Chapter 46

Song Qian felt a wave of dizziness.

This wasn’t a science outreach for the Chang’e lunar mission at all.

This was clearly her daughter herself wanting to emulate Chang’e, steal the elixir, and fly to the moon!

The thought of her daughter so resolutely leaving her turned her earlier rage into ice water poured over her head—fire and water clashed, her mind buzzed just like her daughter’s had, leaving her dazed.

That’s not right!

She knew her outbursts made her daughter unhappy, but she had long grown accustomed to the whip-and-carrot method to control her.

When they got home, she’d buy a projector and turn the house into an astronomy museum atmosphere, becoming her daughter’s audience herself; if that wasn’t enough, she’d call in her private tutoring students—three of them—to be her daughter’s audience too.

Then her daughter would surely feel the depth of her maternal love.

Given her daughter’s tender heart for her mother, this whole episode would be forgotten.

But what was happening now?

“Let go of Yingzi!” Song Qian was stunned, but Qiao Weidong wasn’t—he saw what his daughter had done and forgot all about confronting his ex-wife, sprinting over in three strides, moving so fast he nearly became Bai Zhantang with martial arts surpassing Bai Chuxiang, his face twisted with anguish, worry, and fury.

As he often told his daughter, after so many years since divorcing his ex-wife, he never got angry when she lashed out at him every time they met, because she had given him this brilliant, beautiful daughter.

He sincerely thanked her, so he tolerated her.

Now his precious little cotton-padded jacket had been publicly taken advantage of by this boy!

The old father’s heart was shattered!

“Qiao Uncle, don’t lie with your eyes wide open!” He Chen teased, gesturing with both arms fully extended—a clear, unambiguous posture of avoidance.

“...Yingzi, get down!” Qiao Weidong hesitated—he knew this wasn’t He Chen’s fault, but he still shot a glare at He Chen, who looked like he was taking advantage and pretending innocence, then pulled his daughter while whispering soothing words.

“No!” After venting her rage and seeing her mother stunned into silence, Yingzi snapped back to her senses from the impulse of extreme pressure; reason and shame reclaimed her higher faculties, and not knowing how to retreat, she simply tucked her neck, buried her face in He Chen’s chest, and muffled her refusal to her father’s pleas for her to face everyone.

“Let’s go outside first!” He Chen saw Yingzi’s grip was strong—he knew she wanted to cling like a koala to avoid the situation—and reminded the anxious Qiao Weidong, stepping toward the hall’s exit, his casual demeanor making it easy to forget he was still carrying a living person.

Qiao Weidong could only follow.

Song Qian also came to her senses and hurried after them.

In a secluded spot, seeing Song Qian open her mouth to cry and scold again, He Chen directly borrowed Yingzi’s earlier “Bai family classic” line: “Don’t push me! Don’t push me!”

As he spoke, he pretended to wrap his arms around Yingzi still clinging to him—Qiao Weidong instantly grabbed his wrist and shouted at his ex-wife: “Talk properly! Don’t push Yingzi!”

"The re-entry capsule has successfully landed on Earth. Astronaut Yingzi is preparing to exit the cabin!" He Chen patted Yingzi’s back and teased: "Will you choose a Chinese-style exit or an American-style exit?"

Pfft!

Yingzi, still ashamed of her bold act after venting, burst out laughing at He Chen’s words.

As a space enthusiast determined to join China’s space program and participate in the Chang’e lunar missions and even broader cosmic endeavors, Yingzi knew every space story inside out—she understood He Chen was mocking the U.S. moon landing conspiracy.

Using it here was perfect and amusing.

It instantly cheered her up, even overshadowing her shame, and her legs stopped trembling.

She slid off He Chen’s body—the “re-entry capsule”—and though her physical state better matched the scientific reality of a Chinese-style exit, thinking of facing her parents behind her, she chose the “highly sci-fi” American-style exit.

That meant completely ignoring the effects of microgravity on astronauts—bone loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular changes, vestibular system disruption—and simply walking out briskly without being carried or wheelchairs.

Yingzi didn’t even wait—she bolted away the moment her feet touched the ground.

Song Qian forgot about confronting He Chen and rushed after her.

Qiao Weidong did too, but He Chen blocked him—he nearly laughed in disbelief: “I’m not even mad at you, and you’re stopping me?”

His little cabbage had been stolen by a pig—the old father’s heart ached painfully.

“Qiao Uncle, stop joking—this is serious!” He Chen said seriously: “Don’t you realize? Yingzi’s state is dangerous!”

“Who’s joking?” Qiao Weidong didn’t realize how often he looked ridiculous in He Chen’s eyes—he thought of the funny Bai Zhantang and snapped back, but instantly tensed at the next words.

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you see?” He Chen warned: “Yingzi’s been pushed to the brink by her mother. This time she just took advantage of me—next time, I dare not imagine what she’ll do!”

You should be grateful this landing had me as your re-entry capsule.”

“No… no way!” Qiao Weidong understood He Chen’s implication, his face paled, unwilling to accept the possibility.

But reason told him He Chen’s words weren’t impossible—this wasn’t even new; didn’t it happen every year?

“My Yingzi wouldn’t…”

He said it aloud, yet his eyes pleaded with He Chen, begging him to deny what he’d just said.

“...Hard to say,” He Chen shook his head: “With Gaosan pressure and a mother whose emotions are wildly unstable, constantly pressuring her—if no solution is found, it’s really hard to say.”

He had cultivated martial arts to mastery, his essence, energy, and spirit all elevated; his senses were razor-sharp—he could clearly sense Yingzi was on the edge of collapse, and one misstep might lead her to do something foolish.

Precisely because he sensed it so acutely, he had hesitated repeatedly.

If he had stopped her then, under everyone’s eyes, she might have overinterpreted it, and the wound to her heart would have been too deep—she might have stormed out past him, and in that state of piled-up grievance and rage, something unthinkable could have happened in an instant.

That was the real reason he ultimately chose not to dodge, letting Yingzi take advantage of him to vent and retaliate against Song Qian.

Slightly retaliating against Song Qian was merely secondary.

Qiao Weidong’s expression shifted—genuine fear gripped him.

Young people understood young people better, especially someone like He Chen—a teacher so perceptive he could cut through silence, who made his shattered daughter laugh with a single line.

Though that scene had stabbed his heart as a father, he had to seriously consider He Chen’s warning.

While he was pondering and asking He Chen what to do, Song Qian caught up with Yingzi; after they embraced and cried together in reconciliation, they walked hand in hand toward them—and seeing this, Song Qian’s already calmed emotions exploded again.

“Qiao Weidong, what are you doing?!!!”