The First Line of a Starry Sky Poem

When Lu Chenyuan finished telling his story, Lu Shi'an had already fallen asleep.

Lu Chenyuan carefully picked him up, placed him on the bed, and tucked him in.

He and Mo Qingli tiptoed out of the children's room together.

"Qin Ya's phone has been blowing up," Mo Qingli said, her voice tinged with unconcealable worry.

"Many in the alliance are panicking."

"Mm." Lu Chenyuan walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of red wine, and handed one to her.

"Aren’t you going to say something?" Mo Qingli asked.

"Say what?" Lu Chenyuan gazed out the window.

"Congratulate them for finally getting the data they wanted most?"

Mo Qingli froze.

"This... was also part of the plan?"

"Not the plan. A contingency," Lu Chenyuan took a sip of wine.

"You need contingencies for both the best and worst outcomes."

He picked up his phone and glanced at a text Lin Yuan had just sent.

Only five words:

"Proceed as planned."

Lu Chenyuan smiled and replied with two words:

"Understood."

Then, right in front of Mo Qingli, he dialed Qin Ya's number.

The background noise on the other end was chaotic, and Qin Ya's voice was thick with suppressed fury and exhaustion.

"Lu Chenyuan! You’d better have an explanation for me!"

"Qin Ya," Lu Chenyuan's voice was calm and firm.

"Notify all alliance members. Online meeting in half an hour."

"A meeting now? What for? To announce our bankruptcy?" Qin Ya's voice was nearly a roar.

"No," Lu Chenyuan said lightly.

"A victory celebration."

...

One month later.

The same control room.

The same people.

But now, everyone’s faces carried a quiet resolve.

This time, no one was staring at the countdown.

All eyes were fixed on Lin Yuan.

He stood in the same spot as before.

His voice, amplified by the microphone, was clear and steady.

"All units, report readiness."

"Propulsion systems, nominal."

"Control systems, nominal."

"Tracking systems, nominal."

"..."

"10."

"9, 8, 7..."

Lin Yuan’s gaze remained fixed on the main screen.

"3, 2, 1..."

"Ignition!"

This time, there was no abort.

Thousands of miles away, in the Cloud Peak Residence.

The massive screen in the living room broadcast the launch live.

Lu Chenyuan and Mo Qingli sat side by side on the sofa.

Lu Shi'an perched on his father’s lap, watching the screen with wide-eyed curiosity.

On the screen, a brilliant orange flame erupted from the base of the towering white rocket.

Thick smoke billowed upward.

The entire world seemed to tremble under the deafening roar.

The living room was silent, save for the glow of the ascending fire, painting their faces in warm hues.

The massive rocket slowly lifted off the ground.

Then, it began to accelerate.

Trailing a long tail of flame, it pierced the sky like a blade.

Faster and faster, higher and higher.

Until, against the deep blue expanse, it became nothing more than a radiant speck of light.

Lu Shi'an pointed at the tiny dot on the screen.

"The rocket... so pretty..."

In his eyes reflected the first glimmer of starlight his father had kindled.

Minutes later, the broadcaster’s composed voice came through the television.

"Stage separation successful."

"First-stage reentry initiated."

"Attitude adjustment nominal."

"Entering recovery zone."

"Sea platform signal acquired."

"...Recovery successful!"

When those last four words rang out,

the control room erupted in thunderous cheers.

People embraced, wept with joy, their jubilant cries almost piercing through the screen.

But in the Cloud Peak Residence, the living room remained quiet.

Lu Chenyuan’s phone buzzed incessantly.

Congratulatory messages and calls flooded in like a tide.

He didn’t even glance at it, simply setting it aside.

He held his son close, watching the screen where the silver behemoth had landed safely on the sea platform.

Mo Qingli leaned against his shoulder.

She didn’t say "You did it," or "We did it."

Instead, she looked down at the child in her arms and whispered softly:

"Shi'an, look."

Her voice was as gentle as moonlight.

"That’s the first poem your father wrote to the stars."

Lu Chenyuan turned to look at Mo Qingli.

Her eyes mirrored the city lights outside the window—and a future even more dazzling.

He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

Then, he looked at his son in his arms.

He thought of the small village he’d left behind in another life.

There, children who gazed at the stars saw only poverty and unreachable dreams.

But his son, from the very first moment he looked up, would know:

That path could be walked.

...

The success of Expedition-1 acted like a fuse, igniting the entire market.

Not the media frenzy.

Not the stock market surge.

But something quieter, yet far more powerful.

Countless calls poured into the public inboxes and switchboards of every member company in the Skyway Alliance.

Requests for collaboration, investment inquiries, technical consultations.

Overnight, it seemed everyone could see the road to the sky.

And the Skyway Alliance was now the only tollbooth—and the only rest stop—on that road.

Shortly after the successful launch, a small announcement appeared in an obscure corner of a state media website.

Xia Nation officially declared it would accelerate the construction of the "Chang’e" Lunar Research Base.

For the first time, the statement mentioned "encouraging and incorporating reliable commercial aerospace forces in the project."

...

Mo Corporation, boardroom.

Mo Qingli sat at the head of the table.

She wore a light blue tailored suit.

The room was dead silent.

Mo Qingli didn’t look at anyone. Her gaze rested on the distant horizon beyond the window.

"Effective immediately, Mo Advanced Materials will establish the 'Celestial' division."

Her voice was soft but carried clearly to every ear.

"Independent accounting. No resource caps."

"Its sole purpose is to meet every demand of the 'Chang’e' project and the Skyway Alliance."

When she finished, the room stayed silent.

Mo Qingli’s eyes swept slowly across every face present.

"The future isn’t just on the ground."

"It’s also in the sky."

...

At the same time.

HanQing Technologies, headquarters.

A bright conference room filled with young faces.

They were the top engineers and scientists handpicked from every department.

Ren Qian stood at the front.

She wore a sleek black professional suit.

"I’ve called you here today for one announcement."

"Starting now, you no longer belong to any existing division of HanQing."

"You will form a new team, codenamed 'Vega.'"

"The 'Vega' team will represent HanQing—represent Yuanlong—in the AI systems, communications, and autonomous navigation development for the 'Chang’e' project."

A wave of barely contained excitement rippled through the room.

"This is an order, and an honor."

Ren Qian's eyes burned with determination.

"I don’t want you to consider the cost. I don’t want you to consider the time."

"I want you to pour our best technology, our most daring ideas, into this project."

"I want the whole world to see that even beyond Blue Planet, Xia’s technology stands at the pinnacle."

"Do you have the confidence?"

"Yes!"

The response was thunderous, unified, and deafening.