Translator: Paperplane Editor: Caron_

  If he really wanted her to go to America with him, he could’ve asked Chen Bai to book her a ticket for her to fly out there. Why did he come all the way back?

  He made a suggestion like that just because he wanted her to get her mind off of the incidents at hand.

  The more attentive He Jichen was, the more unsettled Ji Yi felt.

  “Maybe we can go to France? If that’s no good, then Switzerland……”


  “He Jichen……”


  Before He Jichen could make another suggestion, Ji Yi suddenly spoke after remaining quiet throughout the call.

  He Jichen was about to blurt out “or the UK” when he softly changed what he was going to say and let out an “Mhm?”


  Ji Yi fell silent again.

  But this time, He Jichen didn’t rush her.

  Both sides fell silent for a moment before Ji Yi spoke extremely slowly and softly. “He Jichen, my performance on ‘The Tempestuous Grand Tang’ was solely my own form of expression. I didn’t copy Qian Ge’s performance.”


  “I believe you,” replied He Jichen with no hesitation in a soft but stern voice.

  After being suspected and berated by the whole world all day and night, He Jichen’s phrase “I believe you” felt like a candle in the pitch-black night. He lit up Ji Yi’s hopeless and helpless world, miraculously calming down her anger.

  She held the phone silently for a moment then said, “Those photos circulating online were of scenes I racked my brain over for a long time. There were even some scenes that kept me up all night planning all the intricate details……”


  On the other side of the phone, He Jichen sat in the car back to the city without making a sound.

  He knew Ji Yi didn’t need to be comforted at that very moment. She needed to vent.

  “.……I wanted to do well with the first leading female character that I played after my hiatus. I knew I couldn’t perform perfectly, but I wanted to act with a clear conscience. I was truly sincere, but I never imagined that all my hard work would be stolen just like that……”


  “.……It’s just like four years ago. No matter if it’s my acting career or my office, I rose to the top like in the old days, but with just one simple scheme, she took it all away……”


  “.…… And what about me? She put me in the hospital for three years and now, she made everyone hate me. No matter if it’s four years ago or four years later, all I can do is get angry!”


  “He Jichen, I’m really useless, aren’t I? It’s just like what Director Lin said; I’m not good at anything! Qian Ge was right, I can’t compare to her……”


  “If using tricks and stepping on other people to be successful is called being useful, there are many people in the world who aren’t useful at all!”


  Having stayed quiet all conversation, He Jichen listened to what Ji Yi said then spoke sluggishly.

  “It isn’t your fault that you’re caught all up in this; it’s her fault because most of the time, people with principles can’t beat people with no bottom line!”


  “So Xiao Yi, don’t compare yourself……”


  He Jichen paused for a moment before his voice became disdainful. “.……because she simply isn’t worthy enough to compare with you!”


  Ji Yi still had lingering feelings of being wronged when she was complaining to He Jichen, but at that very moment, she considered herself now completely relaxed when she heard what He Jichen said.