Chapter 18: Stars in the Sky, Grass on the Earth

Jiang Yao gripped her phone tightly as she looked around, scanning the bustling crowd. There wasn’t a single suspicious figure in sight. But she knew—he was here. That nightmare.

“I’m going to make a call,” Jiang Yao forced herself to appear calm, gave He Yunqing a slight nod, then turned away and, finding a quiet corner, tapped the number, took a deep breath, and called back.

Ring… ring…

Every second seemed to drag on endlessly.

“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is currently on another call. Please try again later…”

Jiang Yao didn’t notice her own hand trembling slightly. She swallowed, hesitated, and then sent a message to the number: What do you want?

A long time passed, but no response came…

When she turned back, He Yunqing had already left.

Jiang Yao, clutching the half-empty carton of milk, distractedly found another inconspicuous spot to sit and waited for the ceremony to begin.

Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder.

Startled, Jiang Yao nearly jumped from her seat. She turned to see Ye Yiyi’s worried face.

“What’s wrong, Yao?” Ye Yiyi hadn’t expected such a big reaction from just a light tap on the shoulder.

Jiang Yao composed herself and managed a smile as she sat down again. “It’s nothing, I’m just a bit tired.”

Ye Yiyi flashed a bright smile. “That’s good. Make sure you get some rest after this—you’ve lost so much weight from working so hard lately.”

As she spoke, Ye Yiyi pulled up a chair beside her, placing a carefully wrapped gift box on the table and pushing it toward Jiang Yao. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Jiang Yao eyed the exquisitely wrapped box with suspicion.

Ye Yiyi shook her head. “No idea. On my way over, I bumped into someone who asked me to give it to you—probably to thank you for helping with the wedding.”

“How did he know you’re my friend?” Jiang Yao’s unease grew as she stared at the box.

Ye Yiyi tilted her head, thinking, “Maybe he saw us together earlier?”

“Then why not just give it to me directly?”

Ye Yiyi scratched her head, unable to answer.

Jiang Yao pressed one hand on the box and lightly tapped Ye Yiyi’s head with the other. “Yiyi, you really need to be more careful.”

Ye Yiyi stuck out her tongue playfully. “Aren’t you going to see what’s inside?”

At that moment, a melodious waltz filled the hall.

It was the opening piece, performed by musicians the Zhang family had specially hired at great expense. Jiang Yao knew the ceremony was about to begin. The lights over the audience gradually dimmed, while those on the stage shone even brighter. Ye Yiyi gazed at the stage in excitement.

The bride, clad in a priceless wedding gown, walked gracefully toward the center, where the man she would spend her life with awaited her. The second son of the Zhang family, while not especially handsome, was said to be exceptionally talented. Together, the two made a striking pair—both gifted and beautiful.

Jiang Yao, however, paid them no mind. All her attention was fixed on the gift box before her. As everyone else focused on the stage, she quietly opened the box.

Inside, it was empty—except for a single photograph.

Jiang Yao found herself almost preferring the shadows; at least here, no one could see her expression clearly…

In just two seconds, she had closed the box again, but the image burned into her mind would not fade.

The photograph was of Jiang Yao at fifteen.

Bound hand and foot.

A deeply private photograph.

“And now, let’s welcome the star you’ve all been waiting for… He Yunqing!”

The host’s words triggered a wave of excitement throughout the hall.

Ye Yiyi tugged at Jiang Yao’s arm, thrilled. “Yao, look!”

Jiang Yao looked up at the stage, her pupils dilating in shock…

He Yunqing stood under the dazzling lights, dressed in ink-black attire studded with tiny, sparkling points of light. In the brilliance of the stage, it seemed as if light itself danced around him. Each of his movements was precise and powerful; his magnetic voice swept over the crowd, igniting a frenzy of cheers.

A few stray locks of hair quivered with his dance, lending the man a seductive allure.

He was born for the stage.

Jiang Yao watched, transfixed, unable to say what exactly was churning within her heart.

“Well? Isn’t he handsome?” Ye Yiyi, oblivious to Jiang Yao’s distress, beamed. “See? I knew I wasn’t wrong about him this time!”

Jiang Yao stared unblinking at the man on stage. “Tell me—who is he?”

“He Yunqing, of course. Who else?” Ye Yiyi reached out to feel Jiang Yao’s forehead, puzzled by such a strange question.

Yes, who else could it be but He Yunqing.

Jiang Yao thought herself a fool.

He was never an ordinary man—she should have realized that long ago.

“I need to go,” Jiang Yao murmured, clutching the box, and made her way backstage first.

He Yunqing, having finished his performance, came down from the stage and immediately spotted Jiang Yao. Their eyes met across the distance, but a throng of people quickly swarmed around He Yunqing, separating them further.

Jiang Yao stood rooted, jostled twice by the crowd. Regaining her balance, she looked up in time to see He Yunqing being swept away, his silhouette fading into the distance…

Beneath the brilliant lights, he seemed to shimmer like a constellation.

He was born to shine—dazzling and untouchable.

Jiang Yao lowered her gaze to her feet, then to the box in her arms.

She was someone struggling through darkness, inching forward with all her might.

They were never meant to belong to the same world.

He was a star in the heavens.

She was wild grass breaking through the mud…

Buzz…

The phone in her hand vibrated again.

Jiang Yao looked at the strange, flashing number, drew a deep breath, and, when she answered, her eyes took on an inexplicable resolve.

“Did you like the gift I sent you?” The rough, chilling voice of a man came from the other end.

A voice she hadn’t heard in many years—a snake-like, venomous voice.

Jiang Yao clenched her jaw, but her voice was steady. “Did you really think I’d be afraid of you?”

A low, sinister laugh echoed through the line, making her scalp prickle.

“My little princess, still so stubborn—just as I saw in your eyes all those years ago.”

“Ten years in prison, and it still hasn’t taught you a shred of remorse,” Jiang Yao felt a wave of nausea roil in her stomach, “No matter. I’ll send you back in again! I wasn’t afraid of you ten years ago, and I’m even less afraid of you now!”

There was a long silence on the other end.

At last, the man’s dreadful voice sounded again, “Do you remember how your teacher, Ms. Chen, died?”