Cosmic Love Affair

Chapter 8 Kuiper Belt Eight

“Usually, our observation day schedule starts in the afternoon. The preparation takes a lot of time and is quite tedious,” Xie Li's voice echoed softly in the spacious observation tower.

Today, the original observation schedule was canceled to facilitate the visit of the sponsors. There were few people at the station, and it was very quiet. He actually had no idea how to give a tour, and the department had no specific instructions. So he just kept talking, circling around the telescope that the sponsors had paid for.

After all, they had come specifically to see this thing.

He approached the control panel and turned on the monitoring equipment: “First, we need to determine the coordinates of the observation target, then check the settings, adjust the wavelength, and look for a suitable observation coverage section...”

The control panel still had the observation records of the previous group of students. Xie Li glanced at the last set of observation coordinates and casually entered them.

Tan Ke was still dressed in formal attire today, standing behind and to the side of Xie Li, and he hadn't said much, just listening silently.

It was quite different from the way he had teased and mocked him in the car yesterday, and Xie Li muttered to himself while adjusting the equipment.

This guy seems like a human being when he wears a suit, but not when he doesn't. So the suit is the real him, huh? Xie Li silently complained.

“Then we take the test files for calibration,” Xie Li adjusted the coordinates and moved aside a bit to make it easier for the people next to him to see the screen, and he pointed to a picture next to it that was covered with bright stripes, saying, “The test files are something like this. Usually, we have to do it many times. The test data will be transmitted to the machine room downstairs, and then the system will provide the calibrated parameters based on the test data and feedback them back up.”

He felt that what he was talking about was really boring, but he had to continue. He looked up at the person next to him to see Tan Ke's reaction, but unexpectedly, Tan Ke's gaze was on his hand.

The red rash from yesterday had become worse, not only swelling in patches but also starting to seep out clear liquid.

Xie Li felt embarrassed and thought he was inconspicuously slowly pulling his hand back and hiding it behind his back.

So Tan Ke's gaze just shifted direction and fell straight on Xie Li's face.

The observation tower was dimly lit, with only a few low-pressure sodium lamps in the corners providing limited light.

Tan Ke stood with his hands in the pockets of his suit pants, his figure upright. His deep-set eyes looked very serious, and there was a bit of an indescribable meaning in them.

He looked down at Xie Li and said, “The flower you knocked over in the hotel yesterday is irritating to the skin. I wanted to tell you to wash your hands, but you left before I could finish. Then I asked the lobby manager to tell you to wash your hands, and he confirmed that he had passed on the message.”

He glanced behind Xie Li, his expression clearly saying, Is it that hard to wash your hands?

Xie Li didn't know what to say for a moment.

The scene yesterday was neither prepared nor anticipated by him; it was all due to Song Yi and this Mr. White Moon colliding with him.

Colliding was one thing, but he just had to overhear Song Yi talking nonsense, making his own act of clinging to a bowl and looking for a pot seem like he was doing some good deed.

Xie Li couldn't and wouldn't swallow this insult.

Breaking things and running away afterward were not his intentions at all. Was he supposed to just stand there and chat with them?

As for the message from the lobby manager, Shen Zhichuan was waiting for him in the parking lot at that time. How could he go to the restroom again?

Washing hands is not difficult, but no one told him what would happen if he didn't wash.

Xie Li felt wronged, but this sense of grievance was known only to himself and couldn't be clearly explained to anyone.

Whether it was Shen Zhichuan or anyone else, everyone was well-intentioned, except for himself who was the only one in the wrong.

But –

He thought angrily, even so, the pain was in his own body, and he never blamed anyone. Why should others still question him?

Xie Li didn't know what he looked like. He turned his head and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “I'll handle it myself, no need to worry.”

Tan Ke found it amusing again. The way Xie Li tensed the muscles of his cheek made him look like a pufferfish gradually inflating.

This young guy always made him want to laugh, and at this moment, there was an indescribable softness in this amusement.

So soft that it made his tone soften involuntarily as he said, “My aunt is very concerned about you. If you go to see her next time and it's still this serious, she will definitely worry.”

Xie Li didn't want this person to suddenly mention Professor Fang. He was taken aback and said, “Professor Fang, she really is your aunt? But her surname is Fang...”

He didn't finish, feeling it was inappropriate, like prying into privacy.

Tan Ke didn't mind and explained, “Because she took her grandmother's surname, while my father took his grandfather's.”

Xie Li responded with a dull "Oh," and had nothing more to say.

The atmosphere became awkward in the silence.

Tan Ke smiled and still spoke in a very gentle tone, suggesting, “Sorry to interrupt you, but shall we continue the tour now?”

Xie Li's sense of grievance was disrupted and now he just felt uncomfortable.

He pretended to look at the screen, took the opportunity to turn around, and abruptly changed the subject: “Ah, I was just talking about the test files. Usually, after the tests, we get ready to open the dome.”

He glanced at his watch: “It's just the right time now.”

Tan Ke's gaze remained fixed on Xie Li and never wavered.

Xie Li avoided it, left the control panel, and walked straight to the other side of the round tower, reaching for the thick dome switch lever that was about half an arm thick.

The switch was heavy, and Xie Li stood on his tiptoes, putting all his weight on it.

With a series of loud noises from the hinges and tracks rubbing against each other, a crack appeared in the round top of the observation tower, and the aluminum movable top gradually opened.

It was early April, just after five in the afternoon, and the sun was about to dip below the horizon.

The warm afterglow poured in in an instant.

The dim tower welcomed the golden twilight that lingered in the world, as well as the heat that had been bustling all day, along with the light and rich twilight, all pouring in together.

This was the gentlest moment that the blazing giant hanging billions of kilometers away gave to the Earth in a day.

Flocks of birds returning home swept across the sky, the smell of leaves and soil scattered around, and the warm wind blew in from the open top, gently brushing past.

All was silent in the valleys, and the slanting sun was near.

The huge telescope in front of him stretched its silver-gray body, with the tube pointing towards the sky, like an ambitious display, ready to spring into action.

Under the dome of the sky, all troubles and sorrows became insignificant.

"Every time I see the dome open, I feel a sense of excitement," Tan Ke walked up beside Xie Li and also looked at the sky outside the dome. "It's the same sky, but looking at it from here feels very different from standing outside and looking at the sky."

Xie Li didn't expect him to come over and say such a thing. He pondered these words in his heart and felt that it was indeed the case.

"Because we gaze at the sky with a purpose," Xie Li thought seriously and said, "Every time the dome opens, we hope to discover what we want from the vast and boundless dark universe."

Tan Ke glanced at him sideways. The young guy, looking at the sky, had a pious expression on his face that didn't quite match his age. It reminded him of the theistic researchers he had seen praying before the start of an experiment.

He felt as if a part of his heart had been gently plucked, causing him to involuntarily recall old memories.

So he said, "When I was in the laboratory facing the particle collider before, I seemed to have had this kind of feeling. Only our object was not the infinite universe, but particles."

Xie Li was quite surprised, and then he remembered that the dean had mentioned yesterday that this person was an alumnus with Shen Zhichuan. He suddenly became curious: "You used to be..."

Tan Ke smiled, "I used to work in high-energy physics."

Xie Li let out a soft "Oh," and then another question arose in his heart, how did he become a businessman now?

But he didn't ask it out loud.

Because he noticed that Tan Ke was looking at him.

As their eyes met, Xie Li felt his face suddenly burning hot.

He fled from the man's side, walked to the control panel, and blurted out randomly, "The observation conditions on Xiaosu Mountain are very good, and the light pollution is not severe. Thank you for your donation and contribution to scientific development."

As soon as he finished speaking, he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. What was he even talking about?

When Tan Ke and Xie Li came out of the observatory one after the other, Xiao Assistant was anxiously waiting in front of the car, constantly checking his watch.

Tan Ke had a meeting with the investment team in Phoenix City at six-thirty in the evening. It was almost six now, and they hadn't come out yet.

Xiao Assistant's original plan was good. Tan Ke's tour would take at most half an hour, and they could head back at half past five, just in time to avoid the rush hour.

But who would have thought that just looking at a telescope, the boss would stay inside for an hour.

Was he a primary school student visiting a science museum?

As soon as Xiao Assistant saw Tan Ke, he immediately went up to him: "Mr. Tan, it's already six o'clock. If we don't leave now, we'll be late."

Tan Ke then said to Xie Li next to him, "You can ride with us."

Without a second thought, Xie Li shook his head to refuse immediately.

Tan Ke said, "The hospital is right next to our company. You should go there and check your hand." He glanced again at Xie Li's hand, which was hidden behind his back, "You've delayed for so long, just applying ointment by yourself probably won't do."

Xie Li was about to refuse again, but Tan Ke interrupted him forcefully, "It's settled then, get in the car."

Xiao Assistant didn't know the situation, but since the boss had spoken, he quickly and tactfully opened the rear car door, inviting Xie Li to get in.

Not knowing how to refuse anymore, Xie Li complied.

Once in the car, he sat awkwardly on the fully enveloping leather seat.

The seat was designed as if it were a seductive enchantress, making one involuntarily lean back once seated.

Since getting in the car, Tan Ke hadn't spoken to him anymore. He took the notebook handed to him by the assistant from the front, tapping away while conversing with the person in front. The content was all financial jargon that Xie Li couldn't understand.

Xie Li hadn't rested well these past two days, and today had been a day of mental strain and running around. Now that he was suddenly seated, all his fatigue came rushing over him. He stared out the window, struggling to keep his eyelids open to stay awake.

The black Bentley stopped in front of the hospital's outpatient department, and all three people in the car looked at Xie Li.

Xie Li was fast asleep, leaning against the car window, completely oblivious, with something suspiciously shiny at the corner of his mouth.

Tan Ke let out a chuckle from his throat, somewhat helplessly saying, "Forget it, let's just head to the company."