Two years later.

Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Meeting rooms in the new main building.

"Well, Mr. Tang Yue...... We all know that you are the onboard engineer of the thirteenth landing mission, and you and Miss Mai Dong are the youngest payload specialists for the Mars landing program to date, and now that the first phase of the Mars landing has ended, Orion 1 and 2 have been decommissioned. The hostess sat on the side, "Orion III and IV are already in operation, and there will be people younger than you on Mars in the future, maybe right now, in this room, these students sitting down there—one of them will be on that planet in the future, do you have anything to say to them?" ”

Tang Yue sat on the chair and looked at the young man sitting in the dark below, he held the microphone in his hand and thought for a few seconds.

"Do you want to go to Mars too?"

"I want to ——!"

"Then I'll tell you the secret."

There was silence in the bright conference room, and the sound of birds chirping outside the window was crisp.

"Study hard and exercise well." Tang Yue laughed.

"In the future, there will be more and younger people on Mars, the second phase has kicked off, the scale of the Kunlun station is expanding, and they have begun to build vegetable planting greenhouses on Mars...... In the next ten or even twenty years, more talents will be needed on Mars, and the spring of the four major sinkholes is coming. Tang Yue continued, "And the relevant universities are also about to work with the preparatory committee to carry out talent training, recommend outstanding graduates to go to the Jiuquan Center for training, the first batch of included in the plan are Beihang and Harbin Gong, so if you want to go to Mars, then study hard." ”

The conference room suddenly became noisy, young people whispered underneath, Tang Yue sat on the podium, he saw hope in the eyes of these energetic young people, the youngest of them had just entered the school, the oldest was about to graduate with a master's degree, it was foreseeable that among these young people, there would be someone who would set foot on the land 100 million kilometers away in ten or even twenty years.

"Next is the Q&A session, where you can ask any questions."

The hostess motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"Teacher Tang, I have a question!"

"I have a question!"

"I have a problem too!"

Students raised their hands.

"You don't have to call me teacher, do I look that old? I'm not much older than you, just call my brother. Tang Yue smiled and waved his hand.

"Brother Tang! I have a question for you......" The questioner got up and took the microphone, "I am studying psychology at Beijing Normal University, and I came here to attend a lecture today, I want to ask you what you think about this problem - that is, the impact of long-term isolation and closed environment on people's psychological state, we all know that it will take a few months from the earth to Mars at the earliest, if in the future, we go to more distant planets, such as Jupiter, Saturn, then the back and forth will undoubtedly take longer, how can astronauts endure this long loneliness?" Will he be alienated by his environment? Or to put it more broadly...... Are human beings who have been separated from the earth for a long time still human beings? ”

"Hmm......" Tang Yue pondered for a moment, "This is actually not only a psychological problem, but also an engineering problem, it will take a few months from the earth to Mars at the earliest, so we have to upgrade our spacecraft and rockets to shorten the time as much as possible, as for what you said at the end, human beings who have been separated from the earth for a long time, I think of course they are still human beings, can they still be monkeys?" ”

There was laughter below.

"I am personally optimistic, I think that only human beings who have truly stepped out of the earth will become a complete race, can understand themselves more clearly, and are real human beings." Tang Yue said, "One day in the future, when you get on a manned spacecraft, fly into space, and take the earth into your eyes completely, then you will feel ...... It turns out that so many disputes that have occurred in the past of human beings are small, not worth mentioning, insignificant, and a piece of land that the ancients fought for bloodily is not as big as a fingernail in your eyes. ”

"Brother Tang, I want to ask if you have encountered any difficulties during your mission to Mars? And how to solve it? ”

Tang Yue turned his head to look out the window, the sun was shining through the verdant leaves, the mottled shadows fell on the windowsill, and a sparrow flew down from the branch and stopped here, bouncing and jumping.

"Difficulties...... Tang Yue suddenly smiled, "Of course I have encountered difficulties, and there are many difficulties that are not known to the public, and I even fell into despair for a while, feeling that I can't persevere." ”

"So what sustained you to keep going?"

"It's the good things in this world and in human nature." Tang Yue replied, "In your heart, there are always things and people that are worth sticking to regardless of everything. ”

"Brother Tang, may I ask what caused the scars on your body?"

"Hmm...... It's just an accidental fall. ”

"With the current level of technology, going to Mars is still a very dangerous thing, Mr. Tang Yue, didn't you think that an accident might happen?"

"Of course I did." Tang Yue shrugged, "If we unfortunately die, I hope people can accept this, if something happens to us, I hope that the project will not be postponed, the conquest of space is worth the risk, The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."

"Brother Tang...... Do you believe in the existence of aliens? ”

Tang Yue held the microphone and smiled.

"Believe."

·

·

·

Tang Yue hurriedly walked through the corridor, passed by the pedestrians sideways, and rushed downstairs, he was really dizzy, and forgot the time, because the number of people asking questions in the lecture was too much, the activity was extended by more than half an hour than expected, and he didn't realize that he was late until the class bell rang.

Tang Yue rushed out of the foyer of the building, and saw the slender girl standing under the street tree on the side of the road, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, wearing a thin hooded jacket, her hair combed into a refreshing ponytail, her hands behind her back, her eyes looking at the building in the distance, humming a song in her mouth, and her soft ponytail swaying along the rhythm.

Finished.

Tang Yue chuckled in his heart and covered his face silently.

The girl turned her head and found Tang Yue who was going down the steps, her eyes lit up, and then her eyebrows furrowed.

said that she would wait at the subway station at the entrance of Tongluoguxiang at half past ten in the morning, but she waited left and right, and waited until eleven o'clock, but no one waited for anyone, and no one answered the phone, so the girl found it by herself, turned around the campus of Beihang University, inquired everywhere, and finally saw the posters and notices posted on the wall, and only then did she know where Tang Yue was.

As far as being late and releasing pigeons, Tang Yue is an old habitual offender, which Mai Dong knows better than anyone else.

"I'm guilty, I'm wrong, I'm not good, I'm ashamed, I'm late for the people......"

Tang Yue first admitted his mistake and became strong.

"Too many questions again?"

Tang Yue nodded.

"The event has been extended again?"

Tang Yue nodded.

"You always say this thing, can't you make up a reason that sounds more like that? For example, if you are stuck in a traffic jam or miss the subway......"

"But this is a fact, the next time there is such an event, I will push Lao Wang out, and I will never participate in it again." Tang Yue was helpless, "How about the defense?" ”

Mai Dong walked ahead of him, turned around and stepped backwards, tilting his head to reveal a bright smile, his ponytail hanging down.

"What do you say?"

"Passed."

"Of course, the unanimous vote passed smoothly, this girl is a genius, from today onwards, you will call me Dr. Mai!"

"Okay girl."

"It's the Doctor!" Girl corrected.

"Okay, Doctor girl."

Tang Yue walked on the sidewalk, the campus was full of young people, he was plainly dressed and not very eye-catching, although he was a crew member of the Mars landing mission, he was really not the kind of person who could be famous among the public. May is the season of flowers, the magnolia planted on both sides of the road is in full bloom, even in the wind with a strong fragrance of flowers, Mai Dong walked in front of him, ponytail dangling leisurely.

The girl's steps suddenly froze, and the steps she was about to take stopped, her feet hanging in mid-air.

"What's wrong?"

"I almost stepped on it." Mai Dong pointed to the soles of his feet.

A small pale yellow flower emerges from a crevice in the pavement bricks.

Hundreds of days and nights on the space station, Mai Dong and the plants in the incubator accompanied each other day and night, which made her have a deep affection for all animals and plants, this girl always told Tang Yue that if she did not participate in the Mars landing mission, then she must devote herself to the cause of environmental protection and the protection of endangered animals and plants.

Probably everyone who has been to space will deeply feel the beauty and fragility of the earth.

The girl cautiously walked around it, "Did Mr. Cat contact you?" ”

"It?" Tang Yue grinned, "Isn't it just contacting me?" ”

The old cat became more and more talkative, and it used the public mailbox of the Mars landing mission to send Tang Yue all kinds of spam emails, most of which were such non-nutritious content - "Tang Yue, are you married to Miss Mai Dong?" "Tang Yue, why haven't you married Miss Mai Dong yet?" "Tang Yue, I have thought of a good name for your future child, it will be called Tang Mai." "What do you think of Don Mai?" "Was little Don Mai born?" "Why haven't you been born yet?" "What? You're not married? ”

"Is Mr. Cat going back to Earth soon?"

Tang Yue nodded, "At the end of this mission, it will officially retire, return to Earth on the Orion III spacecraft, and then live the life of a retired veteran cadre that it has been looking forward to for a long time." ”

"Will it come to China when it retires?"

Tang Yue pondered for a long time, rubbing his chin, "This is really hard to say, its house in Tongzhou District was given to me, where does it live?" ”

The midday news is being broadcast on a large screen on the side of the road, and the female reporter is tightly wrapped, showing only two eyes, and behind her is the dust-free workshop of China Aerospace Science and Technology, and the white Tianzhou-30 cargo spacecraft is being assembled, which is a new second-generation Mars cargo spacecraft.

"The selection for the fifteenth landing mission has begun, Tang Yue, are you still ready to participate?"

"Of course." Tang Yue said, "The moment I left Mars, I made up my mind in my heart that one day, I would go back again." ”

Mai Dong held his hand, she saw the faint scar on Tang Yue's hand, no one knew what Tang Yue had experienced, people on the earth didn't know, Mai Dong didn't know, even the old cat didn't know, only one thing was confirmed, that is, he still won this battle alone after all.

Every time Mai Dong asks, what happened after the space station crashed? What happened after he left Mars?

Tang Yue said vaguely and hastily.

What past is unbearable, what memories are too painful, don't ask so detailed, okay? I'm going to have a nervous breakdown if I ask me again.

"In spite of all that has happened?" The girl hugged him gently and rested her head on Tang Yue's arms.

Tang Yue scratched her hair, kissed the girl's forehead, and whispered, "Don't be bound by the past, so that we can go further."

Mai Dong lowered his head and was silent for a few seconds, then took a step back and looked up at him.

"What about you? Are you still going? Tang Yue asked.

Mai Dong looked at him for a long time, suddenly smiled, and jumped over to hold Tang Yue's arm tightly.

"I'll go wherever you go."

(End of the play)