A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

Although He Jichen clearly kept the same silent and emotionless demeanor, for some inexplicable reason, Chen Bai felt a faint sense of anguish emitting little by little from He Jichen’s body and intertwining with the ring of light around him.

In that second, a thought suddenly drifted into Chen Bai’s mind that perfectly described He Jichen at this moment in time: Quietness is the most silent form of crying.

This man may look quiet and peaceful like he’s fine, but deep down inside, tears are falling.

I fear that silent sadness is the most distressing.

Outside the window, the dark of the night gradually deepened.

Having forgotten to put on his watch as he rushed out the door that morning, Chen Bai wasn’t sure what time it was with his phone switched off. All he knew was that when the whole city fell silent, an unusually ear-piercing notification was heard from He Jichen’s vicinity.

From the time Ji Yi left in the early afternoon till now, He Jichen’s phone rang more than once, but he never reacted. But when this other phone rang, his fingers around the teacup suddenly trembled and the cold tea spilled over the back of his hand.

He left the mess alone and with his other hand around the chair, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old phone.

Chen Bai furrowed his brows and couldn’t help but feel curious.

What’s with Mr. He lately? Instead of using his new phone, he takes out that outdated phone every night and messes around with it...

While Chen Bai was lost in his own thoughts, a bleak look came across He Jichen’s face. He stared at the screen for a long while then pulled his gaze away and stared out the window. Then his brows tightened like he was caught in some kind of inner struggle. Eventually, a look of agony crept onto his face.

-

Ji Yi didn’t know just how long she’d been crying; all she knew was that she cried until she was exhausted. She didn’t even have the strength to flip around.

She figured that she might as well lay there stiffly, staring up at the ceiling blankly.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the color on the ceiling turned darker until Ji Yi could see nothing at all.

Like before, she didn’t react and simply laid there in a daze until she couldn’t take it anymore. She climbed out of bed to use the bathroom.

She had laid in bed all day without doing a thing, yet she came to discover that her entire body was exhausted; she had no strength left.

As she came out from the bathroom, she didn’t go back to bed. Instead, she stared out at the pitch-black sky out the window for a while then slowly let out an ”oh” in her mind. She thought: Ah, so it’s already dark.

With her parents abroad and being home alone, Ji Yi was hungry from having not eaten all day. After she headed downstairs to the kitchen to find something to fill her up, Ji Yi glanced over at the wall clock on her way out the living room. It was already ten in the evening.

She returned to the bedroom, walked over to a chair and took a seat. After staring out at the dark sky out the window for a long time, she withdrew her gaze and stared at the phone that was tossed to one side. A while later, she reached out to pick it up.

After she left He Jichen earlier that afternoon, she cried all that she could cry and felt all the agony possible. Now, she should do what she had to do.

Ji Yi unlocked the phone, opened WeChat and found He Yuguang’s name. After she clicked into their chat, she stared at the screen in a daze for a while then pursed her lips as though she’d made up her mind about something. She raised her fingertips and started to type away.