Starlight Descends - 11

Cedar

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"No, bro, seriously! I used the wrong account!"

"The two phones looked exactly the same! I honestly didn't realize the one in my hand was yours. I swear. Please, you gotta forgive me."

Zhou Qi gripped the steering wheel, his face twisted in misery, carefully easing the car into a parking spot. But instead of immediately opening the door, he turned around, clasped his hands together, and bowed so deeply his forehead nearly hit the steering wheel.

The man in the passenger seat remained expressionless.

It had been two days since Yu Jiashu saw his own name blasted across that livestream. Two days since he’d last spoken to Zhou Qi.

And just his luck, one of his classmates happened to catch the livestream in real time. The guy nearly choked on his lunch mid-bite, took a screenshot, sent it to him, and then posted it straight to Moments.

[Shu! Long time no see. You're out here being a top donor for actresses now? Respect.] 

[Also, who uses their real name online in this day and age? Remember to switch accounts next time.] 

Yu Jiashu: .

He'd left Zhou Qi's apartment that same afternoon, replying to not a single message. Now, Monday morning, Zhou Qi had eagerly volunteered to drive him to work.

Monday traffic crawled through the city like a clogged river. It took the black sedan forever just to navigate to the entrance of Fengxing Group's headquarters.

Beyond the car window, the towering office building pierced into the sky, sunlight glinting sharply off its glass curtain walls. The magnificent structure glittered, surveying its domain with an air of supremacy, as if an invisible barrier separated it from the surrounding skyscrapers.

As if everything else nearby amounted to nothing but dust in its presence.

Including Jingfan Tech, a kilometer away.

"Enough. I'm not angry." Yu Jiashu stared at the massive corporate logo for a long moment, his eyebrow raised slightly. "I'm thinking about work stuff."

Zhou Qi carefully studied his expression. "Oh. Ohhh. Okay."

"First day working here. Take it easy, do good work. Get through this stretch and you'll be back."

"Now you're the one giving me advice?" Yu Jiashu paused, a trace of dry amusement crossed his face. "Who was raging the hardest about this whole thing before?"

Zhou Qi puffed out his cheeks. "What choice do we have? You taught me this. Take things as they come. Don't let it get to you."

"Alright. Got it."

Yu Jiashu pushed the door open, swung his long legs out, and waved a hand without looking back. "Go home."

Zhou Qi sat in the car, watching the man's tall figure disappear step by step into the distance.

It was strange.

Yu Jiashu's posture looked exactly the same as always, relaxed and upright.

Yet somehow, Zhou Qi felt like he was watching heavy snow pressing down upon cedar branches, bending them beneath a weight too heavy to bear.

*** 

A week after submitting her résumé, Qi Yao finally received Fengxing's first-round interview notice, along with her individual prompt theme.

"What?" Ye Qingman frowned over the video call. "Courage?"

The makeup artist's hand slipped. "Oh my, I'm in the middle of removing your makeup, Qingman. Watch the face."

"Oh, sorry, sorry." Ye Qingman quickly relaxed her face, though confusion still lingered in her voice.

"Why this topic? Mine last time was Diversity. At least that was somewhat related to the product line.”

"No idea."

Qi Yao bit lightly on her straw. Spread before her was a blank sheet of paper covered in scribbles as she built a rough mind map.

Both rounds of Fengxing’s interviews were prompt-based. They'd give applicants one keyword, and candidates had to create a presentation around it. The format was completely open, text, visuals, PowerPoints, videos, anything.

The simplest approach, of course, was to treat it like an essay prompt—draw some grand, sweeping connection between the word and the new product line, dress it up in lofty, promotional language, and build a polished chain of logic. Anyone with decent writing skills could manage that.

But Qi Yao didn’t want to do it that way.

She had her own understanding of the word.

"Please don't tell me you're going to handle everything yourself again.”

Watching her sketch ideas onto the paper, Ye Qingman grew increasingly indignant. "You already did your résumé alone, and now you're doing the first-round presentation by yourself too? Where the hell is your manager?!”

The makeup artist, no longer daring to interrupt, hurriedly finished removing the makeup and slipped out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

"Qiao Nian's handling a few new artists lately." Qi Yao remained calm, still absorbed in brainstorming. "And technically, I'm on break."

"God, hearing this pisses me off. They give your resources to newcomers, give your manager to newcomers. That garbage company of yours is just bleeding you dry!"

"Can't really blame them. Qiu Lang signed an earn-out agreement. He's more anxious than anyone."

Qi Yao circled a keyword with her pen, a rough concept beginning to take shape in her mind.

“This kind of thing isn’t difficult for me. I can chip in on it in my spare time.”

She curved her eyes in a smile, unconcerned, "And who knows? Maybe a team-made project isn't what Fengxing wants. Maybe they'll be moved by my sincerity."

Ye Qingman glared at her, arguing with her felt like punching cotton. After a long pause, all the force drained out of her. “Fine. As long as you’re happy.”

"Is your assistant back from leave yet? You look thinner. Eat something nourishing."

"She should be back in about two days." Qi Yao glanced at the date. "I haven't lost weight. I ate twelve egg tarts this week."

"That's...quite an impressive appetite."

Ye Qingman furtively glanced around the makeup room, making absolutely sure the makeup room was empty before scooting closer to the camera and lowering her voice dramatically: "What was that about you bringing a man home?! Be careful. What if you get photographed?"

"..."

It took Qi Yao several seconds to realize she was talking about last week's incident.

"...He's a neighbor."

She looked down, her answer a careful blend of truth and omission. "He just came by to drop something off. Food, and your dog."

Ye Qingman gave an "oh", her interest immediately extinguished. Rolling back her eyes, she returned to the previous topic.

"I heard from a junior actress in my crew that Zhao Min's manager is going all out for this endorsement deal. They're dead set on using it to boost her profile again."

"She's got another two massive hits this year. Are you sure you've got this?"

Zhao Min was a veteran actress. Whether in acting range or nationwide recognition across age groups, she operated on a completely different level from younger actresses like them.

"I'll manage. No need to stress so much. Honestly, I'm mostly just participating.”

"Oh please!" Ye Qingman scoffed. "You always say that. You might not want a lot of things, but when you don't get the ones you do want? You're crushed."

"Once you've settled on a direction, just tell me if you need help. Equipment, extra hands, whatever. It'll still be a thousand times better than anything your trash company gives you."

Qi Yao smiled. "Okay."

“Did you just tab out to scroll Weibo?"

Ye Qingman: "How did you know?"

Qi Yao: "Because the video froze on your pig-nostril face."

Ye Qingman frantically swiped back. Qi Yao's eyes curved into crescents as she added lightly:

"I took a screenshot."

"Don't you dare post that on Weibo!"

*** 

Though Ye Qingman had offered, Qi Yao wasn't signed under her company, and Ye Qingman herself was currently stuck filming deep in the mountains with terrible signal and barely enough time to sleep. In the end, Qi Yao didn't trouble her.

She spent an entire day refining a detailed outline.

The following afternoon, after reviewing her notes one final time and quickly drafting a shot list, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"What's up, Yao-mei?" Zhou Qi answered almost instantly.

"When I visited your place last time, I think I saw a DSLR and tripod. Could I borrow them for about a week?"

"Of course."

Less than half an hour later, Zhou Qi appeared at her door carrying an armful of photography equipment.

The kid was dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, his buzzcut clean and sharp, making him look even more like a college student.

Qi Yao crossed her arms and studied him. Finally, she couldn't help herself. "How old are you, exactly?"

If he worked in a tech company's technical department, he couldn't actually be that young... right?

Zhou Qi: "Twenty-one."

"... "

So he really was that young.

Qi Yao blinked in surprise. "Just graduated college? And you could already afford a place of your own?"

A huge flat in the city center, no less.

"No, no." Zhou Qi waved a hand. "Bro bought this place. After graduation I didn’t have anywhere to stay. Finding a decent rental was a nightmare. He told me to just move in, treat it like my own place."

Qi Yao gave a soft sound of acknowledgment, she sat cross-legged on the rug, carefully inspecting the equipment. "Are you related to... him?”

Zhou Qi shook his head. "No. He just put me through college."

But he's only a few years older than you.

The thought flashed through Qi Yao's mind, though she kept it to herself. Sensing there were personal matters involved, she didn't ask further, focusing instead on taking inventory of everything he'd brought over. 

DSLR. Tripod. Stabilizer. Even a microphone and a boom pole.

"You've got quite the collection," she said, impressed.

Zhou Qi grinned. "Electronic information major. We dabble in gear from pretty much every field. If you asked for an original Famicom, I could probably dig one up too."

"Really?" Qi Yao looked up, eyes wide with delighted anticipation.

Sitting on her sofa, facing such expression at this close range, Zhou Qi's face instantly went scarlet. Like a firecracker detonating, he shot to his feet.

"I'll go get it for you right now!"

"Oh, no, no, no need." Startled, Qi Yao hurriedly reached out to stop him. "I've got work this week. No time to play. Maybe next week?”

"Oh, oh, okay." Zhou Qi sat back down. "Right, I haven't asked. What do you need all this stuff for?"

Qi Yao squinted through the camera lens, adjusting the focus ring with practiced ease. The blurred image gradually sharpened into crystal clarity.

Zhou Qi watched her deftly tune the equipment, her movements brisk and efficient, fully self-assured. A competence that existed in fascinating contrast to her gentle, soft appearance.

Qi Yao finally lifted her head.

A bright playful smile curved through her peach blossom eyes. 

Zhou Qi froze. Her voice, warm and laced with laughter, brushed against his ear:

"Just making a little promo video for fun."

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