Chen Hao stared at the reflective scrap metal on the ground, the light spot flickering back and forth on the sensor on Nana's chest. She tilted her head slightly, the optical lens turning gently, as if disrupted by the sudden brightness.
He suddenly grinned, stuffed the notebook into his pocket, stood up, and dusted off his pants: "You can chase after things, but you also have to live life to the fullest."
Nana looked at him: "What are you going to do now?"
“Let’s tidy up the bathroom!” He stretched, making a cracking sound with his neck. “We have hot water, but the walls are still black, the flowers are still withered, and taking a bath is like torture. This won’t do; we have to change it.”
He finished speaking and walked into the house with light steps, as if he had suddenly found a new goal. Nana followed behind, her voice steady: "Currently, there are limited decorative materials available, so we suggest prioritizing the use of natural materials."
“I understand.” Chen Hao opened his toolbox, rummaged around, and pulled out a small shovel. “We’re not going to go for tiled floors and big chandeliers. We’ll use what we have. Stones, leaves, dried flowers—we can put them together and stick them on to create some atmosphere.”
The two left the base and walked towards the gentle eastern slope. There was a patch of low shrubs there, with brightly colored leaves that had sprouted after the recent rains. There were also many small pebbles on the ground, cracked into various shapes by the wind and sun, red, yellow, and green, mixed in with the sand.
“This round one can be used as the sun.” Chen Hao squatted down and picked up a dark red pebble, scratching its surface with his fingernail. “It’s not big, but it’s bright enough.”
Nana bent down and scanned the ground: "There is a golden leaf three meters ahead. It is in good condition and suitable for long-term display."
“Take it down.” He reached out. “Let’s make a picture and stick it on the wall. Then you can see it every time you look up while taking a shower.”
Nana carefully picked up the leaf with her robotic arm and handed it to him. Chen Hao took it, looked at it, and stuffed it into the cloth bag he carried with him. He then rummaged through a few flat white pebbles, muttering, "These are for clouds."
The collection took almost two hours. The bag was heavy, and he swayed as he walked back, carrying it on his shoulder. Nana held a few dried flowers in her hands; the petals hadn't fallen off yet, and they smelled slightly grassy.
Back at the bathroom door, Chen Hao put the bag on the ground, and a bunch of colorful little things poured out. He sat cross-legged and began to sort them.
"Think about what to put up first," he said. "You can't just put things up randomly; they have to be meaningful."
Nana projected a light beam and drew an outline on the wall: a circle representing the sun, a wavy line below representing water, and below that, a square house.
"It symbolizes our process of building the hot water system," she said.
“Okay.” Chen Hao nodded, “But let’s add some people. Two little guys standing together, one a bit chubby, one a bit straight.”
"Is that me?" Nana asked.
“Of course,” he laughed. “Without you, would I have survived until now? I would have starved to death on the spaceship long ago.”
He picked up the resin glue, leftover from repairing the pipes; it had good adhesion. He dipped a little in, applied it to the back of the pebble, and then pressed it against the wall. The first red pebble stuck firmly in place.
"The sun is out." He clapped his hands.
Next came the water flow. He selected a dozen or so small blue-gray pebbles and arranged them in a winding row. Halfway through, he discovered that the wall surface was too rough, and in some places the adhesive wouldn't hold, causing the pebbles to slide off as soon as they were placed.
"This wall is even more stubborn than me," he muttered.
Nana handed over a thin piece of wood: "Put it under your hand to increase the surface area for support."
He did as instructed, and it was indeed much more stable. The two of them, one handing over the other, slowly connected the entire "river." Finally, for the house, he used a large, flat stone, coated it with glue, and pressed it firmly onto the wall.
"Leave the door open," Nana reminded.
He removed two small pebbles from the middle: "Keep the window open too."
By the time the two little figures were pasted on, it was already afternoon. He used black pebbles to create a round head, a big belly, and short legs. The other one was taller and thinner, with a square mark on its chest.
“Like you,” he said.
"The recognition error is less than five percent," Nana said.
Chen Hao took a few steps back and tilted his head to look. The patterns on the wall were crooked and uneven, the stones were of different sizes, and some even had curled edges. But sunlight shone in from the high window, hitting the colorful stones and giving them a faint glow.
"Great," he grinned. "Much better than before."
"Does it need a name?" Nana asked.
“Let’s call it… ‘Building Our Home Together’,” he said, laughing at himself. “It sounds like a bulletin board.”
Next came the scent. He remembered finding a piece of fragrant wood in the woods before; he had burned it once, and the smell was faint but lingering. After searching for a while, he found the scraps in a wooden box in the corner.
"Put it here." He placed the wood chips in the corner of the shower area. "The heat will bring out the smell."
The final step was polishing. He remembered that he still had some of the polished reflective metal sheets left. He picked out three of the smallest ones and cut them into star shapes with pliers.
“Hang it on the roof beam,” he said. “There’s sunshine during the day, and at night… even without electricity, there are still stars.”
Nana threaded a thin line through the hole and secured it to the top crossbar. As the sunlight slanted in, patches of light fell onto the ground, swaying gently in the breeze.
"It looks like it's moving." Chen Hao lay down, putting his hands behind his head. "From now on, I'll stare at it when I shower, like I'm looking at the starry sky."
"The actual probability of seeing the stars tonight is 87%," Nana said.
“I’m not talking about the stars in the sky.” He raised his hand, pointed to his heart, and then to the tiny glittery stars. “I’m talking about the stars here.”
He sat up and looked around. There were paintings on the walls, incense in the corner, and light overhead. The water pipes stood quietly to one side, and the thermometer showed that the water temperature had risen to over forty degrees Celsius.
“Next step,” he said with a deep breath and a smile, “is to take a good shower.”
Nana stood beside him without saying a word.
Chen Hao reached out and turned on the water valve.
Water gushed from the showerhead, hot, and slammed against the metal tray with a sound. He reached out to test it, and his palm turned red when he pulled it back.
"It's so hot."
He took off his coat and draped it over the rack. Just as he was about to unbutton it, he suddenly heard a soft clicking sound from above.
A wire securing the metal piece to the star broke.
The small sequin tumbled down, leaving a trail of silver light, and landed right in the pocket of the coat he had just taken off.
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