Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 53 Epilogue

Hello everyone.

This is the last chapter to Starlight Has No Past.  We hope you all enjoyed reading.

Instead of picking up a new story, we plan to fill Saturday and Monday posts with more You’re Beautiful When You Smile as there’s still a lot to go through.

------
Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.


Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 53 Epilogue

In the first year of Ye Qiao and Zhou Tingsheng’s marriage, they faced for the first time the question of whose family to spend Chinese New Year with.

Liang Zirao had come back from abroad before the New Year and called Zhou Tingsheng from the airport as soon as she landed: “I rushed home from my business trip to spend the New Year with dad, but you’re going to Ye Qiao’s family. You’re married to her family?”
Zhou Tingsheng patiently listened to his sister rant with a smile. After he hung up, he was met by a questioning look from Ye Qiao
“Your sister’s not happy about it?”
“Liang Zirao always likes to stir up trouble.” Zhou Tingsheng leisurely checked his cell phone: “You haven’t spent a New Year with your father for so many years, now we should get to your family first.”

He saw a news picture on his cell phone and showed it to Ye Qiao: “Who’s this again?”
Ye Qiao went over to take a look. It was the lead actor of the movie she had just agreed to do, a popular young actor. There was always gossip about him and any actress who worked with him. Now the media was making some gossip about him and Ye Qiao.
Ye Qiao dismissed it with a sneer: “It’s Jiang xx, don’t you know him?”
Zhou Tingsheng pretended to check him out: “He seems a little better than the last one.”
Ye Qiao pinched his arm: “What are you talking about?”
Zhou Tingsheng tried to avoid her: “I mean, I think we should find time to announce the news that we’re married.”

Ye Qiao paused and her expression became somewhat serious. Zhou Tingsheng understood that an actress had to listen to her agency. He pulled Ye Qiao over and kissed her hair: “It’s alright. Actually, it’s quite fun this way.”
But Ye Qiao didn’t find the fun in the situation.

On the way to her father’s house, both of them avoided the topic or anything regarding her work until a clicking sound came from Ye Qiao’s cell phone. Zhou Tingsheng knew that she’d snuck a picture of him and tried to take a look. But Ye Qiao had already posted it to her Weibo account which rarely had anything posted on it. But now there was a post wishing everyone a happy New Year and a special picture along with it.
Zhou Tingsheng didn’t know how to react: “Shen Ting won’t have a quiet New Year’s holiday now.”
“She won’t care about this.” Ye Qiao logged off Weibo before the wave of comments came rolling in. She would let the public relations people deal with it.

When they arrived at Xu Zang’s house, Cheng Su had already started preparing a banquet at home.
They entered the house as fireworks began exploding in the night sky.
Cheng Su had given birth to a baby boy in the fall. She had recovered well but gained some weight. Her slightly chubbier face made her appear even more kind and gentle. She greeted Ye Qiao and Zhou Tingsheng as they walked in: “Your father is in the study. Go get him for me.”
She had placed the baby boy in a stroller and pushed the stroller into the living room so the baby could celebrate with the rest of the family. The baby was wearing new red clothes and a red cap was hanging on the side of the stroller.

Zhou Tingsheng went to the study by himself to get his father-in-law. Ye Qiao stayed in the living room to play with the baby. She carefully put the new cap on her half-brother’s head. The baby giggled, totally oblivious of the rift in his family’s past.
Ye Qiao’s mind wandered as she looked at the baby’s innocent face.
She used to feel that it was disrespectful to the deceased to put the past behind her, but now she was thinking how wonderful the future was going to be.

Zhou Tingsheng quietly walked over to her from the study and put his arms around her from behind: “What are you thinking about?”
Ye Qiao turned around and gave him a sly look: “I’m thinking whether in the future he’ll raise his voice at me just like you treat Liang Zirao. I’ll be really mad.”
Zhou Tingsheng kissed her on the cheek and said without any room for arguing: “He won’t. You’ll definitely be a better sister than Liang Zirao.”
Ye Qiao laughed: “If she heard this, she’d drive me out of your family.”
“How can that happen?” Liang Zirao had been getting closer to Ye Qiao lately since Ye Qiao respected her as an actual sister, unlike Zhou Tingsheng who had always ignored her. Zhou Tingsheng mocked himself: “I feel like she’s closer to you than me now.”

Ye Qiao laughed and turned to look outside; a car was driving in, its headlights illuminated the front door.
Cheng Su went to welcome the guest. Ruan Feiyan got out of the car.
Xu Zang often invited her to come to dinner at his house that Ruan Feiyan was quite familiar with the place now. But she still looked around uneasily.
Zhou Tingsheng went out with Ye Qiao to greet her: “Xiao Yan.”
Ruan Feiyan nodded and walked towards the house. Cheng Su took out all sorts of fireworks she had prepared earlier and handed them over: “It’ll be a while before the dinner’s ready. How about you two play with some fireworks with Xiao Yan out here?”

Cheng Su had treated Ruan Feiyan as their adopted daughter and enjoyed buying toys for her as if she was still a young girl, even though she would be an adult this year. Ruan Feiyan set one off and quietly sat on the bench in the yard to watch the fireworks explode in the sky.
Ye Qiao also set another off and sat down next to her.
The chilly breeze had turned the tips of their ears red. They remained quiet for some time until Ruan Feiyan suddenly smiled and said: “The last time I played with fireworks was when I was little and my mom was still around.”

The corner of Ye Qiao’s mouth twitched slightly. Ruan Feiyan shrugged and said: “It’s nothing. It just happened to come to mind. I didn’t mean to bring up the past.” She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and showed a picture to Ye Qiao.
A young man was smiling on the screen.
Ruan Feiyan told Ye Qiao: “I’ve gotten used to my school now. This is the guy sharing the same desk with me. Doesn’t he look good?”
“......” Ye Qiao was surprised and reminded Ruan Feiyan like an old fashioned elder lady: “You have the college entrance exam this year.”
“I know. I won’t do anything before I graduate!”
Ruan Feiyan laughed and Ye Qiao also smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Zhou Tingsheng finally got a bucket of fireworks ready and ran over to them after he had set them all alight. The fireworks flew into the sky amidst their laughter and burst into sparkles above their heads.
The sparkles spread out in the night sky, then fell down like shooting stars, landing all around the yard.
Ye Qiao looked up at the fireworks, then turned to look at Zhou Tingsheng who was also looking at her.
He looked as if he was all alone in the yard surrounded by brilliant sparkles. Ye Qiao could see all the splendid fireworks in his bright eyes for the rest of their lives.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 52 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 52
Extra Part 2

Ye Qiao picked up one card, pointed at the question and asked Zhou Tingsheng in mock seriousness: “Mister, when was the last time you sang to yourself? And then to others?”
Zhou Tingsheng, completely disinterested, raised his eyebrows: “You don’t know?”
“Alright, let’s do another one.” Ye Qiao searched among the 36 questions and finally came up with one. She flipped the card over and asked: “Share with me the most embarrassing thing you’ve done in your life?”
Zhou Tingsheng crossed his arms around himself and asked: “What kind?”
Ye Qiao thought about it and said: “The kind that you can’t tell me.”

Zhou Tingsheng hooked his finger towards Ye Qiao. Ye Qiao leaned forward and Zhou Tingsheng whispered in her ear with a deep voice: “While you were filming in that remote village, I had gone to Wuzi’s place and had someone slap my face.”
Ye Qiao couldn’t comprehend what he meant: “What?”
“I thought at that time that you were into those things.” Zhou Tingsheng said gloomily.
It took Ye Qiao a while to realize what he was talking about. She couldn’t help herself from laughing: “You really did that?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you feel now that you know I’m not like that?”
Zhou Tingsheng flippantly said: “A little regretful.”
Ye Qiao snorted: “Then I’ll let you have a taste of that some other day.”

Qianxi brought over a cold drink for Zhou Tingsheng and cheerfully asked: “What? A taste of what?”
Zhou Tingsheng: “......”
Ye Qiao: “Kid, don’t ask so many questions.”
Feeling that her cousin was shunning her, Qianxi depressedly left.
Zhou Tingsheng pinched Ye Qiao’s earlobe: “Be more serious.”
Ye Qiao shrank back and rubbed her earlobe while staring back at him, then pushed the cards to him: “Come, it’s your turn to ask.”

Zhou Tingsheng went over the 36 questions several times and finally read one of them out loud: “Please share with each other what you think would be good qualities in your lover.”
Ye Qiao’s expression turned more serious, but she didn’t answer the question for a long time.
Zhou Tingsheng was a little hurt: “Is it that difficult to think of 5 strong points about me?”
“It’s not that……” Ye Qiao hesitated: “It’s because you are totally different from the kind of lover I thought I wanted before.”
“What kind?”
Ye Qiao answered honestly: “For example, I wanted to find someone who could give me the feeling like my father did before.”
Zhou Tingsheng disagreed: “That’s because you didn’t have enough love from your father. This doesn’t count.”
“Alright.” Ye Qiao awkwardly said: “En…...He has to be talented at least.”
Zhou Tingsheng unhappily said: “So I don’t have any talent?”
Ye Qiao covered her mouth to snicker: “......Not very explicitly.”
It was Ye Qiao’s way of complaining about him not being very artsy.
Zhou Tingsheng gave up: “Don’t you have any other requirements such as at least 6 feet tall?”
Ye Qiao held his face and shook it: “Am I that vulgar?”
Zhou Tingsheng mumbled: “Hehe, it’s better to be vulgar.”
Ye Qiao distastefully looked at him for a while, then asked him back in earnest: “How about you?”
“I forgot.” Zhou Tingsheng pondered for a moment then said: “It seems that after I’ve met you, everything is fine as long as it’s you.”

Ye Qiao took the cards back and quickly found another question: “You have only 4 minutes. Please give a detailed account about your past in these 4 minutes.”
She actually already knew many stories about his past. But she didn’t know a lot of details about those stories.
Zhou Tingsheng thought deeply for a long time again. Ye Qiao patiently waited for him to start.

Finally, Zhou Tingsheng started talking: “I was very naughty when I was young. Liang Zirao always followed rules and tried her best to reach the top. I’m not that aggressive like her and not that behaved either. After I started school, I gradually understood that my father had been working on stopping drug trafficking and had made enemies of some extremely vicious people. Because of that, they kidnapped my mother and killed her. Even after my father retired, those people would still harass us. In my teenage years, I met a person with a shady background who pushed me to tag along with him. I didn’t refuse and kept close contact with him. I was very naive at the time. I thought, through him, I could find out who those drug dealers were and have them all arrested.”
“My intentions were discovered later on and this person tried to kill me. I could have avoided him but all the hatred surged up at that moment and I stabbed him with a knife.”
“I was full of myself at the time.” He said.

Afterwards, he learned his lessons: “After the incident, I couldn’t live a normal life for quite some time and almost had a fall out with my father. Later on, I figured that I couldn’t go on with my life like that and it so happened that I had reached the age to enlist. I thought in such a highly disciplined environment, I could forget a lot of things about the past. My father and Liang Zirao also thought it would be a good experience for me.”
“But, Fang Ru’s tragic incident happened.” He snickered to himself: “I had to get out of the military. Afterwards, I floated around with Desa, didn’t want to go home and couldn’t stand meat anymore. Then I got to know Wuzi, he introduced me to a tattoo master. He told me that tattooing would help me overcome my psychological barrier since it almost had the same feeling as opening up someone’s body with your own hands.”
“It does help to some extent. I’m able to face myself more but lost all interest in girls. At that time, I thought that I had better not get involved with any woman, otherwise I would only do her harm.”

Ye Qiao listened quietly, then tried to lighten things up: “Then why did you decide to harm me instead?”
Zhou Tingsheng lifted her chin and lightly kissed her on her lips: “Because there are certain things that after you’ve tasted them, you can’t rid them off you.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 52 Part 1

Hello everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that this is an extra story. The final chapter will be the next one.

Enjoy.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.


Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 52
Extra Part 1

Qianxi broke up with her boyfriend, the surgeon, right after she finished her internship. She was depressed for quite a while. Right before graduation, she organized an event-- --called “fallinlove”. She invited her cousin to come on the day of the event.
Ye Qiao walked onto the campus of Qianxi’s school and read the flyer for the event: “fallinlove. What’s this?”

Qianxi excitedly explained: “It’s for two stangers of the opposite sex to sit down face to face and answer a set of 36 questions in an hour. During the process, the participants will open up to the stranger sitting across from them without even realizing it. By sharing their own experiences and the deepest thoughts in their hearts……”
Zhou Tingsheng concluded: “That’s a blind date.”
“It’s not really like that! It’s been scientifically proven. See, two people have to constantly share their thoughts and feelings about things happening in their lives in order to fall in love. These 36 questions are designed to speed up the process!”
Zhou Tingsheng insisted: “A blind date in disguise.”
Qianxi couldn’t stand it any longer: “If you keep interrupting, I’ll go on a hunger strike to make my father and grandma prevent my cousin from marrying you! ! !”
Zhou Tingsheng stopped talking.

Ye Qiao laughed with the flyer in hand: “So you asked me to come here to help me find an affair? You should’ve told me earlier then I wouldn’t have taken him with me.” She glanced over at Zhou Tingsheng when she finished talking.
Zhou Tingsheng’s expression changed but said to Ye Qiao after he pulled one flyer out of the stack in Qianxi’s arm: “It’s alright, you go. I’ll find some fun on the side by myself.”

Qianxi tried to please her cousin: “I just thought this would be fun and since you’ve been busy for so long, you should come out and have some fun. You should have more contact with the young people and not become a married woman so early in your life!”
Zhou Tingsheng sneered: “You asked your cousin to be here just to promote the event for you.”
Qianxi defended her intentions: “I’m not, I’m not! See, I don’t even have my cousin’s name on the flyer! I haven’t even mentioned her!”
…...Actually, she had just told a small circle of friends who had passed the message around campus.

Zhou Tingsheng mercilessly exposed her: “That’s for sure. If you printed your cousin’s name on the flyer, then it won’t be a dating event anymore, it would be your cousin’s fan meeting.”
“What if it is, the important thing is that my cousin is here!”
“Then, sure.” Zhou Tingsheng flatly said: “Your cousin’s appearance fee is in the 7 digits. Make sure you transfer the money into my account tonight.”
Qianxi held her head with both hands and called out to Ye Qiao: “Cousin, what kind of husband have you found! Hurry up, change to a different one!”
After saying that, Qianxi dragged Ye Qiao away.

As Ye Qiao was dragged away, she turned around to look at Zhou Tingsheng who was still standing there. Between two rows of tall ginkgo trees, he stood there, tall and lean, with hands leisurely in his pockets, looking back at her. He looked like a carefree young college kid.
She suddenly felt a little sorry that she hadn’t met him at that age.

The event was held on the balcony of a coffee shop near the campus. A banner with the words “fallinlove” was hanging outside. The first session was already on the way. There were students from the school as well as office workers from nearby business there sitting face to face, talking to each other. Some were quite reserved, some were open-minded, and occasionally a burst of laughter could be heard.

There were some volunteers working at the event. Qianxi went to greet them. Ye Qiao stayed at the side, looking around. The volunteers asked Qianxi: “That lady looks very much like Ye Qiao…… I heard she’ll be coming, is that true?”
Qianxi didn’t answer the question directly: “That’s my cousin! Isn’t she beautiful? Isn’t she?”
Qianxi waved to her cousin.
Ye Qiao looked over and found that Qianxi had prepared a place to sit in a quiet corner shielded by some plants.

When she sat down, Zhou Tingsheng happened to enter the shop. The volunteer workers came over to hand him the flyer: “Sorry, our first session has already begun. Have you registered with us? There’s still space for the second session!”
Zhou Tingsheng shook his hand and looked at Ye Qiao’s direction: “I’m not here to do a session.”
Qianxi came up to lead Zhou Tingsheng away.

Zhou Tingsheng sat down across from Ye Qiao. Ye Qiao was drinking lemonade and reading the question cards with some interests. She didn’t even look up: “I thought you weren’t interested in this?”
“So you’re interested?”
“Not really.” Ye Qiao looked up with a smile: “I just don’t want to hurt Qianxi’s feeling.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 51 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 51 Part 3

Xu Zang’s tall and straight figure from Ye Qiao’s memory was now slightly hunched over as he grew older, but he still walked in a steady and leisurely pace.
He came to a stop in front of Ye Qiao and Zhou Tingsheng with Ye Qiao’s agent and other staff behind.

Xu Zang took a glance at Zhou Tingsheng and bent over to get closer to Ye Qiao: “Why is my Qiaoqiao crying? You didn’t want to see me?”
Ye Qiao opened her mouth to deny it but choked instead. Tears fell down like pearls sliding off a broken necklace. Zhou Tingsheng gently drew the sobbing Ye Qiao against his shoulder, lightly patted her back and spoke with a smile: “She’s just overwhelmed.” Ye Qiao was uneasy being so close to Zhou Tingsheng in front of her father and tried to make some distance between the two, but Zhou Tingsheng firmly clasped onto her shoulder.

Xu Zang straightened up and said with a serious face to Zhou Tingsheng: “Hey, young man!”
Zhou Tingsheng released Ye Qiao and shamelessly laughed. Embarrassed, Ye Qiao turned to face her father with ears now turning red and timidly said: “Dad-- --”
Xu Zang patted her shoulder: “It’s alright. What’s there to be embarrassed about with your own father?”
“Everything I’ve done for you is what I should as a father.”
Ye Qiao’s tears welled up again and she tightly hugged her father: “Dad, I’m sorry……”

Yang City’s summer grew hotter.
In the middle of the summer, the movie <Innocent City> which had been put on hold for half a year finally began showing in theatres to immense box office success. Ye Qiao once again was one of the most recognizable Chinese actors. In the fall, a new movie that Ye Qiao had collaborated with her mentor Lai Zhicheng released at the same time as Gu Jin’s new movie. Gu Jin’s new movie didn’t receive good reviews; it had become much more commercialized than his earlier movies. Many critics were disappointed at his new endeavor, believing he had lost his talent at balancing the artistic touch with market demand.

In the middle of autumn, Xu Zang opened his international tour of his painting exhibitions. Ye Qiao was invited as the special guest at the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony also announced the launch of the Ye Qiao Foundation. The foundation was aimed at helping patients in need of organ transplants, improving the overall environment of organ transplantation in the country, and encouraging organ donations. With Ye Qiao’s popularity, the foundation received a large amount of media exposure from launch. The first successful case sponsored by the foundation was actually Ruan Feiyan.

Ruan Feiyan was a changed person since she regained her sight. She could function normally but had become less talkative. The Zhou family had transferred her to Yang City to finish her senior year in high school so they could better look after her.
The day she returned to class, there were posters all over the school about Xu Zang coming to school for a lecture.
There was another piece of news: Xu Zang had transferred all of his personal assets to Ruan Feiyan who had just turned 18.

To Ruan Feiyan, all of it was meaningless since it couldn’t bring her mother back, nor the days before she became an adult.
Ruan Feiyan sat at the last row inside the lecture hall, looking at the man whom she had deeply hated before. She wanted to cry but there was no tears in her eyes because her tear glands had been damaged.
For the first time in her life, she began to understand her mother.
Her mother had used the last moment of her life to repay the Zhou family for all of their favors and willingly save a life whom she didn’t even know. But she had turned her mother’s goodwill into hatred.

At the end of the lecture, the audience gave Xu Zang thundering applause. He announced his paintings would be auctioned off through Ferra. It was scheduled for December and the preparations were in full swing.
Zhou Tingsheng, the person in charge of the auction, was busy working at Ferra HQ. Even his sister, who had always thought of him as a lazy bum, felt bad for him. But Ye Qiao was there to keep him company late into the night. As the auction’s consultant, she helped him finalize the catalog of all the items for the auction.

Zhou Tingsheng had donated his personal collection <Secret of the Mortal World> as part of the paintings that were being put up for auction.
That painting was the last of Xu Zang’s oil paintings and also the most unique in style among all of his paintings. It was created originally for the birth of his daughter.
Ye Qiao saw <Secret of the Mortal World> again and kept quiet for a long while. Her fingers softly caressed the frame of the painting and she remembered how she had discovered the painting in Zhou Tingsheng’s apartment for the first time.

-- --Sorry…... I live across from you. I went out of the elevator at the wrong door. But your lock seems to have some problems. I don’t know why I can open it with my password.
-- --What’s your password?
-- --679352.
-- --That’s the password to my house.

679352, if entered into a Chinese keypad, it would come out as: You are my pride.
When she was younger, Ye Qiao had a grand yet plain wish. She wanted to let all those who loved her to be proud of her.
As she was growing up, she gradually realized that everyone was born like a piece of white paper and as time moved on, colors would be constantly added to the blank paper as well as stains.
The stains would accompany the person for the rest of her life. Ye Qiao had tried very hard to get the stains off in the past.
But she realized that it was better to turn those stains into something good than to feel guilty for the rest of her life. Ye Qiao was glad that her father’s love had helped her come to terms with those stains.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 51 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 51 Part 2

Ye Qiao adjusted the microphone and spoke in a calm and steady voice: “Today, I’ve come back to my hometown Yang City to make a public apology for the mistakes I have made……”
One of the reporters interrupted her. “Ye Qiao! Does Zhao Mo’s suicide have anything to do with you? You’ve chosen this day to have your apology news conference, is it because you knew beforehand about Zhao Mo’s intent to shed light on your innocence?”
The whole room was in commotion about the question.

Some gave the intern reporter a sympathetic look. He was probably so excited that he interrupted Ye Qiao in the middle of her sentence and hadn’t done his homework, otherwise he should have known that the news conference was scheduled ten days ago.

Ye Qiao didn’t mind the interruption. She answered the reporter’s question: “I’ve been waiting for the passage of time to heal some of the pain. The clean pond has become filthy because dirty water has been dumped into it. But as long as there’s a clean water source, after a while, the pond will be clean again on its own. There’s no point arguing or trying to persuade others. Time will let the truth come up to the surface.”
She continued calmly: “I only knew about Ms. Zhao’s incident right before the beginning of this news conference. I’m deeply sorry about the things she’s encountered in her life. Her passing has sped up this process. I’m deeply grateful to her. She was willing to speak the truth for me in the last moments of her life.”

The audience quieted down. Ye Qiao flatly said: “My personal vendetta has hurt not only me, but also my family and those who’ve supported me. It’s also caused loss to my agency and businesses who had trusted me. This matter, no matter whether I’m innocent or not, has caused irrevocable damage. I intend to devote the rest of my time to charity work. I’m here to earnestly request your forgiveness and ask for your willingness to give me a chance to make it up to all of you.”

Finished, she stood up and bowed deeply to the audience: “I’m sorry.”
The audience remained silent.
The news conference should have ended there. But as Ye Qiao was stepping off stage, the host of the news conference, her agent, came up on stage and said: “Next, we’ll have Ye Qiao’s father, Xu Zang, come on stage to say a few words.”

The audience erupting into sound. Xu Zang came up on the stage. He didn’t need an introduction; his fame was great enough that every reporter present was excited-- --The popular actress was from an artist family and her father was the master painter Xu Zang! All the previous rumors about how Ye Qiao got to the position she held today by associating with rich people or using Gu Jin as a stepping stone had been easily dissipated. With such a family background, who would need to rely on any underhanded deals?

Facing the flashing cameras, Xu Zang stood at the same place where Ye Qiao had earlier. He put both of his hands together: “I’ve come on my own, please excuse my bluntness.”
He sat down and without any prepared notes, started to talk as if he was chatting with the audience: “Qiaoqiao is my daughter. She’s had health issues since she was young and has suffered a lot because of it. I’m very pleased that she’s achieved so much after she’s grown up. However, during the past half a year, there’s been much negative news about her. I can understand the misunderstanding that the media and the public have against her. The damages caused due to our family disputes are something both her and I don’t want to see. I am, therefore, here today to make an announcement.”
“I will be establishing a foundation under my name. I’ll auction off all of my paintings as of now and the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the foundation.”
“I wholeheartedly ask all of you to please give my daughter another chance to make it up to all of you.”

Ye Qiao was dumbfounded at the side of the stage and didn’t hear what anyone was saying afterwards.
That was her father. He didn’t know Zhao Mo’s incident would happen today to clear his daughter’s name. He had come to earn a chance for her daughter to get a new start. Ye Qiao was ashamed to face him. Though she’d rejected her father for the past ten years, she’d still shamed her father. Despite that, he still tried all he had to open a protective umbrella for her just because she was his daughter.

Zhou Tingsheng had come to stand next to her without her noticing. He used both of his hands to cup Ye Qiao’s face and used his thumbs to wipe off the tears on her face: “What are you crying for? Your father just got released from the hospital a few days ago. You haven’t gotten a chance to see him since you came out, aren’t you going up to talk to him?”
The sounds of chairs being dragged filled the room. The news conference had ended and everyone was leaving. Xu Zang was also heading backstage.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 51 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 51 Part 1

The same tattoo table with the same lighting. Ye Qiao lifted her chin up and suddenly burst into giggles as if she had remembered something. Her bony collar bone slightly moved up and down in time with her laughter.
Zhou Tingsheng put on gloves and asked: “What are you laughing about?”
“Do you remember the last time I was here, you told me that this was something for a lifetime.”
Zhou Tingsheng’s hand, holding the needles, slightly quivered. His eyes went darker: “I remember.”
At the time, she had replied that there will be too many things happening in a lifetime and not many of them could be controlled by ourselves.
Had he expected today at the time?

Zhou Tingsheng didn’t expect that a tough guy like him would someday have trouble pushing the needle onto her skin. The machine was already on. As the needle drew closer to her skin, his heart skipped a few beats.

There was a linden flower hiding inside the vines on her chest; it was buried in between the vines.
She was born without freedom, like the vines, always confined by the things it entangled, unable to grow freely. Yet she had blossomed on his fingertips and in his heart.

Ye Qiao didn’t endure the pain in silence like last time, she moaned in pain and her eyes fogged over. Zhou Tingsheng supporting her waist, bent over to kiss her. After he finished the tattoo, he pulled off the gloves and put his hot palm on her exhausted body, caressing from her shoulder blades all the way down to her tailbone. Ye Qiao slightly shivered when his sweaty palm touched her skin. The remnant of the pain and the heat from her back made her a little hazy. The she heard him murmur: “Qiaoqiao, marry me.”
She had imagined many times of the moment when she would hear those words and now the moment had actually come. Ye Qiao had no hesitation and said with a smile: “......I’ll marry you.”

……

Ye Qiao stayed out of the public eye for three days in order to get away from all the rumors and criticism.
She was scheduled to make an official apology in public after ten days of her release. She carefully chose a black suit but was indifferent to the pressure of public opinion she would soon face. Zhou Tingsheng drove her to the location for the news conference without a word. Before Ye Qiao got out of the car, she turned her face right and left to show Zhou Tingsheng with a smile: “How about this? Is my hairdo intact?”
Zhou Tingsheng stroked her newly permed short hair all the way down to the end. The emptiness made him clench his fist: “Don’t go, Qiaoqiao. You don’t need to apologize to anyone.”

“I do.” Ye Qiao held his hand tight and let him slowly release his fist. “I acted in my own way but had disregarded and hurt others, those who trusted me, supported me, including business and film production companies that signed contracts with me. I owe them all an explanation.”
Inside the room, all the cameras were in place. Reporters were patiently waiting for Ye Qiao’s arrival. They had already prepared the headline for today’s entertainment section.

Five minutes before Ye Qiao’s arrival, shocking news reached the cell phones of all the reporters in the room-- --Zhao Mo had jumped off a building!
Zhao Mo had made her name not from her acting career but from being the center figure of several major entertainment news events. She had jumped from the 30th floor of a building this morning and died at the scene. She had left a suicide note with her family. The family had made the content public. In the note, Zhao Mo mentioned that she had been goaded by others to take on drugs to entrap Ye Qiao while under the influence of the drugs. Zhao Mo’s fiancee, Shen Yi, also went on camera to confirm that Zhao Mo was in distraught psychologically and her accusation of Ye Qiao was entirely unbelievable.

Zhou Tingsheng sat down at the audience section in the room and all he could hear was the chatter of the reporters.
“This whole thing’s been turned on its head! Is she going to apologize today or not?”
“Who knows. But if Ye Qiao is really innocent, why didn’t she say anything earlier? Why bother with an apology news conference?”

Zhou Tingsheng looked around and his eyes landed on a familiar figure-- --
The man was wearing a navy blue robe and had a very gentlemanly look. He quietly watched Ye Qiao as she leisurely sat down on the stage.
Some reporters who had covered news in the artist circle recognized him: “Isn’t that Xu Zang? I heard that he’s in poor health and only showed up for a little while at the opening ceremony of his own painting exhibition. Why is he here?”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 50 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 50 Part 3

Zhou Tingsheng opened the door on the passenger side and quietly fixed his eyes on Ye Qiao.
She stood still. She looked back at him with clear, pure eyes. After a long moment, she slowly got into the car.
The car made a sharp turn and sped off.

Zhou Tingsheng shook off the tailing paparazzi and asked: “Where to?”
“I don’t feel like going home.” Ye Qiao looked at the road in front of them: “You decide.”

Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Tingsheng parked the car in front of Wuzi’s club. The staff in the lobby were all new. A tall receptionist went to inform Wuzi about them. Wuzi came out in surprise. “Sheng Ge didn’t tell me that my sister-in-law was coming today…...Everyone, tell the kitchen to make a few more dishes! I’m going to have a reception dinner for Qiao Jie!”
After exchanging greetings with Wuzi, Ye Qiao and Zhou Tingsheng went to the guest room to get some rest, but they didn't know what to say to each other.

“I’m going to take a shower.” She spoke in a flat tone.
Though half a year wasn’t a particularly long stretch of time, the separation had nonetheless created an invisible distance between them. Ye Qiao wanted to wash off the smell of the prison and the detachment of the past half a year. However, Zhou Tingsheg’s new hair style and clothing all reminded her that she had been away for some time.

The sound of water splashing in the bathroom seemed to last for as long as a century. Zhou Tingsheng in the meantime tried to get into the appropriate attitude to face her, but he couldn’t find one.
He could still hear Ruan Feiyan sobbing in his ears-- -- “I told her that she owed me this. I just wanted to have her arrested, be suspected by others, and tarnish her reputation. I didn’t plan that she’d be found guilty…...She could’ve just explained it to them; with the kind of lawyers your family could hire, she’d never have gotten any serious jail time! It’s her fault, she didn’t bother explaining herself!”
Others may not have understood, but he understood very well.
She was doing it to redeem his sin, but all it did was make him feel as if the weight of his crime had increased.

Zhou Tingsheng didn’t have time to take a good look at Ye Qiao until she came out of the bathroom.
Her chin was pointier. She had lost some weight. The ends of her short hair felt like needles pricking his heart.
Ye Qiao noticed the emotions in his eyes and moved closer to him. She circled his waist: “It’s alright.”
She buried her face deeply under his chin and said in a deep voice: “As long as you’re here.”
She had lost everything she had strived for: career, fame, and freedom. But she didn’t care. She finally could declare her love for him without guilt.
“It’s not alright.” Zhou Tingsheng squeezed out those words and repeated it again.

Ye Qiao thought she could maintain her calm as usual, but the familiar smell of his body made her eyes well up. She took a deep breath and said: “You don’t need to think about any of that. You still owe me a lot of other things……” She looked up at him with a smile and used her fingers to open her bath robe to show the vines under her collar bone: “These are still here. You haven’t finished them.”

The tattoo room hadn’t been used for a long time.
After dinner, Wuzi handed over the key to Zhou Tingsheng and tapped his shoulder: “My sister-in-law is such a nice person. She heard that my wife is going to have our child soon and already gave me the red envelope in advance. When are you going to have your wedding? Don’t let that incident influence……”
“Don’t worry, you can’t get away from giving us a wedding gift.” Zhou Tingsheng took the key and backed away two steps.
He turned around and saw Ye Qiao waiting for him at the end of the corridor under the dim light.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 50 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 50 Part 2

Ye Qiao hadn’t seen Zhou Tingsheng since that day in court. Zheng Xishuo had requested to visit her several times, but she had turned them all down. The only one person she agreed to meet was a young man named Shen Yi.
The young man had a weathered face and kept apologizing when he saw Ye Qiao.

“Zhao Mo is too hard headed, that’s why others could take advantage of her. I know you’re innocent. She was dragged into the scandal and believed you had done it to her. We all know now that it was Xu Yinsan. They were both having an affair with the same big shot and always disagreed with each other. After Xu Yinsan’s affairs were exposed, she dragged Zhao Mo into it. By that point she’d already lost her mind and wouldn’t listen to reason. She firmly believed that it was you. Everytime she had her episodes, she kept saying she’d get her revenge on you.”
“She even hired a private detective to follow you and take pictures of you secretly……”
Ye Qiao said: “It’s alright. That’s all in the past.”

Shen Yi was surprised. “How can that be? How about your family, your boyfriend……”
“They’re all fine.” Ye Qiao interrupted him. “You don’t have to feel guilty. You can’t accept Zhao Mo and left her. You have your own reasons. You don’t have to blame yourself for other people’s mistakes.”
Shen Yi was taken aback. “Then why do you……”
“Because the two men I love the most all owe a debt.”
She continued. “I’m paying back for them.”

Heavy snow fell on Yang City several times during the first month of the Chinese New Year. The New Year holidays went by rather depressingly.
New shoots were sprouting on the willow trees and ducks were swimming in the ponds. Spring came and went, then summer came with lotus flowers waving in the wind.

During the half a year when Ye Qiao was in prison, there were constant legal issues stemming from contract cancellations with business partnerships, commercial endorsements, and movie productions since her public image was tarnished. Zhou Tingsheng took care of all of them for her. Ruan Feiyan, after treatment in the hospital, had recovered from her head wound but she had lost her eyesight. The sudden blindness had sent her into self imposed isolation. She refused to speak. The Zhou family had taken responsibility for her daily life. Xu Zang’s health had made a turn to the worse since Ye Qiao went to jail. Zhou Tingsheng visited him from time to time. At first, both of them couldn’t get over the past. But gradually, after surviving several life and death struggles, Xu Zang could finally let go of the past and make peace with himself and Zhou Tingsheng.

The last day of Ye Qiao’s imprisonment soon arrived.
It was a day he had long been waiting for, but when the day actually arrived, Zhou Tingsheng acted as if it was any normal day.

Liang Zirao walked into Zhou Tingsheng’s office and pulled away the papers in his hand: “Did you forget what day it is today?”
Zhou Tingsheng grabbed one piece of the papers back and signed his name at the bottom of the page, put the official stamp on it, then locked everything on the desk into his drawer before he got up and said: “I’ll go get her. I’m taking the afternoon off.”
Liang Zirao watched him from behind and found it rather humorous.  Since when did Zhou Tingsheng bother following company procedures!

Zhou Tingsheng calmly walked into the elevator, reached the garage, but subconsciously hastened his footsteps towards his parked car.
The navy blue Porsche Cayenne moved on the highway at full speed, the rumbling of the car as he drove drowned out the rest of the world.
The car only slowed down once neared the jail gates, as if Zhou Tingsheng was timid of getting too close.

Ye Qiao walked out from the gate with a plain face. Her long and beautiful hair now only went down to her ears. She was wearing a simple cotton sweater. The media waiting outside swarmed towards her. An ocean of lights accompanied the high-pitched voices of the reporters. Ye Qiao kept her silence. Zhou Tingsheng stepped on the accelerator, forcing his way through the crowd and stopped the car right in front of Ye Qiao.
The panicked crowd finally quieted down, with some of the photographers snapping shots of the scary scene.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 50 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 50 Part 1

To the surprise of everyone, Ye Qiao had pleaded guilty to all the charges against her. The trial continued smoothly. Though the Ye family had hired an expensive lawyer, Ye Qiao, due to the fact that she was a well known public figure and the bad example she had shown to the society, was still sentenced to a half of a year jail time for allowing others to use drugs in her home.

News about Ye Qiao’s trial and sentencing had occupied the entertainment news for quite some time. Zheng Xishuo posted on Weibo supporting Ye Qiao, believing her innocence, and was verbally attacked by many. His agency had to issue public apologies to calm the fans. Ye Qiao, however, had kept her silence.
During the whole trial, Ye Qiao only met with her uncle and said to him: “Grandma is too old for what’s happened. Try to comfort her more.”

Everyone who knew Ye Qiao well couldn’t understand why she had acted this way. Her placid attitude and pleading guilty to something she didn’t do was beyond the comprehension of her friends and family.

At the day of her sentencing, Zhou Tingsheng was sitting in the courtroom. Ye Qiao glanced at him with a smile. It was a look of affectionate and gratification, without any worry or sadness.
Ruan Feiyan was also in the courtroom, sitting in a remote corner. Faced with Ye Qiao’s calmness and unperturbed acceptance of her sentence, Ruan Feiyan couldn’t find an ounce of enjoyment from her revenge and grew even more resentful. After the court proceeding was over, she was the first one to rush out of the courtroom. There were several thuggish looking men waiting for her in a car. The man who looked like the leader of the group complained when he saw her red eyes. “Didn’t you want to punish that woman? She even pleaded guilty! What are you crying for!”

Ruan Feiyan bit her lip and asked: “Where’s Zhao Mo?”
“She disappeared after her 14 days of detention. Who knows where she is.”
“You guys haven’t looked for her? !” Ruan Feiyan widened her eyes: “You said that you would get her on drugs so we could take revenge on Ye Qiao. And then afterwards you’d give her some money so she could get detoxed!”
The man burst into laughter. “Young lady, how old are you this year? We aren’t a charity organization. She’s no use to us now. Why do we have to be responsible for her for the rest of her life?”

Ruan Feiyan was terribly upset. She looked around for a moment, then suddenly looked down to unbuckle her safety belt.
The man held her hand down. “Where are you going?”
“None of your business!” Ruan Feiyan shook off his hand and opened the door as she released her safety belt.
The moment she landed on the ground, the two men in the back seat had already come out of the car and were waiting for her. They pushed her against the car.
“What are you all doing? !”

The leader also got out of the car. “Hmph, you plan on just running away after using us to take care of your business? Who do you think you are? Who would do all this for you if you weren’t pretty and young? You really think you’re somebody by now.” As he was talking, he tried to pick her up and push her into the car. Ruan Feiyan violently struggled, knelt down on the ground and held the frame of the door to stay out of the car. One of the men slapped her on the face. The back of her head hit the door frame, her eyes scratched the edge of the old door frame and blood began oozing out.
She passed out from the pain and collapsed in the man’s hands.
The one who hit her panicked: “What…...what should we do?”

Another car came out from the garage just then. They were illuminated by the car’s headlights and the driver kept honking the horn at them.
-- -- “Hurry, drop her here, let’s go!”
Liang Zirao watched the men drove off in a hurry, then slammed on the brakes, her hands on the steering wheel were shaking. “Tingsheng…...over there, it looks like a person’s laying there.”

Zhou Tingsheng took a look through the car window. The person looked familiar. He went out of the car to take a closer look and found Ruan Feiyan. Her hair was all messed up and blood was flowing from her eyes down along her face and stained the collar of her white coat. She was unconscious. Zhou Tingsheng frowned, picked her up, and returned to the car. He instructed the shaking Liang Zirao. “Drive, to the hospital!”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 49 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 49 Part 3

In the southwest side of the Yang City, Zhou Tingsheng had been sending messages to Ye Qiao since 3 o’clock in the afternoon but had yet to receive any reply. He thought she was busy with work and had missed all the messages. After an hour, he started to call her cell phone but the phone was turned off. An ominous feeling entered Zhou Tingsheng’s mind. He drove to the hotel and checked with the hotel staff to learn that Ye Qiao hadn’t been back yet.
The outfit which Liang Zirao had sent was still hanging in the closet of their room, all by itself.

It was only a few minutes before the time he had promised to go home. Zhou Tingsheng drove towards his home, hoping that Ye Qiao was already there. He called Ye Qiao’s grandma, her uncle, and even Qianxi, but no one knew where she was.

The front door of the Zhou family house was wide open. Liang Zirao came up to greet Zhou Tingsheng with a smile when he walked in. She hung up his coat for him and looked behind him: “Where’s Ye Qiao? She didn’t come with you?”
Zhou Tingsheng stopped walking and asked: “She hasn’t come yet?”
Liang Zirao was surprised. “No, she hasn’t. Haven’t you contacted her?”
It was obvious from Zhou Tingsheng’s expression that he hadn’t.

With a gloomy face, Zhou Tingsheng’s eyes turned as dark as night. Liang Zirao comforted him: “She’s a movie star, sometimes she’ll be delayed because of paparazzi or something. Try to call her a few more times.”
Zhou Tingsheng put his coat back on. “I’ll go to her house and find her.”

Before he could walk out, his father’s loud and resonant voice came from inside: “Where are you going?”
Zhou Tingsheng didn’t stop to respond. His father stamped the floor with his cane. “You hardly ever come home and now you won’t have New Year’s Eve’s dinner with us. Do you still take me as your father?”
Zhou Tingsheng had no choice but to turn around to greet his father. “Dad.”
His father pointed in the direction of the dining room and ordered the housekeeper. “Everyone’s here. Let’s bring all the dishes in.”
It was in a tone of voice which brooked no objection.

Zhou Tingsheng stood still at the entrance. Liang Zirao quietly tugged his shirt. “It’s no use going over now. Don’t make dad angry. What if Ye Qiao comes later, are you going to let her see two angry faces?”
Liang Zirao pulled Zhou Tingsheng towards the dining room. After Zhou Tingsheng sat down at the table, his father cleared his throat and spoke. “Didn’t you say you were going to bring someone to see me? Where is she?”
Zhou Tingsheng kept his silence and was still making calls on his phone. Liang Zirao tried to smooth things over. “She’s on her way and should be here soon!”

Zhou Tingsheng’s father pursed his lips, his mustache quivered slightly. “Do you think that I’m too old to have a clear head. I know all about it. She’s Ye Qiao, what’s the big deal about it? The Ye family is a reputable one and they’re willing to let their granddaughter marry into our family. What’s there for me to object it? Why are you trying to hide it from me? Do you think I’m a stubborn old fool?”

Zhou Tingsheng finally looked up at his father, then turned to look at Liang Zirao. Liang Zirao gave him a smile and a verbal push. “What are you looking at! I’ve told dad everything. It took this many years for you to find one, did you think dad wanted you to be single for your entire life?” She whispered in his ears: “I didn’t expect it to be this easy myself. It looks like dad is also willing to let what had happened in the past go, it’s been so many years after all.”
“Really?” Zhou Tingsheng had come prepared to fight if necessary. It took him awhile to realize that he didn’t have to now.
However, the smile at the corner of his mouth only lasted for a few seconds.

The housekeeper had delivered all the dishes to the table and turned on the TV that hung on the dining room wall. On the screen, the news anchor was reporting the latest entertainment news. “We have breaking news. Today, at two o’clock this afternoon, the Yang City police department are currently investigating a new high profile drug case, the new actress Zhao Mo and the hottest lead actress Ye Qiao are both involved. The latter could face imprisonment up to half a year. Our reporters are tracking the story and will update us on the latest information……”

Several news flashes were also sent to Zhou Tingsheng’s cell phone at the same time. Rumors were flying on the internet; some said that Ye Qiao was a good friend of Zhao Mo, some said Ye Qiao was also involved in the previous scandal. There were pictures of Zhao Mo being posted, showing her lingering around nightclubs after the scandal. In the pictures, Zhao Mo looked confused and disoriented, like she was on drugs.
The name “Ye Qiao” was suddenly tarnished.

Fireworks began exploding in the air, welcoming the coming of the New Year.
Yet, what was in the past didn’t seem to have gone very far away.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 49 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 49 Part 2

Surprised by the sudden outburst, Ye Qiao tightly clasped her cellphone. She had heard stories of people being set up and ending in a miserable condition in this business. Many became mentally ill because they couldn’t handle the fall from the peak of their careers. But it looked to her that Zhao Mo was in an even worse condition. Ye Qiao began considering whether she should call someone for help. But who could she call?

As Ye Qiao was mulling over who to call, tears suddenly began falling from Zhao Mo’s eyes: “He didn’t want me anymore. I just wanted to get ahead in this business. Does a person with no talent have to be a nobody all her life? I just want to fight it my way…...What did I do wrong?” Her eyes suddenly turned vicious looking and she raised her voice: “Now you have everything! Why do you still have to keep stepping on me? Just because I have touched the man you like?”
Her eyes were out of focus. Ye Qiao was sure by now that Zhao Mo was mentally disturbed. She walked over to touch Zhao Mo’s shoulder: “Calm down. I’ve never done anything to harm you and I won’t in the future. If you need help, let me know and I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Zhao Mo brushed off Ye Qiao’s hand. As if she had suddenly regained her senses, she wiped her tears off and anxiously said: “I don’t need your help. Where’s the bathroom? I need to go to the bathroom.”
Ye Qiao pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Zhao Mo held her bag in her arms and rushed into the bathroom.

Ye Qiao shook her head and started to search for psychological consultation services in Yang City on her phone. She had just opened the search engine’s web page when she received a call from an unfamiliar number.
Ye Qiao answered the call to the cold voice of a young girl from the other side: “Hello, is this Ye Qiao?”
Ye Qiao was silent for two seconds: “Ruan Feiyan?”
“It’s me. I didn’t expect you would recognize my voice.” Ruan Feiyan snickered. But as Ruan Feiyan remembered when Ye Qiao had said that her heart could recognize its daughter, the cynical smile disappeared from Ruan Feiyan’s face. Her voice grew colder: “How about it? You like the gift I sent you?”

“What are you talking about?”
“It hasn’t arrived yet? Ha, you’ll get it soon enough.”
Before she finished her sentence, the doorbell at Ye Qiao’s home started to ring, like an omen of her fate.
Ye Qiao paused for a moment before she moved towards the door to open it.

There were four policemen standing outside the door. They showed their identification to Ye Qiao: “Are you Ye Qiao? We have reason to suspect that you’re involved in drug related crimes, please assist us in our search of your residence.”
At this moment, Ruan Feiyan’s voice came from the cell phone: “This is what you owe me. I want you to have a taste of what my mom went through!”
The call abruptly ended. The policemen led a police dog past by Ye Qiao and went directly in the direction of the bathroom.

Soon they brought Zhao Mo out of the bathroom with a policeman on either side of her, each holding an arm. There was a syringe left on the bathroom floor. Zhao Mo’s eyes were even more out of focus than before, immersed in an illusory high. When she passed by Ye Qiao, her lips curved up with a rancorous smile.
The very next second, a pair of bright silver handcuffs landed on Ye Qiao’s wrists. An austere voice sounded next to her ear: “Ms. Ye, you’re now a suspect for providing a place for drug use. Please come with us.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 49 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 49 Part 1

Even though Liang Zirao worried to some extent about her brother’s relationship with Ye Qiao, she still tried to take care of things for her brother as much as possible. She even had an outfit delivered to Ye Qiao.
The next morning, Ye Qiao took out the demure and elegant jacket from the package and laughed: “Isn’t this too old-fashioned? I’ll look like your sister after I put it on.”
Zhou Tingsheng said: “Don’t bother with it. Liang Zirao likes to fuss over details. You don’t have to go along with her.”

“But she’s your sister after all……” Ye Qiao hung the outfit up and said: “I’ll put it on after I come back this afternoon. My uncle called saying that we have visitors at home. He and my aunt are taking my grandma to visit relatives and asked me to go back to take care of the visitors. I have an interview to do in the morning and I’ll go back home after it finishes.”
Zhou Tingsheng frowned when he heard that she was going to work again: “Is your tummy feeling better?”
“It’s all good.” Ye Qiao lightly kissed his lips and smiled: “I’ll see you tonight.”
Zhou Tingsheng watched her go out the door and said: “Five o’clock, don’t forget.”
“En!”

A car was waiting for her in front of the hotel. Shen Ting took Ye Qiao to the interview then sent her back to the Ye family home when she finished. Before Ye Qiao got off the car, she gave Shen Ting a red envelope.
Shen Ting was caught off guard by how thick the envelope felt: “Qiao Jie, you really don’t have to……”
Ye Qiao said: “Today is our last day of work before the New Year. Happy New Year to you in advance and I wish you an even better one next year.”

This year Ye Qiao had gone through big ups and downs. Shen Ting had witnessed her scary experience while filming <The Watcher> and when she became the best actress of the year. She also accompanied Ye Qiao as she finished filming <Innocent City>, which was going to be released right after the New Year. Ye Qiao’s career was obviously on the upswing. “A much better next year!” Shen Ting tightly held the red envelope and recalled the disheartening situation they had gone through during the early days while filming <The Watcher>. Tears welled up in Shen Ting’s eyes and she said firmly: “I’ve always said that good things will happen to good people!”
Ye Qiao smiled and walked into the front yard.

There was a layer of thin ice on the surface of the pond; the lotus leaves in one corner of the pond had all wilted.

Ye Qiao punched in the code to the front door and just barely opened the front door when a figure suddenly came up to her. It was Zhao Mo, carrying a bag and wearing a wrinkled outfit from the Chanel autumn collection. Zhao Mo staggered as she called out to her: “Ye Qiao.”
Ye Qiao hadn’t seen her for a few months. In that time, Zhao Mo seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight, her eyes were sunk in, and  was shivering in the cold breeze, probably due in part to wearing an off-season outfit.

Ye Qiao almost didn’t recognize her at first glance. She said in shock: “......Were you the one who called my uncle saying you’re coming for a visit?”
Zhao Mo chuckled, her withered face showed signs of being drunk. “It was me. So I shouldn’t have come to you?”
Ye Qiao recalled some of the news she had heard days ago that Zhao Mo seemed to have offended some people. After the scandal, some people were even starting a smear campaign against her. She had just started her career in the entertainment business. With trouble like this, Ye Qiao figured that she wouldn’t have any future in the business. Ye Qiao pushed open the door and said: “Come in then.”

Ye Qiao poured a cup of hot tea for Zhao Mo. Zhao Mo had disappeared for a while from public view. Ye Qiao wondered what she'd been through during those days because the Zhao Mo in front of her was tittering as she looked into the cup of tea like she had gone insane.
“Where have you been lately? A lot of people are looking for you.” Ye Qiao didn’t expect Zhao Mo would come to her and tried to start a conversation with her: “Where’s your fiance? Was he with you?”
Zhao Mo abruptly jumped up as if she had heard something unmentionable. “Don’t you mention him to me! How dare you mention him to me!”
Ye Qiao blinked dumbfoundedly. “......What’s wrong?”
Zhao Mo sadly smiled, then depressedly sat down again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 3

Ye Qiao seemed harder to please than usual. Zhou Tingsheng was at his wits’ end when she finally sulked: “Can you just quietly keep me company without fussing about anything?”
Zhou Tingsheng paused and raised his eyebrows with a smile: “Didn’t I fly over just to be with you.”

He settled into bed, stopped fretting, and just quietly held her in his arms. He put his palm over her stomach and slowly rubbed. Ye Qiao drew herself closer to him and Zhou Tingsheng held her tightly. They were hugging each other like two kangaroos.

Zhou Tingsheng kissed between her furrowed brows and regretfully said: “You shouldn’t have agreed to do this event in the first place. You already freed up your schedule for half a month, why bother attending an award ceremony.”
Ye Qiao only smiled, knowing that he was only saying it out of annoyance.

After a few minutes, Zhou Tingsheng changed positions and asked: “Does it still hurt?”
Ye Qiao buried her face: “Still hurts.”
As he rubbed her stomach, it felt like she had more muscles in her abs than before: “Have you gained some weight in the past few days?”
“Probably. After exercising, I usually ate a lot.” She found it rather odd that other people would lose weight from exercise, but she just put on more pounds.
“You don’t have insomnia anymore?”
“En.”

“It means that you were physically weak before.” Zhou Tingsheng began to wonder how he could convince her to continue exercising. After he discussed with Ye Qiao about his idea, he was suddenly reminded of something: “No matter what, we have to find a new coach for you.”
“You’re still concerned about that?” Ye Qiao chuckled: “He didn’t do anything to me. Stop being so paranoid.”
“You have millions of fans waiting to get close to you. How can I be at ease.” Zhou Tingsheng teased. Ye Qiao laughed, but the pain in her stomach increased. She gasped and moaned.
Zhou Tingsheng was about to say something to comfort her when his phone began to ring.

It was from Liang Zirao. He had to answer. He irritatedly greeted her after picking up the call. Liang Zirao thought he was annoyed because he was in the middle of some intimate act and joked: “What’s wrong? You don’t recognize your own relative once you’re in the arms of a woman?”
Zhou Tingsheng was not in the mood for jokes: “What do you want?”

“What day are you planning to come home? You only mentioned that you would bring your girlfriend home last time on the phone and didn’t say who the girlfriend is. Dad’s so excited he’s been busy arranging everything. He kept asking me about it, saying that it isn’t easy for you to settle down after so many years and as long as the girl is nice and from a decent family, we’ll treat her as our daughter-in-law.”
Zhou Tingsheng remained quiet, waiting for Liang Zirao to get to the point……

“I couldn’t tell dad everything. He always thinks the entertainment business isn’t a proper profession. It might be alright if she’s just an ordinary actress, but she happens to be Ye Qiao. You have to deal with that yourself.”
Now finished, Liang Zirao waited for Zhou Tingsheng’s response. She didn’t expect to hear him laugh and casually reply: “I know.”
She was a bit annoyed: “So what day are you coming back?’

Zhou Tingsheng covered the phone and asked Ye Qiao in a whisper: “Can you walk tomorrow?”
Ye Qiao answered in a low voice: “The pain usually only lasts for one or two days. It should be fine by tomorrow night.”
Liang Zirao could barely hear the exchanges on the other end of the phone. She tried to press the phone closer to her ear but couldn’t make out anything. Suddenly, Zhou Tingsheng’s voice became louder which gave her a shock: “I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“For dinner?”
“En. Make sure to make some light dishes. She’s been on a diet lately.”

Her normally indifferent brother suddenly seemed very interested in details. Liang Zirao felt like the sun must have risen from the west: “Tsk, tsk…...I’m impressed. Alright. Normally when you’re home we always have a table full of greens. We’ll just have to let her eat grass with you then.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 2

In a similar hospital room in Yang City, the TV in the single room was showing the award ceremony. Ye Qiao lowered her head, the once youthful face was now more mature, but just as attractive.
She smiled shallowly: “There’s one person I especially want to thank.”

The audience was silent. Ye Qiao looked up; she couldn’t clearly make out the people in the audience because of the spotlights. She seemed to look past the crowd, towards the viewer on the other side of the screen-- --
“He’s my father.”
“I thank him for giving me life.”

Cheng Su quietly turned around to check the pale and fatigued middle aged man in the hospital bed. His gentlemanly face looked much older than his actual age. The light from the LCD screen reflected in his eyes.
His eyes were glued to the screen even though the camera had already switched back to the master of ceremony. That was his most cherished daughter, his only flesh and blood.
He had watched her birth with ecstasy and carefully watched her as she grew up.
In the end, he had exchanged all of his innocence and pride to give her a second life.

Ye Qiao went backstage and took off her heavy tassel earrings.
She looked up at the mirror and the face she saw was very reminiscent of Xu Zang. Ever since she was a little girl, no one asked her whether she looked like her mom or her dad. There wasn’t any need, as anyone could tell from just a glance that she was an exact replica of her father.
As expected, her acceptance speech didn’t cause much of a stir. It looked like she was only reading out a typical acceptance speech.
But her thumping heart was as real as the sound of the fireworks exploding in the air.
-- --No matter what, she thanked her father for giving her a second life.

Because his flight was delayed, Zhou Tingsheng didn’t arrive at the hotel until late into the night.
When he knocked on Ye Qiao’s door, she had just come out of shower and opened the door still in her bathrobe. Zhou Tingsheng threw his bag into the room and gave her a passionate kiss.
Ye Qiao struggled to close the door and breath: “I’m having my period……”
Zhou Tingsheng cursed, irritated that Ye Qiao would think that he’d come all this way just because he wanted to get into bed with her. He released his hold on her and noticed that Ye Qiao’s face was pale and her eyes had trouble focusing. No longer angry at her, he asked: “You’re not feeling well?”

Ye Qiao grimaced: “It hurts a bit…...It’s never hurt before. But today I wore that gown outside on the red carpet in the chilly wind for a while. My arms, legs, back, and chest were all bare; it was freezing cold no matter how many hand warmers I had on.” She used her arms to circle around his neck. Zhou Tingsheng wished she would always look at him with such longing.

Without thinking, he murmured in a small voice: “It’s been so long, why hasn’t there been a sign of good news.”
Though his voice was low, Ye Qiao still caught it. She harrumphed: “That’s your problem……”
“I had to fly over half of China to see you. Whose problem is that?” Zhou Tingsheng wasn’t too happy about it and annoyingly said: “Why are you still standing there.”
“Hrm?”

Zhou Tingsheng irritatedly picked Ye Qiao up, flipped the bed covers over, and put her down on the bed. He touched her calves under the bathrobe: “So cold, no wonder it hurts.”
He used his palms to warm up her icy cold skin. The warmth from his hands began to travel up and down her legs.

“I just came out of the shower when you knocked, who would have time to put clothes on.”
He put the cover over her and asked: “Where are your clothes?”
Ye Qiao kicked her foot towards a desk.

Zhou Tingsheng went over and pulled out a set of cashmere pajamas. After putting the pajamas on, Ye Qiao was still cold and clung to Zhou Tingsheng’s arm with a frown. Zhou Tingsheng had planned to go out and buy some painkillers for her, but now couldn’t move with Ye Qiao attached to him: “Painkillers will only mask the problem. If I take one now, the pain will just come back later and it’ll be even more painful then.” Zhou Tingsheng was speechless: “Where did you hear this nonsense?” Ye Qiao argumentatively replied: “<Huangdi Neijing>.[1] When it’s not clogged, it won’t hurt; pain means it’s clogged…...it’s no use blocking the pain.”
Even Ye Qiao felt like she was being irrational.

Zhou Tingsheng then suggested the only other thing he knew about the monthly female cycle: “Then, what do we do? I can get you some hot black sugar water?”
Ye Qiao, now bear hugging him, twitched her nose: “That tastes bad.”
“All good medicine tastes bad.”
“It’s still bad.”


[1]: 黄帝内经/The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor. An ancient Chinese medical text that was foundational to Chinese medicine.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 48 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 48 Part 1

For the award ceremony, Ye Qiao wore a red gown specifically designed for her, with ruffles on the side seam that formed a rose on the gown. The saturated red made Ye Qiao’s fair skin look as white as snow.

Gu Jin was absent from the award ceremony though he had been nominated for best director. In the vip hospital ward, the LCD screen showed the red carpet before the award ceremony. Gu Jin, leaning back into his chair, fixed his eyes on the rose he had missed slowly walk down the red carpet, waving to the camera. Her black pupils reflected all the lights around her, sparkling like diamonds.

Ye Qiao wore a shallow smile on her face like a fully bloomed flower against the chilly wind. He admitted that he had sometimes had malicious thoughts, wishing ill upon her life.
But the excited voice of the host when he introduced Ye Qiao and the roar of cheers that followed all indicated that she was doing just fine.
She was going to receive the best actress award tonight.

Cheng Jiang had gone through another round of debridement and her open wounds were still healing. The scars left on her once elegant and poised face would need skin grafts. She had lost all her glamour and the loss of her child was the last straw that had totally crushed her. She looked very dispirited: “You want to go back to her, don’t you?”

Gu Jin was suddenly jolted back to reality. He moved his eyes away from the screen, but the bright and shining silhouette was left on his retinals. For a moment, he didn’t even know where to set his eyes on: “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t have to pretend to be nonchalant. I’m not a little girl that’s easily fooled.” Cheng Jiang gave a sad smile: “Wasn’t the reason you chose to be with me was because at the time she wasn’t able to stand side by side with you? The most important thing in your mind has always been your career. In order to reach greater success, you would even use your marriage as your leverage. I just happened to fit your needs at the time.”

“When you learned that we’re going to have a kid, didn’t you also account for the baby into your scheme? First, it was making the announcement during the premiere, then the proposal, the engagement, the wedding, and the soon to be born child.” The media exposure he and the film would receive would be worth more than tens of millions that a promotional budget could produce. Cheng Jiang lied amidst the white, sterile environment. It felt like the colors of the world had faded away. She thought her decision to be with Gu Jin had been a mature one, it had suited both of them well. She didn’t expect she would fail so miserably.
“Gu Jin, you think life is just like any of the movies you’ve directed. But your schemes have all failed. How do you feel now?”
The previous best actress was like a jade that had lost all of its luster, but it still retained it’s stubbornness. She said to Gu Jin: “Go back to her. I don’t need you pitying me.”

On the TV screen, Ye Qiao had just received the trophy for best actress from the presenter. She lowered her head to face the microphone and began to deliver her acceptance speech with her clear, smooth voice.
“Standing here today, I have too many people I would like to thank. The presenter, Director Lai, has been my mentor. To receive this award from his hands carries extraordinary significance to me.”

……

“But there’s one person in particular whom I especially want to thank.”

In Gu Jin eyes, it was as if her sweet smile was right in front of him. He remembered Ye Qiao had said that if someday she would stand on the stage to receive an award, she hoped it’s him who presented the award to her and she would mention him in her speech, to declare to the world that he was the one and only person for her.
Gu Jin quickly turned off the TV.

He put down the remote and looking out the window. The fireworks for the coming New Year seemed to coincide with the glamorous award ceremony, exploding into bright colors in the cold and quiet night sky. In his eyes, though, there seemed to only be endless desolation. He spoke , but didn’t direct it to anyone in particular: “Can’t go back now.”
The man next to her would never be him again.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 3

Zhou Tingsheng became rather serious: “I’ll bear the consequences of my mistakes. I might not be able to make it up in this life, but I won’t use the rest of my life to make amends for this one thing. Whether you think I’m selfish or you’re disgusted with my past, just tell it to me straight.”
It was silent in the hallway. Zhou Tingsheng felt like time had frozen solid.
Deep down in his mind, he was uneasy and doubted his own confidence. But if even he couldn’t persist to the end, then he shouldn’t have gotten close to her in the first place.

Ye Qiao finally said in a small voice: “......I’m not disgusted with you.”
Zhou Tingsheng’s heart quivered. Ye Qiao moved her icy cold hands next to his and laced her fingers with his. Zhou Tingsheng didn’t question the authenticity of her words, he only wanted to warm up her cold pair of hands and heart.
Ye Qiao could feel the thin calluses on his palms. The hands felt so familiar and dependable.
She said: “I really don’t mind. Really.”

Zhou Tingsheng stood there, rigid, without looking at Ye Qiao. Ye Qiao tried to lighten up the mood: “What’s the point in not avoiding you. You aren’t even willing to look at me.”
Zhou Tingsheng turned to look at her. Ye Qiao held his face in her hands and stood on her tippy toes to give him a quick kiss on his lips: “It’s alright now. I missed you very much too…...I missed you everyday.”

Most of the time, Ye Qiao wasn’t a passionate person. Even when she spoke words of affection, the words came out like formality. Zhou Tingsheng knew she was showing her true feelings but compared to the way she delivered her lines during the audition, he really figured she was a brilliant actress.

Ye Qiao didn’t know what was going through Zhou Tingsheng’s mind, but hurriedly told him: “I really have to go back to pack.” She checked her watch on her wrist: “I have two hours. I’m flying to Yang City tonight. There’s an award ceremony tomorrow.”
Zhou Tingsheng’s eyebrows immediately gathered tightly together: “Why haven’t you mentioned this?”
“I didn’t have the chance to tell you recently.”
The eyebrows grew even closer together. Fortunately, what Ye Qiao said right after greatly encouraged him: “Didn’t we plan to go to your home during the New Year before? The year end award ceremony happens to be at Yang City and it’s already near the New Year, so I’ve agreed to attend.”
Zhou Tingsheng finally relaxed his eyebrows: “Then I’ll go with you.”

Ye Qiao didn’t have the time to refuse since Shen Ting was calling her on the phone to hurry her. She went back to her own apartment and hastily packed her luggage.
The tickets for that night’s flights were already sold out. Ye Qiao went to the airport with her assistant. When she arrived at the airport, Zhou Tingsheng sent a message telling her that he would fly over at noon the next day.

After meeting Shen Ting, Ye Qiao learned that there was another wave in the iCloud scandal. The relatively unknown Zhao Mo suddenly became the target. There was an anonymous actress, who worked with Zhao Mo on the same movie set, that revealed that Zhao Mo had affairs with Gu Jin and many other directors. Ye Qiao then remembered that she had received several phone calls from Zhao Mo. She was sick at the time. After she recovered, she hadn’t called her back since she was also troubled by many other things at the time.

The previous scandal had disclosed the entirety of Xu Yinshan’s black history, totally destroying her public image as a down to earth and kind person. Some insiders even maliciously predicted that she would only be appearing in adult movies in the future.

There were various gossip poured into Ye Qiao’s ears. The one that caught her attention was-- --Cheng Jiang miscarried.
Cheng Jiang had several abortions before and a miscarriage would probably mean that she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant again. In order to give the baby in her stomach a chance to survive, Zheng Jiang had refused anesthesia and had to bear the pain as they cleaned the great area of burns and the following skin reconstruction.

Ye Qiao had visited Lu Qing in the hospital, who suffered similar burns as Cheng Jiang. It was very hard for Ye Qiao to hear how the treatment was like. Cheng Jiang bravely endured the excruciating pain but still couldn’t save the baby. It was a double blow to Gu Jin who had to worry about his own career and take care Cheng Jiang at the same time. Shen Ting learned about the news through some staff members she had worked with before.

Shen Ting also heard that originally, there was a good possibility that Cheng Jiang would be nominated as one of the best actresses at the year end award ceremony after the release of <The Watcher> and Gu Jin planned to propose to her at the ceremony.
Who could imagine that the circumstances would change so much with the passage of time that Ye Qiao became the receiver of the award for best actress instead.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 2

On her way home, Ye Qiao noticed that the snow on the ground had already melted. There were only occasional holdouts left on the bare tree stumps by the roadside.
Ye Qiao looked up to the sky and breathed in the chilly, deep winter air. The scarf on her neck was about to slip down her shoulder and she was too lazy to pull her hands out of her pockets so she stiffened her neck in the hopes that would hold the scarf in place.
Despite her efforts, the scarf fell down anyways. She had no choice but to pull her hands out-- --
A hand reached over from behind to scoop the scarf up for her, then tightly wrapped it around her neck. The sleeve of the black coat smelled of cedarwood. It was from the cologne that she had specifically picked for him.

Ye Qiao turned around and found Zhou Tingsheng right behind her. He had just finished shopping, the hand carrying the shopping bags had reddish knuckles from the cold air. He used his other hand to tie the scarf into a knot and smiled at her. It was a familiar smile, yet so awkward at the same time.

Zhou Tingsheng had noticed for several days that Ye Qiao would go out for almost the whole day and come back exhausted. He asked around and learned that she had started to go to the gym. Though she looked tired afterwards, she looked much healthier than before. Zhou Tingsheng gazed at her shocked expression as if they hadn’t seen each other for years, amused but also upset at the same time: “Do you have to be this surprised to see me? Where have you been for the past few days?”

Zhou Tingsheng sounded quite casual, but Ye Qiao felt that he was just putting on a facade. His warm smile and the act of pulling her hair to the back of her ear, everything felt like it was a false act.
It seemed to her that she had been put under a spell. Ever since she had gone to see Ruan Feiyan, she could no longer comfortably face Zhou Tingsheng. She forced sound from her throat: “The gym.”

Zhou Tingsheng walked side by side with her back to their building and pushed the elevator button for her. Both of them entered the elevator together. He asked: “How’s exercise going for you?”
“It’s alright.”
“Is the coach a man or a woman? Has he taken advantage of you?”
He knew very well that there must be some bodily contact when a coach tried to correct the student’s posture. He had turned his frustration from not seeing her the past few days into jealousy. He stared at her, waiting for her answer.

Ye Qiao replied with a stone face: “It’s a woman.”
Zhou Tingsheng held her waist, now sore from working out, and squeezed: “Really?”
It certainly wasn’t true. Ye Qiao hastily bent down trying to avoid his hands and couldn’t keep the lie going: “It’s a white lie which you don’t want to believe.”

When the elevator arrived at their floor, Zhou Tingsheng wouldn’t let her go back to her own apartment. He grabbed her arm and dragged her in the opposite direction. Ye Qiao called out: “What are you doing-- --”
Zhou Tingsheng didn’t bother to go into his apartment. He pushed Ye Qiao against the wall in the hallway. Putting his forehead against hers, he gave a deep sigh: “I miss you very much.”
Ye Qiao tried to move her lips but didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Tingsheng calmed himself: “I know you need time to digest everything, to give yourself time to think it over. But can you not avoid me like this?” Ye Qiao listened with a serious face. He continued: “It’s like a husband and wife in separation.”
Ye Qiao suddenly turned her face to the side and chuckled.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 47 Part 1

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 47 Part 1

Qianxi stayed for the night. Zhou Tingsheng let her and Ye Qiao have the master bedroom and he moved into the guest room.
In the middle of the night, he got up and walked to the entrance with no reason. The colors on the painting <Secret of the Mortal World> was impossible to distinguish under the dim lights. For the first time, Zhou Tingsheng lit up the candle sticks in front of the picture of Jesus. In the yellow-orange glow of the candles, the picture frame looked like it had been ignited.

Qianxi came out of the bedroom yawning. She saw Zhou Tingsheng stood quietly at the entrance. She drowsily walked over to comfort him: “My cousin’s fever has come down. She just fell asleep. Tomorrow morning you’ll see a lively and cute cousin again! Don’t worry.”
Zhou Tingsheng thanked her with a shallow smile. He knew well that it’s probably harder to see a cheerful Ye Qiao after she woke up.

Qianxi licked her lips and suddenly became more serious: “Actually, it’s a good thing to have some conflict. A conflict means there’ll be a way to solve it. It’s not like for some people, where there’s no possibility to be together because of their family or social economic background.”
It was the first time that Zhou Tingsheng discovered that Ye Qiao’s carefree cousin was capable of saying such intelligent words. He smiled and asked her: “Are you tired? I’ll be cooking something for your cousin in a while, you can also have some.”
Qianxi touched her stomach in surprise and asked in doubt: “Can I really?” She couldn’t figure out how this man, who was not only handsome but cooked delicious food, had somehow annoyed her cousin.
The conflict they had this time, however, was quite different from the ones previously. Zhou Tingsheng seriously doubted the possibility of resolving the conflict this time.

Ye Qiao rested for two days after the fever died down. She and Zhou Tingsheng were very cordial towards each other, neither mentioning anything regarding the crux of their problems. Finally, on the third day, Ye Qiao brought it up at the dinner table: “Maybe it’s best for me to go back to my own apartment?”
Zhou Tingsheng was quiet for a while before he agreed.  He made a phone call to arrange for someone to come and fix the heater in her apartment.

They were sure of the feelings they had for each other, but they didn’t know how to face each other. Even laughing felt like a sin. To avoid staying at home all day and slide deeper into depression, Ye Qiao made an appointment with a private fitness coach that a good friend had recommended. Everyday, she would sweat until she was soaked. Her exhausted body and sore muscles made her more aware of her own physical existence. Her distressed mental state became less important.

The private coach, Coach Fang, had made a specific training schedule for Ye Qiao based on the history of her heart problems. But Ye Qiao would constantly overexert herself. Once she stepped onto the machine, she wouldn’t get off. Coach Fang was worried: “I’ve never seen a movie star workout as hard as you. Pei Xindan trained with me for a while before she had to film some kung fu movies, but she wouldn’t treat herself this harsh.”

Ye Qiao asked with shallow smile: “You worried that I’ll pass out here?”
To her surprise, Coach Fang shook his head: “It’s not that. I have a Russian friend who had a heart transplant just like you. He’s even more daring than you; he’s broken one of his legs and still does extreme sports. So there’s nothing to be afraid about. If you dare, a heart transplant patient can still go parachuting.”

Ye Qiao asked herself whether she had the courage to do that. Occupied by her own thoughts, she didn’t really catch the rest that the coach talked about. After he had finished, Ye Qiao collected her wandering mind and said: “Tomorrow and the day after I have an award ceremony to attend. I won’t be here for those two days.”
“How about the day after those two days?”
Ye Qiao was taken aback: “......The day after those two days, maybe.”

Coach Fang laughed out loud: “I knew you'd be like that. You’re probably doing this just on a whim. After you’ve released whatever it is that’s bothering you, you’d just give up.” He squeezed Ye Qiao’s wrist: “See, how thin this is. A dog’s claw is fatter than this. Exercise is good for your body as well as your mind.”

Ye Qiao felt like she had been lectured for no reason and the feeling on her wrist wasn’t very pleasant either. The coach’s palm was sweaty and rough.. Ye Qiao quietly pulled her arm back: “I’ll take care of myself more in the future. Thank you.”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 4

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 4

That night, Ye Qiao’s cold worsened. Despite having a 38.5C (101.3F) fever, Ye Qiao refused to go to the hospital.
They slept on the two sides of the big bed, each rolled up inside a blanket. In the middle of the night, head clouded by fever, Ye Qiao subconsciously drew closer to Zhou Tingsheng mumbling something all the while.

Zhou Tingsheng got up to turn on the light that was only strong enough to illuminate a small portion of the large room.
Ye Qiao woke up as well but started to have a splitting headache. She opened her mouth, though wasn’t particularly conscious of what she was saying: “......I haven’t apologized to her.”

She wasn’t really as calm and indifferent as she acted, the past still bothered her in her dreams.
Zhou Tingsheng lightly made a sound in reply. Then he held her tightly.
Her voice was tranquil but deep: “She likes you. Can’t you tell?”
Zhou Tingsheng cast his eyes down and replied after a long moment of silence: “......I can tell.”

That was the reason why he seldom went to visit her in the last two years. He thought maybe the distance would wear down her immature affections.
Ye Qiao felt like crying but she didn’t let the tears fall: “I feel guilty. But she likes you, so I didn’t apologize to her.”
Her voice grew hoarse. “Apologizing is a very sincere act. If I’m not willing to give everything to make it up to her, then that apology would be just for show.”
The tears she had been holding back began to flow like tidal waves which inundated her.

Ye Qiao tightly bit her lower lip, her voice was now almost inaudible. “Zhou Tingsheng, I really want to apologize to her.”
He tightly circled his arms around her. Her body was so hot that he felt like a cold blooded animal. If he hadn’t been so cocky in the past, today would have never happened. Everything was a consequence of his past sins. No matter who came to point fingers at him, he would readily admit it. However, she was the only one who aimed the origin of the sin at herself, giving him an invisible shield.

Ye Qiao seemed to have cried all the tears built up from the past ten years in these two days. The guilt she had only seen in her dreams was now right in front of her and it felt heavier than she had expected. Yet she was greedier than she thought she was. Ye Qiao kept going in and out of dreams. They began to grow darker.  Ghosts from hell came asking why she was still alive when she should’ve died a decade ago. Ruan Feiyan’s voice mixed with the ghosts. “You’ve already taken away my mom, why do you have to fight with me for him?”
It seemed that being alive was her greatest mistake.

By the next day, the high fever had somewhat incapacitated Ye Qiao.
Zhou Tingsheng called Qianxi over to help take care of Ye Qiao. Qianxi came with a doctor who gave Ye Qiao an intravenous drip.

Qianxi anxiously stayed at her cousin’s side, worried that Ye Qiao hadn’t come around. “She’s burning hot. If she doesn’t come to, we have to take her to the hospital.”
“She won’t go.” Zhou Tingsheng had tried many times, but Ye Qiao somehow found the unusual strength whenever he tried to move her.

“My cousin has always been fragile. What if the fever continues……” Qianxi tried the traditional method by applying cold towels on Ye Qiao’s forehead and worriedly said: “My cousin’s father fell ill not too long ago. I heard that he was coming to see her, but had a heart attack right before boarding the plane. The people at the airport sent him to the hospital. He hasn’t been well since. The genes in her family are really bad!”
Zhou Tingsheng gestured to Qianxi to stop while they were still at Ye Qiao’s bedside.
Qianxi scratched her hair and said: “Maybe I should just take leave from work and stay here with her. If there’s anything wrong with my cousin, my dad would want my head for sure!”

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Starlight Has No Past - Chapter 46 Part 3

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.



Starlight Has No Past
Chapter 46 Part 3

They walked past the hospital ward’s garden, there was a thing layer of ice on the ground. The two of them carefully walked side by side, giving the illusion that they could walk like this till their hair turned white.

Zhou Tingsheng was the first one to open his mouth: “What did you say to her just now?”
“We chatted about random things. I told her about the psychological problems I suffered from and that I’ve only slowly overcome them after I met you. But you aren’t everyone’s ‘Prozac’; I can introduce a good psychiatrist to her if she needs one.”
Ye Qiao went into detail about her conversation with Ruan Feiyan, as if she was afraid that she wouldn’t have anything else to say to him after she ran out of things to say about the topic.

“I guess she must hate my father very much. I told her not to. My father is a rather proud, but upstanding person. When he was still a poor artist, he wouldn’t even give a single one of his paintings as a gift to a high official who appreciated his talent. When I was little, my favorite topic to write about was ‘My father.’ Sometimes, even though the assigned topic was about my mother, I would talk about my father on and on instead.”
“But, I didn’t tell her all that. There’s no point in telling her about things from the past.” Ye Qaio stopped for a little while: “What he did was all for me. I told her to aim all her hatred towards me.”

She knew very well how significant that love was, but it was also what had given her a guilty conscious that she couldn’t rid herself of.
She had wanted to be the pride of her father and had tried all she could to be the glory in his heart. But in the end, she had become the only stain in her father’s spotless life.
She could talk about her father forever.

They fell into a long silence.

Ye Qiao thought they would again part ways in silence. Zhou Tingsheng suddenly stopped and embraced Ye Qiao in his arms without saying or asking anything. His heavy breathes making puffs of fog. Ye Qiao bumped into his chest, the pain from the jolt made even her sighs hurt.

She reached out with her hand, now red from the cold, and lightly pat Zhou Tingsheng’s back: “It’s alright. I don’t blame you.”
Zhou Tingsheng tightened his grip on her, his throat moved up and down but couldn’t make a sound.

Ye Qiao comforted him like she was calming down a wounded animal. She softly stroked over his coat: “The words you told me before, did you say them because of me or this heart inside of me?”
“It’s because of you.” He said.
“I thought about giving up on you back then on the cruise ship.” He snuggled his head next to her neck: “Liang Zirao tried to persuade me many times. She believes that it’s for the best if we stopped interacting with each other. But I can’t do it.”

The path in front of them now had a layer of solid ice over it, blocking their way. Ye Qiao took a deep breath in: “I can’t tell what exactly I’m feeling right now.” She actually felt quite tranquil. But she knew she shouldn’t be this calm. Some of those disturbing feelings were lodged deep within her frozen heart, so deep that she could no longer even sense it.

“Fate likes to play tricks on people. I just never expected I’d be one of its victims.” She concluded.

That night, there was a heavy snowstorm. Even airports in nearby cities had their flights suspended.
The world seemed to have fallen into an endless dark night.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.