Starlight Descends - 54
Softhearted
It was many years ago.
Yu Jiashu's presence there had been pure coincidence.
Logically, someone from his background would rarely set foot in an overcrowded public hospital, much less an ordinary ward shared by several patients.
And yet, at that particular time, he had been there.
Yu Jiashu lowered his eyes, spooning soup to her lips one careful measure at a time. His movements were unhurried but meticulous, his expression calm as he explained simply.
"My mom remarried."
"The guy's an architectural engineer. His family wasn't wealthy. Just ordinary people."
For ordinary people, matters of birth, aging, sickness, and death naturally played out in ordinary hospitals.
Three years after divorcing Yu Chongshan, Ye Fan remarried. The following year, she became pregnant with another child. Yu Jiashu was seventeen that year, living alone in the old family compound and never once returned to Nanshan.
Maybe, in his heart, it couldn't even qualify as "returning."
You only return to a place you can call home. Nanshan was nothing more than a lavish house built of gold and prestige. It didn't deserve that title.
After giving birth, Ye Fan hadn't hired a caretaker. The elderly patient in the neighboring bed coughed through the night, and the endless noise from the hospital corridors left her exhausted and worn down, yet she never complained.
Yu Jiashu visited her occasionally. He would ask the elderly couple next door for advice, buy some postpartum supplements, carry them into the ward, sit down, set the gifts aside, and then silent.
There never seemed to be anything left to say.
When had he and Ye Fan become people with nothing to talk about?
He still remembered their family of three flying kites in the park, setting off fireworks by the river on New Year's Eve. But time had turned everything upside down. The once-complete family of three had shattered apart, each now had a new family of their own. Those beautiful, hazy memories seemed to have become relics from another lifetime.
Whenever he entered the room, that refined middle-aged man would visibly stiffen. Sometimes he would take the baby from Ye Fan's arms. Sometimes he would stop peeling an apple halfway through. His fingers would rub awkwardly against the seam of his trousers while he forced a polite smile and searched for some transparent excuse to leave the room, creating space for mother and son to be alone together.
Those awkward, silent moments announced one thing very clearly.
He was the outsider here.
Yet Yu Jiashu never showed it. When the man greeted him, he returned a polite nod. When the little baby blinked at him, he could even laugh in response. He remained composed, never looking awkward. But somehow it all felt detached, as though none of it truly belonged to him.
Ye Fan would usually beckon him closer to the bed, hold his hand, ask about his life, occasionally chime in with a few comments, then smile warmly and remark that her son was truly outstanding.
At seventeen or eighteen, a boy's pride could reach the sky. The question: Then why didn't you want me? lodged stubbornly in his throat, tangled with emotions he couldn't name, was swallowed back down again and again.
For three whole years, he never asked it. Still less would he bring it up now, on what was, for someone else's family, a day of great joy.
Besides, he already knew the answer.
Ye Fan had never been some broken-winged canary trapped in a gilded cage who beautiful but useless. She possessed an incomparable tenacity. In the early days of Fengxing's founding, her contributions were second to none.
Born of humble origins, she was sharp, capable, decisive, and farsighted. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Fengxing owed half its current success to her.
But women in modern society inevitably face all kinds of secular shackles. Once you marry and have children, people expected you to stay home, cook meals, wash clothes, and raise the kids.
As soon as the company began it's upward trajectory, the man's chauvinism surfaced in full force. Every holiday, relatives from his side of the family would gossip endlessly, saying she was still working while pregnant, like the Yu family couldn't afford to support one expectant mother.
After countless irreconcilable arguments, Ye Fan compromised. She returned to domestic life and stayed there for over a decade, until she could no longer endure it and chose to leave.
In a sense, Yu Jiashu himself had been one of her shackles.
Once, he had been the chain that forced her away from her career and back into the home.
Now, he was the burden tying her to a life she wanted to leave behind.
So he tried his best not to make himself unwelcome.
After the surface-level conversation ended, he calmly bid farewell to the family of three. His posture remained straight and confident, but he could never forget the sight he saw before closing the ward door.
One sitting, one standing. The newborn rested in his father's arms, receiving their mother's infinite, tender love.
That was what a truly equal and complete family looked like.
Seventeen-year-old Yu Jiashu stood outside the ward without moving. His expression remained faint, his gaze flat and straight ahead. No one could tell what he was thinking.
The soundproofing was poor. He could hear the quiet conversation behind him.
The man said he was good-looking, outstanding and polite. His presence was so strong it left the man a little nervous. He would undoubtedly accomplish great things in the future.
Ye Fan laughed softly and agreed. Yes, she said, his father would never allow him to become anything less. Then the conversation shifted to her newborn son.
The couple spoke in hushed tones, saying they didn't ask for great wealth or status for their child. They just wanted the baby to grow up healthy, safe, and happy.
Safe and happy.
Such simple, humble wishes.
And yet no one had ever wished that for him.
People only told him to be exceptional, to be capable. From the moment he could understand, expectations he never wanted had been piled onto his shoulders.
Not a single person had ever asked what he really wanted.
Perhaps there are no parents in this world who are perfect from the very first try. Everything requires trial and error, including marriage. Including family.
Maybe he was the mistake people learned from.
The corner of Yu Jiashu's mouth lifted into a bitter smile. Raising his chin, he let out a long, heavy breath. Just as he turned to leave, his gaze caught a figure outside the third ward across the hall.
A slender girl was curled up against the wall. She was so small she resembled a frail little animal.
Her head was buried in her arms. One hand pressed against her lower abdomen. The other gripped a phone so tightly that her pale fingers had turned white. Fighting tears, she asked someone something in a tiny voice.
The answer was apparently not what she wanted.
Yu Jiashu saw her freeze for several long moments. Her head drooped even lower as her arm slowly slipped downward.
A few seconds later, her shoulders began trembling uncontrollably.
She was crying.
He paused for exactly one second.
Then he walked on without expression.
The truth was, he had never been the sort of person who handed out kindness indiscriminately. Human compassion is finite. When you're mired in your own quagmire, it's hard to spare the energy to save someone else.
As he was about to pass by, he heard a quiet call.
It belonged to an elderly woman. The voice carried a note of concern, warm with the unique gentleness of old age. "Yaoyao?"
The girl paused for two seconds before responding.
Her voice still trembled at the edges, but she forced cheerfulness into it. "Mm. I'm outside doing homework, Grandma. I'll come in when I'm done."
By the time he reached the hospital entrance, that distinctly nasal voice was still echoing in his ears.
Yu Jiashu stood beside a sparse row of broad-leafed trees and looked out at the bustling road beyond the gates.
Taxis and passenger tricycles crowded together. Vendors selling steamed buns and dumplings called out their wares. Every time a bamboo steamer was opened, clouds of hot vapor billowed upward and white mist drifted through the air.
Before him and behind him. Two completely different worlds.
A taxi driver who had just dropped off a passenger pulled over and asked if he needed a ride.
The desire to leave another happy family behind and return to his own solitary existence was so overwhelming that he didn't want to look back at the place even once.
Seventeen-year-old Yu Jiashu stood there, silent for a long time.
It felt like hours, or perhaps only moments. Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
At last, he sighed softly and closed his eyes.
He turned his steps around and walked back.
A brief passing in a hospital corridor.
A pair of strangers who had never met.
A careless glance exchanged by neither.
A bowl of chicken soup whose scalding heat had long since been carried away by the winter wind, yet still felt warm to the touch.
Without either of them knowing it, some of the hardest times of their lives had miraculously intersected.
Like it had been destined.
Strange, really.
Whether it was seventeen-year-old Yu Jiashu, or twenty-five-year-old Yu Jiashu.
He never seemed capable of hardening his heart against her.
***
People became fragile when they were sick. He hadn't even told her much. Just a few brief sentences were enough to redden Qi Yao's eyes, and tears began slipping down her face in silence.
He had no idea what exactly she was crying about. Maybe because the figure from her memories hadn't been a dream. Maybe because of the reason he'd mentioned so casually. After patiently coaxing her for quite some time, she finally stopped crying and obediently finished her soup.
"How old is your brother now?" she suddenly asked after the last sip.
Yu Jiashu collected the bowl and thought for a moment. "Seven or eight, probably. I don't really remember. Why?"
"That's a shame." Qi Yao settled back against the pillow, muttering softly, "I was thinking that if he's around Sun Wenbo's age, he probably knows me. Kids that age always adore me. When you take me home someday, he'll be so jealous it'll kill him."
"..."
The moment the words left her mouth, the room fell silent.
Qi Yao abruptly stopped speaking, realizing she had just let slip the phrase "take me home," as if it were a settled fact.
Yu Jiashu barely reacted. He seemed to find the idea perfectly natural. After processing it for two seconds, he suddenly laughed, lowering his lashes as amusement flickered across his face. Tilting his head toward her, he spoke lazily.
"Jealous that I have such a beautiful girlfriend?"
"...Yeah." Qi Yao met his gaze, doing her best to sound perfectly justified. She blinked and asked softly, "Am I not beautiful?"
Her dark, silky hair spread across the pillow. It made her already fair face look even more delicate. Her peach blossom eyes were clear and gentle as she gazed quietly at him.
Yu Jiashu didn't answer. He merely lifted an eyebrow slightly, pulled out a wet wipe to clean his hands, then leaned down and kissed the corner of her lips.
His long fingers brushed past her cheek, idly toying with the delicate curve of her earlobe.
"Beautiful enough to kill."
His voice was low beside her ear.
"Lethal to the straight male species."
"That little brother of mine is going to hate my guts."
"..."
"I'm sick. Don't kiss me." Qi Yao turned her head to the other side, exposing the reddened shell of her ear, a bashful pink flushed against her pale skin.
Yu Jiashu watched her for a moment. Unable to help himself, he laughed quietly and finally stopped teasing her.
***
After lunch, Qi Yao couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and fell asleep. The fever still hadn't completely broken. Even in her dreams she slept uneasily. The hand that wasn't attached to the IV remained wrapped around his, and if he so much as shifted, she would frown.
Unable to do anything else, Yu Jiashu sat beside her bed, holding her hand while attending a meeting through his headphones.
He was supposed to be at the company right now.
When he received Qi Yao's call, he had just landed.
The moment he switched off airplane mode, Yu Chongshan was called to ask why he had suddenly decided to invest in a new project.
Yu Jiashu got into Da Bai's car and shut the door, heading for the office.
Too lazy to explain, he simply said he hadn't used any family money. The voice on the other end immediately darkened, sounding ready to explode. Then another incoming call interrupted. He glanced at the screen, ended the first call in two brief sentences, and swiped to answer the new one.
"Hello?" Yu Jiashu said.
He thought she was calling to ask if he'd landed safely. But after a long wait, she still hadn't spoken.
He called her name, his tone lifting in question. It was a long moment before a sound came from the other end.
The girl's voice was soft, very weak. She asked whether he had boarded the plane yet.
Yu Jiashu paused for two seconds. Rather than answering, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Qi Yao had probably been delirious with fever by then. She leaned her head toward the phone, held up by Lizi's hand, and said quietly. "If you haven't left yet… Could you come keep me company?"
Her voice sounded as though it might dissolve into the air at any second. She seemed to be waging an enormous internal battle. After a long hesitation, she explained timidly, afraid of inconveniencing him.
"Today's my grandma's death anniversary."
"I can't go visit her. But I don't want to be alone."
Her voice was so soft that the ending nearly disappeared. Even through the phone, he could hear the uncertainty and hesitation in it.
She was so afraid of burdening others, even her request depended on the condition that he hadn't left yet.
Yu Jiashu didn't answer. He merely asked her to hand the phone to Lizi and then made a gesture toward Da Bai.
One minute later, the black car made a U-turn at the nearest intersection and headed back toward the airport.
Two hours later, Jingfan's scheduled quarterly report meeting was moved online.
At this moment, the video call displayed two live feeds.
Jingfan's conference room was packed as usual. Since the head seat was empty, the discussion after the report inevitably descended into overlapping conversations.
Da Bai stood and flipped through several pages of documents.
"Zhijiang's had pretty good momentum these past two years. Their market share keeps growing. They can't compare to Fengxing, obviously, but the trend is strong."
"So what are they trying to do? Reserve exclusive rights to the XM980? That's one hell of an offer. Sounds like they're determined to go head-to-head with Fengxing."
"That's definitely not happening. We already said, part of the reason we acquired Hongtu and secured the licensing agreement was because we weren't interested in monopolies."
"In hindsight, our design and production model was incredibly smart. From chip design, manufacturing, packaging to testing. We integrated the entire chain. No one else in the country can match that right now. Small but elite, that's basically us."
"Oh, get lost. Listen to yourself brag. It wasn't even your idea."
"Alright, alright. Back on topic. Zhijiang asked around and wanted to talk. How should we respond?"
All eyes turned toward the screen.
The man in the feed looked indifferent. His chin rested on one hand, eyelids drooping lazily. His gaze wasn't even directed at the screen but somewhere beyond the camera's view.
Only after someone addressed him did he shift his eyes and begin typing casually.
Two words appeared in the chat box.
‘No talk’
"..."
Da Bai leaned in close to the screen, read it, then turned back to relay the verdict.
"Shu says no."
The conference room fell silent for a second.
Someone finally asked in confusion, "Okay, I can guess why he said no. He doesn't like making money through monopolies. But why can't he talk? Did he lose his voice or something?"
"I haven't heard him say a single word all day," someone else chimed in. "Boss, did our quarterly report disappoint you that much?"
On the screen, Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. Lifting his gaze, he looked so cold and detached that it seemed entirely possible he would end the call on the spot.
The conference room erupted in laughter.
"You're dead. Keep talking like that and he'll dock your bonus when he gets back at the end of the month."
"It's been three months since we last saw our Young President Yu. We kind of miss him, you know."
"Give me a break..."
Then, without warning, a gentle female voice drifted through the still-connected call.
The conference room was still in chaos, so only Da Bai, standing closest, caught it.
His heart lurched. He reached to close the call, but then he heard Yu Jiashu lower his voice and ask, "You're awake?"
Instantly, the entire conference room went silent.
Everyone stared, then exchanged stunned looks.
Meanwhile, the two people on the other end remained completely oblivious.
Yu Jiashu pulled out his earbuds with one hand and leaned over to touch her forehead. The fever had mostly gone down. Lowering his gaze, he asked softly, "Did I wake you?"
Qi Yao let him touch her forehead. Her head sank into the pillow as she shook it slightly.
A moment later, she pursed her lips and whispered, "You're not holding my hand anymore."
Typing one-handed had been difficult. Seeing her asleep, he'd carefully withdrawn his hand.
He hadn't expected that alone to wake her.
The hospital room fell quiet.
The girl's face was bare and pale. Her eyes clear. Soft strands of hair fanned out beside her ears.
She looked unbearably obedient.
Yu Jiashu looked down at her, and a laugh suddenly escaped him. "Mm. It's my fault."
"But..." His voice still carried a trace of amusement. Drawing out the last syllable, he teased, "Qi Shiyi, how did you get so clingy?"
"..."
Qi Yao pressed her lips together and looked away without answering.
Yu Jiashu's lips curved. He watched her for a moment more, then finally turned his gaze back to the screen, taking in the many dumbfounded faces on the other end of the call. He paused for two seconds, raising an eyebrow lightly.
Ignoring the flood of gossip rapidly filling the chat window, he exited the meeting without hesitation.
Qi Yao was much more awake now. Fragments of memory from her brief moment of waking slowly surfacing.
She vaguely remembered waking from the fever and talking to Yu Jiashu with Lizi helping her hold the phone. She seemed to have asked whether he'd boarded the plane yet.
What had he replied?
She couldn't remember.
After a moment, Qi Yao called out to him. "Did you land today?"
Yu Jiashu was setting his laptop on the bedside table. He showed no reaction to the question.
Only after putting it down did he turn and look at her. His dark eyes met hers. “No."
"The flight got canceled because of the weather."
His tone was casual and lazy.
Watching her, he continued, "Your luck is too good, Qi Yao."
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Author's Note:
Nobody could dislike Yu Jiashu. (A heartfelt sigh from his mother.)
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