(1)
“Shhh—”
Yu Mingfei put her index finger to her lips, mysteriously gesturing to Yu Minghui to be quiet.
“What’s wrong?”
“They kissed!”
As if she were a participant herself, the second sister looked exceptionally excited.
“Kissed…?”
“Not yet, but from the looks of it, they’re about to! Tsk, tsk, things are developing so fast.”
“Feifei.”
The older sister shook her head helplessly.
“Do you know how much trouble two girls being truly together can cause?”
“But they’re different…”
The second sister put the fruit platter she was holding back on the coffee table and plopped down on the sofa.
“It’s truly enviable.”
“You shouldn’t envy others yet; deal with your own problems first.”
The older sister glared at her.
“Seventh Uncle arranged a blind date for you. When are you planning to meet him?”
“Ah—can we please not talk about that? It’s so annoying…”
“Even if you’re going to refuse, you should do it properly, right?”
“So annoying! I just graduated from college. Is there any need to be so rushed, constantly pushing and pushing—”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
“Didn’t your dad rush you?”
“Not yet, temporarily.”
“Sigh… Why bother me? My brother isn’t married yet either. Why do they have to push me?”
“Your brother is probably busy with his career.”
“Ah, ugh, ugh—I can’t stand it! Anyway, it’s fine as long as my brother carries on the family line!”
“What kind of person is the blind date they arranged for you?”
“I don’t know. They just said he’s from a nearby village. So troublesome! Huihui, quick, hug me! Comfort me!”
“Alright, alright.”
Yu Minghui smiled helplessly, reaching out to hug Yu Mingfei.
The two embraced on the sofa.
***
(2)
The local news on replay at this moment served as background music, making people…
“Half a month ago, a meteorite fell on the eastern coast of the small city. Experts analyzed the residual fragments and discovered 89 minerals not found on Earth…”
“Uh, this meteorite, it’s multi-layered, but due to severe impact, its core has been pulverized. We speculate that there was some substance undergoing nuclear fusion in the meteorite’s center. If we can understand how it sustains stable nuclear fusion, it could advance current nuclear fusion research.”
“Are you saying there was a mini-sun in the meteorite’s center?”
“That’s one way to interpret it, but it’s all just our speculation…”
“You mentioned 89 extraterrestrial elements were found on this meteorite. Does that prove its uniqueness?”
“They’re not elements, they’re minerals. It’s actually very common for meteorites to carry minerals that don’t exist on Earth, given they come from space…”
There are several islands near the small city’s coast.
These islands were once villages, but in recent years, the villagers have gradually been relocated to the mainland, and these small offshore islands are to be sealed off for other purposes.
Currently, three islands have been completely cleared, with two more still in the planning stages.
Once the uniformly arranged self-built houses are completed, the villagers will have to leave the land where their ancestors have lived for generations.
On one of the earliest developed islands, several large buildings were connected, with a few signal receivers nearby that resembled magnified satellite dishes.
Outside, a circle of artificially planted trees surrounded the area.
Compared to naturally growing trees, they appeared much more orderly.
In an office on the top floor of one of the buildings, a bald old man stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the island currently under construction in the distance.
From this distance, even large excavators looked as tiny as toys.
“Mentor, some of the meteorite analysis results are out.”
A young man entered the open office and spoke to the old man.
“Let me see.”
“These are the current report data.”
The young man handed over a thick stack of papers, seemingly not formal. “
“Those core powders have a particle radiation that is harmless to humans. Comparative experiments using different animals showed that only female birds are affected. Their DNA is broken down and recombined, with changes appearing in as little as three days.”
“Female birds? No effect on mammals?”
“Yes, currently no effects on mammals have been found, and the affected female birds merely have their chromosomes altered, turning into male birds.”
“We need to continue monitoring for any subsequent anomalies that might appear.”
“I know.”
The young man looked at the pensive old man and couldn’t help but ask, “Mentor, do you think this might be the same type of… meteorite as the one from back then?”
“The externally wrapped minerals are the same as that meteorite, but the composition of the internal core is different.”
“Yes… Although both have particle radiation, the effects they cause are different.”
“This time, the core powder rapidly decays like last time. In just twenty-one days, its activity has already halved.”
“Not enough time…”
“Mentor, has the National Space Administration calculated where this meteorite came from?”
“Currently estimated to be from the direction of the M31 nebula.”
“Outside the Milky Way?”
“Still uncertain.”
“Flying from such a distant universe…”
“Haha… That’s the romance of the universe.”
***
(3)
“Within thirty-five minutes after the meteorite fell, the magnetic field was chaotic, and satellites didn’t capture the scene at the time,” said the operator sitting at the console in a room full of monitors, turning back to the man behind him.
“The footage taken by another satellite at thirty minutes was also hard to distinguish due to geometric distortion.”
“Can it be corrected?”
“This is already the corrected image.”
The woman in the white coat behind him, arms crossed, said, “Our speed was fast enough. We secured the site within half an hour. The situation at the time…”
“I was just wondering if anyone, like Dr. Ye, might have come into contact with the meteorite before us.”
“That’s almost impossible. Decades ago, after Dr. Ye touched a meteorite fragment, he immediately fell into a coma. Our site protection personnel also waited twenty-four hours before recovering the fragments.”
“Perhaps I was overthinking it…”
The man shook his head.
“Sigh, it all turned into powder. If we could have seen the complete core material…”
“Nature is truly miraculous. To have such a small ‘sun’!”
“Indeed,” the man sighed deeply.
“Small-scale controllable nuclear fusion, if it could truly be achieved, then…
“I, for one, think that even with that, it would be difficult to achieve a classless society…”
The man interrupted her without hesitation, “It will happen. It definitely will.”
***
(4)
Facing such an proactive Zhu Ying, even an iceberg would melt, let alone An Jing’s burning heart.
So, she finally couldn’t hold back and moved a bit closer to her.
The two sat very close, Zhu Ying controlling the mouse, and An Jing typing on the keyboard, sharing the same computer.
“Xiaojing—”
“Ew—why are you starting to call me that too?”
“Then you call me Xiaoying?”
“Ew—I’m getting goosebumps…”
Zhu Ying propped her chin on her hand, tilting her head to look at An Jing.
“Will you change back?”
“What will you do if I change back?”
“Hmm… break up?”
“That’s so hurtful!”
An Jing said her true feelings in a joking tone.
“I knew you just found it interesting, didn’t you!”
“I’m just kidding.”
“That didn’t sound like a joke at all…”
An Jing grumbled, pouting.
“I’m going to change back, and then I’ll truly pursue you again, as a man!”
“How about I turn into a guy and pursue you instead?”
“No, absolutely not!!”
An Jing’s small face was filled with resistance.
“Phew… So, stop joking around. You… if you keep doing this, I… what if I actually… actually fall for you…?”
Zhu Ying thought An Jing was joking and was about to tease her with a smile, but she fell silent, captivated by An Jing’s crystal-clear eyes, which held not a hint of impurity.
“At least right now, I’m serious, very serious.”
“But what about later, in the future? When I change back, if you don’t like me anymore, will you just abandon me?”
An Jing took a deep breath.
“Of course I like you. What guy doesn’t like pretty girls? But… I don’t want it like that, not like how you are now… acting like it’s just playing house.”
Zhu Ying bit her lip, her eyes wide as she looked at An Jing, then suddenly lowered her head and began to laugh.
“What are you laughing at? I’m very serious. You can still take back what you said right now. You… if you think I’m interesting, you can also be friends with me. Don’t you have those good girl friends too?”
“So Xiaojing can act like an adult too.”
“Of course I can! I’m going to be an adult soon, not many years left, very, very soon.”
The little bit of assertiveness An Jing had just displayed instantly vanished under Zhu Ying’s “praise.”
She became a bit stammering again, “So, so, you understand, right? You understand what I mean…?”
“I understand.”
“Then…”
“But what if I insist on ‘deceiving’ it away?”
Zhu Ying’s eyes rolled playfully, seemingly unfazed by An Jing’s words.
“Ah… then I… then…”
“Then what?”
“…Then if you don’t want ‘it’ anymore, remember to ‘give it back’ to me…”
An Jing timidly lowered her head, whispering somewhat humbly.
“I think my heart has already been ‘deceived’ by you first…”
“Huh? What? Didn’t hear that clearly…”
“I mean, then I’ll definitely ‘deceive’ your heart away completely, without any mercy, and I won’t give it back to you either!”
“Wow—you’re a person!”
“Not just a person, but—”
Zhu Ying leaned her small face closer, looked at the nervous An Jing, and gently pecked her on the lips.
“I’m your person.”
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Damn. Their chemistry is so good. Wang Xinru… I’m sorry but your ship has sunk 😭