Chapter 32 More Beautiful Memories

A week went by in a hurry just like that.

The days were pretty much the same as before, a routine of the library, dormitory, and cafeteria. It was quite fulfilling, or rather, it had never been so fulfilling.

Ye Kaifu always followed closely behind, outwardly defiant, but inwardly relishing the torment.

This life was just too exciting. He never imagined meeting such a lunatic in the final days of the holiday, let alone becoming someone caught up in their madness.

What on Earth was happening!

However, this day marked the day of farewell.

The Space Elevator had a limited daily capacity. The 500,000 astronauts couldn't all be sent up at once; they were to ascend in many batches, in sequence.

The two of them weren't in the same launch batch. Ye Kaifu's holiday had ended, and he was scheduled to go up to space early.

"…You've learned about the economic policies and work grade system on the spaceship, right? Although it's not fully public yet, I assume you'll systematically study them once you're on the spaceship. It's good to prepare early, like writing papers and preparing for graduate exams, for instance."

"Got it, got it, you don't need to worry about me."

Ye Kaifu smirked and said, "I'm a Level 8 Mechanic. I start with an eighth-level work grade, way higher than you. A Second Level small fry can only clean on the spaceship, can't do anything else."

Zhang Yuan retorted irritably, "You're right; you're way more impressive than me. See you then."

Ye Kaifu suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Zhang Yuan, being with you is tiring but fulfilling. If I had met you earlier, I certainly would have been more than now…"

Goosebumps all over!

People around gave strange looks.

"Scram! Get lost! You're leaving and still disgusting me!" Zhang Yuan yelled.

"Hahaha, idiot, look at yourself! I'm a standard straight guy. Who the hell would want to be with you!"

Ye Kaifu was beyond happy, feeling incredibly refreshed.

Did you see those little girls' faces about to puke? Hahaha!

Zhang Yuan checked his phone calendar, remaining holiday balance: 5 days.

As that moment approached, a strange sense of urgency grew stronger inside him.

This feeling was hard to describe with words, like the last moment of life was approaching—nervousness, fear, uncertainty—all mixed together, forming a complex sense of disconnection.

"Bye!"

Ye Kaifu left with a suitcase, waving backward as he walked away, thinking he looked dashing.

He left alone, abandoning his mechanical harem, discarding fantasies of the fleet, leaving everything behind, traveling light.

His figure appeared very small amidst the orderly astronaut lineup.

Perhaps, everyone seemed tiny in front of the grand Space Elevator, insignificantly small.

"Bye."

The sun slowly rose from the east. This was probably the last sunrise this batch of astronauts would see on Earth.

And it was Zhang Yuan's fifth to last.

Zhang Yuan saw Ye Kaifu wipe his eyes with a sleeve as he passed the security check and entered the Space Elevator.

No, he wiped twice, maybe three times…

Many astronauts did the same. Once up there, they'd never set foot on Mother Star's solid ground again.

Never again.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Such fools."

No, it was a group of fools.

…

He turned around and returned to the campus.

Now he was alone once more.

Living alone in the dormitory inevitably brought a sense of solitude. The thesis was almost done, with some wording and phrasing details needing revision, which could be finished in a night…

Zhang Yuan thought of giving himself a day off, for a real rest.

Lying in bed, he prepared to take a short nap but found he couldn't sleep, overwhelmed with thoughts.

He opened his long-unvisited social media apps, seeing a bunch of notifications.

"Li Zhendong, how's the girl you arranged to meet?"

Li Zhendong's voice was still as arrogant as ever: "We ended it long ago. The girl was a catfish, full of acne, couldn't go for it. By the way, how's your mechanic roommate?"

"Gone up."

"So early, huh?"

"Yeah, different batches."

They chatted casually for a bit. As that moment approached, this show-off seemed not to be in a good mood either, speaking more seriously, less lively.

"…Touring with my family, trying to persuade my parents to have another child."

"My mom often hides to cry. Don't know how to console her. She just wants to cry, women are like this, my mom's no exception…"

Zhang Yuan sighed, "Sigh, in the last few days, spend more time with them. Don't come early."

After hanging up, Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered the forgotten "memo."

He'd been busy with the thesis for half a month, almost forgot about it.

More good memories, there should be more, a little more.

He walked into a supermarket, bought a 38-federal-coin popsicle, and put it in his mouth, cream flavored.

The taste was mediocre, didn't know why it sold so expensively.

Then he checked off an item on the memo: "Eat an ice pop at a price that makes me feel heartache…"

"Done!"

On the spaceship, he probably wouldn't even get to eat popsicles, no space for an ice pop factory on board.

"No wonder Ye Kaifu kept eating popsicles before leaving… Turns out he was working on his memo."

What should he do next?

Unknown.

Zhang Yuan felt slightly lost, suddenly having free time and seeming a bit aimless.

Maybe go back to studying? Anyway, there's no end to learning.

No, today was a rest day.

"…I want that BQ ice cream," a girl next to him said.

The boy beside her dotingly replied, "That's expensive. I'll give you two options: eat a BQ ice cream, or drink two milk teas, so I can have one too."

"Then two milk teas… see how good I am to you?"

Watching couples pass by in the supermarket, Zhang Yuan couldn't figure out why, but he thought of his ex-girlfriend.

How many years ago was that?

Zhang Yuan thought carefully and suddenly realized he couldn't even remember her appearance well, took several seconds to recall a name.

He merely remembered: she was quite cute, had a little temper, average grades. Due to academic pressure, needed coaxing to study well daily.

Back then, they were high school students, had no money, not allowed to use mobile phones, could only go out using very old banknotes.

On every date, she'd give Zhang Yuan all her money, saying: taking it out was troublesome.

As a result, Zhang Yuan held less than a hundred federal coins in his left hand, with his right arm around something warm and soft. In that nothing-to-show-for era, he felt content as if he owned the entire world.

"…Although dating lowered my intelligence, that period was quite happy," Zhang Yuan sat on the steps, reminiscing.

That girl who found spending money troublesome, she must have grown up too, right?

Should he make a call?

After thinking it over, he shook his head.

Forget it, after so long without contact, there's no such thing as feelings anymore, just memories remain, like a piece of art, vaguely beautified.