Starlight Descends - 68
Blushing
New Year's Day had just passed.
Xiao Man finally sent word that it was time for Qi Yao to join the production.
At that moment, she was sprawled across the sofa with her Switch in her arms, completely absorbed in a game.
She'd fallen for Animal Crossing lately. Every day she fished in the rivers, chased butterflies around the island, dug out waterways with her shovel, planted flowers and vegetables, and built little houses. Yu Jiashu could call her name, talk to her face-to-face, and it all went in one ear and out the other. Whether she'd heard him at all was anyone's guess. Usually she'd just mumble an absent-minded "mm-hmm" in response.
Focused didn't even begin to cover it.
Yu Jiashu crossed the room in two strides and stopped beside the sofa, looking down at her.
From where he stood, all he could see was the crown of her dark hair, her long lashes, and the way she earnestly absorbed in a conversation with the tiny octopus on the screen, lost in her own little world.
"Did you hear what I said?" he asked.
"Hm? What?"
Without taking her eyes off the screen, she answered automatically, "Yeah, yeah. Heard you."
"..."
Yu Jiashu exhaled, then suddenly reached down and plucked the console right out of her hands. He held it loosely, watching her cry out in protest, and raised an eyebrow, speaking in a slow, lazy drawl.
"Then tell me. What did I just say?"
It was like a middle school teacher calling on the student who'd clearly been daydreaming.
Qi Yao hadn't expected him to snatch it away and only managed to curl her fingers around empty air. Pursing her lips, she sat in silence for two seconds.
How was she supposed to know? She'd been talking to her favorite villager. She hadn't heard a single word!
No answer to give, she tried to bluff her way through, mumbling some vague filler sounds to stall while reaching out to grab the console back.
She pushed herself up and stretched toward it. Just as her fingertips were about to touch it, the man casually raised it a little higher.
Just a little.
So close it looked within reach if she tried harder.
Unwilling to give up, Qi Yao straightened up on her knees and reached her whole arm.
Yu Jiashu simply lifted it another inch.
The console she'd almost grabbed floated away again.
She'd even gotten one arm around his neck now, stretching and scrabbling upward, but she still couldn't reach it. After all that struggling, she'd even worked up a little heat.
She frowned up at him.
His expression remained calm, pale lids lifted lazily as he looked down at her. Then he raised an eyebrow in a quiet, infuriating challenge.
It was obvious he had no intention of giving it back until she answered.
"..."
Mean Man!
Qi Yao grumbled at him in her head. Defeated, she sank back onto the sofa, staring at his face, and tried very hard to remember, but came up completely blank.
Two seconds later, inspiration struck.
Blinking innocently, she said, "You said I'm really pretty."
"..."
After a pause for thought, she added a second, even more irrefutable statement. "You also said you really like me."
"..."
Yu Jiashu: "?"
For a long moment, he simply looked down at her without speaking.
Qi Yao blinked twice more. "Isn't that right?"
Silence hung between them.
Yu Jiashu stared into her bright, hopeful eyes, let out a slow breath, looked away, and lowered his arm. "...Yeah."
He really had no defense against her.
Qi Yao beamed, quickly snatched back her Switch, saved her game, set it aside, then tucked her legs beneath her and asked, "So what was it?"
The sofa cushion dipped softly beside her. Yu Jiashu sat down and drawled, "I was telling you to get ready for filming."
Two beats later, Qi Yao let out a long, drawn-out, "Ah..."
The sound trailed off from high to low, going from surprise to a sort of melancholy.
It didn't sound as though she was happy at all.
Yu Jiashu laughed. "What's this? Our career-driven actress doesn't feel like going back to work too?"
Qi Yao sighed. "Doesn't matter if I don't feel like it, I still have to. It's just… I'll miss things."
"Miss what?" He looked at her. "Don't tell me it's my game console."
Qi Yao thought seriously about it. "I hadn't even considered that... but now that you mention it, I'll miss that a little too."
Yu Jiashu: "?"
His eyes narrowed. "Say that again."
"I'll miss the Switch..."
Seeing him get to his feet as if he really meant to leave, Qi Yao finally burst out laughing. She hurried over, hugged his arm, and quickly corrected herself. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you."
Yu Jiashu gave a quiet huff.
He said nothing, his expression still flat, even trying to pull his arm free. But she clung so tightly that after one unsuccessful tug, he gave up.
His childish sulking amused her so much she couldn't stop laughing.
After a while, he shot her an indifferent glance. Still smiling, she leaned in and peppered his face with several quick kisses to coax him.
One after another.
A little hurried.
Her soft lips landed everywhere, sometimes on his cheek, sometimes near his jaw.
Yu Jiashu clicked his tongue and turned toward her. "Do you even know how to kiss?"
The young master was unbearably cocky.
Even asking for a kiss sounded arrogant.
Qi Yao hesitated for several long seconds, pressed her lips together, then finally lean closer.
The tips of their noses brushed.
Her soft lips touched his for the briefest instant, light as a dragonfly skimming water, before she instinctively pulled away.
She had barely tilted her head back when his free arm rose.
His fingers spread across the back of her head, firm yet impossible to resist, drawing her back in as he deepened the kiss.
When the lingering kiss finally ended, Qi Yao buried her face in the crook of his neck and nuzzled against him twice.
Yu Jiashu turned his head with a smile. "No way, Qi Shiyi."
"We've already slept in the same bed, and you're still blushing over a kiss?"
"...Mind your own business." She buried her face even deeper.
Yu Jiashu only laughed harder, the sound vibrating through his chest.
One of his arm circled her waist loosely while the other gently kneaded her side.
She'd been complaining about back pain for the past couple of days.
His long, well-defined fingers worked carefully along her waist with just the right amount of pressure, light and soothing.
Qi Yao's lashes trembled as she secretly glanced up at him.
Perhaps from the effort, faint veins appeared and disappeared along his graceful neck.
For some reason...
It was incredibly sexy.
Qi Yao quickly looked away, resting her chin against his shoulder, quietly enjoyed the steady rhythm of his hands.
He had just finished showering. His loungewear smelled fresh and clean, and every breath she took was filled with his familiar scent, warm and pleasant.
She drifted off for a moment.
The man who was always so calm and distant in front of everyone else was here at home, holding her close and patiently rubbing her aching waist.
A few minutes later, the soreness had eased considerably. Her whole body relaxed as she leaned bonelessly against him.
Yu Jiashu turned toward her. "What are you smiling about?"
Qi Yao hurriedly smoothed away the curve of her lips. "I'm not smiling."
"Bull." He scoffed. "You think I'm deaf?"
"You were practically laughing into my ear. You really thought I couldn't hear it?"
"..."
Qi Yao's eyes wandered. She said quietly, "If I tell you, you'll get angry."
"Am I really that easy to make angry?" he asked.
Yeah. You absolutely are.
Though she only dared to think it in her head, too scared to say it out loud.
She hesitated a moment, then lifted her face and looked at him. "I just thought... you kind of look like one of those handsome guys who work at... not exactly legitimate massage parlors."
The air froze for a full second.
Not exactly legitimate.
Massage parlor.
Handsome guy.
In other words...
A gigolo?
Yu Jiashu narrowed his eyes. The movement of his hand paused, his long fingers curled slightly and suddenly attacked her waist with relentless tickles.
"So you've been to those not exactly legitimate massage parlors?"
"The White Horse Club?"
"Stop..."
Caught completely off guard, Qi Yao shriked away from his tickling, arching backward and scrambling toward the other end of the sofa.
"It tickles!"
Yu Jiashu showed no mercy.
Rising to his feet, he pinned her down. One hand braced beside her head as the sofa sank beneath their weight. The other remained at her waist, lightly but mercilessly tickling her.
His expression stayed calm, but beneath that calm was unmistakable irritation.
Even his voice carried a cool edge.
"So... do the handsome guys there give massages like this too?"
He was almost lying over her now.
One knee rested on either side of her legs, trapping them between his own. One arm supported his weight while his sharply defined jaw hovered above her.
Qi Yao laughed so hard she could barely breathe. "N-No!"
"I've never been!"
Only after she finally managed to force the words out did the hand at her waist ceased its torment.
Yu Jiashu looked down at her, one eyebrow raised, the corner of his eye carrying a cold, sharp edge that clearly meant: you'd better explain yourself.
"..."
He'd clearly said he wouldn't get angry! Liar!
After all that dodging and laughing, Qi Yao lay there catching her breath. Her chest rose and fell for a while before she finally explained. "I really haven't!"
"I saw videos online. You know, those maid... no, butler cafés. I think that's how the guys there act."
After thinking about it, she hurriedly added, "And that other time was just Ye Qingman joking! We're respectable actresses."
Yu Jiashu glanced at her. "You're barely respectable. As for her, not even close."
"...?"
Why was she only "barely"?
Qi Yao frowned and rested a hand against his chest. "Why?"
Assuming she meant Ye Qingman, Yu Jiashu lazily lowered his eyelids."What respectable person names a little ugly dog 'Husband'?"
"..."
Two seconds later, Qi Yao burst into laughter. "But when you heard me call it that, you barely reacted. Even Da Bai and Zhou Qi reacted more than you."
Tilting her head, she thought back. "Zhou Qi even got a nosebleed, didn't he?"
After a brief pause, Yu Jiashu slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers. "So you enjoy watching people get nosebleeds?"
"..."
The smile froze on Qi Yao's lips. A slight sense of foreboding washed over her.
Sure enough, the man above her wore an expression of pure leisure as he spoke, low and slow. "Call me that now. Maybe I'll get one too."
Qi Yao: "..."
Why was he so obsessed with this?
The air hung silent for a long moment.
Neither of them spoke.
She lay on the sofa with her legs trapped between his knees while he hovered over her, so close it felt as though he might lower himself onto her at any second.
The fingers resting against his chest curled unconsciously. She tried to pull her hand back, but he caught it again.
His large hand enveloped hers completely.
Whether intentional or not, his thumb slowly traced circles against her soft palm, a featherlight touch that made her heart itch.
She tried to pull away again, and this time she couldn't move at all.
His grip was solid, strong, overwhelming and impossible to refuse.
A long time passed.
Qi Yao looked into his eyes, pressed her lips together, and opened her mouth ever so slightly.
"..."
Seconds ticked by. Then she closed it again.
"...I can't." She admitted it honestly.
It was just too embarrassing.
The moment she thought of that word, her face burned. She looked at Yu Jiashu nervously.
He remained expressionless. After a brief pause, he simply murmured, "Oh."
He didn't tickle her anymore, didn't say another word.
Climbing off her, Yu Jiashu stood up lazily and placed the Switch on the table. "I'm going inside."
"Get some rest."
The silence stretched for a moment. Qi Yao asked, cautiously, "...Are you mad?"
"No." Yu Jiashu answered calmly. "My girlfriend's leaving for work in a couple of days. I only wanted one little word to cheer me up, yet she refused."
"It's fine. I can live with it."
"..."
With that, Yu Jiashu looked away. He turned as though he really intended to leave.
Qi Yao pursed her lips and grabbed his sleeve. The man paused for a full two seconds before slowly turning back.
His pupils were black, dark hair falling loose over his forehead, his profile clean-cut and handsome, expression unreadable.
In a tiny voice, Qi Yao said, "I can't find my slippers. I shouldn't walk on the floor barefoot. Can you carry me to the bedroom?"
Yu Jiashu was quiet for a moment. "Not playing anymore?"
Even as he asked, he bent slightly, making it easier for her to climb onto his back. His loose loungewear draped naturally with gravity, outlining the smooth lines of his back beneath the fabric.
"No more."
As she spoke, Qi Yao climbed off the sofa and onto his back.
Yu Jiashu waited until she had wrapped her arms securely around him. Then he hooked an arm under her knees, bounced her lightly higher, straightened up, and carried her toward the bedroom.
She couldn't see his face anymore.
Maybe...
Maybe she could say it now.
Her arms tightened around his neck, her face burned scarlet.
Turning her head slightly, she leaned close to his ear and whispered.
So softly it was almost inaudible.
"...Husband."
The words were barely louder than a breath. Yet the man carrying her froze for an instant.
From where Qi Yao rested against his back, she could clearly see the restrained movement of his Adam's apple along the elegant line of his neck.
Then, effortlessly supporting her with one arm alone, he reached back with the other to close the bedroom door.
The next moment, he tossed her onto the bed.
The sudden, weightless drop made Qi Yao shut her eyes on reflex, a gasp escaping her as she landed in the soft blankets.
When she opened them again, he was already on top of her.
"Ah, sorry about that."
His voice was low.
"I think... something else needs to spill first."
---
Author's Note:
Yu Dongdong, you little rascal. You're really good at pretending to be well-behaved.
And it's Christmas Eve!
Happy birthday, Yu Jiashu.
Your birthday's a lot sweeter this year, isn't it?
May you always find peace and get everything your heart desires.
---
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