NOVEL WEB Chapter 91-99
Chapter 91: A Hundred “Sorry”s (1)
Heaven knew just how thankful He Jichen was for He Yuguang saying those words because now, he finally had a legitimate reason to publically treat Ji Yi well.
He Jichen really did treat Ji Yi well. So well, in fact, that the entire student body of Yizhong from the third year of high school down to the first year of junior middle school knew about it.
His treatment of her was so bizarre, so rare that it deeply moved the girls from all school years at Yizhang. Even after many years passed and He Jichen and Ji Yi no longer talked, just the mention of the word “affection” made the girls’ minds wander to the image of that young man and woman together. No matter how many stories they heard about husbands treating their wives well, they never felt it was true “affection” when they had already seen what true affection looked like in their youth.
Back then, no matter if Ji Yi was waiting for a queue at the supermarket checkout or hot water from the cafeteria, the people in front of her always made way for her to go straight to the front.
Back then, when Ji Yi got food at the cafeteria in the afternoon, she always got the biggest chicken leg on Wednesdays and the best yellow croaker on Thursdays. The seat by the window under the electric fan would always be empty. Besides Ji Yi, nobody sat there.
Back then, no matter if Ji Yi signed up for the hundred meter sprint or the three thousand meter long distance run on sports day, no one ever fought for first place with her if she signed up to participate. Even if others had the talent to win, they always let her get first place.
Back then, Ji Yi never had to sweep the floors, wipe the blackboard or clean up, because there would always be a group of people to help her.
Back then, Fatty and the gang surrounded Class One in the afternoon so no one could enter. It was all because Ji Yi took afternoon naps in the classroom, and He Jichen was afraid someone would go in and wake her up.
Have you seen a princess? They’re a character from fairy tales, but the students at Yizhong got to see one in real life. From how they saw it, Ji Yi was a princess, a princess whom He Jichen treasured in the palm his hands.
Have you heard of a “school gem”? It’s a person who is spoiled by the entire school. Who could possibly make an entire school spoil someone? He Jichen managed to do that for Ji Yi. In those days, she was Yizhong’s school gem.
Back then, students from Yizhong felt like since He Jichen treated Ji Yi so well, they could never get into an argument with each other. In reality, after Ji Yi and He Jichen truly got to know each other, they rarely bumped heads, so how could they get into an argument? As Fatty said, when He Jichen bumped into Ji Yi, he didn’t have a bottom line any longer. If Ji Yi pointed to the moon and called it a sun, he would blindly agree. From how he let Ji Yi be, and how he obediently allowed Ji Yi to do whatever she wanted, how could they get into an argument?
However, life is unpredictable. During the first half of their third year in high school, He Jichen and Ji Yi finally got into an argument.
Chapter 92: A Hundred “Sorry”s (2)
It was Chinese Valentine’s day. At five in the afternoon, Ji Yi ran over to He Jichen, who was sleeping on his desk. “Hey, let me tell you something.”
No one in the school but Ji Yi dared to interrupt He Jichen when he was sleeping. He Jichen had a serious anger problem with being woken up, but when Ji Yi woke him up, he wasn’t the least bit angry. He opened his eyes wide and asked, “What’s up?”
“Come to the grove behind the school tonight.”
That simple line made He Jichen’s heart skip two beats. He spent a lot of effort trying to calm himself as he let out an “Oh.”
At his reply, Ji Yi turned around to leave with her ponytail bouncing behind her in a pretty, confident swing.
He Jichen didn’t go to the self-study session in the evening. Instead, he took Fatty with him to skip class and head to the mall. He bought a brand new outfit, went to the hair salon for a new look, and ran over to the grove with time to spare.
It wasn’t until ten in the evening when a certain someone casually arrived, but it wasn’t Ji Yi. It was her friend Qian Ge.
So, in the afternoon, she was helping Qian Ge ask me to meet her at the grove?
Do you know how painful it is for the woman you love to set you up with another woman?
No matter what Ji Yi did, he could endure it, but this? There was no way he could take it. His face turned frighteningly cold. He didn’t even glance at Qian Ge, who had dressed up just for him, before leaving straight away.
Outside the grove, he bumped into Ji Yi.
Seeing how quickly he left, Ji Yi asked, “Why are you leaving so soon?”
It would’ve been better if she hadn’t asked. All of a sudden, a fire lit up inside him and without thinking it over, he spat the words out at Ji Yi, “Are you crazy?!”
With that, he strode off straight away without giving Ji Yi a further glance.
The day after marked the first time in a while that they didn’t walk home together after school.
Afterwards, there was a long, long time when he didn’t bother with Ji Yi, even when he bumped into her in his house or at school.
Yet, he ordered Fatty to continue doing what he always did—buy her breakfast, get her hot water, clean up, and wipe the blackboard for her…
Their fall-out lasted until September. One day, it was raining heavily and she forgot to bring an umbrella. She pitifully took shelter under the roof of a small shop opposite the school.
He Jichen, Fatty and the gang brushed past her with an umbrella each in their hands.
Actually, he noticed her earlier but pretended not to have seen her. Then, Fatty came up beside him and said, “Chen Ge, look at Saozi1, aye…”
He Jichen stared straight ahead with a cold look on his face and kept walking, but every now and then, his line of sight drifted over to her. It rained in the fall in Beijing, and this season was particularly cold. She wore a short sleeve top, so she shivered endlessly. Seeing this, He Jichen’s heart softened little by little amidst her cold shivers. He suddenly stopped walking, turned around, and took large steps to her as he held out an umbrella.
- [Honorific] Sister-in-law, non-blood related
Chapter 93: A Hundred “Sorry”s (3)
At the time, he was a lot taller than she was. Sensing someone come close to her, she looked up to see that it was him.
She was stunned at first when she saw it was him, but then she looked away.
They stood there silently in front of each other for a while, then he silently pushed the umbrella into her hands and turned back into the heavy rain.
The rain was so heavy that his clothes were completely soaked after a few seconds.
Before he took even two steps forward, he heard her voice. “He Jichen!”
He didn’t want to stop, but she called him again, “He Jichen!”
He turned back and saw she was chasing after him while holding the umbrella.
She stood in front of him and lifted the umbrella up high over his head. Then she said something he engraved into his heart to this very day.
“He Jichen, how have you been lately?”
Without waiting for an answer, she added, “Let’s not lie…”
“I’ll answer first. He Jichen, things haven’t been good for me lately. I was wrong for what happened with Qian Ge. I’ll never interfere with your business again. You’re the most important friend to me; I don’t want to argue with you.”
Most important friend… He Jichen, at the time, didn’t realize that the key word was “friend.” He was so dazed with the word “important” that his anger disappeared. He looked down at her and said, “Things haven’t been good for me lately either because you’re also the most important friend to me.”
…
“Ding dong, ding dong…” His phone notifications rang a few times. He Jichen felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and slightly furrowed his brows. He gradually opened his eyes and realized the skies were dark.
Because he had been deep in thought for such a long time, he was in a slight daze. After a while, he came to and realized he was still in front of He Yuguang’s gravestone.
He realized he had been quietly reminiscing back to such distance times in the past.
He Jichen lit another cigarette, stuck it into his mouth and slowly took a drag. Then, he reached for his phone.
Tang Huahua sent him a few messages on WeChat.
“He Xuezhang, I have to tell you something earth-shattering!”
“Xiao Yi didn’t come back to the dorms yesterday. She came back this afternoon, stared blankly out the window for a long while, then made a call.”
“Do you know who she was calling? She called a match-making company—she actually wants to go on a blind date!”
“He Xuezhang, I just asked Xiao Yi and she really wants to get married!”
“I asked her why, but she didn’t answer directly. She just said she wants to get married!”
She moved quicker than I ever imagined. It’s just the next day, yet she’s already decided she wants to get married.
He Jichen hesitated for a moment, then typed the words “got it” to Tang Huahua and put his phone away.
He continued to sit there for a while before he put out his cigarette, got up, and faced He Yuguang’s gravestone.
Chapter 94: A Hundred “Sorry”s (4)
“Bro, I’m back this time because I have something to ask of you.”
The only response he received was the whistling of the night’s breeze.
“Bro, you’ll promise me, right?” He Jichen gave He Yuguang’s gravestone a bow, then straightened up after a good while. “Thank you Bro.”
He sounded serious and earnest. After he said his piece, he stood in front of the gravestone for quite some time before he turned to leave.
He Jichen got back into the car, slowly made his way out of the He family’s private cemetery and headed for central Sucheng.
The streetlights by the road flew by endlessly in reverse as though time was turning back. His mind wandered back again to the third year of high school.
…
After the last time they made up, he and Ji Yi didn’t get into any more fights.
As the college entrance exam drew closer, they became busier with assignments. Aside from continuing to secretly highlight the key studying points for her, He Jichen started to think up a plan on how he would confess to her after the college entrance exams and graduation.
As the plan gradually took form, he hoped to confess the day after they finished their college entrance exams.
But he never carried out his plan.
Or so to speak, he didn’t have the time to make it all a reality.
He always thought that after getting into two arguments, they wouldn’t get into any more arguments.
But he never imagined that the third time around would be the one to break them apart.
The third argument happened before college entrance exams. It all started the night they both got drunk and slept together.
Heaven knew just how fast his heart beat and how happy he was that night to finally make this woman his, the woman he thought about day and night who he’d protected for so many years. That night, he felt so satisfied and content, like he had the whole world.
But did you know? There’s only a thin, vulnerable line between heaven and hell.
That night, when he was just about to climax during their second round, the name she called wasn’t his, but his older brother’s name.
“Yuguang, Yuguang, Yuguang…” She didn’t add the words “Gege” like all the other times he called his name. Her voice was low and sweet, and the tenderness of her voice was beyond words.
So the girl he liked also had this kind of infinitely deep emotional side to her.
In his dreams, he wanted to see this side of her, but he never imagined that the moment his dream became a reality, it turned out to be the moment he descended into hell.
The only girl in his eyes, the girl he had secretly guarded for two years, the girl he was openly affectionate to for two years… the person she liked wasn’t him. It was his older brother, He Yuguang.
He thought they were doing the happiest thing on earth, yet to her, her mind was with his older brother.
What a painful truth to take in.
…
As He Jichen drove, his fingers on the steering wheel trembled violently.
That night, he really didn’t know how to face her when she woke, so he left. Alone on the streets of Sucheng in the dead of night, he walked until the sun came up. Once home, he slept, and when he woke, his nostrils could still smell her scent.
In the past, he used to get drunk over that scent, but at this very moment, he loathed it.
He never forgot that afternoon on the third day after they did it. He Yuguang was resting and he was sitting in a daze beside him. The phone suddenly rang but it wasn’t his. It was He Yuguang’s phone.
He swept his gaze over at it, and purely by accident, he saw the two words “Manman” appear on the screen of the phone.
He subconsciously picked up the phone.
Chapter 95: A Hundred “Sorry”s (5)
He could vaguely guess why Ji Yi was calling He Yuguang. He hesitated for a moment with He Yuguang’s phone in his hand. Then, he unlocked the phone and clicked to open the text.
“Yuguang Gege, are you free tonight? I have something I want to tell you. If you are, can you come to Luoyun Plaza tonight at eight?”
That night, he clearly heard the words “Yuguang” from her mouth. So it turned out Ji Yi mistook him for He Yuguang because she was drunk.
Since he left while she was still asleep, she probably thought the two of them did it that night.
It was the third day. She hadn’t visited the He family’s house since and the night before, he heard his mum say over dinner that Ji Yi moved into the school dorms since the college entrance exam was drawing close.
Now she must be sending He Yuguang a text about three nights ago, right?
He didn’t know what came over him that day, but he stared at the texts she sent He Yuguang for a long time. He raised his fingers, typed the word “Okay,” and sent it.
Soon enough, she sent He Yuguang a reply: “Then Yuguang Gege, I’ll see you tonight!”
He didn’t reply but completely deleted Ji Yi’s texts, then he put the phone back.
He and He Yuguang looked far too similar. So similar, in fact, that their parents couldn’t tell them apart. From a young age, He Jichen wore a single red string on his wrist so they could differentiate him from He Yuguang.
That afternoon, he struggled internally for four whole hours. Eventually, he slipped out when He Yuguang wasn’t paying attention, secretly grabbed a typical outfit of his, shoved it into his backpack and left the house.
He went to the barber’s with a picture of He Yuguang for the barber to give him the exact same hairstyle. Then he found a public restroom to change his clothes and removed the red string from his wrist. He stood on the sidewalk for a while to hail a taxi and headed for Luoyun plaza.
When he arrived, she wasn’t there yet. He casually found a telephone pole and leaned against it while waiting patiently.
His nicotine addiction came over him and he wanted to light up a cigarette, but he remembered He Yuguang didn’t smoke, so he forced himself to suppress his urges.
It wasn’t until ten past eight that he saw her turn up late as she got off the bus.
She scanned the area before she finally noticed him. From afar, she shot him a beaming smile and ran over to him at a light jog.
She stood in front of him without noticing that he wasn’t actually He Yuguang and softly cried, “Yuguang Gege.”
He didn’t make a sound.
Even if He Yuguang was really standing there, he’d be just as silent, so she didn’t notice anything amiss.
She was probably nervous as she kept her fingers clutching her sleeves the entire time. After a while, she looked up at him, and before she could speak, her face was all flushed.
After a few seconds, she must’ve found her words and finally said, “That night, was it you?”
Chapter 96: A Hundred “Sorry”s (6)
She paused. Then her words sounded slightly more resolute as she said, “The man, that night… was you, wasn’t it?”
He knew she was referring to what happened a few days ago—that night he slept with her. As he was pretending to be He Yuguang, he remained silent.
When she spoke again, her voice sounded a lot more confident. “That night it was you, right?”
He already knew she’d gotten the wrong person that night.
But after posing as his brother like this and hearing her confirm it with her own mouth, he realized the sadness of the truth was quite unbearable.
He was afraid that if he continued on like this, he might lose it, so he might as well leave. But she continued to stubbornly go on as she said, “I know the person that night was you, I…”
Her words are all for my brother… He didn’t want to hear any of it in the slightest. His footsteps hastened in hopes of running away from her, but she chased him even more. “A long time ago, I… I noticed you. I…”
Though she stumbled over her words, just as he was about to open the car door, she actually managed to grab onto his sleeves tightly. He turned to look at her.
“I’ve always liked you. I’ve liked you for a long time now. Do you…” asked Ji Yi with complete seriousness as she looked into his eyes. Thinking back on it now, his heart still ached. “… like me?”
Like… He liked her. To no avail. She asked if he liked her, yet those words weren’t for him.
At this moment, he felt so unjustified for how well he treated her in the past. He Jichen felt his heart gradually grow unstable.
Like… He liked her. To no avail, she asked if he liked her, and yet those words weren’t for him. They were for He Yuguang to hear.
In this very moment, he felt so cheated for how well he treated her in the past. He Jichen clearly felt his heart gradually grow unstable.
He tried to force himself to endure the jealousy and rage, but in the end, he couldn’t do it. The word “boyfriend” in what she said next, “Will you be my boyfriend…” felt like three swift knives stabbed him brutally at the softest part of his heart.
He didn’t even realize what he was doing when his hand grabbed her wrist, dragged her deep into an alley and pushed her hard against the wall. He spewed out bitterly, “Name a price.”
He said that just to let her know he wasn’t He Yuguang, the person she wanted to confess to, but He Jichen.
He saw with his own eyes just how bewildered she looked when he spoke.
“Give me a figure?” Whether it was a jealous rage in his chest, or his crazy and reckless side ignited inside him, his anger didn’t look like it was going to subside. Faced with her silence, he lost even more control as he reached his arm out and ripped her top. He glanced down at her exposed skin with a cold look and thought back to how she called him “Yuguang” that night. After suppressing his emotions for so many days, he suddenly erupted. “See? Even if you stripped your clothes off in front me, I wouldn’t be the least bit interested in you!”
Chapter 97: A Hundred “Sorry”s (7)
He realized that back then, he must’ve been crazy with rage to use such degrading words to hide his true feelings.
He knew she was full of joy in her belief that it was He Yuguang that night, yet he purposefully, viciously and mercilessly shattered her dreams and one-sided love.
Not only did he want to let her know that she’d gotten the wrong person, he also wanted her to know the person she slept with wasn’t the He Yuguang she thought so dearly of, but him, He Jichen! So, he spoke again. “If I hadn’t drunk so much that night, do you think I would’ve ever touched you?”
Her eyes were filled with astonishment as her fingers started to shiver while clutching his sleeve. He knew just how cutting his words were, but he wasn’t the least bit soft-hearted. He only thought about how she cried “Yuguang” and how hurt and embarrassed he felt. She hurt him, so he wanted her to hurt too. Like a child who wasn’t able to eat sweets, if he couldn’t have something, he wanted to ruin it. With more intensity, he said, “To tell the truth, I didn’t even know who I was touching that night.”
He tried his hardest to say all these hurtful things mercilessly. He put on a facade as though he didn’t even want anything to do with her and used money to humiliate her. “So, give me a figure. Just how much would it cost for us to settle this and pretend nothing happened?”
Just as he hoped, her face turned pale white, drained from blood. He thought she’d cry but she didn’t react at all. Instead, she stood there staring at him quietly for a while, then gently struggled out of his grip and left like he didn’t exist.
She hurt him so much, yet she could still stay this calm at his fury and leave him to go crazy?
He was devastated and upset. As he stared at her back, he added the harshest of words, “Oh and if it’s possible, I hope you never show your face in front of me ever again.”
She still didn’t reply. Instead, she sped up and headed out of the alley.
…
As he reflected back on that moment, He Jichen arrived at the He family’s courtyard.
He wasn’t in a hurry to get out, so he sat in the car and stared at the glowing lights of the villa. He replayed the image of her stumbling out of the alleyway in his mind.
That night, after she disappeared from his field of view, she also completely disappeared from his life.
In the following few years, he went to Beijing and saw her a few times, but he never showed up in front of her.
If Qian Ge hadn’t set her up and caused her to get into that car accident, he probably would’ve spent his life silently watching her from afar.
He was afraid that after struggling so much to wake up from her coma, she could get into another accident, so he wanted her somewhere in plain sight to protect and defend her well. That was why he moved to the city she lived in and applied to the school she studied at.
At that thought, a faint hint of worry clouded He Jichen’s eyes.
In his mind, he wanted to say to the woman he loved and spoiled for so many years, “Ji Yi… love, we lost so many years to be together, but I am more than willing to spend my remaining years with you.”
Even if… my time in university ends, and we are separated by an entire period of youth, I am willing to relive those years again with you as you walk through yours.
Chapter 98: A Hundred “Sorry”s (8)
The next day, before the sun came out, He Jichen left Sucheng for Beijing. Before he left, he went into He Yuguang’s room to take some of He Yuguang’s belongings with him.
He Jichen didn’t reach his home in Beijing until six in the evening.
After a long drive, he was a little tired, so he took a shower and collapsed in bed.
Having fallen asleep not too long ago, his eyes were shut when his phone started to ring. He Jichen searched under his pillow in annoyance and grabbed his phone. He glanced at the incoming call display to see that it was Tang Huahua.
He picked up the call, but before He Jichen could say anything, Tang Huahua’s voice came out. “He Xuezhang, Xiao Yi is moving quickly. Last night, she decided to go on a blind date, and tonight, she is really going to do it. I just sent you the location of her blind date on WeChat…”
He Jichen instantly woke up and let out a “Mm” to Tang Huahua, then replied with “Got it” and hung up the phone.
He grabbed his phone and stared at the dark skies outside the window for a while, then pulled off the covers. He got out of bed and headed to change.
He Jichen drove out from the underground parking lot. Beijing started to actually drizzle with rain.
The rain fell heavier as he waited at the address of the cafe Tang Huahua sent him.
He Jichen still hadn’t reached the entrance of the cafe when he saw Ji Yi sitting by the window of the cafe, watching the torrential rain.
There was a man sitting in front of her. The two of them had probably finished their conversation since the man was calling the waiter for the bill.
The waiter quickly brought him the change. The man and Ji Yi chatted a bit more before getting up together and walking over to the front door.
The man headed for his own car while Ji Yi stood at the door of the cafe with her head lowered. She was probably trying to call for a ride.
Time ticked by, but no car showed up. He Jichen averted his eyes and hesitated for a moment before turning the steering wheel and stopping in front of the cafe.
With the passenger’s seat window rolled down, He Jichen honked.
Ji Yi, who was staring at her phone, suddenly looked up in shock.
With the bright light from the cafe, He Jichen could clearly see her eyes fall immediately to his wrist. Seeing that there was a red string, her gaze immediately turned tense.
She only looked down at the red string on my wrist to confirm who I was, right?
He Jichen lowered his eyes and pretended not to have noticed the tense expression on her face. Then he calmly asked, “Going back to school?”
As he said this, He Jichen glanced over at the car door in the back, “Let me take you.”
Ji Yi quietly stood on the spot for a while before she forced a smile at He Jichen. “Thank you, Mr. He, that’s okay. I’m waiting for someone here.”
He Jichen stared at Ji Yi for two seconds then gave a slight nod. Without saying a word, he stepped on the gas and left.
He Jichen turned around at the roundabout ahead and stopped his car at a cafe directly opposite from her.
Through the heavy rain, He Jichen could still see Ji Yi standing in front of the cafe doors.
After who knows how long, the rain gradually stopped. Ji Yi, who told him she was waiting for someone, stepped out onto the street and ran over to a nearby subway station.
So what she said was but an excuse.
She wasn’t waiting for anyone—she just didn’t want to get in his car.
Chapter 99: A Hundred “Sorry”s (9)
Ji Yi’s silhouette long disappeared into the entrance of the subway before He Jichen averted his eyes, started his car up again and drove home.
Meanwhile, Zhang Sao heard a noise at the house and promptly ran over to see that it was him. She immediately smiled and said, “Mr. He, you’re back?”
He Jichen gave a slight nod and silently bent over to remove his shoes.
“Mr. He, would you like to eat anything?” asked Zhang Sao.
After he stepped into his slippers, He Jichen straightened up, shook his head and headed upstairs.
Back in his bedroom, He Jichen glanced at He Yuguang’s belongings on the sofa that he brought back from Sucheng. There were clothes, a whiteboard, a phone, his watch…
He Jichen’s chest started to feel stifled as he stared and stared at the pile. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and cracked open a window.
The post-rain air was refreshing, damp, and carried the faint scent of the flowers in the garden. The night breeze drew waft after waft of the scent into his nostrils.
He casually lit a cigarette. Through the clouds of smoke, he looked into the distance.
He remembered when he went to her house for the first time and how he incidentally heard her say to her mum over the phone, “Ma, I’m serious. I’d rather be stuck with anyone but him!”
Also, at the hotel resort, she obviously had her phone, yet she didn’t want to add him as a friend on WeChat, so she deliberately said she left her phone in her hotel room.
Then, there was the morning when he had a fever and almost blacked out. He was so quick to interrupt her, but he knew what she wanted to say: “No matter if it’s four years ago or four years later, I know full well you were never the person I wanted.”
Ever since they met in Beijing, she tried really hard to have nothing to do with him and stayed clear of him. Like tonight, she’d rather stand in front of the cafe doors and wait for the rain to stop than get in his car.
Yet, he couldn’t just watch as she really got married to someone just to escape Qian Ge’s trap. Was impersonating his older brother the only way to get close to her?
He Jichen had fallen into a serious dilemma. His brows slowly furrowed as he became deep in thought.
In the past, he complained how the He family didn’t publicize his brother’s death and had such a low key funeral. Now, his brother’s inconspicuous death actually presented him with an opportunity?
At first, He Jichen thought the idea was great fun, but after that passed, a heavy wave of sadness crept into his heart.
He knew his brother was really important to her, but he was reluctant to use his brother to get close to her. However, what choice did he have? His only option was to use his older brother’s identity—that’s just how tragically helpless he was.
At that thought, He Jichen turned around and looked back at the pile of He Yuguang’s belongings.
He pursed his lips and eventually put out the cigarette between his fingers. He walked over and grabbed He Yuguang’s phone, pressed the button to turn it on, and keyed in Ji Yi’s mobile number one digit at a time. He drafted a text and sent it.
–
Ji Yi finished taking a shower and climbed into bed. Just as she was ready to put her phone down and go to bed, her phone pinged – “ding!”
It was a text. Even though she hadn’t saved this phone number, she recognized it, especially after she saw the two words “Manman.” Her fingers trembled violently out of control.