There are Always Variables in Life
Everest Restaurant was far away from the commercial center and residential area. It was located on a mountain by the river. The surrounding environment was tranquil.
Luo Lan sat on the log terrace and enjoyed the scenery.
Under the terrace were lush trees, when the wind blows, the shadows of the trees would whirl and rustle. In the distance, there were mountains and a large river that meanders and surges endlessly. The river was sparkling, and two moons hung in the sky, one in the east and one in the west, adding radiance and beauty to each other. They were Alikarta’s famous Gemini satellites.
Luo Lan retracted her gaze, opened the StarNet, and waited for Qian Xu while swiping through the forum.
To her surprise, the hot post on the front page of the forum was a photo of Feng Lin and Chu Mo shaking hands and looking at each other, with the headline: Male god + Female Goddess, please be together!
Luo Lan couldn’t help but break into laughter. She clicked the post and found that it was a video. The video started with Chu Mo coming to greet Feng Lin after the conference, and it ended with Feng Lin’s confident counterattack.
The person who recorded the video should be a doctor or researcher that attended the conference. They blurred the time and place, and they changed the background to a brightly lit and bustling city night in order not to violate the confidentiality regulations, but it only helped to highlight the self-confidence and domineering persona of the two people. It also seems to imply how their conversation affected countless people.
The comment section underneath was full of howls and cries.
“There is no question needed! No doubt Duke Feng Lin is the dominant one in their relationship!”
““For the sake of the Federation, please continue to love each other passionately!”
“I suddenly want to be a genetic researcher. Is it too late to change careers now?”
…..
…..
…..
Luo Lan was bubbling with happiness. When she raised her head from her personal terminal, she found that Qian Xu was already sitting across her, looking at her quietly with a smile.
Luo Lan hurriedly turned off the StarNet, “Why don’t you call me when you arrived?”
“Seeing you smiling happily, I don’t want to disturb you.”
Luo Lan clicked the tabletop and a 3D image of the menu appeared, “What should we eat?”
“What would you like to eat?”
Luo Lan said shyly, “Their signature dish. I want to see which one is tastier, the one made by me or by the chef.”
“It just happens to be my favorite food.” Qian Xu ordered the Eight-Treasure Winter Melon Soup, Soup Dumplings[1], and the herbal tea recommended by the chef. The tea could be drunk while waiting for the dishes.
Luo Lan took the tea and sincerely thanked Qian Xu from the bottom of her heart, “Thank you!”
Qian Xu smiled and took a sip from his tea. “You said you have the answer?”
“Mn! In the past ten years, you never asked me about it again. I thought you already forgot. I didn’t expect you to know what I was talking about when I mentioned it today.”
“You’ve been trying hard to find the answer. How could I forget?”
That’s right! For the past ten years, she dared not waste a single day because she wanted to find the answer. Luo Lan put both hands on her knees and sat very straight, “It took me ten years, but now I can finally give the answer to your question at the beginning.”
Qian Xu asked, “Do you like Alikarta?”
Luo Lan said without hesitation, “Like!” For ten years, she had created many beautiful memories. Before, she was filled with unfamiliarity. Now, she was filled with love for this beautiful star.
Qian Xu was quiet for a moment and continued to ask, “Are you willing to settle here?”
“I am willing!” In the vast sea of stars, she finally found her home. The corners of Luo Lan’s lips slowly curved and a smile bloomed on her face, like a flower blooming in the spring breeze.
Qian Xu said cautiously, “When you do your research, you must need sufficient observation samples to draw a conclusion. Don’t you need to go to another planet for it?”
Luo Lan raised her head and looked at the twinkling stars in the sky. “I may need to go to other planets and they may be more beautiful than here, but they don’t have you.” She tilted her head, looked at Qian Xu with a smile, and pointed to her heart, “My heart tells me that it wants to stay here, continue to do what it likes, and continue to be with the people it likes.”
“As a scientist, you should understand that the human heart has no thoughts.”
“But they have feelings, very loyal and steadfast feelings even! Otherwise, why do patients that have allogeneic organ transplantation need to find a matching donor so as to not have a rejection reaction?”
Qian Xu was helpless. “Does your goddess boss know you are so skilled at speaking nonsense?”
“Mn! She even appreciates me very much!” Luo Lan was very proud. “For scientists, out-of-the-box thinking is very important!”
Qian Xu shook his head and smiled with fondness. He raised his teacup, and solemnly said, “Welcome to Alikarta!”
Luo Lan clinked her teacup with Qian Xu’s and said, “Thank you!”
————·————·————
After dinner, the two of them went to the parking lot to pick up their cars.
While Luo Lan put her parking card on the parking server, she commented, ”The price is very expensive. However, the servers are real people and not robots so the service is very considerate. The taste is worthy of its name. It makes sense they price it like that.”
The parking server confirmed their identity. On the parking lot conveyor belt, Qian Xu’s and Luo Lan’s car appear in the lane at the same time.
Qian Xu said, “Send me your address, I’ll escort you home.”
“No need, no need! I’ll just go back by myself. It’s quite late now, it would be inconvenient for you to send me home!”
Luo Lan was very afraid of Qian Xu knowing her residence. Luckily for her, Qian Xu didn’t insist.
He accompanied Luo Lan to her car. “Automatic driving is not 100% safe. Learn to drive manually when you have time.”
Luo Lan stood by the open door, smiled and turned her head, and was about to speak. Suddenly, Qian Xu put his arm around Luo Lan’s waist and protected Luo Lan’s head with the other, and he pulled Luo Lan to the car.
The two of them tumbled inside and fell on the seat of the car, their bodies and cheeks were so close to each other. Luo Lan’s eyes widened, her face full of confusion, “You…”
A bullet flew over Qian Xu’s head and hit the car.
Luo Lan recovered and immediately shouted, “Take off!”
After the zhi nao received the master’s order, the car door closed automatically with a brush. The remaining bullets were blocked outside and hit the car with a loud bang.
The car took off unsteadily and a black car came crashing over. The zhi nao‘s was set to prioritize safety and dodged immediately. Luo Lan’s car staggered. The black car continued to hit Luo Lan’s car without slowing down.
“Sit down!”
Qian Xu turned over and sat in the driver’s seat. He turned on manual driving and the car’s speed rapidly improved. The car leaned sideways, brushed past the black car, and rose into the sky.
Qian Xu glanced at Luo Lan and saw that she had fastened her seat belt, “Have you ever tried speeding before?”
“Never.”
Qian Xu smiled, “Congratulations on your first experience, then!”
Qian Xu turned on all engines, in a short while the car’s speed increased even more. The car flew forward like a ray of light. However, the black car was a modified car comparable to the military car. The black car was close behind them, constantly squeezing and hitting Luo Lan’s car.
There were dangers everywhere, and it seemed that the car would be destroyed and they could die at any time.
She was not sure whether it was because she was too nervous or the ride was too bumpy. Luo Lan’s stomach spasmed and she felt like she could vomit at any moment.
Qian Xu gave Luo Lan a glance, “The first time I participated in an Interstellar war, my reaction was similar to yours.”
“What? Aren’t you a civilian that studied tactics? How can you participate in Interstellar war?” Luo Lan was so surprised that she forgot her urge to vomit.
“Even in Odin Federation, it’s still impossible to waste a level A physical ability soldier to be a civilian! I used to be a soldier in a special ops team on a starship. I became a civilian only after I fell ill.”
Luo Lan immediately believed it because he drove the car like a soldier driving a battle-plane. In the rain of bullets, he could drove fast, dodge smoothly, and chat with her calmly, as if they were having a tour, and not in danger at all.
“How did you overcome your fear?”
“The veterans relentlessly humiliated and teased me. I was afraid of losing face and had to hold on. Later…” The car suddenly turned to the side. Luo Lan looked at his side face, with a beautiful nose and jaw. As firm as a mountain with unwavering determination. “When I saw the veterans who made fun of us being blown up, there was only sadness and anger.”
The car stabilized. Qian Xu’s face turned pale and his hand holding the steering wheel was trembling. He pulled out a small syringe from his pocket.
The shrill siren sounded and a police car appeared.
Luo Lan breathed a sigh of relief. “They are always late, but it’s better than not appearing at all.”
“Illegal driving detected, please pull up immediately for an inspection!” Two cannons were raised on both sides of the police car, aimed at Luo Lan’s car.
Qian Xu gave a glance at the police car and stared, “It’s fake police! That’s PK320. Alikarta’s current police car should be PK420.”
“What?” Luo Lan was dumbfounded.
The black car was behind them and the fake police car was in front of them. They were stuck in the middle and had no way to escape.
“What to do?”
“Play along” Qian Xu smiled at Luo Lan, very calmly, and Luo Lan also calmed down.
Qian Xu followed the instructions of the police car and parked their car on an empty slope.
In the car, Luo Lan bent over and looked around, hoping to find a weapon. Qian Xu put a gun in Luo Lan’s hand, “I have notified Feng Lin and An Na. They will arrive as soon as possible. No matter what happens later, hide in the car and don’t go out.”
“How about you?”
“No matter who threatens your life, shoot immediately! Remember! No matter who! Don’t hesitate!” Qian Xu didn’t answer, but his eyes were dark and bright, indifferent and passionate. His gaze was strange, just like a black hole that should have swallowed everything, but emits bright light like a star.
Luo Lan noticed that his complexion was pale, his fingers were a little strange, and his nails seemed to be getting sharp. She was taken aback. Just as she was about to take a closer look, Qian Xu had pulled away, pushed open his door, and got out of the car.
The door closes and it automatically locks itself.
Luo Lan kept hitting the car window and shouted, “Qian Xu! Qian Xu…”
Footnotes
冬瓜八宝盅 (dōngguā bā bǎo zhōng a.ka Eight-Treasure Winter Melon Soup) and 小笼包 (xiǎo lónɡ bāo a.ka Soup Dumplings). Eight-Treasure Winter Melon Soup is a seasonal summer dish, it’s made from fresh river prawns, chicken, roast duck meat, and other ingredients in a bowl of winter melon while xiaolongbao is a steamed dumpling consisting of a paper-thin wrapper enveloping a filling (usually seasoned pork) and hot, flavorful soup. Picture in Attachments.↵
Attachments
Amoeba’s Corner
Go get your man, Luo Lan! ಥ◡ಥ)
There is a deleted passage from the online novel version in this section. It will appear in a later chapter though.
On this part
That’s right! For the past ten years, she dared not waste a single day because she wanted to find the answer. Luo Lan put both hands on her knees and sat very straight, “It took me ten years, but now I can finally give the answer to your question at the beginning.”
In the online novel version
That’s right! For the past ten years, she dared not waste a single day because she wanted to find the answer.
Ten years ago, she planned that she would fly away like the real princess Luo Lan and leave Odin forever after she had the ability to settle down on her own. However, ten years later, she, who already had the ability to settle down on her own and obviously had many opportunities to escape quietly, gave up her original plan… Because of the warm Qian Xu, the friendly Feng Lin, and her colleagues who had worked together with her…
Luo Lan put both hands on her knees and sat very straight, “It took me ten years, but now I can finally give the answer to your question at the beginning.”
I still prefer the published book version~
That’s it for today! See you next update! The next chapter will be short. With only ~1k words, yay for me.
This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1967
“I may need to go to other planets and they may be more beautiful than here, but they don’t have you.” It feels almost like Luo Lan is declaring her love for QX…
Is Qian Xu mutating into a beast?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Uuugghhh Qian Xuuuuu