Astronaut Training

In the height of summer, Xie Yuanxun was wearing a white suit like an oversized down jacket. He was swollen from head to toe, looking as though he had two quilts wrapped around him.

Song He carefully studied his face. The swelling was severe, and he looked a whole lot fatter.

"Old Xie, are you wearing a treatment suit? You just got back from space, and something's wrong with your body?" Song He asked.

"Yeah. I stayed in Space City's Weightless Street Cabin for too long. The medical examination found a bunch of minor problems. This suit is like a balloon—it lets me slowly get used to the pressure while wearing it." Xie Yuanxun nodded, picked up a cup of NFC Orange Juice, and handed it over. "Sister-in-law, have some orange juice."

Before Xiang Xiaotong could reach out to take it, Xie Yuanxun suddenly let go. A large bottle of orange juice smacked down onto Xiang Xiaotong's legs.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Xie Yuanxun jumped in fright. "I..."

"You're still not used to things after just getting back from space, are you?" Xiang Xiaotong said with a smile. She bent down to pick up the orange juice, not angry at all. "When did you get back?"

"The night before last. I'm really sorry. Up there, I got used to casually letting go of things, so they would float in the air." Xie Yuanxun smiled bitterly. "On my first day back, I dropped my phone twice and smashed a glass. That glass was a gift Yun Shui gave me, so she got furious and beat me up pretty badly. I had clearly gotten over it yesterday, but I was so groggy just now that I forgot again!"

Laughter filled the car, and the atmosphere was extremely cheerful.

"Teacher You, Song He and I were talking about you yesterday," Xiang Xiaotong said.

"Oh?" Drowsy, You Deyi immediately became much more alert. "What about me?"

"Back when you interviewed me, you said my talent was too great and that you were afraid of holding me back, so you didn't take me as a student." Xiang Xiaotong was curious. "Why were you so quick to accept Song He as a student later? Weren't you afraid of holding Song He back?"

"I thought my talent was better than hers?" Song He was curious too. "Why didn't you take her and take me instead?"

You Deyi laughed twice. "I thought it was something serious. You two are a married couple, and you actually discuss such a boring topic!"

"Both spouses are academics, and they're even in the same field. It's inevitable that they compare themselves to each other." Xie Yuanxun spoke with deep feeling. "Yun Shui is the same when she argues with me. Every time, she puts down my academic ability as inferior to hers and says my technical contributions to the company aren't as great as hers. She uses that to lord it over me until I have nothing to say."

"Is it boring? It's not boring at all. We find it pretty strange too, so please explain it to us!" Song He asked seriously.

"Song He, your talent is definitely stronger than Xiang Xiaotong's. And not just by a little—you leave her two streets behind." You Deyi smiled. "Why did I treat you differently? Because I don't think any teacher is qualified to be your long-term teacher!"

"Huh?" Song He was stunned.

"That's right. All teachers are only temporary stages for you. No teacher's level will determine your upper limit. Someone with your kind of talent can become successful entirely through self-study. That's my assessment of you. Since teachers won't affect you, I might as well teach you for a short time." You Deyi explained, "Xiang Xiaotong is different. Her talent is powerful, but not so powerful that she can completely disregard the quality of her teachers. Therefore, whether she can study under a top-tier teacher will determine her upper limit. I couldn't take up the time she needed to improve."

The married couple looked at each other, neither of them having expected such an answer. It seemed to make sense, yet something about it also felt strange.

Before the two could ask further, You Deyi spoke again.

"You two are planning to go to Space City for your wedding and honeymoon, right?"

"Yes!" The couple answered in unison.

"I have some very bad news to tell you. I only found out about this bad news ten minutes ago myself." You Deyi sighed. "Your space honeymoon might be ruined."

"How could that happen?" Song He asked in surprise. "Everything's already been arranged."

"There was an accident." You Deyi pulled his phone from his pocket, tapped it twice to open something, and held it out to them.