A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

Chapter 109: How About You Choose to Marry Me? (9)

–

After Lin Ya saw Ji Yi dragged into the abandoned block of classrooms, she stood there a while longer to confirm that Ji Yi was really trapped and couldn’t come out. When she was satisfied, she went back to the dorms, climbed into bed, and went back to sleep.

After sleeping for who knows how long, Lin Ya’s phone rang and woke her from her dreams.

She glanced over at her phone with groggy eyes and immediately woke up when she saw she had an incoming call.

She sat upright, scanned the room, and realized that Tang Huahua and Bo He already left. Then she swiped her phone screen and immediately picked up the call. She spoke politely and respectfully as she answered, “Hello Miss. Qian Ge.”

A second later, a gentle, pleasant voice spoke, “The thing I asked you to do… how did that go?”

“Miss Qian Ge, you can rest assured. It’s done. Two hours ago, I trapped her in the abandoned building at our college.” Lin Ya tried her best to suck up to her. “I personally saw her dragged into the building by the two men you ordered. No one usually walks around there, so as long as we don’t let her go, it won’t be a problem to keep her trapped there until noon tomorrow, let alone noon today.”

After hearing what Lin Ya had to say, Qian Ge sounded satisfied as she let out a low chuckle. “Alright, if I have anything else, I’ll contact you.”

Seeing as Qian Ge was going to hang up the phone, Lin Ya hurriedly blurted out, “Miss Qian Ge.”

“Hm?”

Lin Ya hesitated for a moment before she stumbled to say, “Miss. Qian Ge, when you first came to me, you told me that if I helped you, you’d give me Ji Yi’s role… I want to know, have I done what was asked?”

“Oh, you’re talking about that…” After a long while, Qian Ge seemed surprised. “…Don’t worry about that—if she doesn’t get there by nine, there’s no way they can start shooting. Director Liang definitely won’t be happy. If she doesn’t get there by twelve, Director Liang will definitely find someone else. Then I’ll put in a recommendation for you. Just wait for my message.”

Lin Ya suddenly smiled. “Miss Qian Ge, thank you.”

On the other end, Qian Ge immediately hung up the phone.

The dorm fell silent again. Lin Ya put her phone down as she smirked even harder.

Even though she hadn’t benefitted from what happened at the hot spring resort, now she was about to steal Ji Yi’s role. What’s more, it was a movie by Director Liang, so it was a considerable trade for how angry Ji Yi made her back then!

At that thought, Lin Ya couldn’t help but let out a cheerful chuckle and a trace of amusement crept into her eyes. She leisurely removed the covers and was about to get out of bed to freshen up when the doors to her room were suddenly flung open with one hard kick.

Chapter 110: How About You Choose to Marry Me? (10)

Lin Ya was so frightened that her fingers trembled. She looked up at the door, and just as she was about to scream in anger “Are you crazy?!”, she saw He Jichen stride in. The words suddenly died in her mouth as she stared straight at He Jichen, who she hadn’t seen for over two months now.

He Jichen’s kick on the door was so strong that it frightened the people next door. Quite a lot of people came running over to see what the commotion was about.

With all the girls crowding around him, he didn’t stop walking until he reached Lin Ya’s bed.

Lin Ya snapped back to her senses, then quietly said, “He Da…”

The final “ge” didn’t manage to leave her mouth before He Jichen suddenly reached his arm out, yanked her arm and tossed her.

A shriek escaped Lin Ya’s mouth, and before she could figure out what was going on, she was thrown hard against the steel ladder of the bunk bed.

The pain shooting through her back made Lin Ya suddenly draw a cold breath of air. However, before she could steady herself, He Jichen’s voice came crashing down on her from above, “Where is she?”

Lin Ya’s entire body shivered until the piercing pain in her back eased off a little. Then she forced her eyes open and looked over at He Jichen. With trembling lips, she replied, “What?” He Jichen’s eyes froze. He clutched her arm and flung her over to the window. He then opened the window and pushed her towards it, leaving half her body suspended in mid-air. He spoke in a chilly voice, “Quit acting dumb. I don’t have the patience to go on and on about it. I’m asking you, where did you put Ji Yi?”

The blood drained from Lin Ya’s face. After a while, she realized why He Jichen was here.

But her and Qian Ge’s plan was flawless. Only the two of them knew about it, so how did he find out Ji Yi’s disappearance had something to do with them? Unless he made a lucky guess?

Lin Ya’s teeth chattered, and she remained silent for quite some time before she said with a trembling voice, “He Dage, I don’t know what you’re talkin-”

“…Aaah…!” shrieked Lin Ya all of a sudden.

Two-thirds of her body was pushed out the window by He Jichen. Her hands clawed erratically for anything to grip onto as tears poured out.

He Jichen spoke with his usual icy tone as though he couldn’t see her crying. “I’ll say it one more time—tell me where she is. You just have to tell me the answer I want to hear and you’ll be fine. If you say one more word of nonsense…”

He Jichen pushed Lin Ya further out the window. Lin Ya cried in fear and said, “I said, I said… She, she, she… in the abandoned building…”

Chapter 111: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (1)

Before Lin Ya could finish, He Jichen pulled her back into the room and tossed her casually to one side when he learned where Ji Yi was. Without a single word, he strode out the front door.

The doors to her dorm room were wide open, and there were quite a few people watching from outside the doors. Everybody seemed shaken up by the ferocity emanating from his body. When he stepped out, everyone took a step back in unison.

It wasn’t until He Jichen’s silhouette had disappeared around the corner of the stairway that the silent halls erupted with whispers.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but they were just talking, and I think Lin Ya trapped Ji Yi over there?”

“Why would Lin Ya treat Ji Yi like that? We’re all dorm-mates, isn’t that going overboard?”

“…”

As those voices grew louder, they woke Lin Ya from the shock inflicted by He Jichen that practically frightened her to death. She leaned against the cabinets on the balcony, took a few deep breaths and forced herself to stand up straight. Then, with trembling legs, she walked over to the doors and through the pointing and whispering in the corridors.

–

Ji Yi didn’t know just how long she’d been trapped in there, but she did know that it must be quite late because the sun was rising higher, and the rays of sunshine were brighter.

Fresh blood poured from her wrists from rubbing against the ropes, and they were swollen two times the normal size.

She didn’t want to give up, but she could clearly feel the pain from her wrist with every movement. The pain was so sharp that it made her entire body shiver violently.

The sun beat down through the windows and bathed Ji Yi’s face, making the hopelessness in her heart grow stronger.

Even though there was no way for her to tell the time, the sun had risen pretty high. It was probably almost nine in the morning.

Ji Yi was no longer tremendously popular like four years ago, so she had no right to be late, nor did she have any right to delay the shooting. She was afraid that with her absence, the director would replace her right away…

Ji Yi felt so wronged. Again, she gritted her teeth and rubbed the rope around the chair, causing a piercing pain to surge from the wound on her fair wrists. Her whole body jumped, and the pain hurt her so much that she let out a grunt. A cold sweat came over her body.

She held her breath for a long time as she waited for the pain to subside. She really wanted to endure the pain, but her wrists no longer felt like her own. No matter how hard she tried to move, they wouldn’t budge.

Her hopelessness was like a tide, completely flooding her.

The toughness in her eyes slowly disappeared and in its place was infinite sorrow.

Could it possibly be that this time I really lost to Qian Ge?

This was the hard-earned opportunity I’ve been fighting for. If I miss out, wouldn’t I be in the exact same position as when I woke up from the coma? I’ve waited so, so long for this new opportunity… In the end, maybe I never had a shot at all.

At that thought, Ji Yi’s eyes turned red; she could clearly feel the wetness building up in her eyes. Just when she thought the tears were going to pour out, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps from outside the door.

Chapter 112: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (2)

Ji Yi furrowed her brows slightly. Before she could figure out if it was a hallucination, there was a loud “Bang!” suddenly from the back door of the classroom.

“Ba-donk” Ji Yi’s heart jumped in shock, causing her to instinctively turn her head and look over at the door in the back.

The old door was hit by something as dust scattered down.

The door swayed, but before it stabilized, she heard another ear-splitting “Bang!”

Coincidentally, Ji Yi stared at the back door when it was still whole, then she caught sight of the door after it crashed to the ground a second after.

Then Ji Yi saw a black leather shoe standing on the cracked door.

So, someone really did turn up… Just when she felt the most helpless and desperate.

Ji Yi felt her defeated heart start to pound little-by-little and come back to life.

She suppressed the pounding in her heart as her eyes were drawn to the leather shoes that moved slowly across the floor. The two long slender legs, a white shirt, the fine collarbone through his open shirt, and the perfect jaw… Ji Yi’s eyes stopped for a moment before she continued to look up to see the image of a familiar and shockingly beautiful face.

Out of years of habit, her eyes were immediately drawn to the man’s wrist, and that’s when she saw the red string. Her fingers instinctively curled, and an indescribable sense of discomfort came over her.

It’s He Jichen… but h-how did he know I was here?

Astonishment surfaced in Ji Yi’s mind, and before it could settle, He Jichen was already standing in front of her.

The man tightly pursed his lips and his face looked frighteningly bleak. He stared at her bound hands and feet for less than a second before he crouched down and started to untie the ropes.

By doing so, he was particularly close to her.

Ji Yi incidentally saw the fair shade of He Jichen’s neck with beads of sweat trickling down into his shirt.

She was stunned for a moment before she turned her head to look at his lowered face. She didn’t know what exactly he had gone through to reach her, but deep in the middle of winter, he was drenched in sweat. There were even a few strands of hair covered in sweat that fully covered his forehead.

The classroom was very silent as neither of them spoke.

He Jichen flung the untied ropes from Ji Yi’s legs aside and removed the tape from Ji Yi’s mouth. Then he unbound the ropes from her wrists.

Before his fingers touched her wrists, his eyes were drawn to their redness. That was when he realized that the skin around her wrists was rubbed clean off and was dripping endlessly with blood.

He came all the way to Beijing to be by her side, put her in plain sight where he could see her just to protect her, yet she still managed to get hurt in the end…

He Jichen’s fingers shivered gently as his eyes became colder than before.

Chapter 113: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (3)

He didn’t move a single inch and remained silent for a while before heartache pressed down on his chest. Without making a sound, his fingers fell on the ropes tying her hands.

He looked like his usual cold and distant self, but his fingers used the softest and most tender force to untie the rope.

As soon as he tossed aside the rope, He Jichen grabbed Ji Yi’s hand and examined the wound on her wrists.

He Jichen and Ji Yi’s relationship was at its peak many years ago, during their years at Sucheng Yizhong. Their skin hadn’t touched…

Until now. Ji Yi could still clearly recollect when they went hiking in their senior year. On her descent, she accidentally twisted her leg, and it was He Jichen who carried her on his back one step at a time.

At the time, she really treated him as her best friend. Whenever she was sleepy in the car, she leaned against his shoulders, shut her eyes, and slept.

But after bumping into each other in Beijing, she became uncontrollably tense whenever he drew near her—especially since she learned she slept with him and not He Yuguang the night before the college entrance exams, and since he ripped her clothes and said such humiliating things that night she tried to confess to He Yuguang.

So the very moment He Jichen suddenly grabbed Ji Yi’s hand, her fingers instinctively curled up. Her body was so unusually tense—it was like it turned into stone.

He Jichen noticed her reaction, which prompted his grip on her hand to soften. Yet he didn’t let go and looked down at her wrists.

Her skin was already delicate, but after chafing against the rope for such a long time, it was frighteningly swollen.

He Jichen furrowed his brows and instinctively ripped off his own sleeve to give her wrist a simple bandage. However, before he had time to move, he felt a faint force from her hand as she struggled out of his grip.

He raised his head and glanced at her.

She caught glimpse of his eyes and quickly lowered them. The expression on her face was a little tense, and her voice sounded a little distant and hoarse. “Err… Thank you.”

As she said this, she pulled her hand away harder and freed herself from his grip.

He Jichen lowered his eyes first to look at his empty palms, then glanced at Ji Yi’s hands.

Even though Ji Yi freed her hands from He Jichen, she could still feel the warmth of his hands wrapped around hers. She wasn’t used to that feeling, so she instinctively rubbed her hands hard against her body. It wasn’t until she felt a slight pain masking his residual warmth that she stopped.

In He Jichen’s eyes, her actions looked like she couldn’t wait to have nothing to do with him.

It felt like something was lodged in He Jichen’s throat as an indescribable sense of agitation and hurt entered his mind.

Ji Yi’s mind was still on her role as Little Nine. After thanking He Jichen for saving her and seeing as he didn’t give her a reply, she said, “I have something to do, so I’m heading out first…”

After everything, it was all thanks to him. If it weren’t for him, she would’ve really missed out on the chance to play Little Nine.

Chapter 114: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (4)

At that thought, Ji Yi added two words, “… I’m truly grateful for your help this time. If you don’t mind, I-I want to treat you to a meal as thanks, He Tongxue¹…”

After those words left her mouth, Ji Yi felt like she misspoke.

He Jichen said those words himself: don’t appear in front of him again. What’s more, they argued terribly every time they bumped into each other. Furthermore, after they almost did it a second time when she looked after him that night he had a fever, he said, “If I hadn’t drunk so much that night, do you think I would’ve ever touched you?” He also said, “If I really did sleep with you while I was in a daze, that’d be disgusting!” Eventually, he told her to leave… He clearly didn’t want anything more to do with her…

At that thought, Ji Yi hurriedly added, “…But, you don’t have to worry. I’ll ask…”

As Ji Yi said this, she swiftly turned her head and remembered their mutual classmate, Li Da. “…Li Da to take my place…”

“No thanks!” Before Ji Yi could finish, He Jichen, who had remained silent through it all, suddenly spoke. He interrupted her with his usual cold voice. Ji Yi wasn’t sure if it was an illusion—it was like she had been immersed in ice as she suddenly felt desperately chilly. “A meal on you? I wouldn’t even glance at it, let alone eat it or let it spoil my appetite!”

Ji Yi wore a calm expression and glanced over at He Jichen. At the sight of his distress, her eyes lowered, she slightly pursed her lips, and her words completely disappeared from her mouth.

“Also, you don’t have to bother thanking me. I’m only here because I accidentally found that Lin Ya trapped you in here!”

“If it weren’t for me, Lin Ya probably wouldn’t have treated you like this, so I’m just solving the problem I created!”

“And that problem just so happens to be about you, that’s all!”

Ji Yi’s fingers instinctively clutched her sleeves with He Jichen’s words.

“So, you really don’t have to toot your own horn and think that I came here especially to help you! You really aren’t worth me doing such a thing!” In the end, He Jichen’s tone was angry. His voice was quite loud, and it made her feel a strong sense of oppression.

In actuality, it was understandable for him not to come here just for her. After all, they no longer had the relationship of their youth after that night four years ago.

But the reality of it stung. Some words from his mouth always hurt.

After she heard He Jichen say “how much” and “not worthy,” Ji Yi’s face trembled and turned pale.

Seeing Ji Yi’s reaction, He Jichen’s movements became increasingly violent and ghastly. Almost without thinking it through, he let slip the words, “Didn’t you say you were heading out? Why haven’t you left? What are you still doing here? Waiting for me to take you? Let me tell you, don’t even think about it. I’m afraid you’ll dirty my car…”

1. [Honorific] Classmate, formal and distant

Chapter 115: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (5)

After Ji Yi heard He Jichen say this, it seemed like she suddenly woke up as she stood up and pushed her chair away.

When she bent down to pick up her handbag, she grazed the wounds on her wrists.

He clearly saw her furrow her brows and bite down on her bottom lip in pain, causing him to purse his lips reflexively. Before he could move, she swiftly ran away.

The only person left in the old, dirty classroom was He Jichen.

Bright rays of sun shone through the window and landed on his body.

He stayed in position, still in the crouched position he took in front of the chair as he helped Ji Yi untie the ropes. He didn’t move an inch as though he was frozen in place.

After a long while, he gently raised his eyes and averted his gaze from the direction Ji Yi ran in.

He knew his actions were wrong; he said the wrong thing again.

He didn’t want to argue with her like this, but when she drew her hand back and said what she said, he really couldn’t control his temper. He really couldn’t contain himself in the end.

After all, he didn’t want her to find out about some things, like the fact that he loved her… that he really missed her all those years after she left.

He knew he still had feelings for her because he was still hurt about how she cried “Yuguang” four years ago on that night.

He liked her so much, yet she embarrassed him so badly that night. It was that very feeling of embarrassment that he didn’t want her to know, so he was always so hypocritical and hurtful to her, in hopes of masking his true feelings.

He knew very well that it was his ego and unwillingness to speak the truth prevailing above all else.

After a long while, He Jichen swayed as he got up and stepped out of the abandoned classroom block.

When he got in the car, he glanced at the time; it was almost nine. Ji Yi wanted the role of Little Nine so badly that she rushed out immediately.

Even though it wasn’t so long ago when she upset him, in this very moment, he couldn’t help wanting to help her still.

Because of her, he always felt so confused and lost.

All of a sudden, He Jichen lowered his eyes and stayed quiet. He followed his thoughts, reached for his phone, and made a call to Director Liang.

The phone was quickly picked up. He opened with two polite words then went straight to the point: “I was tied up just now finding the actress for Little Nine. She might be a little late to set…”

He Jichen hung up the phone and silently sat in the car for a moment before he started up the car. He leisurely drove out of campus onto familiar roads.

As he waited at the stoplight en route to the set, he saw a drug store by the road through the side window. The thought of her injured wrists suddenly crossed his mind.

He stepped on the gas and drove straight ahead for quite some distance. Eventually, he stopped by the side of the road, got out of the car and entered the drug store.

–

It was already eight forty when Ji Yi got in the taxi. Coincidentally, it was the height of rush hour in Beijing, so traffic was terrible. When she reached the set of “The Palace,” it was already almost ten.

Chapter 116: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (6)

It was an entire hour later than the time the production team expected everyone to arrive. Ji Yi wasn’t sure what was happening on set at the moment, but she knew they’d probably started shooting with a replacement for the role of Little Nine.

Yet, she figured she would find out for herself what was really going on before she gave up completely. Who knows, the production team may not have found a suitable replacement… Ji Yi stood at the entrance to the set, took a deep breath then walked in.

To her astonishment, the staff responsible for Ji Yi not only didn’t blame her for being late, but told her that something happened to the director, so the scene was rescheduled to shoot at one in the afternoon.

Ji Yi, who had been worrying just a second ago, was instantly at ease when she heard the staff member’s words.

After Ji Yi had her make up done, she dealt with the wounds on her wrists.

She was afraid that her bandages would be exposed during that afternoon’s filming, so she specifically asked the stylist if she could wear a thick jade bracelet to cover it up.

Ji Yi stood in front of the mirror checking her costume up and down to make sure there wasn’t a single thing out of place. Then she found an empty room to go over the script.

Ji Yi memorized her lines long ago. After repeating the lines to herself two times over, she saw that it was still early, so she put the script down and shut her eyes to get some rest.

The break room was public. Not long after, other actors came in for a break after getting their makeup done.

The silent room became quite noisy.

Ji Yi sat in the corner where nobody could bother her. Though she didn’t open her eyes, she couldn’t manage to fall sleep.

The two young women in maid costumes sitting behind Ji Yi whispered to each other.

She was far away, but though they deliberately spoke quietly, Ji Yi could still clearly hear them.

“Did you hear? It was the assistant director’s idea to push back this afternoon’s filming.”

“For real? After being on the production team for over two months now, the assistant director has been the strictest. Why did he drop the ball all of a sudden?”

“Yeah! Director Liang’s staff mentioned it over lunch… I only just found out that our assistant director is the director for that TV drama “Encounter”.

Ji Yi wasn’t initially interested in what the two women talked about earlier; everything went in one ear and out the other. But near the end, her interest was instantly piqued.

Wasn’t “Encounter” the popular TV drama from the start of the year? They said “Encounter” was the director’s first piece. The filming techniques were unique and the drama gained a lot of hype. It was an overnight sensation!

After Ji Yi woke up from her coma, she paid close attention to this director. She thought he was really talented, and she really wanted the chance to work with him, but this director kept an unusually low profile. He had never been interviewed by the media, so since Ji Yi couldn’t get any information on him, she eventually gave up on him. She never imagined that now, they’d actually be on the same set…

Chapter 117: You’re Not Worthy Enough For Me To Do Such a Thing (7)

At that thought, Ji Yi tuned in to the conversation between the women behind her again.

“No wonder! Remember we talked about this? Why would such a highly respected director like Director Liang suddenly hire such a young assistant director? As it turns out, the assistant director has such a good background!”

“It’s not only that! You probably won’t believe me when I say this, but our assistant director is studying in college right now. He hasn’t even graduated yet!”

When Ji Yi heard this, she didn’t reveal much emotion on her face, but she was terribly shocked inside.

She always thought that shooting such a profoundly deep drama such as “Encounter” would require the director to have a lot of life experience, or at the very least, be a certain advanced age. She never imagined that it’d actually be such a young person…

In the midst of her wild thoughts, Ji Yi suddenly heard a staff member near the break room say, “Everyone get ready; we’re about to start shooting!”

Ji Yi hurriedly snapped back to her senses and rushed over to the set with script in hand along with all the other actors in the break room.

Director Liang stood in the center of the palace with the script. He was talking to the lead actress of “The Palace” about the scene.

A row of impatient people suddenly ran over to him. “Director Liang, the assistant director is here.”

Director Liang nodded and finished off his conversation with the lead actress. Then he made a signal for everyone to get ready and walked over to the monitor.

Soon after Director Liang sat down, someone entered the palace doors.

As quite a few people inside the palace cried “assistant director,” Ji Yi turned her head without hesitation and looked over at the person she had been curious about for so long.

Without warning, a slender and tall frame came directly into her view.

He was greeted by a row of people as he walked over to the monitor in front of director Liang with an emotionless expression on his face.

His strides were so large and so rushed that although Ji Yi turned her head to the side to glance at his face, she still couldn’t quite see him clearly. Yet, it took less than half a minute to recognize him.

The director for “Encounter”, the assistant director for “The Palace”, the talented young person she praised endlessly was actually… He Jichen!

She never imagined it was him!

Even though she saw it with her own eyes, she still didn’t dare believe it!

It was like Ji Yi was stuck in a daze as she stared straight at He Jichen for a long time without blinking.

He Jichen stopped in front of the monitors and single-handedly pulled a chair out. His posture was relaxed and refined as he took a seat.

Director Liang whispered a few words into his ears, nodded slightly, grabbed the mic, and said, “Places, everyone!”

Everyone was ready besides Ji Yi, who was still frozen on the spot.

“Little Nine!” Director Liang cried her character’s name.

That was when Ji Yi snapped out of it and lowered her head apologetically at the director as she realized she’d forgotten her manners. The moment she raised her head, she saw in her peripheral vision that He Jichen snuck a glance at her. His eyes were calm and composed like they were strangers.

Ji Yi only shot him a single glance, then swiftly turned her head and ran over to her place by the palace doors.