Distant Starlight
Ding Luyao followed her cousin Ding Chengxin everywhere from childhood, a little tail chasing after the light. The year she got into the Beijing Film Academy, Ding Chengxin brought her into the Times Youth League practice room. From then on, she had seven more older brothers in her life: Ma Jiaqi, who made tea for her; Song Yaxuan, who taught her to dive; Liu Yaowen, who took her all over Chongqing to eat; Zhang Zhenyuan, always gentle and fair to everyone; Yan Haoxiang, who only ever chose her as his music video lead; and He Junlin, who became her comedy partner.
From variety-show newcomer to “everyone’s little sister,” Ding Luyao grew with a smile and a determination to work hard. Then came the suspense film Mirror Image, in which she played Su Mian, a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside antagonist, facing off in the interrogation room against Lin Shen, the police officer played by Ma Jiaqi. On set, he went from handing her the wrong drink to bringing her peach juice every day and tea at just the right temperature. He went from being her “older brother” to harboring feelings he couldn’t bring himself to confess, while she thought it was just the care one co-star showed another.
On the day the film wrapped, he said he couldn’t bear to say goodbye. In the parking lot, she asked, “Do you like me?” He replied, “I do. I’ve liked you for a long time.”
The couple everyone online had shipped became real. From a promise in a lemon grove to a wedding beneath the shining stars, from a wall of mugs belonging to two people to a family portrait of three, their story began with “Welcome” and ended in a love that would last a lifetime.
“Distant starlight, we ride toward our dreams. You’re everyone’s little sister, but you’re the girl who belongs only to me.”
