One Life, One Incarnation, Beautiful Bones

26

Chapter 8.2 - Inevitable Times of Parting (2)

There was sunlight shining on her arm. So warm.

His hand followed the contour of her shoulder and slid down to her wrist. He gripped it gently. "You should eat more."

She gave an "mm," her cheeks so red they seemed rather hot.

"I may have to leave the country for a period of time."

"Because of that incident?"

"No." Zhousheng Chen let out a chuckle. "The intention behind that incident was, indeed, to make me leave this place. However, my purpose for leaving is actually for my research project."

"Halogen-free flame retardant silane-crosslinked POE composite materials?"

Shi Yi had truly forced herself to strictly memorize that awkward to pronounce name.

Zhousheng Chen had not expected that the name would roll off her lips so smoothly and, with a bit of surprise, gave her a brief intense gaze. He seemed as if he wanted to ask her something. Several seconds passed, though, and he decided to let it be. "That is Xi'an's research project, not what I have been working on these last several years."

She looked at him puzzledly.

"To explain it simply, these last few years, I have been in one of the core cities of Europe reproducing the environment of Venus to study the feasibility of human habitation."

She gave an "oh."

Hearing it this way, it was easier to understand than that other name.

But why did it seem even more distant from her? "Feasibility of human habitation on Venus? People can live on Venus?"

"The surface temperature is scorching, approximate 480oC, and its atmospheric pressure is nearly 90 times that of the Earth's," he answered simply. When he spoke about these things, his voice sounded like one from a science audiobook. "However, its diameter, mass, and even position are most similar to Earth's. In the solar system, it can be considered our twin. Therefore, in the future, there is a chance that humans can inhabit it."

She gave another "oh."

He laughed, "Is this boring to listen this?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's kind of interesting. It's because I don't know any of it, that's why it's interesting."

He continued to tell her a little more.

She had quite a good memory, so although she basically did not understand what he was saying, she could remember it all. For example, with its atmospheric circulation, the cloud layer would do a complete rotation around the planet in approximately four days; it had polar vortices; and so on, as well as his study on the distribution of atmospheric trace compounds. In this period while he would be away, she wanted to secretly study up so that when he occasionally mentioned the topic, she would not have to sit there foolishly in the sun and just listen.

"So then... when are you coming back?"

He replied, "In three months."

She nodded, thinking three months would pass quickly.

"Shi Yi?"

She responded with an "mm."

"Why me?"

She did not understand. "Why?"

"In Baiyun airport, why did you want to know me?"

As Zhousheng Chen spoke, his hand inadvertently grazed the eighteen prayer beads on her wrist. The slightly cool feeling to the touch from those green jade beads produced some peculiar sensations in him... He furrowed his brows, not quite accustomed to that momentary feeling of dazedness. It seemed as if something was about to emerge in his mind, yet he could not at all even decipher where it was headed.