Starlight Descends - 50
Limelight
The movie ended.
The lights had yet to come on, but people were already filing out of the theater.
Only the two people in the last row remained seated.
The girl wore a mask, but you could still tell how beautiful she was from her eyes. Beside her sat a man in a black jacket, posture relaxed yet upright. When he turned his head slightly, the clean-cut profile revealed by the dim light looked handsome and faintly aloof.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman together naturally draw eyes wherever they go.
Because of her profession, Qi Yao was always mindful of crowds in public and avoided cutting through a crush of people if she could. So Yu Jiashu stayed seated with her.
His distinct-knuckled hand was still holding hers. Neither had let go during the entire second half of the movie.
After watching the pair of high school lovebirds ahead of them leave hand in hand, Qi Yao press her lips together, wiggle her fingers slightly, and turn to look at him.
"...You saw it earlier. Why didn't you hold my hand?"
There was a faint note of accusation in her voice.
Yu Jiashu lowered his gaze lazily. His fingertips tapped lightly against the back of her hand twice as a quiet laugh escaped him.
"You looked so cute."
He meant it.
The girl had seemed completely absorbed in the movie, those peach blossom eyes wide and focused. He hadn't wanted to disturb her, and he hadn't wanted Qi Yao teasing him for having a one-track mind.
Halfway through, her hand had come to rest on the armrest beside his.
He'd held himself back for a long time, resisting the urge to pull it over and hold it. Who knew she'd start inching it over, bit by bit and, whether intentionally or not, her fingers kept brushing against his.
It had been, well. Pretty alluring.
Qi Yao let out a breath when she heard this, feeling a little rueful. She frowned, genuinely puzzled. "Guess my acting really is just too convincing."
Good enough to make him actually believe it was an unconscious move.
Yu Jiashu: "..."
Was she lamenting or secretly complimenting herself?
"You don't have to be that convincing next time." Yu Jiashu drawled out the words lazily, giving their joined hands a little shake. "You scared your boyfriend so badly he didn't dare hold your hand."
Qi Yao immediately objected. "How did I scare you? You're the one who's timid."
A second passed.
"I'm timid?" Yu Jiashu raised a brow and repeated the words, one at a time.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but a cleaning lady entered to tidy the theater. So he let it drop and didn't pick up the thread of her taunt.
The two of them rose and made their way out slowly, their shadows overlapping under the street lamps.
No longer one ahead of the other, no longer separated by a cautious distance. They walked close together now, hand in hand, shoulders brushing.
All the way to the residential parking lot, then into the elevator up. Yu Jiashu's gaze was fixed straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought.
"Oh, right." Qi Yao remembered something and turned her head to him. "I got a call this afternoon. About work scheduling."
She paused here. Yu Jiashu dropped his lashes to look at her, one brow lifting slightly, meaning: ‘Go on’
Qi Yao hesitated for two seconds, then said, cautiously, "I might... have to head to set earlier than planned."
For actors, most schedules revolved around filming crews and measured in months. Even the simplest modern drama takes at least two months; a historical drama with more episodes is even longer, Wild Pear Branch had taken nearly four and a half months to shoot. Being away from home for half a year was hardly unusual.
Having to part for a long while just as they'd started dating... Qi Yao was actually a little guilty about it and secretly studied his expression.
Ye Qingman's ex-boyfriend had kicked up a fuss multiple times over her being too busy, to the point that the young miss had actually turned down a few jobs to stay home with him. Although Qi Yao had never dated before, she still believed these things should be communicated openly.
Yu Jiashu, for his part, didn't have much of a reaction. He only asked, "When?"
"Next Tuesday, probably." Qi Yao checked the date. "I'll have to check with the company tomorrow."
Yu Jiashu lowered his eyes at her, with the light behind him, his expression was difficult to read. After a long moment, he simply hummed in acknowledgment without saying anything. He lazily turned his face forward again, and as soon as the elevator doors opened, he strode out on one long stride.
"...Are you mad?" Qi Yao followed behind him, lips pressed together as she asked cautiously.
"What do I have to be mad about?" Yu Jiashu didn't look back. His eyes were lowered, his long fingers tapping and swiping twice to check the lock's battery status. His voice sounded normal, but without seeing his expression, Qi Yao could not tell what he was thinking.
"It's just, I might not be back for a whole month. Except for the Fengxing launch event that one day." She sounded uneasy and a little anxious.
Yu Jiashu paused while opening the door, and finally realized what she was worrying about. Turning around, he narrowed his eyes slightly at her.
"What do you think I'm going to do?" he asked back.
Qi Yao blinked, caught off guard. She didn't answer.
Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow and listed off, "Get upset? Throw a tantrum? Stop you from going?"
Standing directly in front of her, he opened the door behind him and stepped backward. His fingers hooked her sleeve and pulled her inside.
The door clicked shut at once, enclosing them back in the familiar, quiet space.
Qi Yao heard several objects being dropped onto the cabinet. Something metallic seemed to roll twice before coming to a stop.
Yu Jiashu withdrew his hand and looked down at her. "This is your job, Qi Yao. I have nothing to be mad about."
As he spoke, he reached behind her and calmly locked the door before continuing. "If I were just your friend, and I saw you dating a man like that..."
He paused for a moment, searching for the right wording. Apparently failing to find it, he finally parted his lips and said flatly,
"I'd tell him to go to hell."
His tone was casual, almost nonchalant, yet it held a clean, incisive clarity, right and wrong clearly delineated.
Qi Yao's heart gave a jolt.
"...Why?" she asked.
"Even in a relationship, two people are still two separate individuals.” Yu Jiashu lowered his eyes casually, his pupils glimmering in the dark. "Both should have lives of their own."
"No one has the right to demand the other give something up for them. If they do, that's not love. That's emotional hostages."
His voice remained calm, like he was merely making an offhand remark. But it raised a tsunami in her heart.
It felt like someone had seized her heart and squeezed it.
Qi Yao was silent for a moment, unable to express the overwhelming emotion she felt right then.
The environment she had grown up in had left her more sensitive than most people. Around those she cared about, she constantly worried about upsetting them.
To put it simply, people always became eager to please the person they loved.
And now the person she loved most was telling her openly that she never needed to worry about that.
"Qi Shiyi."
Yu Jiashu said her name, his tone calm. "You go chase your brilliant, shining future."
"I'll work at it," he paused, then seemed to laugh softly, "I'll try my best not to hold you back."
Qi Yao's breath caught violently in her throat.
Her heart soared high, then plunged back down with a heavy thud.
That evening long ago, in the little alley by the school, she had thought to herself: This person would probably always become the version of him she most hoped for. And so far, he had never once proven her wrong.
Yu Jiashu was, always, the absolute best.
After a brief pause, Qi Yao suddenly lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
Standing against the wall, she rose onto her toes and tugged him down slightly, whispering, "Then let me tell you something too."
Yu Jiashu was caught off guard, he lowered his head slightly. "Hm?"
Qi Yao looked at him, blinked twice, and said softly, "I like you so much."
Her warm, gentle voice landed softly in the air.
The atmosphere instantly quieted. Only the sound of their breathing, shallow and deep, intertwined in the silence.
Qi Yao felt the person in front of her freeze, his movements halting abruptly. He visibly stiffened for a split second.
A few seconds later, his pale, thin eyelids lifted. From this position, he leaned down, one hand locking around her waist, his back curving slightly. In what seemed like a single instant, he'd flipped the dynamic, and the aggressor had changed.
Yu Jiashu's dark eyes were fixed on hers. "Say it again."
"..." Qi Yao bit her lip. The roots of her ears were nearly scarlet. The arms she had wrapped around his neck tightened unconsciously. She murmured, "I like you so..."
Before the words were fully out, the arm around her waist tightened. The person in front of her pressed in.
Her breath stopped with a gasp.
They were impossibly close.
The warm breath from their proximity brushed gently against her face. Their lips were almost touching.
Qi Yao stared wide-eyed at his face right before her.
Holding her gaze, Yu Jiashu brushed his long fingers along her cheek. The pad of his finger pressed lightly, covering her eyes.
Her long lashes fluttered against his palm, casting a shadow thick with tension and intimacy.
...Was he going to kiss her?
Her heartbeat accelerated wildly, threatening to leap out of her chest. Yet the anticipated moment never came.
He remained still.
With her blocked vision, Qi Yao couldn't read his expression. All she could feel was his breath nearby. After a long moment, a trace of confusion and hesitation flickered through her. She furrowed her brows slightly.
Yu Jiashu understood immediately. The meaning was obvious.
Why aren't you kissing me?
Where she could not see, his eyes had darkened into something deep and dangerous.
His composure, however, remained intact.
"I'm a little timid."
His voice reached her ears, low and deep, a little hoarse, like a fire lit right beside it.
"I don't dare."
"..."
One offhand comment she'd made in the movie theater, he'd remembered it all the way until now, and was using it against her. Qi Yao's fine brows furrowed deeper. A war raged inside her.
She knew exactly what he wanted.
The darkness hummed with their breathing.
The air heated up.
The temperature kept rising.
Their relationship hovered on the edge of something new. Waiting for her answer to land it, or leave it suspended.
He insisted on making her say it. These moments of tangled breath were agonizing.
After a long while, Qi Yao rose onto her toes again. It was unmistakably a yielding posture. Her lips brushed lightly against the side of his face, then she leaned close to his ear and whispered,
"...I'm granting you an early end to the probation period."
In other words:
You can kiss me now.
For the first time, Yu Jiashu's composure cracked.
Something invisible ignited in the darkness, every physical sensation was infinitely magnified.
Their breath drew closer and closer, until it fused into one.
The tips of their noses touched. Their lips met.
Lips and teeth slowly parted. A soft sensation spread from inside her mouth.
His tongue found hers. Gentle at first, then gradually guiding, leading, taking control.
Heat flooded her body.
Time stretched endlessly, or perhaps disappeared altogether, as if her very soul was floating, dizzy, plundered and tangled by his kiss.
She didn't know how long it had been. Not until her slender, pale fingers curled and scratched lightly at the back of his neck did Qi Yao finally pull back a little, panting softly, and whisper, "...Can't breathe."
Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were red, her lips still glistening wetly, her lashes trembling gently.
Yu Jiashu looked down at her, his own chest heaving. He made a low sound of acknowledgment.
Their foreheads and noses were still touching, an intimacy so complete it almost felt surreal.
The man's long fingers traced along the curve of her waist, again and again, everywhere they passed ignited fire in its wake.
Ticklish and numbing. Qi Yao tried to retreat. Yu Jiashu's arm tightened around her, holding her firmly. He raised an eyebrow very slightly.
In the moonlight, his pupils reflected a pale glint, black and unfathomably deep, like a vast, profound sea.
"You're about to leave soon. Is your boyfriend not even allowed to touch your waist?" His voice was low.
...This man. Just a moment ago, he'd sworn wouldn't use this against her. And now here he was shamelessly acting spoiled.
Qi Yao pressed her lips together. Fair exchange. "Then you have to let me touch your abs."
Yu Jiashu paused a beat, then suddenly laughed. "Still thinking about that?"
"Sure," he said. He tilted his head back a little, still laughing. She could even feel the vibration through his chest.
Covering her hand with his, he guided it forward.
Hard. Tightly muscled.
It felt like she could feel the heat even through the fabric. Qi Yao's fingertips flinched, wanting to shrink back. He immediately pressed them back down, unyielding, holding them flat against him.
Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow at her, the teasing in his expression as clear as day. It practically screamed, Weren't you the one who wanted to touch? Why are you pulling back?
The sensation was far too vivid. Qi Yao looked away and hurriedly changed the subject. "...What if Zhou Qi comes back soon?"
They were still standing at the doorway doing all this.
It seemed a little inappropriate.
"That reminds me." Yu Jiashu paused for a few seconds, then withdrew his hand from her waist. As if reluctant to part, he glanced down and hooked a finger briefly into the waistband of her slip dress.
"I'm going to wash my hands."
The dopamine rush had apparently dulled their reaction time on other fronts.
Standing in the darkness, Qi Yao stared at him in confusion. "Hm?"
She blinked twice. Then, all at once, it dawned on her. She took two steps forward and peered at the things he had set on the entryway cabinet when he'd unlocked the door.
"..."
Qi Yao was silent for a while.
After a long moment, she said, "Yu Jiashu, you're terrible."
The accused party merely hummed, completely unbothered. His fingers, freshly washed and cool, settled over the back of her hand and guided it beneath the hem of his sweatshirt.
The back of his hand was cool.
His palm was scalding hot.
Heat rushed across Qi Yao's ears and cheeks.
In a dazed haze, she heard him say lazily,
"Terrible it is, then."
***
Late at night. All was still.
The happy little buzzcut had finished writing his thesis at school and came home humming a tune. Cheerfully, he placed his hand on the door lock, thinking he'd play at least ten rounds of games that night.
Five seconds passed. The security door didn't budge.
"...Huh?"
No reaction again?
That couldn't be right. He'd just replaced the batteries yesterday. Zhou Qi frowned, bending down to inspect it and reached beneath the metal lock with his fingers.
"..."
Empty!!!
Under the plastic cover, where the batteries were supposed to go, there was nothing at all!
"Holy crap, who the hell steals batteries! Do people have no shame anymore!" Zhou Qi was incandescent with rage, so furious his face twisted up. He paced back and forth in the hallway.
Then, suddenly, his gaze shifted. On the spotless marble floor by the door lay an envelope.
Zhou Qi picked it up.
Inside was a key and a note.
The paper had clearly been torn from some document. The edges were ragged and uneven, like someone had just ripped it off carelessly. The handwriting, however, was very familiar.
“Building next door, Unit A, Floor 9.
Everything you need is already there."
Zhou Qi: "..."
What the hell was this supposed to mean?
He'd just... prepared him a whole new apartment?
???
---
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