Starlight Descends - 64
Starlight
Amid a storm of applause, Qi Yao bowed and stepped off the stage.
She was the final guest speaker. Once she finished, all that remained was the host's closing remarks before the event officially came to an end.
Yu Jiashu had left first and waited for her outside.
It was a sunny winter day, but after sunset, the sky had darkened to a deep blue. If you looked closely, scattered stars glittered faintly overhead.
The streetlights glowed through the dusk.
Standing by the rear entrance of the auditorium, Yu Jiashu watched as Qi Yao was intercepted before she could even reach him.
A group of teenage boys had surrounded her, each clamoring for a photo.
One after another, chirping "Yaoyao-jiejie" at her nonstop, taking turns posing beside her. As soon as one finished, another stepped up. Watching from a distance, he was already annoyed.
Worse still, Qi Yao looked genuinely delighted.
Ten minutes later, he finally ran out of patience.
Qi Yao had just finished flashing a peace sign toward a camera when something suddenly landed over her head.
Soft and warm, carrying a familiar, crisp fragrance.
A hand reached around from before her, wrapping a scarf twice around her neck and covering the lower half of her face.
With one arm still draped around her neck, Yu Jiashu casually steered her away.
"Sorry, everyone," he said lazily. "but any more photos will require a fee."
Back in his school days, he was already the height at required him to stand in the very back row. After graduation, he'd somehow grown even more. Now, standing among a crowd of high school boys, he only made them look more like children.
The one in the middle who had seemed fairly handsome before now just looked…decent.
Qi Yao let herself be pulled along and glanced back twice. Yu Jiashu immediately pinched her chin and turned her head forward again.
She felt a bit baffled, and a bit gratified, thinking her taste back then had been pretty good after all.
The boys stared blankly for two seconds.
Maybe it was too dark near the entrance. Maybe it was because he had changed into a different coat. Either way, none of them recognized him.
One of them finally asked in disbelief, "Are you her manager?"
"..."
Qi Yao distinctly felt the arm around her neck tighten. Yu Jiashu tilted his head slightly upward, his jawline sharpening.
"Do I look like your manager?" he asked.
"...Not at all, not at all." Qi Yao hurried to soothe him, patting his chest twice.
Only then did Yu Jiashu give a derisive scoff, ignored the boys entirely, and continued walking.
For some reason, after the group of teenagers muttered amongst themselves, the decent-looking boy in the middle hesitated, then called out to stop them.
"How much? I want to take one more picture with Yaoyao-jiejie."
Qi Yao paused. Figuring there was no point dragging this out, she was just about to turn around and agree to one last photo when the boy added:
"Can we do a heart pose together? The kind where you link your arms to make the shape?"
"..."
Qi Yao's movement halted immediately. She glanced up at the man beside her.
Enough was enough.
Yu Jiashu raised an eyebrow. Turning around, he looked directly at the boy and asked casually, "How much are you offering?"
The teenager blinked, answering tentatively. "...One hundred?"
Yu Jiashu nodded expressionlessly."I'll pay ten times that. Leave her alone."
Qi Yao: "..."
The air seemed to freeze for two full seconds.
Seeing the kids were all stupefied and that this man was actually about to pull out his phone to make the transfer, she quickly spoke up to smooth things over, explaining that she had somewhere urgent to be and promising photos another time, thereby sending the boys away.
The two of them walked side by side along the path behind the auditorium.
The plane trees lining both sides still held traces of green. Their leaves rustled softly overhead, casting shifting shadows across the ground.
"Why were you so mean to them?" Qi Yao asked, trying not to laugh.
Yu Jiashu remained expressionless. He was silent for a long moment before asking, "Do you really like younger guys that much?"
"..."
Qi Yao: "?"
"Where is this coming from?" She was genuinely baffled.
"You can't simply assume things about me just because younger guys happen to like me."
She had the nerve to say that.
One after another, and then a whole gang of them just now.
Yu Jiashu scoffed and said nothing.
Qi Yao bit back a smile and finally realised that he was guiding her toward the end of the small path, which was opposite the school's main gate. She was a little puzzled.
"Where are we going?"
"Don't worry about it," Yu Jiashu said curtly. "Just follow your manager."
Qi Yao: "..."
This man's jealousy is absolutely terrifying!!!
Choking back a laugh, she let him lead her onward beneath his arm while desperately pondering how she could possibly smooth his ruffled fur.
After a long while with no ideas, he was the one to speak first.
"So this is how much you like me, Qi Yao."
Qi Yao: "..."
"?"
Now what?
"All that talk about liking me. But you see I'm obviously upset, and you don't even try to coax me."
"Too busy thinking about your little 'brothers'?" Yu Jiashu lifted his eyelids to glance at her. "Which one's your favorite?"
"The one who only offered a hundred yuan for a photo and asked for a heart?"
Qi Yao: "..."
"I don't like younger guys," she said.
"I like older guys."
"Oh?" Yu Jiashu lifted an eyebrow. "So?"
Still tucked beneath his arm, leaning against half of his body without the slightest concern for where he was taking her, Qi Yao hesitated for two seconds, then said quietly, "I like you."
Yu Jiashu's footsteps faltered. He lowered his gaze toward her.
And just like that, she was shy again, her whole body shrinking into his arm, her head pressing against his chest and shoulder, offering him only the top of her head.
He didn't even need to look to know she had definitely blushed herself into silence again.
Yu Jiashu's lips curved up, though his voice remained deliberately tight.
"Oh."
Qi Yao: "..."
What was wrong with him?
She tilted her head up slightly. All she could see was the clean line of his jaw, sharp beneath a thin layer of skin. Cold and impossible to read.
This was bad.
He's not easy to coax.
Qi Yao pondered for a moment, then hesitantly parted her lips and softly called out. "Gege?"
The man beside her stopped dead in his tracks instantly.
Qi Yao nearly choked.
She stopped too, suddenly not daring to speak.
Tree shadows swayed in the wind, rustling and whispering. The warm glow of the streetlights spilled down around them, scattering patches of amber light across the path.
Everything was quiet.
The only sounds were their breathing and the pounding of their hearts.
After a long moment, his low voice finally came from above her.
"You'd better call me that tonight, too."
Qi Yao: "..."
The rest of the walk passed in silence.
Each occupied with their own thoughts, neither spoke.
They followed the deserted plane tree-lined path all the way to its end, until they saw the hazy glow of lights. Only then did Qi Yao speak again.
"You're not seriously taking me to walk around the track, are you?"
"Is that not allowed.” Yu Jiashu sounded perfectly reasonable. "Are high school couples the only ones allowed to do that?"
"...Allowed, allowed."
The young master had spoken, what could she possibly say? Even if she was starving, she'd just have to endure it!
Still feeling aggrieved, Qi Yao followed him onward, completely missing the moment his arm slid lower. Instead of around her shoulders, it settled around her waist.
His hand rested against her side, long fingers curved lightly over her hip.
A very intimate posture.
Not as intimate as a kiss. But carrying the same quiet comfort unique to lovers, akin to an embrace. The physical contact that brought an immense sense of security.
The athletic field stretched before them, still dark and without lights.
In the distance, apartment buildings glowed one window after another, warm squares of light illuminating the night. From two streets away, they seemed to radiate the gentle warmth of ordinary life.
This wasn't the cold, solitary winter she once knew.
This was a winter made of roasted sweet potatoes, candied chestnuts, scarves, coats...
And a boyfriend.
Lost in thought, Qi Yao didn't notice when Yu Jiashu let go of her. Then she heard him call her name.
"Qi Shiyi."
"Hm?"
Across the distant city lights, countless clocks ticked forward in unison.
The hour hand struck seven.
"Look up."
His voice was low.
The instant she looked up toward the sky—
Fireworks exploded into bloom across the darkness.
Her heart jolted. She watched brilliant bursts shoot upward from the horizon, piercing the night sky, swelling and surging majestically against the winter night's canvas.
Magnificent. Resplendent. Grand.
The sharp crack of ignition echoed nearby.
Bouquet after bouquet of sparks soared upward, blossoming in dazzling colors, leaving a beautiful, fleeting moment in the air before before showering downward in glittering trails.
Cluster after cluster.
Burst after burst.
Illuminating half the night sky.
Fireworks.
A spectacular display so grand, it seemed to light the entire campus, turning the night sky itself into mere backdrop for his gift.
Shouts erupted from the senior-year classrooms. Teenagers of seventeen and eighteen leaned out their windows to watch. In the distant residential buildings, an auntie returning from a walk opened her window and waved her daughter over to see.
Amid the joyful clamor,
Qi Yao stood rooted to the spot, staring upward in a daze.
The brilliant colors reflected in her dark pupils, light and shadow flickered across her face.
She couldn't speak.
Shock. Disbelief. Wonder. And something else, something painfully full.
The blooming, brilliant fireworks illuminated her eyes, as though countless stars had descended upon her.
And suddenly she remembered a letter from a long, long time ago.
She once wrote during geography class after learning about cultural traditions, that summer fireworks festivals in island countries seemed very beautiful. She wondered if she would ever have a chance to see one herself.
Though the reply had never come.
With a few simple strokes, she sketched three or five blossoming fireworks on the paper, carefully folded it and tucked it into her diary.
Years later, those fireworks had become real, leaping off the white page to bloom before her with spectacular fanfare.
On this winter Christmas Eve.
"This is from the seventeen-year-old Yu Jiashu."
"He says, thank you for liking him."
The man stood before her. Tall, straight-backed, dark eyes. The same clear features he'd possessed all those years ago, looking at her with absolute sincerity.
"And this is from the twenty-five-year-old Yu Jiashu."
"It's a little late. But it still arrived."
He lowered his gaze slightly, then extended a thin envelope toward her.
"He says, he'll love you forever."
It was light, almost weightless. Not at all like the shape of paper.
Beneath the shifting glow of the fireworks, Qi Yao's nose stung.
Slowly, she opened it.
There was no paper inside, no letters.
From the empty envelope, a ring fell out.
The band was small and delicate, the cut diamond gleaming with enduring sparkle.
It lay quietly in her palm.
"You don't have to put it on." she heard Yu Jiashu say.
"I just couldn't think of a better reply than this."
He had always been a man of actions rather than words.
A tear-stained letter had earned her an entire stack of photographs.
A casual complaint had sent him running through three streets in the old city.
A random daydream during class had become a fireworks display beneath a winter sky.
The letters she had written over for so many years had gathered dust in a box in Nanshan. Now, after all these time, the reply had finally arrived.
Ten years later.
Her heart ached, even breathing felt difficult.
Her lashes trembled as she looked up.
Behind him stretched the open space connecting the sports field and the academic building.
The streetlights were dim and hazy, illuminating the fine dust motes floating in the air.
Everything was so familiar.
Standing there at twenty-five, Qi Yao suddenly felt the torrent of time rush through her body.
She remembered another Christmas Eve, when a rare snowfall arrived on the southwestern plains.
Fifteen-year-old Qi Yao had stood in the drifting snowflakes, illuminated by a dim yellow streetlight, feeling as small and insignificant as a dust mote.
Her nose was red from the cold as she carefully cradled an apple, watching the silhouette of the boy by the window in the second-to-last row.
Young, nervous, afraid to move forward.
And now, ten years later—
That same person stood before her.
Giving her the grandest confession she could have imagined.
Tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes. Clutching the tiny ring in her hand, her vision blurred, hazily, she thought:
It seemed the incense she once offered at Daci Temple had finally granted her this worldly wish.
She had waited far too long for this moment.
"I originally wanted to do it in the auditorium to make it more formal. And it was also where we first met."
Yu Jiashu reached out and wiped her tears away, the corners of his eyes slightly lowered, all his usual coolness and nonchalance gone, replaced by a focused and profound sincerity.
"But Old Deng wouldn't allow it." He paused for two seconds, the corner of his lips curving into a small smile. "He said it would give the kids too many ideas."
Qi Yao sniffed. For the first time in her life, she think Old Deng was a bad person.
"He's so annoying," she said.
Yu Jiashu's smile widened. He chuckled and agreed with her. "I think so too."
"But he did say we could borrow the auditorium for wedding photos."
"And Teacher Zhang also said..." He looked at her quietly and said softly, "She's very happy to see your writing still moves people after all these years, just like your words do. She said she's proud to have taught you."
Qi Yao's voice came out thick with tears. "I saw her pulling you aside to talk for a long time. Was that all?"
Yu Jiashu was silent for two seconds, then answered honestly. "She also said, if we have children in the future, I'm not allowed to teach him how to write."
"..."
After a pause, Qi Yao blinked, and suddenly laughed out loud.
She threw her arms around him.
Her tear-stained eyes curved into a smile, shimmering with moisture, vivid and beautiful.
Slowly, the sounds around them grew louder.
Turning her head from within his embrace, Qi Yao spotted a crowd of familiar figures standing in the shade of the trees, witnessing everything.
Ye Qingman was holding up a camera to record the scene for them. Her other hand covered her mouth, her makeup ruined from crying, unable to speak. It was only when Qi Yao went to wipe her tears that she heard Ye Qingman choke out a trembling whisper.
"Congratulations. Your dream has came true."
Something inside Qi Yao softened instantly.
Qi Yao reached out to hug her, turning her head to see Li Xun and Chen Yinyin were also nearby. Chen Yinyin was holding Li Xun's arm, smiling brightly.
"Then I'll congratulate you too." She laughed softly. "You've got your heart's desire.”
The school bell rang. A burst of static crackled through the campus speakers, after a brief pause, the evening song began to play.
She didn't know who had requested it. A slightly husky male voice drifted through the air.
Wait.
Wait a little longer.
Until the grapes have fully ripened.
As the group chatted and laughed their way toward the school gates, Qi Yao lingered at the back and turned her head for one last look.
And for a fleeting moment, she thought she saw sixteen-years-old Qi Yao standing in the hallway outside the classroom, neatly dressed in her school uniform, lips pressed together, quietly watching them.
Watching that back, forever straight and tall like a winter cedar.
That had been the only light in her long, grey adolescence.
Fireworks blazed bright. Shadows swayed, crowd upon crowd.
Across the distance of time, twenty-five-year-old Qi Yao met her younger self's gaze from afar—and reached out to took hold of that hand with its distinct knuckles. With a slight turn, their ten fingers interlaced, tight and sure.
It'll be okay, she told her.
Don't be afraid.
For, starlight will descend upon you.
---
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