NOVEL NEXT Chapter 834-841
Chapter 834: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (14)
Cheng Weiwan snapped back to reality and quickly put her phone away. She bent over and picked up Cheng Han.
Cheng Weiwan was in no mood to prepare dinner for Cheng Han, so she took him out to eat something then headed back home.
After dinner, it was time for Cheng Weiwan to be with Cheng Han as he played with his toys. As soon as they got in, Cheng Han led Cheng Weiwan to the baby room to play with the building blocks Lin Muqing bought for him two days ago.
Stacking the building blocks was very easy, but because Cheng Weiwan had things on her mind, she often got it wrong. Incidentally, she even managed to knock down the tall tower which Cheng Han put a lot of effort into building.
Having survived till nine with much difficulty, Cheng Weiwan took Cheng Han to take a shower then laid in bed and told Cheng Han a bedtime story.
In the afternoon, Cheng Han walked quite a lot as he went outside with her because of Lin Muqing’s situation. He must’ve felt tired because he only managed to catch half the story before he fell asleep.
Cheng Weiwan stared at Cheng Han’s little face, deep in sleep for a while. She reached out and stroked his face. Then she pulled the covers off her body and quietly got out of bed.
She grabbed her phone and called the lady she hired to babysit during the day and asked if she could help take care of Cheng Han that evening.
The lady didn’t live far from Cheng Weiwan’s apartment. After she hung up, the doorbell rang half an hour later.
Cheng Weiwan welcomed the lady in and quietly gave her a few instructions before she picked up her pale pink-grey coat and left.
At ten in the evening, the neighborhood garden was really quiet.
Aside from the dogs in the neighborhood, there was practically no one walking around.
Cheng Weiwan stood on the sidewalk in front of the building for a while before walking over to the residential gates. She hailed a cab to the Golden Lounge.
She knew that by the “old place,” Han Zhifan meant the private room 100.
When she reached the Golden Lounge, Cheng Weiwan finished paying the cab fare then got out of the taxi. She stared at the glistening gold light in the lobby for a while before stepping inside.
Business at the Golden Lounge was really good as it was full of customers every night. All the doors to the private rooms were shut. When Cheng Weiwan walked down the hallway, over to room 1001, she heard the faint sound of laughter and music coming from inside.
Cheng Weiwan stopped at the doors of room 1001 then reached out and knocked on the door.
It was too noisy inside, so no one replied. She waited a while before pushing the doors open.
Immediately, she saw a woman dressed in a bunny outfit holding a microphone, jumping and dancing while she sang.
There were quite a few men and women in the room, some Cheng Weiwan had seen before and others she hadn’t. The main lights in the room weren’t turned on, so Cheng Weiwan could barely see Han Zhifan sitting at the furthest end of the sofa under the flashing fluorescent lights.
Just like every other man, he also had a woman sitting next to him.
However, that woman wasn’t like the other women. She wasn’t in his arms flirting with him, but instead, she sat beside him with her head lowered, playing on her phone.
He had a wine glass in his hands and was happily talking to the man standing next to him.
A while after the doors opened, a younger man noticed Cheng Weiwan. He ran over to the door, holding a wine bottle. “Excuse me, who are you?”
Cheng Weiwan withdrew her eyes from Han Zhifan’s direction. “I’m looking for Mr. Han.”
“Ah, Zhifan Ge. Wait a min. I’ll help you call him…” Perhaps there were too many women who often came to see Han Zhifan, so the young man didn’t think it was odd at all. After he spoke so calmly, he ran over to Han Zhifan and whispered a few words in his ear.
Chapter 835: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (15)
Han Zhifan heard what the young man said. He lifted his head and glanced over at the door.
The room was too dark and Cheng Weiwan couldn’t clearly see the expression on Han Zhifan’s face. However, she did sense a hint of coldness from his body.
He had no intention of getting up and walking over to her. Soon enough, he withdrew his gaze and started talking to the young man.
After the young man finished his duties, he walked over to a woman about the same age as him while holding a bottle of wine then sat down.
The people in the room were playing on their own; nobody bothered with Cheng Weiwan.
Cheng Weiwan stood at the door for a while then stepped out of the room and leaned back against the wall beside the door.
Cheng Weiwan didn’t know just how long she waited before the doors to the private room opened. Han Zhifan finally stepped out amidst a cloud of cigarette smoke and alcohol.
Cheng Weiwan instinctively straightened up.
Han Zhifan swept her a chilly look but had no intentions of talking to her. Then he walked over to the elevators.
Cheng Weiwan caught up to him.
The two of them didn’t say anything as they walked all the way to the back garden of the Golden Lounge where there was hardly anyone around. Han Zhifan lit up a cigarette, put it to his lips, and took a drag. After he lowered the cigarette, he glanced over at Cheng Weiwan and coldly said, “Have you thought about it?”
From her memory of him, every time he saw her, he would smile and sound so gentle as he spoke. When she was unwell, he would always be so caring and speak so softly.
However, she didn’t know when it started, but he started to look this ice-cold and merciless whenever he saw her.
The conflict between the two of them proved that the one who was truly in love was destined to be the loser.
Even if she knew deep down that their story was over, that she was never his princess, and he was never her hero, Cheng Weiwan felt a needle-like pain pricking her heart when she heard his tone of voice.
She pursed her lips slightly then replied, “Just what will it take for you to let me go?”
“Looks like you haven’t thought it through, huh?” Han Zhifan furrowed his brows. “Since you haven’t thought it over, come back and see me when you have.”
With that said, Han Zhifan put out his cigarette like he was going to leave.
If possible, Cheng Weiwan really didn’t want to have to beg Han Zhifan, but there was no other option for her. She couldn’t just watch as Lin Muqing sat in jail because of her and she didn’t want to lose Hanhan either.
Cheng Weiwan saw that Han Zhifan was about to leave, so she instinctively reached out and grabbed his sleeve. “I’m begging you. Let go of me and Hanhan and I promise we’ll never appear in front of you again. I also promise that no matter what happens to Hanhan, I won’t disturb you, alright?”
Han Zhifan looked like he didn’t want to hear Cheng Weiwan’s bullsh*t as he struggled out of her grip.
Cheng Weiwan was afraid Han Zhifan would really leave, so she quickly raised her hand again and grabbed his arm. “I know you hate me, but in memory of our old relationship together, could you let me and Hanhan go just this once? Please?”
“Our relationship together?” Han Zhifan looked as though he heard the funniest joke as he let out a mocking scoff. “Ha…”
As the sound of his scoff left his mouth, he turned his head and looked over at Cheng Weiwan. “How could I not remember that we used to be together?”
His nonchalant question in retaliation instantly drained the blood from Cheng Weiwan’s face.
Chapter 836: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (16)
Han Zhifan stared at Cheng Weiwan like this and for some reason, he felt even worst off. He always had a good temper, but at that very moment, he couldn’t contain the fire in his heart. It was so bad to the point that when he spoke, his voice sounded quite vile: “Between the child and Lin Muqing, you can only choose one. Since you want the child so much, I’ll choose for you and let Lin Muqing rot in jail!”
As Han Zhifan said this, he pulled out a phone from his pocket and called a person called “Officer Wang” right in front of her.
The phone rang *doot-doot-doot* several times before a middle-aged man picked up. “Mr. Han, why are you calling so late in the evening?”
“It’s like this – about the economic dispute case for Muqing Publishing…”
Cheng Weiwan saw that Han Zhifan really was talking about Lin Muqing’s case and all of a sudden, she reached out to snatch Han Zhifan’s phone in a panic.
Han Zhifan was taller than her by a lot and his reflexes were faster than hers, so he raised his phone the second she reached out for it. “…I hope you can handle it quickly and make the fastest decisi-”
“I promise you.” Cheng Weiwan didn’t wait for Han Zhifan to finish speaking and blurted that out.
Han Zhifan stopped. He didn’t hang up the phone, and he turned over to Cheng Weiwan.
Cheng Weiwan didn’t have the same urge from earlier to steal his phone, and she didn’t seem as weak as before when she begged him. Now, she was unusually quiet.
She opened her eyes wide and stared at him with the least bit of energy in them. “I promise to give you Hanhan if you let Muqing go,” she continued to say quietly.
As those words escaped her mouth, a layer of mist clouded her eyes.
Han Zhifan thought she would cry, but he never imagined she would suppress the mist in her eyes, little by little.
He achieved his goal, but he felt worse than he ever felt.
He hung up the call in annoyance. “Send the child to my house tomorrow night. Once I see my son, I’ll immediately let Lin Muqing go.”
She didn’t reply. Compared to her pale white complexion from earlier, she was now near translucent.
Her silence made his mood even more violent. He lit up another cigarette and took another drag to settle the frustration in his chest with much difficulty. In the end, he caught a glimpse of Cheng Weiwan still standing in a daze from the corners of his eyes. All of a sudden, he ferociously roared, “The conversation’s over! What are doing still standing there?”
Her eyes turned slowly at his roar. After a while, she looked him right in the eyes before she regained focus.
She stared at him in a daze for a moment as though she didn’t recognize him. She turned around and raised her feet.
She walked away very, very slowly. After taking two steps, she stopped then she stood there for a moment like an idiot before raising her feet again.
She didn’t pay attention to the fake rock garden obstructing the path ahead and continued to walk with no signs of stopping. Han Zhifan initially didn’t care if she was going to hit it, but suddenly, his body leaped over to her and grabbed her wrist.
He saw that his movements significantly cleared her vision and he knew that her mind was a lot clearer. Then he quickly let go of her hand.
He didn’t know what she was hiding. Before he left, he didn’t forget to leave her with the words: “When you drop off my son tomorrow, don’t bring anything else because he won’t have anything to do with you ever again!”
Chapter 837: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (17)
Having left those words, he strode away without lingering there a second longer.
Just as he was about to reach the doors of the Golden Lounge, he turned his head and unwittingly glanced back. He didn’t know when, but the woman had crouched to the ground. As they were separated by some distance, he couldn’t hear any sounds she was making, but he could see her shoulders trembling and her crying violently.
His hand instantly balled up into a fist. He stared at her for a while like his mood was ruined then he kicked open the door into the Golden Lounge.
–
Although the Television Awards happened one day and two nights ago, not only did the chaos from Ji Yi’s relentless confession to He Jichen not subside, it grew more intense.
The online hate comments were still going strong. Ji Yi arrived at the office bright and early in the morning today to sign no fewer than five endorsement cancellation contracts. The compensation fees were as high as nine figures, and she lost a major movie she was confirmed to star in as the main female lead.
This tragic loss would’ve been the worst thing for any artist. After all, so much money was lost. However, from the moment Ji Yi left the apartment to the moment she reached the office and finished signing those cancellation contracts, her face didn’t show the least bit of pain and suffering. Instead, she wore a slight smile from start till end as though the happiest thing just happened to her.
Ji Yi’s loss wasn’t just her loss alone – it was also the company’s loss.
So after she finished signing those cancellation contracts, she was naturally lectured by the company’s high execs.
The execs were merciless as they abusively lectured Ji Yi. Zhuang Yi and Tang Huahua, who were standing to one side listening to the whole thing, felt it was difficult to hear. However, Ji Yi looked as though it had nothing to do with her at all. She sat there and let them shout at her. Eventually, as the high exec reached a point of interest, she picked up her phone and sent He Jichen a text to ask what he was doing.
But Ji Yi’s phone was like a pebble thrown into a vast ocean. She didn’t receive a reply from He Jichen.
That’s weird. Why’s he ignoring me?
Ji Yi continued to send two more messages, but seeing as He Jichen still didn’t reply, she gave him a call.
Is he asleep?
Ji Yi thought about it and lowered the phone from her ear.
The high exec lecturing her noticed Ji Yi looked as though she didn’t care at all and he became even angrier. He pointed at Ji Yi in a fit of rage and gave her a long and hard-to-hear scolding. In the end, he threw out the words: “Just you wait to get canceled!” then stormed out.
The only three people left in the office were Ji Yi, Zhuang Yi, and Tang Huahua.
Tang Huahua mumbled in dissatisfaction, “He was too harsh, right?”
As Ji Yi called He Jichen, she leisurely replied, “Don’t worry about it! I was in the wrong to make them lose out, so let them shout as much as they want.”
Ji Yi saw that nobody was picking up, so she turned her head and asked, “I’ve got nothing next on my schedule, right? If there isn’t, let’s go?”
In the car, Ji Yi gave He Jichen another call as she left Huan Ying Entertainment. Once again, no one picked up.
When she pressed the button to hang up, she thought about what he said before she left in the morning: “Tonight, I’ll definitely make sure to make it the third day you can’t get out of bed!” Her face suddenly flushed as she heated up for some reason. She was afraid Zhuang Yi and Tang Huahua would notice something was weird, so she quickly rolled the windows down. She stared out the window.
Chapter 838: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (18)
After Chinese New Year, Beijing got warmer and warmer each day, Last night, spring flowers in all of Beijing bloomed, and even the willow trees sprouted green leaves.
At three in the afternoon, the sun shone brightly over the city, completely illuminating it with clean, radiant rays of sunlight.
In actuality, she saw this kind of scenery many times a year, but Ji Yi felt that today, Beijing looked unusually beautiful as she watched the familiar streets endlessly passing by from the window.
She knew this was because of He Jichen… like how she wasn’t upset in the slightest today from losing so many jobs and enduring the scolding, which outdid last year’s when Qiange copied her ideas. Instead, she was full of joy and excitement.
Because she had He Jichen now, it felt like she gained more than she lost. What’s more, she gained big time!
At the thought of spending the rest of her life with him, Ji Yi’s heart felt kind of happy and looked forward to it for some reason. A hint of a smile surfaced on her lips.
The car alternatingly drove fast and slow on the road for a while. Deep in thought of her and He Jichen’s future life, Ji Yi caught a glimpse of a familiar place. Without even thinking it over, she cried, “Stop the car.”
Tang Huahua slammed on the brakes.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Zhuang Yi turned her head and looked over at Ji Yi. “What’s wrong?”
Ji Yi stared at the residential building by the road for a while. Then, without replying to Zhuang Yi, she reached out and pointed over at the small gate up ahead and said, “Stop the car over there.”
It was just over twenty meters, so Tang Huahua reached it with just one step on the gas pedal.
After the car came to a steady stop, Ji Yi grabbed the sunglasses and the face mask from the car seat beside her and put them on.
As Ji Yi was busy, Zhuang Yi asked again, “Xiao Yi, do you want to go into this residential area?”
Ji Yi let out an “Mhm” then grabbed her pocket mirror and checked herself for a moment. When she was sure no one would recognize her, she reached out to open the car door.
Although Zhuang Yi didn’t know why Ji Yi wanted to go into this residential area, she still unbuckled her seat belt. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, it’s oka. You and Huahua can wait for me in the car. I want to walk around on my own for a bit.” Ji Yi knew Zhuang Yi was worried, so after she opened the door, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave and added, “Girls, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’m familiar with this area.”
After she said this, Ji Yi jumped out of the car. She shut the door and walked over to the gate of the residential area.
She was indeed familiar with this area because that house was the one Yuguang Ge bought for them when they were married.
Before, she occasionally stayed there for as long as a year. She stayed there every so often for a few days.
Later on, she hadn’t returned after she and Yuguang Ge got a divorce.
If she hadn’t happened to drive past and see this residential area today, she would’ve almost forgotten about this place.
However, she shouldn’t say that Yuguang Ge bought it. Accurately speaking, it should be He Jichen… So, that’s why she got carried away suddenly and called Tang Huahua to stop the car and wanted to take a look.
The residential area was luxurious. After over two years, nothing much had changed.
Ji Yi never entered through the gate before, so she was a little unfamiliar with this path. She followed the winding path for a while before she reached the block she wanted to go to.
She took the elevator upstairs.
Chapter 839: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (19)
Ji Yi returned the keys long ago when she got divorced from Yuguang Ge, impersonated by He Jichen. Luckily, there was a passcode on the door which Ji Yi remembered, so she could go in.
Nobody had stayed in the house for over two years, so there was a strong odor, and even with the doors and windows closed shut, there was a thick layer of dust covering the whole place. A clear footprint appeared after every step Ji Yi took.
The furnishings of the room were no different from before. It looked like after she stopped living here, He Jichen hadn’t come over.
Ji Yi walked around the room once.
At each spot, she recalled past events.
In the kitchen, “Yuguang Ge” cooking. The apron he wore back then was hung on the wall…
In the dining room, “Yuguang Ge” and she were eating together…
On the sofa, “Yuguang Ge” looked at some documents while she brought out some fruit and was sprawled out, watching television…
On the balcony, “Yuguang Ge” crouched down to cheer her up when she was hiding because He Jichen upset her over what happened with Lin Zhengyi.
In the master room, “Yuguang Ge” stayed up all night, taking care of her when she had a fever…
She went down memory lane as she thought about these scenes of them she had an immeasurable love for. In actuality, He Jichen was in all those memories with her. A gentle smile couldn’t help but raise Ji Yi’s brows.
Ji Yi opened the study door last.
Because the study was on the darker side and didn’t get regular sunlight, the smell in there was pretty strong. Ji Yi instantly started coughing when she opened the door.
She covered her nose and stood outside the door for a while. Once the odor from the room dissipated a little, she stepped inside again.
The books on the shelf were still there.
The laptop on the desk was gone. Aside from a few scattered folders, there was nothing else on the table.
She remembered that when He Jichen worked here, she would bring him a cup of coffee…
At the time, he tried to act as Yuguang Ge as much as possible, so he would use his phone to chat with her.
With that thought, Ji Yi curved her lips into a wide smile.
Her fingers gently brushed across the shelf and finally stopped at a half-opened drawer.
Through the crack, she saw that something was inside.
Practically without thinking it through, she pulled open the drawer.
It was a thick and bulging letter; she didn’t know what it held.
Ji Yi curiously picked up the envelope.
The envelope wasn’t sealed, so she could easily pull out its contents.
It was a pile of photos.
She was overly familiar with the person in the photos because it was her.
When she flipped to one she thought looked rather familiar, she suddenly stopped.
She stared at the photo for a while before she remembered she saw this photo in this very study before… With that thought, Ji Yi turned over the photo. So there was a line written on the back: “I wish you would be lost forever and come to my side.”
But that word “forever”… She was certain He Yuguang wrote it.
So these photos belonged to He Yuguang?
Ji Yi made a guess then flipped through all the photos. Behind each photo was a sentence.
“Liking you… even if I know there’s no hope, I can’t help but fall for you.”
“If you asked me how much I love you, I wouldn’t be able to say. But in my heart, I know that if you got together with someone else, I wouldn’t be willing to love another.”
Chapter 840: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (20)
“Shocked to learn that the hidden yearning actually bore into my bones long ago.”
“If it’s you in the end, it’s truly fine if it’s a little late.”
“A million beauties in the world, yet you were the only one I fell for.”
“You brushed past my adolescence for a moment, but you are stranded in my memory for a lifetime.”
“…”
Ji Yi didn’t know just how many photos she flipped through or how many romantic phrases she read. When she reached the final one, she read a familiar line. “I would rather stay within your radius. Should my heart not return to me, it is yours. You can choose to love me or not; I am still yours no matter what.”
Those were the lyrics from “Within Your Radius.” Why would Yuguang Ge write down the lyrics to the song He Jichen sang?
Ji Yi furrowed her brows in suspicion then continued to read on. She never imagined seeing another familiar line: “The person I love is not my lover.”
The person I love is not my lover… He Jichen clearly wrote this three years ago! He wrote these words with his finger on the window of the hot pot restaurant opposite the school!
The person I love is not my lover…
What’s going on here? Could it be that He Jichen read what He Yuguang wrote behind these photos, thought they were beautiful and copied them?
Ji Yi hesitated for a moment before she continued to flip through the photos. “Actually, I’m really not so bad. Do you want to try to fall in love with me and not hate me so much?”
This was also what He Jichen said to her…
Ji Yi’s mind was a little chaotic. She tried to make sense of it for a while, but she couldn’t figure it out. Then she turned to the next photo. “Ji Yi, I really do love you, who I can never be with.”
This line made Ji Yi’s heart ache for some reason. Then her brows creased harder.
That’s not right…if Yuguang Ge wrote this, he would call me “Manman.” Why would he call me “Ji Yi”?
But this is Yuguang’s handwriting! Back then, he spent a lot of time highlighting passages in my textbook. There’s no mistaking it…
The more Ji Yi thought about it, the more she couldn’t figure it out. She thought she might as well spread out the final two photos.
On one photo, the words read, “Ji Yi, I’m sorry.”
On the other photo, it said: “My name has your surname in it— Ji.”
“Ji Yi, I’m sorry”… those four words look familiar. Really familiar…
At the bottom of her heart, Ji Yi mumbled two lines then pulled out the purse she always carried with her. She pulled out a note He Jichen wrote for her in the hot pot restaurant.
The four words on her note also read, “Ji Yi, I’m sorry.”
Ji Yi put those two sentences together to compare. They were identical!
That’s right. This really was He Jichen’s writing. If Yuguang Ge wrote this, it’d be “I only see you” – it wouldn’t be “My name has your surname in it—Ji.”
So He Jichen wrote this one, but what about this one?
Amongst the pile of photos, Ji Yi pulled out the one that read: “I wish you could be lost forever and come to my side.”
The same handwriting… so He Jichen also wrote this?
But if He Jichen wrote these, then in senior high, the highlighted parts in my textbook… He Jichen couldn’t have also done those, right?
Chapter 841: You Are The Light. You Are Also The Rest Of My Life. (21)
But she never told He Jichen she thought those classes in senior high were difficult. Why would he remember to highlight the key points?
If He Jichen really was the one who highlighted the key points, then the one who put snacks on her textbook and pulled a blanket over her couldn’t have been He Jichen too, right?
The more Ji Yi thought about it, the faster her heart raced.
If she guessed correctly, how could he have known she wanted to eat those snacks? She clearly only told Yuguang Ge!
Perhaps it was because something she was so certain of for so many years had suddenly been thrown out. Perhaps it was because the truth came out so abruptly that it was hard for her to accept. Ji Yi’s mind was in complete chaos. Everything felt surreal.
This isn’t right… there’s no point in letting my imagination run wild like this all alone. I could call He Jichen… Yeah. I’m so stupid. If I just ask He Jichen, then wouldn’t I find out the truth?
With that thought, Ji Yi pulled out her phone and called He Jichen.
Just like before, she called a few times but nobody picked up.
That’s weird. Why isn’t he picking up my calls? Could it be that he put his phone on silent?
As Ji Yi racked her brain over it, she lowered the phone from her ear and pressed to hang up.
Forget it. I’ll call Zhang Sao. Maybe he’s at home, so Zhang Sao can get him to come to the phone…
Ji Yi thought about it then searched through her phone contacts for Zhang Sao’s number. Mid-search, she saw “Fatty.”
Oh yeah. I’m so stupid! If I can’t get a hold of He Jichen, then I can call Fatty. Fatty must know absolutely everything that happened back then…
Without a second thought, Ji Yi called Fatty’s phone.
In contrast to how He Jichen didn’t pick up, Fatty quickly did. “Hey Xiao…”
Fatty was about to say “Yi” when he sharply changed what he was going to say. “…Mrs. He. How may I help you?”
Mrs. He… That greeting was very effective on Ji Yi as it brought a smile to her face. “I wouldn’t dare ask for help, but there’s something I want to ask you.”
“I’m all ears.”
“You followed He Jichen in senior high and your relationship was the best. Did you ever see He Jichen often highlighting key points in a textbook?”
Just when Ji Yi finished her question, Fatty said over the phone, “You want to ask whether Chen Ge helped you highlight the key points in your textbook, right?”
Fatty didn’t wait for Ji Yi to reply and said, “That’s right. It was Chen Ge who highlighted the key points…”
It really was He Jichen… Ji Yi didn’t say anything. Her fingers couldn’t help clutch her phone more tightly.
Over the phone, Fatty, who was always talkative, continued to go on now that Ji Yi opened up the conversation with her question. “But at first, I didn’t know who Chen Ge was highlighting those key points for. Later on, after graduation, you left, Chen Ge got drunk, and he told me himself.”
“He seemed to have overheard you and Yuguang Ge’s conversation and found out you were stressed over the senior high syllabus. Thereafter, he was determined to study well just to help you highlight the key points. Let me tell you, Xiao Yi – Chen Ge never studied in junior high. Back then, he spent quite a lot of effort to highlight the points for you. He spent over half a year studying all night making up homework and studying for senior high…”