A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

Before the thought could settle in Chen Bai’s mind, his phone vibrated. He turned to see that it was a long-awaited reply from Ji Yi.

”I can’t, I’m busy with something. Please ask Dr. Xia to take good care of him.”

He originally thought since Mr. He cared so much for Miss Ji that no matter what argument they got into, Miss Ji would still come to see Mr. He; Mr. He would definitely be pleased by Miss Ji’s presence. He never imagined that Miss Ji would actually refuse to see him...

Chen Bai thought about trying to persuade Ji Yi further, but just when he touched the screen, he realized he had no clue what to say and stopped there.

Deep in the night, the apartment seemed unusually quiet.

After who knew how much time had passed, Chen Bai heard another gentle voice that sounded like someone muttering in their dreams. ”I really love, really love, really love...”

He repeated the words ”really love” many times like a broken record then went on to say: ”...her, who I can’t be with.”

As his voice dropped, a new text arrived. It was another message from Ji Yi, who ended the conversation without waiting for his reply: ”I gotta go. Goodbye and goodnight.”

When Chen Bai read this text, the momentarily quiet He Jichen blurted out again: ”really love her, who I could never be with...”

He said each word with a soft voice, but Chen Bai could still clearly hear the increasingly obvious tremble in his voice. Eventually, his trembling voice turned into a sob.

-

At the same time.

After typing the word ”Goodnight,” Ji Yi couldn’t wait to hit the send button. She threw her phone to one side then buried her face into the comforter and cried.

She wanted to see him. She wanted to so badly, but she had to control herself because she made a promise not to allow herself to fall deeper for him.

Soon enough, Ji Yi’s bedding became completely drenched with tears.

But she continued to cry with grief as her shoulders heaved and she let out a crisp wail every now and then.

Ji Yi cried until she was exhausted and fell asleep with tears still rolling down her cheeks.

In her sleep, she had a dream where she was still crying, but as she cried and cried, the picture started to slowly turn back...

Under a sky of infinite lanterns, she and He Yuguang were half-way up the mountain and talking about getting a divorce. Then in a quiet and tranquil cafe, she told He Jichen that he needn’t take responsibility. At the Shanghai Starlight hotel, she tip-toed and drunkenly kissed He Jichen. Then she received He Yuguang’s text, ”You aren’t alone, you still have me”...

Time in the dream turned back endlessly, and soon enough it was back to the time when she and He Yuguang sat in that cafe and he asked her to get married. The dream then returned to the time He Jichen came into the private party room when Lin Ya went to pick him up during a class reunion party she attended...

The dream then turned back to when they were young and having dinner at the He family’s house because her grandma was working overtime. Mid-dinner, the legendary second son of the He family came back and carelessly wandered into the living room. His mother cried for him to come over, but he replied ”What?” with an impatient expression on his face.

In the dream, Ji Yi raised her head and looked at He Jichen up close for the first time ever. That was when the dream came to a sudden end.

-

In the same city but in a different house, He Jichen also had a dream about the past. However, his dream was fixated on the sweet sound of a woman’s voice. ”Give them a condom each.” Choking from his cigarette smoke in surprise, he turned his head to see the silhouette of a tall, elegant girl with long, flowing hair.