Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 42 Part 3
The sound of falling rain intensified, lights came on; light and shadow interweaved to form a curtain of rain in the empty room. Ye Qiao gingerly walked forward a couple of steps. The floor under her feet had been modified. Under the dim light, it looked like waves of glimmering water flowing on the ground with glowing black metallic roses resting on the surface.
The rain filled the enclosed room and look almost like the real thing. Yet from another angle it looked like a meteor shower crossing the sky, which made the light curtain feel less authentic. Ye Qiao was walking between reality and a mirage, as if she was a ballerina in a music box.
The rain continued and followed her every move, by the numerous 3D projectors inside the room.
Ye Qiao recognized the light show was similar to the ecological art installation displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The rain seemed to be alive, responding to the slightest movement. The visual impact of the lights against the darkness was stunning, a person could take a picture at any moment and produce a work of art with lights and shadows woven together. Ye Qiao had thought about visiting the exhibit, but couldn"t because of her busy schedule. She would never expect that a similar installation could be created here.
A Happy Birthday song began to play, it was being sung by Zheng Xishuo. The wall to the front suddenly lit up with projection images; it was a birthday wish recorded by her fan club. The wall next to her had well wishes from various people that scrolled down one after the other. Even Lu Qing, who was recovering from his surgery, made a brief video wishing Ye Qiao a happy 33rd birthday and a healthy life.
Suddenly, the doors on both sides opened. The rain stopped and the projectors shone all focused at her feet. Shen Ting led members from her fan club into the room. Some of her friends in the entertainment business were also present. Zheng Xishuo opened a bottle of champagne, the bubbles overflowing. Her agent and other actors from the film slowly pushed a cart with a cake on it into the room. People from her fan club called out: “One-- -- two-- -- three! Happy Birthday!”
It was a perfect surprise birthday party. However, Ye Qiao looked all around but couldn"t find the person who should"ve been there the most.
She searched the entire room and discovered at a discreet corner where Zhou Tingsheng was quietly looking at her from afar.
He stood outside the crowd, not partic.i.p.ating in the excitement and had both of his hands casually in his pockets. He noticed Ye Qiao was looking at his direction and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. He used his finger to draw a circle around his temple and gave her a look. Ye Qiao touched her hair at the place where he had indicated. Indeed, there was a loose hairpin and a strand of hair was out of place from her perfect hairdo. By the time she tidied her hair, Shen Ting was already calling her to go over and blow out the candles.
She closed her eyes, not knowing where he was standing but was certain that a pair of eyes was quietly watching her.
Ye Qiao made a wish, the simplest but the greediest one at the same time-- --
If it"s possible, I wish to live a long life, I wish to live forever.
I hope I can always meet your eyes in each reincarnation.
I hope I can continue to live.
It doesn"t matter if it"s a hard and not so perfect life.
As long as you"re at my side, I"ll keep you company till the end of all emotions and then we"ll come back to meet again.
I"m willing to use up all of my luck in this life……
That night, Ye Qiao made an exception and drank a lot of liquor. Zhou Tingsheng had to help the staggering Ye Qiao back to the hotel room.
She slurred while leaning against his body: “Have you read before?”
When she was drunk, she would always talk about the most random topics. Zhou Tingsheng didn"t know what the question was leading to. He kicked open the door and answered as he set her down on the bed: “I"ve read the four cla.s.sics when I was little, but not this one.”
“That"s too bad……” She giggled as she let him try to take the complicatedly structured gown off her. Her arms waved in the air: “I remembered that there"s a chapter in the book where Daiyu was having fun chatting with girl friends and Baoyu was so attentive that he gave Daiyu a look. Daiyu went back to her room to look in the mirror and found that the edge of her hair at her temple was loose…...Hu Lancheng mentioned the incident in his commentary of the book and said ‘it"s because they each treat each other as one of their own."” Zhou Tingsheng had to commend her memory to be able to clearly remember parts of the book while drunk. He turned her around. By now he had successfully peeled the dress off one of her shoulders.
Ye Qiao was still mumbling: “Do you know Hu Lancheng?”
“......The man whom Chang Ailing loved?” Zhou Tingsheng took the dress off her other shoulder and was already exhausted. He leaned against her to rest. She"d tested him on a wide range of topics, from astrology, geography, and botany all the way to literature and famous authors. He probably wouldn"t be questioned this hard from the imperial examinations in ancient times.
Ye Qiao said very seriously: “En. He"s a traitor.”
Zhou Tingsheng chuckled.
Ye Qiao circled around his neck and turned around to lay on top of him. She looked into his eyes and smiled: “The book he wrote is called
Zhou Tingsheng asked her: “What"s wrong?”
Ye Qiao bent down and hugged him tightly in her arms like he was a teddy bear and murmured: “......All throughout this life.”
The voice was so low at the end that it was hard to discern what she was saying. Zhou Tingsheng didn"t hear another sound for a while after and looked down at her. There was a sweet smile plastered on her red face. Her body was hot and smelled of alcohol. She was also fast asleep.