NOVEL NEXT Chapter 625-632
Chapter 625: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (28)
As He Jichen walked over to the desk, he added, “Is there anything you think needs changing?”
“Wanwan’s scripts are always high-quality. There isn’t anything that needs changing, but I actually think they could add another part to improve the tempo and atmosphere during shooting…”
As Ji Yi said this, she started looking for the part she was referring to.
“I think you can add some drama here…” Ji Yi found the part where she first had the idea then carefully started to describe her ideas to He Jichen.
He Jichen didn’t interrupt Ji Yi but let her continue speaking. He waited until she finished before he repeated her idea back to her.
He was probably afraid he’d forget, so he stood behind Ji Yi as he repeated it and he typed it out to create a record of her suggestions.
With He Jichen positioned like that, this happened to place Ji Yi in his arms.
The unique scent of his body instantly rushed into Ji Yi’s nostrils and stifled her breathing. She started to feel shaky as she stared at the computer.
“You have to add some drama here…” said He Jichen softly as his long, slender fingers reached over Ji Yi’s body and his fingers started to quickly dance over the keyboard.
“Also, the drama here can be simplified slightly… Also, here. We could make this line a little funnier…”
At first, Ji Yi could still hear what He Jichen was saying, but with her in his arms like that for so long, her mind grew sluggish and she started to tune out.
His voice sounded good – it sounded far more deadly than the internet’s best male voice actor. His beautiful fingers also looked more exquisite than a pianist’s. The scent of his body smelled so good. She didn’t know what brand of shower gel he used, but it let off the faint smell of jasmine; it smelled infinitely light and captivating…
Ji Yi thought about this and couldn’t help but look up at the monitor as He Jichen spoke. She focused on his notes.
He looked like he was really paying attention to his work and was immersed in deep thought. He looked quite profound and gave off an unreadable sense of mystery.
Ji Yi stared and stared as she couldn’t help but feel captivated.
She didn’t even notice her lips had curved into a slight smile.
If… if time could stop with the two of us in this very moment, how great would that be…
“Did I forget anything?” asked He Jichen as he typed up his notes, moved the cursor and read through the red words.
Lost in thought, Ji Yi’s heart shivered suddenly at his question then she withdrew her gaze from He Jichen in a panic. As she had been glancing at the computer screen, she didn’t catch his main point, so she shook her head. “Nope.”
He Jichen looked through the notes from start to end again to see if he really had forgotten anything. Then he removed his hand on the mouse and straightened up.
But he only managed to straighten up half-way as he felt a force pulling on his chest then came a light scream of pain “AH–“by Ji Yi.
He Jichen hurriedly stopped what he was doing, looked down and realized Ji Yi’s hair had caught onto a button on his chest.
Chapter 626: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (29)
Having felt the pain, Ji Yi turned her head and looked at the ends of her hair. Without any hesitation, she tried to free her hair from He Jichen but in the end, her hair only wrapped around him more tightly.
He Jichen was afraid that if he straightened up, it would hurt Ji Yi’s scalp, so all he could do was arch his body.
His face happened to be facing her forehead, so his breathing swept endlessly over Ji Yi, creating a numbness that made her heart randomly skip a beat. She tried to free her hair a little harder.
With that, she managed to tangle her hair up even more tightly around the button.
The more she pulled, the more tangled her hair was. Some strands of hair even broke.
Just as Ji Yi was about to pull harder, He Jichen suddenly grabbed her hand.
The touch felt electric as it traveled instantly from his palms to the bottom of her heart. The shock made Ji Yi’s whole body tremble and she suddenly looked up at He Jichen.
Her movements were so unexpected that as soon as she raised her head, her lips happened to rub against He Jichen’s lips.
Another strong electric current sent Ji Yi shivering. She clearly felt He Jichen’s body stiffen up.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned romantically charged. He Jichen lowered his eyes slightly. Without looking at Ji Yi’s face, he stared unwaveringly at her hair around his button then he carefully unraveled it.
Their faces were so close together. Although Ji Yi didn’t dare to look at him after she accidentally touched He Jichen’s lips, she could feel the warmth of his body, his breath, and his sweet scent. Her heartbeat was completely in chaos as her face heated up.
After He Jichen freed Ji Yi’s hair from his button, he tentatively untangled her balled-up hair, one strand at a time.
When her hair was straightened out, he then looked up and glanced at her face.
Her skin was unusually fair, her long curly eyelashes were lowered, and her flushed face looked… extremely seductive.
He Jichen’s fingers trembled for a moment as his gaze upon Ji Yi suddenly turned trance-like. Even the word lingering in his mouth, “alright,” disappeared without a trace.
They held that position for so long without either of them making a sound.
Just as Ji Yi thought she was so hot that she was going to catch on fire, she lifted her head up and shot He Jichen a glance.
Beneath his pitch black eyes was a faint hint of red…
With just a glance, Ji Yi sank into He Jichen’s eyes.
They stared silently at each other for some time before her lips moved and an intense urge made her shut her eyes. She gradually raised her head and took the initiative to push her lips against He Jichen’s.
As her lips drew closer to his, Ji Yi clearly felt her eyelashes fluttering like crazy.
Just as their lips were going to touch, her phone suddenly rang.
Ji Yi trembled in shock then instantly snapped back to her senses.
She hurriedly moved her lips away from He Jichen’s and looked over at her phone on the desk. It was her mum calling.
Ji Yi didn’t hesitate for a moment. She grabbed the phone and took the call.
“Xiao Yi, it’s late. Why aren’t you at home?”
Chapter 627: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (30)
“I left the house to buy something; I’m heading right back now.” Ji Yi made a random, half-hearted excuse to answer her mum then hung up the phone.
She didn’t even glance at He Jichen before she hurriedly got up from her chair. “Err… it’s getting late. I should head home now.”
After she said this, Ji Yi ran for the door of the study, but before she could take even two steps, He Jichen grabbed her wrist.
A strong electric current ran from his palms again, engulfing her whole body. It made her shiver violently before she realized what was happening and shook off his wrists.
But before she could do so, He Jichen behind her flatly said, “I’ll take you.”
As He Jichen’s words fell, he pulled open his desk drawer and found the car keys in a pile of keys. Then he let go of Ji Yi’s wrist. “Let’s go.”
Ji Yi didn’t look at He Jichen while he spoke. She looked down then walked out the door.
When he wasn’t looking, she rubbed the area he just grabbed against her clothes, hiding the excitement and numb feeling he left her with.
As they stepped out of He Jichen’s apartment and reached the underground car park, neither of them spoke.
When she got into the car, He Jichen turned around to fasten Ji Yi’s seatbelt out of habit. As he drew closer, Ji Yi smelled the unique scent of his body, making her face flush. She turned her gaze out the window.
The car quickly started up and they drove out of the underground parking lot. The car sped through the evening city streets.
Ji Yi stared out through her window at the world outside whizzing by. Her gaze subconsciously fell to the reflection of He Jichen in the rearview mirror.
The street lights were dim in the evening, giving his unique elegance a slight sense of mystery.
The chill in his eyes made him look calm and composed as he stared at the road ahead.
He was too perfect like this – so perfect that he looked as surreal as an illusion.
Ji Yi couldn’t help but stare a little longer. In the end, she watched and watched, forgetting to breathe or blink.
The roads at night were particularly smooth. Soon enough, the car stopped outside her family home.
When He Jichen turned the engine off and looked towards Ji Yi, she sensed his gaze but immediately looked over at the streetlight outside. That was when she realized they reached their destination.
“I’m heading up,” blurted Ji Yi softly as she unfastened her seatbelt. Ji Yi wasn’t sure if He Jichen was looking at her, but she didn’t dare to look over at him. She then pushed the car door open.
“Goodbye.” Before she shut the car door, Ji Yi said goodbye to He Jichen.
“Yeah, goodnight.” When Ji Yi heard He Jichen’s voice, she couldn’t help but turn her head and glance over at the car.
His gaze never veered from her, causing her gaze to be irresistibly glued to him for a while.
Because he didn’t hear the sound of Ji Yi’s door closing for some time, he looked over at her, but before his eyes could meet hers, she quickly shut the car door. She turned and ran into the building.
It wasn’t until she entered the elevator that Ji Yi stroked her pounding heart.
Loving someone was truly miraculous. Without even noticing it, she stared at him in a daze and when he looked over, she was afraid he’d notice how she felt deep down, so she pretended to have not seen him. She quickly averted her eyes… and she even…
Chapter 628: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (31)
I can’t help but want to kiss him and get intimate with him…
That thought just crossed Ji Yi’s mind when a “ding dong!” notification came from her phone.
The elevator doors opened, stopping all of Ji Yi’s wild thoughts. She rushed over to the door, fumbled to open the door and headed back to her own room.
That’s so weird. I’m clearly not a perverted person. Why am I having such X-rated thoughts after I realized I’m in love with He Jichen?
After she took a shower and went through her skincare routine, she laid in bed but she couldn’t help but grab her phone and send He Jichen a text: “Home yet?”
“Yeah,” replied He Jichen within seconds.
“It’s late. Get some rest.”
“You too.”
“Mhm, night!”
“Goodnight.”
Not knowing what to say next, Ji Yi replied with a “goodnight” emoji.
He Jichen replied to her with a smiling face emoji.
Ji Yi sent another emoji.
Not long after, the two of them covered the screen with emojis. Ji Yi couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Alright!! I really have to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow. Bye, goodnight!”
“Sweet dreams.”
This time, Ji Yi didn’t reply to He Jichen’s message and turned off the bedroom lights. She put down the phone and shut her eyes.
–
Outside, He Jichen quietly smoked while leaning on the hood of his car. When he saw the lights in Ji Yi’s room turned off, he put out the cigarette between his fingers then chucked the butt into the trash and got into the car.
In the car, he sat there staring at his phone. Having just texted Ji Yi, the corners of his lips curved into a smile then he tossed his phone aside, started up the car and left.
–
At seven o’clock, Ji Yi climbed out of bed, ate breakfast and freshened up. Then she picked up the suitcase she packed the day before and headed downstairs.
As she came out of the elevator and left her apartment building, Ji Yi was about to call a taxi to get to school when she heard someone calling her, “Miss Ji!”
Ji Yi turned her head and saw Chen Bai in a blue suit. He was standing by a car as she shot him a smile.
Through the car window, Ji Yi noticed that He Jichen was sitting inside, staring at his laptop and typing away on the keyboard.
He Jichen probably heard Chen Bai’s voice, so when his fingers were done typing, he turned his head and noticed Ji Yi looking at him. When their eyes met, he waved at her to come over.
Seeing He Jichen do so, Ji Yi felt excited. Her legs made a run for it as she rushed over to He Jichen’s car.
“Good morning, Miss Ji.” Chen Bai waited for Ji Yi to come closer then took her suitcase for her. “Miss Ji, are you going to school? Mr. He and I were just about to head to the office. We can drop you off on the way.”
With that, Chen Bai pulled the car door open for Ji Yi.
“Thank you.” Ji Yi then got into the car. She looked over at He Jichen who was typing away at his laptop again. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” He Jichen stared unwaveringly at the computer screen.
Chen Bai got into the car himself.
Ji Yi couldn’t help but ask, ‘Why did you guys come by and not give me a heads up?”
“It was Mr. He who called me and asked that I drive here to pick him up,” answered Chen Bai honestly.
He Jichen asked Chen Bai to come over but there’s only one car, so how did He Jichen get from his place to mine?
Ji Yi turned to look at He Jichen in confusion.
—
Chapter 629: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (32)
He Jichen continued to stare at his laptop screen but he must’ve known she was staring at him as he replied in a relaxed voice while typing, “On my morning jog, I ran over to your building and remembered you were going to school early, so I asked Chen Bai to pick me up right here.”
Morning jog…
As those two words jumped into Ji Yi’s mind, she suddenly remembered the excuse she used the night before when she dropped by He Jichen’s apartment. I said I was out on a stroll…
So he’s actually doing what I did – randomly making up excuses?
I went to his place because I was worried about his arm injury, and now he’s doing this to take me to school?
With that thought, Ji Yi couldn’t help but smile. Just like how He Jichen didn’t expose her lie last night, she did the same. “I never thought you were the type to go out for morning runs.”
“Mhm…” softly responded He Jichen. When he finished typing and sent his email, he looked over at Ji Yi. “…Same. I never thought you were the type to go for evening strolls.”
Ji Yi didn’t say anything, but she let her smile extend from her lips up to her eyes, radiating her happiness around her fair little face.
He Jichen didn’t say anything more. His phone rang – it was probably a reply to the email he just sent out. When he looked down at his laptop, away from Ji Yi’s line of sight, his eyes instantly softened. Beneath his lowered eyelashes, he was smiling slightly.
Driving in front, Chen Bai was completely lost while listening in on He Jichen and Ji Yi’s conversation. However, he clearly sensed that the atmosphere in the car had an indescribable sense of sweetness.
–
There was a meeting at the office, so He Jichen and Chen Bai dropped Ji Yi off at the women’s dorms and left.
Tang Huahua had an early flight to Beijing. Not long after Ji Yi arrived, Tang Huahua arrived too.
The two of them unpacked their suitcases and went into the admin office to sign in. Afterward, they didn’t return to the dorms but headed straight for lunch.
The place they chose happened to be a hotpot restaurant owned by a male singer Tang Huahua really liked. They were having a soft opening so there were quite a few customers, but luckily Ji Yi reserved a room so it didn’t affect Ji Yi and Tang Huahua’s dining experience.
The hotpot restaurant was in a shopping district, so after their meal, Ji Yi and Tang Huahua planned to window shop.
Tang Huahua put on a newly-bought pair of high heels before they left the dorms, but they weren’t a great fit on her. After walking a while, they started to blister her feet, so she cried in pain to find a cafe to rest her feet.
They couldn’t find a cafe, but instead, they saw the popular bakery mentioned on Weibo a while back.
This bakery produced a limited number of loaves and sold them at exactly four in the afternoon until they were sold out.
Just to buy this bakery’s bread, many people would line up three hours early.
It wasn’t even three, yet the bakery already had a really long line.
Ji Yi thought that since Tang Huahua’s shoes made her feet hurt, they should stop shopping, so she suggested Tang Huahua to find a chair to sit on in the mall. Then she was going to line up to buy the bread.
The bakery opened promptly at four.
Ji Yi followed the queue and slowly moved forward in line.
There was a woman about the same age as her standing in front of her who was talking into her phone like she was talking to a guy she liked. “I finally got in line at that bakery today with the really good bread. Do you want some? I can drop it off at your place?”
Chapter 630: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (33)
It felt like those words had woken her up from a daydream as Ji Yi’s eyes suddenly lit up. A second later, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Tang Huahua: “Huahua, haven’t you always said you’d really like to explore YC? We’re not too far from YC, and seeing as you can’t window shop anymore, should we drop by YC later?”
Tang Huahua sounded so excited as she replied with high spirits: “Sure, sure!”
Ji Yi didn’t reply to Tang Huahua’s message but put her phone back into her bag.
After standing in line for about twenty minutes, it was finally Ji Yi’s turn.
She especially ordered a few buns and asked the shop assistant to help her pack them into two portions.
Coming out of the mall, Ji Yi hailed a taxi for her and Tang Huahua to go to YC together.
Tang Huahua really liked Cheng Weiwan, so the first thing she did when they reached Ji Yi’s office was to go find Cheng Weiwan’s office.
But then they saw that Cheng Weiwan’s office was vacant. Ji Yi thought Cheng Weiwan might’ve gone to the restroom, so she asked Cheng Weiwan’s other co-workers who were responsible for the script. That was when Ji Yi found out Cheng Weiwan hadn’t been feeling well – she must’ve caught some kind of stomach bug as she’d been vomitting consistently and hadn’t been in the office today or yesterday.
Ji Yi figured she would give Cheng Weiwan a call in the evening. Tang Huahua headed back to Ji Yi’s office in disappointment.
Zhuang Yi was in the office and since she knew Tang Huahua, Ji Yi figured she could ask Zhuang Yi to give Tang Huahua an office tour.
After the two of them left, Ji Yi carried the unopened portion of buns into He Jichen’s office.
As she passed secretary Zhang, she saw Ji Yi and immediately stopped what she was doing. “Miss Ji, you’re here. Let me take you to Mr. He’s office…”
“No thanks. Please continue with your work; I’ll find my way,” replied Ji Yi with a smile. As she passed the general manager’s office, she stopped outside He Jichen’s office door.
Reaching her hand out, she knocked on the door and waited a few seconds then heard He Jichen’s pleasant voice from say from the inside: “Come in.”
Ji Yi suddenly became nervous. She took a deep breath at the door, opened it and walked in.
Chen Bai was also in He Jichen’s office, reporting about some kind of work when he heard the door opening. He glanced back and spotted Ji Yi. His chattering suddenly paused for a moment then he said with a doubtful tone of voice, “Miss Ji?”
As He Jichen was staring at some documents, when he heard what Chen Bai said, his hand trembled then he turned his head and saw Ji Yi.
Ji Yi felt flustered again when she met He Jichen’s gaze. She replied with a smile, “Huahua and I were window shopping this afternoon and happened to see these buns that were famous online, so I bought extra and brought them over for you two.”
“You two?” Chen Bai found the main point. “Miss Ji, are you including me?”
Ji Yi nodded. “Of course.”
Chen Bai instantly smiled. He wanted to say, “That’s great!” but before he could, He Jichen shot him a cold glare.
Chen Bai was so frightened that his entire body shivered. The next second, he swallowed the words back down and lied, “But Miss Ji, it’s really such a shame that I haven’t been feeling well recently. The doctor specifically asked me not to eat sweet things.”
As Chen Bai said this, he glanced over at He Jichen. The expression on his face improved a lot.
Chapter 631: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (34)
Chen Bai secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Luckily, I have great improvisation skills!
“Oh, I see. That’s a real shame. They’re hard to buy; you have to line up ahead of time to get them. Today, I was lucky to only have to line up a little over an hour to buy them,” said Ji Yi with earnest regret in her voice.
Since Ji Yi entered the office, He Jichen hadn’t said a word. “Next time, just ask Chen Bai to do things like this,” He Jichen suggested.
Chen Bai’s eyes widened as he looked over at He Jichen.
I’m clearly a personal assistant, so why do I always have to do a runner’s job?
He Jichen must’ve sensed Chen Bai’s resistance as he glanced at him again with a neutral look on his face.
Chen Bai met He Jichen’s gaze and the next second, he smiled brightly at Ji Yi. “Yeah! Miss Ji, in the future, you can just ask me to line up for things like this. Though I can’t eat it, I can still line up! You don’t know how good I am at lining up! I have so much patience!”
As Chen Bai said this, he secretly glanced over at He Jichen, who already turned his head and was looking at Ji Yi with a soft gaze. Chen Bai secretly let out a long sigh of relief.
Almost freaked me out! But you’re the boss, so what you say goes!
He Jichen appeared to want to play lots of mind games with Chen Bai. After Ji Yi came closer, he put the documents and cushions aside. Then he told Ji Yi, “Sit first. I’m just finishing up.”
Ji Yi smiled and let out an “Mhm” then put the buns on the coffee table. She sat down then replied, “I’m fine. Do what you have to.”
“There’s no rush,” said He Jichen in a faint voice. He asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Whatever’s fine.” After Ji Yi said this, she remembered that she read on Weibo that men hated when women said that, so she added, “Black tea.”
“Alright.” After He Jichen replied to Ji Yi, he turned his head and looked over at Chen Bai. “Tell secretary Zhang to make some black tea.”
“Yes, Mr. He.”
Without waiting for Chen Bai to turn and leave the office, He Jichen then said, “Not too strong. It’s already nighttime – overly strong tea will interfere with her sleep.”
“Yes.” After Chen Bai was certain He Jichen didn’t have anything to add, he walked out of the office then relayed He Jichen’s request to secretary Zhang.
Soon enough, Chen Bai came back and continue their discussion from before Ji Yi stepped in.
Ji Yi sat quietly to the side, playing on her phone.
Meanwhile, secretary Zhang came in once to place the black tea down in front of Ji Yi.
Ji Yi was afraid of saying anything in case she would disturb He Jichen and Chen Bai’s work, so all she did was smile back at secretary Zhang.
The two of them talked for who knew how long when He Jichen suddenly said, “Go into my office and get the file in the right-hand drawer of my desk.”
Typing away at the computer in front of him, Chen Bai heard what He Jichen said and was going to quickly get up.
Ji Yi figured she had nothing to do, so she shot up before Chen Bai could. “Let me help you get it.”
As she said this, Ji Yi quickly ran over to He Jichen’s desk and pulled open the second drawer on the right, just as he instructed.
“Is it this contract?” A contract came into view. Ji Yi grabbed it and waved it around at He Jichen.
Chapter 632: The Marriage Certificate Discovered (35)
“Mhm, yeah.”
When she heard He Jichen’s response, Ji Yi looked down as she was about to reached her hand out to shut the drawer, but then she saw it – two little red booklets.
Marriage Certificate…
Those were the two words on it. Ji Yi knew both of them, but when she put the two together, they repeatedly revolved around her mind for a bit before she understood what they meant.
All of a sudden, it felt like Ji Yi had lost her soul as she stared unflinchingly at the two red marriage certificates.
After responding to Ji Yi, He Jichen quickly looked back at the files in his hand.
As he read them, he was waiting for Ji Yi to bring over the other file. However, after having to wait for a while, he furrowed his brows and turned his head in confusion. He looked over at Ji Yi.
She stood in front of the desk with the document in her hand like a statue. She didn’t move an inch while staring in the direction of the drawer.
She looked shocked and startled like she had just seen something unbelievable.
What’s with her?
He Jichen furrowed his brows again and was about to ask Ji Yi “What’s wrong?” but before the words could escape his mouth, he suddenly remembered what was in that drawer. Besides his files, their marriage certificate was also in there…
With that thought, the blood in He Jichen’s body stopped flowing and an indescribable sense of horror and fear instantly enveloped him. A second later, he bolted up abruptly.
He got up so quickly that it shocked Chen Bai who was sitting opposite him.
Chen Bai looked up at He Jichen with a confused look on his face, but before he could ask “Mr. He?”, He Jichen darted over to the desk and forcefully slammed the drawer closed that Ji Yi was staring at.
He looked like he was afraid of something. After he shut it, he also locked it, pulled the key out, and put it into his pocket.
His series of movements was unbelievably fast.
It didn’t give Ji Yi any time to react at all.
After she snapped back to reality, the shock and panic disappeared from He Jichen’s face like nothing had happened at all. “I’ll be right there, wait a moment for me,” he said in a calm voice.
Ji Yi’s mind was still fixated on the two marriage certificates in the drawer. She hadn’t quite come back to her senses, but she knew He Jichen was talking to her. What was he talking about though? She didn’t know. All she did was absent-mindedly give a light nod.
He Jichen didn’t make another sound as he stared at Ji Yi for a while. He took the file in her hands and walked back to the sofa.
He Jichen flipped through his own file and spoke with Chen Bai for approximately five minutes. Standing beside the desk, Ji Yi then walked back to the sofa and sat down.
It was now nightfall. Outside the window, the sun had set in the west and the red glow filtered through the tall windows and illuminated half the room in red.
Ji Yi stared at the beautiful scenery out the window for a while. Her mind went blank for a long time before she finally realized.
Marriage certificate… is it He Jichen’s? Is he married? Who’s he married to?
Ji Yi didn’t know how long she was in shock for when a gentle touch landed on her shoulder.
She turned her head back and realized it was just her and He Jichen left in the big office.
“It’s almost dinner time. What do you want to eat?”
She was sluggish for a few seconds before Ji Yi finally shook her head.