Li Bai looked at Zheng Yizhao and suddenly realized she didn't understand this person she had known for so many years. Of course, they had no obligation to understand each other. But it was undeniable that Zheng Yizhao had helped her a lot at many critical moments.
Yang Jia had always assumed that Zheng Yizhao's selfless help was due to his feelings for her. Li Bai admitted that he was a bit slow in this regard, not noticing any difference at all. However, after revealing Li Fang's secret, it became clear that everything was purely his arrangement, unrelated to any so-called feelings.
So she thought about it and asked, "Do you want to stay with him?"
Zheng Yizhao smiled and said, "You can think so."
Li Bai didn't intend to delve into the details. Since they'd already said, "Everyone has their own aspirations," naturally, everyone had the right to choose their own future. This was Zheng Yizhao's choice, and she didn't intend to interfere. Li Bai nodded at Zheng Yizhao, "You can take him away now."
After a pause, she continued, "I will still leave two spaceships behind. They are loaded with star maps and routes, and are stocked with sufficient food and water. You still have a chance to change your mind before this building collapses."
Li Bai didn't have this awareness before, but after being with Yang Jia and experiencing her every struggle firsthand, Li Bai also understood a truth: living is very difficult, but no one will struggle towards life as long as there is a chance.
The more you understand this truth, the more you can't bear to see others walking towards death.
So she would still leave a way out. Even if Zheng Yizhao didn't need it, there might be other people who would regret it at the last moment and choose to leave.
Zheng Yizhao looked at her quietly for a moment before saying, "You've softened your heart."
"Everyone has a soft heart," said Li Bai.
But she knew what Zheng Yizhao meant, because she would never consider such trivial matters in the past. After being with Yang Jia, she had indeed undergone many changes, some obvious, some subtle.
Li Bai herself likes this change, because at certain times, quietly savoring these things makes her truly feel: I am alive.
Zheng Yizhao nodded at her, then stood up and left the meeting room to take away those who were temporarily detained.
He had just left when Yang Jia arrived. Seeing Li Bai lost in thought, he asked, "What's going on? Did you find out anything?"
"No." Li Bai turned around, stretched out his hand to pull the person into his arms, put his chin on Yang Jia's shoulder, and whispered, "Zheng Yizhao took the person away."
"Took the person away? What is he going to do?" Yang Jia was surprised.
"He wants to stay on Earth," Li Bai said. "He promised to take these people away and manage them well, so that they won't come and affect our operations."
Everyone knew that choosing to stay on Earth at this time was no different from waiting to die. So even though those people had just carried out a terrorist attack, Li Bai did not pursue the matter further.
Hearing her words, Yang Jia had indeed forgotten about the question and asked in surprise, "Stay on Earth? Why?"
However, the moment he asked this question, Yang Jia felt that he seemed to understand a little bit of Zheng Yizhao's thoughts.
In fact, his position is very awkward. He is Li Fang's man, but he has actually helped Li Bai and Yang Jia several times. This kind of behavior of playing both sides may win better treatment for an ambitious person, and he will not suffer any loss no matter which side wins.
But Zheng Yizhao wasn't that kind of person. So, when the outcome of this matter came, he'd already done what he needed to do, and it seemed his existence had lost its meaning. Even if he went to Hope Star, this unwelcome identity wouldn't change much.
So although his choice was unexpected, it was indeed reasonable.
But no matter what, it is still heavy to hear such news, even if it was his own choice.
Yang Jia hugged Li Bai tightly, and after a long while, he said, "I hope they can wait for a turn for the better on Earth. Although all reports show that this planet may not be able to hold out for much longer, I still feel that there is a silver lining. A planet cannot be destroyed so easily. Perhaps this is just the end of one century and the beginning of another."
"Maybe." Li Bai said.
But no one said anything about coming back to take a look.
It's strange that for human beings on Earth, this place is their real hometown, and it is indeed hard to leave, but once they leave, I guess few people would want to come back to visit.
A big part of the reason for this may be that everyone is well aware of the fate of the Earth.
——They don't want to come back and see a devastated planet that seems completely dead, but what they don't want to see even more is that the planet is completely destroyed and disappears, with no trace of it in the universe, leaving only a ball of chaotic matter produced by the explosion.
It is impossible to imagine or even accept such an ending.
So they would rather not listen or watch, so that for them, the earth will remain the same as in their memory and can be preserved for a long, long time.
The depressed mood did not last long because Li Bai and Yang Jia had too many things to do.
The building had been bombed from below and was tilting slightly, a fact everyone could feel. So while it could theoretically hold out for about a month, no one was prepared to wait until that critical point. Currently, everyone was racing against time to quickly inventory their belongings and arrange for everyone to board the spacecraft.
In this situation, even the sadness of separation was temporarily suppressed.
In reality, Yang Jia and Li Bai didn't have much to carry with them, as neither of them grew up here. While they had memories, their sense of belonging to Earth wasn't strong. Unlike those who had lived here for decades, they had a lot to bring, but due to luggage weight limits, they had to choose repeatedly, discarding less important items.
This feeling is like giving up a part of myself, it's hard to describe.
But no matter how difficult this process was, it would eventually come to an end. Two weeks later, the last group of people boarded the ship, the door of the spacecraft slowly closed, the power system started, and it began to take off.
Countless people stood in front of the viewing windows, took a last look at the earth, and burst into tears.
It is hard to say how much Yang Jia himself is reluctant to leave and is attached to the Earth, but when he saw this scene, he actually started crying, leaving Li Bai at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Why are you crying?" After comforting Yang Jia for a long time and finally making his emotions stabilize a little, she couldn't help but ask.
Yang Jia sobbed, opened his red eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know, it's just... I suddenly feel empty inside. I've checked everything many times before, but I can't help but think about it. Is there something I haven't done, or something I left behind?"
Li Bai held her face in his hands and comforted her, "Maybe, but life always leaves some regrets, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Yang Jia blinked, tears welling up again. "I know we can only hold on to the most important things. But... let's just treat today as a special day. I don't know why I just want to cry."
"On such a special day, we should do something even more special," said Li Bai.
"Um?"
"What do you think about setting today as a memorial day?" Li Bai said.
Yang Jia opened his personal terminal and checked the time.
January 1, 481 Earth calendar year.
What a coincidence, today is New Year's Day.
Li Bai came over to take a look and was also a little surprised. "I was so busy that I forgot the date. What a coincidence! So, what do you think about setting a new era?"
"A new era?"
"Yes, like the Cosmic Calendar, the Hope Calendar, and so on. What do you think?"
"I think the Hope Calendar is good," Yang Jia said.
"Yes." Li Bai glanced out the window and said with a smile, "The name is very appropriate. Aren't we flying to hope?"
If you zoom out, you can see that the fleet of silvery-white spaceships is like a huge flock of birds, flying through the universe along a predetermined route, passing planets and satellites, bypassing meteorites and debris, flying into the depths of the universe, flying towards where hope lies.
It was a new land.
There should be countless new things happening in that land, but that is another story.
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(End of text)
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