The beeping of the communication channel still echoed in my ears, the green light remained steadily lit, and the words on the information box had not disappeared.

"SSV-097, identity verification successful. Cleared to enter outer standby orbit. Please prepare to receive landing instructions."

Chen Hao stared at the line of text for three seconds, then grinned, "Finally, it's our turn."

He turned to Nana and said, "If this order had been ten minutes later, would we have already starved to death in space? After all, the nutritional porridge that Carl cooked was barely edible."

Nana didn't laugh; her fingers were already sliding across the panel. "Ground control won't delay issuing commands. Their dispatch system is much more meticulous than you're calculating calories."

"I've never counted calories," Chen Hao said, scoffing. "I've only counted the number of Coke bottles. Two yesterday, two the day before yesterday, and the day after that... we'll see when we land."

After he finished speaking, he slowly reached for the control stick cover.

Previously, the inspection was just a matter of touching it; now it's different. This time, once it's pushed, the spaceship has to obey it.

“Attitude adjustment program loaded,” Nana said. “Thrust ignition countdown three minutes, track engagement angle locked.”

"Does that mean I'm the captain now?"

"You are the operator."

"Hey, can't you give me some face and at least let me have some fun?"

"You can give yourself a title, but the system won't recognize it."

Chen Hao shrugged and sat up straight. He was a bit overweight, but the chair still made him feel very secure. He took a deep breath and then exhaled, feeling like he was flipping to the last big question before an exam—knowing he could do it, but his hands were still trembling a little.

The planet outside is getting bigger and bigger, blue and white, with glowing edges. Unlike the blurry pictures of Earth I saw in textbooks when I was a child, it's there now, real and clear.

"I was most afraid of geography class when I was a kid," Chen Hao suddenly said. "The teacher asked about the direction of the Earth's rotation, and I said clockwise. The whole class burst out laughing."

“The Earth rotates counterclockwise,” Nana immediately replied.

"I know! I was nervous! Just like now, even though I'm all prepared, my heart is still racing."

"Your heart rate is currently 97 beats per minute, which is considered a state of mild excitement."

"You're still monitoring my heartbeat?"

"All occupants' vital signs are within the monitoring range."

"So tell me, am I feeling incredibly excited right now?"

"The blood temperature is normal; it is not boiling."

"Can't you just go along with the mood?"

"I can repeat: 'Going home.'"

After Nana finished speaking, her voice was flat, but she paused for a moment.

In that instant, Chen Hao felt as if she understood too.

He looked down at the panel; the navigation line was a straight dotted line, stretching from their current location all the way to the atmospheric entrance. Beyond that, a red dot marked the planned landing zone.

"So our old home hasn't been demolished yet," he murmured.

"Urban planning data shows that the original residential buildings still exist, and some structures show signs of renovation."

"What about the house where my mom lives?"

"The current status of the specific unit cannot be confirmed, and the satellite imagery is not open to civilian access."

"Sigh, if only I hadn't skipped school back then, at least I would have remembered the house number."

The three-minute countdown has begun.

The thruster hummed softly, and the machine vibrated slightly. The vibration was familiar, like the sound of a refrigerator starting up, but deeper.

"Attitude adjustment initiated." Nana reported the data: "Yaw angle correction of five degrees, pitch angle decrease of two and a half degrees, roll stabilized."

Chen Hao's fingers touched the control lever, but he didn't apply any force; he just kept them there.

He knew the automated system could handle most of the tasks, but he had to manually take over for the last ten kilometers. This was both a rule and a responsibility.

"How many people on the ground are watching us right now?" he asked.

"According to the communication logs, there are currently 173 terminals connected to the monitoring channel, including the aerospace center, media platforms, and public live broadcast nodes."

"Do you see the old man who sells pancakes at the entrance of my neighborhood?"

"Unable to identify individual users."

"If he saw me, he would definitely say, 'Who is this fat guy? He's such a troublemaker.'"

"Your body has lost 8.6 kilograms in the past two years, which does not fall into the typical category of obesity."

"Hey, don't expose my weaknesses."

The countdown has reached zero.

A pale blue light shone from the thruster nozzles as the spaceship slowly turned, its nose pointing toward the ever-approaching planet.

The starry sky outside the window began to move; the once still stars slowly shifted, as if someone were manipulating the scene. The Earth's curvature occupied most of the field of vision, clouds moved, and the ocean reflected light.

"Enter the outer standby orbit," Nana announced. "Await further instructions."

Chen Hao didn't speak, his eyes fixed on the track parameters on the screen. Everything was normal, and the green lights were all lit.

But he still didn't dare let go.

"That adjustment of posture just now was quite steady," he said.

"The error is within the standard range."

"If I sneeze now, will I deviate from the flight path?"

"If your sneeze is stronger than 300 Newtons and lasts for more than a second, it may affect the fine-tuning."

"I'm not that fierce."

"I suggest you don't try it."

The cabin was quiet for a few seconds.

The instrument ticked, and the air circulator fan blew a gust of wind that swept across Chen Hao's face.

He suddenly felt an itch in his nose.

“I’m warning you,” he said to the ceiling, “you’re not allowed to sneeze right now.”

Nana glanced at him. "No abnormal warning signs for the respiratory system."

"This is a preventative warning."

He sat up straighter, his shoulders pressed against the back of the chair. Although he wasn't wearing a uniform or a hat, he certainly didn't look like the slacker who used to hide under his desk copying homework.

"What do you think was the hardest part of our journey?" he asked.

"Based on comprehensive assessment, the shortage of supplies has lasted the longest, the number of signal interruptions is the most frequent, and the risk of energy supply disruption is the highest."

"I'm not asking about the data."

"Then what are you asking?"

"I'm asking about... the moment that was hardest for me to get through."

Nana paused for two seconds, then said, "It was the time you decided to stay behind to repair the engine and went into the radiation zone alone."

Chen Hao was taken aback.

How do you remember it so clearly?

"That mission was classified as a high-risk event, and the system automatically marked it as a critical incident."

"oh."

He lowered his head and rubbed his hands together. "Actually, my legs were so weak at the time. I was thinking that even if I couldn't fix it, I had to pretend that I could, otherwise you guys would panic."

"You said, 'It's a small problem, I'll fix it in five minutes.' It actually took forty-seven minutes."

"That was to stabilize morale."

"You threw up when you came out."

"That's because sweat got into the helmet and made them choke!"

"Monitoring shows that your stomach contractions are abnormally frequent."

"Shut up."

After they finished speaking, they both fell silent.

The spacecraft continued to glide, with about twenty minutes of travel remaining before it reached the atmosphere.

At this moment, the communication channel beeped again.

A new message popped up.

Nana glanced at it and read aloud: "SSV-097, landing sequence assigned. Estimated reentry time: 18 minutes. Manual takeover permitted. Best wishes for a safe return home."

After hearing this, Chen Hao's throat moved.

She said, "I wish you a safe journey home."

"It was a private message added by the ground control duty officer and was not part of the standard instruction format."

"Whether it's outside the norm or not, it just sounds nice."

He placed his hand on the joystick and gripped it tightly.

"I'm ready."

"Navigation data synchronization complete, thermal shield status stable, life support system normal."

"Then... let's begin."

He gently pushed the control lever.

The spacecraft's nose dipped slightly, and its orbit began to slowly descend. A faint red glow appeared at the edge of the distant atmosphere, like the edge of a piece of paper that had been set ablaze.

"The reentry phase is about to begin," Nana said. "All systems will enter high-priority response mode."

Chen Hao nodded without saying anything.

His gaze was fixed ahead, in the direction of home.

Eighteen minutes later, they will pass through the red light and enter the real road home.

And now, they are approaching the border.

The control stick vibrated slightly, indicating that the thrusters were fine-tuning their attitude.

Chen Hao's palms were a little wet, but he didn't wipe them.

“You know what?” he suddenly said, “I used to hate morning self-study the most. Every day, class started at eight o’clock, and I was always late.”

"Your time management skills have improved."

"That's because spaceships sometimes collide with planets at the wrong time."

"The logic holds true."

"But I still think that being able to go home on time is much cooler than being able to go to school on time."

Nana did not respond.

She simply stared at the screen, confirming that every piece of data was within the safe range.

The sky outside is changing color.

The black background of the universe was gradually replaced by a layer of dark red, and the stars disappeared one by one, as if they were being erased with an eraser.

The Earth's atmosphere is getting closer and closer.

Chen Hao swallowed.

"There's no time to call a halt for the rest of the journey."

"Indeed not."

"If I make a mistake, will you yell at me?"

"I will take control immediately."

"You talk as if you're not disappointed."

“I don’t have the ‘disappointment’ emotion model in my database.”

"That's a lie."

He smiled, his fingers tightening.

The vibration frequency of the fuselage increased slightly.

The warm-up before re-entry has already begun.

"Prepare for the friction layer," Nana said. "The temperature rise is at a normal rate."

Chen Hao looked out the window; the red light had turned orange-yellow, like fiery clouds filling his field of vision.

"Do you really think our wrecked ship, which has been repaired more than twenty times, can really hold on?"

"able."

"Just one word?"

"Um."

He grinned. "Okay, I'll trust you this once."

He took a deep breath, leaned forward, and stared intently at the navigation line.

The indicator light on the joystick changed from blue to green.

The thrusters ignited again, the spacecraft tilted three degrees, and officially entered the descent trajectory.

The light outside the window grew brighter and brighter, casting a warm glow over the entire cockpit.

Chen Hao's hands gripped the control stick firmly.

"I'm home," he said.

Nana looked at him and responded softly:

"On my way home."