Chapter 99: A Hundred “Sorry”s (9)
Translator: Paperplane Editor: Caron_
Ji Yi’s silhouette long disappeared into the entrance of the subway before He Jichen averted his eyes, started his car up again and drove home.
Meanwhile, Zhang Sao heard a noise at the house and promptly ran over to see that it was him. She immediately smiled and said, “Mr. He, you’re back?”
He Jichen gave a slight nod and silently bent over to remove his shoes.
“Mr. He, would you like to eat anything?” asked Zhang Sao.
After he stepped into his slippers, He Jichen straightened up, shook his head and headed upstairs.
Back in his bedroom, He Jichen glanced at He Yuguang’s belongings on the sofa that he brought back from Sucheng. There were clothes, a whiteboard, a phone, his watch…
He Jichen’s chest started to feel stifled as he stared and stared at the pile. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and cracked open a window.
The post-rain air was refreshing, damp, and carried the faint scent of the flowers in the garden. The night breeze drew waft after waft of the scent into his nostrils.
He casually lit a cigarette. Through the clouds of smoke, he looked into the distance.
He remembered when he went to her house for the first time and how he incidentally heard her say to her mum over the phone, “Ma, I’m serious. I’d rather be stuck with anyone but him!”
Also, at the hotel resort, she obviously had her phone, yet she didn’t want to add him as a friend on WeChat, so she deliberately said she left her phone in her hotel room.
Then, there was the morning when he had a fever and almost blacked out. He was so quick to interrupt her, but he knew what she wanted to say: “No matter if it’s four years ago or four years later, I know full well you were never the person I wanted.”
Ever since they met in Beijing, she tried really hard to have nothing to do with him and stayed clear of him. Like tonight, she’d rather stand in front of the cafe doors and wait for the rain to stop than get in his car.
Yet, he couldn’t just watch as she really got married to someone just to escape Qian Ge’s trap. Was impersonating his older brother the only way to get close to her?
He Jichen had fallen into a serious dilemma. His brows slowly furrowed as he became deep in thought.
In the past, he complained how the He family didn’t publicize his brother’s death and had such a low key funeral. Now, his brother’s inconspicuous death actually presented him with an opportunity?
At first, He Jichen thought the idea was great fun, but after that passed, a heavy wave of sadness crept into his heart.
He knew his brother was really important to her, but he was reluctant to use his brother to get close to her. However, what choice did he have? His only option was to use his older brother’s identity—that’s just how tragically helpless he was.
At that thought, He Jichen turned around and looked back at the pile of He Yuguang’s belongings.
He pursed his lips and eventually put out the cigarette between his fingers. He walked over and grabbed He Yuguang’s phone, pressed the button to turn it on, and keyed in Ji Yi’s mobile number one digit at a time. He drafted a text and sent it.
–
Ji Yi finished taking a shower and climbed into bed. Just as she was ready to put her phone down and go to bed, her phone pinged – “ding!”
It was a text. Even though she hadn’t saved this phone number, she recognized it, especially after she saw the two words “Manman.” Her fingers trembled violently out of control.
