It was already evening when they returned to the "Bird's Nest" base. Only Zhang Fan was having dinner in the automated dining room; everyone else had already finished. Yui was sitting not far away studying for the day, with Su Muran tutoring her.
Zhang Fan was both hungry and sleepy; all he wanted to do was finish his meal as soon as possible and go back to sleep.
I was slacking off all night last night, and I'm completely exhausted.
Zhang Fan slept until noon.
In the days that followed, Zhang Fan often reminisced about the sweetness and excitement of that night, and whenever he thought of it, a knowing smile would inevitably appear on his face...
Something's wrong with you!
While eating breakfast, Katerina, who was sitting opposite Zhang Fan, stared at him for a long time.
"What's wrong with me?" Zhang Fan immediately lowered his head and quickly shoveled the porridge in his bowl.
“In short, something’s wrong with you!” Katerina looked at Zhang Fan with suspicion. “I’ve been watching you for a long time now, there’s definitely something wrong with you.”
"You're the one who's crazy!" Zhang Fan picked up the bowl, deliberately turned away, and avoided looking Katerina in the eye.
"wrong."
"No, no!"
"It's just not right!"
Katerina leaned over across the table, looking Zhang Fan up and down, then down, then down, sniffing him...
Wow!
Zhang Fan was filled with doubt.
What can you tell from this? What can you smell from it?
baffling!
I will keep this secret deep in my heart from now on, and no one will ever know!
“You’ve broken your vow of celibacy,” Katerina suddenly said.
puff--
Zhang Fan spat out a mouthful of porridge.
"This, this, this, you, you, you..." Zhang Fan stared at Katerina in horror, stammering, "Can you even tell a man's gender from his appearance?"
"Um?"
"ah?!"
"oh!!!"
Katerina took a few steps back, covering her open mouth in horror.
"I was just saying it casually to scare you, I didn't expect it to be true!!!"
Damn it!
Zhang Fan really wanted to slap himself in the face right now.
"No!" Katerina turned to look at Yui with Su Muran, then turned back, her face full of confusion. "No, no, it's not Yui..."
"Ah, this..." Zhang Fan was dumbfounded.
"oh!!!"
Katerina's eyes suddenly widened, and she pointed at Zhang Fan.
"oh!!!!!!"
Wow!
Zhang Fan went berserk and grabbed Katerina's hand, pressing it down.
"Sister! Katerina, you can't say anything right now." Zhang Fan pulled Katerina to a corner of the restaurant. "I'm begging you, please keep this a secret for me, okay?"
Zhang Fan was completely speechless.
There are only four women on Mars. They are not Yui, Katerina, or Su Muran. Anyone could guess who they are with their toes. They don't even have a chance to deny it.
Upon hearing Zhang Fan's words, Katerina snapped out of her daze and her eyes darted around.
"So, what benefits will I get for keeping your secret?"
"Tell me, what do you want? Anything I can do." Zhang Fan was getting impatient.
“Okay! It’s a deal!” Katerina nodded.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"I haven't decided yet. I'll tell you when I do."
Hearing this, Zhang Fan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Tch." Katerina gave Zhang Fan another disdainful look. "Scumbag."
"I..." Zhang Fan was speechless.
So what if he's a jerk? He doesn't believe that in that situation, any other man could have remained unmoved.
If you were in that situation, would you choose between being a beast and being worse than a beast?
“Sigh…” Katerina sighed again and muttered to herself, “I am indeed not as good as her.”
"She beat me to it."
...
That evening, Zhang Fan and Liao Changtian had a video chat, exchanging updates on the current situation on Mars and Earth.
"You all probably already know that Ivanka is returning to Earth, right?" Zhang Fan asked Liao Changtian.
"I know." Liao Changtian nodded.
"Please help her arrive safely." Zhang Fan bowed earnestly. "This is my sincere request."
"We will do everything we can to help her," Liao Changtian said earnestly. "Ivanka's return from Mars is of milestone significance for human history in the new era."
"We have used the 'Sky Eye' to capture signals from the 'Explorer' command module in lunar orbit, and all data about 'Explorer' has been transported from the United States to the Wenchang Space Center."
“We have established a dedicated team of experts to handle Ivanka’s return. The team includes top scientists from the China Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and NASA. Wenchang now brings together the world’s top aerospace technology talents.”
"The joint fleet of the European Union and the US transitional government will be responsible for the designated landing area in the western Atlantic. So you can rest assured."
"Aren't you taking this a bit too seriously?" After hearing this, Zhang Fan felt a little uncomfortable. "Isn't this a bit excessive?"
“It’s not an exaggeration at all.” Liao Changtian shook his head and said seriously, “It’s because you don’t know what Ivanka’s return also means.”
"What does that mean?" Zhang Fan was genuinely confused.
"What I just said about the significance of Ivanka's return to human history is only an ideological manifestation. The more realistic significance is... that she will become the next president of the United States."
"Huh?" Zhang Fan was dumbfounded. "Why?"
"For no reason, it's just a matter of course," Liao Changtian said slowly. "From the perspective of the American people, Ivanka has always been their hero. Every choice she made was impeccable from the American perspective. Her dedication and sacrifice have long demonstrated her unwavering loyalty to the United States."
“In the United States…” Liao Changtian smiled, “Do you know? Her reputation is far greater than yours.”
“Uh…” Zhang Fan didn’t know what to say.
“The World United Government cannot manage US affairs forever. After a one-year transition period…” Liao Changtian paused and said, “that is, the day Ivanka returns to Earth, the government will be handed over to the US government, and the World United Government will step down from its role as supervisor.”
"There are still six months until the transfer of power, but public opinion in the United States is already highly unified."
"After Ivanka's return, she will become the first female president in U.S. history."
“So you see,” Liao Changtian spread his hands, “the importance that Blue Star attaches to Ivanka’s return is not an exaggeration.”
Zhang Fan covered his face with his hands, completely stunned.
president?
A female president?
The first female president of the United States?
So, she and I were in 'Firebird'...
Zhang Fan realized he might have made a huge mistake.
"Oh, right, I also have something to tell you." Liao Changtian's expression turned serious. "You'd better be prepared."
"What is it?" Seeing Liao Changtian's serious expression, Zhang Fan realized it couldn't be anything good, so he immediately stood up straight, ready to hear bad news.
"We detonated Mount Olympus before," Liao Changtian said, emphasizing each word.
"It may have awakened some bad things underground."
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