"I didn't know you had a sister."
"Didn't I mention it to you?"
Tang Yue took out a piece of draft paper and passed it to Old Cat. "Old Wang and the others all know … Old Cat, this damn thing can't be calculated. Can you do some pre-processing first and then give it to me?
This string of numbers is longer than your tail, and the worst part is that it needs to be calculated continuously. The calculator is overflowing. "
Old Cat took the paper, glanced at it, and then handed it back.
"The answer is 42."
"You didn't mention it to me." Mai Dong said, "I thought you were an only child."
"I'm not an only child. My sister is three years younger than me. She has a terrible temper."
Tang Yue said, "My mother sent her to learn Taekwondo when she was young. After she learned Taekwondo, she learned Wing Chun, Sanda, and kickboxing. In my mother's words, girls are born weak, so they have to learn to protect themselves … My God, how can she be weak?
That girl dared to block the door of an entire class when she was in elementary school. "
Mai Dong was stunned.
She didn't expect that she had such a powerful sister-in-law.
"Since one summer when we were fighting over the TV remote control, she punched me to the floor and she realized that I couldn't beat her. Since then, she was no longer afraid of me. My dignity as an elder brother was completely lost …" Tang Yue talked about the bloody history of being abused by his sister when he was young. It was a humiliation to his country and was extremely bitter. "Old Cat!
Look at this, the computer reminded me … What is this?
Correcting Rodrigue's parameters … "
"Got it." Old Cat replied briefly on the other side. "I'll take over from here."
Old Cat took over the control.
"My sister's bad temper is not the scariest thing. The scariest thing is that my parents spoiled her. When she was young, she used to play with boys her age. She would often beat them up like she was catching little chicks."
Tang Yue sighed. "My mom said that she was a skinny little girl and told her to eat more. But have you ever seen a skinny little girl with abdominal muscles that are more developed than a man's?
She can split two solid bricks with one punch. I think I might die if she punches me … "
Mai Dong giggled.
She had never met Tang Yue's sister. For some reason, Mai Dong had a vague image of a girl in her mind. She was boyish, lively, and neat.
If Mai Dong was lucky enough to meet that girl, she would probably be like this, right?
"That's great," Mai Dong said softly.
"I often comfort myself like this now: Earth is actually still here, our relatives and friends are actually still here, everyone is still here, it's just that we can't see them anymore."
Tang Yue touched his chest. "My hot-tempered sister is still living with my parents. She hasn't graduated yet."
"But in fact, Earth has already …"
"I have to give myself a reason to continue living. I always encourage myself. As long as I can live well, then sooner or later, Earth will reappear," Tang Yue said. "Life without a goal is no different from prison. That is true despair."
He turned his head and looked outside. The sun outside the window had already set. It was pitch black outside Kunlun Station. The day had passed.
Tang Yue sat in his chair and did calculations. Before he knew it, he had worked for an entire day. Old Cat kept throwing tasks at him, one after another. Tang Yue was in a state of high tension. The only thing that could relieve his psychological pressure was Mai Dong's voice. He chatted with Mai Dong from morning until now. His mouth was dry, and he had to drink water frequently.
However, the Joint Space Station would enter a no-signal zone every once in a while. During this time, no one talked to Tang Yue. Once Old Cat entered work mode, he would stop talking. Tang Yue stared at the numerical formulas on the paper alone and was about to fall asleep. Only when he heard "Can Tang Yue hear me?" in his headset, did he wake up.
"Attitude and orbit coupling motion model established."
"Beginning simulation."
"Second simulation."
"Give me control of the torque curve."
Old Cat's two big eyes rolled around as it muttered to itself.
Both it and the computer worked until they forgot themselves. The cat and computer were one.
Tang Yue was very pleased that the workstation was able to work together with Old Cat, who often abused it. As a proletarian, the HP workstation had a very high ideological consciousness. The effect of the cat and computer working together was a rapid increase in work efficiency. Tang Yue had to concentrate on cooperating with them.
Tang Yue didn't even have time to eat dinner.
"Tang Yue, give me the α value."
"α?"
"Semi-major axis. Also, give me the sine and cosine of parameter K1."
"Roger."
"Attitude error?"
"Attitude error has been reduced to zero."
"Accurate Ω value. Give me mathematical expectations."
"Which Ω?
There are four Ω here. "
"Ascending node's right ascension."
"Ascending node's right ascension node's right ascension node's right ascension node … OK!"
The cooperation between Old Cat and Tang Yue was efficient and tight.
"Do you need any other data?
Periapsis angle?
Orbital inclination angle? "
"Not for the time being. Tang Yue, you don't have any tasks for the time being," Old Cat said. "Is Miss Mai Dong still there?"
"I'm here, Mr. Cat," Mai Dong replied in the channel. "But the space station is about to enter the no-signal zone."
"I don't have any tasks?
You mean I can finally rest … I'm sleepy and tired now. "
Tang Yue yawned. Once his tense nerves relaxed, all the strength in his body flowed along the floor with his sweat. "It's scary. I actually dealt with mathematics all day."
"Orbit calculation is physics."
"At the end of the day, it's still mathematics."
Tang Yue put down the pen in his hand and tidied up the messy desk. "The differential equations are getting longer and longer, and the matrices are getting bigger and bigger … I don't know how I came up with a matrix of more than five thousand orders. Damn, it really scared me to death."
"That's because you calculated wrongly."
"I'm not you. I'll definitely make mistakes if I do math for an entire day. My brain is about to explode. Both my eyes are severely bloodshot, and my fingers are completely stiff. I can't even hold the pen properly … The two of us obviously did a task that could only be completed by a regiment of engineers. My work today should be equivalent to a battalion's, right?" Tang Yue opened his five fingers, which were numb. "With my help, isn't the progress much faster?"
"We did do a task that could only be completed by a regiment of people."
Old Cat nodded. "But what you did was the normal workload of a single person. As for the progress, the general framework has been formed. The next thing to do is to perfect the details."
Tang Yue stretched his limbs and glanced at the clock. He was shocked. "It's already 11: 30 at night. I've been sitting here for a whole fifteen hours … Have the solar panels been collected?
If not, I'll have to trouble Tomcat to put away the solar panels. "
"You can't go by yourself?"
"I have osteoporosis and a lumbar disc herniation."
Old Cat pushed the keyboard away, got up, and went out to collect the solar panels. It entered the airlock and closed the hatch behind it. With a dull click, Tang Yue was the only one left in the Kunlun Station hall.
"Tang Yue?" Mai Dong called out to Tang Yue at this time.
"Yes?"
"Can you tell me more stories about your childhood?
I … I still want to know more about you. "
"Okay, I'll definitely not hold back. I'll tell you everything you want to know. After all, Old Cat wants us to get to know each other better."
Tang Yue yawned. "But I'm really too tired and sleepy. Why don't we continue talking tomorrow … There's plenty of time tomorrow."
Nothing could stop him from feeling sleepy. Even if the table was full of nails, he still wanted to fall down.
"Are you really that tired?"
"I'm really tired."
"Then … stay with me for another ten minutes?" Mai Dong hesitated for a moment. "Five minutes?"
Tang Yue smiled and forced himself to be awake. "If you have anything to say, just say it. I'll stay with you until tomorrow morning. Worst comes to worst, I won't sleep tonight."
"Okay then. You said you'd stay with me until tomorrow morning."
"I did." Tang Yue yawned.
"Tell me more about your sister."
"Her?
She's really a scary and violent woman. The kind who can smash a door open with one punch. "
Tang Yue sat in a chair and leaned back with his legs tucked in. He looked up at the dim and gentle light above him. Only a year had passed since his time on Earth, but the memories were especially distant.
For some reason, Mai Dong was suddenly interested in his story. Tang Yue told her all the stupid things he had done when he was young. For example, when he cheated in elementary school and copied the answers from the neighboring desk, only to realize that it was AB paper after the exam. In middle school, he put sodium in his pocket during chemistry class, only to have his clothes catch fire. In English, he finished all the questions during the listening test. Mai Dong kept laughing.
"I see the sun. The space station is about to enter the no-signal zone," Mai Dong said. Her voice was muffled, probably due to the signal being unstable.
"I'll wait for you to come back." Tang Yue rubbed his eyes.
"Tang Yue."
"Yes?"
"You said that we've already decided to get married, but you've never said anything to me …" Mai Dong said, "It's always me who takes the initiative."
Tang Yue froze for a moment and felt a little awkward.
"Yes … You want to hear three words?
Four words?
Or five words? "
"Not now. You can tell me when I come back," Mai Dong said. "So … before I come back, don't fall asleep."
"Okay." Tang Yue nodded.
Moments later, the connection was cut off. The Joint Space Station had entered the no-signal zone.
After some time, the channel quieted down. Tang Yue propped his head up and looked at the electronic clock in front of him. It was already 12 o 'clock. The red numbers jumped second by second. How long would it take for the Joint Space Station to enter the no-signal zone?
Half an hour?
Twenty minutes?
I can't remember … Tang Yue stared at the time in a daze. His brain seemed to be spinning, but it also seemed to be a mess.
He wanted to think of something to dispel his sleepiness, but he was really too tired and sleepy. The numbers on the clock gradually distorted in his eyes. Tang Yue suddenly realized that he couldn't even recognize the numbers on the clock. He stared at the numbers for a long time, but he still didn't know what they were.
Tang Yue knew that his brain had started to go on strike. His cognitive functions had completely disappeared, and the information received by his eyes was rejected by his brain. His eyelids felt extremely heavy.
I can't fall asleep.
I can't fall asleep.
I promised myself that I can't fall asleep.
Who's going to slap me?
Where's the Old Cat … The Old Cat still hasn't come back.
Why isn't it back yet …
A heavy sense of tiredness rose. Tang Yue dared to guarantee that he had never been so sleepy in his life. Everything in front of his eyes became blurry. After his brain, the rest of his body also went on strike.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear someone calling his name.
Tang Yue …
Tang Yue!
Is it Mai Dong?
He didn't know if this was a hallucination or a dream.
Tang Yue began to make a final effort. He pinched his cheeks hard, trying to wake himself up.
But the next moment, the sky darkened, and the world turned dark.