Work Text:
Lu Bixing used two pliers to carefully connect the wires, bending them so that they would merge properly. After doing so, he set the tools down, leaning back in his chair to admire his work. In front of him was a 3D model of the stars and planets in the Eighth Galaxy. The celestial objects were all dimmed, floating silently above a navy blue pad that he had just connected the wires to.
As he reached a hand forward to touch one of the planets, it brightened under his fingertips, a light blue screen popping up as he touched it. It listed the planet’s name, population, and other miscellaneous items such as fun facts. He sighed, relief washing over him. All of it worked as he intended it to — though he knew that they did more often than not, he still fretted about them not being completed successfully.
He turned the device off and set a box over the top to cover it up. In a few days, after doing some final touches, he’d give it to his daughter, Lu Guo. She was a very hands-on person, and was full of curiosity about the world around her. Lu Bixing smiled as he thought about her running around in the backyard, playing with Zhanlu and his pets.
This star chart that he had been working on was probably one of the most complicated toys he had created; the intricate design and balance within all of the floating planets and the interactive surface he had programmed were all extremely complex. Of course, he was not just making the toy for Lu Guo — okay, maybe that was the main point — but with this project, he was challenging his own skills.
He had been living a quiet life for a few years now, often staying inside his office to play around with new devices. Since Lu Guo and Lin Ran had come into their lives, his and Lin Jingheng’s lives had been filled with even more noise and color. There were times when he’d shut himself in his room for hours, feeling surprised when he came out to see his children outside, either looking at him with expectation or playing around in the living room.
Lu Bixing had told himself that he’d make his childrens’ lives as bright as he could, because it was what they deserved. After so long, everything was finally at peace… He sighed softly as he leaned back in his chair. It would be nice if they could live a life without hardships. He then shook his head, clearing those thoughts as he told himself to stay optimistic.
As he opened the door, he saw Lu Guo standing there, about to knock on the door. “Ah! I was just about to ask if you wanted to eat something,” Lu Guo turned toward the kitchen. “Zhanlu just made some food.”
“I’ll get some in a bit, thanks,” Lu Bixing gave her a smile, reaching out to tousle her hair. “You go eat first.”
“Okay!” Lu Guo ran off, calling for Lin Ran to stop sitting by the piano and get some food with her.
Lu Bixing watched her go with a fond look in his eyes. Lu Guo’s eyes were still bright and untainted, with a curiosity that made the stars sparkle in her eyes. He was once again filled with the energy to tinker with his experiments and make something that could make his children happy.
-
“What is this?” Lu Guo looked at the box that had just been handed to her.
There was no special occasion; it was just a regular day — Lu Guo had come back from school, and Lu Bixing had shoved something into her hands. Lin Jingheng and Lin Ran were both out; it was just the two of them for now.
“Open it,” he nodded at the table, motioning for her to place it there.
She looked at it for a moment longer, then shrugged and went forward, pulling off the satin ribbon from the box. Lu Guo slowly lifted the cover off of the box, gasping in surprise when she saw the flat board with modeled planets on it. Excitedly, she turned the switch on, watching as the planets floated upward and shined with color.
“Each planet has a little bit of information you can read about,” Lu Bixing added.
“Woah…” Lu Guo’s eyes reflected the blue light from the device. She couldn’t keep the awe out of her voice when she asked, “You made this?”
“Your dad is the best engineer in the Eight Galaxies,” Lu Bixing said with a bragging tone, but Lu Guo didn’t even notice as she was engrossed in playing with the model.
The mechanics were too complicated for her to put into words, so she was only able to describe it in a different way: “It looks like you used magic!” She clapped her hands together. “So cool…!”
“It’s technology, not magic,” he laughed, watching as she tapped on one of the planets out of curiosity. He knew his words had flown over her head when she didn’t even react to his words. He could only sigh fondly and watch her play as he moved to take a seat on the couch.
When Lin Jingheng came back, Lu Guo patiently waited for him to set his stuff down, then excitedly ran to him, tugging his sleeve. “Look, look what papa made me!” She pulled him toward the star chart. “He made a map out of magic!”
“Magic?” Lin Jingheng frowned, unable to understand.
“Yeah, look! When I go like this —” Lu Guo tapped on one of the floating planets. A box of information popped up, hovering next to it. “Bam! See?”
Lu Guo was still young, four or five at most, and was unable to understand ideas that she hadn’t formed herself. Lin Jingheng merely nodded, deciding not to waste his efforts on trying to explain its mechanics to the young girl. It wasn’t like she’d change her mind anyway; she was a stubborn girl — no doubt about who she had gotten it from.
“When you grow up, you might be able to do something like this too,” Lin Jingheng said, trying to encourage her curiosity.
“I might be able to use magic?” Lu Guo’s eyes widened before she broke into a smile. “Hehe, then when that happens, I’ll show you and papa my cool skills!”
Lin Jingheng sighed to himself but bent down and patted her head. It was fine if she didn’t know for now.
-
“Here, bring this to your dad,” Zhanlu leaned down to set a plate of fruit onto Lu Guo’s hands. “He might need a break. Remember to knock before entering.”
“Okay!” Lu Guo smiled, carefully bringing the plate over to the door that led to Lu Bixing’s study.
She balanced the plate on one hand before knocking on the door. “Papa, can I come in?”
“Oh, Guo Guo?” Lu Bixing called back, his voice slightly muffled from being on the other side of the door. “You can come in, be careful though. I’m in the middle of doing something.”
With that, Lu Guo slowly pushed open the door, peering inside. Lu Bixing was tinkering with some electrical equipment, sparks flying out once every so often. He paused when he heard her footsteps, looking over at her. “You can put that over there where there’s no paper,” he said as he fixed a wire into place before setting down the pliers.
“What are you doing?” Lu Guo tilted her head, looking at the complicated board in front of her.
“I’m just trying out some things,” Lu Bixing shook his head. “It’s nothing, really.”
He had been trying out some new ideas recently; some of them hadn’t been working the way he wanted them to, and he was close to giving up. But he had seen the way Lu Guo’s eyes reflected the sparks and the way her eyes shone when he had given her the star map, making him smile fondly. He reached out to tousle her hair. “If I make something cool, I’ll definitely show it to you.”
Lu Guo giggled, her eyes curving into crescents. “Okay! When I grow up, I want to be able to make cool things like papa! Oh, but I also want to fly the fancy robots like daddy…”
She started to ramble, and Lu Bixing just laughed. “You have a long future ahead of you; you don’t need to worry about it now. For now, go see if Little Ran wants some fruit too.”
As Lu Guo took her leave, Lu Bixing sighed softly to himself. He would have never imagined a life like this a decade or so ago. But now, since he was lucky enough to have people so dear to him, he would move forward like how he had for his entire life — with determination.
… But first, he probably had to make sure that Lu Guo wouldn’t accidentally sneak into his study in attempts to create something.