The Gaze of the Radio Girl (GL) - Chapter 28

This wasn’t Wu Lele’s first time at the city science museum.

In elementary and middle school, whenever a fall field trip came up, one destination was always the science museum.

They came so often that, by the end, hardly anyone listened to the guides.

After all, except for special exhibits, everything was pretty much the same.

But people couldn’t just do nothing all day. To make the trip more fun, kids found other entertainment.

Wu Lele was one of their targets.

For a long time, she’d wear her earphones tightly, pretending she couldn’t hear, and stick close behind the guide or teacher, like hiding under an umbrella from the rain.

Her math and science grades were great, and though teachers didn’t like her loner personality or her lopsided academics, she was always the first they thought of for competitions.

She wasn’t their darling, but she might as well have been.

The whole school couldn’t do anything with her.

Her body escaped physical harm, but the hole in her heart never filled.

She felt like a wanderer in a vacuum world, shrouded in loneliness…

When the lights dimmed and the vast universe lit up with special effects, Wu Lele looked at the person beside her.

Feeling her gaze, that beautiful profile leaned closer.

She panicked for a moment—there were so many people here, they couldn’t be as clingy as at home.

But Xue Ran just smiled lightly, took her hand, and interlocked their fingers.

The person who once floated in nothingness was like an astronaut clicking into the spaceship’s harness, no longer drifting uncontrollably.

The deep space exhibit was a rare major event, already crowded, and with summer vacation, it was packed with parents and kids.

Xue Ran held her hand and didn’t plan to let go.

But parents had sharp eyes. With one glance, they frowned, muttered gossip, and steered their kids away.

Wu Lele and Xue Ran exchanged a look and laughed.

They weren’t going to let go.

Being at the science museum, there were many interactive devices, but they were crawling with kids.

They’d finish one, and another swarm would climb up.

Wu Lele wanted to try, but she couldn’t compete, even when she queued.

After being cut in line again, she didn’t want to wait.

As she turned to leave, her feet left the ground—Xue Ran scooped her up by the waist, and before she knew it, she was in the space ring.

“Hey, you college students, don’t you know to let kids go first?”

Xue Ran sat on the device too: “All I know is we queued, it’s our turn, so we get to play. Got it?”

“You!!”

The staff apologized: “Sorry for the bad experience. It’s really crowded today.”

Xue Ran: “No problem.”

Wu Lele: “Can we start now?”

“Yes, don’t grab anything during the ride,” the staff said, buckling their seatbelts. “Get ready to scream!”

The gate lowered, and the space ring started spinning.

Wu Lele and Xue Ran sat facing each other, and as the ring sped up, they felt weightlessness.

Honestly, it was thrilling, but their bodies didn’t take it well.

Dizzy and wobbly, they stumbled off, and in a clumsy moment, crashed face-to-face.

Wu Lele’s forehead hurt; Xue Ran’s chin hurt.

They groaned, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

Xue Ran: “Never played this before?”

Wu Lele: “I was too scared before, but now I can do it again.”

“Next one?”

“Sure.”

They tried every experience they’d never done before.

Wu Lele’s smile never faded.

At the last area, Wu Lele stood at the entrance, reluctant to move forward.

“It’s almost over. I don’t want it to end.”

Xue Ran shook her head: “It won’t. It’ll never end.”

Pushing open the black glass door, the space was filled with mirrors, shimmering with light.

Stepping inside felt like floating in a starry sky.

The starlight was distant and aloof. Wu Lele knew this wasn’t the real universe but a vision humans had long imagined.

She raised her hand, and the starlight landed on her fingertips, interacting with her.

She followed it, wandering to Ursa Minor, passing the asteroid belt, and landing on a nameless star where she met Xue Ran.

An input box appeared above the asteroid, with a virtual keyboard floating, asking them to name it.

Wu Lele: “What’s a good name?”

Xue Ran: “How about I write half, you write half, and we see what comes up?”

“Sure… sounds good.”

“I’ll go first.”

Without much thought, Xue Ran typed: BD6WLL.

That was Wu Lele’s radio call sign.

Wu Lele: “You still remember?”

“How could I forget? Your turn.”

Wu Lele thought, clicked a hyphen, and typed: Astral Witch.

Xue Ran laughed: “That’s way too long. Will it work?”

“Let’s try.”

Wu Lele pressed enter.

The cursor blinked, the input box and keyboard vanished, and BD6WLL-Astral Witch became the name of a star, twinkling in the vast night sky.

“See, it worked.”

Wu Lele stared at the star, couldn’t help but raise her phone, and snapped a photo.

“Lele.”

“Hm?”

She turned, and Xue Ran pulled a small box from behind her.

“I made it myself, but you know, Sister An wasn’t as nice to me as she was to you, so it’s a bit crooked. You won’t mind, right?”

The box opened, and Wu Lele recognized the bracelet, the same style as the one she’d designed for Xue Ran, just with different details.

Wu Lele: “What’s this? Couple bracelets?”

“Uh, you keeping it?”

“Hm…” Wu Lele tilted her head, thinking. “It barely passes inspection.”

Xue Ran shook her head helplessly, smiling fondly.

Wu Lele raised her wrist to her, just like when Xue Ran offered her wrist at the beach.

The cool touch, the clasp clicking, their hands held together, gazing at the star bearing their shared name.

—

Seven years later, Yuanshan Lake Observatory.

Wu Lele was on duty with her senior.

Recent data collection wasn’t going smoothly. The sun’s unusual activity and Earth’s extreme weather made observations harder.

Her senior stretched in her seat: “God, I’m so tired. No matter how many shifts I do, I can’t get used to this schedule.”

Wu Lele stared at the telescope, operating the mouse and keyboard to take photos and record, occasionally jotting notes with pen and paper.

She was so focused that her senior chatted for a while without a response.

Her senior, used to it, reached out, touched her long hair, and started braiding it.

“Lele…”

Wu Lele blinked her sore eyes, finally reacting: “What?”

“You’re off after this shift for a long break, right? I’ll miss you.”

“What long break?” Wu Lele tilted her head to apply eye drops. “Just seven days. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hey, seriously, are you going for a PhD later?”

“Yeah, I’m planning to.”

“…Nice. Having family support… My mom keeps telling me to go back home, work at the airport as ground crew, then get married and have kids.”

Wu Lele didn’t have that worry.

Since retiring, Xue Haichao and Lin Ran traveled everywhere, their hands-off parenting policy only growing looser.

As for her biological parents…

Wu Haosen stayed long-term in a psychiatric hospital. Wu Lele visited him occasionally.

Sometimes he seemed normal, sometimes more extreme, very unstable.

As for Liu Yang, since adding Wu Lele on WeChat, she hadn’t said much.

That morning, Wu Lele sent her a message for the first time, but over ten hours later, there was still no reply.

When her shift ended, Wu Lele didn’t stay late for once. She quickly packed, said a brief goodbye to her senior, and ran to the door.

Xue Ran’s car was waiting by the road.

Wu Lele rushed over, hugging her: “How was work today?”

“Same old. Here,” Xue Ran handed her a drawing. “Wu Haosen drew this.”

The drawing showed a starry sea, a little girl with short hair and earphones in the corner, gazing at the sky.

“…” Wu Lele blinked hard.

“We tried a new treatment with him today. He drew this during it.”

Wu Lele didn’t speak, just looked at the drawing for a long time, then placed it on the back seat.

The car wound down the mountain road toward the airport.

On the highway, the sun broke through the clouds, burning fiercely.

Xue Ran: “Mom, Dad, and Lin are already there. The church is all set.”

Wu Lele: “Oh, right, I almost forgot in the rush. What about Tao Tao and them?”

“Don’t worry, Lin picked them up. They’re having fun at the hotel.”

“The manager?”

“…Off attracting bees and butterflies… Honestly, is she really that charming?”

“Hehe, you’re jealous again?”

“Tch, is it worth it?”

Seeing her sulk, Wu Lele kissed her cheek.

Xue Ran blushed: “…I’m driving…”

Wu Lele kissed her again.

Her phone buzzed. Wu Lele flipped it over.

Liu Yang: Happy wedding

–

(The End)