NOVEL NEXT Chapter 718-724
Chapter 718: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (28)
The second Ji Yi finished speaking, Qian Ge’s manager immediately asked, “Sorry, please leave.”
Ji Yi ignored the manager and looked right into Qian Ge’s eyes. She continued to ask, “When did the incident in the video happen?”
Qian Ge’s manager saw that Ji Yi was ignoring her and repeated, “Excuse me, please leave!”
Ji Yi pretended she didn’t hear what she said and continued to stare at Qian Ge. The reason why Ji Yi came was to ask, “Why did it happen?”
“During the briefing, Qian Ge already explained it clearly. If you didn’t understand it, please rewatch the briefing online. If you don’t leave, I’ll have to call sec-”
Qian Ge’s manager was cut off when Ji Yi suddenly turned and stared at her. “Quit pretending to be all polite. If what Qian Ge said was true, I wouldn’t be here!”
Qian Ge’s manager turned red in the face and retorted, “You…” Ever since Ji Yi entered the room, Qian Ge hadn’t said a single world until now: “All of you, leave.”
Qian Ge’s manager looked like she disagreed completely. “Qian Jie…”
“Get out!” Qian Ge didn’t wait for her to finish what she was going to say.
Qian Ge’s manager’s lips quivered silently as she hesitated for some time. Then she looked visibly worried as she glanced at Ji Yi, shot a look at the assistant and walked out of the conference room with her.
After their own people left, Qian Ge wasn’t in a hurry to speak and glared at Zhuang Yi, who was standing behind Ji Yi.
Ji Yi didn’t wait for a signal from Qian Ge and shot Zhuang Yi a look.
Although Ji Yi hadn’t uttered a single word, Zhuang Yi understood what she meant and silently turned to walk out of the conference room.
After the doors shut behind Zhuang Yi, the only two people left in the large room was Ji Yi and Qian Ge.
Qian Ge raised her chin up at the sofa as a signal for Ji Yi to take a seat.
Ji Yi stood in her place with her eyes glued to Qian Ge and waited for her to finish.
Qian Ge looked calm under Ji Yi’s gaze. After picking up her water bottle from the table and taking a few gulps, her eyes fell to the watch on Ji Yi’s wrist.
In under a second, Ji Yi understood what Qian Ge meant. Without hesitation, she removed the watch on her wrist and threw it in front of Qian Ge. Then she pulled out her photo from her handbag and chucked it at Qian Ge. “I don’t have anything on me. You can talk now.”
Qian Ge picked up Ji Yi’s watch and scanned it up and down to make sure it wasn’t recording. Then she curved the pale lips she had drawn on just for the press conference. “Even if you didn’t come to see me today, I would’ve looked for you.”
“Ji Yi, since He Jichen ruined me on TV to the point of no return, do you know just how long I’ve waited for today? ”
“One hundred and forty-six whole days!” exclaimed Qian Ge with hatred sewn into every word. “In the past one hundred and forty-six days, I’ve dreamt about this very moment!”
“You’re right! I was the one who leaked that video about He Jichen!”
“He was cussed out and left Beijing because of that video!”
“But did you really think I was the one who forced him to take this step?”
Chapter 719: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (29)
“Let me tell you, Ji Yi. I’m not the one who forced him to take this step today!”
Qian Ge’s tone of voice turned a little stern. “It was you!”
“You made him come to this!”
Ji Yi furrowed her brows as a slight chill flashed in her eyes.
Having clearly caught wind of the chill in her eyes, the corners of Qian Ge’s lips curved into an arrogant, cold smirk. “What’s wrong? Don’t you believe me?”
“Weren’t you asking when that happened and why?”
“I’ll tell you now – it happened on the thirty-second day after you slipped into a coma from that car accident!”
Qian Ge’s words lingered in Ji Yi’s mind for ten seconds before her heart suddenly shivered.
The thirty-second day after I slipped into a coma from that car accident…
Don’t tell me… don’t tell me He Jichen did it because…because… Ji Yi’s fingers instinctively clutched her sleeves. She was suddenly scared and she didn’t dare to continue thinking about it.
Qian Ge vaguely knew what Ji Yi was thinking from the expression on her face. The next second, she immediately said, “That’s right. He stabbed me because of you!”
As she said this, Qian Ge reached out and quickly undid the buttons of her shirt, grabbed her collar and revealed her upper body to Ji Yi.
On the left side of her chest, there was a striking, horrific scar on her soft, fair skin.
She pointed at the scar as she stared at Ji Yi and continued, “Do you see this? This scar is all thanks to you!”
“All these years, every time I shower, I’ve gritted my teeth hating you while staring at this scar in the mirror!”
“If it weren’t for you, he never would’ve stabbed me! Did you know how happy I was that night when he called my name? But then he reached out and stabbed me!”
“And did you know how much I liked him? I liked him enough to choose to forgive him even after he stabbed me!”
“If you hadn’t woken up… if you hadn’t come back to showbiz and fought with me… if you hadn’t stolen my thunder… if he hadn’t ruined my reputation for your sake, I never would’ve done that to him!”
“So Ji Yi, you’re the one who ruined him. You dragged him down. You made someone as perfect as him, imperfect!”
“It was you…”
Before Qian Ge could finish, Ji Yi suddenly raised her hand and smacked Qian Ge hard on the face.
*Bam* The slap hit Qian Ge right on her cheek.
The room was silent for a couple seconds as Qian Ge slowly touched the area where she was slapped. Then she turned her head and looked over at Ji Yi. “You…”
She was interrupted when Ji Yi cried, “Do you know why I came by today?”
Without waiting for Qian Ge to speak, Ji Yi continued: “I came by today not only for answers but to also hit you!” she exclaimed as she raised her hand and slapped Qian Ge hard across the face again.
Ji Yi’s second slap was harder than her first.
After she was done, she didn’t give Qian Ge any chance to react and slapped her again.
Before the crisp sound of her slap fell, Ji Yi actually looked down at Qian Ge and coldly said, “I’ve seen shameless people before, but I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you!”
Chapter 720: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (30)
“After doing all those sick things, quit trying to shift the blame onto me!”
“Shift the blame?” Qian Ge finally came back to her senses from Ji Yi’s slaps. She raised her head and glared at Ji Yi as she retaliated, “If he didn’t insist on protecting you, would he have been completely defeated by me?”
“You dare say you’ve got nothing to do with it?”
“I never wanted to hurt him. He was the one who had to piss me off time and time again for you!”
“Since I can’t have him, I’m going to destroy you!”
“Now that I’ve forced him to leave, you can’t have him and I can’t have him – we both can’t have him. Now that he has to bear an ugly mark on his reputation like this, it’s impossible for him to return to your side. I know him too well. He’s afraid, more than anyone, to tarnish your reputation…”
As Qian Ge said this, a satisfying feeling permeated from her bones. “…This is great! In my lifetime, I can’t be happy without him, but without you, he can forget about being happy too!”
Ji Yi slapped Qian Ge hard on the face again.
Having been slapped a few consecutive times, Qian Ge suddenly jumped up from the sofa and reached out to hit Ji Yi back.
Ji Yi predicted she would react that way because before Qian Ge could raise her hand, Ji Yi already grabbed her wrist and slapped her several more times. Ji Yi didn’t stop until her face was all red.
Because she was mad, Ji Yi grabbed Qian Ge’s wrist even more tightly then she cried in a trembling voice, “Qian Ge, you’re wrong!”
“If you hadn’t brought up this crazy mess this time, I probably never could’ve been with He Jichen!”
“But because of you, I finally found out just how many things he’s done for me behind my back and you’ve changed my opinion on him!”
“Yes, I don’t know where he is right now and yes, maybe he doesn’t want to be with me right now! But Qian Ge, I’m willing to wait and I’m willing to look for him. As long as I bump into him one day, I’ll be with him without a second thought. Even if his reputation is in ruins and even if we might get hated on for being together, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care!”
“Speaking of which, Qian Ge, you drove him away from me, but you also brought him to me!”
“You’re truly pitiful. You had everything planned out, but all you could do was watch as the man you loved be with another woman!”
“So, Qian Ge, I came over today to 1. get an answer, 2. hit you, and 3. thank you!”
After she said this, Ji Yi shoved Qian Ge’s angry, teeth-gritting face away and bent over on the sofa to pick up her things. Then she turned on her heels and walked over to the conference room door with flare.
When she pulled open the door, Zhuang Yi, Chen Bai, and Han Zhifan came into view.
The three of them practically rushed over to her at the same time.
The first to speak out was Chen Bai: “Miss Ji, are you okay?”
Ji Yi didn’t reply but stared at Chen Bai and Han Zhifan with furrowed brows.
Zhuang Yi explained in a quiet voice, “I called them. I was afraid you were being bullied in there. Mr. He especially ordered me to call assistant Chen and Mr. Han if you ever bumped into Qian Ge…”
Mr. He especially ordered me to…
Those few words made the fury coursing through Ji Yi’s entire body instantly disappear.
Chapter 721: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (31)
He was afraid I’d have to put up with Qian Ge so before he left, he gave Zhuang Yi specific orders?
After Zhuang Yi said this, Han Zhifan examined Ji Yi and said in a worried voice, “Xiao Yi, she didn’t do anything to you, right?”
After hearing Han Zhifan’s voice, Ji Yi hurriedly snapped back to reality and shook her head at the three people standing in front of her. “Nah.”
After a pause, Ji Yi didn’t waste any time standing there and said, “Let’s go.”
As they walked out of Kaiyuan Building, Ji Yi first said goodbye to Han Zhifan then turned to Zhuang Yi while watching Han Zhifan driving away. “You can head home first.”
With me at home, what’s she going to do?
Zhuang Yi was stunned for a moment then said, “What about you?”
“Me?” Ji Yi didn’t reply to Zhuang Yi but turned and looked at Chen Bai. “Are you free later?”
Chen Bai nodded his head. “Yeah.”
“Let’s have dinner.”
“Sure.”
Seeing as Chen Bai agreed, Ji Yi turned to look at Zhuang Yi.
After personally witnessing their conversation, Zhuang Yi saw that Chen Bai would be staying with Ji Yi and didn’t say much else. She said her goodbyes to Ji Yi and Chen Bai then walked over to the minivan.
After Zhuang Yi got into the van, Chen Bai pointed at a spot nearby. “Let’s go, my car’s parked over there.”
“Mhm,” responded Ji Yi as she followed Chen Bai.
After getting into the car, Chen Bai started it up and asked, “Miss Ji, what would you like to eat?”
“Anything’s fine.” After Ji Yi replied, she remembered the hot pot restaurant opposite the school and said, “How about hot pot?”
“Of course, that’s fine…” After Chen Bai’s reply, he listed a few names of famous hot pot restaurants in Beijing for Ji Yi to choose from. After the fourth hot pot restaurant listed, Ji Yi said, “Go to B-Film.”
After a second’s pause, Ji Yi added, “That hot pot restaurant isn’t bad.”
“Alright.” Chen Bai didn’t object. After he agreed, Chen Bai stepped on the gas and drove the familiar route to B-Film.
Apart from new chairs and tables, nothing else had changed in the hot pot restaurant.
As soon as she stepped in, Ji Yi saw the wishing bell and stopped in her tracks. Sensing that Ji Yi wasn’t keeping up, Chen Bai looked back in confusion and called for her, causing her to snap out of it. Ji Yi shot Chen Bai a smile then followed him and the waiter as they were led to a private booth.
Because Ji Yi had eaten there before, Chen Bai let her pick the dishes.
After the order was placed, the waiter asked what they wanted to drink. Ji Yi raised her head and looked over at Chen Bai. “Drink with me?”
Chen Bai looked hesitant.
Then Ji Yi added, “Just a little. Don’t worry, we won’t drink a lot.”
Chen Bai nodded in agreement then said to the waiter, “Beers.”
The hot pot base arrived quickly. Not long after, all the dishes Ji Yi ordered filled up the table.
When Chen Bai dunked the meat into the pot, Ji Yi picked up a beer bottle and poured two glasses of beer to the brim.
After Ji Yi drank half a glass, she picked up her chopsticks and ate two slices of meat that Chen Bai picked up for her. As the smoke rose from the bubbling pot, she said, “Did you know? That day I came back to school around last year’s Chinese new year, he and I happened to bump into each other right here and had dinner together.”
Chen Bai knew Ji Yi was just speaking her mind and all he needed to do was listen, so he didn’t say anything. All he did was add more food into the pot non-stop.
Chapter 722: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (32)
“At the time, I really hated him. When I stepped in this place and saw him, the first thought I had was that if I knew I was going to bump into him, I wouldn’t have come to the dinner party with my classmates.'”
“That day, he wasn’t in a great mood. Everyone was chatting aside from him. He just stared out the window.”
“The hot pot was all ready and everyone was calling him over to eat, but he didn’t react and just smoked one cigarette after another near the window.”
“It was winter and the hot pot was boiling, so there was condensation on the window. Later, he started writing words on the window.”
After she said this, Ji Yi turned to look over at the window like she’d gone back to that day and recited the words he wrote one word at a time. “He wrote ‘the person I love isn’t my lover…”
“Chen Bai, did you know? After reading it that day, that’s when I was filled with curiosity.”
“That’s when I wondered how this person who had such a sharp-tongue, rotten temper, and brash and arrogant personality could have such a soft side?”
“That night, he didn’t eat a thing. After we were all full, someone said they wanted to play a game. For the first time, he wanted to take part.”
“The game was simple. You just had to write a note. Someone wrote one for me. Nobody knew who it was from but I did. He wrote it…”
Ji Yi didn’t continue but pulled out her purse from her handbag. She searched around for a while and pulled a piece of paper then handed it to Chen Bai.
Chen Bai hurriedly put down his chopsticks and opened the note to see He Jichen’s handwriting.
“Ji Yi, I’m sorry.”
“He apologized to me for the Lin Zhengyi incident. Even though I ignored him that day and on set, Chen Bai, did you know? I already forgave him when I read this note that night.”
“But I just didn’t want to admit it. I clearly hated him, but I never thought about why I kept that note in my purse and carried it with me everywhere.”
Ji Yi raised her beer glass, clinked Chen Bai’s glass then downed the whole thing and said, “Then he left. I only realized recently that he didn’t actually leave then – he was the one who showed up downstairs, in front of the wishing bell…”
Ji Yi didn’t tell him how they kissed under the wishing bell nor did she mention what He Jichen said under his breath. Instead, she chose to stop her story there.
The room fell silent.
Besides the bubbling sound from the pot, there was no other noise that could be heard.
Chen Bai knew Ji Yi was sad and that there was no use in saying anything to comfort her, so he continued to pick up food and put it onto her plate. “Eat some more. Don’t think too much.”
Ji Yi didn’t touch the food Chen Bai picked up for her. Instead, she picked up the glass of beer and downed it.
After she put the glass down, she inhaled and felt an aching feeling in her eyes as she spoke to Chen Bai sitting opposite her. “Chen Bai, even though I did well in front of Qian Ge and didn’t embarrass myself, did you know? My heart really aches…”
“…Qian Ge was right. I ruined him.”
In the end, tears streamed down from the corners of Ji Yi’s eyes. “…If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have become like this today.”
Chapter 723: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (33)
“Chen Bai, I dragged him down. He Jichen’s misery all started because of me…”
Ji Yi wiped her tears as she grabbed her beer bottle and downed it.
After she finished drinking all the beer, Ji Yi slammed the bottle down heavily on the table. Then she mumbled, “…How great would it have been if I didn’t wake up? If I hadn’t woken up, he wouldn’t be attacked like this now…”
“Miss Ji, you got it wrong,” interrupted Chen Bai, who had been listening all along. “From how you see things, you might think He Jichen’s misery all started with you, but you don’t know… Mr. He was happiest when he was doing things for you.”
“Because Mr. He once said that by doing things for you, he felt like he was really, really close to you.”
“Back when Qian Ge threatened Mr. He with the video, Mr. He decided how to handle it. I asked him why he wanted to do this, and Mr. He said he promised you a bright future, so that’s what he was doing to do. He didn’t want to get in your way, so he had no other choice but to get out of the way uncompromisingly!”
Ji Yi’s tears fell furiously until a sob escaped her lips.
“I even asked Mr. He if he now regrets doing that to Qian Ge back then?”
“Mr. He said he didn’t regret it because he’s never regretted anything he did for you.”
“Mr. He even said that if he had the chance, he would do it again because he couldn’t sit back and do nothing while knowing that you were sabotaged!”
Ji Yi finally couldn’t hold it back anymore and sprawled out on the table crying.
Chen Bai let her cry until her cries got softer. That was when he reached out and touched her shoulder.
Ji Yi raised her head and looked over at Chen Bai, who handed her a tissue.
“Thanks,” she said.
Right after she wiped her eyes, they got wet again.
She might as well not have wiped them. Clutching the tissue, she lifted her head and looked over at Chen Bai. “You’ve been with him for a long time. You must know a lot about him. Can you tell me about him…?”
Ji Yi was afraid Chen Bai was going to refuse, so she added, “…say whatever you want – it’s fine as long as it’s about him.”
Because I really, really, really miss him.
Chen Bai paused for a while and replied to Ji Yi with just one word: “Alright.”
Ji Yi didn’t utter a word as she cupped her chin with both hands and looked at Chen Bai seriously, like a child paying full attention.
“The first time I met Mr. He was at boarding school…”
“We just finished our military training a few days earlier when someone sent Mr. He a love letter. Also, there were girls crowded at the entrance of the canteen, trying to confess to Mr. He.”
“I distinctly remember that there was a girl who ran over to the field on Valentine’s day and arranged a bunch of candles into the words: ‘He Jichen, I love you.'”
“When Mr. He first started up YC, it was really tough. He often had to work late into the night.”
“You probably never imagined that Mr. He’s way of relieving stress is by watching Spongebob Squarepants.”
“Let me tell you… Mr. He’s afraid of cats.”
“Also, Mr. He likes peaches, but he hates washing peaches the most.”
“…”
Chen Bai spoke a lot about He Jichen.
The two of them only stopped talking when the hot pot restaurant closed. They paid the bill and left.
Ji Yi didn’t let Chen Bai take her home, so he drove her back to the school.
Ji Yi walked into the school and stopped as she approached her dorm.
She stood there for a while then turned around. She walked out of the school and hailed a cab for He Jichen’s apartment.
She stood outside his apartment the day she found out he was going to leave.
That night, the lights in his study were on, but tonight, his apartment was pitch black.
He was gone. He was really gone. It had been two months since he left, but it felt like a dream…
Ji Yi raised her head and stared up at He Jichen’s apartment for a long time. Then she walked into the building, took the elevator up, and stopped at He Jichen’s floor.
Chapter 724: He Jichen is……He Yuguang (34)
As she stepped out of the elevator, Ji Yi felt like the hallway seemed even more empty compared to before. Maybe it was because she knew He Jichen wasn’t home…
She stared at the door to He Jichen’s apartment for a while then finally walked over.
Since He Jichen no longer lived there, there was no cleaning lady to clean things up, so there was a thin layer of dust on the door.
Ji Yi knew He Jichen’s passcode but wasn’t sure if he changed it before he left. Regardless, she gave it a try anyway and to her surprise, it worked. “Kacha!” The door actually opened.
She pushed the door open and was welcomed with the subtle smell of a long absence. Ji Yi instinctively raised her hand to cover her nose and walked into the apartment.
She casually flipped on the light switch at the entrance. Without changing into slippers, she walked right into the apartment.
Ji Yi walked over to the tall window at first then opened it.
The evening wind blew in and dispersed the uncomfortable smell in the room.
That was when Ji Yi started to gaze around the room.
Even though nobody had been there for two months, it was still relatively clean.
The long hand on the European style grandfather clock ticked like before.
There was a copper flower vase at the center of the dining table, but there were no longer any beautiful, fresh flowers there.
The fridge was open and the electricity was cut off. It was completely empty with nothing inside. The water dispenser was also emptied out by someone in advance.
Ji Yi stood in the living room for a long time before she headed upstairs.
The door to He Jichen’s room was open. His favorite bedsheets were laid out on the bed and there was still half a glass of water left on the bedside table. Half his clothes were still in the wardrobe and his grooming products were still in the bathroom.
If there wasn’t a layer of dust on the dressing table, Ji Yi would’ve really thought He Jichen still lived there.
As Ji Yi stepped out of the bedroom, Ji Yi walked to the end of the second-floor sunroom. As nobody had taken care of the green plants, all but two pots of devil’s ivy had died.
Ji Yi stood in the sunroom for a long time before she stepped out. She was the only one left in the room, but she stared at the empty living room downstairs and saw a faint image of He Jichen sitting on the sofa, reading files.
She was caught in a daydream for some time. All of a sudden, scene after scene of the two of them in his apartment jumped into her mind; she had to off fight memory after memory.
She stood there for a long time before she snapped back to reality then strode into the study, which was nearby.
It looked just like it did the first time she entered; the bookshelf was filled with books and files.
The computer on the desk was still there, but the laptop was gone. He Jichen must’ve taken it with him.
Ji Yi’s fingers brushed across the bookshelf, the desk, the computer, then finally stopped on the office chair. Then she suddenly remembered how her hair got caught on his button there, and they almost kissed…
Ji Yi’s eyes fell as a dreary look entered her eyes.
She strode over to the sofa and stared at the seat He Jichen liked to sit in. Then she strode over to the balcony.
She barely took two steps when she felt something hard beneath her feet.
She lowered her head and looked over. She saw a red pouch. It was really old and it looked like it had been carried for a really long time.