Starlight Descends - 65
Restraint
A human life is made up of countless beautiful moments. Some are breathtaking, like the moment the person you love confesses their feelings. Others are quieter, gentler, yet no less precious.
After graduation, everyone had scattered to different places, and getting together was rare.
Under the combined banners of a school anniversary and witnessing the fireworks confession, a small crowd had drifted back together, and a reunion dinner had fallen into place almost by itself.
Ye Qingman had always been the sort to fit in anywhere. More importantly, she was starving, so she happily tagged along with them.
They chatted about everything under the sun, swapped gossip over a steaming hot pot, and by the time the lively meal finally came to an end, it was already close to ten. The group gradually dispersed, each heading their own way home.
Before leaving, Ye Qingman ducked out on a bathroom pretext and pulled Qi Yao aside for a word.
She had squeezed time out of a busy filming schedule just to witness tonight, yet still hadn't found the chance to properly catch up. Like all close friends, they stood together chatting about this and that in hushed voices for nearly half an hour.
When they finally finished, Ye Qingman climbed into her assistant's car and drove off. Qi Yao slowly adjusted her mask back, then made her way toward the entrance.
Yu Jiashu was waiting by the car. He had been standing there for over half an hour without the slightest trace of impatience.
"Ready to head back?" he asked, loosely twirling the car keys in one hand as he looked at her.
Qi Yao tapped her phone screen to check the time. "Mm. It's getting late."
Midnight was drawing near, and the city was still steeped in warm holiday atmosphere.
The landmark buildings downtown had all been dressed for Christmas. Giant fir trees shimmered beneath colorful ribbons, ornaments, and gift boxes that swayed gently in the night breeze, drifting past the car window as they drove.
A full stomach invited drowsiness. Combined with the previous night's late exertions, Qi Yao's eyelids gradually drooped, she looked as though she might doze off at any moment.
Yu Jiashu glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Don't fall asleep yet."
Qi Yao ignored him. Keeping her eyes shut, she deliberately turned her head and found the most comfortable position she could before asking, "Why not?"
"It's only half an hour drive. If you sleep now, you'll be wide awake again tonight." His long fingers rested lazily on the steering wheel, keeping his eyes on the road. He knew her habits all too well.
Qi Yao considered it.
He was right.
But sometimes stubbornness simply took over, and she just didn't feel like listening. Still with her eyes closed, she muttered, "I won't."
Yu Jiashu glanced sideways, one eyebrow lifting slightly. "Alright," he said, no particular expression in his voice.
The next second, in the darkness behind her closed eyelids, she felt the car slow with a gentle lurch before coming to a stop. A soft click followed as he unfastened his seat belt.
Qi Yao opened her eyes, confused. "What are you doing?"
Yu Jiashu got out of the car. Before closing the door, he looked back at her and answered casually, "Buying something."
It was almost eleven at night. What on earth could he need to buy in the middle of the night?
Even more puzzled, she watched through the window as he walked into the brightly lit twenty-four-hour convenience store by the roadside.
The car was parked right at the curb. The store interior blazed with light, its spotless floor-to-ceiling glass making everything inside perfectly visible.
Then again, the glass hardly mattered.
Yu Jiashu didn't even walked deeper into the store. He stopped directly in front of the display shelves by the entrance, swept his eyes across them, then casually reached out and picked up a few items.
Small, square boxes in garish colors. Each wrapped in a thin layer of transparent film.
The instant she realized what they were, Qi Yao's breath stopped short in her throat. She watched him walk to the counter and set the items down.
One box. Two boxes. Three boxes.
Qi Yao: "..."
This was insane!
The moment she saw him walking back out with the shopping bag as calmly as if he'd bought bottled water, she hurriedly turned her head and pretended to be asleep again.
Yu Jiashu settled back into the driver's seat at a leisurely pace. He tossed the bag onto the center console, rested an elbow on the window frame, and turned to study her for a long moment before speaking lazily.
"Your ears are awfully red."
"You aren't having another dream you can't tell me about, are you?"
"..."
Busted.
It was always those damn ears. Why had she never noticed before how easily they flushed?
She's a grown woman, a professional actress. How could she never manage to control her ears in front of him?
Grumbling silently to herself, Qi Yao slowly opened her eyes, sat upright, and replied at an equally measured pace. "Of course not."
Desperate to cover herself, she fanned her cheeks with both hands and mumbled, "The heat is just up too high."
"Right."
Yu Jiashu chuckled, turned his face forward again to lower the temperature.
Then he leaned slightly, his long arm extending into the back seat. He retrieved her blanket and draped over her lap before turning the key in the ignition. His voice was a lazy murmur.
"Go ahead and sleep."
The car rolled smoothly back onto the road. Outside the window, the night slipped past frame by frame.
His voice drifted over again, slow and unhurried.
"Save your energy."
"..."
Was that really the right way to use that phrase?!
No wonder Teacher Zhang forbidden him from teaching their future children.
After a long silence, Qi Yao clutched the blanket and admitted honestly,
"I'm not sleeping anymore."
She stared out at the stream of headlights beyond the windshield and missed the faint curve of satisfaction that touched his lips.
Tilting her head, she thought for a long while, then hesitantly voiced a small complaint.
"You can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Yesterday you said it was your birthday, so I let it go. This morning, Lizi even had to cover the marks on my collarbone with makeup, I didn't say anything either. But you can't always be so..."
Qi Yao paused, searching for the word. "So...without restraint."
"It's not good for health."
Yu Jiashu was silent for two seconds and asked in the same casual tone, "My health? Or your health?"
Qi Yao choked on her own words.
She'd meant his health, obviously! At worst, she was just tired; it wasn't like she was losing anything else.
But now that she thought about it...
Every single time, she was always the one left completely wrecked afterwards, while he looked perfectly refreshed, totally unaffected.
How strange.
Frowning, she continued trying to reason with him. "Yours, of course."
"I mean... I understand why doing... that... is enjoyable."
Her voice dwindled to a near-whisper. A long, awkward beat stretched out before she could continue.
"But you should still take care of yourself. Once today is over, you won't be twenty-five anymore. One way or another, you should... exercise a little more self-control."
Yu Jiashu listened expressionlessly as she rambled from one point to another.
Only after she'd finished did he ask, "Who told you that?"
"..."
Qi Yao's heart skipped. She immediately clamped her mouth shut, blinked innocently, and played dumb. "Told me what?"
"Who told you this idea that..."
He repeated patiently while lowering the window to swipe his ID card at the parking garage entrance and eased the car into the underground lot. His voice was still stripped of any readable emotion.
"...men stop being capable after they turn twenty-five?"
"..."
Qi Yao fell completely silent. Her heart dangled helplessly in her chest.
Ye Qingman!
While they'd been chatting outside the hot pot restaurant earlier, Ye Qingman had first congratulated her with misty-eyed sincerity, promising to send her a huge red packet later.
Then something had triggered her memory and she'd started grilling Qi Yao about that phone call from the other day, demanding to know whether she'd succeeded in the end.
Qi Yao hadn't wanted to answer, but Ye Qingman refused to let it go, so in the end she could only give a vague confirmation of success.
It wasn't exactly a lie.
She hadn't succeeded the night she'd asked about the pajamas, but things had worked out later.
Ye Qingman was practically exploded with excitement. She peppered her with endless questions, digging for every tiny detail, until Qi Yao shyly brushed them all aside.
Then Ye Qingman suddenly realized something.
She asked whether the "1224" for Qi Yao's lock screen password was Yu Jiashu's birthday.
Qi Yao said yes.
Ye Qingman counted on her fingers, then exclaimed, "Wait, doesn't that mean he's about to turn twenty-six?"
Qi Yao nodded, now thoroughly lost. "Yeah. Why?"
Ye Qingman stared at her for a long moment, sighing deeply.
"I told you, you should have gone for a younger guy," she said.
"Men just are not as capable as they used to after twenty-five."
Qi Yao's eyes went wide, half-doubtful, half-horrified.
Seeing her expression, Ye Qingman quickly tried to comfort her.
"It's okay. Your boyfriend looks… exceptionally capable. He probably doesn't fall into that category."
Compared to the certainty of her earlier statement, that reassurance did almost nothing to restore Qi Yao's confidence.
The entire drive back, she'd been completely distracted. Ye Qingman's earth-shattering verdict kept echoing through her head over and over.
Not as capable...
Not as capable...
Like the endless demonic chants in a fantasy drama, it refused to stop ringing in her ears.
It wasn't that Qi Yao was worried about anything else. She was worried about his health.
She'd meant to just circle the subject carefully, hint at it without being obvious.
Instead, he'd seen straight through her instantly!
How had he guessed so quickly that someone had told her this?
"No one did," Qi Yao insisted, committing herself fully to the act. She blinked innocently while unfastening her seat belt. "What are you talking about?"
Yu Jiashu turned to look at her.
Her performance was very sincere, delicate brows knitted together ever so slightly as she asked in genuine-looking confusion, "What do you mean, 'not capable after twenty-five'?"
Silence settled between them for two seconds.
Yu Jiashu studied her, raising one eyebrow faintly. His voice was light as air. "Really?"
Qi Yao held her breath and blinked again with practiced innocence.
After a long moment, he finally lowered his gaze and turned away as if deciding not to pursue it any further, pulling the car door open, "Let's go."
Her anxious heart finally settled back into place. Qi Yao let out a soft sigh of relief, quickly folded the blanket in a few neat motions. By the time she put it aside, he'd already walked around to her side and opened the passenger door for her.
Neither of them spoke again.
Not until the elevator doors opened onto the eighteenth floor when Qi Yao suddenly remembered something. "I need to go back to my place first and grab some clothes."
The past few days had been so busy, she still hadn't formally moved her things in.
At first, she'd been shuttling back and forth between the two apartments. It was close, only across the hall from each other, but constantly going in and out was still a hassle.
Eventually, Yu Jiashu had simply bought her an entirely new set of daily necessities, so she rarely went back anymore.
The only thing she still needed to fetch occasionally was clothing.
"What clothes?" Yu Jiashu tilted his head to look at her.
"Pajamas." Qi Yao gestured at her own door. "I want to change into a different set."
"Wear mine tonight." His reply was brief. He lowered his eyes and unlocked the door. "I'll get yours tomorrow."
"But..."
Qi Yao hesitated, opening her mouth to protest. Before she could continue, he pushed the door wide and said in an even voice,
"Come here."
His expression was calm, so did his tone. Yet somehow the pressure in the air had quietly dropped.
Qi Yao paused for two seconds, a small flicker of alarm igniting inside her heart.
After another brief hesitation, she cautiously shuffled toward him in tiny steps.
But there was only so much distance to cover.
The instant she reached the doorway, he caught her wrist and pulled her inside.
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
And she was pinned tightly against it.
Behind her back was his hand. His long fingers spread across the door between her spine and the cold, unforgiving wood, cushioning the impact so she wouldn't hurt herself, which only brought them even closer.
His entire body was almost pressed against hers.
They hadn't drawn the curtains before leaving. Not even the faintest sliver of moonlight could find its way in. In the absolute darkness, their breath tangled and floated, silent and simmering with unmistakable heat.
Qi Yao's heart hammered wildly.
Then she heard him murmur,
"What am I supposed to do?"
"In another thirty minutes, I won't be twenty-five anymore."
His voice was low. Each word brushed warm breath against her ear, sending a ticklish shiver through her.
Qi Yao couldn't help flinching away, shrinking toward her other shoulder. She barely managed to retreat when his other hand cupped her face and gently turned her back, forcing her once again into the path of his teasing breath.
Yu Jiashu's dark eyes caught the faintest glimmer of light. Arching an eyebrow, he look straight at her and asked softly,
"So is this why you like younger men?"
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Author's Note:
QiYao: Ye Qingman, I hate you!
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