Farewell, Homeland

Chapter 50: Farewell, Homeland.

The next morning, four o'clock.

Zhang Yuan awoke from his sleep. He'd actually slept pretty well the night before.

He couldn't quite tell whether he'd experienced happy times or painful ones.

He stroked the girl's soft hair, preparing to leave.

The feeling was strange, and not very pleasant.

After getting dressed, Zhang Yuan wrote a line on the note by the bed: "I'm leaving. Goodbye."

"Hope you have a happy life and live to be two hundred."

He glanced back at the girl, still fast asleep, then turned and left the room.

In truth, Han Ziyue had woken up long ago. She had just buried her face in the pillow and cried in secret, unable to stop.

Some things were clear, but when they actually happened, they still hurt.

Was it like a moth flying into a flame?

Unable to stop herself, she had thrown herself into it and burned to ashes...

It was still early. The sun had yet to rise in the east, and the streets and alleys were deserted.

Strangely, a little yellow dog followed right behind Zhang Yuan, keeping close to his heels. Judging by its fur and size, it was probably a stray. It was very thin and didn't seem to have a good life.

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, then bought two sausages from a nearby vending machine and fed them to the poor little dog.

Unexpectedly, after eating, it trotted along behind him again, as if it knew who was kind to it and who wasn't.

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Yuan returned to his dorm room, gathered all his luggage, and carefully cleaned the room he'd lived in for nineteen days.

So many stories had unfolded here, memories that were hard to forget. These were the last moments of his life on Earth.

The little dog kept lying at the door, watching him.

Zhang Yuan smiled. "I'll give you a quick bath. If I get your fur cleaned up, maybe the city patrol won't beat you to death if they catch you. And if you look presentable, maybe some beautiful girl will take you in. The girls around here are all very kind..."

The little dog was very obedient. Its tail wagged nonstop while he bathed it.

Zhang Yuan guessed someone must have abandoned the dog here; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so well-behaved.

After that, once he'd finished bathing it, there wasn't anything more he could do for it.

He closed the dorm door and picked up all his luggage to leave. The dog continued to follow him.

He tried feeding it the remaining sausages, but it wouldn't eat. It just quietly followed him.

At last, he was about to leave through the school gates.

Zhang Yuan said, "It'll be even more dangerous if you go into the city. You're better off staying at school. You can find food here, and no one will beat you to death."

His efforts to persuade it failed.

Zhang Yuan crouched down and picked up a stone, pretending he was going to hit it.

The dog finally stopped. It just sat there, as if stunned, its dull little head unable to understand how the same person who'd fed it a moment ago could now be threatening to hit it.

Zhang Yuan turned around, feeling a little sorry. Maybe this dog had once placed its hopes in him, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't promise it something he couldn't deliver.

Whether it was a human life or a dog's life, that was how things went. You had to get used to being let down, being alone, being cast out, wandering, and being abandoned.

That was life.

Watching it turn and head back onto campus, Zhang Yuan let out a slight sigh of relief and sent a text: "Li Zhendong, are you awake? Where are you?"

"I'm in the cafeteria, eating breakfast. You think I'm like you, hooking up with random people? Your last night on Earth was pretty indulgent, huh? Such a beautiful girl... Whoa!" Li Zhendong rattled on and on.

"Bring me two buns."

When they met, Li Zhendong had a knowing, gossipy look on his face.

"So, how was it? Was it as amazing as you hoped?"

"It wasn't like that. Come on." Zhang Yuan was in no mood to talk and couldn't be bothered to say more.

Dragging his suitcase, he made his way to the check-in area, passing one security checkpoint after another.

Security for the space elevator was strict, a bit like the airport checks of old. Liquids, flammable or explosive items, and sharp objects weren't allowed. They also had several rounds of medical examinations, and people with certain serious contagious diseases weren't permitted aboard the spacecraft.

Once they passed the medical examination, the staff quickly assigned them to a space-elevator departure group.

[ID number 330841244... Zhang Yuan, your seat is 17-3-D. Your elevator batch is 2264-8-3-1246...]

Zhang Yuan turned and asked, "Didn't your family come to see you off?"

Li Zhendong laughed heartily. "No... My mom would cry if she saw me off. Better not to let her come."

"Right."

Many messages had already come in on his phone.

"Have a smooth journey, Zhang Yuan!"

"Let's meet up on the spacecraft!"

"Safe travels!"

Zhang Yuan had received all kinds of well-wishes from friends and relatives, but none from Han Ziyue. Maybe she was still asleep. Or maybe, just as she'd said last night, there was no future for them anyway, so there was no need to stay in touch. Let last night become their most vivid memory.

"Ding-dong—Passengers in batch 1246G, please note: the space elevator you'll be taking is about to start..."

As time ticked by, he didn't dare dawdle and joined the line.

All the astronauts were quiet. Behind him, Li Zhendong hung his head, lost in thought.

Zhang Yuan looked up at the endless sky. It was gray and dim, with just a sliver of light showing.

"...The space elevator is 36,000 kilometers long, more than 4,000 times the height of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak... Its main material is carbon nanotubes, with a tensile strength of 62,000 MPa. Its breaking length under Earth's gravity is 46,000 kilometers, making it more than capable of supporting a space elevator..."

"...Humanity is small, and yet humanity is great. Technology changes the world; science and technology shape the future!"

A documentary played on a loop across a large screen, keeping the people in line entertained.

In sharp contrast was the queue of tourists about to head into space for fun. Men and women screamed and cheered. For them, this was one of the most memorable and pride-inspiring trips of their lives. The tourists chatted and gushed, praising the greatest structure in human history.

"...Before long, we will usher in an unprecedented era of interstellar travel."

Zhang Yuan had watched this documentary countless times. He could practically recite every line.

Yet he watched it from beginning to end once more, paying close attention. This would probably be the last time in his life.

So many memories... Every little detail was filled with them.

This was his home planet, forever his home planet.

"Beep." He passed through the gate.

"Have a smooth journey."

The electronic voice was as cold as ever, and it didn't sound any more pleasant this time.

When he reached that corner, Zhang Yuan couldn't help wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

Then he wiped them a second time.

It was the exact same gesture Ye Kaifu had made back then.

A tear welled up in his eye and ran down his cheek, falling to the ground.

Once they took that step, they would no longer belong to Earth.

Farewell.

Homeland.