A Billion Stars Can't Amount to You

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It was already half-past six in the evening when Zhuang Yi emerged from the hospital pushing Ji Yi in a wheelchair. It happened to be rush hour, so the main roads were jammed from the southern to the northern part of the city.

The car stopped and started for about forty minutes until the traffic became smoother. Zhuang Yi was just about to speed up when her phone rang.

The car had been silent until the phone suddenly rang, which caused Ji Yi to instinctively turn her head and look over at Zhuang Yi.

She noticed Zhuang Yi glancing over at the phone screen. Then she raised her head and she glanced at Ji Yi through the rearview mirror and found her Bluetooth earpiece. After she put it on, she swiped the screen and took the call. “Director Lin, hello.”

The director Lin that Zhuang Yi spoke of was someone she met a few days ago at YC; he was in charge of YC artists.

Because Zhuang Yi had her earpiece in, Ji Yi couldn’t hear what director Lin was saying, but she was afraid that director Lin called Zhuang Yi to discuss what happened during the recording.

Just as Ji Yi’s suspicions formed in her mind, she heard Zhuang Yi’s voice from the driver’s seat: “She wasn’t careful, so she tripped and sprained her ankle. Her condition is good and it’s not especially serious...”

After some time, Zhuang Yi spoke again but with a less confident tone in her voice. “...Perhaps, probably, maybe, about a month.”

Ji Yi figured that director Lin got mad over the phone – otherwise, Zhuang Yi wouldn’t be repeatedly apologizing. “Yes yes yes, Mr. Lin. We’re terribly sorry for what happened this time. It was also my fault...”

“Come to the office now?” Zhuang Yi spoke with a slightly higher voice then glanced at Ji Yi again through the rearview mirror. After a pause, she said, “Mr. Lin, today is probably inconvenient for us as the doctor said it would be best for Ji Yi not to move around because her leg is in a cast, so you see...”

She didn’t know what Mr. Lin said over the phone, but he probably hung up since Zhuang Yi took off the earpiece. She stared at the road ahead and drove about a dozen meters then said, “Ji Yi, you have to come with me to the office tomorrow morning.”

“Mhm,” softly replied Ji Yi. She stared out at the endlessly retreating streets without another word.

After a while, she withdrew her gaze and looked over at Zhuang Yi as she drove and asked, “This time, did I cause you and the company a lot of trouble?”

“Huh?” Zhuang Yi turned her head and glanced at Ji Yi for a moment but quickly drew her gaze back to the road. “Nah... I’ve had bigger problems than this. What’s more, nobody wanted something like this to happen...”

After a pause, Zhuang Yi added, “...But, Ji Yi, you have to be careful in the future.”

“Got it,” responded Ji Yi with her eyes lowered.

Even though Zhuang Yi sounded very polite, Ji Yi knew that no matter if it was director Lin or Zhuang Yi speaking, she was more or less unsatisfied with what happened today.

After Zhuang Yi took Ji Yi home, she left.

Ji Yi’s parents still hadn’t finished work yet, so Ji Yi maneuvered the wheelchair to her bedroom and climbed into bed with one foot on the floor.

After lying down for some time, her phone started to ring. She glanced at the screen to see that it was Zhuang Yi calling. After she picked up the call, Zhuang Yi reminded her, “I’ll pick you up at nine tomorrow morning.”

Seconds after they hung up, the phone rang again. Ji Yi assumed Zhuang Yi must’ve forgotten to mention something. This time without looking at the screen, Ji Yi asked, “Is there anything else?”