Starlight Descends - 60
Ribbon Ties
[I'm literally tearing up. That was so well said. Both of them.]
[Seriously. He was so aloof and untouchable a second ago, but when he said that, he felt so solemn and sincere. Like he truly, truly meant it. I don't know why, but I suddenly want to cry.]
[I'd never really looked up Qi Yao's educational background before. Just searching for it now, she went to a 211 university. If it were any other celebrity with that credentials, they'd have marketed themselves as a ‘intellectual beauty’ until the end of time. You can tell from the way she speaks, her word choices, her phrasing, that she has real substance. I like actresses who quietly focus on their craft. Definitely paying more attention to her from now on.]
[Fengxing just earned a ton of respect. I was just casually watching at first, but now I'm definitely buying.]
[Great brand. Great spokesperson. Supporting Fengxing, supporting spokesperson Qi Yao!]
[Wang Dachui you absolute bastard, go to hell. You're a rat everyone hates. How do you even dare show your face???]
[And Sheng Yu... that dumpster fire of a company still hasn't gone under? They keep pushing all these newcomers, has a single one of them gone anywhere? Can't land resources, can't negotiate billing, and now you steal someone else's project offers to feed your other talent? Have some shame.]
[Am I the only one who finds what he said ridiculously romantic...? This incredibly accomplished person, standing on stage in front of everyone, telling the whole world, "I'm not good enough for her." My god. My heart is gone, it's so heart-fluttering.]
[Are they seriously not dating?? How is this any different from a public confession? I am absolutely losing my mind shipping them, shipping so hard I'm dying here.]
[I take back everything I said before about them looking like an arranged-marriage couple who barely knew each other. They're obviously crazy about each other?! I need fanfiction, I need it now!!!]
...
After the launch event ended,
Wang Dachui was hauled out by security in full view of everyone, subjected to a gauntlet of contemptuous and disgusted stares along the way.
The girls in the fan section whispered among themselves, every one of them cursing him out.
Before the crowd had fully dispersed, Qi Yao slipped through backstage area and left early through the VIP passage.
Just as the door closed behind her, she glanced back.
Yu Jiashu had only just stepped offstage and was speaking with the director, yet his gaze drifted downward and met hers by chance.
Their eyes locked.
In that instant, everyone else seemed to disappear. Something impossible to describe hung between them, much like the expansion and contraction of her heart moments earlier.
Quiet, yet underlaid with a powerful current, like a vast surging sea.
After a long moment, Qi Yao pressed her lips together and turned away.
He probably still had things to deal with.
So did she.
She took the elevator down and got into the car. Lizi had already had the heater running.
Pulling out her phone, Qi Yao sent messages to Qiu Lang and Qiao Nian.
"Meet at the office."
***
"What the hell happened?" Qiu Lang sat at the head of the conference table, his expression dark, a vein pulsing intermittently at his temple.
"...My fault." Qiao Nian closed her eyes. "Things were too busy during that period. I didn't vet each people individually. I just skimmed over the registered IDs and identification documents, thought everything looked fine, and submitted them."
"Thought everything looked fine?" Qiu Lang stared at her, raising his voice to repeat her words. "There were barely fifty people. How hard was it to properly screen them?!”
Qiao Nian's temper flared too and reached her limit. She slammed the file in her hand onto the table. “And why do you think I didn't have the time to screen them, huh?!”
“One of your precious little artists climbed into someone's bed, bragged about getting a role out of it, only for the guy to completely forget she existed the next day and dumped her. Then she spent days throwing a fit, demanding I go deal with it!"
"You sign every hopeless loser and trainwreck that comes along. And you still think I'm the one causing you trouble?!”
The two faced off across the conference room, breathing ragged with anger, the atmosphere on the verge of exploding.
Qi Yao pushed the door open and walked in on exactly this scene.
She looked between them twice without expression, pulled out a chair, and sat in the seat closest to the door.
“Having a fight?” she asked lightly.
Neither of them spoke. Qiu Lang took two deep breaths, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sat back down. Qiao Nian turned away, rapidly composing herself.
“I'm sorry, Yao-mei. This one's on me. I was too busy, and I let this slip-up happen.” Qiao Nian looked at her and apologized softly.
Qi Yao regarded her for a moment, then hummed in acknowledgment. “You're always busy. I know.”
It sounded like forgiveness, yet Qiao Nian couldn't shake the growing unease in her chest.
Qi Yao was too calm.
No anger. No shouting. Not even an angry rebuke. She was just sitting there, carrying on a rational conversation as though nothing had happened.
The more Qiao Nian looked at her, the stronger the unease became.
"Go get the contract," Qiu Lang instructed with eyes lowered. "Since everyone's already here today, might as well stamp and sign it now. No need to make another trip."
“Alright.” Qiao Nian exhaled, trying to push down her unease. She was about to turn and leave when Qi Yao called her back.
Qiao Nian looked over her shoulder. Qi Yao was still seated exactly where she'd been, expression unchanged.
"Sit down."
Silence filled the conference room.
It was quiet. Almost eerily so.
All three of them knew what contract he was talking about.
After a long pause, Qiu Lang straightened in his chair and broke the silence. “...What do you mean?”
Qi Yao looked at him. A while later, she seemed to sigh softly, then called his name.
"Qiu Lang."
"You don't seriously think I'm renewing my contract, do you?"
There it was.
The moment those words left her mouth, Qiao Nian thought: It's finally here.
Over the years, she had never failed to notice the differences between herself and Qi Yao.
Be it in fleeting moments of conversation, in disagreements over which scripts to take, in their approaches to future career paths.
Small differences that pointed to a larger truths: A fundamental split in values and priorities.
The gradual divergence of two people heading toward different destinations.
It was like a sword hanging over their heads had finally fallen—and to her own surprise, she felt something close to relief.
After a long silence, Qiao Nian let out a deep breath, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Qiu Lang's jaw tightened. After a moment, he asked, "Is this because of what happened today?"
"I can guarantee you, something like that will never happen again."
Qi Yao simply looked at him without saying anything.
That gaze was too calm, too clear. As though it could see straight through him.
A strange panic settled over Qiu Lang. "Qiao Nian can focus entirely on you," he added quickly. "I'll assign the other artists to someone else. Nobody will touch your resources anymore. No more bundled casting clauses for project. How about that?"
Qi Yao shook her head slowly. "No."
"Then we'll increase your shares..."
"I won't accept." she said quietly. "I won't accept any terms."
Another silence.
The three of them sat there, each lost in their own tangled thoughts.
A long stretch of quiet passed.
“How long have we known each other?” Qiu Lang leaned back in his chair, looking at her as if searching his memory. “Six years, at least.”
Qi Yao didn't answer.
He continued looking at her, falling into recollection. “I still remember the first time I saw you. You were crouched by the flowerbed at your school gate, crying. Curled up into yourself, looking so small.”
“Then you joined the production—I didn't say it often, but for a newcomer, you were really good.”
After thinking for a second, he added, "Way better than Ye Qingman."
At that, both of them couldn't help a small laugh.
It was a forced laugh. Brief. Gone as quickly as it came.
Qi Yao's lips curved faintly. "Don't compare us like that. She holds grudges."
"Let her. I haven't seen her in years anyway.” Qiu Lang smiled, though it vanished almost immediately, like something heavier was pressing down on his heart.
"After that, you followed me from set to set. Working as an extra in Hengdian. Playing supporting roles number four, five, six, seven, eight. And whenever you weren't filming, you'd work at that café."
Qi Yao looked at him quietly. "How did you know I worked at the café?"
She'd never told him. She didn't want him to give her special treatment. Whenever filming conflicted with her cafe shifts, she'd simply claimed school was keeping her busy.
After a moment of silence, Qiu Lang answered. "The owner is a friend of mine."
Qi Yao hummed, unsurprised. Softly, with certainty, she said, "So that's why he suddenly called me back to work later. Because of you."
"...Yes." Qiu Lang closed his eyes.
“I really liked you back then,” he said, opening them again. “I thought, this girl is tough, and gentle, and she can endure hardship. She'll have a bright future ahead of her.”
Qi Yao didn't respond to that. Instead, she gave a faintly mocking smile. "And now?"
"Do you still think that?"
Do you still believe she could build a future on her own?
Another long silence followed.
"I'm sorry." Qiu Lang closed his eyes again and released a long breath, squeezing every last bit of air from his lungs. "It's my fault."
"So stop trying to play the emotional card with me, Qiu Lang."
Qi Yao didn't accept the apology either. Lowering her gaze to hide the emotions in her eyes, she spoke calmly. "If the person you used to be had said those things to me, I might have listened."
"But the way you are now… Do you really think you deserve to be heard?”
The man sat behind the table in a tailored suit. Composed as ever. The kind of person who'd looked unchanged even if the sky collapsed around him.
But he was no longer the same person who'd stayed up late reworking scripts with her, who'd sat behind monitors and casually guided young actors, who'd cheered when an unexpected but perfectly timed rainstorm swept in.
Without them noticing, he'd shed his sincerity and youth. Slowly, quietly. Until he became part of the very muddy current of the entertainment industry that once would have disgusted him.
“I don't want to say anything ugly. We've known each other for too long for that.”
Qi Yao saw his shoulders sink slowly, but she still spoke, word by word, softly.
“Let's part on good terms, Qiu Lang.”
She had never been an indecisive person.
She could tolerate almost anything, as long as it didn't cross her boundaries. Her bottom line was clear and solidly drawn. Once crossed, there was no going back.
She lowered her eyes, gathered her belongings, and stood to leave.
Qiu Lang still said nothing.
Qiao Nian gave her a hug, sighed softly in her ear, seemingly wanted to say more, but stopped herself. In the end, all she said was, "I hope things get better for you from here on."
Qi Yao said thank you. As she pushed the door open to step out, she finally heard the man behind her speak.
"Did he tell you?" Qiu Lang asked.
For less than a second, Qi Yao felt a crushing weariness.
It was a feeling hard to put into words.
In that moment, she realized she must be completely disappointed in this man.
Tell her what?
That he habitually assumed the worst about her? Or that he'd turned out to be this kind of person?
"No." She said.
"He would never tell me those things."
Qi Yao's voice was very soft. "People like you probably aren't even worth his attention."
***
When she got back to the car, Lizi had bought two roasted sweet potatoes to tide her over.
"Actually, there were also candied chestnuts(Lizi). I think you might like those as well," Lizi said around a mouthful.
"Then why didn't you buy any?" Qi Yao asked while scrolling through her phone. Notifications from every platform seemed determined to bury her screen.
Li Zi stuck out her tongue. “I don't know. Just felt weird. Like I'd be eating my own kind or something.”
"..."
Qi Yao glanced at her and let out a small laugh. “That's a terrible joke.”
“You laughed anyway.” Lizi grinned proudly.
"Alright. Let's go." Qi Yao leaned against the window, scrolled through WeChat, her fingertip hovering over the screen. She swiped past Qiu Lang and Qiao Nian and sent a message to Zhao Min.
The reply came almost immediately. Apparently Zhao Min had been following the situation too. She said the contract was ready and would be delivered to Qi Yao's house tomorrow. She also attached a résumé of her prospective manager.
“Take a look first. If you're not satisfied, we can switch.”
Qi Yao opened it, saw two Best Actress winners listed under the "Past Artists" column, and immediately closed it.
How could she possibly be unsatisfied?
After exchanging a few messages, she switched to Weibo.
The trending list looked like it belonged entirely to her. Various combinations of her name filled the rankings.
The relatively normal ones included: "Best Qi Yao," "Fengxing Ambassador Qi Yao," and "Qi Yao Black Dress Look."
The strangest one, however, was: "Qi Yao and Her Wealthy Husband"
Worse still, beneath the tag showed: [Three of your friends are also following this topic.]
Qi Yao: "..."
Messages kept flooding in. Several consisted entirely of screams typed as "AHHHHHHHHH."
No need to guess. Ye Qingman was definitely one of the three.
But who were the other two?
Unable to resist, Qi Yao clicked in.
["This photo is unreal. Open the full image to experience the destiny-level feeling of 'In a sea of people, I can only see you.'"]
She had to admit. Some fan photographers were terrifyingly talented editors.
The photo was taken on the first floor of the convention center, the crowd had been blurred into indistinct shapes. The high-resolution image was edited into a nearly monochrome black-and-white palette. Against it, two figures dressed in black stood out sharply.
One slender, one tall and upright. A formal gown, a black suit.
Several meters apart, meeting each other's gaze across a crowd.
[...I dare anyone who watched today's press conference to not ship these two. This is literally destiny, I'm not even exaggerating.]
[Damn it, I want to sprint over there, do a somersault, spin into a Thomas flare, drop to one knee, and scream BROTHER-IN-LAW!!! YOU ARE MY ONE AND ONLY BROTHER-IN-LAW!!!]
[Seemingly cold and aloof but actually soft and gentle actress x seemingly cold and aloof but secretly sly and mischievous rich heir. Do we have a name of their child yet?]
[LMAO the comment above, you're the master of characterization and contrast. I wrote a little something for fun, it's in their CP supertopic, go check it out!!! (drool) (drool)]
Qi Yao: "..."
They had a CP supertopic?
Half skeptical, she saved the photo and went to look it up.
Clicking into the blogger's page from that comment, she saw a long-image post with lots of likes and repost.
The uploader had written: Save first. Then mirror it, and flip it.
Frowning, Qi Yao followed the instructions step by step.
The image returned to its original orientation, and the text immediately hit her eyes like a burn—
"...!"
…What the hell is this!!!
With a loud click, she slammed her phone screen off and stared out the car window, desperately trying to erase those blunt and suggestive phrases from her mind.
Something about skirts and hands and slipping in…
Something about tying wrists with a necktie…
"..."
"Hey, Yao-mei, Fengxing's official account just posted a statement." Lizi was munching on her baked sweet potato while scrolling through her phone, talking through a mouthful. Then she paused and stared at Qi Yao suspiciously. "...Why is your face so red?"
"...It's nothing." Qi Yao answered, anticipating exactly what Lizi was about to say, she quickly added, "I'm not sick."
Lizi: "..."
Why did she sound so flustered?
Confused, Lizi simply nodded. "Oh, okay, good."
After a couple of seconds, Qi Yao asked, "What did Fengxing post?"
"Here." Lizi handed over her phone. "The official account released a termination notice for the employee involved. They also issued a legal warning against posts that have been shared over five hundred times and constitute defamation."
Qi Yao skimmed through it.
A very formal statement—strict wording, clear disciplinary action, meant to serve as a warning.
In the end, she simply hummed and handed the phone back.
***
"You can head home. I'll be fine on my own."Qi Yao stood in the hallway with her bag, speaking to Lizi.
“But we're already at your door. Let me just help you carry these two big bags inside,” Li Zi said.
“No need.” Qi Yao dismissed her quickly, waving a hand. “I've got it. Go home. Bye."
"..."
Lizi was full of confusion today. Still, she obediently turned toward the elevator. "Alright then."
Only after watching her leave did Qi Yao enter the code and open the door.
Not her door, but the one across the hall.
"Come help me carry my stuff, Yu Dongdong." Wrapped in her puffer jacket, she called from the doorway.
Yu Jiashu had actually been waiting by the entrance the whole time, he simply just didn't come out.
Now, hearing her words, he paused, raised an eyebrow, and looked at her. “Say that again?”
His expression clearly said: Who gave you permission to call me that?
Recognizing that this wasn't a battle worth fighting, Qi Yao blinked and immediately changed her approach. "Could you help me carry some things, Young President Yu?"
That sounded better.
Though not by much.
Yu Jiashu carried the bags inside and set them down. Then, leaning against the wall, he narrowed his eyes on her.
"Is that how you call your boyfriend?"
Qi Yao had been on her phone in the car and hadn't changed. Underneath the puffer jacket, she was still wearing that evening gown. The cold air had been getting in through every gap, freezing her.
She hurried inside and shut the door behind her.
“What do you want to hear, then?” she asked.
Yu Jiashu stared at her for a moment.
This girl really had no instincts for these things.
He let out an amused tsk and said, with studied nonchalance, “Fine.”
"You can call a dog 'husband.'"
"But your actual boyfriend gets called 'Young President Yu.'"
As he walked toward the living room and adjusted the floor heating, he added, "Boring."
"..."
Qi Yao: “?”
For a second she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Then, the things she'd accidentally read in the car suddenly resurfaced in her mind, she froze on the spot.
When a long silence stretched out with no response, Yu Jiashu put down the remote and turned to look at her.
She was standing in the corner like a frightened quail, cheeks flushed bright red.
Yu Jiashu: "...?"
Was it really that warm in here?
After some thought, he turned the heating down another notch.
“Aren't you going to change?” Yu Jiashu asked.
“…Mm.” Qi Yao answered slowly. “Can you help me untie it? If you can't, I'll do it myself.”
Yu Jiashu: "...?"
"Exactly what kind of misunderstanding do you have about me?"
Huh? Why wouldn't he be able to untie a dress?
Seeing her still standing there, lost in thought, he finally called out, "Come here."
Qi Yao inches toward him. Slowly and carefully, she slipped off her puffer jacket, revealing her smooth pale collarbones, then her bare back.
With one hand, she lifted her long hair. Showing the delicate wings of her shoulder blades, which moved faintly with the gesture.
"The ribbons in the back, it's a crossed laces, just untie them." she said quietly.
The man behind her paused for a strange two seconds, humming in acknowledgment.
His fingertips were slightly cool. When they accidentally brushed against her spine, Qi Yao flinched slightly.
"..."
The movement behind her stopped again. Closing her eyes, she could feel her ears grow even hotter.
She couldn't help it, dome reactions were impossible to control.
Fixing her gaze straight ahead, Qi Yao silently chanted every calming phrase she could think of, desperately trying to banish certain inappropriate images that kept appearing in her head.
Neckties around wrists…
Torn dresses…
Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.
Then she felt his long fingers settle fully against her back, cool and sliding slowly downward, inch by inch. She shivered again.
And heard him whisper, "You're right."
His low voice hung in the air, scorching her nerves.
Slowly and deliberately, Yu Jiashu continued:
"I really can't stand it."
---
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