Chapter 88 Shaken and Unsettled
Ouyang Zhanpeng was lost in his own thoughts and hadn't reacted at all. It was only when he heard the reminder that he suddenly came to his senses. Looking down, he felt a pang of embarrassment.
Xiao Xiao Ou was hidden well, but the door to his home hadn't been closed properly in his haste, and a stubborn sprig of grass poked its head out.
He hadn't gone out, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant sight.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ouyang Zhanpeng apologized repeatedly, quickly cleaning up the mess.
"No, it's okay." Xu Qing's face turned even redder.
She wasn't a damsel in distress who knew nothing; she was a giant in knowledge but a novice in experience. She often discussed with her girlfriends who was more handsome.
If she were still at the base, she might not have looked away, and might have even shown a motherly smile and teased him with casual remarks.
But in the base, with so many people around, no matter how much she teased, there would be no uncontrollable repercussions.
However, here, with just the two of them, if Ouyang Zhanpeng misunderstood it as a veiled implication, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Once a boundary is crossed, it becomes incredibly difficult to re-establish it.
After carefully dealing with Xiao Xiao Ou's issue, Ouyang Zhanpeng let out a sigh of relief: "Let me make one thing clear first, I absolutely didn't do it on purpose. You just called out urgently!"
His serious expression perfectly demonstrated the saying: if I'm not embarrassed, then the embarrassment is yours.
Xu Qing's face turned even redder, and she stopped him in exasperation: "Alright, alright, I didn't say anything. Can you stop explaining?"
This awkwardness was something they both preferred to ignore. Pretending nothing happened and moving on was the best course. The more he explained, the more awkward it felt.
What, can't this matter just be forgotten?
The cockpit fell silent, but the hearts of the two were far from calm.
Ouyang Zhanpeng was full of confusion, feeling that he had a whole chest of grievances with nowhere to express them. He couldn't help but mumble to himself: We see each other all day long, so why not clarify this? What if they truly misunderstood something?
Xu Qing's mind was filled with the fleeting glimpse from moments ago. The more she tried not to recall it, the more that scene replayed in her mind, stubbornly insistent.
For the next few days, the two barely spoke. Apart from always consciously or unconsciously avoiding each other's gaze, they got along peacefully.
Mars, on the other hand, was completely enveloped by dust storms, making it impossible to see anything.
These large-scale dust storms could last for as long as half a year, or at least several months. If alien species were involved, the duration could be even longer.
They sat in silence, like a pair of resentful lovers.
Ouyang Zhanpeng suddenly began to doubt his decision: "If I had known, I wouldn't have stayed here."
His evidence was filled with regret about not being able to go to Jupiter.
"What's the point of saying that now? Don't overthink it, let's get into the sleep pods," Xu Qing said.
It had to be admitted that, in many situations, women were often more rational than men.
Ouyang Zhanpeng sighed and nodded in agreement.
At this point, there was nothing left to observe on Mars. The two entered their sleep pods as planned, waking up every three days to take turns observing the situation on Mars.
In the blink of an eye, they had been stranded on Mars for over a month. Because they took turns waking up, their communication was minimal, and most of the time, they just glanced at each other through the pod hatches.
One day, bored out of their minds, Ouyang Zhanpeng leaned against the hatch, scrutinizing Xu Qing's face with a boldness he would never have dared to show before. However, whether it was because of the hatch or her natural beauty, after a long time, he couldn't find any flaws, only a small, inconspicuous mole under her eye.
It was very small and faint, the kind that wouldn't be noticed without a close look.
Of course, Ouyang Zhanpeng had no inappropriate thoughts; he was purely passing the time out of boredom.
As he was inwardly commenting, the fighter suddenly emitted a piercing alarm, and the sleep pods initiated an emergency recovery program.
At the same time, the fighter tilted sharply. Ouyang Zhanpeng, caught off guard, hit the ceiling.
Some unfixed items flew around, but fortunately, they were all small objects.
What happened?
Ouyang Zhanpeng tried to crawl into the cockpit, but as soon as he grabbed the handhold on the wall, the fighter tilted again, throwing him hard against the sleep pod. His entire face pressed against the glass, distorting his features.
Coincidentally, Xu Qing regained consciousness at that very moment. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Ouyang Zhanpeng's contorted face and was startled.
Before she could figure out what was happening, the fighter ascended sharply. Ouyang Zhanpeng seemed to be dragged away by an invisible hand, his distorted face rapidly receding, leaving Xu Qing with a look of horror.
The hatch opened, and Xu Qing immediately sobered up: Something had happened!
Only in emergencies would the sleep pods activate their automatic awakening program.
Ouyang Zhanpeng waved frantically, signaling her not to come out, but Xu Qing had already floated out of the pod and grabbed the handhold on the wall, securing herself firmly.
While the fighter was relatively stable, Ouyang Zhanpeng floated to Xu Qing's side, hugged her waist, and pushed off the wall, darting into the cockpit like a cannonball.
He pushed Xu Qing into the seat and quickly fastened her seatbelt. By the time he got to himself, the fighter was descending again.
Ouyang Zhanpeng shot upwards, his body arching backward, his legs bending sharply towards the ceiling.
He grabbed the back of the seat, and Xu Qing also screamed and grabbed his arm. After this round of sharp turns, Ouyang Zhanpeng immediately secured himself in the seat.
As soon as he fastened his seatbelt, the alarm abruptly stopped. The two men and women, wide-eyed and still shaken, stared at each other.
Xu Qing, still lingering in fear, asked anxiously, "What on earth happened?"
Ouyang Zhanpeng quickly checked the equipment and was struck as if by lightning: "It's a collision alert. The radar detected a small celestial body, and it initiated automatic evasion!"
Xu Qing immediately relaxed, so that's what it was, then it was fine.
But Ouyang Zhanpeng looked crestfallen, as if his parents had died and his family had remarried: "The fighter also jettisoned the external pod. This is trouble now!"
The pod could be retrieved if jettisoned, but a perfectly good small celestial body suddenly splitting into two and flying around and maneuvering under the noses of alien species – did they think the alien species were all blind?
What was the point of disguising themselves anymore? What kind of asteroid was so intelligent?
Xu Qing also realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately became anxious: "What do we do? What do we do?"
After maintaining radio silence for over a month, they had finally exposed their position because of a few inconspicuous small celestial bodies. She wished she could rush out of the fighter, capture those small celestial bodies, grind them to dust, and scatter their ashes!
She didn't dare to harbor any侥幸. She absolutely did not believe that alien species would overlook the fighter's anomaly.
Ouyang Zhanpeng sat stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile: "What else can we do? We'll take it one step at a time."