A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

As Ji Yi stepped out of the China World Hotel, Beijing, she randomly picked a taxi by the road and pulled the door open. She told the driver He Jichen’s address and climbed into the car.

The roads at ten in the evening were pretty smooth. It took just twenty minutes for the taxi to stop outside the gates of He Jichen’s residential area.

JI Yi paid the fare. After the taxi drove off, she walked into the neighboring area.

After walking about five minutes through the quiet neighborhood, Ji Yi stopped outside He Jichen’s apartment building.

Ji Yi lifted her head. Her eyes shot up floor after floor until they finally stopped at the eighteenth floor.

The lights in He Jichen’s apartment were still on. Ji Yi had been to his apartment many times, so she knew where it was.

It’s so late now. Is he still busy working?

She wanted to tell him not to work so hard and to take care of himself.

She wanted to tell him to take a few days off and go on holiday, to not stay at the office or home office doing overtime.

She wanted to tell him to drink less when he had to entertain clients. If he could slip away from business dinners, she wanted to tell him to do so and to not stay up too late.

More and more thoughts popped up, but that’s all they were - just thoughts. All she could really do was quietly stand outside his building, staring up at his apartment lights and spending his final night in Beijing like that.

-

At the same time, outside the Ji family house.

He Jichen leaned against the hood of his car with his head slightly raised at the window of Ji Yi’s room. Through the window, he quietly stared at the dim yellow light.

His hand reached into his pocket then pulled out a cigarette. The evening breeze blew in, causing the tip to glow repeatedly. The ashes scattered endlessly with the wind and floated away.

-

The night gradually deepened.

As she stood outside his apartment for a while, the soles of her feet began to feel numb, so she shifted her stance.

As he stood outside her parent’s home with his head raised, he reached for another cigarette and put it to his mouth. He lit it up and quietly took a drag. He lit up so many that he lost count. For this one, he kept it between his fingers and like before, he didn’t touch it again.

The wind grew stronger. The midnight sky was dark and dreary with specks of rain that were as soft as silk, drifting along with the wind.

In spite of this, Ji Yi didn’t move from her spot outside his apartment building.

In spite of this, He Jichen continued to lean against the hood of his car instead of going inside.

The rain wasn’t heavy. Even after a long time, only their jackets and hair got wet.

Where Ji Yi was standing happened to be a drafty area, so she found another place to stand.

He Jichen reached into his pocket to grab another cigarette and lit it up.

As it approached morning, the rain gradually turned heavy. Ji Yi’s clothes were completely soaked, and the rain started to run down her clothes.

The morning joggers had already started to wake up and leave the apartment building.

Even with sunglasses on, Ji Yi really caught people’s attention since she was standing there foolishly in the rain. She was afraid someone would take a photo and post it online, so she withdrew her gaze from He Jichen’s apartment window. Then she walked over to the gates of the residential area.

After two steps, Ji Yi turned her head and glanced up at He Jichen’s apartment window again.

Meanwhile, He Jichen’s hair was completely soaked, yet from beginning to end, he never had any intention of getting into the car.

As drops of water streamed down his fine facial features, into his collar, and down his collarbone, this image of him looked tragic and touching.

The sky gradually got brighter and people ready to go to work emerged from the building with umbrellas.

Quite a few curious people glanced over at He Jichen, but it seemed like he couldn’t sense them at all. Still, he stared transfixed at her apartment.