Starlight Descends - 56
Pajamas
“...”
Her heart was all over the place, pounding hard against her ribs.
Standing in front of her cabinet with an old photo album in hand, Qi Yao's thoughts tangled themselves into knots.
Maybe he only asked because she had just recovered from being sick. It would be easier to look after her if they stayed in the same apartment.
Maybe they were really just going to sleep.
Maybe nothing would happen at all.
She shouldn't get ahead of herself.
...But what if something did?
Qi Yao stood in her living room, clutching the album as one chaotic thought after another crashed through her mind. She was so flustered she could barely think straight. Hugging the album against her chest, she froze there helplessly, unable to take even a single step forward.
...I should bring pajamas, right?
The thought sent her back into the bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and started searching.
She took out her usual cream-colored long-sleeved pajama set and folded it neatly in her hands.
Then she hesitated.
...Is this too innocent?
After a moment's struggle, she put it back and continued rummaging through the closet.
What about this one? The buttonholes on the top are too tight. No, no.
That one? A slip dress. Would that seem too deliberate?
Two tiny versions of herself waged war inside her head, debating and dithering for ages. She even called Ye Qingman to ask her opinion. Once done, heart full of nervous butterflies, Qi Yao gathers her things and steps out into the living room.
The moment she opened her front door, she saw the door across the hall slowly opening too.
The man inside seemed to have been on his way out. Hearing the sound, he looked up.
The two of them stood in their respective doorways and stared at each other in strange silence.
Yu Jiashu swept his gaze over her twice. "...I thought you'd passed out again in your home."
Qi Yao: "..."
"Not quite."
Pressing her lips together, she hugged her clothes and photo album and stepped into the hallway. Just as she reached back to close the door behind her...
A sound came from the elevator.
The mechanical hum stopped, then the doors slid open.
A familiar voice floated out. "Sister rides the boat ahead, brother walks the shore behind~"
Someone came swaggering out singing to himself. He glanced up casually, froze for two seconds, then exclaimed in surprise, "What are you two doing?"
He even walked a circle around them before asking curiously, "Having a meeting in the hallway?"
"..."
Both of them froze.
The silence was absolute.
Zhou Qi didn't notice a thing. His eyebrows shot up in delight. "Yao-mei! Haven't seen you in forever!"
He bounded over and looked her up and down with obvious concern. "I saw one of your big fan accounts saying you got sick these past few days! Did filming for 'Dust's Melody’ stop?"
"You've gotta take care of yourself! Work's important, but your health comes first..."
Her brain stalled, it took Qi Yao several seconds to process what he was saying.
Before she could answer, Yu Jiashu exhaled a heavy breath, his expression cold. He leaned his weight against the doorframe, brow pressing low, and spoke, voice dropping. "Why are you here again?"
Zhou Qi: "..."
"?"
He turned around, baffled. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he smacked his own head. "Oh, oh! Right, ge! I forgot to tell you something. I've been swamped these last few days at school, finishing my thesis proposal. My brain's fried."
Yu Jiashu just stood there, watching him rummage through his backpack. From an inner pocket, Zhou Qi pulled out an envelope. He handed it over, still sealed, and said with complete sincerity. "Ge, next time you need to give someone a key, you should really do it in person! Leaving it outside the door is way too dangerous. Good thing I found them and kept them safe for you. Otherwise your new place could've been robbed!"
"Though I had no idea you'd bought a new apartment. Are you moving out?"
Yu Jiashu: "..."
"I'll admit I'm gonna miss having you around. But I respect your decision."
As he spoke, he tried walking inside.
It proved to be difficult. Mostly because Yu Jiashu was still standing motionless in the doorway.
These two were acting weird today. One stood in the hallway holding a bunch of stuff. The other was just... standing there.
Completely baffled, Zhou Qi scratched his head and squeezed through the tiny gap beside him, entirely oblivious to the darkening expression on Yu Jiashu's face.
After taking a few steps, he turned around again. "Oh right, ge! One more thing!"
"What." Yu Jiashu's voice was clipped and cold. Irritation radiated from every syllable.
"Somebody's been stealing door-lock batteries in the complex lately!"
"I asked in the residents' group chat. Everyone said they haven't run into it yet, but they'll keep an eye out. We should watch out too. Why's this idiot targeting our building specifically?"
"..."
Yu Jiashu closed his eyes and exhaled a heavy breath.
Bang!
The security door slammed shut from the outside.
Leaving one utterly baffled little buzzcut standing behind it, mouth hanging open in confusion.
"...Huh?"
***
The hallway fell silent.
No amount of planning could account for Zhou Qi.
Qi Yao looked down at the carefully prepared items in her arms. After a long pause, she said quietly, "...Then I guess I'll go back?"
Yu Jiashu stared at her for a moment, then exhaled. "Yeah. Call me if you feel unwell at all."
"Okay."
Uncertain whether Zhou Qi might burst out at any moment for a surprise attack, neither of them dared linger. Qi Yao gave him one last look and returned home.
After washing up, she climbed into bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
She hadn't slept in her own apartment for a while. It felt oddly unfamiliar.
Qi Yao made a mental note: tomorrow, she needed to drag Lizi over to help clean the living room.
She zoned out aimlessly for a while longer, then rolled over, clutching her Cinnamoroll plushie. Her gaze landed on the clothes sitting atop her nightstand.
The pajamas she'd spent so long choosing.
They never even got used.
An inexplicable sense of disappointment welled up inside her.
If she hadn't looked forward to it so much, maybe the interruption wouldn't have bothered her this badly.
But she had.
She'd carefully picked an outfit and even called someone for advice. But in the end, nothing happened.
Qi Yao sighed gloomily. She unlocked her phone and scrolled absentmindedly. Her eyes caught the familiar black profile picture appearing in her Moments feed again.
Curious, she tapped it open.
[S]: Hope certain people develop a sharper eye for spotting clues.
The first comment below it read:
[Happy Little Buzz Cut]: What's that supposed to mean?
Qi Yao: "..."
Apparently not.
Unable to help herself, she laughed.
Lying on her stomach, she sent Yu Jiashu a WeChat message.
A cat sticker tilting its head.
“What are you doing?”
The reply arrived almost instantly.
A photo.
Qi Yao tapped it open.
It looked casually taken. He'd changed into a black long-sleeved shirt. Half his slender neck was visible, a prominent Adam's apple occupies the upper-right corner of the frame, tiny droplets of water still clung to his skin.
He'd probably just gotten out of the shower. The ends of his hair were still wet. Water trickled downward, darkening a small patch of his collar. Beneath the fabric, a solid silhouette was faintly visible.
...He looked ridiculously attractive.
Qi Yao paused. Her throat tightened.
Two minutes later, apparently finished cleaning up, he finally followed up with a text.
[S]: Showering.
[S]: My hands were wet just now.
[1]: ...Oh.
[S]: ?
Long, elegant fingers tapped the screen a couple of times. Yu Jiashu casually rubbed his hair with a towel and set his phone on the desk. He lowered his lashes, waiting to see what she wanted to say.
A while later, a photo appeared from her side too.
Taken from almost the exact same angle.
In the photo, the girl's slender arm was stretched upward, exposing the long, pale curve of her neck.
Her collarbones were delicate and perfectly shaped, two shallow hollows resting beneath smooth skin that glowed softly under warm lighting.
...They looked very nice to touch.
Worse still, she seemed to have changed into a different set of pajamas. Not the one he'd seen before.
Also long-sleeved, but more form-fitting, showing off a waist so narrow it seemed a single hand could circle it.
Two thin straps wrapped around her neck, crossing above her collarbones before disappearing into a lower neckline.
The skin below her collarbone gleamed softly, the subtle rise and fall beneath it was impossible to ignore.
So pale it seemed to glow.
"..."
"Fuck."
Yu Jiashu froze. His Adam's apple bobbed.
Several seconds later, he exhaled heavily, closed the image, and typed.
[S]: Don't tempt me.
[1]: ...?
[S]: I will go throw Zhou Qi out right now.
[1]: ...!
[1]: No no no no no!
Qi Yao hurried to type, stopping him. She lay sprawled on her stomach as the shells of her ears reddened. "We'll find a chance to tell him in the next couple of days."
After a long pause, Yu Jiashu finally forced his gaze away from the picture.
Taking a deep breath, he typed back: Fine.
He couldn't wait to.
Lying on her stomach, Qi Yao stared at their chat window. She couldn't remember ever being this ridiculous before.
When she was filming, she barely noticed it herself. Work consumed every waking moment. But the instant she got sick, she became clingy.
The whole time she was in the hospital, Yu Jiashu stayed with her. Longer than Lizi, even.
At night, he slept on the tiny attendant's cot beside her bed. At one-eighty-seven, his long legs had suffered miserably.
For days on end, Qi Yao could reach out and hold his hand anytime. Whenever nobody was around, she could even steal a hug.
Now she was better, yet somehow things were worse. They had gone back to their separate apartments. Anything she wanted to do suddenly became impossible.
The more she thought about it, the more depressed she felt.
Before dating him, she'd never realized she could be this clingy.
She thought for a moment, then typed, asking him, "Do you think I'm too clingy?"
[S]: ?
[S]: You call this clingy?
[S]: I wish you'd cling to my back all day.
Qi Yao: "..."
"Be serious!"
Yu Jiashu thought, I am being pretty serious.
Still, he followed her lead.
[S]: What's this about?
Qi Yao paused for a long time. She rolled over onto her back, pursed her lips, and her fingers began moving across the screen.
"I really want to hold your hand right now."
"I also want to hug you."
"..."
"And maybe kiss you a little."
The moment she sent it, her entire face turned scarlet. It felt like she was saying it to him in person.
She rolled over and buried her face in the blankets, rubbing furiously against the sheets.
This was so embarrassing.
She tossed the phone aside. There was no movement from it for a long while.
By the time the heat had almost faded from her ears and she was preparing to emerge from the blanket cocoon, her phone finally buzzed twice.
Yu Jiashu had answered.
She picked it up.
[S]: No need to wait a couple days.
[S]: I just told him. He's moving out tomorrow.
"..."
The "typing..." indicator remained at the top of the screen. Qi Yao sat upright, pressing her lips together, waiting for what came next.
[S]: Don't send stuff like this before bed from now on.
[1]: ...
[1]: Why?
The typing indicator lingered for a moment, then the other side simply dropped a voice note.
Only three or four seconds long. Qi Yao pursed her lips and tapped to play it.
A clear, cool voice filled the room.
Through the phone speaker, his voice took on a textured, magnetic grain, threaded with the faintest breath. Yu Jiashu's voice trailed off. He seemed to sigh, a little helpless.
His low voice dragged lazily at the end.
"...Because I don't want to lie awake all night."
---
Author's Note:
Someone drag Zhou Niuniu out of here already!
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