Jichen never planned to deal with business tonight but something came up, which was why he had to discuss it with Han Zhifan for so long.
After their talk was over, Han Zhifan, who noticed Cheng Weiwan long ago, made an excuse to go to the restroom and leave.
He Jichen silently glanced over at the three women staring at something on one phone. He leaned against the sofa and rubbed his eyes which became swollen from staring at a computer for such a long time.
Without having to discuss business with Han Zhifan, it was a lot quieter. He Jichen was also able to clearly hear what the three women were talking about.
“From your experience, what were the most romantic words that touched your heart?” asked Tang Huahua.
Tang Huahua tilted her head and started off by saying, “For me, the most romantic words were, ‘take this credit card and spend it however you like!'”
“Gross… For me, the most romantic words were ‘you be responsible for looking beautiful, and I’ll be responsible for earning money to support the family!'” joked Bo He.
“Psh, how was that different from mine?” said Tang Huahua, annoyed. Then Tang Huahua said again, “Xiao Yi, what about you?”
“Me?” replied Ji Yi with a soft voice. “For me, the most romantic words were…” She thought about it for around three seconds before she continued by saying, “…you were never alone, you still have me.”
He Jichen suddenly stopped rubbing his eyes.
He said those words himself but while acting as He Yuguang.
Yet, she just said they were the most romantic words… Did she feel particularly moved because He Yuguang said it?
The three women in front of him didn’t notice anything off about him and continued to whisper.
“Poetic Yi…”
“Xiao Yi, alright fess up… who said those words to you?”
He Jichen instinctively looked up and glanced over at Ji Yi. When she heard what Tang Huahua said, a wave of shyness evidently crossed her face.
Chapter 306: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (6)
It felt like his heart was pierced by a sharp object as a stabbing pain surfaced and his throat turned sore.
He instinctively lowered his eyelids to hide the flash of anguish in his eyes.
The three women in front of him were still giggling away, but he was in no mood to continue listening. He stood up silently and left.
…
Without even noticing that the people in front of them were gone, the three women continued to chat while huddled around Tang Huahua’s phone.
After about ten minutes, Bo He and Tang Huahua wanted to go to the restroom, so the two of them got up and left. Just then, Ji Yi inadvertently looked up and realized that He Jichen and Han Zhifan were no longer there.
“Huh? Where’s He Xuezhang and his friend?” Tang Huahua’s gaze happened to look over at the empty sofa and couldn’t help but wonder.
“They probably just stepped away for something,” continued Bo He. She was in such a rush to go to the toilet that she started to usher Tang Huahua to hurry up.
After the two of them were some distance away, Ji Yi turned her head and scanned the large room.
In another rather quiet corner of the room, Ji Yi saw Han Zhifan leaning freely on a long table with his head turned while talking to Cheng Weiwan.
Cheng Weiwan probably didn’t want to bother with him and pretended he wasn’t even there as her eyes were glued to the open laptop on the table in front of her. She was most likely editing the script. Every now and then, she furrowed her brows and typed away on the keyboard with her beautiful, slender fingers.
Ji Yi didn’t pay much attention to the two of them as her gaze swiftly turned away. She scanned the entire room twice over but could find He Jichen.
He called me over yet before he could talk to me, he disappears?
Ji Yi was confused for two seconds, but she figured that He Jichen probably went to the restrooms. Sitting quietly by herself on the sofa, she withdrew her eyes and waited for everybody to return.
Seeing as she was bored, Ji Yi took out her phone and browsed through Weibo as her fingers simultaneously grabbed some pine nuts from the dish at the center of the table every now and then, just as she did when she was talking with the girls.
When she went for a second grab, she picked up a pine nut and put it into her mouth. Suddenly, she noticed something and stopped.
She hesitated for a moment and spat out the pine nut she just put into her mouth. Ji Yi looked down and saw that the pine nut in her fingers had no shell.
She furrowed her brows and opened her palms to look at the handful of pine nuts she grabbed. They were all just like the last one she put in her mouth – they had all been shelled.
She instinctively looked up and realized that all the pine nuts in the dish were shelled, and all the pine nuts with shells were moved to the far corner of the table.
Apart from her, He Jichen was the only one who peeled pine nuts…
So, he didn’t actually eat the pine nuts he shelled. He just put them into the clean dish?
When did he replace all the shelled pine nuts? How did I not even notice?
Then he shelled those pine nuts for me?
Ji Yi’s heart quivered for a moment then she turned her head and scanned the room again.
As before, she couldn’t see He Jichen, but his assistant Chen Bai was still standing in his original spot by a sofa nearby.
Chapter 307: Can We Go Back to How We Were Before? (7)
That’s strange… He Jichen and Han Zhifan had already finished discussing business, so why was he was still standing there?
As Ji Yi was completely confused, two actresses from the production team walked over to where she was sitting with wine glasses in their hand.
Just as they were about to reach Chen Bai, he looked up from his phone and glanced over at the two. Then his eyes stopped on the wine glasses in their hands. “Excuse me, you girls are…”
Because Ji Yi was quite some distance away and Chen Bai wasn’t speaking loudly, she couldn’t clearly hear what he said. All she saw was his lips moving for two moments.
Then those two actresses came to a stop and replied.
One of the actresses had a naturally loud voice, so Ji Yi clearly heard her name from her mouth.
Though she didn’t know what they were discussing, Ji Yi knew the two actresses must’ve wanted to come to toast to her like the others earlier.
It wasn’t clear what Chen Bai said, but the expressions on the two actresses’ faces looked disappointed. They probably didn’t want to give up, so they continued to surround Chen Bai to talk for a while. He didn’t say anymore but shook his head non-stop with a look on his face that said there was no negotiating. Eventually, the two actresses gave up hope, turned around in embarrassment and left together.
After they were quite some distance away, Chen Bai relaxed again as he casually leaned over the table and played on his phone.
Every now and then, someone brushed past him but with his quick reflexes, he always looked up and glanced at them to determine whether they were there for Ji Yi. After ensuring there was no threat, he continued playing on his phone.
Ji Yi was unsure why, but she suddenly thought back to the moment she wanted to drink wine after finishing her hot and spicy soup. She remembered how after He Jichen stopped her from drinking it, he handed her a cup of warm milk and said: “You just had quite a lot to drink. If you drink any more, your stomach’s going to hurt.”
At the time, she thought he was just trying to take care of her. She never thought much about what he said, but now, seeing Chen Bai on guard, she came to a sudden realization.
He Jichen only said “You just had quite a lot to drink” because he saw her continually surrounded by people who wanted to drink to her. That was why he asked Chen Bai to call her over.
He didn’t really have anything to talk to her about, but he knew that with her personality, she would never decline anyone’s request to drink. That was why he asked Chen Bai to help her decline drinks by using him as a cover.
So, she wasn’t wrong in thinking Chen Bai looked like he was on guard. He Jichen left, but Chen Bai was still here. Surely he was on guard just to prevent her from having to drink?
He didn’t say anything to her all night, but he silently got her out of so much trouble.
Their relationship was obviously awful as hell; they never contacted one another and they were like water and fire. But how come he seemed like a completely different person ever since that night he asked her for a comforting hug?
He no longer looked at her with disgust and hate, nor did he speak to her in a bad temper or lousy tone of voice. What’s more, he wasn’t fuming with rage to see her dead…Even on set, she was pampered so lavishly, not to mention the birthday surprise tonight…