Starlight Descends - 62
The Long Night
A corner of the soft duvet was lifted. Moments later, it slipped aside entirely.
The mattress sank gently beneath them, rising and falling with the movement.
It was simply too hot.
After a long while, a slender arm struggled its way out from under the covers, fingers stretching taut, reaching for the remote control.
The hand dropped weakly several times mid-reach, swaying and bobbing like someone aboard a rocking boat. It took a very long time before she managed to find it.
A few haphazard, aimless button presses later, the floor heating was finally turned down. Within a single second, a hand closed around her wrist and pulled her back in.
Winter nights are long, the days short.
A thin sheen of sweat covered her neck. The room was unnaturally warm.
The sounds and motions continued until dawn began to brighten the sky. Even the sparse birdsong outside the window eventually surrendered and fell silent before they did.
By the end, Qi Yao had no clear memory of it. She vaguely recalled being carried to the bathroom, changed into clean clothes, and held in a warm and solid embrace.
After that, there was nothing.
People say that when exhaustion reaches its limit, you fall into deep, dreamless sleep.
But she didn't.
She dreamed of her grandmother.
C City lay in the south, where the vegetation belonged to the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests. By mid-September, everything was still lush and green.
The mountain behind the city was no exception.
The mountain wasn't tall, perhaps only one or two thousand meters, and stood thirty kilometers from the urban center.
Halfway up sat a temple called Daci Temple. Its incense offerings were abundant, during holidays the crowds became so dense that visitors flowed through it without end.
There was no cemetery plot.
But in the back courtyard, where tourists were not permitted to enter, beneath the third willow tree along the corridor was a tree burial. The upturned temple eaves shielded it from wind and rain.
Qi Yao liked that place very much.
Clean, secluded, quiet. In the early mornings, you could hear the sound of chanting sutra.
In her dream, she walked forward alone and stopped at the entrance to the rear courtyard. There she saw her grandmother sitting beneath the willow tree, wearing her reading glasses and reading one of her school essays.
"Our Yaoyao writes so well," the old woman said cheerfully.
Qi Yao stood outside the high threshold, not daring to step in, just as she had stood at the door of her new home all those years ago, uncertain and awkward.
In all the years since her grandmother passed away, she had never dreamed of her once.
So much so that, far too lucid, she knew instantly that this was a dream.
She missed her too much.
She was terrified that stepping inside would shatter the precious dream she'd finally been given.
After a long moment, the old woman set down the paper, slowly removing her reading glasses. She looked directly at her and beckoned.
"Yaoyao, if you don't come over soon, Grandma will have to leave."
Qi Yao couldn't describe what she was feeling. Inch by inch, step by step, she moved forward until those rough, wrinkled hands took hold of hers once more after so many years.
"Being too sensible is not good," the old woman murmured as she looked at her.
Tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of Qi Yao's eyes.
Her grandmother used to say that to her all the time.
On all those sleepless nights deep into the dark, her grandmother would sit at her bedside, patting her arm over and over while slowly sharing bits of her wisdom.
She told her to always be sincere and kind. To stay passionate about the things she loved. To learn to relax and be happy. To learn to think of herself first. To not always be so rational and so sensible.
Qi Yao carried those words with her for many years afterward.
"I'm much happier now, Grandma," Qi Yao told her.
Her grandmother patted the back of her hand, eyes crinkling in a warm smile. "I know," she said.
"I never let you visit me in winter before because I was afraid that you'd be too sad.” The old woman stroked the back of her hand. The rough texture against her skin felt surprisingly solid and warm, like an eternal source of support.
"You've always been sensitive and thoughtful. You keep so many things locked in your heart and never tell anyone. You're the one Grandma worried about most."
The old woman looked at her for a long while, still smiling kindly. "But now it seems, someone's there with you."
"Will you not be so sad anymore, Yaoyao?"
"Live well. Don't skip meals, it's bad for your health. Exercise more. Dress warmly in winter. Don't make Grandma worry..."
The familiar stream of gentle nagging gradually faded into the distance. The figure in the rattan chair slowly became fainter and fainter, turning transparent like a shadow of light before finally disappearing altogether.
Only the soft green willow branches remained, swaying in the wind.
When she woke with tears on her face, everything around her was dark. She had no idea what time it was.
Still trapped between dreaming and waking, she caught the scent of cedar mint lingering in the air. On instinct, she burrowed into the chest of the person beside her.
A faint rustling sound broke through his shallow sleep.
The man automatically wrapped an arm around her. Hearing one or two quiet stifled sobs, he paused, then lowered his head and asked low against her ear:
"What's wrong?"
Strong arms encircled her waist, bringing an incomparable sense of comfort and safety. She didn't speak, just leaned into him.
After a long time, tears dampened a small patch of his shirt. Qi Yao pressed her face into the curve of his neck and said softly, her voice thick and nasal.
"This New Year... come visit Grandma with me."
"She said I'm allowed to see her in winter now."
"And she said thank you for the chicken soup."
Silence stretched between them. Yu Jiashu held her tighter, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.
"Okay," he answered.
Qi Yao rarely remembered her dreams.
No matter how vivid they felt, she would forget everything once morning came and her mind fully woke. She would tell herself not to cling to impossible illusions, that dreams were only dreams.
But this time she knew.
Someone would remember it for her.
***
When she woke again, the sun was already high overhead. Her entire body felt limp as she slowly opened her eyes.
The curtains still had that one gap that hadn't been fully closed. A sliver of daylight spill across the ceiling, bright and hazy, blurring her vision.
She hadn't slept this late in a very long time. Still groggy, she sat up and took a moment to recover before awareness slowly returned.
"Awake?"
A voice suddenly sounded beside her.
Qi Yao jumped. Her half-closed eyes flew open, and she was instantly alert.
Yu Jiashu: "..."
"Someone who didn't know better would think this was a one-night stand."
His laptop sat nearby. Leaning against the headboard, he looked at her with a faint, knowing smile, the words dragging out slow.
"..."
After a two-second pause, Qi Yao turned her head away and muttered softly, "I'm just not used to it yet."
She'd slept alone for so long. She'd never expected there'd be a man lying beside her.
Yu Jiashu gave a noncommittal hum. "Not used to it? And yet you clung to my arm the entire night and refusing to let go.”
"..."
Turning to look, Qi Yao finally noticed his right arm resting atop the pillow. The exposed skin at his wrist was reddened from pressure, and he'd even been using the laptop's trackpad with his other hand.
"..."
How had this happened?
Probably still too groggy, her brain wasn't functioning at its usual speed, she hadn't yet formulated a reply when he continued, his voice trailing in that lazy drawl:
"First you pinched it. Then you used it as a pillow. Crushed it for half the night. Then this morning you hugged it and wouldn't let go."
He sighed softly, looking somewhat helpless, and lowered his lashes. "This arm of mine has been through a lot."
Qi Yao: "..."
She fell silent for two seconds. Seeing that the arm really was hanging there motionless, apparently numb beyond movement, she decided to tolerate his teasing and crawled over to massage it.
"Sorry. I won't do it again."
"Now, that won't do."
Yu Jiashu glanced over. She was sprawled on the bed, her slender fingers pressed together, kneading his arm in a steady rhythm. The aching numbness gradually began to ease.
"This arm belongs to you from now on," he said casually.
Something fluttered in her chest. Qi Yao lifted her lashes and looked at him.
His pupils were dark, fixed on her with complete attention.
Her gaze drifted lower. A thin layer of skin stretched over his sharply defined jaw. His jawline was tense, and his brows twitched into a faint frown every so often. It really did seem uncomfortable.
"Forget it," Qi Yao said, deciding to be reasonable, she added thoughtfully, "Ye Qingman once sent me a bunch of weird shopping-cart items. One of them was called a boyfriend pillow."
"It's a double pillow, really long. But there's a hole under the head area on the other side, that way I won't need to lie on your arms.”
"..."
This time it was Yu Jiashu's turn to fall silent.
What kind of bizarre invention was that?
After a long pause, he finally said, "No need."
"What do you mean, no need?” Qi Yao frowned and reached for her phone, seemingly ready to place an order right now and then. "Look at you. You can barely move. It must be uncomfortable. Going on like this isn't a solution..."
Before the shopping page could even load, the supposedly "numb" right hand reached over and smoothly plucked the phone away.
"I was messing with you.” Yu Jiashu looked at her expressionlessly and confessed. "It's not that numb. I just wanted you to massage it for me.”
"..."
What is wrong with him?
It took her two seconds to process what he said. Qi Yao was silent for a moment, then took the phone back, "Then just tell me next time. It's not like I wouldn't do it."
"Okay." Yu Jiashu agreed.
Qi Yao was still sprawled across the bed. Her hand hovered awkwardly halfway there, unsure whether she should continue massaging him or stop. So, she looked up at him.
Yu Jiashu looked back.
With his dark lashes lowered, he spoke quietly. "It's not numb, but it really is a little sore from being used as your pillow."
"Massage it a little more for me, baby?”
"...!"
Qi Yao was now mildly allergic to such pet names. The previous night, he'd spent hours calling her one endearment after another. By the end, that was the name he'd whispered repeatedly beside her ear.
The tips of her ears went red. Without looking at him, she lowered her eyes and resumed rubbing his arm absentmindedly.
The muscles of his forearm were lean and well-defined. When they tensed, faint veins appeared beneath the skin, tracing all the way down to the clearly structured bones of the back of his hand.
It should be very comfortable to hold.
Perhaps she really hadn't been falsely accused.
The latter half of the previous night was a blur to her. She only recalled him eventually carrying her to clean up, changing her clothes, and then… it seemed like she'd had a dream.
What had it been?
She couldn't quite remember.
She only had a faint sense that she might have woken briefly and even said a couple of things to him.
Just as she was about to ask, the phone beside her lit up.
Qi Yao hesitated for a second, then extended one index finger and slid the lock screen open to check.
A new email had arrived.
After her falling-out with Sheng Yu, she had changed the passwords to her email and all her accounts. Everything was under her control again.
Did she have work scheduled recently?
Running through her memory and coming up blank, she opened the notification.
It was a very formal email. Or rather, an invitation.
Full salutation. Meticulous wording. The closing read "With seasonal regards." There was even an official logo printed on it.
The red-and-gold design looked strikingly familiar.
Qi Yao's breathing caught.
The sender's name displayed clearly at the top: C City No. 1 High School.
The hundred or so words seemed to float before her eyes. It took considerable effort for them to make their way into her brain.
After staring for a long moment, she looked up at him and repeated slowly,
"...The school invited me to give a speech at the anniversary celebration."
"Hm?"
Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow, the end of his voice lifting, looking quite surprised. "Really?"
Qi Yao paused for two beats, narrowed her eyes, and asked in return, "You already knew, didn't you?"
"..."
"Was my acting that bad?" Yu Jiashu laughed, dropping the pretense.
"Your eyebrow practically flew off your forehead. Way too fake."
"...Alright. Noted. Thanks for the advice, Miss Superstar."
Tapping the screen of her phone, Yu Jiashu scrolled the email downward. "If Miss Superstar had bothered to glance at the attached list, I wouldn't have had the chance to so clumsily showcase my acting skills."
There really was an attachment.
Qi Yao opened it. It was a complete schedule for the anniversary celebration and the proposed guest list.
Not many names, only seven or eight.
She and Yu Jiashu were both in the first row.
And by sheer coincidence, their names were right next to each other.
Qi Yao stared at the list for a long time. Her heart began swelling and floating with that familiar ache all over again.
This chance to appear on the same list, on the same poster, was something she had been waiting for, for many years.
After a long moment, she glanced at the date and asked, "Are you going?"
Yu Jiashu seemed far less invested.
He'd given too many of these speeches. The school emailed him every few years whenever an anniversary rolled around. It was hardly anything special.
Besides, he already had a meeting scheduled that day.
"I'll go if you go," he finally said.
"Then let's go," Qi Yao suggested softly. "It's Christmas Eve."
The date seemed to carry some particular significance. Yu Jiashu lowered his lashes and glanced at her.
The girl tilted her head slightly upward. Her dark, clear eyes blinked twice, holding a certain hint of anticipation.
"Okay." After a moment's thought, as something occurred to him, Yu Jiashu nodded.
Qi Yao blinked in happiness. Smiling, she leaned over and kissed him.
"..."
Yu Jiashu very discreetly withdrew the arm her soft body was pressing against and warned her in a low voice. "Feel free to kiss me, but stop rubbing against me."
She was barely wearing anything as it was. The oversized T-shirt only covered the tops of her thighs. The neckline hung loose, and she was lying sprawled across the bed.
Her soft fingers pressed lightly against his forearm, wandering upward in absent-minded strokes that felt entirely too suggestive.
Qi Yao paused for two seconds, propped herself up on her elbows, and let her gaze drift for a moment. It swayed and settled somewhere around where the blanket was slightly draped over him. She blinked and said, softly, "...Oh."
Yu Jiashu narrowed his eyes. Looking at her reaction, realization suddenly dawned. He snapped the laptop shut, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her over.
"Qi Shiyi."
"Were you doing that on purpose?"
---
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