A Billion Stars Can’t Amount to You

“Since her mother’s passing, Cheng Weiwan basically spent every Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn festival alone.”

“When she got sick, the nanny was often there, so there was someone to tend to her, but when the nanny wasn’t there, she took care of herself.”

“The nanny said after she came back from her Chinese New Year holiday one time, she saw a teenage Cheng Weiwan dragging up a gas cannister as heavy as she was.”

“When Cheng Weiwan was fourteen or fifteen years old, Cheng Weiguo was unhappy and drank every day for a while.”

“After he came back drunk, he loved to take his anger out on Cheng Weiwan. Every time he yelled at Cheng Weiwan, he always went on for over an hour. Sometimes, when yelling wasn’t enough, Cheng Weiguo would throw things at her.”

“Later, Cheng Weiguo’s career started to go smoothly and he started to not come home again like the years before.”

“The year when Cheng Weiwan turned eighteen, she accidentally got hit by a car crossing the road then she fell to the ground unconscious.”

“A good Samaritan took out her phone and called Cheng Weiguo, but he didn’t pick up. After she woke up, the first person she thought about was her closest relative, Cheng Weiguo. She called him too but he still didn’t pick up. She called him relentlessly many times until Cheng Weiguo finally picked up. However, he only asked if she was done and if she realized how annoying she was.”

“Then Cheng Weiwan graduated high school. The nanny didn’t take care of her anymore, but the nanny told me that Cheng Weiwan attended medical school at the college where Cheng Weiguo worked…”

“The nanny said although Cheng Weiwan didn’t say it, she could tell Cheng Weiwan craved her father’s love. Also, Cheng Weiwan really hoped for the wholesome family other kids her age had.”

“She worked really, really hard to make this dream come true, but it never did.”

“After Cheng Weiwan went to college, she didn’t stay in contact with the nanny. I took a special trip to the college and tracked down her classmates. Then I tried to contact a few of them. I was able to contact some of them, but the numbers a few of them left with the college were no longer in use. Fortunately, there was a woman who was quite close to Cheng Weiwan who still keeps in contact with her. She told me that aside from the few girls who stayed in the same down as Cheng Weiwan, nobody knew Cheng Weiwan was Professor Cheng Weiguo’s daughter.”

“It was Cheng Weiguo who didn’t allow Cheng Weiwan to tell people at school.”

“Cheng Weiwan often bumped right into Cheng Weiguo, but Cheng Weiguo wouldn’t even smile at her.”

“On Teacher’s day, many students gave Cheng Weiguo gifts. Cheng Weiwan also gave him one. Cheng Weiguo would always smile at other students and act concerned about their academic careers and health. He even gave money to some students who had issues at home, but Cheng Weiguo never said a word to Cheng Weiwan. At the time, Cheng Weiwan made her own money for her daily expenses. At the very beginning when she didn’t write stories to make money, she didn’t have enough money to pay tuition, so she called Cheng Weiguo to tell him she was short of money. Cheng Weiguo impatiently sent her some money, but from then on, Cheng Weiguo would ask ‘Do you need money again?’ whenever she called him.”

“That female classmate told me that wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst was when several troublemaking guys started wreaking havoc because their family had a little power.”