Rising early the next morning.
It was their fourth day at home. Early that morning, Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Rusty Sister all had to head out to the nearby Azure base for their final replacement of medical dressings and treatment for their injuries.
In all likelihood, this would be the last time they saw Zhe Qiuhong.
After today, they would head to the Moon to join the battle. Once there, no one knew whether they would ever return, and Zhe Qiuhong's Project Fireseed might also be put into motion in the near future.
By rights, there should have been some reluctant, heartfelt farewells. After all, they had been friends for so many years and had spent long periods together; almost everyone in the Stream Vanguard core group had received Doctor Zhe's care and help. Zhe Qiuhong had even single-handedly dragged He Tangtang and Yang Qingbai back from the brink of death.
Yet none of that actually happened. The awkward proposal Zhe Qiuhong had raised earlier, coupled with the ever-expectant look in her eyes, made it impossible for the atmosphere to settle into anything remotely warm or tender.
And so it went, right until each of their treatments was finished, when the three of them—as if by unspoken agreement—each offered a separate: "Thank you. Sorry for all the trouble over the years," along with a, "Have a safe journey."
Yet Zhe Qiuhong's response to each of them was entirely identical: "No need for thanks. In the little time left, give some serious thought to my proposal and request. If you truly wish to thank me, you had best do so through that."
Han Qingyu: "..."
Wu Xu: "..."
Rusty Sister: "..."
***
Meanwhile, Wen Jifei also went out that day. In the morning, shortly after Han Qingyu and the others left for the Azure base, he dragged Yang Qingbai along, borrowed a military jeep, and drove off.
He was going to bid farewell to his family as well.
Originally, he had thought of doing just what Yang Qingbai did—saying everything over the phone and leaving it at that. But perhaps swayed by the atmosphere at Qingzi's house over the past two days, Wen Jifei ultimately decided to go back and see them one last time.
"We're so close by, after all. If I didn't go, it wouldn't sit right," Wen Jifei said to Yang Qingbai—or perhaps to himself.
A few years ago, when the civilization war was revealed to the public and Wen Jifei's fame began to soar, his parents and their respective new families had moved back to this small county town they had left more than twenty years before, almost as if competing with each other in who could get back first.
Because Fenglong'ao was located here, and because the world-renowned friendship between Wen Jifei and Han Qingyu was rooted in this soil, the sense of security this small county town offered under the threat of doomsday was unmatched anywhere else.
Over the years, both households had truly felt the immense influence of Stream Vanguard and Wen Jifei.
Their lives here had always enjoyed special protection from personnel stationed nearby by Azure and Stream Vanguard. On a social level, it brought them endless pride and prestige.
And yet the son both sides had chosen to let go of back then, leaving him behind without taking him along—that very "Xiao Fei" who had ultimately brought them all this—had hardly ever returned afterward.
"Give me directions. Which side first?" Yang Qingbai asked from behind the wheel as they approached the county town.
"Just keep driving. I'll tell you when to turn." As Wen Jifei spoke, he suddenly chuckled to himself. "There's no need to fuss over which side to visit first anyway. Ever since they moved back, they've lived very close to each other, right in the same urban village."
His paternal and maternal grandparents had all passed away many years ago, and the old houses they left behind sat in the very same urban village. When the two families moved back a few years ago, his father had taken his new family to live in the old house left by his paternal grandfather, while his mother's family moved into his maternal grandfather's old place.
"Funny thing is, back when I came back to the county on my own for school, I'd stay a few days at Grandma's, then a few days at Granny's, being raised by both sets of old folks together. Who would've thought that later on, both houses would end up occupied? Every time I had a chance to come back, I couldn't even drop by easily and had no choice but to keep freeloading at Qingzi's house."
As Wen Jifei spoke, he had Yang Qingbai pull over outside a shop at an intersection. He went in and bought some cigarettes, liquor, and tonics, then tossed them into the back seat.
"You're actually bringing gifts back? How courteous!" Yang Qingbai laughed, restarting the engine.
In just those few moments, someone in the shop had likely recognized Wen Jifei. A crowd was already pouring out from the storefront and along the street, shouting greetings and cheering for him.
"No, they're not for them." Wen Jifei leaned back against his seat. "In a bit, I want to go see my grandparents—both sides."
"Yeah, as you should." Yang Qingbai steered according to Wen Jifei's directions, making idle conversation. "By the way, are you close with your stepdad and stepmom?"
"I've seen them plenty of times, sure, but not really close." Wen Jifei's voice drifted, his memories wandering back to those days.
Back then, on the rare occasions he had to go to either household, what he feared most wasn't that he might enviously watch his half-brother and half-sister, nor was it that the kids, too young to understand, might suddenly ask, *Who are you? Why are you in my house?*
What he feared was seeing his father and stepmother, or his mother and stepfather, whispering in hushed tones behind his back, glancing over their shoulders to steal looks at him, watching his every move.
That feeling was utterly suffocating, truly terrifying.
From then on, Wen Jifei's rule had always been to avoid going whenever possible—neither side. And if he really had no choice, he would sit for a brief moment and leave on his own initiative.
"So, those two younger siblings of yours—they must be pretty grown up by now, right?" Yang Qingbai asked, oblivious.
"Fif... fifteen or sixteen? Around there," Wen Jifei estimated.
"Man, they must be bragging their heads off: 'My big brother is Wen Jifei of Stream Vanguard!' Hahaha," Yang Qingbai chuckled. "My family is insufferable with it. Last time I went back, I gave them advance notice, and you know what happened? They booked out a hotel and invited hundreds of people just to gawk at me. Ruined any chance of a warm family reunion for the whole damn day."
"Turn left," Wen Jifei said with a faint smile. "We're here."
The jeep pulled up not far from the entrance of the urban village. Sitting inside, Wen Jifei and Yang Qingbai took in the scene ahead, then looked at each other, both smiling wryly.
When Wen Jifei was recognized buying things at the shop, someone nearby must have known the two households and phoned them.
Right now, across the concrete road separating the two houses in this modest urban village, quite a few people were already gathered waiting for him, and more were hurrying over.
At the very front, his father and his family stood on one side, and his mother and her family on the other.
Both families were dressed formally in what were likely their finest clothes.
His mother and his stepmother had even put on makeup for the occasion.
"Given the look of this, I'm staying in the car." Yang Qingbai smiled, throwing his hands up from the driver's seat before folding his arms across his chest.
"Alright. Keep the engine running; I'll be right back." Wen Jifei had originally thought about dropping quietly into both houses, but with this grand welcoming party, that was no longer an option.
He opened the door and stepped out empty-handed.
The moment he planted his feet on the ground—
"Bro!"
"Bro!"
From both sides, the younger brother and sister called out loudly, their voices bursting with pride.
"Hey, you've both grown so big," Wen Jifei replied with a smile.
Then, under the eager gazes of both parents, he continued forward.
"Mom. Uncle, hello."
"Ah, Xiao Fei!" "Good, good! Your mom and I have been hoping all morning that you'd have time to come visit!"
"Dad. Auntie, hello."
"Good, Xiao Fei's all grown up. Auntie hasn't seen you in so long." "That's right, you're finally back! My boy is so big now, haha. What are you, twenty-seven? Twenty... Come, come home for lunch, have a couple of drinks with your old man, and tell me all about what you did on Mars."
"Twenty-six!" From the other side, his mother loudly corrected his father's mistake, seemingly quite pleased with herself. Without sparing a glance for her ex-husband, she looked at her son and said, "Come on, Xiao Fei, Mom will cook whatever dishes you loved most when you were little."
In truth, Wen Jifei had no idea whether his mom actually remembered what he had loved eating as a child.
Nor did he plan to ask.
A scene like this was simply too awkward and suffocating.
"How could I not know? As if I'd forget Xiao Fei's age! I was just wondering whether we were counting nominal age or actual age," his father argued back.
"I won't be staying for lunch. I still have duties, so no time for lunch today." While declining, Wen Jifei stepped forward, retrieved two small communicators from his pockets along with two sheets of kraft paper detailing emergency contingency protocols, and slipped them into his mother's and father's hands under cover of getting close.
"If anything ever happens in the future, contact my comrades."
Wen Jifei whispered the words, then called out a loud greeting to the gathered relatives. Taking advantage of the moment, he stole one last look at the two old houses where he had once lived.
He took two steps back, turned around, and never looked back again.
Wen Jifei yanked the door open and climbed straight into the jeep.
Leaving the urban village and exiting the county town, the jeep drove along a mountain road for about twenty minutes, arriving at a naturally formed cemetery in the rural outskirts.
Wen Jifei found the gravestones of his grandparents—both paternal and maternal. He cleared away the wild grass nearby and set down lit cigarettes as offerings.
Sitting down, he shared a few drinks with his grandfathers, pouring wine out before their graves. Then, obediently tossing away the cigarette in his hand, he spoke quietly with his grandmothers, telling them about how he had fared over the years and mentioning Yao Yue.
For the past two years or so, Yao Yue had been staying at the Stream Vanguard base, serving as a special correspondent dispatched to Stream Vanguard by the Azure News Department.
Lately, the two of them had spoken on the phone every single day.
This time, Wen Jifei did not intend to bid her a formal farewell.
After all, what would he say—that this journey was exceedingly dangerous? But in truth, had there ever been an expedition that wasn't dangerous?
This time, Wen Jifei had no idea what words would truly be best for Yao Yue.
Affection in times like these was almost always like this.
And partings that could never find a voice were not his alone; there were more than a thousand, more than ten thousand, just like him.
Chapter 966