NOVEL NEXT Chapter 567-574
Chapter 567: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (27)
The contents of this Weibo post was what she overheard Chen Bai mentioning to He Jichen in his office that afternoon.
Chen Bai said he was going to leak this to “I love eating mangoes.” He said the post could trigger people online and cause a lot of commotion.
She never imagined Chen Bai would work so quickly. “I love eating mangoes”‘s Weibo post was already out.
A few days ago, “I love eating mangoes” initially had several hundred followers but was now a verified user with several million followers all because of Ji Yi’s incident. Two hours after that Weibo post was up, there were already over a million comments. It was just as Chen Bai said – most netizens latched onto the news about her “disappearance on set” and started speculating what she was doing during that time. They suspected her of going away to copy Qian Ge’s performance again.
The netizens really did run with that idea and they went a little wild with it. There were infinite replies with a series of “hahaha,” but Ji Yi couldn’t laugh. Instead, her eyes ached like crazy and the urge to cry became stronger.
At this point, everything she heard was already online, but she still didn’t dare believe that He Jichen actually had a hand in all of this – in her being ridiculed and made fun of like this, and even hated, targeted, and cussed like this.
“What’s wrong?” He Jichen sat beside Ji Yi and grabbed her hand. He noticed her shivering gently. He furrowed his brows slightly and asked softly.
She was more than familiar with the crisp, pleasant sound of his voice. When he spoke, the uniquely clean scent from his body followed and wafted into her nostrils.
Clearly, his presence was just the same as before, but Ji Yi now thought that He Jichen, sitting next to her, was a complete stranger.
He Jichen caught the words on her bright phone screen and knew what Ji Yi was looking at.
Chen Bai leaked the news to “I love eating mangoes”… Is she in a bad mood because of that?
He Jichen’s fingers trembled as he didn’t dare to look at Ji Yi. The car was silent for a while before his lips moved a little. “Don’t read the stuff online. It’ll pass…”
Clearly, he was the only who put that stuff on Weibo, so how could he pretend like none of it had anything to do with him while shamelessly trying to comfort her?
Yeah, he’s right. It’ll pass. After all this commotion passes and the hatred gradually dies down online, what about us? Can we survive this?
Ji Yi really wanted to ask He Jichen: why did he do it? Didn’t he say that without YC, she would still have him? Didn’t he say, “I won’t swarm to you when you’re famous and I won’t turn and leave you at your lowest point?” Didn’t he say that if she was willing to trust him, come to YC…?
But when Ji Yi turned to look at He Jichen, she just couldn’t ask the questions at the tip of her tongue.
Compared to the things she heard while eavesdropping or what she saw with her own eyes, she was even more afraid he would give her an answer she couldn’t take.
She wasn’t really a timid person, but she lost her confidence when forced to face He Jichen over this issue for some reason.
Soon enough, the manager stepped out of the restaurant carrying a take-out box.
Chen Bai got out of the car and picked it up.
Chapter 568: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (28)
After he put down the takeout box, Chen Bai started the car again.
It was just as silent in the car as when they left the hospital.
“China World Hotel, Beijing” wasn’t far from Ji Yi’s house. Just around ten minutes later, the car turned into the neighborhood and stopped in front of Ji Yi’s building.
Chen Bai got out of the car and helped Ji Yi open her car door as he picked up the takeout box.
After Ji Yi got out, Chen Bai immediately handed the box to Ji Yi. “Miss Ji, here’s your takeout. You have to eat something for dinner.”
Ji Yi didn’t take it. “I don’t have an appetite. You guys take it back with you and eat it.”
“Even if you don’t have an appetite, you have to eat some. Otherwise, your stomach will feel unwell…” Chen Bai wanted to persuade her a little more when He Jichen pushed the other door open and got out of the car.
Chen Bai stopped speaking and waited for He Jichen to walk over to him and Ji Yi before he cried, “Mr. He.”
He Jichen didn’t say anything but reached his hand out towards Chen Bai.
Chen Bai knew what He Jichen meant and immediately handed him the takeout box.
After He Jichen took it, he turned around and faced Ji Yi. “Let’s go. I’ll take you upstairs.”
“No, it’s…” Before Ji Yi could say “fine,” He Jichen grabbed her wrist and walked into the building holding her hand.
He Jichen had been to Ji Yi’s house before, so he took her down a recognizable path and reached the door of her family’s house.
He Jichen wasn’t in a hurry to leave, so after Ji Yi pulled out the keys and opened the door, he pushed the door open and stepped in.
He put the takeout box down on the dining room table and checked the temperature. Then he told Ji Yi as she sluggishly removed her shoes: “Eat the food while it’s still hot.”
Ji Yi didn’t say anything. She walked into the house after putting on some slippers.
He Jichen took two steps towards her and said, “After dinner, take a hot shower and go to bed early.”
Ji Yi gently nodded. Her eyes were still a little sore and swollen. She averted her gaze from He Jichen to the television unit beside her.
“About your mum – don’t worry. Dr. Xia will take good care of her.” After a pause, He Jichen then said, “Chen Bai will handle the discharge papers tomorrow. You don’t have to go all the way back to take them home. I’ll ask Chen Bai to drive them back.”
The more meticulously attentive He Jichen was, the more Ji Yi’s heart hurt. She was afraid she would lose it in front of He Jichen, so her fingers couldn’t help but clutch onto her sleeve tightly.
The room was silent for a while when He Jichen spoke up again for the umpteenth time. “What happened today will never happen again. Later, I’ll ask Chen Bai to get some people to watch over your family tomorrow. When you and your parents are out, they’ll follow along…”
Ji Yi really didn’t want to listen anymore so she interrupted He Jichen. “Thanks.”
He Jichen fell silent.
He stared at Ji Yi unwaveringly for a while. When he was sure there was nothing else he needed to say, he bid her farewell. “I’ll be off then.”
Ji Yi let out a soft. “Mm.”
He Jichen stood on the spot for some time before he walked over to the door.
Just as He Jichen was about to shut the door behind him, he turned to glance at Ji Yi.
Ji Yi didn’t look at him, but she could sense he was staring at her.
She thought He Jichen would say something, but after some time, the entrance area remained silent.
After some more time passed, the door closed gently. He Jichen left without saying a single word.
Chapter 569: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (29)
As He Jichen emerged from the building, he was in no hurry to get into the car. Instead, he stood beside the car and lit a cigarette.
Through the smoke, he raised his head and glanced at the lights in Ji Yi’s home.
After He Jichen finished his cigarette, he still showed no signs of getting into the car.
It seemed like Ji Yi went to her bedroom since the living room lights were off, yet he still stood motionlessly on the spot.
Waiting in the car, Chen Bai glanced at the time. It was almost one in the morning, yet Mr. He had been standing there in the cold night for over two hours now. If he stood there any longer, he would probably catch a cold!
With that thought, Chen Bai rolled down the windows. “Mr. He.”
He Jichen looked like he hadn’t heard Chen Bai and stayed still like a statue.
Chen Bai cried “Mr. He” again then pushed the door open and got out of the car.
When Chen Bai walked over to He Jichen’s side, He Jichen turned his head slightly and glanced at him without uttering a word. Then he pulled another cigarette out from his pocket.
Chen Bai knew that the more silent He Jichen was, the worse his mood was. He didn’t say anything more to disturb him and chose to stand beside him silently.
The scent of tobacco drifted in the chilly winter night.
The cigarette burned down halfway when He Jichen suddenly cried, “Chen Bai, I’m a little scared.”
Really scared.
This was the first time in his life he was this scared.
That evening, he and Chen Bai meant to attend a dinner party, but then he got a message from Tang Huahua when he was about to leave. She told him Ji Yi and her mum were surrounded by live reporters at the beauty salon.
From that moment on, he became a little afraid.
He called the police as he ordered Chen Bai to head straight for the beauty salon.
On the way there, his gaze didn’t leave the live coverage of the scene for one second. When he saw Ji Yi and her mum being pressured by the reporter; when he saw the group of young men and women named “Cornstarch” rushing towards her and her mum; when he saw the catastrophic aftermath of scandalous leaks online happening to her and her mother, the initial fear he had became heavier and deeper… When he arrived at the scene and saw her eyes all wet, he suddenly felt like it was over for him. At that very moment, he didn’t dare walk up to her or face her.
Chen Bai had worked for He Jichen for a long time and knew him far too well. He understood the meaning behind his simple words. “Mr. He, what happened this afternoon was just an accident. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
He wanted to protect her. He was already at his limit, while she had to take all those hateful comments. But now, her mum actually got dragged into this and got injured… How could he not blame himself?
He Jichen didn’t say anything. He raised his fingers, put a cigarette to his lips, and took a hard drag.
“And Mr. He, Miss Ji doesn’t even know you have something to do with this situation on Weibo, so you really don’t need to think too much about it. What’s more, you did this only for Miss Ji’s well-being. Sometimes if you’re not ruthless enough, it’ll be imposssible to reach your goals.”
Yeah, Ji Yi didn’t know he had anything to do with this. He Jichen wasn’t sure if he was feeling guilty but deep down, he felt anxious.
“Mr. He, don’t worry. Even if Miss Ji knew, she would understand your intentions,” Chen Bai added.
Chen Bai’s comforting words really made a difference as He Jichen’s apprehensive heart slowly calmed down.
Chapter 570: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (30)
He Jichen didn’t smoke, but he pinched the cigarette between his fingers and quietly stayed like that for a while. It was only after the cigarette burned down to his fingers that he put the cigarette out. He turned to look over at Chen Bai. “Have you called officer Wu yet?”
“Yes, the members of the group called “Cornstarch” have already been charged. Officer Wu, myself, and the laywer we hired have talked it through. We’ll settle this in court and follow legal proceedings.” After Chen Bai said this, he didn’t wait for He Jichen to ask him and he continued to report based on He Jichen’s orders. “I also investigated those reporters thoroughly. They only stopped Miss Ji this afternoon because Qian Ge leaked Miss Ji’s whereabouts. Tomorrow, I’ll act according to your instructions and contact each and every one of those reporters.”
He Jichen gave a slight nod but didn’t say anything.
He stared at the dark windows of Ji Yi’s house for a while then suddenly remembered something. “Did you do what I asked of you for Ji Yi’s birthday?” he asked.
“It’s all done. Don’t worry, Mr. He.”
He Jichen let out an “Mhm” and glanced at the window again before turning around and heading for the car.
Chen Bai knew this meant He Jichen was finally ready to leave, so he quickly reached out and pulled the door open.
Chen Bai got into the car and stepped on the gas. He drove on the familiar roads out of Ji Yi’s neighborhood.
The car stopped when they reached He Jichen’s apartment. Chen Bai was about to get out of the car to open the door for He Jichen when he suddenly remembered there was something he forgot to report to him. Chen Bai turned towards He Jichen in the passenger seat and said, “Ah, right! Mr. He, do you still remember what happened between Miss Ji and the screenwriter Miss Cheng in the alley last year?”
He Jichen didn’t say anything but let his gaze fall upon Chen Bai’s face.
Chen Bai knew what He Jichen meant by his gaze, so he hurriedly said, “When we first investigated, we didn’t have any leads, remember? It was like someone purposefully covered their tracks, so I figured there was no way we could find out what really happened. But a few days ago, I got a lead. The details aren’t clear, but I imagine that with time, we will find out the identity of the group that ambushed Miss Ji and Miss Cheng.”
After Chen Bai finished his report, he got out and helped He Jichen open the car door.
After He Jichen got out of the car, Chen Bai added hesitantly, “Mr. He, those people who ambushed Miss Ji and Miss Cheng must’ve been a couple thugs, but there must be a mastermind behind it all. I suspect it had something to do with Lin Sheng, so Mr. He, should we continue to investigate further?”
Lin Sheng? He’s close to Han Zhifan.
Han Zhifan once tried to get He Jichen and Lin Sheng to get to know each other, but because Lin Sheng ran with a bad crowd, didn’t come from a clean background, and was easily irritable, He Jichen refused…
He Jichen knew what Chen Bai was worried about, but with no hesitation at all, he replied with just one word – “Investigate!”
–
The day He Jichen left with lingering unspoken words while standing at the door for so long:
It wasn’t that Ji Yi never thought about what He Jichen wanted to say but couldn’t manage to say. However, those were just her speculations; in the end, she never asked He Jichen about it. It wasn’t until the day of her birthday that she finally understood what he was hiding with his silence that day.
Chapter 571: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (31)
It happened to be C city’s annual television awards ceremony the day of Ji Yi’s birthday.
She was nominated for the “Best Supporting Actress” award for her role on “Three Thousand Lunatics.” Even though she didn’t win, she still had to show face at events like this as she was still new to showbiz.
So before the year’s end, Zhuang Yi booked a flight to C city for her. However, nobody could’ve predicted that such an earth-shattering scandal would happen to her over the new year. Her journey was canceled at the last minute.
Lately, Ji Yi hadn’t gotten any rest. When she awoke on her birthday, she felt unwell. After taking a whole pack of herbal medicine, she spent the afternoon with her parents to celebrate a simple birthday then fell right asleep.
When she woke up again, it was already seven in the evening.
Maybe it was because she slept all afternoon, or maybe it was because of the herbal medicine, but Ji Yi felt a lot more energized.
The lights weren’t on in the house, so it was pitch-black everywhere. She didn’t know where her parents were.
Ji Yi turned on the lights and grabbed her phone. Just as she was about to call her parents, she saw a post-it note on the fridge with her mum’s handwriting on it: “Xiao Yi, your dad and I went to the cinema. I made dinner for you – it’s in the thermal lunch box.”
Ji Yi threw the post-it note in the trash, lugged the thermos over to the dining table and took a seat.
At home all by herself, it was so quiet that she could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.
Ji Yi was a little annoyed by the sound of it, so she turned the TV on in the living room and turned the volume up a little.
Tonight’s coverage of C city’s television awards happened to be on.
There was about half an hour until the ceremony started, so they were covering the celebrities entering the venue.
Because of her mood, Ji Yi had been avoiding showbiz as much as possible. Just as she was about to change the channel, she saw He Jichen on the screen.
He was in an all-black suit which perfectly fitted his tall, slender frame. He was with two actors, one who was voted the “beauty of the century” online, but he was obviously a little overshadowed in comparison.
Under infinitely flashing lights, not only did He Jichen not crack a smile, but he didn’t even reveal a single emotion on his face. From beginning to end, he kept his gaze straight ahead and exuded his majestic charisma while he strode casually ahead.
Ji Yi suddenly hesitated before changing the channel as her eyes lingered on the television set.
It had been over ten days since he took her home that night. The two of them hadn’t seen each other since and hadn’t really contacted each other.
Well actually, they didn’t completely stop contacting each other – he did contact her, but she just brushed him off.
After Ji Yi came back to her senses, He Jichen had already left the screen and in his place was Qian Ge being interviewed by a reporter.
The reporter asked questions about her work which Qian Ge replied to eloquently. But towards the end, a random reporter mentioned her. “Miss Qian Ge, have you been following the recent uproar online about the main actress of ‘The Tempestuous Grand Tang,’ Ji Yi, plagiarizing your performance on ‘The Legend of Qingcheng’?”
Chapter 572: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (32)
Qian Ge smiled slightly and gave a conservative answer. “I heard about it, but since I’ve been really busy with work, I haven’t really been following the story.”
“So Miss Qian Ge, if you found out Miss Ji Yi really plagiarized your performance, may I ask if you would take any measures?”
The reporter’s question seemed overly invasive, because Qian Ge hesitated for a few seconds before she showed a subtle smile and replied warmly: “If it was true, I would probably contact Miss Ji’s company and if we can’t get through to them, I would consider asking the company’s legal department to handle the matter…”
Qian Ge stole from her and ruined Ji Yi’s reputation to this extent. Not only did she not give up, she still wanted to take this up in court and put the final nail in the coffin?
Ji Yi’s gaze turned cold as she stared at the television. To prevent her mood from worsening, Ji Yi viciously pressed the remote control and changed the channel.
Maybe she was truly affected by Qian Ge’s words because after dinner, Ji Yi’s chest felt overly stifled. She headed back into the bedroom, got changed and grabbed her phone to go on a walk to get her mind off of things.
The cold evening wind in the early spring eased Ji Yi’s mind a little.
Ji Yi’s parents hadn’t returned and Ji Yi didn’t particularly want to go back home. She remembered the cream puff store by the mall near her house that she wanted to try yesterday, so she thought she might as well go buy some cream puffs.
There was a giant TV screen in front of the mall which happened to be showing the C city Television Awards ceremony.
Ji Yi glanced up just before she stepped into the mall and noticed that the award for best-supporting actress had already been given out.
After she bought the cream puff and came out of the mall, the presenter’s voice was heard from the big screen above her head. “This year’s C city Television Award’s Best Leading Actress goes to Qian Ge. Please welcome Qian Ge——”
Ji Yi didn’t look at the big screen, but she could imagine from the sound of the warm applause that it was definitely Qian Ge climbing up onto the big stage.
Just as Ji Yi’s speculations formed, the presenter’s voice came out from the big TV screen. “Hello, Qian Ge. Long time no see.”
“Long time no see,” said Qian Ge.
After they greeted one another, the presenter and Qian Ge started to chat casually.
The female presenter: “Qian Ge, this is the second time you received the award for the best leading actress at our ceremony, is that correct?”
Qian Ge: “Yes, yes, I’m honored.”
“But your acting skills have improved and everyone has personally seen that for themselves.” After the male presenter finished praising Qian Ge, he initiated a hot topic of conversation: “Before we get to the award’s speech and ask you a few questions, let’s first watch the classic scenes from Qian Ge’s award-winning performance on ‘Three Thousand Lunatics’.”
As the male presenter’s voice dropped, Qian Ge and the female presenter replied: “Mhm.” Then the big screen instantly fell silent.
After about ten seconds, no sound came from the screen. Instead, she heard passersby stopping in front of the big screen just to watch Qian Ge receive her award. With a confused expression on their faces, they let out a “Huuuh?”
Then Ji Yi heard the female presenter say with a confused voice: “What is this? Is this some mistake?”
The moment the presenter’s voice fell, Ji Yi heard her own voice coming from the big screen: “Sorry, I can’t answer that…”
Ji Yi was just about to reach the road when she instinctively stopped. She turned her head with a confused look on her face as she nibbled on her cream puff and looked at the big screen.
Chapter 573: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (33)
These weren’t Qian Ge’s best scenes from “Three Thousand Lunatics”! These were clearly the scenes of Ji Yi in “The Tempestuous Grand Tang.”
But the camera wasn’t pointed at Ji Yi. It was pointed at a woman standing outside the set with her phone raised.
Even though that woman had her back to Ji Yi, she recognized her as her assistant Li Yaoyao right away.
Why was Li Yaoyao recording me while I was shooting my scenes?
Doubt flashed across Ji Yi’s mind as the image on the big screen changed.
It was Li Yaoyao still, coming out of the hotel in the middle of the night. She stood at the hotel entrance, looking left and right a few times to confirm there was nobody around then she hurriedly ran over to the back of the fake mountain prop near the hotel.
This video was probably shot by someone accidentally. After Li Yaoyao entered the fake mountain, there was no one in the picture and aside from the sounds of insects and birds, nothing else could be heard.
After about three seconds, a voice was heard. Other people probably couldn’t tell who the voice belonged to, but Ji Yi could tell it was Li Yaoyao by just one word. “The videos of Ji Yi’s scenes today are on this phone.”
Behind the fake mountain, there was another person present aside from Li Yaoyao. That person was checking a video on the phone as the audience could hear the sound of the director cry “Action” every now and then. After about thirty seconds, another sound was heard. Even though that voice was very low, the voice was delicate and soft enough for everyone to recognize it as Qian Ge’s voice. “Were you seen on your way here?”
“No, Qian Jie. Don’t worry, I’m always very careful.” If people couldn’t tell who it was by the voice, then surely with Li Yaoyao addressing the stranger as “Qian Jie,” everyone watching the awards now knew the person behind the fake mountain was Qian Ge.
The video on the big screen suddenly stopped.
The camera returned to the live awards ceremony where the male and female presenter looked evidently stunned. After hosting this show for almost ten years and witnessing all the drama throughout the years, the two of them were still shocked by this video.
With both hands on the mic, Qian Ge stood motionless with her head still turned towards the big screen.
There was a wall of silence below the stage.
This kind of silent, eerie atmosphere stayed like this for a whole minute before the people below the stage snapped back to their senses. They started to secretly whisper amongst themselves.
Since there wasn’t a microphone around, bystanders couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they could sense the commotion live at the scene.
The male presenter snapped back to his senses. He had never thought about how to de-escalate the situation, so he sounded a little stiff as he spoke: “That err, apologies. Perhaps we are experiencing some technical difficulties as we showed the wrong video.”
The female presenter heard what the male presenter said and snapped back to reality then immediately tried to fix the situation. “Can our staff please play Qian Ge’s best scenes from ‘Three Thousand Lunatics’——”
As the female presenter’s voice fell, another video played on the big screen.
They weren’t sure what kind of technical difficulties were going on, but the video still wasn’t of Qian Ge’s best scenes from “Three Thousand Lunatics” – it was still the video they just played of Li Yaoyao.
Chapter 574: Unexpectedly, Deeply in Love with Him (34)
If people hadn’t quite recovered from the shock of the first video then after playing the second video, everybody who was late to react at the awards ceremony finally came to.
Before the video could finish, the scene erupted and the sheer volume masked what Qian Ge and the other woman said in the video.
Some people were rather close to the cameras, so their voices were clear enough to be heard during the live broadcast for millions of people tuning into the television awards ceremony.
“What the hell’s going on? Who’s the woman in the recording?”
“That woman recorded Ji Yi’s scenes and secretly gave them to Qian Ge?”
“The recent incident about Ji Yi plagiarizing has gotten so big. If Ji Yi really did it, shouldn’t someone be giving her recordings of Qian Ge’s scenes? Why’s it the other way around?”
Not only were the people below the stage in heated discussion, but the two presenters on stage both had looks of confusion and doubt on their faces.
Ever since the first video played, it was like Qian Ge’s pressure points had been hit. She blinked a few times before her mind finally started to churn again.
How could this kind of video get leaked? Who did this? Was this premeditated?
This ain’t right… I can’t be thinking about this now. The awards are live! C city’s television network has always had high ratings and tonight, all the stars are gathered here. Who knows how many people are in front of the TV right now, and after seeing this kind of video, it’ll undoubtedly pique everyone’s suspicions.
It took me so much work just to push Ji Yi into a dead end like this. I definitely can’t let it all be for nothing!
So I have to now turn the tables in front of everyone in the entire nation!
Qian Ge’s mind quickly tried to think up a plan as she analyzed the situation in her mind.
Li Yaoyao was someone who worked for her. She spent a lot of energy to plant her by Ji Yi’s side just to sabotage Ji Yi with this whole plagiarizing incident… Li Yaoyao came today, and she even saw her just now… She wasn’t shown in the video now, but her voice was heard…
With those scattered thoughts flashing across Qian Ge’s mind, she suddenly calmed down as she just thought of an escape route.
For the video to be leaked, it must’ve been done by someone at YC to save Ji Yi’s image.
Alright then… I’m going to play it by ear and cut off all chances of Ji Yi ever making a comeback!
At that thought, a cold smirk flashed in Qian Ge’s eyes. Then she said into the mic: “First, I don’t know who’s playing a prank on me.”
“I know that person in the video – she’s Ji Yi’s assistant, Li Yaoyao.”
“I believe everyone has heard about the recent situation surrounding the leading actress for ‘The Tempestuous Grand Tang’ plagiarizing my performance in ‘The Legend of Qingcheng.’ Being involved in such a nasty scandal could undoubtedly ruin someone’s future. Yet, no normal person is willing to helplessly watch their future being ruined, so it’s no wonder that some people would try to frame other people to save themselves!”
Qian Ge sounded very vague, but the viewers weren’t stupid. Everybody knew what she really meant. She was implying that Ji Yi was the one who played the video to slander her!