On the last day of the 216th year of the Star Calendar, the weather forecast indicated heavy snowfall. Qi Yan looked out the window at the gloomy sky outside, wrapped himself in the quilt and continued to stay in bed.
The last two days of every month are public holidays, and Turan College basically does not schedule classes. Qi Yan opened his personal terminal and updated the research progress of "Po Jun".
Less than a minute after he clicked submit, the communication rang. This made Qi Yan wonder if August had set up a small monitoring system, which would prompt him as soon as he updated.
"Qi Yan, you actually completed 'Breaking the Army' in three months?"
Qi Yan half-closed his eyes and said "hmm", then explained: "It has my mother's foundation, and I had already started designing it twenty-one months before I came to Leto. However, the confusion about reality was quite serious at that time, so I didn't dare to really restart the project."
August sighed, "Your condition was not just serious at that time? I don't know how many times Eliza cried quietly, and we were all afraid that you would never wake up again in this chaotic memory."
Qi Yan rarely recalls the specific circumstances of that period, because to this day, he still cannot tell which of those intertwined memories are real and which are fabricated by himself. He only said, "I am sorry to have worried you."
"Anyway, you only took three months to make 'Po Jun'! Even if you add the twenty-one months of design, that's two years! You made 'Po Jun' in two years!"
Listening to August's excited speech, Qi Yan's expression became relaxed: "The specific effect cannot be tested now."
August was quite impatient: "We need to connect to the central control system of the military starship, right? Do you want to ask for leave and apply for a trip to the front line?"
"Not yet, let's wait until we extract the data core of 'Po Jun'." Qi Yan didn't say what he was going to do, but changed the subject, "Tomorrow is New Year's Day, August, Happy New Year!"
August's hearty laughter came over: "I've corrected you so many times. In this formal context, you should call me 'Uncle August'! I correct you every year, but you still don't follow my instructions next year! But this is your first time to celebrate the New Year outside, and I'm a little uncomfortable without you."
Qi Yan exposed his words without hesitation: "Last New Year you were in the lab, the year before last you encountered a difficult problem and locked yourself in your room for a week, and the year before last you were sick and stayed in the treatment cabin for two days and two nights, so we haven't spent three consecutive New Years together."
August laughed: "Qi Yan, can you forget all this?"
Qi Yan's lips relaxed slightly: "No, my memory is too good, I can't forget it."
At this time, Eliza's voice came from the other side: "August, are you talking to Qi Yan?"
Qi Yan took the initiative to say: "Aunt Eliza, Happy New Year."
Eliza said with a smile: "Happy New Year to you too! Are you going to play somewhere today?"
Qi Yan subconsciously looked towards the door and answered, "Probably. It seems that I will go to the Sky Diamond Plaza to watch the fountain show and then participate in the New Year countdown."
This was what Lu Fenghan mentioned to him before going to bed last night. He said that "Po Jun" was done, the Qi family's affairs had been dealt with, and he didn't have to go to school, so he could just participate in the New Year activities.
Eliza was relieved: "Our Qiyan finally knows to go out and play!"
Qi Yan refuted without confidence: "I have always known it." He hesitated for a while, and finally said, "Qi Wenshao... died a few days ago. His current wife gave him 'river alkali'."
Eliza and August were close friends of Lin Zhi, so they naturally knew who Qi Wenshao was and what happened to him.
They both fell silent.
Eliza asked, "How are you?"
Qi Yan thought carefully: "I don't know. I met him once, but he was already dead. Later, when I heard the news of his death, I felt a little... empty for a moment. It's very strange. He was almost a stranger to me."
From childhood to adulthood, Lin Zhi did not shy away from mentioning Qi Wenshao, and his descriptions and evaluations were very objective, so he had no expectations or attachment to Qi Wenshao, nor did he have any resentment.
"Qi Yan, it's not strange." Eliza said in a gentle and slow voice, "You are a person with emotions, not a machine controlled by a program. It is normal for you to have some emotions due to the death of others. Besides, the death of this person also means that there is no one in this world who is your biological father anymore."
Turning over again, Qi Yan buried half of his face in the pillow: "Well, I understand."
When Qi Yan went downstairs, Lu Fenghan was holding a gravity device to exercise his physical fitness, and the muscles in his arms showed smooth and powerful lines.
Noticing that the personal terminal on Lu Fenghan's wrist was dimly lit, Qi Yan guessed who he was talking to.
Seeing Lu Fenghan's cold expression, he didn't say anything and went to the kitchen to get some water.
"Commander, tell me to keep an eye on the frontline. According to the report sent back by the expeditionary force, the Alliance military has shown a tendency to negotiate peace. Apart from small-scale frictions, the firing range between the expeditionary force and the rebels has been small. Both sides have been quite restrained. The rebels have also been stationed in their original positions, with no signs of major movements."
Vincent has always thought that he is one of Lu Fenghan's useful "tools". It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand Lu Fenghan's intentions. He just needs to investigate as he is told.
"As for the interstellar pirates, after the starship hijacking incident, they robbed civilian transport ships twice and a small short-distance starship once near Leto, and then disappeared. From the information I found, they seemed to be hibernating, and only caused three incidents at the borders of the Kepler Region and the Southern Cross Region."
After listening to this, Lu Fenghan said: "The activity level is too low."
"I think it's low too. I wonder if it's because the rebels provide food and drink, so the pirates don't have to work hard to support themselves." Vincent asked directly, "Commander, do you think there's a problem?"
Lu Fenghan did not answer but asked: "Is the founding day coming soon?"
Vincent: "Yes, yes, I remember these two dates very clearly! On New Year's Day, the kitchen on the command ship will have a sumptuous meal with twice as many dishes as usual. After a few days, when the variety of dishes becomes twice that of New Year's Day, it will be the founding day!"
The starship floats in space, and the people on board are very slow to notice the rotation of day and night and the change of seasons. They either record the date by going off-board to rotate, or, like Vincent, rely on whether there are more dishes in the kitchen to determine whether there are any special celebrations.
As soon as he finished speaking, Vincent reacted: "Commander, do you think the rebels will cause trouble on the day of the alliance's founding?"
Without waiting for Lu Fenghan to answer, he denied it himself: "It should be impossible. If I were the leader of the rebels, I would not have chosen this day. Although the deterrent effect is strong enough, it is equivalent to stepping on the face of the alliance and rubbing it on the ground of the Sky Diamond Square, but on the founding day, it is too difficult. Not only is Leto's defense extremely strict, it is difficult for anyone to enter or leave. In order to avoid being attacked from both sides, General Nie also gathered all the troops in the central administrative district. Command, if the rebels attack Leto, the alliance will be gone."
Lu Fenghan groaned: "It's just a bad feeling."
Vincent did not think that Lu Fenghan was worrying unnecessarily. On the contrary, for someone like Lu Fenghan who had been confronting the rebels on the front line for several years, a sudden hunch might be more reliable than the conclusion drawn by the staff group after a hundred simulations on the sand table.
"Then I'll keep an eye on it and report to you if there's anything unusual."
Lu Fenghan agreed, and then seemed to care about his subordinates: "Aren't you going out tonight to celebrate the New Year?"
Vincent lamented: "What kind of New Year's Eve is this! Going out alone and looking up at the midnight sky of Leto? No, in the sky of Leto, even the moons are in pairs!"
Lu Fenghan said calmly: "Oh, Qi Yan and I are going out."
Lu Fenghan added more details: "Go to the Sky Diamond Plaza to watch the fountain show. It seems there is a countdown segment there?"
Vincent: “…”
Why should I answer this question without any guard
Commander, I trusted you so much!
Qi Yan discovered that there was a kind of coldness that made Lu Fenghan feel that he was cold. After Lu Fenghan cut off the communication and saw him, his eyes naturally fell on his bare feet.
Just as Qi Yan was looking at his feet and trying to find a reason to explain why he wasn't wearing shoes, Lu Fenghan walked over, picked him up, lowered his eyes and asked him, "It's winter now, and it's snowing today, don't you feel cold?"
Qi Yan was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously put his hand on Lu Fenghan's shoulder to keep his balance: "... It's not cold."
After putting him on the sofa, Lu Fenghan touched the back of his feet and said, "Isn't this cold?"
There was no blame in his words, but rather a hint of helplessness.
While waiting for Lu Fenghan to get him slippers, Qi Yan stared at his feet.
Now I feel... cold.
It's strange, I didn't feel cold before.
The slippers were also picked by Lu Fenghan. His aesthetic taste was inconsistent with his personal character. He had several pairs of the same style, with different small animals on the uppers - rabbits with erect ears or squirrels with long tails. The entire pair of shoes was made of some unknown fur. When Qi Yan wore them, she always felt like she was walking on clouds.
After staring at the squirrel's furry tail for a while, Qi Yan explained, "No one reminds me to put on my slippers, so I'm used to it." He added, "I'll try my best to remember."
Lu Fenghan pinched his face and said, "It doesn't matter if you can't remember. I'll remind you."
After nightfall, Lu Fenghan drove Qi Yan to the Sky Diamond Plaza.
Qi Yan was somewhat expectant: "Will there be a lot of people? I heard from Ye Pei and Xia Zhiyang that there were a lot of people celebrating the New Year at the Sky Diamond Plaza, and it was very crowded."
"It should be OK. The number of people is limited every year. You have to make an appointment in advance. If it's full, you can't get in. You can only watch it at home using the holographic system."
Qi Yan looked at him and asked, "Did you make the appointment?"
"Well, I asked Xia Zhiyang in advance, and he told me the time when reservations will be open." Lu Fenghan drove the hovercraft with one hand and asked Qi Yan again, "Are you happy?"
Qi Yan nodded seriously: "Happy."
When getting out of the car, Lu Fenghan took a light brown plaid scarf and put it on Qi Yan, then opened the car door.
There were more people in the huge Sky Diamond Plaza than Qi Yan had imagined, but it didn't feel crowded.
Seeing him looking left and right, Lu Fenghan reminded him slowly with a smile: "There are a lot of people here, follow me, don't get lost."
Qi Yan nodded, but he was still looking left and right instead of at the road, and he almost bumped into people several times.
Lu Fenghan had no choice but to hold Qi Yan’s wrist and place it on his forearm, then raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
After several beats, Qi Yan lowered her eyelashes, slowly closed her fingertips, and gently grasped Lu Fenghan's sleeve.
When he clenched his fist, Lu Fenghan's sharp eyes became warm and he continued to walk forward: "Well, this way you won't get lost."
Qi Yan wanted to say, "I'm not a child anymore," but as he followed Lu Fenghan in the crowd, he caught a glimpse of the tall man beside him. The clothes in his palm were dry and warm to the touch, making him reluctant to let go.
The two went to see the fountain show first.
They were standing near the front, and there seemed to be someone pushing forward behind them. Before Qi Yan could react, Lu Fenghan took a small step back to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and half-held him in his arms.
Qi Yan couldn't help but look up at Lu Fenghan, and coincidentally the other party was also looking at him.
At this moment, Lu Fenghan's eyes were like black holes that absorbed light, causing his mind to go blank for a moment.
Until Lu Fenghan lowered his head and leaned close to his ear to remind him: "The show has begun."
Qi Yan then mechanically turned towards the direction of the fountain show. The light of water and lights reflected into his eyes, but he felt as if he saw nothing.
Instead, his shoulder blades were pressed against Lu Fenghan's chest, and he remembered clearly every slight vibration caused by the other's heartbeat.
No one knew when the fountain show ended, and neither of them mentioned what the show was about.
Following the crowd towards the clock tower, Qi Yan felt that he would not get lost, but after hesitating, his fingers still grabbed Lu Fenghan's sleeve.
It was not a long distance, but because there were too many people, my pace slowed down and it took a while to reach the bell tower.
The clock tower in the Diamond Sky Plaza is magnificently designed, with a white marble surface, exquisite reliefs, and at the top, a copper-black pointer that is said to be delayed by only one second in a thousand years.
Lu Fenghan told Qi Yan: "It is said that this bell tower is the first bell tower in Leto and even the entire alliance. It was built after humans left the earth and landed on the planet under our feet. The meaning is, 'This is where humans originated, this is when the alliance started.'"
Qi Yan nodded: "How do you know all this?"
Lu Fenghan thought, if he didn’t know this, then his three or four pages of information would have been in vain.
As time passed, the crowd around became noisy, and then gradually quieted down in the last minute before midnight.
Lu Fenghan leaned over and put his ear close to Qi Yan's ear: "What is your wish for the New Year?"
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Qi Yan's earlobe had turned slightly red, and even the light-colored mole on it seemed to have been re-inked.
"I won't tell you." Qi Yan tried to ignore the itch in her ears and asked him, "What about you? Do you have a wish?"
Lu Fenghan smiled: "I won't tell you either."
"Okay," Qi Yan pursed her lips and did not ask any further questions, "Then let's all make a wish quietly."
The two men stood shoulder to shoulder, and like everyone else, looked up at the clock tower.
There are thirty seconds left until midnight.
The long-predicted heavy snow finally came, with snowflakes fluttering like clouds falling from the sky and floating all over the fields.
There are ten seconds left until midnight.
A uniform countdown sounded throughout the Sky Diamond Plaza.
"ten!"
"Nine!"
"eight!"
…
"Four!"
"three!"
"two!"
"one!"
“Boom—”
At the same moment the bell rang, at the first second of January 1, 217 in the Star Calendar, Lu Fenghan took Qi Yan's hand, which was grasping his sleeve, into his palm.