Starlight Descends - 16
Heartbeat
Those eyes held a fine tremor of light. From only inches away, they reflected her own slightly dazed face with startling clarity.
Thump. Thump.
Silence stretched taut around them, and in it, her heartbeat sounded deafening.
Her gaze drifted downward inch by inch. To the sharp line of his brows, the dark fringe of lowered lashes, the clean contour of his jaw, skin stretched taut over defined bone.
As if possessed, she kept staring into his eyes, nearly entranced by the reflection of herself suspended within those shimmering river of stars.
The silence deepened.
“…Whoa.”
Zhou Qi’s outstretched hand snapped awkwardly back, disguising the movement by scratching his head instead. He looked like a grade-schooler, eyes wide as saucers, face frozen in pure shock.
Qi Yao jolted back to her senses. She tore her gaze away and hurriedly stumbled forward a step. “My leg fell asleep.”
But the moment the words left her mouth, her leaden-weighted legs betrayed her again, wobbling dangerously beneath her.
Yu Jiashu’s expression didn't so much as flicker; he didn’t even move much, simply reaching out, his distinct-knuckled hand closing around her wrist through the fabric of her sleeve to steady her.
"If your leg's asleep, don't move around." he said flatly.
"...”
The office somehow became even quieter.
His hand circled around her slender wrist. The cuff of her sleeve slipped back, revealing a stretch of snow-pale skin, the sight was simply arresting.
Even Sun Wenbo sensed the atmosphere between the two wasn't ordinary. His gaze darted back and forth before he blurted out with sudden realization: "It's just like an idol drama.”
Qi Yao: "..."
You little brat. Sleeping in class and still watching idol dramas?
Thankfully, Auntie Ren hurried over to help support her. Sun Wenbo also scrambled up, and together they guided her back onto the sofa.
One on each side of her, the older woman and the boy exchanged a glance and then looked away. Their earlier argument was silently put to rest.
“Sit, sit.” Ren Dandan pulled over two small stools beside the sofa and poured water for the two guests with warm enthusiasm. “What brings Xiao Yu here today? I thought your work was always so busy."
Qi Yao sat quietly on the sofa by herself, fingers unconsciously tightening around the jelly cup. Her wrist still felt strangely warm.
Her thoughts were a complete mess.
What was going on?
Why were they here?
And how exactly did they know each other?
Yu Jiashu’s gaze swept lightly forward before dropping again, unreadable beneath lowered lashes. He smiled at the question. “It’s alright recently. Things have slowed down a bit.”
Zhou Qi glanced at Qi Yao, clearly not expecting to run into her here and explained, a bit self-consciously, “Bro went to inspect the factory production line today. Traffic was too bad to head back anytime soon, so I figured he might as well come with me to visit.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you two,” Ren Dandan smiled warmly.
Then she looked Zhou Qi up and down with satisfaction. “Aiya, Zhou Niuniu, look at you now. All grown up already. Not bad, not bad.”
Qi Yao nearly choked. A chunk of fruit pulp caught in her throat, sending her into a brief coughing fit.
Drowning in confusion, her eyes flicked between Zhou Qi and Auntie Ren. “Who? Zhou Niuniu?”
Zhou Qi’s entire face flushed scarlet. He made a small, flustered noise.
The day had already become surreal enough beyond comprehension, but this revelation still managed to stun Qi Yao speechless.
She stared at Zhou Qi in disbelief and confirmed with shock, “You're that Zhou Niuniu? The one who always had a runny nose and fell asleep everywhere?”
That Zhou Niuniu who weighed over a hundred and forty pounds in elementary school?
"...”
Zhou Qi looked moments away from digging through the floor and burying himself alive. “That’s me.”
A breathy laugh drifted through the air. Yu Jiashu drawled, “Getting shy now? Where was all that courage when you came looking for a fight with me in high school?”
Qi Yao: ???
"You tried to fight him?!"
Was this really the same quiet, withdrawn Zhou Niuniu she remembered?
After starting middle school, Qi Yao rarely returned to the welfare home. She disliked the atmosphere here.
The younger children would laugh and play happily under the aunties’ coaxing, the rooms full of warmth and noise, but it all felt painfully fragile.
If you really thought about it, children with physical or mental challenges were trapped in that tiny, confined world. From an outsider’s perspective, it was heartbreaking, and even stirred up pity.
Even if she herself wasn’t truly an outsider either.
On the few occasions she could remember returning to the home, Zhou Niuniu was always sitting quietly in the corner, silently staring at the book in front of him—never crying, never causing a fuss, almost too well-behaved.
How…?
Qi Yao fell silent.
Zhou Qi gripped his water cup tightly, hesitating before finally speaking, “I came today to have dinner with Auntie Ren. I didn’t expect to run into you here. If I’d known, we could’ve come together.”
Ren Dandan blinked in surprise.“Oh? You two are in contact now?”
“No, not really.” Zhou Qi waved his hand quickly. “We just recently became neighbors. We live across the hall from each other now. Yao-mei probably didn’t recognize me, and I just… never found the right chance to bring it up.”
Actually, there had been chances, Qi Yao thought, lowering her eyes.
They had met so many times. At the barbecue stall, his apartment, her apartment, Fengxing Group. Thinking back on it, there were even moments when the words seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue.
It wasn’t that he never had an opportunity to say it. Zhou Qi simply hadn’t wanted to. He hadn’t wanted to use those few childhood encounters as an excuse to get close to her. Instead, he chose to reintroduce himself honestly, as a fan and as a neighbor.
No one was obligated to remain exactly who they once were. The current Zhou Qi was bright, straightforward, and sincere. He was wonderful as he was now.
...Just like how she felt about Yu Jiashu.
She didn't want to be just a high school classmate.
She wanted to stand before him, with her head held high, and confidently say:
Look. I’m not who I used to be.
Do you notice me a little more now?
Yu Jiashu lounged lazily against the back of his chair, pale fingers loosely wrapped around his water cup. As if sensing something, he lifted his eyes and met hers.
If he knew what she was thinking right now...
Would he answer her without hesitation?
Yes.
***
Ren Dandan and Zhou Qi chatted about recent happenings at the welfare home, recounting funny little incidents that gradually filled the office with laughter.
After a bit more lighthearted talk, the atmosphere had relaxed completely.
"Brother Yu, come help me assemble my toy car!" Sun Wenbo couldn't hold it in any longer. Finally found an opening, he jumped up excitedly.
Yu Jiashu laughed lightly. “Toy cars are all you think about, huh?”
“No, they’re not!”
Feeling cornered and afraid that Yu Jiashu had arrived early enough to overhear his argument with Auntie Ren, Sun Wenbo scrambled for a defense. “Just earlier, I was telling Sister Yaoyao that I’m going to be just like her. Study hard and get into a school in Beijing. Right, Sister Yaoyao?”
The second the little brat turned to her, Qi Yao’s heart lurched. She forced out a calm smile. “…That’s right.”
Yu Jiashu glanced at her briefly, looking unsurprised. Then he turned back to the kid and spoke in a flat tone: “Is that so?”
He wore a loose black hoodie today, casual and lazy. His long legs stretched out carelessly, blocking the kid’s path.
His face was undeniably handsome—clean, sharp features with strikingly defined angles. When he smiled, he seemed bold and unrestrained, but when fatigue set in, like now, the slight droop of his eyes lent him an almost cold detachment.
Sun Wenbo grew even more flustered under his gaze. His eyes darted around.
Desperate for that half-assembled toy car, he raised three fingers to his temple and swore a solemn oath: “I swear I’ll study hard from now on. Really hard.”
Yu Jiashu gave a lazy hum. “Why don’t you ask Sister Yaoyao if she agrees?”
The kid’s eyes sparkled. He immediately turned toward her expectantly.
Qi Yao paused, glanced at Yu Jiashu, then said, “Go ahead.”
Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow. Only then did he braced his hands on his knees and stood up with a lazy stretch. “Alright, let’s go.”
Sun Wenbo immediately rushed out the door in excitement.
Walking down the hallway, however, the boy slowly began sensing something strange.
Yu Jiashu never cared about this sort of thing. Usually he'd just help him assemble the circuits and leave.
After struggling with the question for a while, Sun Wenbo finally edged closer and asked cautiously:
“Brother, why did we need Sister Yaoyao’s permission?”
Yu Jiashu didn't answer.
But middle school boys possessed terrifying persistence when curiosity struck. Recalling having seen someone at the door earlier, he pressed on. “Did you see me arguing with Auntie Ren? When did you get here?”
Yu Jiashu neither admitted nor denied anything. He just paused for a beat. The image of that slender figure surfaced, unbidden, before his eyes.
Her pale profile. Her straight posture.The way she crouched patiently before the child without the slightest trace of impatience or pretense, so calm and gentle.
She wasn’t on a stage—just in a tiny, ordinary scene within a shabby, unadorned office. And yet, it felt as though she were standing beneath a spotlight the entire time, impossible to look away from.
Yu Jiashu crouched to inspect the toy car, long fingers skillfully adjusting the wires, answering casually, “I guess right around the time Sister Yaoyao handed you the cola.”
Sun Wenbo let out a skeptical “oh” and squatted beside him.
Still, something about the way Yu Jiashu had spoken earlier continued bothering him.
The words “Sister Yaoyao” had paused ever so slightly between his lips and teeth. They'd sounded, somehow, almost... tender.
***
Qi Yao came back every year, so there was never really much new to talk about.
Mostly, they just chatted about daily life and reminisced about old memories.
When Lizi knocked on the office door to say the photos had been printed, Qi Yao excused herself and stepped out.
“This many?” She flipped through the thick stack in surprise.
“I figured it’s better to have extra,” Lizi said. “Saves another trip.”
"Alright." Qi Yao stood at the doorway of an empty classroom holding a marker and the stack of photos, suddenly remembered something. "While you’re here, help me grab a document from the third shelf of Auntie Ren’s bookcase.”
Lizi nodded and left.
Qi Yao pushed open the classroom door.
Out of habit, she walked between the rows of desks and sat in the second-to-last seat beside the window. Then she uncapped her pen and began signing, one photo after another.
Years in the entertainment industry had already turned the movement into muscle memory.
Two slightly stylized yet elegant characters sat on the page, a golden pen stroke drawn neatly beneath them. The line dipped downward at the end, curved gently, then lifted lightly, finishing in one fluid motion.
A name, and a personal mark. It was her signature little trademark.
Qi Yao. 71.
As she signed, her thoughts continued racing, processing everything that had just happened.
So Zhou Qi really was Zhou Niuniu from the welfare home. No wonder he’d once mentioned being her junior from Community Middle School.
That sentence she hadn't quite caught back then… now, in retrospect, it must have been: "I've known you since middle school."
...And what about Yu Jiashu?
Why was he here?
Was it because he’d sponsored Zhou Qi through university and maintained some connection with the home afterward?
But normally, once children turned eighteen, their official ties to the welfare system were severed.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out.
In the distance, she heard Auntie Ren calling everyone for dinner. Qi Yao hurried to finish the remaining autographs.
Then suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the classroom window.
“This is awesome! I’m gonna show everyone!” Sun Wenbo was shouting in excitement, holding up the newly wired toy car circuit board, ready to dash off on his clattering feet.
“Hold on.” Yu Jiashu grabbed him by the scruff of his collar.
“What’s up?”
Yu Jiashu turned his head slightly, glancing into the classroom. Someone inside was sitting ramrod straight, her hand making tiny movements as she continued signing, clearly pretending not to hear the commotion outside. The corner of his mouth curved upward, and he raised his voice slightly.
“Didn’t your Sister Yaoyao say she’d give you signed photos?”
Qi Yao’s pen jerked violently. A crooked line slashed accidentally across the autograph.
“Yeah! A lot of girls in my class like her, so she’s giving them autographs.” Sun Wenbo thought for a second. “Oh, right. Probably some guys, too.”
“Is that so?” Yu Jiashu raised a brow ever so slightly, he tapped lazily against the windowsill twice
"Then ask her for me..."
He deliberately dragged out the final words, letting it hang with a certain roguish, teasing edge.
“Ask what?” Sun Wenbo asked, giving voice to the question forming in Qi Yao’s mind.
"...if her old high school classmate can have one too.”
---
Author’s Note:
Yao-mei: Sure, but that’ll cost extra (jk)
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