The Stars Have Fallen Asleep

Insomniac x Sleep Therapist

A smug, tsundere jerk vs. a sweet-faced little fairy

01

Yu Qiao has suffered from chronic insomnia for years. After his mother tricks him one day, he has no choice but to honor their agreement and let a sleep therapist move in.

Shi Mo charges by the hour for her sleep-therapy sessions.

Yu's mother says, "Money's no problem."

She even sets up a dedicated account for the payments, and the longer Shi Mo stays, the more she earns.

To make the payments automatic, Shi Mo specially installs the smart check-in System recently developed by the Yu family.

Its precision boundary is Yu Qiao's bedroom door.

Her client has a sharp tongue and is hard to deal with, but Shi Mo has a sunny disposition. Her outstanding service, always delivered with a smile, wins him over!

After finishing her first sleep-therapy session, Shi Mo counts up the money she's earned by the minute and can't bear to step outside the front door.

Then inspiration strikes: What if closing the door wakes him up?

One more step in, and she loses her treasure trove. One step back, and money comes rolling in.

Who wouldn't be tempted by the chance to earn money in their sleep?

With that thought, Shi Mo happily tiptoes back to the sofa in the living room.

The next morning, Yu Qiao wakes up and discovers Shi Mo spent the night at his place.

Thinking of her excessively fawning attitude, he understands: So she really does have ulterior motives.

Later:

Yu Qiao: She won't be comfortable on that sofa. We should put a cushion on it.

Later still:

Yu Qiao: If she wants to sleep in my bed, I suppose that's fine.

02

Yu Qiao finds the sleep therapist's daily expressions of concern rather pleasant.

Since Shi Mo is so "madly in love" with him, he decides to reluctantly accept the "confession" she's still preparing to make.

But it turns out she has someone else she "truly loves," and he's even the one who introduced them.

Everything Shi Mo does for him is because she loves the person she's devoted to, and he is in charge of writing new songs for the famous singer Yan Lang.

-

This petty, vindictive man takes his grudge out on an innocent bystander, making all his new compositions heartbreak ballads that couldn't be further from the original brief. Then he cheekily adds, "I've tailored the emo genre just for you."

When asked if his dramatic change in style is because of heartbreak, he smugly insists, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

"There's been major progress between us."

"Major progress?" Yan Lang teases his childish colleague. "Did you kiss?"

Yu Qiao, who has only just accidentally brushed against her and ended up holding her hand, is furious with embarrassment. He raises a cool brow and sneers without mercy: "You're so frivolous."

"..."

Who would have guessed that just a few days later, after making progress for the first time, someone would be unable to resist calling just to show off?

"Just letting you know," Yu Qiao says, enunciating every word. "I..."

"Have... kissed... someone."

"Don't be too jealous."

"..."

03

With Yu Qiao's sleep improving, Shi Mo's highly effective job is nearing its end.

On the day she's supposed to say goodbye, she waits and waits, but the check-in never ends.

Two days pass in a flash. The software troubleshooting specialist calls Shi Mo, only to find that the person who answers is their own young master.

Yu Qiao's voice is laced with the displeasure of someone just woken up. Before hanging up, he says only:

"I'm asleep. Don't make noise."

"..."

[Extra Scene]

With something to brag about, Yu Qiao grows more and more energetic.

Whenever he starts showing signs of getting carried away, Shi Mo gets ahead of him and puts him to sleep.

It works extremely well.

So Yu Qiao comes up with a way to fight back:

What begins as "hearing her voice makes me sleepy" gradually turns into grabbing her wrist and kissing her deeply "so she can't make a sound."

But now and then, he likes to ease up on his strict defenses and deliberately fan the flames, just to hear her other, sweeter voice.

*The everyday love life of a master of self-delusion

*Blurb written on 2025.06.26

Theme: Enter sleep-charging mode