Thirty-one stars

In early October, the 2025 Annual Academic Meeting of the Astronomical Society of Country C was held at Huai'an University. Many people from the Science and Technology Association were invited to attend this annual meeting, and Lin Tang was unsurprisingly on the invitation list.

That morning, knowing that she was going back to Huai University, Feng Chibai stood up and said, "Let me take you there."

Lin Tang squatted at the entrance to change his shoes. Without looking up, he casually replied, "That's going to be such a hassle for you."

Feng Chibai had already come to her side, "Don't worry, it's on the way."

Lin Tang stood up immediately and asked doubtfully, "On the way?"

Feng Chibai glanced at her calmly and explained, "I have a lecture today, also at Huai University."

Lin Tang choked and said nothing more.

The car was parked in the campus parking lot. The two people had different destinations. The lecture was held in the conference room of Wen Hall, while the annual meeting was held in the auditorium, which was considered to be in opposite directions.

Because Feng Chibai had arrived well beforehand, the auditorium was empty when Lin Tang arrived. As usual, she chose a seat near the back. After settling down, she felt bored, occasionally answering questions from her subordinates about work before returning to her games.

More and more people filled the hall, and suddenly someone sat down next to him.

She wasn't originally curious about who was sitting next to her. After all, there were only so many seats here, and someone would definitely take it. But the man suddenly turned sideways and whispered in her direction, "Long time no see, Sui Sui."

Lin Tang was stunned. She wasn't sure he was talking to her, but as soon as he said the word "Sui Sui", her uncertainty turned to certainty. She put down her phone, sat up straight and looked at him.

After seeing the man's face clearly, she raised her eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Yu Jingming, why are you here?"

Seeing that she still recognized him, Yu Jingming curled his lips gently and said, "It just so happens that my father is also attending today. I thought you might come, so I just came to see you. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that I saw you as soon as I came in."

Yu Jingming was from Beijing and had been a high school classmate of Lin Tang. Back then, many in the class disliked him because of his substandard Mandarin and quiet personality. Every Monday during his weekly preparatory class, whenever it was his turn to present the advanced exam questions, the audience would always erupt in groans.

Only Lin Tang ignored the cynics and walked towards him. She was the only one willing to spare some of her own time after class to listen to him rehearse the lecture over and over again.

In her words, "They can listen or not, as long as I can understand."

From childhood to adulthood, even though her original family was not happy, she always had the proud and confident look that he envied.

After graduating from high school, one went to Huaizhou University and the other went to People's Public Security University. Although they were both in Huaizhou, they rarely kept in touch.

The most recent time was three years ago, when Lin Tang’s mentor took her to his job to train her on some matters, and the two finally met again.

Now that he finally saw her again, she was still free and unrestrained. A long-lost sense of familiarity came over him. He smiled and asked, "Have you been staying in Huaizhou recently?"

Lin Tang leaned forward slackly and sighed, "Yeah, after all, since I started working, I have new projects to tackle every year. I don't have many opportunities to travel around the world like before."

Yu Jingming said thoughtfully: "No wonder the people who come for training are different every time."

Remembering something, Lin Tang raised his lips and made a shooting gesture, pointing his fingertips towards him. With a "bang" coming out of his mouth, his fingertips rose up.

In his second year of graduate school, Lin Tang followed his advisor to the Arctic for scientific research. Because of the threat posed by large wild animals such as polar bears, all researchers needed to undergo rigorous firearms and combat training before departure. At that time, Yu Jingming was in charge of the gun shooting test.

Although it happened a long time ago, Lin Tang has a good memory and vaguely remembers some of the teaching content.

The annual meeting was going on unknowingly. Lin Tang withdrew his hand and the screen of his mobile phone suddenly lit up.

She clicked it to see.

Feng Chibai: [Is it over?]

Sui Sui: [Not yet]

Feng Chibai: [Which stage is it at?]

Lin Tang didn't hear anything at all and couldn't tell which part this was, so he simply replied: I recorded it for you.

Seeing her fiddling with her phone, Yu Jingming joked, "No wonder you always choose to sit in the back seat, Sui Sui, is this how you usually slack off?"

Her thumb released the voice button, and the message was sent. Not realizing anything was wrong, she put her phone back in her pocket, glanced sideways, and replied, "Meetings are so boring. I'd rather stay at the research institute."

At least it feels like time is useful.

Although she can be lazy here, she will inexplicably feel a little bit ashamed if she is lazy for too long.

The other end.

When Feng Chibai finished the lecture and came out of the Wen Hall, he happened to receive a voice message from Lin Tang.

He clicked on it and listened. The background sound was a bit noisy, but he could still clearly hear the microphone coming from the stage far away from her. He glanced at the schedule at his leisure and saw that it was almost coming to an end.

Just as I was about to press the pause button, a very clear male voice suddenly joined the voice chat.

At this distance, it seemed as if he was sitting next to her.

In particular, he heard a sound, Sui Sui.

His eyes narrowed. He was curious about what kind of friend could call him by such a special nickname.

So he asked his assistant to go to the car first, and he walked towards the hall.

As we approached the hall, the annual meeting seemed to be over, and a group of people were walking towards us from that direction.

He passed by the unfamiliar people and walked towards a place.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

Not far away, the person he wanted to see finally appeared in his sight.

But she was leaning to the side, not noticing him. Across from her, a man stood, chatting casually with both men, both smiling. He even seemed to notice something stuck in her hair and reached out to help her remove it.

He knew without much thought that it was the owner of the voice in the previous voice.

He had a cold face, his sharp eyes expressionless. He paused for a second before approaching the two.

Lin Tang vaguely noticed someone approaching out of the corner of his eye, and subconsciously looked over to confirm his thoughts.

When she saw Fengchi Bairen, she raised her eyes in surprise. Didn’t they say they would gather at the parking lot when they came? Why did they change the plan at the last minute without notifying me?

Following her gaze, Yu Jingming also noticed the person coming.

The smile on his face was still there, and he took the initiative to say hello: "Long time no see, Mr. Xiaofeng."

Lin Tang paused, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them, before finally asking, "Do you know each other?"

Feng Chibai replied calmly: "I have seen it."

Lin Tang grumbled, "Didn't you say it would take more than two hours? How come it's over so quickly?"

Feng Chibai walked up to her and said, "Uncontrollable factors."

So it ended early.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Yu Jingming frowned in confusion and interjected, "You know him too?"

Lin Tang imitated Feng Chibai's previous answer and replied, "I have seen it too."

Feng Chibai's gaze fell on her profile, the corners of his lips slightly raised, and he said nonchalantly: "We are married."

Lin Tang's pupils shrank and he looked at him in shock, as if he didn't expect him to point out the relationship so bluntly.

Even Yu Jingming was stunned for a moment when he heard this answer, but he quickly recovered and continued with that warm expression: "Married? I thought you wouldn't get married so early."

Lin Tang laughed awkwardly twice and evaded the question, "It's the situation that forces me to do so."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be ready to leave, Feng Chibai took a deep breath and whispered, "I'll wait for you in the car."

She uttered an "oh" and stared at his back for a moment. When she turned around again, she suddenly heard a question: "Is your grandma okay?"

When she was in high school, Grandma Lin's leg injury often recurred in cold and wet weather. When it was serious, she couldn't even touch the ground.

Recalling the recent visits to Jingluo, her expression softened a bit: "Yeah, much better."

The air was silent for a few seconds, and then he asked, "Why are you getting married so early?"

Lin Tang lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and replied: "Because of some special reasons."

But she couldn't tell the reason.

His eyes accidentally fell on the direction where Feng Chibai had just left. It seemed bad to make him wait too long, so he smiled and said to Yu Jingming, "I'm leaving now. See you again sometime."

Back home.

Lin Tang put the gifts sent by the organizer in the room. When he came out, Feng Chibai was sitting on the sofa reading documents.

She leaned over and asked casually, "Hey, is Auntie coming over to cook tonight?"

No answer was received.

Lin Tang frowned in surprise, leaned over to look at him, suddenly took away his file, and jokingly said, "You're giving a lecture and you're speechless."

Feng Chibai slowly turned his gaze to look at her, his face showing no sign of anger at her actions. He folded his arms, remained silent for a few seconds, and then slowly said, "I think we need to clarify some things."

Seeing that he was finally willing to speak, Lin Tang returned the document to him. After fixing his position half next to him, he casually opened a level of Candy Crush and replied, "You go ahead."

The room was quiet for a moment.

Feng Chibai was rarely serious: "I don't mean to mind, but we are husband and wife after all."

He paused, then continued, "If someone accidentally photographs you being overly intimate with someone of the opposite sex, and those photos get to me, it might be very troublesome to deal with."

Lin Tang tilted his head, seemingly unsure of the concept. "Too intimate? What does it mean to be too intimate?"

Feng Chibai spoke slowly: "For example..."

"Holding hands? Hugging? Kissing? Oh, I know all that." During his pause, Lin Tang had already learned to answer. After all, she had watched an idol drama, so she understood this knowledge.

"There's more." Feng Chibai said suddenly.

He suddenly turned sideways, his face expressionless, his eyes fixed on her stunned face. His slender fingers naturally reached into her hair and tucked a few strands behind her ear.

Lin Tang seemed to realize what was going on. She asked, "Does this count?"

"Of course, more than..."

He smiled with an ambiguous smile, his arm around her back, then slowly passed over her arm, suddenly holding her wrist lightly, using a little force, turning her back, and laughed: "Your game is overtime."

Lin Tang's eyes widened as he quickly checked the interface. He couldn't help but burst out, "Fuck you! I finally saw hope of passing this level, and you interrupted me!"

Feng Chibai said unmoved, "Candy Crush, is it really that difficult?"

Lin Tang gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "You think it will disappear if you just do it? Why don't you try it if you dare."

Feng Chibai took her phone directly and clicked on the latest level: "Let's try it."

Then, as expected, it failed.

Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, Lin Tang still "kindly" chased him and taunted him: "Boss Xiaofeng, everyone has their own expertise. Don't try to be so arrogant in this regard for the time being."

This was a very hurtful remark. Feng Chibai smiled, his competitive spirit rising. "It's just a game of Candy Crush. How much do you need to specialize in it? If you let me play, I can catch up with you in less than a month."

Lin Tang was not happy when he heard this and said, "Then go ahead and try. See if you can catch up with me in a month. Don't just show off here."

Feng Chibai raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips, and without saying a word, he clicked on the App Store and directly downloaded a Candy Crush game.

He stood up and looked down at her: "One month is just one month."

After saying that, he walked straight into the study. Suddenly, he stopped and added, "Auntie will cook tonight."