Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, four years had passed.
One day, while filming in Hengdian, Qiao Jingjing received a phone call from Yu Tu, who was away on a business trip.
On the other end of the line, Yu Tu said, "At lunch today, I went to the cafeteria, and two young women from another institute were in line in front of me. I overheard them discussing me."
Qiao Jingjing snorted, "So you have fans now? Are you showing off to me?"
Not long before their wedding, Yu Tu had been appointed as one of the deputy chief designers of the first asteroid probe. The year before last, he was appointed as the chief designer of the "Soushen" planetary probe. As one of the youngest chief designers in the aerospace field, he had gained quite a few young admirers.
"Why would I show off about fans to you?" Yu Tu laughed. "I heard one of them say she was disillusioned with me."
Qiao Jingjing was immediately curious, "What did you do to disillusion her?"
"She said, 'I ran into Chief Yu outside the conference room today. I never expected someone who looks so academic to have a female celebrity as his phone wallpaper.'"
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
Yu Tu sighed, "Fortunately, she doesn’t interact with me much. Otherwise, she’d find out that I change that female celebrity’s photo every week."
Qiao Jingjing burst out laughing, "Those two must have been very focused on their studies and never paid attention to gossip. Did you explain later?"
Later, when the two young women finished buying their meals and turned around to see him, they were utterly shocked and extremely embarrassed. Yu Tu had initially planned to just nod and let it go, but while eating, he changed his mind, feeling he couldn’t let his image suffer.
"Later, I saw them again at the entrance after finishing my meal. I deliberately walked over and told them, 'The woman on my phone wallpaper is my wife.'"
"Chief Yu, you’re so childish," Qiao Jingjing laughed uncontrollably on her end of the phone.
"But it seemed like they didn’t quite believe me," the childish Chief Yu said. "So, do you want to help me prove it?"
"How am I supposed to prove that? By posting on Weibo?" Qiao Jingjing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"That won’t be necessary. But maybe you could come visit me on set and catch a rocket launch while you’re at it? Isn’t your filming almost wrapped up?"
"Ah?" Qiao Jingjing was stunned, then quickly caught on. "Can I really go? You’re at the rocket launch base? I want to go! Where are you? Can you tell me now?"
Her rapid-fire questions amused him, and he explained, "You can come. This time, the institute has organized a family visitation event."
"I’m in Hainan, at the Wenchang Launch Center."
As if watching a rocket launch was just a side note—obviously, seeing Teacher Yu was the real point →_→
Half a month later, Hainan.
Qiao Jingjing arrived in Hainan two days later than originally planned. There was no helping it—bad weather had delayed outdoor filming, pushing back the wrap-up date. The moment her plane landed at Haikou Meilan Airport, she sent Yu Tu a WeChat message.
"I’ve landed."
Then she sent another message in the family visitation group chat. "I’ve arrived in Hainan. Sorry for being two days late."
This family visitation event organized by the aerospace department had ten spots in total, primarily for the families of the "Soushen" research staff. Yu Tu’s unit, 80x, as the lead development organization, secured three spots, while the other seven family members came from various other research institutes involved in the project across the country.A dedicated WeChat group had been created for the family members involved in this event to facilitate communication. However, the aerospace personnel were not added to the group, as the launch mission was imminent, and excessive chat messages might disturb them.
Replies quickly flooded the group.
"My granddaughter called me this morning asking if I'd gotten the autograph yet. Come quickly!" This was from Professor Zhao, the wife of Chief Scientist Xiao of the Shenzhou mission.
"Not late at all, you haven't missed the launch." This was from Brother Wang, a male family member from Tianjin.
Qiao Jingjing replied to each of them individually before putting away her phone and heading with Xiao Zhu and Ling Jie to collect their luggage.
The drive from Meilan Airport to Wenchang would take over an hour. Ling Jie had arranged the car in advance. Once inside, Qiao Jingjing checked her phone—Yu Tu still hadn’t replied, likely busy with work. Meanwhile, the group chat had several new messages, mostly welcoming her, except for one.
"Coming a couple of days later is just fine. There’s not much to do anyway—feels like we’re just here to do laundry."
Qiao Jingjing was slightly taken aback. She recognized the speaker—Xiao Li, the wife of Xiao Hu, Yu Tu’s colleague at the same research institute. They had met a few times over the years at gatherings, and she remembered her as a shy, quiet girl, but this comment carried a hint of resentment.
However, with staff and other family members in the group, such a remark seemed somewhat inappropriate.
Sure enough, after she spoke, the chat fell silent for a while. It took several minutes before a staff member stepped in to smooth things over.
"Once the mission is over, there will definitely be time for everyone to enjoy themselves with their families. Teacher Qiao, are you sure you don’t need us to pick you up from the airport?"
Qiao Jingjing replied, "Just finished collecting my luggage. No need to trouble yourselves. I have a ride. Please just meet me at the base entrance."
Staff: "Of course."
The driver followed the navigation provided by the staff and arrived at a relatively remote gate of the Wenchang Launch Base. As the gate came into view and the car began to slow, Xiao Zhu, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, Jingjing, Teacher Yu is here to pick you up!"
"Oh? How does he have time?" Qiao Jingjing asked in surprise, rolling down the window. Sure enough, she spotted Yu Tu’s tall, straight figure at the base entrance. He noticed them too and started walking toward the car.
The car came to a stop, and Qiao Jingjing eagerly jumped out, throwing her arms around Yu Tu as he reached the vehicle. "How did you manage to come? Aren’t you busy today?"
Yu Tu caught her. "I happened to have some free time."
Ling Jie, watching from behind, couldn’t help but cough lightly, reminding her that the soldiers guarding the base entrance were watching.
Yu Tu smiled and thanked Ling Jie and Xiao Zhu. "Ling Jie, Xiao Zhu, thank you for your help."
Ling Jie said, "No trouble at all. We’re here on vacation in Hainan too."
Xiao Zhu nodded enthusiastically. "Jingjing said she’d cover our expenses."
Qiao Jingjing retorted, "When have I ever not covered your travel expenses?"
Xiao Zhu immediately showered her with praise. "Long live the boss! May you have a happy union for a hundred years."
Yu Tu chuckled. "Xiao Zhu is getting livelier."
Ling Jie briefly outlined their plans. "A’guo has already arrived in Sanya with the kids and Xiao Zhu’s mom. We’ll spend a few days in Sanya and then come over to watch the launch. I saw the official announcement yesterday—it’s scheduled for Saturday evening, right? This launch seems to be getting a lot of attention. I heard CCTV might even broadcast it live."Xiao Zhu said, "It's just that we can't watch from inside the launch site like Jingjing."
"There are several good viewing spots in the town." Yu Tu recommended a few places.
Ling Jie asked, "Can we watch from the hotel?"
"Probably yes."
"That's good, I'll confirm with the hotel later. Alright, we're leaving now." She was in a hurry to meet up with her husband and child.
Qiao Jingjing waved cheerfully to see them off.
After Ling Jie and Xiao Zhu left, Yu Tu pulled the suitcase and brought Qiao Jingjing to the security checkpoint at the entrance. Due to the classified nature of the aerospace base, it was guarded by military personnel. Qiao Jingjing handed her ID card to the young soldier at the checkpoint, while Yu Tu registered in the visitor log.
After verifying the ID, the soldier returned it to Qiao Jingjing. Before Yu Tu finished registering, the soldier glanced at her several times, finally blushing and unable to hold back, saying, "Miss Qiao, I grew up watching your TV dramas."
Qiao Jingjing: "...Thank you."
Ouch, that hurt, young man.
Yu Tu laughed shamelessly beside her. Qiao Jingjing secretly kicked him, while Yu Tu, still registering with his head down, skillfully performed micro-dodging to avoid her. After finishing the registration and returning the log, he politely thanked the soldier on her behalf: "Thank you for your support."
The soldier's face turned even redder as he waved awkwardly, "No need, no need."
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
Sigh~ Young man, how will you ever find a girlfriend like this?
Feeling defeated, Qiao Jingjing listlessly followed Yu Tu through security, but soon perked up again. She discovered that Yu Tu had actually driven a convertible electric vehicle to pick her up.
It was the kind of tourist sightseeing vehicle commonly seen at scenic spots that can seat over a dozen people!
It felt pretty cool.
Qiao Jingjing immediately climbed into the front passenger seat, "How did you manage to get such a vehicle to pick me up?"
"Just borrowed whatever was available." Yu Tu placed her suitcase in the back row, then took out a large straw hat he had prepared earlier after sitting in the driver's seat. "For sun protection."
Teacher Yu must be the fastest-learning straight man in the world. Satisfied, Qiao Jingjing put the straw hat on her head and urged him, "Let's go, let's go, driver guide."
The sightseeing vehicle leisurely drove along the broad coconut tree-lined avenue. With blue skies and white clouds above, gentle sea breezes blowing, and green lawns and coconut trees as far as the eye could see, Qiao Jingjing leaned back comfortably in her seat, feeling all the fatigue from days of filming vanish, her whole body and mind feeling relaxed.
"This place is just like a tourist attraction."
"This base actually serves both tourism and science education functions."
"Guide, you're quite negligent, not even giving me an introduction."
"Oh." Guide Yu responded and began reciting information, "Wenchang Space Launch Site is one of China's four major launch sites, and the only low-latitude launch site..."
Qiao Jingjing: "...I already read all that on Baidu!"
Yu Tu: "The cafeteria is really delicious."
Qiao Jingjing: "What else?"
Yu Tu: "I'm going to launch the Search for Gods spacecraft into space from here."
He drove while looking ahead, a faint smile on his lips and full of confidence between his brows. Looking at him, Qiao Jingjing felt her own spirit surge with emotion, "Alright, then this is my favorite launch site!"
Pointing at the huge steel structure standing in the distance, she asked, "Is that the launch tower?"
"That's the Long March 5 launch tower, the other one is for Long March 7.""What are those two tall white buildings?"
"Assembly and testing facilities."
Amid her incessant stream of questions, the sightseeing vehicle turned into a narrower road. The coconut groves on either side seemed denser here, tranquil and secluded. Qiao Jingjing quieted down, asking after a moment, "Are there surveillance cameras around here?"
The sightseeing vehicle suddenly slowed down, gradually coming to a stop by the roadside.
Qiao Jingjing turned her head in confusion. "Why are we stopping... Mph..."
Her lips were abruptly sealed as Yu Tu leaned over, one hand holding down her straw hat while the other pressed against her hand, kissing her deeply yet tenderly.
She struggled half-heartedly. "What are you doing?"
Yu Tu broke away just enough to answer, his voice slightly hoarse. "Wasn't this what you meant when you asked about surveillance cameras?"
...Well, maybe just a little bit, but how did you catch on so quickly?!
In her dazed state, Qiao Jingjing murmured, "So are there any?"
"Of course there are," Chief Engineer Yu said. "We're a confidential facility."
Qiao Jingjing glared at him, then pulled him close with determination, actively returning his kiss with one of her own.
Well, if it's confidential... then what's there to worry about?!
OpenNovel