Starlight Descends - 28

The Moon

---

What would you know?

You don't know anything.

Qi Yao looked away, lashes lowering as she smiled faintly to herself.

Silence settled over them again. Yu Jiashu looked like he still wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, the owner arrived with their food.

"Here we go, Here we go."

He spread a plastic sheet across the tabletop before setting down stainless steel trays piled with grilled pork belly, ribs, skewers, roasted potato slices, eggplant, and more. Chili powder had been sprinkled generously over everything, the aroma rich and irresistible.

Then he brought two more bottles of soda and set them on the table with a firm clunky. 

"These are on the house!" His gaze flicked meaningfully between the two of them, muttering under his breath, "After all the times you've come here, you've finally brought a girl."

Yu Jiashu thanked him, a hint of a smile in his voice. "She brought me here."

"Oh my." The owner's grin widened instantly. "Well then, you better bring her again next time."

Qi Yao: "..."

She pressed her lips together without saying anything and buried herself in the food.

The barbecue really was ridiculously good.

Rich with the flavor of smoke and fire, the pork belly grilled to perfection, not greasy, and crisp without turning dry.

It had been far too long since Qi Yao had allowed herself to indulge. 

Compared to quiet restaurants and carefully plated dishes, she'd always preferred down-to-earth food like this, the kind of roadside snacks that might upset your stomach after eating them.

Spiral potatoes dusted in spice powder, sauce-covered flatbread, stuffed egg pancakes, fried chicken strips. A whole strip of noisy, open-air food stalls.

But over the years, she'd gradually given them up due to the demands of physique management. 

Given this rare opportunity, she ate more than usual.

They chatted about all sorts of trivial things happening around the people they knew, and by the time the meal was winding down, Qi Yao leaned back into her chair.

"...I'm so full."

Yu Jiashu glanced at her, amused, fingers tapping lightly against the chair armrest twice. "The second nobody's watching, you just stuffed yourself silly, huh?"

"Eating's supposed to make you happy." Qi Yao pouted slightly and sat there recovering for a moment.

"I'm going to pay." She grabbed a napkin and stood up, warning him as she did, "Don't follow me."

Yu Jiashu stayed exactly where he was, lounging lazily in his chair as he gave an idle hum of acknowledgement, watching her go.

His gaze dropped to the table.

Actually, she hadn't eaten much at all. Mostly vegetables, which she'd carefully dabbed the oil off before each bite. The amount of time she spent meticulously working through one rib would've been enough for Zhou Qi and Da Bai to demolish this entire table.

But she was serious about it.

Head lowered, slowly picking through everything bit by bit, never seeming impatient or bothered. Careful. Patient.

...Like an overly picky little cat.

Cute.

Yu Jiashu waited a while longer, then got up and ambled toward the register.

Qi Yao was standing there, tapping at her phone before holding it up to pay.

The owner looked up from his busy accounts, seeing Qi Yao, he waved his hands in immediate refusal. He was just about to say something when his gaze landed on the man standing behind her, he quickly beckoned with his phone.

"Oh perfect, Xiao Yu, come here, come here."

Qi Yao wore a mask. Under the white lighting, her peach blossom eyes shimmered softly, rippling with confusion as she turned to look at him.

Yu Jiashu lazily lowered his eyes and pulled up his payment QR code. Holding his phone loosely between his thumb and middle finger, he casually extended it forward.

The two phones were raised in the exact same posture, side by side in front of the scanner. Without hesitation, the owner's machine skipped right past Qi Yao's hand and scanned Yu Jiashu's code instead.

A beep sounded.

Payment successful.

Qi Yao's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wasn't this supposed to be my treat?"

The owner printed their receipt and clicked his tongue. "You're the girl! He's taking you out to eat, how could I possibly let you pay? I'm not taking your money anyway."

"No helping it." Yu Jiashu reached out to take the receipt, brows lifting slightly as he looked at her. "Guess you'll have to wait for next time."

"..."

What even was this?!

"I shouldn't have brought you here." Qi Yao followed him out of the shop, muttering complaints under her breath behind him.

Yu Jiashu slowed his pace and glanced sideways at her.

She looked genuinely sulky.

"Alright." He tilted his chin slightly, his voice trailing with a hint of a laughter. "It was barely over a hundred yuan."

"Next time the big star treats me, it'll have to be somewhere much nicer, won't it."

Qi Yao thought about it and realized he had a point. Beneath her mask, one cheek puffed out a little.

"Fine then."

Yu Jiashu's eyes were still crinkled with amusement. He turned his head back and headed toward the riverside.

Qi Yao paused for two seconds, glanced behind them, then hurried after him, reminding him quietly, "The way back is the other direction."

Yu Jiashu didn't stop. His long legs carrying him leisurely forward as he gave another absent-minded hum.

"Ate too much. Taking a walk."

You ate even less than I did, Qi Yao thought. What's there to walk off?

Though she was, admittedly, rather full.

...And she wasn't willing to pass up this chance to walk beside him.

They walked side by side through the noisy alleyways packed with people. Convenience stores and late-night food shops lined both sides of the street, brightly lit and lively.

Now and then, people would glance their way.

Not the kind of stare that treated her like some exhibit on display, or some untouchable person people only saw online.

Just...

Qi Yao lowered her eyes and overheard two girls outside a convenience store whispering over cups of oden.

"Oh my god, look! Gorgeous guy and gorgeous girl."

"They look so good together, help, it's like something straight out of a drama."

"Keep your voice down, they'll hear you."

Qi Yao didn't know if Yu Jiashu had heard them, but her heart skipped violently all the same. She carefully lifted her eyes to look at him.

The man was half a step ahead of her, his pace deliberately slow. The street lamps cast a dim yellow glow across the clean, sharp lines of his profile. A shadow fell behind him, stretching all the way to her feet.

So close.

As if she could reach him. 

A secret joy quietly bloomed in her chest, swelling lighter and lighter until it seemed to float weightlessly in the air.

Qi Yao pressed her lips together. Secretly, she slowed her own steps, cautiously closing the distance, and began stepping on his shadow. 

One step. Two steps. Three.

The shadow spilled across the roadside stairs, covering fallen ginkgo leaves, stretching and shrinking with every movement. She followed along behind him, playing with it happily the entire way.

Past the alley entrance, the riverside finally opened up before them, the road widening.

Autumn wind rippled across the river surface, reflecting the blazing city lights from both shores. The long strips of light trembled with the water. Flowers in a mirror, the moon in the water—beauty you can only glimpse, never hold.

The person ahead of her suddenly stopped.

Qi Yao, still focused on her pursuit of his shadow, couldn't pull back in time. She collided with his back.

A low muffled sound escaped as she froze, and a cool, clean scent wrapped around her.

Her nose and brow pressed against the fabric of his clothes. The material was soft, she could feel the shape of his bones beneath it, the warmth of his body.

Not a brush in passing.

Not fleeting contact.

A real, unmistakable touch.

"How much longer are you planning to play?"

His lazy voice came from above her head.

"..."

Did this man have eyes on the back of his head?

Qi Yao's body went rigid. Heat rushed straight to the tips of her ears. She kept her face buried, stubbornly refused to lift her head, expression scrunched up in embarrassment.

Yu Jiashu could feel the tiny movement as she rubbed her face against his back, and had to suppress a laugh. "This jacket has embroidery on it. Doesn't it prick?"

"...Not really."

Actually, a little.

Qi Yao took a small step backward, her face burning, silently thanking god she was still wearing a mask.

Yu Jiashu clicked his tongue softly. He turned around and looked down at her with lazy amusement. "Do you want to walk behind me? Or beside me?”

Qi Yao's long lashes trembled. Pressing her lips together, she stepped quietly to his side, lowering her gaze to the shimmering lights reflected across the river.

Mid-October.

The sixteenth day of the lunar month.

A full moon night.

The moon reflected across the vast river surface still shimmered faintly with the movement of the water.

Like the moon from the stories she'd read as a child, the one the monkey tried every possible way to scoop from the water but could never reach.

An old record store stood nearby. Its vinyl player turned slowly, playing "This Is the Bravest Moment of My Life.”

You, standing before me from the farthest edge of the world.

For her, expressions like ‘the moon is beautiful tonight’ had always felt far too obvious.

Qi Yao simply stood by the railing, turned back to him, and said,

"The moon."

Her voice was soft, sinking quietly into the river-mist of the evening.

Bathed in moonlight, her entire silhouette seemed gilded with a soft, hazy white glow.

The water swayed gently below, scattering soft shards of light across the surface.

Yu Jiashu looked at her and gave a quiet, "Mm."

***

The autumn wind cut sharply through the night. Leaves had fallen again along the winding path downstairs.

Qi Yao closed her door and leaned her back against the heavy security door, listening to the sound of the opposite door opening and shutting. Her heart felt as if it were clutched by an invisible hand, painfully swollen and unbearably full all at once.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

After a long pause, she lowered her eyes to look.

He had sent a picture.

It was her, standing by the brightly lit riverside, head tilted up toward the sky.

The wind lifted her long hair. Moonlight illuminated the curve of her profile at the exact instant she turned around.

Thump. Thump.

Her heartbeat pounded violently against her ribs.

Qi Yao stared at the photograph, seized by a dizzying sensation of falling weightlessly through air.

The true subject had been pitifully relegated to the upper right corner of the frame, showing only a pale, luminous edge. 

The center of the photo was entirely her.

Looking at the two things together, it was impossible not to feel that...

She was his moon.

---

Author's Note:

I've seen a lot of you asking! To avoid spoilers, all I can say is: Shu only sort of knows, but doesn't fully know (?)

From his perspective, it's mostly guesswork.

What he received was just a letter. One that wasn't handed to him in person, had no signature, and whose content was simply a very sincere blessing without any explicit confession of feelings. That's all.

It's all actually there in the synopsis already. 

---

← Previous | Table of Contents | Next →

0