Cat and Rose - Cat & Rose - Chapter 24 - Lost Course (6)

Chapter 24 – Lost Course (6)

After that conversation, they no longer had anything to say to each other.

Ling Yi sat beside Tang Ning, hugging his knees as he watched Tang Ning expressionlessly play rock-paper-scissors with Vivian.

He also thought about Beattie, who always wore a smile on her face but would appear depressed sometimes, and Svena, who became more and more restless in the past two or three years.

It was the first time he clearly understood that the majority of people on the ship were miserable.

He could also feel the faint, indistinct gloom, like a dark haze that floated and dispersed through the air which the Voyagers breathed in.

Even though they had already found their ground. Even though they had spent so much effort to build a great city. The Colonel even told him yesterday that the Marshal decided to defrost a large number of people to liven up the place.

He gazed at the sea of stars at the end of the corridor. The large and small spiral nebulae and crab nebulae spread among the glittering stars beautifully.

Lin Si was looking at the same sea of stars.

Just before, he and Zheng Shu had finished correcting the last of the maps, and tomorrow they would head to Area 2 to register the materials for production. He had left Area 5 and planned to return to his room, but stopped in front of the ship window.

The ocean of stars that exhibited its beauty day by day would perhaps lead many to feel fatigued in their aesthetic perception, but there was one thing about it that would never change, and that was its quiet vastness allowed the human to realise their eternal insignificance.

Lin Si’s gaze penetrated deep into the sea of stars.

It was towards the direction of Earth.

Memories were like maggots possessing the bone of a corpse.3 In every instant of stillness they would float to the mind’s surface, and whether painful or joyful, they would all be vividly gazed upon in one’s vision.

“It’s rare for Lin-shixiong to cook.” The brunette female student looked like she was eager to taste.

Lin Si placed a plate of dessert in front of himself, smiling. “You can eat it everyday if you’re willing to join me.”

“Adelaide is so lucky.” She picked up a chunk of cake with her fork and examined it under the light.

“But now there’s a food shortage.” A fellow blonde student who sat beside her sighed. “I looked at the environmental report, and only fifty percent of soil is fertile.”

“If you’re interested, we can work on a GMO food project together,” Lin Si told him.

“That’s a feasible suggestion. Does shixiong have a clear direction?” The female student was highly intrigued.

It was at this moment when the tea room’s door was pushed open, and an older female scholar wearing a white jacket entered. Hearing their conversation, a gentle and kind smile appeared on her face. “Lin Si has always liked studying genetics.”

She was of mixed-blood, with long black hair from her Asian ancestry and a pair of bright, blue eyes, its corners marked with small and thin laughter lines. She was no longer young, but her tenderness and intelligence made her seem eternally youthful.

The several students in the room swiftly called out “Teacher” and “Dr Ye Selin”.

Ye Selin sat on a small armchair and began to socialise with her students. Everyone’s relationships were harmonious and tight, and everyone, from the bottom of their hearts, respected and loved their teacher.

Each student had a specific direction of research they worked on themselves, and as the teacher, Ye Selin would always give the most helpful comments and suggestions. After business was finished, like a nurturing mother she would concern herself over their daily lives.

“Lin Si, you’ve just returned for half a month. How was Berlin?”

Lin Si said, “It’s great there.”

His female junior said jokingly, “Lin-shixiong suits that place so well, I bet he doesn’t even want to come back.”

“Berlin’s Iverson Laboratory was always focused on studying animal genetics, and seems to also involve human genetics, which exactly matches Lin Si’s interests.” Ye Selin nodded.

“I still like being with our teacher the most.” Lin Si smiled. “But I plan to take a trip back there in the latter half of the year.”

That was—before the Berlin virus had escalated.

At that time, even though resources were lacking, they remained full of hope. They were with their teacher, brimming with passion as they dedicated all their might into making the world better, and they were never worried about walking the wrong path, for their knowledgeable and wise teacher would always protect their sails and steer their voyages.4

Afterwards…

He gazed quietly at the vast, dazzling ocean, and after a few minutes, his vision gradually clouded.

The stars and nebulae gathered together, intertwining, tangling, accumulating into a sphere, their colours no longer a shimmering pale gold, but a deepening crimson.

And there were cries for help.

Thousands, millions, forming an ear-piercing, swelling tidal wave of voices.

“Save us—”

Lin Si stared in a daze at the tumbling sea of blood outside the window.

This was a hallucination. He was under too much pressure recently.

But this illusion was too real. He could smell the foul bloody breaths; the rotten flesh, skin, and cartilage all tossing up and down within the raw, red sea of blood, drowning out his vision. The decomposing tissues congested his respiratory pathways until he could not breathe and nearly suffocated.

This was not the first time.

There used to be a period when such scenes would surface in his mind day and night, twisting around him over and over. And countless times he sank within that monstrous sea of blood and within it, the buried sins that were beyond one’s belief.

Later, when he began to take care of the little one, who was frightened by his condition, he accepted Adelaide’s treatment and his hallucinations gradually stopped appearing. He never thought that they would show up again.

It was definitely a result of being under pressure recently, and because the atmosphere around the spaceship was overall not very optimistic.

Lin Si gasped for air. Black spots began to appear in his vision. He couldn’t breathe, and his head felt like it was splitting apart.

On the areas of his skin that were bare, he could feel the sticky texture of blood. His entire body tensed uncontrollably in shivers.

“Lin Si!” He suddenly heard a call from a bright, youthful voice, as if it was sent over from very far away, clashing against the oozing sea of blood.

Someone shook him, but the hallucinations only faded after a very long time, until a vague outline of Ling Yi’s features appeared.

His little one most likely could not wait long, so he came to find him.

Within his sinking consciousness, his only thought was—the little kitten had grown so tall.

He leaned against Ling Yi, catching his breath while trying to retain his consciousness.

When he could finally clearly see the hint of anger, worry, and a smidge of red in that pair of eyes, he could not help but stretch out his hand to ruffle Ling Yi’s hair.

Ling Yi also had no idea what he was angry about. Seeing Lin Si had already recovered, he glared at him, ran back to his room with thudding steps, and slammed the door heavily.

Looking at him, although Lin Si still felt weak, the corners of his lips still lifted to form a small smile.

Not long after the room door was slammed shut, it opened once more.

Ling Yi leaned half of his body out. His eyes met Lin Si’s, then immediately drifted to somewhere else.

That tiny movement clearly meant—aren’t you coming over?

Lin Si headed towards the room. Ling Yi only withdrew his body after seeing him cross over.

According to the database’s date of birth and subtracting the time of cryogenic freezing, Ling Yi would be turning eighteen in less than a month.

Lin Si thought it was time for him to know about some things.

Although there were still things he could not.

That unfinished conversation in the tea room resumed playing in his memories.

“You’ve come back, but it’s a shame that Xiao-Lingling already went with my mister to the military base a few days ago,” Ye Selin said. “You two always missed each other. It’s surprising you still haven’t met until now, since he’s wanted to meet you for so long.”

“I remember. You’ve mentioned him quite a few times,” he said.

Ye Selin’s smile was full of happiness. “That’s my little baby. Lin, I promise you will love him very much.”

Back then, he had smiled and said, “I’m sure I’ll meet him someday.”

*

The author has something to say:

The end of the semester is almost here… These few days I’ve been writing my essay, so I couldn’t update yesterday qwq. A Shisi who is testing the boundaries of sudden cardiac death

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