A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

Ji Yi sat right next to her mum. She could hear He Jichen’s polite voice through the phone over the sound of the television, ”Hello Ji Bomu.”

Ji Yi wasn’t sure if she was hearing things, but He Jichen’s voice sounded slightly hoarse, a little weak.

Her mum noticed it too as she said worriedly, ”Jichen, what’s wrong? You don’t sound too good. Are you sick?”

”No, I just woke up.” He Jichen cleared his throat and reverted back to his usual elegant and polite voice.

”Oh that’s good...” Her mother let out a sigh of relief then cut to the chase. ”...It’s like this, Jichen. Your Ji Bofu 1 went on a business trip a while back and bought some nutritional supplements. We figured that since you’re in Beijing, we wanted to give you some. Ji Yi happened to come back home today, and since she lives close to your house, I’ll have her bring some over for you. What time is most convenient for you?”

Maybe it was because it was her mum instead of her speaking, but He Jichen didn’t reveal any annoyance or hatred about Ji Yi coming over. In fact, his tone of voice was still as elegant and polite as usual. ”Anytime is good for me.”

When Ji Yi’s mum heard He Jichen say this, she decided to set a time. ”Then, how about later tonight? The supplements have expiry dates and since Xiao Yi has class tomorrow, she might not have time later on when she gets busy.”

”Thank you, Ji Bomu.”

”You’re welcome.” Ji Yi’s mother was left grinning from ear to ear by He Jichen’s politeness. Before she hung up the phone, she suddenly remembered that she didn’t have his address and said, ”Jichen, text your address to this number. It’s Ji Yi’s number.”

After hanging up the phone, the tone ”ding-dong” was heard through Ji Yi’s phone.

It was a text from the same eleven digits that her mother just dialed. Aside from the name of the residential area and apartment number, there were no words accompanying the address. That was just He Jichen’s style.

...

Had her mum not called him, Ji Yi would’ve undoubtedly eaten the supplements in private. Now after that call, there was a chance He Jichen and her mother would bring it up if they bumped into each other. Her mother would definitely tear her to pieces if she didn’t pass the supplements on to He Jichen, so no matter how unwilling Ji Yi was, she had to force herself to take a trip to the address He Jichen sent her.

He Jichen lived in a classy residential area and his property management services were exceptional. After Ji Yi reached He Jichen’s estate, she took a turn into the property management center in hopes of just leaving the pills there so He Jichen could pick them up himself.

However, they had a rule where the homeowner had to give prior consent before things were dropped off. After hearing Ji Yi’s explanation, the attendant gave He Jichen a call, but after a few rings, nobody picked up the home phone or cell. Eventually, the attendant apologized and refused to let Ji Yi leave the package there.

Ji Yi carried the supplements out of the center and contemplated for a while before eventually heading over to He Jichen’s apartment on the sixteenth floor.