The private room fell into an absolute silence.
A myriad of emotions flickered across Professor Zhang's face before settling into profound disappointment. Yet he did not voice any harsh criticism, only seeming to lose his spirit all at once.
"I understand too. Over these years, many have left. I understand everyone's choices, I'm just somewhat disappointed..." The elderly professor repeated "I understand" several times, but ultimately couldn't suppress his feelings toward the student he had placed the highest hopes in.
"Yu Tu, you've deeply disappointed me."
"You were my most outstanding student. I thought..." He sighed deeply, "Not to mention the older generation of aerospace pioneers who started from nothing with empty hands, just take your colleague Guan Zai - he gave up his high salary in America to return. I always believed you were like him, that you had your own faith and perseverance."
Yu Tu didn't defend himself against any of these words. His gaze remained fixed on the white tablecloth before him, maintaining his silence throughout.
Qiao Jingjing suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.
"But Yu Tu also gave up a high salary before," she blurted out.
Yu Tu looked up in surprise, while both professors turned to her with astonished expressions.
"I think both Yu Tu and his colleague are top-tier talents who deserve the best treatment. If they're willing and without pressure, that's fine. But to use faith and ideals to demand they sacrifice everything - isn't that somewhat..." A word flashed through her mind, and she spoke without thinking, "...emotional blackmail?"
"Jingjing!" Yu Tu cut her off sharply.
Qiao Jingjing stopped, already regretting her words. She had been too impulsive.
"I'm sorry," she immediately apologized.
The private room fell into silence once more.
Yu Tu stood up: "Teacher, I'm sorry. We won't disturb you and your wife's meal any longer."
This time, the elderly couple didn't try to stop them. Qiao Jingjing followed behind Yu Tu and quickly left the restaurant.
The night breeze cooled Yu Tu's temper. He stopped walking, his tone somewhat resigned. "You enjoy the greatest privileges this society has to offer. You shouldn't have said such things to Teacher."
What did that mean?
Qiao Jingjing was already regretful, and now she felt as if pierced by needles. She whirled around to face Yu Tu: "What do you mean? If I weren't Qiao Jingjing, if I weren't a celebrity, then I could have said it?"
She stared at him wide-eyed, "I just wanted to speak up for you, I..."
Finally, she couldn't hold back: "More than anyone, I want you to continue being an aerospace designer!"
Yu Tu froze, staring at her: "Why?"
Why? What kind of question was that?
Because you shine brightest and look your best when gazing at the stars.
Because the moment I fell for you, you were there eloquently discussing cosmic mysteries I couldn't understand at all.
Because I've had so many fantasies, and in every one of them, you were an aerospace designer, not anything else.
Because it's what you love!
Qiao Jingjing suddenly felt overwhelmingly wronged.
And it had been so, so long since she had felt this kind of grievance.
The van pulled up beside them. Xiao Zhu rolled down the window and waved, "Jingjing, Teacher Yu, why are you outside?"
Qiao Jingjing's fingers twitched. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Yu Tu anymore, and directly pulled open the car door to get in.
Xiao Zhu sensed the tense atmosphere, looking back and forth between them. "Um, Teacher Yu?"
Qiao Jingjing closed the car door and commanded, "Drive."
The car disappeared around the corner.Yu Tu stood by the roadside, instinctively reaching into his pocket for a cigarette, only to suddenly remember he didn’t actually have a smoking habit—he only occasionally bummed a couple from friends.
He felt a bit flustered.
But it wasn’t entirely flustered, either. It was the rush of blood, the pounding of his heart, an uncontrolled intuition, like a warning of derailment.
An unfamiliar surge suddenly swept through his entire body, crashing recklessly through his usually calm and composed mind. He had a rough idea of what this was, but he had never experienced it before, nor had he ever planned for it. He hadn’t expected it to descend upon him so abruptly at this moment, turning all his restraint to ashes.
He was completely unprepared, caught off guard.
All because of those stubborn eyes, brimming with such grievance they seemed on the verge of tears.
But he regained his composure quickly.
He strode toward the crowd waiting outside the restaurant and stopped in front of a young girl, politely saying, “Could you please delete the photos you just took?”
The girl’s parents eyed him warily. The girl froze for a few seconds before reluctantly pulling out her phone and deleting all the photos in front of him, including the backups in the trash folder.
Yu Tu nodded. “Thank you.”
The girl muttered, “I wasn’t going to post them anyway. I’m a fan of her rival, so I wouldn’t help her stir up hype. Besides, I even made her look so good in the photos.”
Then she added mischievously, “What’s your name, handsome? Are you a new debut? Otherwise, I’d definitely know someone as good-looking as you. If you and Qiao Jingjing start a CP, I might secretly become a fan of your visuals.”
Yu Tu felt he might be getting a bit old. The girl kindly reminded him, “But her fans are really fierce, so you’d better be careful.”
Yu Tu replied, “Mm, thanks for the reminder.”
On the late autumn street, Yu Tu walked toward the subway while typing a WeChat message. Professor Wang replied quickly, telling him not to worry about it and that they all respected his decision.
But the other person… still hadn’t replied.
He sighed and stopped by the roadside. His precise mind began working on how to handle this new problem. Just as he was making some headway, his phone screen was suddenly taken over by an incoming call. The number displayed as “Unknown.” Yu Tu’s heart tightened, and he immediately answered the call.
A grave voice came through the receiver, “Yu Tu, the J-X satellite in orbit has experienced a sudden malfunction and lost attitude control. Wherever you are, end your leave immediately and get to the Xi’an Satellite Control Center at the fastest possible speed.”
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