A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

Zhang Sao stared at the tightly shut door and let out a sigh. She turned her head, glanced upstairs, and let out another sigh. She first went into the kitchen to turn the stove off that had been keeping the oatmeal congee warm. Then she made a cup of tea and was just about to carry it upstairs to report to He Jichen when the doorbell rang.

Zhang Sao hurriedly ran to the door and pulled it open to find that Ji Yi had come back. Her face swiftly formed a smile. ”Miss...”

She only got a single word out before Ji Yi handed her an envelope. ”Zhang Sao, would you please help me pass this on to Mr. He? Thank you.”

As she said this, Ji Yi gave Zhang Sao a smile then politely said, ”Goodbye”. She stepped into the elevator and left again.

Zhang Sao waited until the elevator reached the main floor before she shut the doors. Then she started to head upstairs, but before she could take two steps forward, she felt the presence of someone standing over the railings of the second floor. All of a sudden, she stopped walking, looked up, and cried, ”Mr. He!”

He Jichen stared at the tightly shut living room door without a word.

Zhang Sao paused below the stairs for a while before she started to walk up again. When she reached He Jichen, she first handed him the envelope then said in quiet voice, ”I tried to persuade her, but Miss didn’t stay to eat.”

Zhang Sao continued, ”Soon after she left, she came back again and gave me this envelope.”

After Zhang Sao finished, He Jichen didn’t react, so she spoke again, ”Mr. He?”

This time, He Jichen hesitated for a long time before he slowly directed his gaze towards Zhang Sao’s envelope. His Adam’s apple shifted up and down as he reached his hand out and took it.

Zhang Sao didn’t say anything else; she instinctively left him alone. Before she stepped into the kitchen, she looked up again at the second-floor railing. He Jichen was still there, but now there was a cigarette in his hands.

...

Actually, there are some things Zhang Sao omitted that he knew anyway. He opened his bedroom door the very moment he heard her voice downstairs.

He stood at the door and silently looked over at her.

He heard her refuse Zhang Sao’s request to eat, and he saw her come back to hand Zhang Sao the envelope.

Do you know how it feels to see the person you love most leave while you’re helpless to do anything about it?

In that instant, he was plunged into agony. His entire body felt like it was suffering from being hacked to a thousand pieces.

-

Ji Yi didn’t dare wear a low-cut top for several days, no matter if she was in her dorm room or in the classroom.

The marks He Jichen left on her body took a whole week to disappear.

But thankfully it was already late autumn, so she could wear thicker clothes without looking out of place.

On the eighth day, Ji Yi got a call from director Liang’s assistant, Xu Yi.

Xu Yi told her that he mentioned her in passing to director Liang. He still remembered her, so this weekend, he wanted her to come to the filming studio for an audition.

Soon after the call, Ji Yi got an email from Xu Yi with descriptions of roles for director Liang’s upcoming movie.

This was the opportunity she had waited half a year for. Naturally, she didn’t dare take it lightly, so she spent two whole days reading about the roles for the movie.

They started the audition at ten, but Ji Yi arrived at nine.

The order of the audition was set in advance. Ji Yi was number fourteen, so she had to wait till eleven. Finally, she heard the staff member call her name.