NOVEL NEXT Chapter 783-792
Chapter 783: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (3)
It seemed like He Jichen knew what she was up to. Ji Yi spent a week going back and forth like that but she still didn’t manage to catch sight of him.
Thanks to Tang Huahua, news of He Jichen’s appearance quickly got out to Chen Bai and Han Zhifan. The two of them called Ji Yi and got He Jichen’s number from her. Like Ji Yi, they also tried to call him and visit him at the hotel he was staying at, but they didn’t manage to catch him either.
Ning Shuang, who stayed in the same hotel as He Jichen, hadn’t seen him for a few days, let alone Ji Yi and the others.
If Ning Shuang hadn’t gone to the front desk every day to check if He Jichen had checked out yet, Ji Yi would’ve thought He Jichen already left Beijing.
As each day passed, Ji Yi grew uneasy as she wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of He Jichen.
Deep down, she knew that if this didn’t work out, and she would need to come up with a new plan.
In the morning on the eighth day since she last saw He Jichen, Zhuang Yi and Tang Huahua came to pick up Ji Yi to go to the suburbs for a shoot. The shoot was held at a film studio and it was for a new product endorsement ad which they snagged earlier in the year.
The commercial, over ten minutes long, took three whole hours to finish shooting, so it was one in the afternoon by the time they left the studio.
Back at the minivan, Tang Huahua started the car up. Zhuang Yi put on her seat belt in the front passenger seat as she turned and asked Ji Yi. “Where to?”
Ji Yi didn’t give Zhuang Yi a reply.
Zhuang Yi was silent for two seconds before she said, “The Guili Hotel again?”
Guili Hotel was the hotel He Jichen was staying at. For the past few days, whenever Ji Yi wasn’t busy, she spent most of her time there, during which she did everything but check into a room.
Ji Yi stared out the window in silence.
Tang Huahua took this as Ji Yi’s silent approval. As she entered the words “Guili Hotel” into the GPS and waited for it to finish finding the route, she stepped on the gas and slowly started the car up.
Today’s weather was unusually good. The bright, clear sky didn’t have a single dark cloud, and the entire city was as clean as a scene from an anime.
In the afternoon, traffic wasn’t particularly smooth, so the car went at alternating speeds. Ji Yi stared unblinkingly out at the passing romantic urban landscape through the window. It wasn’t until the car passed “SKP” that she suddenly cried out, “Go to SKP.”
One after the other, Tang Huahua and Zhuang Yi were left stunned.
What’s this?
The two of them shared a look before Zhuang Yi said, “Xiao Yi, are you not going to Guili anymore?”
Ji Yi let out a soft “Mhm” for a few seconds and said, “Let’s go window shopping at SKP.”
Over ten seconds after Ji Yi finished speaking, Tang Huahua came to her senses and let out an “oh” followed by a hurried “okay.” Then she turned the car around under the bridge and headed for the underground parking lot of SKP.
After they took the elevator to the first floor, Ji Yi ignored the luxury brand shops that Tang Huahua and Zhuang Yi thought she would shop at and headed right for a diamond ring shop.
With the shop assistant’s help, Ji Yi carefully looked at all the rings. While looking at them, she didn’t forget to ask for Tang Huahua and Zhuang Yi’s opinions as they followed along beside her.
After over an hour, Ji Yi emerged from the shop with a pair of simple yet elegant diamond rings.
Chapter 784: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (4)
When it came time to pay, the shop assistant handed Ji Yi a piece of paper and a pen then told her that the rings could be engraved. She asked her if she wanted an engraving and if she did, she could write it on that piece of paper.
Ji Yi took the pen and paper, and after some deep thought, she raised the pen and wrote down the word “Ji” on the paper.
As they left the jewelry shop, Tang Huahua couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Yi, why are you buying a diamond ring? It’s not like you want to propose, right?”
“Is there any other use for diamond rings?” Ji Yi handed the receipt to Zhuang Yi. “Find some time the day after tomorrow and help me pick up the rings.”
Tang Huahua was so excited; it looked like someone had proposed to her instead. “So, you’re really going to propose to He Xuezhang?!”
Ji Yi winked at Tang Huahua and asked in return, “If not, then are we going to get fake married again?”
After just three seconds of excitement, Tang Huahua’s mood died down. “But Xiao Yi, have you ever considered that you can’t even meet up with He Xuezhang, so how are you going to propose?”
“I’m going to think up a plan to trick him into coming out!” replied Ji Yi light-heartedly.
“Trick him? How?” Zhuang Yi also joined in on Ji Yi and Tang Huahua’s conversation.
“Yeah. How?” A glint appeared in Tang Huahua’s eyes as she assumed Ji Yi had a good plan.
Ji Yi shook her head and answered honestly. “Haven’t thought of it yet.”
Tang Huahua heart dropped once again.
…
That very night, before thinking it through, Ji Yi called Chen Bai, Han Zhifan, Fatty in Sucheng, and Li Da, who married Bo He, and told them her thoughts. After telling them, she asked them to help think of a plan to trick He Jichen into coming out no matter what.
After speaking with them, Ji Yi added them all into a group chat so everyone could message each other.
The first to ask He Jichen out was Li Da, but he didn’t pick up the phone.
Then Chen Bai asked He Jichen out. He picked up but declined to meet up with Chen Bai.
Fatty mercilessly made fun of Chen Bai and Li Da for a moment and bragged in the chat for a while. Then he picked up his phone and gave He Jichen a call. The call connected, but it was worse than Li Da and Fatty’s experience. The call rang twice before He Jichen hung up straight away. When Fatty called again, he got the busy tone, followed by: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently in a call.” People who knew better immediately understood that He Jichen had blocked Fatty’s number.
With three people down, the group tried to analyze why they failed as they also discussed what to do next.
Just when Chen Bai suggested they kidnap Ji Yi, threaten He Jichen, and trick him into coming out, Han Zhifan finally sent a message in the group chat while he @JiYi: “Plans made. 8 PM, the day after tomorrow, The Golden Lounge.”
Chen Bai: “?????”
Fatty: “!#$#%#%^”
Li Da:”!!!!!”
Tang Huahua: “Woah! Mr. Han, you’re awesome!”
Zhuang Yi: “Mr. Han’s really THE man!”
Bo He: “Mr. Han is 6 feet 2!”
Chen Bai: “Jealous.”
Fatty: “I’m jealous too.”
Li Da: “Wifey…” *pitiful emoji*
Ji Yi: “For real?”
Han Zhifan: “Yeah.”
Chen Bai: “Mr. Han, how did you do it?”
Li Da and Fatty sent a message at the same time: “Same question.”
Han Zhifan was probably busy and had no time to send messages in the group chat.
Chapter 785: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (5)
ChenBai@HanZhifan.
LiDa@HanZhifan.
Fatty@HanZhifan.
Just when Ji Yi was about to @HanZhifan, Han Zhifan sent another message with a screenshot to the group chat.
It was Han Zhifan and He Jichen’s chat log.
HanZhifan: “Chen Ge, I hear you’re back in Beijing? I just so happened to be looking for someone’s opinion on what to do. It’s about buying the last stocks for Qian Ge’s studio. Do you have some time to meet up?”
He Jichen: “Yeah.”
He Jichen: “Day after tomorrow.”
Han Zhifan: “Is the Golden Lounge okay?”
He Jichen: “Sure.”
Han Zhifan: “Booked the room. It’s the same old spot, 1001.”
The group chat one was silent for a whole minute before Chen Bai messaged: “Wasn’t the whole buying stocks situation resolved last year?”
Fatty: “You’re blatantly lying!”
Han Zhifan: “Xiao Yi said to use any way to trick He Jichen into coming out. I’m just following Xiao Yi’s orders.”
LiDa@JiYi, fanning the flames: “Xiao Yi, Mr. Han is blatantly mocking you!”
Ji Yi: “Thank you, Mr. Han.”
Han Zhifan: “You’re welcome” followed by a giggling emoji.
Fatty: “!!!”
Li Da: “…”
Chen Bai: “So freaking sneaky!”
–
Ji Yi originally thought that by successfully tricking He Jichen into coming out, it would dissolve the massive lump in her heart and her days would go by a little easier. However, for the next two days, Ji Yi actually seemed to be even more agitated.
It was alright when she was busy during the day, but when she had downtime, she couldn’t help but think about her proposal to He Jichen. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she was; especially during the day before she was going to see He Jichen. Ji Yi practically didn’t shut her eyes for the whole night.
There were less than twenty minutes left before it would be eight in the evening and Ji Yi felt even more anxious and excited. She had lots of time before she had to leave, but she started to rummage around for tonight’s outfit.
As an artist, Ji Yi often attended different kinds of events. She wouldn’t say she had all kinds of clothes from major luxury brands, but she had all their best-selling items.
Normally, when she left the house, she would randomly pick an outfit and feel satisfied. However, today, Ji Yi practically tried on her entire winter wardrobe, yet she couldn’t find a suitable outfit. In the end, she just dragged Zhuang Yi and Tang Huahua out to go buy a new outfit.
After shopping, Ji Yi wasn’t satisfied with her shoes, so she picked a new pair. Then she was unsatisfied with her make-up, so all Zhuang Yi and Tang Huahua could do was go with her to her regular salon. After a facial, they redid her make-up and hair.
After Ji Yi went back and forth until she was completely satisfied, it was already seven in the evening.
After she rushed over to The Golden Lounge, Ji Yi didn’t follow Tang Huahua and Zhuang Yi to the room Han Zhifan booked. Instead, she hid in the restroom.
Tang Huahua kept sending Ji Yi messages.
“Xiao Yi, He Xuezhang has arrived. He saw so many people around, his expression looked odd, and his eyebrows were creased like crazy.”
“But thankfully, Chen Bai had quick reflexes and said that Han Zhifan must’ve mentioned the meetup to him yesterday, so he shamelessly tagged along.”
“Li Da said he was there yesterday like Chen Bai. It’d been a long time since they last saw each other. Bo He said she was worried about Li Da going to a place like the Golden Lounge, so she told me she was going there to watch Li Da.”
Chapter 786: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (6)
“Bo He said she’d easily get bored as the only woman in a party with all guys, so she invited me too.”
“Zhuang Yi said that when Bo He called, I happened to be in the restroom. I picked up and like Li Da, I hadn’t seen He Xuezhang in a long time too, so I thought I’d pop in.”
Ji Yi read the screen full of messages that Tang Huahua sent to her. Since she didn’t find the excuses believable, an unspeakable sense of embarrassment crept into her heart. She raised her finger and lightly tapped the screen a few times. “Did he believe it?”
Tang Huahua’s reply came quickly. “I don’t know. The expression on He Xuezhang’s face is too hard to read. I’m waiting, so how can I figure out what he’s thinking… but there’s something a little odd about his aura.”
Odd?
Ji Yi was a little worried about He Jichen finding out she was tricking him, so she ran right out the door and hurriedly sent a message to Tang Huahua requesting an update on the situation: “What do mean by odd? He can’t be angry, right?”
Tang Huahua didn’t reply.
Ji Yi felt even more uneasy. “What’s going on right now?”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Is He Jichen really mad?”
“Huahua?”
Ji Yi sent a few consecutive messages, so seeing as Tang Huahua didn’t respond, she thought He Jichen really was mad.
Ji Yi quickly raised her phone up to take a look. Tang Huahua’s reply finally came: “I was almost scared to death just now. I thought He Xuezhang was about to get angry! Luckily, Mr. Han was smart and saved the day just in time.”
After reading that sentence, Ji Yi let out a sigh of relief and stopped walking towards room 1001. She turned around and headed back into the restroom while quickly typing on her keyboard. “What’s going on?”
Tang Huahua: “A second before He Xuezhang was going to get angry, Mr. Han admitted to tricking He Xuezhang. He said he knew He Xuezhang was back in Beijing and hadn’t seen him for so long, so he did it because he really wanted to see him He even said he knew He Xuezhang didn’t want to see you, so he specifically didn’t call you over and that he could relax.”
After reading that message, Ji Yi didn’t have time to even send Tang Huahua a reply when another message popped up on her screen.
“I have this bad feeling that when you come in later, Mr. Han’s going to get slaughtered!”
“They’re all sitting down right now and they’re starting to drink.”
“Zhuang Yi’s singing. The next song is Bo He’s.”
“Chen Bai just filled me in that he’s already asked the waiter for our room to turn all the lights off on his signal later. That’s when you come in.”
“Xiao Yi, I added the song you wanted on the playlist. There are about five songs before that, so that’s in about twenty minute’s time.”
After reading that message, Ji Yi felt nervous again all of a sudden.
She clutched her chest and took a deep breath. Then she looked out the window of the restroom.
A flourishing city, beaming with dazzling lights.
In that instant, Ji Yi suddenly felt a surge of energy running through her body as though she had never felt this kind of courage in her whole life.
As long as she bravely took the first step, from there on out, she’d never be alone in this bustling city.
With that thought, Ji Yi’s heart raced even faster and her blood started to boil.
Chapter 787: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (7)
The phone in her palms vibrated again, waking up Ji Yi from her daydream as she stared out the window.
She turned her head and glanced at the bright phone screen. It was a message from Tang Huahua again: “Xiao Yi, the final song is playing; you should get ready to come over now.”
Ji Yi tapped the keyboard incredibly quickly and replied to Tang Huahua with an “mhm.” Then she stepped out of the restroom.
As Ji Yi walked towards the hallway, she caught a glimpse in the mirror beside her from the corner of her eye. She hesitated for a moment and stopped walking. She turned and looked over at the mirror above the sinks.
The woman in the mirror wore an exquisite dress with a special design on the waist which made her figure look elegant.
Her makeup was simple and her long dark hair was in an up-do, exposing her clean and bright forehead. A few strands of hair fell by the side of her ears, which added to her sweet and beautiful aura.
The woman’s eyes were bright, full of life and throbbing with excitement.
Ji Yi was both familiar and unfamiliar with herself like this.
She always knew she was rather beautiful and even when she walked on the streets without makeup on, she attracted quite a few onlookers. However, at that very moment, she looked at herself in the mirror and felt like she was the most beautiful she’d ever looked in her whole life.
Ji Yi checked herself out in the mirror for a while until the phone in her palms vibrated again. Tang Huahua was rushing her to hurry up, so she withdrew her gaze and ran down the long hallway to room 1001.
She stopped in front of the tightly-shut door and heard the faint clamor of music and shouting on the other side of the thick wooden door.
Because she just ran over in a hurry, her breath was visibly unsteady. She took a harsh deep breath and slowly exhaled at the wooden door. After her racing heart calmed down, she picked up her phone and sent Tang Huahua a message: “I’m at the door now.”
Tang Huahua didn’t give her a reply.
The noise behind the door still continued.
There were endless inconsistent shrieks and howls coming from inside.
A while later, the room quieted down a little.
After a short while, the phone in Ji Yi’s palm lit up. “Xiao Yi, you can come in now.”
Xiao Yi put her phone away then pulled out the ring she hid in her pocket. She took a deep breath in front of the tightly shut door, forcefully rubbed the ring then reached out and pushed the door open.
The lights in the room were switched off, but it was still quite noisy inside.
Ji Yi was familiar with the floor plan for room 1001. After stepping into the room, she walked straight ahead until she came to stop when she saw the faint light from the song selection podium.
First, she clicked the play button then raised the microphone Tang Huahua put on the song selection podium and took two steps towards the center of the room.
After about half a minute, the black screen behind Ji Yi lit up and a familiar song started to play.
With the faint light from the big screen, Ji Yi immediately spotted He Jichen on the sofa nearby in front of her.
He must’ve not noticed there was one extra person in the room as he had his head turned while chatting to Han Zhifan sitting next to him.
Ji Yi saw his brows twitch the moment the music played, but he didn’t look over at her.
Even though Ji Yi had thought through this whole scenario a thousand times over the past two days, now that the moment was finally here, Ji Yi was still a little nervous.
She secretly waited for the prelude to end before she raised the microphone to her lips and sang.
Chapter 788: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (8)
She secretly waited for the prelude to end before she raised the microphone to her lips and sang.
“It honestly feels like a good thing that doesn’t have to be promised. That’s so immature…”
As her singing voice rang out, Ji Yi clearly saw He Jichen suddenly stop in the middle of clinking glasses with Han Zhifan.
“I thought I could let you do what you want. Besides, I have nowhere to go.”
After Ji Yi sang two more lines, He Jichen turned his head and looked over at Ji Yi.
When her gaze met He Jichen’s, Ji Yi’s heart let her down as she started to feel nervous. She didn’t avoid He Jichen’s gaze, but she forcefully clutched the rung in her hands. She continued to sing along to the music in the background: “I’m afraid of people with too much responsibility, because he would make sacrifices at any time…”
As those words left her lips, Ji Yi thought back to how He Jichen hadn’t said anything and took care of her in every way for over a year or so, and silently left her world.
Men normally propose to women right? But she was willing to propose to him.
He Jichen’s gaze didn’t shift from Ji Yi’s face.
Ji Yi’s gaze locked onto He Jichen’s face as she sang non-stop. “You can choose to love me or not; I am still yours no matter what. I’ve even found an excuse for you…”
It’s been three years. Until today, I haven’t felt the same feeling I had when you sang this song into the microphone that year on my birthday.
Say, how can there be someone as stupid as you in this world?
You, who only want to give but never ask for anything in return.
Ji Yi silently stared into He Jichen’s eyes with a layer of mist starting to creep into her eyes.
“Rather than be in a world where you don’t want me, why not forget you completely? Everybody knows this principle – it’s easy to say it~ to be stubborn even loving you through and through.”
It was very dim in the room, so Ji Yi couldn’t see He Jichen’s expression, but she could sense that his eyes were very deep and bright.
“I would rather stay within your radius. Should my heart not return to me, then it is yours. You can choose to love me or not; I am still yours no matter what.”
As Ji Yi sang up to this point, her voice sounded a little trembly. She tried hard to suppress the emotions in her chest to avoid going off key as much as possible.
“My love spreads within your radius. It’s so close, I can hear you breathing.”
The noisy room gradually quieted down.
Ji Yi’s fingers around the microphone trembled slightly as her eyes were transfixed on He Jichen and her lips parted. “As long as you turn around, I am right here.”
The music stopped.
The entire room was incredibly silent.
Ji Yi slightly pursed her lips and spoke again. She was no longer singing, but instead, she cried, “He Jichen…”
He Jichen’s fingers clutching the glass trembled abruptly, causing the wine to spill out and fall onto his sleeve. He sat back on the sofa as though he didn’t feel a thing, and stared at her without moving.
“In the hotpot restaurant opposite the school, you said something to me when the wishing bell rang.”
“You said, ‘Actually, I’m really not so bad. Do you want to try to fall in love with me?'”
He Jichen, who hadn’t moved since he looked over at her, finally had a reaction.
He slowly put the wine glass in his hands down onto the big marble table in front of him.
Because the room was too quiet, it let out a faint yet crisp sound.
He Jichen moved, but it made Ji Yi even more nervous. She stared unwaveringly into He Jichen’s eyes, forcefully gulped, and continued to say, “If I say that I’m going to turn around. Will you still be here?”1
- she’s referencing the song lyric here
Chapter 789: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (9)
As Ji Yi’s voice settled, the entire room became even quieter. It was so quiet, in fact, that you could hear the crisp sound of a pin dropping.
Everyone was staring at He Jichen.
He Jichen wore a neutral expression on his face as he stared into Ji Yi’s eyes. He didn’t show a hint of emotion, which made it hard for anyone to read what he was thinking.
It felt like time and space had frozen. After a short while, seeing as He Jichen didn’t react, Ji Yi added, “I have just one wish and that’s to find someone who understands me.”
Ji Yi clutched the microphone while she said this. She then slowly walked over to He Jichen.
“I don’t need many. One’s enough.”
The closer she got to He Jichen, the faster her heart raced. She clutched onto the ring in her sweat-drenched palms tightly.
When she reached the large marble table, Ji Yi had no more space to walk, so she was forced to stop.
With a meter between them, she stared right at He Jichen across the table. She discreetly gulped, held her breath and continued to say, “And the only one I want is you.”
“So, He Jichen…”
Ji Yi raised her clutched fingers and reached out toward He Jichen.
She was about to reach her hand out to He Jichen and finish her question: “Will you marry me and live the rest of your life with me?”
However, she didn’t manage to do it.
Her hand hadn’t even reached He Jichen halfway before He Jichen, who was as stiff as a mountain, elegantly bolted up.
Everyone’s faces raised a little as they followed He Jichen’s movements.
Under everyone’s gaze, He Jichen didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest, but he looked calm as he fixed his clothes. He didn’t say a single word as he walked over to the door.
Ji Yi instantly froze like her pressure points had been pressed.
The whole room of people, waiting for Ji Yi to propose, became completely stunned.
Han Zhifan had the most experience of them all, so he was quick to react. In a few seconds, he jumped up and blurted out at He Jichen as he left: “Chen Ge!”
Thereafter, the closest person to He Jichen, Chen Bai, realized that He Jichen was going to leave, so he got up in a hurry and dragged him back. “Mr. He!”
One after the other, the remaining people also came to their senses and cried for He Jichen to stay.
“He Xuezhang.”
“Chen Ge.”
“Mr. He.”
It seemed like He Jichen hadn’t heard the room full of people crying out for him. He struggled out of Chen Bai’s grasp with a cold face. He pulled the door open and walked out of the room without so much as a glance back.
It wasn’t until the door shut with a loud slam that the unflinching Ji Yi suddenly shuddered all over. She dropped the microphone and with complete disregard for the room full of people calling for her, she ran after him, out the door.
When she reached the long hallway, he was nowhere to be seen; it was completely empty. There wasn’t a single trace of He Jichen.
Ji Yi’s eyes repeatedly darted left to right, unsure which way He Jichen headed, then she bravely chose one route and ran in a hurry.
Ji Yi ran down to the lobby of the Golden Lounge. After she was certain He Jichen wasn’t there, she rushed over to the entrance and ran towards the sidewalk.
Chapter 790: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (10)
The sidewalk was also empty. Every now and then, cars zipped across the wide road.
After Ji Yi scanned her surroundings and confirmed that He Jichen was nowhere to be seen, she turned around and headed back into the Golden Lounge.
When she stepped through the front doors of the lounge, Ji Yi bumped right into a doorman who she had seen a number of times. With a moment’s hesitation, she stopped walking and asked the doorman, “Did you just see Mr. He, previously from YC, come out?”
The Golden Lounge had a membership system, which meant that the staff remembered the names and faces of some of the premium members.
The doorman knew who Ji Yi was referring to and quickly shook his head while replying: “No. After Mr. He came in at seven or so, he hasn’t come out since.”
Knowing that He Jichen was still in the lounge, Ji Yi felt a little relieved. She thanked the doorman and took two steps towards the lobby. All of a sudden, she turned around again and opened her handbag to pull out a few notes. She handed them to the doorman and said, “If you happen to see Mr. He come out, could you please ask the front desk to send me a message?”
“Sure, Miss Ji,” replied the doorman as he happily took the money.
Ji Yi didn’t head upstairs back to the room, but she sent a message to Tang Huahua to ask if He Jichen had returned while she searched all over the Golden Lounge.
Ji Yi searched the guest rooms from the first floor to the top floor but couldn’t manage to find He Jichen. It wasn’t until she headed back to the second floor that she finally saw He Jichen through the window at the very end of the hallway, in the back garden.
He stood under a blooming red plum tree, smoking.
He ran out of the room in a hurry so he wasn’t wearing a jacket. He only had a thin shirt on during this frosty winter’s night. It seemed like he just taking big tokes of his cigarette, alone and in a somber mood.
Ji Yi looked down at He Jichen, who was standing on the floor below, through the window for a while before she withdrew her gaze and hurriedly ran down the stairs.
She pushed the back garden door open and rushed over to where He Jichen was standing.
There were a few people scattered around the back garden.
There were one or two couples hugging and flirting in discreet spots, and there were others on their phones.
Ji Yi walked down the cobbled path, turning left and right a few times, before finally catching sight of He Jichen past a couple of red plum trees.
She didn’t hesitate for too long before walking right over to He Jichen. However, she barely took two steps before she heard a few people talking nearby.
“That man smoking under the red plum tree is so hot!”
“Eww… If you didn’t say anything, I wouldn’t have even noticed him, but I know who he is. That’s the previous CEO of YC, He Jichen.”
“That name rings a bell. Like I’ve heard it somewhere before… Oh! I remember now. It’s that murderer!”
Those women’s voices weren’t considerably quiet.
The red plum garden was quite some distance from the Golden Lounge, so the noise couldn’t travel over. Since it was rather quiet, both Ji Yi and He Jichen clearly heard everything those women said.
When Ji Yi heard the word “murderer,” she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Even though she was some distance away, Ji Yi still noticed how He Jichen’s fingers gently trembled as he pinched the cigarette.
Chapter 791: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (11)
Ji Yi’s lips pursed tightly as she felt an unprecedented heartache filling her heart at an incredible speed.
Then a ball of anger ignited in the depths of her heart.
“Yeah yeah yeah! I remember now! The man who stabbed Qian Ge!”
“I really don’t get what that guy was thinking. Even if Qian Ge liked him and hassled him and annoyed him like crazy, he can’t go and try to stab someone to death!”
“Which goes to say – so what if he’s hot? His character sucks! Just because his family background’s decent and he’s got money, he can’t do whatever he wants! The fact that he bullied classmates when he was in school was also just revealed!”
“That type of person is a societal failure. If you ask me, he shouldn’t have stabbed Qian Ge. He should’ve stabbed himself!”
“No matter what, I can’t accept someone like that. He almost killed someone! Ya never know, he might be a psycho!”
“I think nobody can accept a man like that. It’s a matter of perspective!”
The more Ji Yi listened, the more the angry flames roared in her chest. She was so angry that a hint of red surfaced in her eyes as she clenched her fists tightly and her whole body started to gently tremble.
What right do they have to talk about him in that way?!
Those girls gossiped for a while before one of them got a call to head back. One of them said, “They’re calling us back.”
“Let’s go,” replied the other girl. Ji Yi heard the pitter patter of their high heels then snapped back to her senses. She looked over at the source of the sound.
There were three beautifully dressed up women. Despite it being a chilly winter night, they were dressed in quite revealing clothing. In order to look good, they didn’t care about the weather.
Judging by the way they dressed and their feminine walk, Ji Yi knew they were probably also people who worked in showbiz. However, they were probably unpopular, minor celebrities.
Not one of those three women noticed Ji Yi by the red plum tree. They were still chatting away as they walked past her.
They were being really loud, so Ji Yi caught a few words and learned they were talking about the latest luxury goods. They were also talking about which guy was more generous and which guy they could get the most money from. One of the men they mentioned was a rather famous investor in the industry who was in his sixties, Mr. Huang.
As their footsteps gradually disappeared, the red plum garden fell silent.
That was when Ji Yi’s gaze fell back on He Jichen.
He had lit another cigarette but he didn’t put it to the corner of his lips. Instead, he kept his head down, thinking about who knew what.
Even though Ji Yi couldn’t see He Jichen’s expression, she could feel the heavy sense of loneliness on his back.
After a short while, He Jichen raised his hand and brought the cigarette to his lips and took a drag.
He probably took too hard of a hit as he bent over and started to cough furiously.
He coughed for a while then calmed down. He didn’t straighten up but slowly raised his right hand and looked at his palms.
It seemed like he was studying something as he repeatedly stared at his own palms for a long time. Then a gust of wind blew in and with it, Ji Yi vaguely heard the sound of his voice: “Yeah. Murderer…”
It was like a knife had viciously stabbed Ji Yi’s heart. The pain made it hard for her to breathe.
Chapter 792: I Don’t Want Someone Better, I Just Want You (12)
Tears flowed down her face and unexpectedly came crashing down.
Ji Yi came all this way to see He Jichen but all of a sudden, she was afraid she couldn’t control her emotions and was afraid she’d cry from the pain, alarming He Jichen and making him feel even more stressed. She hurriedly raised her hand and covered her mouth. Turning around, she quickly rushed back into the main building of the Golden Lounge.
Ji Yi ran quickly as though a ferocious beast was chasing her.
Her eyes welled up with tears and blurred her vision. When she pushed open the door to the lobby of the Golden Lounge, she accidentally bumped into someone who she hadn’t noticed was in front of her.
Ji Yi was afraid the person would recognize her. However, she was even more afraid that the person would catch her face full of tears, so she kept her head down.
She used all her strength to control her emotions then prepared herself to apologize to the person she accidentally bumped into.
But the words she wanted to say never managed to reach her lips before a furious voice in front of her was heard. “What the hell?! Watch where you’re going! You hit me and it freaking hurt!”
The voice sounded a little familiar.
Ji Yi furrowed her brows and suddenly abandoned the thought of apologizing. She raised her hand and shot a look at the person she stumbled into.
Even though it was just a quick glance, Ji Yi easily recognized her as one of the three people who was talking about He Jichen in the red plum garden.
“Forget it. There’s no point in arguing with a low-life. Let’s quickly head upstairs!” cried another familiar voice, the other, rather short one.
Ji Yi then swept a look to her side. It really was a small world for enemies to meet. How unlucky it was to meet all three of them here!
Just then, the third person happened to say, “Yeah. Forget it! You know she’s blind, so there’s no point in wasting time on her and there’s no point in getting mad over her!”
At the thought of what those three said about He Jichen in the garden, Ji Yi’s anger and pain instantly dialed up to the max.
Before she could register her thoughts, Ji Yi’s head darted up as she stared at the three people and exclaimed, “Forget it? You wish. We really can’t just forget what happened today!”
She knew they weren’t talking about the main point. The main point was what they said about He Jichen. It felt like their words stabbed her weak spot and touched her bottom line like a minefield.
“How could you say that?! You’re unreasonable! Clearly, you were the one who wasn’t watching where you were going and bumped into me first…” said one of the three, angry about Ji Yi’s retort.
Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Ji Yi raised her hand without hesitation and slapped the woman she accidentally bumped into on the face with great ferocity.
The impact of the slap stunned all three women.
After a few seconds, the woman belatedly reacted by raising her hand to cover her face. “How could you just randomly hit someone?!”
“I hit you because your nasty mouth said something it shouldn’t have! You deserved to be slapped!” Between her words, Ji Yi slapped the same women again on the face.
One of the other two recognized Ji Yi. “I know who you are – you’re Ji Yi, right?! So what if you’re a big celebrity? Since when can big celebrities just randomly hit people?!”
“Yeah! You need at least a reason to hit people! Aren’t you taking it too far by indiscriminately hitting someone?!” cried the final one.