Starlight Descends - 38
Date
It was a weekend morning. Pedestrians passed through the alleyway now and then.
They stared at each other for a long, stunned moment. Silence spread quietly through the air.
After a while, Qi Yao’s lashes trembled. She tilted her head, murmured a few words to Gu Heng, then turned and walked over to Yu Jiashu, her fine brows drawn together in confusion.
“What are you doing here?”
I should be asking you that.
Yu Jiashu lifted his gaze, watched the man slowly walk away, then let his lashes drop back down, lazy and cool. “Keeping Zhou Qi company. He wanted coffee."
Happy little buzz-cut, mid-sip of his milk: "?”
“Yeah, yeah, exactly.” Zhou Qi choked twice, eyes widening like saucers. After a two-second pause, he nodded furiously. “I’ve got social anxiety. Never been here before. Didn’t dare order by myself.”
“……”
Really?
Aren't you the type of guy who, if you tripped and fell in public, would pretend it was a deliberate performance?
Qi Yao hesitated for a moment, then made a soft sound of acknowledgment. "Kids shouldn't drink too much coffee. Hot milk is good, though."
Zhou Qi: "..."
Great. Husband sings, wife follows.
“I’m twenty-one, not eleven. You two are only, what, three or four years older than me? Do you really have to be this strict?” he protested helplessly.
His palms were damp with sweat. He rubbed them against the seams of his pants before cautiously asking, “So... Yao-mei, is your date over for today?”
Qi Yao opened her mouth, then, for some reason, glanced at Yu Jiashu. "Probably not yet.”
Meaning there was another one?
A green-and-white bus rolled past the alley entrance, trailing a faint breath of exhaust and a honk. Yu Jiashu tilted his head slightly, raised a brow, and said coolly to the person beside him,
“Your bus back to school here.”
If you listened carefully, there was a faint trace of irritation in his voice.
Zhou Qi had barely caught his breath before tensing up again. “This bus only comes once an hour. I’m heading out first.”
As he spoke, he shot Yu Jiashu frantic looks, his entire face screaming: Ge, help me find out!! Please, I'm begging you!
Yu Jiashu looked at him lazily, barely sparing him a glance. The meaning was obvious.
Just go.
Qi Yao waved goodbye to him. The two of them stood beneath the awning, watching him sprint into the distance, waving his arms wildly from far off, trying to flag the driver's attention.
He barely made it. Before stepping aboard, he stood on the steps and waved back at them from across the distance, still clutching his hot milk, and then carefully got on the bus.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them spoke. The air hung silent for a long moment. Then Qi Yao turned her head to look at him. "Are you free this afternoon?"
Yu Jiashu looked at her, concise and direct. "Depends."
His expression stayed calm and detached, very much carrying the attitude of Say what it's about first, then I'll decide if I'm free.
“Didn’t I say before that I’d treat you to a meal?” Qi Yao said softly. “I was going to ask you this morning, but something suddenly came up, and I forgot.”
Yu Jiashu lifted a brow slightly, dark eyes fixed on her. He didn't speak.
Qi Yao hesitated, then added, "If you're not free, that’s fine too. I can ask you another day in advance…”
The quieter she spoke, the more dejected she sounded.
Yu Jiashu watched her for a moment, car keys dangling loosely from his index finger, and interrupted her.
“So you wore this dress because you were planning to ask me out?”
“Ah?” Qi Yao blinked, caught off guard.
The recording studio was under maintenance today, so there was no work. She’d figured she might as well treat him to the meal she still owed him.
Woken up too early and with nothing to do, she started dressing up just because. Before she even had the chance to ask him, Gu Heng had called, saying he was outside her complex and had something to say.
She pressed her lips together and looked down at her dress.
It was one of her favorite dresses lately. Ye Qingman said it looked really flattering on her. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with it, right?
Qi Yao gave a small nod, suddenly a little nervous. “Yeah. Why?”
Yu Jiashu narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a few seconds.
“Really?”
Qi Yao: “……”
Her brows knitted together, genuinely confused. "Why would I lie to you?”
The slight chill in Yu Jiashu's expression eased. He lifted his chin and said lazily, “Then say it again. All together.”
“……”
Qi Yao wanted to ask say what, but looking at his face, she could tell that if she did, he'd turn around and leave.
So she replayed their conversation in her head, throughly baffled.
“I’m planning to ask you out,” Qi Yao pressed her lips together, her voice dropping self-consciously, "and this dress... I wore it because of you."
The words landed like a spell breaking some frozen enchantment.
Yu Jiashu looked at her for a moment, visibly in a much better mood now. He lowered his chin slightly and let out a soft laugh.
“I’m free.”
“You look really beautiful today.”
If you were free, then just say you were free. Why suddenly compliment her too?
Qi Yao felt her face heating up again. She followed him slowly down into the parking garage, opening the passenger door with practiced familiarity and slipping inside in one smooth motion, too distracted to even dwell on it.
“Did Zhou Qi buy this?”
Tucked beside the seat was a blue-and-white foldable blanket, fluffy and soft, completely out of place against the understated black interior.
Yu Jiashu was entering the restaurant address she’d sent him into the navigation system. He glanced over casually.
“Why can’t it be something I bought?”
“What would you buy this for?” Qi Yao asked, puzzled.
Yu Jiashu set his phone on the center console, right hand resting loosely on the steering wheel as he turned it lazily, gaze fixed ahead.
"For the person who falls asleep in the car."
Qi Yao let out an oh and didn’t say anything else.
The color scheme reminded her of her favorite Sanrio character somehow, and a faint wave of melancholy quietly spread through her chest.
…Was he really this experienced?
Buying blankets for other people?
She stared at the fine, soft fuzz for a long moment. The car was already moving down the main road before she finally asked, feigning casualness.
"Does someone fall asleep in this seat often?"
Her voice was light. Yu Jiashu had left the window cracked open, wind rushing through the narrow gap, and he didn’t hear her clearly. He shut the window with one hand, then asked, "What?"
Qi Yao paused.
Suddenly, she no longer had the courage to repeat herself.
Some words were like that. The moment passes, and you no longer want to say them.
She parted her lips and made something up on the spot, immediately selling out happy little buzz-cut.
“Zhou Qi said you bring people home at night.”
“Yeah.” Yu Jiashu answered casually, as if it were no big deal. The traffic light flickered green to red, and the car slowly came to a stop.
Qi Yao's heart dropped.
Before she could even react, she heard him add another line.
“Haven’t I been driving you home at night this whole time?”
His voice was low, drifting lightly through the air. The final syllable dragged lazily, careless and casual, yet enough to make her heartbeat stumble.
“……”
“Oh.”
Qi Yao turned to look out the window and pressed the button to lower it. Autumn wind brushed gently through her hair, cooling some of the heat in her face.
Yu Jiashu opened his window too, his left hand draped lazily on the sill as his long fingers tapped lightly against it.
Then, half a beat later, it seemed he finally processed what she’d asked earlier.
“Qi Yao.”
Yu Jiashu turned his head and said her name, dragging the final syllable slightly between his teeth.
“Mm?”
He arched one brow, his voice threaded with amusement. "You didn't think I bought it for someone else, did you?"
Qi Yao paused. “Huh?”
“If I say things too directly, you get embarrassed. If I’m vague, you don’t understand.” Yu Jiashu curled his lips into a smile and laughed softly.
“What am I supposed to do with you?”
Her heartbeat slammed wildly in her chest.
Sunlight poured through the open window, tracing a soft golden edge along his profile. The cool sharpness of his features softened beneath it, touched with lazy amusement.
His voice stayed relaxed and unhurried.
“You’re the only person who’s ever fallen asleep here.”
“I bought it for you.”
***
The place Qi Yao chose was near the Second Ring Road.
C City sat on a plain, its new tech district expanding southward. The city center, though bustling, still carried the familiar wear of old neighborhoods.
The residential buildings were low, their gray bricks weathered by time. Sycamores and ginkgo trees lined the streets, casting shifting shade over the small, homey storefronts below.
"I figured you've probably been to plenty of restaurants already, so I didn’t want to bring you somewhere too formal or business-like.”
The alley entrance was tucked between layers of little shops, thick ivy trailing across the walls beside it. Qi Yao walked ahead, pushed aside a deep green cloth curtain, and turned her head to speak to him.
“Come on.”
A hidden retreat in the middle of the city.
Despite sitting in the heart of downtown, the small home-style restaurant carried a strange kind of quiet ease.
Beyond the entrance was a courtyard. In one corner, two neat little vegetable patches grew rows of scallions and leafy greens.
A white cat lay sprawled in the sunlight, perfectly content. Even when people entered, it couldn’t be bothered to open its eyes.
There was even a well, pale gray bricks stacked in a circle, evoking those scenes from period dramas—well-water and chilled watermelon and tranquil summer days.
“Too bad it’s autumn now. Otherwise you could’ve had watermelon chilled in the well water too.”
As though she knew exactly what he was thinking, Qi Yao smiled, eyes curving slightly as she stepped over the stone threshold and beckoned him in.
Her eyes held a smile, fine glimmers of light flickering in their depths. So vivid and alive.
“Do you come here often?”
Yu Jiashu sat down and watched her deftly pull a menu from beside the counter and call out toward the kitchen, a faint answering voice echoing back.
“Do you remember the deskmate I mentioned in my letters before?” Qi Yao handed him the menu.
“Just order whatever you like.”
Yu Jiashu swept his eyes over it. His long fingers loosely caught the corner of the plain paper menu and pressed it back across the table to her, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.
“The one obsessed with nail art?”
Qi Yao looked surprised. “You’ve got a really good memory. I only mentioned her once or twice and you still remember?”
Yu Jiashu paused for a beat, then seemed to laugh, arching his brow lazily.
“I'd like to forget. But when that letter landed on my desk, it was so soaked I could practically wring water out of it.”
“……”
He was mocking her for crying too hard!
Speechless, Qi Yao decided not to talk to him anymore. She circled a few dishes and handed the menu to the front counter. "This restaurant is hers."
“She didn’t open a nail salon?”
“She did. It went bankrupt.” Worried someone might overhear, Qi Yao leaned in closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Her skills were terrible. She could only do solid colors, and customers kept complaining…”
Her skin was very fair. Her lashes were long and dark, fluttering with each shift of her expression.
Qi Yao was enthusiastically telling him a story, Yu Jiashu leaned back leisurely in his chair, gaze lowered toward her, unable to absorb a single word.
At the end, he made a noncommittal sound and asked idly, "So where are you going to work part-time now?"
Qi Yao: “…?”
Was this man serious?!
She'd exhausted herself telling him the epic saga of Yang Rou's wars with customers and landlords, and all he got out of it was where she’d work after the nail salon shut down?!
Qi Yao pulled back and leaned away from him, genuinely not wanting to talk to him anymore.
“Heard somebody talking trash about me.”
The voice arrived before the person. A girl in an apron strode in from the doorway, a handful of vegetables in her grip, stripping leaves as she went, words firing like rapid-fire.
"If it were anyone else blabbing about my dark and best-forgotten past, I'd have thrown them out already."
“I only told him because I mentioned you to him before,” Qi Yao immediately clarified.
“Who? Let me see…”
Yang Rou lifted her eyes. The instant her gaze landed on the man beside Qi Yao, her movements froze half a beat too late.
“Holy shit!”
Two seconds later, she cursed under her breath. Startled, she accidentally crushed the vegetables in her hand and stared at the two of them exaggeratedly, eyes darting back and forth.
“Your boyfriend?!”
“N, no…” Qi Yao had barely managed half a syllable before Yang Rou came stomping over, circled around them once, her assessing gaze sweeping rapidly, then nodded approvingly.
“Your taste in men’s improved, Yao-mei. This one looks way better than that Heng guy.”
Qi Yao: “……”
How was she supposed to respond to this?
The word "no" stuck in her throat. She turned to look at Yu Jiashu.
The man sat there leisurely, completely unbothered. Not only did he fail to deny it, he even lifted one brow slightly and accepted the compliment with perfect grace and absolutely no shame.
“As I should,” he said.
Qi Yao: “……”
“?”
Yang Rou was beside herself laughing. She tossed off a couple more teasing remarks, tightened her apron strings, and turned into the kitchen, telling them to wait, saying she'd personally cook them a full table today.
"She's a really good cook," Qi Yao said. “This place might not look like much, but reservations are usually booked solid.”
Yu Jiashu hummed softly.
“Got it. I'm only getting to eat here thanks to basking in your reflected glory, right?"
His tone was lazy and floating, irritating in a very deliberate way.
Qi Yao had been teased by him all day already. She'd reached her limit. She pressed her lips together and went along with it. "That's right! So you'd better thank me."
Her voice was soft, but her words came out crisp and quick. There was a faintly sulky edge beneath her usual coolness that made her seem especially vivid.
Yu Jiashu raised one brow. His long fingers curled slightly as he tapped twice against the table. After a moment, he laughed.
“Not bad.”
The little lady had grown some claws.
Now she knew how to talk back.
“Thank you,” Yu Jiashu said.
Though they were words of thanks, the drawl of his tone and his careless enunciation, perhaps with a thread of laughter, made them sound rather perfunctory.
The little white cat leapt gracefully over the threshold and wandered beneath their table with elegant laziness. Qi Yao reached down to pet it, grabbed a cat treat, then crouched to open it and feed the cat.
“You should say, ‘Thank you, Yaoyao-jiejie.’”
Her pronunciation was crisp and emphatic.
That was getting a little too bold.
No response came for several seconds.
Qi Yao shifted slightly and looked up to find Yu Jiashu resting one elbow on the armrest, leaning lazily against the back of his chair, his head tilted, looking at her with a smile but not quite.
“……”
Qi Yao snapped back to her senses instantly.
Crap! What had she just said?!
She’d told Yu Jiashu to call her JIEJIE!!!
Never mind the fact that she was younger than him. The commanding tone alone was wildly inappropriate for a spoiled young master like him.
Was he already thinking about how to get back at her?!
Ahhh what do I do?!
Qi Yao quickly looked away and focused on the kitten instead, gently held its pink toe bean and racked her brain frantically to salvage the situation.
“Hear that, Xiao Bai? You have to meow once, say ‘thank you, Yaoyao-jiejie’."
As she scrambled to cover her tracks, she started to stand up, staring at the floor, not daring to look at him, not noticing the corner of the table above her head.
“I was talking to the cat just now…”
Right before her forehead could slam into the edge of the table, a long, slender hand reached over with perfect timing, shielding the sharp corner from her head.
Yu Jiashu’s hand settled lightly against the top of her hair as he said beside her ear,
“Careful.”
Qi Yao froze.
The place he touched seemed to send a current racing from the crown of her head down the back of her neck, tingling all the way through.
Yu Jiashu’s voice was low, threaded with teasing amusement. He laughed softly through his breath and called her name word by word.
“Yaoyao-jiejie.”
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