NOVEL WEB Chapter 185-191
Chapter 185: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (5)
As he wiped her face, the tears drenched his hand as she continued to cry.
He Jichen hopelessly let out a soft sigh as he sat down on the ground. He reached over to her body against the wall and dragged her small frame over to him as he held her in his arms. With the same hand used to wipe her tears, he gently patted her back to cheer her up.
His embrace made her tense up a little and gave her the urge to struggle out of it, but he tightened his hug.
Maybe she wasn’t used to his hug since she was a little tense. After some time, perhaps due to his affectionate pat on her back, she eventually relaxed, buried her head in his chest, and openly let out a cry.
As her tears drenched his shirt and her throat became hoarse from crying, He Jichen held her in his gentle embrace as he let her cry on him.
The sound of her crying slowly subsided into a sob which eventually weakened and returned the room to complete silence. He Jichen didn’t let go of Ji Yi, nor did Ji Yi pull out of He Jichen’s embrace.
If it was possible, He Jichen really hoped he could hug her silently like this until the end of time.
After she calmed down, a sudden thought sprung to mind: did she hide here all alone last night after she left the Four Seasons Hotel?
Nobody normally came here, and she didn’t look like she had been outside. It had been almost a whole day and night now; could she have been crouching here all this time without eating?
At that thought, He Jichen slightly pushed her away from his arms, grabbed the phone from the floor, and typed: “Have you eaten?”
After reading what “He Yuguang” wrote, Ji Yi gently shook her head.
So he guessed right. She hadn’t eaten all day?
He Jichen felt a painful tug in his heart then continued to type into his phone: “Then, I’ll go cook something for you okay?”
After Ji Yi read those words, she instinctively glanced over at the time on He Jichen’s phone. It was already nine something in the evening, so it would be troublesome to cook…
She was just about to reject him when He Jichen put his phone back and typed the line: “The floor is cold. I’ll take you to the bedroom first to get some rest. Later, when I finish cooking, I’ll call you to come eat, alright?”
From the two consecutive messages he wrote to her, he spoke with peaceful a tone of voice which made her feel important. A warm sensation gradually engulfed Ji Yi’s body before she finally said, “It’s too much trouble…”
Because she had been crying, her voice was a little hoarse, so it took some time for He Jichen to make out what she meant.
She didn’t want to trouble him to cook…
He Jichen’s eyes softened as he shook his head at her. Without typing a single message, he got up, carried her in his arms, and headed for the bedroom.
When he put Ji Yi on the bed, he realized that she hadn’t worn any socks all along.
Even though it was warm in the room, her feet were frighteningly cold.
He pulled two covers over her, grabbed his phone and wrote: “Wait a while for me. It’ll be done soon”. After he saw her nod, he got up, but just as he was about to turn to leave, he caught a glimpse of a recording pen in her hands.
Chapter 186: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (6)
She wasn’t doing anything, so why did she had a recording pen in her hands?
A wave of suspicion came over He Jichen. He wanted to ask, but in the end, he fought the urge. He just furrowed his brows, pretended like he didn’t notice anything, and walked out of the bedroom.
He Jichen first brewed some congee. The moment it was on high heat, he went over to the dining room and picked up some brown sugar from the container. He poured the sugar into the hot water and carried it back up into the bedroom.
Ji Yi wasn’t asleep yet, but she was sitting upright against the headboard and searching for a charger in her bag.
She heard the sound of the door being pushed open and instinctively looked over at the door. At the same time, He Jichen happened to walk in.
The two of them looked at each other for about three seconds before Ji Yi swiftly lowered her eyes, plugged the phone charger into the wall, and connected it to the phone.
A second later, Ji Yi put her phone down. The next second, He Jichen stopped by the bedside.
Because she had just been crying, her eyes looked as large as peaches. She probably knew she didn’t look presentable right now, so she shot him a swift look then lowered her head and quietly said, “Yuguang Ge.”
Compared to her crying from earlier, her voice sounded a lot more normal now. She must’ve felt a lot better.
He Jichen’s relaxed considerably as he raised the sweet soup to Ji Yi’s face, signaling for her to take it. Then he reached into his pocket and swiftly tapped the screen: “Drink some sweet soup to warm up.”
Perhaps it was because He Jichen had devastated her so much yesterday that she stayed here on her own for so long, but now “He Yuguang”‘s simple acts of care seemed to easily warm Ji Yi’s heart. She held the sweet soup, nodded, and quietly said, “Thank you Yuguang Ge.”
The congee was still cooking in the kitchen, so He Jichen didn’t stay long in fear of it burning. He grabbed the phone to tell Ji Yi, but just as he was about to leave, he remembered he’d only just boiled the sweet soup, so with a little uneasiness, he typed a few words of warning: “Be careful, it’s hot.”
Ji Yi saw those words and was stunned for second. When she came to her senses, she noticed he was pointing at the sweet soup in her hands. Her heart quivered as her fingers couldn’t help but tightly clutch onto the mug. She shot “He Yuguang” a gentle smile and let out a low, “Mhm.”
With the cup in her hand, Ji Yi lowered her head to take a sip.
The sweet warmth ran down her throat and filled her stomach. The warmth soon spread around her entire body.
He Jichen stood by the side of the bed and stared at Ji Yi for a while with her head lowered, drinking the sweet soup before he quietly slipped out of the room.
When he closed the door, his eyes swept over at the woman in the bed. From the corners of his eyes, he stared at the recording pen by her pillow and froze there for two seconds before he closed the door again and went to the kitchen.
When he finished cooking, it was already half past ten.
He Jichen pushed the bedroom door open and was about to call Ji Yi when he realized she was laying on the bed with her eyes shut, fast asleep.
He Jichen hastily stopped the sound from escaping his mouth then quietly walked over to the bedside. He tucked her in a little tighter and was going to head to the kitchen to keep the food warm for when she woke up, but just as he straightened up, she opened her eyes. “Yuguang Ge?”
Did I wake her?
He Jichen furrowed his brows and instinctively reached for the cell phone.
Before he could unlock it, Ji Yi seemed to understand what he meant and said, “I’m a little hungry, so I wasn’t completely asleep. I woke up when you pulled the covers over me.”
Chapter 187: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (7)
He Jichen’s brows relaxed a little then without typing, he pointed out the bedroom door.
Ji Yi knew he was telling her that dinner was ready, so she said, “I’ll go wash my heads then I’ll go eat.”
He Jichen nodded gently and left the room.
He carried the food over to the dining table, and just as he finished, Ji Yi appeared at the dining room door.
He casually pulled out a chair for Ji Yi as he gestured for her to take a seat. Then he pulled out another chair for himself and sat down.
He placed a bowl of congee in front of Ji Yi.
She thanked him.
Ji Yi hadn’t eaten a thing from last night till now, so she was really hungry. She mixed the congee with a spoon a few times then she silently started to eat until she was half-full before slowing down. She looked up at “He Yuguang” who was casually eating then suddenly remembered that He Yuguang was usually in Sucheng, so she asked out of curiosity,”Yuguang Ge, why did you suddenly come to Beijing today?”
He Jichen stopped eating for a moment, put down his bowl, and wiped his hands first before grabbing the phone. After some time, he pushed the phone over to Ji Yi with his message typed out: “Tomorrow I have to fly to America, so I’m stopping over in Beijing. I’m afraid my body can’t handle the long plane journey, so I decided to rest up the day before.”
“Oh,” responded Ji Yi. She didn’t press the issue.
He Jichen then took two bites of congee. He grabbed his phone again and, knowing the answer, he asked: “What about you? Why are you here all alone? Did you get in some kind of trouble?”
As “He Yuguang” typed away, Ji Yi watched every letter emerge on the screen. The image of what He Jichen did and said to her last night crossed her mind…
She instinctively pursed her lips and lowered her eyes to mask the embarrassment and hurt in her eyes.
He Jichen was Yuguang Ge’s little brother. For her to get into an argument with his little brother, it must put him in a bad position… Most importantly, He Jichen made her feel so humiliated that she didn’t want other people to know…
At that thought, Ji Yi tried her hardest to smile and forcibly replied to “He Yuguang” by changing the subject. “Yuguang Ge, I’m a little tired, so I’m going to take a shower first before getting some rest.”
As she said that, Ji Yi got up and said “goodnight” without even giving “He Yuguang” any time to reply. She pushed the chair pack and hurriedly left the dining room.
He Jichen continued to sit at the dining table for some time before he too got up and gave the dining table a quick wipe.
Having spent a whole day busily looking for her, there was quite a lot of work piled up in the office for him to deal with. He made himself a cup of tea and made her a cup of hot milk while he was at it.
He carried the glass cup to the bedroom and gently knocked on the door. There was no reply from inside, but he heard the sound of a phone ringing from the other side of the door.
He Jichen waited a while, but hearing that the phone wasn’t picked up, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Ji Yi was already in bed, fast asleep.
Just after the phone stopped ringing, it went off again. He glanced over at her phone screen and saw three familiar words: “Lin Zhengyi.”
Why’s Lin Zhengyi calling her in the middle of the night?
He Jichen was afraid to wake her up, so he reached over and turned the phone to silent.
Just as he put the phone down, a text message popped up on the screen.
Chapter 188: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (8)
Just as he put the phone down, a text message popped up on the screen.
He instinctively looked down, glanced over at her phone screen, and clearly saw what was written in the text.
It was sent by Lin Zhengyi: “Xiao Yi, I’ve been calling you all day. Why haven’t you picked up?”
Lin Zhengyi has also been calling Ji Yi all day?
He Jichen’s eyes turned a lot colder. He was just about to turn his gaze away when the phone in his hands vibrated again.
It was another text sent from Lin Zhengyi: “Xiao Yi, I tried to contact He Jichen about the investment for ‘Three Thousand Lunatics.’ It’s not that I didn’t follow your orders… I even offered to add twenty percent on top of my original investment, but He Jichen wouldn’t accept it. He rejected it without a second thought. In the afternoon, I sent someone to discuss it with him, but his people didn’t even have anyone available to talk to us. The situation really…”
Lin Zhengyi’s message was a little long. As He Jichen read, he hadn’t taken it all in before a third text popped onto the screen: “Xiao Yi, there’s no way I can invest in ‘Three Thousand Lunatics’ right now. How about this? I’ll give you a good part in the new series I’m investing in and you’ll hand me the recording you have. How about that?”
“Perhaps you could suggest a new condition. As long as I can do it, I’ll try my best to satisfy you.”
Lin Zhengyi then continued to follow up with more text messages, but He Jichen didn’t read them. His full attention was drawn to the words: “you’ll hand me the recording you have…”
Ji Yi had suffered in the entertainment industry, so she always had the habit of carrying a recording device on her at all times. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten out of Lin Ya’s trap from a while back at the spa resort.
From Lin Zhengyi’s texts, he assumed that Ji Yi had a recording of Lin Zhengyi that she used against him…
At that thought, He Jichen’s eyes fell on her, deep asleep. By her pillow, he saw the recording pen that she clutched tightly onto while he carried her to the bedroom earlier that night.
He Jichen knew it was unethical to touch another person’s things without their permission.
However, he felt like he might’ve gotten something wrong. He contemplated it for a few seconds before he gently grabbed the recording pen and walked out of the bedroom.
As he shut the door, He Jichen hadn’t walked too far before leaned against a wall and turned on the recording pen. Soon enough, Lin Zhengyi’s voice was heard: “If I hadn’t caught you, I would’ve almost forgotten. Now that I see you, I remember. Xiao Yi… I hear many of you girls from B-Film want to become escorts? Is that right?… I encourage you to behave well and let me play with…”
He Jichen erupted into a terrible fit of rage the night that Lin Zhengyi preyed on Ji Yi at the China World Hotel Beijing. Hearing this now, his eyes released a solemn feeling, but he wasn’t lost in thought by Lin Zhengyi’s words for too long as his mind jumped back to the texts he just read on Ji Yi’s phone.
Lin Zhengyi said he was following orders from Ji Yi to reinvest in “Three Thousand Lunatics.”
Though it was just a text, he clearly saw from his long-winded message that he was nervous after He Jichen rejected his investment.
Chapter 189: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (9)
That’s right. In private, Lin Zhengyi could mess around however he liked, but the things he said in the recording could never fall in anyone else’s hands. If it was leaked, he would get caught up in an endless amount of trouble.
No wonder he boldly suggested that Ji Yi give him new terms; he wanted the recording in his possession.
Lin Zhengyi had worked in the business industry for many years, and to have survived all this time, he was naturally extremely knowledgeable. Ji Yi couldn’t have used her beauty to make Lin Zhengyi obey her like this, so the key was this recording pen in his hands…
As that thought flashed across He Jichen’s mind, everything that transpired in the past two days swiftly came to mind too.
Last night, Ji Yi and Lin Zhengyi had dinner together.
That same night, Lin Zhengyi contacted YC Corp to reinvest in “Three Thousand Lunatics.”
Tonight, Lin Zhengyi, whose investment was rejected, came looking for Ji Yi in a panic to talk about new conditions…
All of sudden, He Jichen completely froze like someone hit his pressure points. He silently realized something.
Perhaps… perhaps he had gotten it all wrong. Ji Yi didn’t see Lin Zhengyi last night to get a role in “Dust,” but she went to…
He Jichen didn’t dare speculate, because he felt if he did, it’d turn into some kind of wild story.
Ji Yi… How could Ji Yi go looking for Lin Zhengyi about the lost investment for “Three Thousand Lunatics”… She knew “Three Thousand Lunatics” was his series. She rejected him so much…
Even if he didn’t believe it, Lin Zhengyi’s text was crystal clear…
He Jichen held his breath as he couldn’t help but tighten his grasp on the recording pen. An indescribable sense of powerlessness and panic suddenly engulfed his whole body.
If it was any other day, he would love that she had done something like this for him, but in that very moment, he was afraid. He was afraid she really went to see Lin Zhengyi for him…
–
Ji Yi didn’t sleep all night the night before, so this time, she fell in a deep sleep for a long time.
When she finally woke up, the sky outside were bright. The bright rays of sunlight illuminated the entire city, making it look surreal.
She stayed in bed for some time before she finally climbed out and walked into the bathroom.
In the mirror, she stared at every little mark He Jichen left on her body as his eyes turned dark the previous night.
She didn’t dare think too much of it and quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She dried herself off and went to get changed into a conservative set of clothes in the change room. Having wrapped herself up tightly, she then walked back into the bathroom, grabbed her phone, and walked out the door.
“He Yuguang” was already awake. He was sitting on the sofa and reading the news.
There was a hired helper cleaning the house. Seeing Ji Yi come out, she shot her a beaming smile and said, “Madam, shall I prepare some food for you?”
Ji Yi nodded gently and said, “Thank you.” When the the helper walked into the kitchen, she then sat on the sofa and greeted “He Yuguang”: “Good morning, Yuguang Ge.”
“He Yuguang”‘s dark circles under his eyes exposed how he didn’t sleep well last night. His phone probably wasn’t on him, so he only shot her a smile because there was no other way for him to communicate with her.
After Ji Yi sat down, she glanced over at “He Yuguang” who was reading the news. Then she unlocked the phone in her hands.
To her surprise, there were dozens of unread text messages.
Chapter 190: The Recording Pen in Her Hands (10)
Among those messages were a long thread of reminders for missed calls sent by “10086.” There were calls from her mum, Tang Huahua, He Yuguang, Lin Zhengyi, and… He Jichen.
As Ji Yi saw the missed calls, she sent a text to each person to let them know she was safe.
When He Jichen came out of Ji Yi’s room, he averted his attention from the news to her. As she looked down at her phone, his eyes couldn’t help but fall on her every now and again.
His eyesight had always been very good. Sitting next to her, he could see every word on her phone.
Though he didn’t try to chat with her, his gaze intermittently turned back to the scattered words on her phone when he realized that she was replying to everyone who called her the day before.
As he glanced over again, he saw the name “He Jichen” appear on the screen which drew his full attention to her.
She looked down at her phone, so he couldn’t see her gaze, but he clearly noticed that her fingers tensed up. She stared at the string of missed calls from him yesterday for about three seconds before she pursed her lips then she deleted all of his missed calls.
Her fingers instinctively wanted to clicked into the texts, but she paused for a moment as though she realized something and exited out of the texts. She opened the chat logs, found his phone number, and put it on her list of blocked numbers.
As she did this, she didn’t hesitate in the slightest. In fact, she looked like nothing had happened. The next second, she opened her texts again to see dozens of messages from Lin Zhengyi.
He Jichen had already seen those texts last night, so he wasn’t the least bit curious. He averted his peripheral gaze from her and looked straight at the television ahead.
She replied to everyone’s missed calls but his. Not only that, but she moved his number into her list of blocked numbers.
After hitting Lin Zhengyi the last time at “China World Hotel Beijing” and bringing her home, she actively came to speak with him the next day.
At the time, he was so thrilled because he thought their relationship had finally improved, but after a few short days, their relationship became even worse than before…
He Jichen thought back to how he incidentally saw Lin Zhengyi’s texts and the recording pen last night after she fell asleep. The anxiety in his heart from last night became even more intense.
Beside him, Ji Yi had her head down while she tapped on her phone non-stop, replying to other people’s messages.
The gentle sound of “tap tap tap” made He Jichen so devastated and a little suffocated. He was afraid to suddenly lose control, so he put down the remote control, got up, and headed for the study.
…
Just as Ji Yi was about to finish texting, the hired help cried from the kitchen nearby, “Madam, the food’s ready.”
Ji Yi responded in affirmation. She finished typing the last few words and got up. She headed to the bathroom to wash her hands then walked into the dining room.
While she ate, Ji Yi noticed that He Yuguang still hadn’t come, so she asked out of curiosity, “Yuguang Ge isn’t eating?”
“I’ll go call him.” The helper put down the things in her hands and went to the study.
Chapter 191: I Wish You Would Be Lost Forever and Come To My Side (1)
The hired helper and He Yuguang’s conversation was very muted, so Ji Yi couldn’t hear anything. After about a minute, the helper came back and said, “Sir said he doesn’t have an appetite right now, so I’m afraid you will be eating alone.”
Ji Yi responded with an “Oh,” lowered her head, and ate another spoonful of congee. She casually said, “Could I please trouble you to prepare a portion of breakfast for me to bring to Yuguang Ge?”
“Yes, madam. Just a moment.”
Ji Yi didn’t make a sound but she quickened her eating pace.
After she finished her bowl of congee, Ji Yi picked up the napkin, wiped her mouth, and got up. She carried the breakfast that the helper prepared and headed for the study room.
Because she couldn’t carry the tray steadily with one hand, Ji Yi was afraid to drop the breakfast tray. She directed her arm to knock on the door. She intended to make some noise to politely notify the person in the study of her presence when she realized the door wasn’t closed. With a shove, she pushed the door open.
Sitting at the desk with a pen in hand, “He Yuguang” was concentrating on writing something when he heard a noise. His head shot up as he looked over towards the door.
After he saw Ji Yi, an obvious wave of panic came over him, and he hastily shoved everything on the table into the drawer.
He Jichen was too quick, so Ji Yi only vaguely caught sight of the paper. She didn’t think that “He Yuguang” would have this reaction, so she was sheepish as she apologized with a smile. “Yuguang Ge, sorry. I wanted to knock, but I didn’t realize that I’d nudged the door open.”
After calming down from the initial panic of seeing Ji Yi, He Jichen smiled at her and shook his head.
Ji Yi walked up to him and placed the breakfast on his desk. “Yuguang Ge, I heard Ayi1 say that you don’t have an appetite. That’s no good. Even if you’re not hungry, you should eat.”
He Jichen grabbed the phone on the table and typed: “Thank you, I’ll eat in a bit.”
After seeing that “He Yuguang” was willing to eat, Ji Yi relaxed. “Then later, I’ll…”
Before she could finish saying goodbye, “He Yuguang” looked as though he had a sudden thought. He grabbed his phone and typed: “Manman, did you and Jichen get into some kind of misunderstanding?”
How did Yuguang Ge know?
Ji Yi was left stunned when she saw that line as she remembered that He Yuguang and He Jichen were blood-related brothers. They were close, so it was normal for Yuguang Ge to know, but would Yuguang Ge view her as some kind of dirty woman like He Jichen did?
The nervousness deep down hadn’t settled when Ji Yi saw new words on “He Yuguang”‘s phone: “Is there some kind of misunderstanding?”
Misunderstanding?
Yuguang Ge actually used the word “misunderstanding.” Did that mean that deep down inside, he believed her a little?
Ji Yi’s mouth gaped slightly and she looked over at “He Yuguang” for some time before she said in disbelief, “Yuguang Ge, you say it’s a misunderstanding. Does that mean you believe I’m not that kind of woman?”
He Jichen vaguely understood the truth of what happened last night; the only reason he was asking so indirectly was to get some confirmation. After seeing her reaction at this very moment, it was like he realized something deep down inside.
It felt like a sharp knife stabbed his heart. The pain made it unbearable for him to breathe and he forced his fingers to stop shaking. He copied the way He Yuguang wrote as he typed: “Manman, of course I believe you.”
- [Honorific] Auntie, non-blood related older women