Chapter Seventy-Eight: Peng Dongli’s Apology

Zhang Mingyang didn't want to discuss it, and Peng Dongli was also unwilling to elaborate further.

"Come on, let's go take a look downstairs."

The two of them jumped down along the slope. About thirty meters below, there was a square white building, roughly four hundred square meters in area.

They pushed open the door and entered the pressurized chamber. Peng Dongli pressed a button, waiting for the oxygen to fill the space and for the gas disinfection to complete. Once the white disinfectant vapor dissipated, they opened the inner door and went inside.

As soon as they entered, they took off their spacesuits and hung them on the wall for oxygenation. Turning around, they realized that more than twenty young people in blue uniforms had stood up and were watching them.

Feeling the burning gazes of everyone, Zhang Mingyang glanced over himself, "Senior, we're not wearing green, are we?"

Peng Dongli looked himself over and shook his head, "No, we're in yellow."

At that moment, a young man approached and asked, "Are you two from Earth?"

Hearing this, Zhang Mingyang took a step back, his face full of confusion. "Aren't you?"

The young man seemed to realize he’d misspoken and quickly explained, "I mean, are you the personnel sent from Earth?"

Peng Dongli nodded, "Yes, we're mining surveyors from the Ministry of Land Resources," he said, pulling out his credentials to show the young man.

The young man glanced at the credentials, and his expression immediately changed, "Oh, so you're the leaders. Please, come inside."

He led them to a tall table and brewed two cups of tea, bringing them over.

"Please try our lunar tea!"

"Lunar tea?"

Zhang Mingyang stared at the tea, "What do you mean? Why is it called lunar tea?"

The young man explained, "Our base's biologist, Xu Yuqing, cultivated these tea leaves here on the moon, so we call it lunar tea."

"Xu Yuqing?"

Hearing the name, Peng Dongli nearly spat out his tea. "Where is she? Where is she?"

Seeing Peng Dongli's frantic searching, the young man hurried to answer, "Mr. Peng, Researcher Xu isn't here."

"Oh, you scared me."

The young man looked at Peng Dongli and asked, "Do you know Researcher Xu?"

Peng Dongli quickly waved his hand, "No, no."

"Oh! From your reaction, I thought you knew her."

"No, not at all."

Zhang Mingyang looked around at the people drinking tea and asked the young man, "What's the purpose of this white building?"

The young man replied, "I'm the drill driver here, just call me Wan. This room is the miners' lounge. We work in five shifts every day, so this room is used by those just off shift or about to go on."

"Oh! So that's it."

Now that Zhang Mingyang understood, he asked, "How many technical workers are there in your mine? Do they all live at the base?"

Wan answered, "We have four hundred twenty technicians, ten drilling rigs, five loaders, and twenty heavy transport vehicles. All the workers live in the miners' quarter at the north corner of the base."

"North corner?"

Seeing Zhang Mingyang was unsure about directions, Wan quickly sketched a character in his palm, indicating the workers' quarters were at the upper right corner.

"Oh!"

Now Zhang Mingyang understood; he himself lived in the south.

Peng Dongli asked, "Does everyone here know Xu Yuqing?"

"Of course!"

Wan was somewhat excited, "Researcher Xu is very nice and friendly. Originally, there were no refreshments in this lounge, but she started bringing us tea every week."

Looking at the green leaves in his cup, Peng Dongli hadn't expected her to be so kind.

"Senior, do you think the person who picked us up that day was really Xu Yuqing?"

Hearing this, Peng Dongli became suspicious as well. He asked Wan, "Does Researcher Xu wear glasses?"

Wan nodded, "Yes, she's severely nearsighted, her lenses are really thick."

That's right! She wore glasses. Peng Dongli recalled that the woman from yesterday indeed had thick glasses.

As Peng Dongli was pondering whether she was genuine or not, the inner door opened and someone in a white spacesuit entered.

"Researcher Xu is here!"

Wan glanced at the person at the door and hurried over.

Peng Dongli and Zhang Mingyang turned their heads as soon as they heard her name.

"Senior, is she the real one?"

"Wait for her to speak—I remember her voice."

At the entrance, Xu Yuqing hadn't yet removed her suit when she saw Wan approaching. She quickly took a packet of tea from her right pocket and handed it to him.

"Wan, I've brought you next week's tea. I heard you've been drinking more lately and it's running low, so I brought extra."

Wan gratefully received the tea, "Oh, you're too kind. Next time we’ll send someone to fetch it; you shouldn’t have to go through all this trouble."

Listening to her voice at the door, Peng Dongli instantly recognized it. "It’s her! It’s her!"

His voice was so loud that Xu Yuqing glanced over at him. Peng Dongli and Zhang Mingyang quickly lowered their heads and pretended to sip their tea.

Xu Yuqing looked at them and asked Wan, "Wan, are those two civil servants from Earth?"

Wan glanced back and replied, "Yes, those are Peng Dongli and Zhang Mingyang from the Ministry of Land Resources."

"Peng Dongli?"

Hearing the name, Xu Yuqing seemed to recall something and a slight smile appeared at her lips. "Wan, I'll have some tea here before I leave."

"Of course! Take any seat, I’ll go brew some."

As soon as Wan left, Xu Yuqing removed her white spacesuit, revealing her figure: a slender build, standing at one meter seventy, a bob cut reaching her neck, and delicate facial features. Despite her thick glasses, to any outsider she was clearly a refined beauty.

Xu Yuqing took off her spacesuit and slowly walked toward Peng Dongli.

"Senior, she seems to be coming over."

Peng Dongli glanced back, already thinking about what to do. "Well, you can't always avoid it—sooner or later we'll have to meet her."

With that, he stood up and turned to greet Xu Yuqing, "Ah, isn't this Researcher Xu? What brings you here today?"

Xu Yuqing looked straight into Peng Dongli's eyes, saying nothing, while Peng Dongli stared at her clenched hands, feeling a chill run through him. "Oh no, I feel like she wants to hit me."

"You have nothing you want to say to me..."

Before Xu Yuqing could finish, Peng Dongli suddenly dropped to his knees, saying, "I was wrong!"

His dramatic gesture made everyone stop what they were doing, staring wide-eyed at them. Even Zhang Mingyang hadn’t expected his senior to pull such a move.