Chapter Text
我想知道 I want to know,
流星能飞多久 How long can a shooting star fly for?
它的美丽是否 Is its beauty
值得去寻求 Worth searching for ?
Launch Day +1
Yu Tu and Jing Jing did not stay long at the party celebrating the successful launch of Search for God, which, she would later hear from the group chat of family members, ran deep into the night. The duties of the chief engineer did not cease, after all, though the probe was even now entering its intended orbit. Yu Tu was flying out to the Beijing Control Centre early the next morning.
Perhaps it was because the adrenaline of the launch day was beginning to leave, combined with the pressure of the previous few weeks finally crashing in, but Yu Tu fell into bed immediately after washing up and changing out of his clothes. He was fast asleep by the time Jing Jing got out of the bathroom.
For a long moment, Jing Jing only stood there, smiling softly at her husband. She thought back to over twenty years earlier, when she first heard him talk of his dreams exploring the stars above, and her heart suddenly felt a new burst of pride as she realised, though there were so many more things he undoubtedly wanted to accomplish, he had finally succeeded in taking the first step in achieving that childhood dream that he had chased for the majority of his life. The probe that he had helped design, had poured his heart and soul and ten years of his youth into, was finally above them now, exploring the deep mysteries that he had for so many years longed to know about.
Jing Jing sat down on the bed and gently removed the glasses he had forgotten to take off before sleep took over. Then, she eased him into a more comfortable position and pulled the covers over him. Moving quietly around the room now, she packed up their things so that at least they weren’t going to run around forgetting things the next morning. When everything was in order, Jing Jing finally slipped into bed and placed her arm gently over Yu Tu’s waist, resting her head against his shoulder.
When she closed her eyes and fell deep into sleep herself, she dreamt of Jade Rabbit waving at her from a distant star.
“Have a safe trip,” Jing Jing said softly, kissing Yu Tu’s cheek. “Text me when you land.”
Yu Tu nodded, and placed another kiss on Jing Jing’s forehead, before reaching for his suitcase and walked towards the gate. Before he stepped through, he turned around and waved gently at her.
Jing Jing watched until Yu Tu had disappeared around a corner. Then, smiling to herself, she walked towards her waiting lounge to pass the time until her own flight. She would fly back to Shanghai first to run a few errands and collect a few things, before joining Yu Tu in Beijing a few days later.
Launch Day +8
It was early afternoon when Jing Jing arrived in their Beijing apartment.
Even though Jing Jing would consider her main base in Shanghai, she still spent enough time in Beijing that it was also more practical to have an apartment in Beijing as well, rather than to stay at hotels everytime she was here. The apartment was bought before she and Yu Tu got together, so it could not be said to be close to the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Centre, but Yu Tu had assured her over the years that being able to live together when they were both in Beijing at the same time was more than a good enough trade-off. Besides, Jing Jing thought it was quite civic-minded of them to save the government on the cost of his accommodation when he had to be in Beijing for work.
Now, Jing Jing went into the bedroom and opened the closet, and found herself smiling when she saw his clothes already hanging there. She reached out to caress the fabric of a shirt sleeve, before turning around to her own suitcase, opening it to begin hanging up her own clothes.
Her phone beeped in the middle of the process. Jing Jing reached eagerly for it.
Yu Tu: I just got out of the control room. All settled?
Jing Jing: Yes, I’m just got home. Are you going to be working late tonight?
Yu Tu: I’ll try to get out as early as possible, but don’t wait for me to have dinner.
Jing Jing: Okay ❤️
Yu Tu: Love you too.
It was past eight-thirty when Jing Jing, sitting up in bed with a script, heard the front door of the apartment open. She scrambled out of bed and met Yu Tu outside in the living room.
“You’re back,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.
Yu Tu managed to put his laptop bag down on the couch nearby before hugging her back. “I’ve missed you.”
Jing Jing pulled away and looked up at him, smiling. “It’s hardly been a week.”
“I still missed you,” he insisted.
She laughed at that, and leaned up to kiss him.
“Have you eaten?” she asked when they parted.
“I ate in the staff cafeteria already,” he said, brushing her hair from her face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to have dinner with you.”
Jing Jing just shook her head and smiled wryly. “You just gave Ling Jie the perfect opportunity to ambush me with a meeting going over all my itinerary for the next month, so she’s probably thanking you.”
Yu Tu chuckled and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Where are she and Xiao Zhu?"
"They're at their hotel. Xiao Zhu will be here with me most of the time, but Ling Jie is flying back to Shanghai at the end of the week, so she wanted to tell me everything she needed in person as soon as possible I guess." Jing Jing smiled and smoothed down the front of his shirt. "Let's not talk about them anymore. Are you tired?"
Yu Tu smiled and placed his hand over hers. “Not now that you're here." Then, he picked up his bag again and the two of them walked hand in hand back to the bedroom. "Let me have a shower and get changed, then I’ll join you, okay?”
Jing Jing nodded, and released him.
Jing Jing looked up some time later when Yu Tu lifted the covers and climbed into bed with her.
“What’s the script?” he asked, gesturing the iPad in her hands.
“Hmmm…pretty interesting, actually,” she said, settling into his arms. “Spy drama, and the whole 30 episodes is supposed to be set over the course of a week. Character’s pretty badass.”
“Are you taking it?”
Jing Jing hummed thoughtfully. “Not sure yet. Have to wait and see what happens next in Beijing…I might end up being too busy for this. But they’re still in very early production and I don’t have to answer on this immediately.”
Not wanting to think about work now that he was here, Jing Jing put the iPad on the bedside table and turned around to wrap her arms around Yu Tu. He smiled and pulled her close by the waist before leaning in to kiss her.
For the next half an hour, they caught up on the days they had been apart since Hainan, and talked about her plans for the next few weeks in Beijing.
Then, as she laid with her head on Yu Tu’s lap and his hand was playing with her hair, Jing Jing said softly, “Yu Tu.”
“Hmmm?”
She sat up and looked at him seriously. “That last morning in Hainan…” she started.
A smile played on Yu Tu’s lips as he remembered the morning in question. Then, as her face continued to remain rather apprehensive, his expression turned to concern. “What is it?”
“I think – “ she started, before forcing herself to clarify. “It’s nothing really bad.”
He nodded slowly.
“It’s just that I forgot – “ Jing Jing stuttered to a stop. Pressing her lips once together nervously, she started again. “You were so busy in Hainan that I never got around to telling you that when I had my routine check-up in Shanghai before coming to Hainan, I got the IUD removed. I mean, we were considering it anyway, I thought it would just be less hassle to remove it while I was already with the doctor and…then I kind of forgot about it.”
Yu Tu looked intensely at her and she could see comprehension dawning in his eyes. “We didn’t use protection that time.”
“No.”
Despite all of Yu Tu’s teasing when she first arrived in Hainan, in the days before the launch, he had been so nervous and stressed out, and had often worked so deeply into the night that the most they did was kissing in bed and letting their hands wander. There were also days when she had been exhausted by the day’s sight-seeing with his colleagues’ family members that she hadn’t even been awake when he finally came to bed.
It was only in the early hours of the morning after the successful launch that Jing Jing had been woken from her sleep by his intoxicatingly gentle kisses. That morning was the first time they had properly made love since she arrived in Hainan, and her mind, fogged up with pent up desire, thoughts of him and lingering sleep, had not remembered she was not covered until she had boarded her own plane to Shanghai much later that morning.
Yu Tu tilted his head and looked at her carefully. “Are you – “
“It was a week ago!” Jing Jing exclaimed. “I don’t know! Have you forgotten how biology works?”
Yu Tu shook his head. “I was going to say, are you going to be okay?”
“Of course,” she answered. She reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “And I was going to ask you that.”
Yu Tu’s brows drew slightly together in question. “Did you think I would be unhappy if you end up pregnant?”
“I know we talked about it,” she said softly. “And it’s not like we should wait much longer if we want to do it. But I was imagining that when we do finally try to have a baby, it would be a little more deliberate than just me having a moment of air-headedness.”
Yu Tu brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “We can be more deliberate right now if you need,” he said in a husky voice, pulling her in close by the waist.
“Be serious,” she scolded, though she was smiling too.
“Jing Jing,” he said, looking at her more tenderly now, “I would be so happy if you do turn out to be pregnant. But since most of the work will be on you, at least at the beginning, I need for you to be happy about it too.”
Her face softened and she looked down at their entwined hands, stroking his knuckles with her thumb. “I do want to have a baby,” she said earnestly. “With you.”
She paused slightly, wincing at her wording, as if that second clause was not absolute. Yu Tu smiled slightly at the expression on her face and reached out to caress her cheek.
“I guess I just didn’t think that the possibility would come so abruptly,” she said with a crooked smile. “Then again, I did remove our birth control, didn’t have it replaced and then forgot about it, so maybe I was just a tiny bit apprehensive that you would think I tried to trap you or something.”
Yu Tu laughed hard at that. “Mrs Yu,” he said, “I’m pretty sure you succeeded in trapping me for my Shanghai hukou a long time ago. Surely I’m in for a penny, in for a pound that it doesn’t matter much now?”
Jing Jing swatted him on the arm, but couldn’t help laughing with him. “I meant, we haven’t actually really decided on anything, and now maybe it won’t matter what we decide anymore. I’m just afraid maybe the timing won’t be right.”
“To be honest, Jing Jing, I’m not sure there will ever be a truly right timing,” Yu Tu said, squeezing her hand. “There will always be one thing or another that seems in the way. I need to be here in Beijing for another four months, but after that, I should be able to hand over things to people here and be a little more hands-off in Shanghai. Unless something goes wrong, after we return from this trip, I shouldn’t need to be called away on months-long trips for some time. Right now might be as good a time as we would ever get.”
“So…” she said slowly, smiling, “this is okay?”
“Of course,” Yu Tu answered, pulling her in to kiss her.
She smiled softly when he pulled away. Then, suddenly she shook her head, chuckling at herself. “We might be overthinking. How old am I? It can’t be that easy, surely?”
“In that case,” Yu Tu said in a slowly deliberate tone, “should we try to make it easier, or not?”
Jing Jing thought for a moment, before wrapping her arms around his neck. Leaning in close to him, she whispered, “You did say this was as good a time as we’re going to get, right? At least for you?”
“Hmmm…” he murmured, brushing his lips faintly against hers.
“And I make my own schedule, so I don’t even have to get work lined up for the rest of the year.”
This made Yu Tu smile, and he brushed his fingers gently once against her chin. “So perfect timing then,” he whispered.
“Perfect timing,” Jing Jing repeated. And then, suddenly, Yu Tu’s lips were firm, hot and demanding on hers again.
Week 7
“Jing Jing, I need to know your thoughts on the spy drama script,” Ling Jie said as soon as Jing Jing picked up the phone. “They called earlier and wanted an indication whether they can start on the contracting procedures.”
“Unfortunately, you will have to tell the director and producers that I’ll have to pass,” Jing Jing said.
“Why? You said after you first read it that you liked it.”
“I do like the character, and the script is great,” Jing Jing said, smiling to herself. “But the timing won’t work. Even if it could, unless the writer can write into the story that the female lead character will be pregnant for the full duration of the drama, I still can’t really take it.”
There was a loud of exclamation of surprise on the other end of the line, so loud that Jing Jing had to hold the phone away from her ear.
“Really?” Ling Jie said excitedly. “You – “
Fortunately, suddenly, she stopped short, probably realising that she was standing in the middle of the office. As much as Jing Jing trusted the staff of her office, this was a news that should be kept to as close a circle for as long as possible.
“Wait,” Ling Jie said in a much more sedate tone. “Let me go into the meeting room. Is Xiao Zhu there with you?”
“No, we don’t have anything planned today, remember? I gave her the day off.”
“Well, I’m going hang up and call you both together so the three of us can talk, okay?”
“Okay,” Jing Jing said, feeling a tiny bit guilty on poaching on Xiao Zhu’s day off. But now that Ling Jie knew, she would want to get things done, and in that case, Xiao Zhu also needed to know.
A minute later, Jing Jing’s phone rang and as she answered, she found herself now in a group call with Ling Jie and Xiao Zhu.
“Sorry, Xiao Zhu, I know I said you can have the day off, but something has come up,” Jing Jing said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Xiao Zhu said cheerfully. “I’m just in my hotel room. What’s up?”
“She’s pregnant, apparently,” Ling Jie said, trying to sound exasperated, but Jing Jing could hear the pleasure in her voice.
There was a yelp from Xiao Zhu. “Really? Jing Jing, that’s so great! Congratulations.”
“Yes, it’s true,” Jing Jing answered, feeling giddy herself now that she had told someone. “I did a test this morning. It’s very very early, you can’t do anything yet, okay? I haven’t even told Yu Tu yet.”
“You haven’t told your husband yet?” Ling Jie exclaimed, astonished.
“He’s at work,” Jing Jing pointed out. “I didn’t confirm it until after he had left already. It’s not really something to say over the phone.”
"Wait, did you actually go buy the pregnancy test yourself?" Xiao Zhu asked with sudden realisation.
"I thought about asking you to go buy it for me, but then I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to say anything until I was sure. So yeah I went out to buy it this morning myself."
"No one recognised you, did they?" Ling Jie asked, sounding tense now.
"I don't think so. I'm sure we would have heard about it already if anyone did," Jing Jing said.
"If you didn't even want to tell me you suspected you were pregnant, why are you telling us first now?" Xiao Zhu asked, laughing. "Before even telling Yu Laoshi?”
“I would have waited,” Jing Jing answered, “but Ling Jie called wanting an answer on the script.”
“Well, we’ll have to come up with a reason to refuse that script, I suppose,” Ling Jie said thoughtfully. “Unless you want to just tell them the truth.”
“Of course not. We’re not making any announcement, just let it become self-explanatory when the time comes.”
“Well, no one can say you’re not being consistent,” Ling Jie said. “Noted. I’ll handle the drama people. And even if you don’t plan to announce anything, we need plans for what to say or do if someone asks directly. I’ll work on it, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“When have I ever worried with you around?”
There was the sound of a laugh. “I didn’t expect the pregnancy hormones would affect you this early, Jing Jing. That was almost mushy.”
Jing Jing couldn’t help but laugh as well.
“Do you need me to do anything?” Xiao Zhu asked.
“Yes, actually, lots,” Jing Jing said. “Including maybe freeze my bank accounts.”
“What?”
“I spent fifteen minutes looking at baby stuff online, and I swear I already want to buy the whole world,” Jing Jing said pitifully. “Please stop me.”
Xiao Zhu giggled.
“I’ll text you, Xiao Zhu, a bit later about setting up doctor’s appointments and things like that,” Jing Jing said, more seriously. “Ling Jie, I’m still contracted to do promotion for Silent Separation. Can you find out what the upcoming promotion schedule will be like so we can be proactive about it?”
“Of course,” Ling Jie replied. “It’s on my to do list as it is before I fly up on Sunday, since if you had taken a new drama we would have to negotiate the timeline around that. By the way, of course big congratulations to you and Yu Laoshi, Jing Jing! This is great news!”
“Yes, congratulations again, Jing Jing,” Xiao Zhu gushed. “Oh, Yu Laoshi is going to be thrilled, won’t he?”
Jing Jing couldn’t help smiling widely to herself at the thought. “Yes, he will.”
Jing Jing: Try not to work late and come back early today
Yu Tu: Miss me?
Jing Jing: Very much.
Jing Jing: Besides, I have a present for you when you get back.
Yu Tu: You know my birthday is not for another three weeks right?
Jing Jing: You don’t want to wait three weeks for this, trust me 😉
As Yu Tu had texted Jing Jing as he left work, she was waiting for him when he stepped through the door.
“You’re home,” she said, smiling and pulling him immediately into a kiss, which made him chuckle when she pulled away.
“You really missed me that much?”
She grinned. “Something like that.”
Once he had removed his jacket and shoes, she took his hand and tugged him swiftly into the bedroom.
“It’s a good thing that I’m early then,” Yu Tu replied, glancing at his watch. “After all, I was promised a present.”
They had now reached the bed, and for a moment, they stood there opposite each other, both smiling with rather different anticipation of what was to come.
Jing Jing ran her hands down Yu Tu’s arms and then brought his hands up to her lips to kiss them one by one. Then, she pushed him gently so that he sat down on the bed, before settling herself down on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck.
“My present?” he prompted, smiling up at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Jing Jing only smiled again and leaned down to kiss him gently. She pulled away, just as he was attempting to deepen the kiss.
“Was that the present?” Yu Tu asked, raising an eyebrow. “I hate to say it, but I’ve received better presents.”
“No,” Jing Jing whispered, “that wasn’t the present.”
Then, she leaned down to kiss him again, deeper this time. For several long moments, Jing Jing allowed herself to be lost in Yu Tu’s kisses. Her heart pounded in her chest as his tongue traced her lips before probing deeply to taste and savour her. His hands stroked her back, before wandering deliberately to other places that made her gasp for air.
“Engineer Yu,” she whispered, just as her entire body was beginning to feel flushed from his touch.
Yu Tu lifted his head from where he had been taking advantage of her loose, low-cut top to scatter kisses on her chest. He smiled curiously at her. This was a title that normally only his colleagues used to address him, and she had never directly called him this before, let alone in this context. His hand slid under the hem of her shirt as he leaned in again to dot kisses along the curve of her neck. “Are we trying something new?” he whispered heatedly against her skin.
“Yes,” she breathed, but pulling back so that they could look at each other. She placed a hand under his chin and tilted his face up to look at her. Her hand then drifted over to caress his cheek. “Very new.”
He raised his eyebrow expectantly when she did not say anything else, and just gazed at him with a smile on her lips.
“Engineer Yu,” she finally said, her heart racing in her chest with excitement mingled with love for him, “you’re going to have to get ready for a new mission soon.”
“What mission is that?” he asked with a smile that he knew always made her go weak at the knees, while stroking the sides of her waist.
Jing Jing paused dramatically, and locked eyes with him. She knew all her emotions were probably shining in her eyes, because he brought a hand up to brush gentle fingers against her cheeks as he continued to smile at her. “Your new mission is…the launching of a new planetary rover…except...this rover will be exploring the planet of Earth, and the carrier rocket won’t be an LM.”
The teasing smile on Yu Tu’s face dimmed as understanding began to tug at him. His brows furrowed together in thoughts as he watched her face even more closely now. “What will the carrier be called then, if not LM?” he asked softly, now taking both her hands in his and holding them tightly.
“I suppose…” Jing Jing said slowly, smiling even more widely, “we could say the carrier is called JJ-38.”
She watched, heart palpitating with anticipation, as Yu Tu continued to stare at her, breathless and waiting…
“As for what the rover will be called, I suppose we will have to think about it, but we do have probably seven and a half months till launch day, so…umpf…”
The rest of Jing Jing’s words were suddenly swallowed by Yu Tu’s lips as he kissed her, deep and hard. She was gasping for breath by the time he pulled away.
“Jing Jing?” he called, breathless himself and with bright excitement shining in his eyes. “Are you – are you saying what I think you’re saying – ?”
Jing Jing smiled and leaned in close to him, so that her lips brushed against his as she spoke. “Engineer Yu,” she said, placing his hand on her stomach, “you’re going to have to teach this little rabbit about all the stars you’ve seen…”
Yu Tu stared at her, his mouth slightly parted, for a second more, before pulling her close and kissing her again. The kiss was tender and softer now, but somehow still managed to leave her breathless when he pulled away.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked, looking up at her with eyes shining with happiness. “We’re having a baby?”
Jing Jing smiled widely, feeling so happy that she was giddy and light-headed. “Yes, Yu Tu,” she whispered, “we’re having a baby.”
Yu Tu laughed and looked down to where his hand was still laid flat against her stomach, covered by her own hand. “Jing Jing…” he gasped as he turned his hand over to lace his fingers between hers. Then, looking up at her, he grinned widely. Lost for words for several moments, he could only continue to repeat her name between pressing kisses on her lips.
“How long have you known?” he finally managed to ask, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss her palm reverently.
“I’ve suspected for a few days, but I just took a test this morning.”
“Another seven and a half months? So, it was really Hainan…?”
Jing Jing smiled, leaning in to brush a kiss against his lips. “Probably,” she answered with a smile.
Yu Tu gave a breathless gasp of laughter at this that made Jing Jing’s heart skip a beat. She pressed her forehead down against his briefly, before pulling away. "Happy early birthday," she whispered.
Her words made Yu Tu smile as he pulled her down for another kiss. "This really is the best present," he murmured against her lips.
"If I thought I could keep this a secret from you another three weeks, I might have waited for your birthday..." Jing Jing said. "But then again, I already told Ling Jie and Xiao Zhu, and it would have been cruel to not tell you for so long."
Yu Tu took her hand in his and kissed it softly.
“Yu Tu, I’m so happy,” Jing Jing whispered as she placed both hands against his cheeks. With a shaky laugh, she added, “How is it possible to be this happy?”
“I’m so happy, too,” Yu Tu replied, looking at her with such softness and tenderness that Jing Jing’s heart ached. They had known each other for over twenty years, he shouldn’t still be able to take her breath away like this. Especially when he was saying words that, by now, he had said to her a thousand times before. “I love you so much.”
Jing Jing heard herself laughing again, even as suddenly, she felt the smarting of tears at the corner of her eyes. She wrapped her arms back fully around Yu Tu’s neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. As she rested her head down against his hair, the feel of his arms tightening around her waist made great waves of bliss rush through her body. Turning to press a kiss on the crown of his head, she whispered, “I love you too.” There was nothing more that she wanted in this moment than to remain here with him like this for as long as possible. “So much.”