The Twenty-Fourth Star
Zong Ye didn’t respond and glanced at Wang Tan.
He picked up his glass, took another sip of water, and said to Jiang Chuyi, “I’m done eating.”
Jiang Chuyi lowered her eyes, sitting on the chair, not daring to look at Zong Ye.
She felt apologetic and a bit embarrassed, mumbling, “Thank you for your hard work. I thought it wasn’t too bad because it tasted quite similar to my mom’s cooking…”
She couldn’t continue.
“It wasn’t too bad.” Zong Ye’s tone remained calm and gentle. “Didn’t I say that I’m not picky about food?”
Although Zong Ye didn’t mind, the other victim wasn’t so easy to reconcile with her fried egg.
With Ji Kai’s exaggerated remarks, soon everyone knew that Jiang Chuyi had made a dark cuisine that could shock heaven and earth and make ghosts and gods cry.
Jiang Chuyi was in despair, forced to accept all kinds of teasing.
Only Zong Ye didn’t make fun of her.
Even when Wang Tan curiously wanted Jiang Chuyi to make it again for him to taste, Zong Ye calmly stopped him, “Wang Tan.”
Wang Tan responded, “What’s up?”
Zong Ye looked at him for a few seconds and asked gently, “What do you want to eat?”
Wang Tan instantly shut up.
*
The weather in Shanghai improved on January 1st and the sun was shining brightly.
While they were sitting in the living room watching a variety show, Zong Ye received a phone call from IM.
The other side spoke, he listened, occasionally responding.
On a rare afternoon without a schedule, they still had to listen to their manager talk about work arrangements.
Jiang Chuyi found the remote control and turned the volume down.
She picked up her phone and vaguely heard words like “reality TV show.”
“What are you looking at?” Xin He felt bored and leaned close to her, speaking softly.
Jiang Chuyi held up her phone, “A novel.”
Seeing the title “September Rain,” Xin He was impressed, “Aren’t you dedicated?”
“Do you want to read it with me? Some details in this novel are worth exploring.”
Just as they were talking, Zong Ye had finished his phone call.
Learning that they were about to start filming together again, Ji Kai exclaimed, “What a coincidence.”
Fu Cheng: “Who is the male lead in your drama?”
Xin He thought for a moment, “I think it’s Ren Hanjun.”
“Him?” Fu Cheng frowned.
At the mention of this name, their gazes fell on Zong Ye.
Jiang Chuyi was quite familiar with this name. He was a male star who came from a talent show, but his group was not well-known and disbanded soon after. He then disappeared for two years and became popular after acting in a male-oriented IP drama. He was someone Xunfei had been focusing on promoting in recent years.
However, she had never worked with him and didn’t pay much attention.
Jiang Chuyi asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing, it’s just that he looks a lot like Zong Ye.”
“Ah?”
Xin He was surprised, “You didn’t know?”
Jiang Chuyi shook her head.
Not to mention Ren Hanjun, she rarely paid attention to Zong Ye before their movie collaboration. She didn’t expect them to have this kind of connection.
Hearing them say this, Jiang Chuyi searched for a few pictures of Ren Hanjun online. Indeed, at first glance, there was some resemblance between their features. However, upon careful observation, the differences between the two were quite significant.
The main difference, Jiang Chuyi felt, was in the eyes.
Among Zong Ye’s features, his eyes were probably the most beautiful, blessed by the heavens, more captivating than a woman’s.
Wang Tan: “This Ren-something had surgery done in Japan.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuyi was shocked, “Plastic surgery?”
“Otherwise, how do you think he could look so similar to Zong Ye?”
Jiang Chuyi hesitated, “I don’t think they’re that similar.”
After a few seconds, Zong Ye, who had been sitting beside them in silence, spoke up, “Not that similar?”
This was directed at Jiang Chuyi.
Their eyes met, and Jiang Chuyi nodded, “I don’t feel you two look very alike.”
Zong Ye seemed slightly interested in this topic and casually asked, “Where do they differ?”
Under his gaze, Jiang Chuyi honestly said, “The eyes.”
Zong Ye nodded slightly, and then, as if inquiring very calmly, “His are more beautiful?”
Jiang Chuyi instinctively shook her head, “Yours.”
Zong Ye smiled and said, “Thank you.”
*
Due to yesterday’s hangover and the recent intensive work schedule, everyone was very tired. After watching a movie, they each went back to their rooms to catch up on sleep.
Ji Kai stood up from the sofa and asked, “Where’s Zong Ye?”
Fu Cheng hadn’t seen him either and casually said, “I don’t know, maybe he went out.”
Xin He’s home had a fully stacked bookshelf.
After getting Xin He’s permission, Jiang Chuyi randomly picked a comic book and nestled in the hanging chair to read, feeling lazy in the afternoon sun.
She was the only one left in the living room. After reading for a while, her eyelids started to droop, and she felt a bit drowsy.
Suddenly, there was a sound from the door lock.
Jiang Chuyi was startled awake and looked up.
Zong Ye pushed the door open, placed his keys on the shoe cabinet, and was holding a plastic bag in his hand.
She sat up slightly.
After changing his shoes, Zong Ye walked over with the bag.
Jiang Chuyi put down the comic book in her hand, still a bit dazed, “You went out?”
Zong Ye took off his mask, “I bought some stuff.”
He put the plastic bag aside, leaned down slightly, took out a tube of ointment from it, and handed it to her.
Jiang Chuyi was stunned, “What is this?”
“Burn ointment.” Zong Ye glanced at her, “It looks like you burned the back of your hand.”
Jiang Chuyi looked down.
If Zong Ye hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have noticed.
It wasn’t a big deal. If you didn’t look closely, you couldn’t even see it.
Jiang Chuyi was shocked and couldn’t help but blurt out, “You went out just to buy this?”
Zong Ye held up the peppermint candy in his hand and shook it at her, “Buying candy, and happened to see a pharmacy on the way.”
“I see.”
Jiang Chuyi took the tube of ointment, feeling a bit touched. Zong Ye was really thoughtful and considerate.
If he treated his friends like this, what about his girlfriend…
Jiang Chuyi immediately hit the brakes, stopping the thoughts in her mind.
This wasn’t something she should be thinking about.
As she unscrewed the cap of the ointment and applied the cool cream to the back of her hand, Jiang Chuyi was lost in thought for a moment but couldn’t help indulging herself, feeling a bit sour.
I wonder which girl is so lucky… How hard-hearted must one be to remain unmoved by a man like Zong Ye?
After applying the ointment on the back of her hand, Jiang Chuyi looked up and saw that Zong Ye had already sat down on the sofa, holding his phone, seemingly replying to messages.
She quietly put away the ointment.
After this, the sleepiness from earlier had disappeared. She picked up her comic book, changed her posture to lie comfortably, and prepared to continue reading.
Zong Ye suddenly turned his head and asked her, “I’m going to take a nap on the sofa. Do you mind?”
Jiang Chuyi: “I don’t mind. Go ahead and sleep.”
The living room became quiet again, with only the sound of turning pages.
The warm sunlight gradually crept across the floor, extending towards the sofa.
Jiang Chuyi turned a page of the comic book and suddenly heard a few meows.
She glanced to the side and noticed Luke coming over with its tail raised.
Luke was wandering under the sofa, occasionally rubbing his head against Zong Ye’s wrist hanging over the edge of the sofa.
It seemed to like Zong Ye very much. After rubbing back and forth a few times, it nimbly jumped onto the sofa.
Zong Ye seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep and wasn’t awakened by the movement.
Luke circled around, finally curled up on his shoulder, snuggling its little head, sniffing around, and then sticking out its little tongue to lick Zong Ye’s neck, seeming to like the beauty mark on his neck.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Chuyi muttered softly, “Little pervert.”
It was unclear whether she was scolding the cat or herself.
Because she also liked that mole very much.
Suddenly, her phone beeped several times in a row. Jiang Chuyi, afraid of waking up Zong Ye, quickly put it on silent mode.
Chen Yi sent a few WeChat messages.
She clicked on them.
Chen Yi: “Image” “Image” “Image”
Chen Yi: “I really saved a life. I just went on Weibo to check private messages and saw all these things. They’re all asking if you and Zong Ye are actually together and when you slept together. Can you live stream your kiss for them to see???”
After seeing these few pictures, Jiang Chuyi almost dropped her phone on her face.
Chen Yi: “My blood pressure is really rising. Are your and Zong Ye’s CP fans this crazy? They actually danced in front of me. Zong Ye’s fans are always a bit crazy.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
Chen Yi: “The most ridiculous thing is, I went to check that ‘Yi Jian Zong Qing’ super topic with a small account; I fucking looked at it for an hour and was actually sweetened by it?! Too crazy. Is there any hope for this world?”
Jiang Chuyi: “?”
Chen Yi: “So are you and Zong Ye really together or not? I really want to know now. Are you really together?!!”
Jiang Chuyi: “Of course not. I already said it’s my management company hyping things up. Are you crazy…”
Chen Yi: “But what the CP fans said doesn’t seem fake either! And that little bear hat of Zong Ye’s, I remember you have one too?”
Jiang Chuyi sent a sweating emoji.
Chen Yi: “Fuck? It’s really yours?! Those CP fans weren’t wrong?!”
Jiang Chuyi: “It’s not what you think.”
Chen Yi threw half a screen of question marks.
Jiang Chuyi’s typing hand paused, feeling that she was digging herself deeper. She was thinking about how to explain it to her best friend. She couldn’t directly tell Chen Yi that Zong Ye had someone he had liked for many years.
She shouldn’t really talk about his private matters.
Jiang Chuyi was troubled: “You really don’t need to add to the confusion. Zong Ye and I are just friends. Would I lie to you?”
The other side was silent for half a minute, then sent a message: “Chuyi, I’ve decided to take back everything I said to persuade you before. I really didn’t expect the love between you two to be so sweet.”
Chen Yi: “When you and Zong Ye are no longer friends, I’ll buy you dinner. I won’t watch when you sleep together, but remember to live stream when you kiss.”
Chen Yi: “By the way, CP fans say Teacher Zong looks very strong. He’s the kind of man who can turn Shanghai into a magnitude 10 earthquake. Be careful.”
Turn Shanghai into a magnitude 10 earthquake?!
Jiang Chuyi was both angry and embarrassed by Chen Yi’s mature and lewd remarks. She threw her phone away.
Picking up the comic book again, she flipped through a few pages, feeling restless.
She put the comic book on her face, calmed down for a while, then lifted half of it, exposing only her eyes, to look at the man who was rumored to be able to “create earthquakes”.
Zong Ye was unaware and still sleeping peacefully.
This was the second time she “watched” this person sleep.
On the sofa, slept a man and a cat under the warm sunlight; the scene looked particularly harmonious and cozy.
Sensing a Jiang Chuyi’s gaze, Luke’s tail twitched, and he opened its eyes, looking in the direction of the hanging chair.
Then, this fat cat shook its body, raised its butt, and stretched lazily.
Jiang Chuyi watched as his fluffy little paws kneaded on Zong Ye’s legs, making purring sounds.
She was instantly overwhelmed by its cuteness, all the distracting thoughts in her mind vanished. Itching with the urge, she couldn’t help but stretch out her hand and coaxed in a low voice, “Luke, Luke, meow, meow, little fatty, little cutie, come to big sister.”
Jiang Chuyi put down the comic book and carefully got down from the hanging chair.
Luke didn’t move, looking at her with boredom.
Jiang Chuyi was afraid of scaring him. She squatted on the ground and slowly moved closer, step by step.
Just as she was racking her brain to think of how to lure the cat over, a soft laugh suddenly sounded.
Jiang Chuyi looked up.
Zong Ye had just woken up, his voice muffled and indistinct, still lazy and smiling, “Teacher Jiang, why did you give it so many nicknames?”
“Did I wake you up?” Jiang Chuyi felt a bit embarrassed.
“Hm?” His voice was a bit hoarse and alluring. He sat up a little and sighed very lightly, “No, I woke up on my own.”
Jiang Chuyi responded, talking to him while unable to resist looking at the cat.
She thought of an idea and asked with a bit of anticipation, “Can you help me hold Luke? I want to pet him, but he’s very shy. He runs away as soon as I approach him.”
Zong Ye glanced at the fat cat curled up next to his hand.
He reached out his arm, wrapped it around the cat, and lifted him to his chest.
Luke was obedient and didn’t resist. He even meowed at him coquettishly.
Seeing this, Jiang Chuyi felt like vomiting blood.
Even a cat cared so much about someone’s appearance.
Jiang Chuyi finally dared to approach and reached out her hand to vigorously pet Luke’s head a few times.
“Do you like cats?”
“Hm?” Jiang Chuyi sat on the carpet, petting the cat with one hand while saying, “I like fluffy animals, like little hamsters, little bunnies, and little cats.”
“I have a cat at home too.”
Jiang Chuyi scratched Luke’s belly, getting a bit interested, “What breed is your cat?”
Zong Ye thought for a moment and said, “British Shorthair.”
“Wow.” Jiang Chuyi’s tone was admiring. “Cats of this breed are all very cute.”
Zong Ye’s eyes narrowed as he smiled, “I have photos on my phone. Do you want to see?”
“Sure.” Jiang Chuyi readily agreed.
Zong Ye unplugged the charging cable, unlocked his phone, opened the photo album, and found the cat’s photos.
Then, he held the phone, flipped it over, and gestured for her to come and look.
Jiang Chuyi waited for a while.
He didn’t seem to have any intention of handing over the phone.
But it was also quite normal. People in their profession paid great attention to privacy. Jiang Chuyi fully understood.
She took the initiative to move a bit closer.
This album seemed to be specifically for cat photos. There were many of them. After she finished looking at one, Zong Ye patiently swiped to the next one for her.
However, Zong Ye’s posture of holding the phone didn’t accommodate her. Maybe it was unintentional, but he even held it a bit far. In order for Jiang Chuyi to see clearly, she needed to get very close.
Her elbow rested on the edge of the sofa, and her upper body unconsciously pressed against Zong Ye. If she relaxed her shoulders a bit, they would touch his legs.
At first glance, the posture of the two people was very intimate.
He flipped through the photos very slowly. Jiang Chuyi watched for a long time, and her propped-up shoulders became a bit sore, needing to change positions constantly. It was also inevitable to bump into Zong Ye.
Fortunately, Zong Ye’s cat was indeed very cute. Jiang Chuyi looked at each photo with great interest and kept praising it.
“By the way, what’s your cat’s name?” Jiang Chuyi turned her head and asked with a smile.
Suddenly, she froze.
Because she was too focused on looking at the cat photos, she didn’t notice when Zong Ye bent down to look at the phone with her.
The two were very close, so close that when she turned her head, it was in his face.
A straight nose bridge and soft red lips.
Their breaths were audible. Zong Ye didn’t dodge or avoid it. He very naturally met Jiang Chuyi’s straightforward gaze and quietly looked at her.
A few seconds later, her senses suddenly returned. Jiang Chuyi scooted back a little.
“What did you just say?” Zong Ye asked slowly.
Jiang Chuyi silently swallowed. Her face was hot, and she said unnaturally, “I asked about the name of your cat.”
“Yi Yi.” (tl: the Chinese characters mean one hundred million)
“Yi Yi…?” Jiang Chuyi repeated it and complimented against her conscience, “The name is not bad, very special.”
“Special?” Zong Ye casually responded, as if he had unintentionally discovered something, and said, “Why is your face red?”
She paused, “Really…”
Zong Ye looked at her, the corners of his lips slightly curled, his words carrying a hint of laughter, “No, I was mistaken.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
Teased by him like this, Jiang Chuyi’s thoughts were thrown into disarray. She didn’t know where to put her hands and feet, completely distracted from looking at the cat.
She thought to herself that when it was just the two of them alone, Zong Ye wasn’t really that serious.
After enduring until the photos were finally finished, Jiang Chuyi was about to get up absent-mindedly.
Not knowing what Zong Ye’s finger touched, the background showed a music software was playing.
She realized belatedly, “Your phone is playing a song?”
“Yeah, I was listening to it while sleeping.”
Jiang Chuyi raised her head and only then noticed that a white earphone was plugged into his right ear.
He sat up straight, “Do you want to hear it?”
Jiang Chuyi rubbed her sore shoulders, feeling unsettled, “Hear what?”
“A song I wrote. It’s not released yet.” Zong Ye paused and told her, “I recorded it last year during the Spring Festival.”
After thinking for a few seconds, Jiang Chuyi asked, “Can I listen to it?”
“Sure.”
“Okay.”
Zong Ye leaned over, picked up the other earphone from the coffee table, and handed it to her.
Jiang Chuyi took it and put it in her ear.
Listening to music was much simpler than looking at cats. She leaned against the sofa and relaxed.
Zong Ye clicked on the music software and dragged the progress bar back to the beginning.
Jiang Chuyi waited.
The song started with a segment of Fu Cheng’s rap. The lyrics were fast, and Jiang Chuyi couldn’t hear them clearly.
After the fast-paced rap segment at the beginning ended, the melody instantly slowed down as it entered the chorus.
After a bass solo…
Zong Ye’s distinctive low voice sounded in her ear—
[I’ve cradled a star once,It was so short that no one knows,
It’s a tsunami hidden in my heart,
What you’ve seen is but the tip of the iceberg.]
……
……
Too bad it’s too noisy outside, I’m always wandering.
Too bad you’re near at hand, I always miss you on rainy days.
……
……
This seemed to be a first draft. As the song gradually reached its end, there was still a long instrumental section. In the background, there were sounds of Ji Kai and Wang Tan chatting and laughing.
Wang Tan asked, “What’s the date today?”
Ji Kai replied absent-mindedly, “The first day of the lunar new year.”
Zong Ye said, “The first day is an auspicious day.” (tl: first day = Chu Yi)
“How so?”
Jiang Chu Yi was so immersed in listening that she didn’t notice Zong Ye’s finger holding the phone moved.
He pressed and held the volume key, turning it up.
So, in the last sentence at the end of this song, without any melody, Zong Ye’s voice rang out very clearly in her ear.
—Wishing you a happy new year on this first day. (tl: can also be translated as “Wishing you, Chuyi, Happy New Year”)
