Starlight Descends - 5
Eye Corners
Qi Yao: “…”
If this had been a cartoon, a few crows would probably have flown across the screen, cawing wildly.
Qi Yao gave a couple of dry laughs, feeling like she could go straight to one of those Social Death Forum and make a post about herself.
Of all things he could have remembered, he had to remember that.
Zhou Qi froze again for a moment, his gaze traveling back and forth between the two standing figures. Then he stared at Yu Jiashu like he had seen a ghost.
He exchanged a look with Da Bai, his eyes practically screaming: What the hell is he doing? Why is he being so proactive about talking to my goddess?
Da Bai looked equally horrified. His mouth formed a perfect O, his eyes darting around. “Beats me. Either we’ve got a haunting on our hands, or he’s fallen for your goddess.”
“Get lost!” Zhou Qi couldn't help cursing out loud.
Qi Yao paused for two seconds, bracing one hand against the doorframe as she stopped herself from walking in to retrieve the leash.
“Sorry, sorry. I wasn't talking about you.” Zhou Qi hurriedly wiped the white foam from the corner of his mouth with a tissue. “I only moved in last night. They’re helping me settle in. I haven’t had time to put away everything in the hallway yet.”
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “It’s not convenient standing in the doorway. Why don’t you come in and sit for a bit?”
“No need. I’ll just take the dog and go.”
Qi Yao pressed her lips together, refusing instinctively. But when she saw that the German Shepherd showed absolutely no intention of leaving, already standing beside Da Bai and stretching up to beg for meat, she sighed and stepped into the living room.
“I live right across the hall.” She gestured politely toward the opposite door. “If you need anything, just knock."
Zhou Qi: “…Mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm!”
The young man’s ears went red with delight. The corners of his mouth practically shot toward the ceiling, impossible to suppress, and he nodded so enthusiastically it looked like he was pounding a nail.
Yu Jiashu lifted his eyes, looking faintly amused.
He pulled two bottles of water from the fridge, set them on the counter, and disappeared into his room.
“Sorry, it’s a bit messy. I haven’t had time to tidy up. Have a seat.” Zhou Qi was visibly nervous, frantically sweeping clothes and random stuff off the couch.
Qi Yao sat down as instructed. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the tall, slender figure gradually retreat and quietly let out a breath of relief.
“Hey, um, Yao-mei, you should come for dinner tonight!” Da Bai invited warmly.
“We’re throwing this kid a housewarming dinner tonight. More people, more fun. Besides, we’re all neighbors now!”
Qi Yao opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Zhou Qi glanced nervously at her a few times, afraid of putting her on the spot, and hurriedly said, “Forget it. She probably has things of her own to do.”
Da Bai rubbed his nose sheepishly. “…Oh. Right. Sorry.”
Qi Yao was never good at turning down someone’s kindness. After hesitating for two seconds, she said, “It’s fine. It’s just dinner. We’re neighbors now, right?”
Da Bai clapped his hands, beaming. “Perfect! I didn’t get an autograph or a photo yesterday, and my wife chewed me out for it. If I can bring her over for dinner tonight, maybe I won’t have to do the housework when I get home!”
“…”
Qi Yao was speechless for a moment. She looked away and accepted the glass of water Zhou Qi handed her.
Lemon slices floated in the clear glass. She took a sip and lowered her eyes to the magazine lying on the coffee table.
“You bought this too?” Qi Yao asked, a little surprised.
It had been a long time ago.
It was the first cover magazine she had shot after making her debut.
The girl in the glossy pages still looked young and unpolished. The makeup hadn’t tried to conceal the small mole at the corner of her eye. Looking at that face now gave her a surreal feeling, like she was gazing into another lifetime.
“Yeah.” Zhou Qi rubbed his nose awkwardly. “Back in high school, there was a newsstand on the way home. I just… bought it.”
Qi Yao ran the timeline in her head and couldn't help laughing. “You were still in high school when I shot this?”
Zhou Qi nodded.
“And you still call me Yao-mei?”
“Th-that’s because… isn’t that what everyone calls you?”
Zhou Qi scratched his head, not knowing where to look. He grabbed at the nearest convenient excuse. “Everyone around me calls you that, except my Ge.”
Then, as though worried she might not know which ‘Ge’ he meant, he lifted his chin toward the spot where Yu Jiashu had been sitting and pursed his lips. “The guy from just now.”
Qi Yao was silent for two seconds before asking softly, “…Does he know me?”
“Mm…” Zhou Qi looked a little troubled.
“I used to think he didn’t. He’s really not into celebrity stuff. But now… he probably does.”
He spent quite a while studying your signature yesterday.
“After all, you called him…”
The innocent young man opened his mouth, his tongue tying itself into knots. In the end, he still couldn't bring himself to say the word. He could only instinctively rub his nose, as though wiping away something that wasn't there, trying to hint at the words without actually saying them.
“…”
Qi Yao maintained her smile. Inside, the little person in her head was screaming.
I was NOT calling him?!
Zhou Qi continued, “I mean, any man would probably remember a woman who suddenly ran up to him and called him…that”
…
‘That’ what?
Qi Yao's mouth twitched. She set the glass down on the coffee table with a heavy thud. “…Okay. Stop talking!”
Any more, and it’d be rude!
***
Study.
Today was one of those rare days when C City had perfect weather. Blue skies stretched above white clouds, the sun peeked halfway out from behind a bank of soft, cottony clouds, gilding their edges with a faint layer of gold.
The man stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, slightly bent at the waist, one hand resting against the sill. His tousled hair fell over his forehead, his jawline clean and sharp. He looked cool and distant yet Indolent. Watching the traffic flow far below.
The door lock clicked, and Da Bai squeezed his way inside.
Yu Jiashu turned and leaned against the railing, one eyebrow raised in silent query.
"Man, that kid's face is so red I can't even look at him.” Da Bai waved both hands and pulled a cigarette case from his pocket. “I'm not gonna crash the fan meeting.”
“Why did you hide in here too?” Da Bai asked.
Yu Jiashu tapped his fingers against the railing without answering.
He just had the feeling that the girl seemed uncomfortable whenever she saw him. She did a good job of pretending to be perfectly composed, but her whole body was actually tense, her eyes never quite knowing where to settle.
“Want one?”
The cigarette case was held out in front of Yu Jiashu. He turned his head slightly to avoid it and answered succinctly, “I don’t smoke.”
“Huh. Figures. Once you decide to quit, you actually quit.” Da Bai sat down at the desk and lit one for himself.
“Though you only smoked a couple when the pressure got bad. You smoked more when Jingfan first went public, but you weren't addicted. Easy to kick.”
Yu Jiashu made a noncommittal sound. He pushed open the window for some fresh air and narrowed his eyes at the clouds on the horizon.
They were thick and soft, their edges glowing beautifully in the evening light. For some reason, he suddenly thought of those peach-blossom eyes.
Upturned at the corners, calm and quiet, carrying a strength that was difficult to put into words.
“Zhou Qi sure found a great place.” Da Bai grinned, exhaling a plume of smoke. “His goddess lives right across the hall, and that kid’s eyebrows are practically flying off his face.”
“He's lucky,” he replied.
“Celebrities really are something else. That aura...” Da Bai clicked his tongue twice. “My wife used to say that celebrities could wear a sack over their heads and would still look good. I never believed her. I told her to go find a celebrity and put a sack over her head to prove it. Got a beating for that.”
“…”
Yu Jiashu snorted. “No wonder you don't dare go home at night.”
Da Bai ignored the jab and continued pondering the whole female-celebrity phenomenon.
“Do you think they’ve been that pretty since they were little? It feels like when they stand in a crowd, there’s some invisible wall separating them from everyone else. They must have been pretty confident growing up, right?”
Yu Jiashu’s gaze held on the most luminous cloud. After a long moment, he said quietly,
“Not necessarily.”
Da Bai gave an absentminded “Oh,” then slowly realized something was off. “How do you know? You don't even pay attention to celebrities.”
“Just a guess.” Yu Jiashu paused for two seconds, answering perfunctorily. He glanced at a message on his phone, picked up his coat, and headed out. “I’m going to the company to check on things.”
“Again? The project’s already in production. Do you really still need to keep an eye on it?” Da Bai asked in surprise.
“I have a meeting with the technical department. We’re discussing next year’s GPU plans.”
“…You just finished one project and you’re already preparing for the next one.” Da Bai stared at him in disbelief and gave him a thumbs-up. “Employee of the year.”
“Are you still coming back for dinner tonight?”
“I’ll see how things go.” Yu Jiashu answered in his usual calm voice. He opened the bedroom door and took two steps out, then as if remembering something, he turned back and looked at him.
“Wait a while before you come out.”
Then he left, the door clicking shut behind him.
Da Bai stood there in confusion for two seconds, automatically nodded. He exhaled a mouthful of smoke before realization dawned on him.
…Why?
Frowning, he walked to the door and pulled it open a crack, sticking his head out to look. Yu Jiashu was already gone, the two people in the living room was still talking.
Zhou Qi: “Actually, that top comment you replied to on Weibo last night was mine.”
“Which one?”
“I said I applied for the show Boys and Girls Charge Forward, but they rejected me. They said I didn't meet the requirements. So I was like, I do charge forward all the time. The moment I see Yao-mei, I charge. I could charge until the end of time. I charge so hard I black out. So I went back and asked them. Turns out the problem wasn't the charging forward. It was that I'm neither a boy nor a girl. I'm just one of Yao-mei's dogs.”
“You replied to me with a question mark,” Zhou Qi added.
“…”
Silence.
For once, both the actual dog sniffing around everywhere and the human eavesdropper fell silent.
As a breeze swept through and white smoke dispersed through the room, Da Bai saw Qi Yao turn her face slightly and wrinkle her nose ever so faintly.
The fingers resting on her knees curled twice, seeming to find the smoke a little uncomfortable, but remembering that she was in someone else’s home, she quickly suppressed the reaction.
It was an exceedingly subtle expression, perhaps nothing more than an unconscious movement. Unless someone had been watching her closely, it would have been almost impossible to notice.
The thirty-year-old married man was still reeling from the shock of today’s youth slang when another realization crept up on him. Something secret, something huge.
Da Bai closed the door with complicated feelings. Staring at the cigarette burning down to its very end between his fingers, the corner of his mouth twitched as his expression turned deeply peculiar.
Yu Jiashu hadn’t even looked. He just told him to wait before going out.
…Was he worried the smoke would bother her?
---
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