Chapter 1 First Day of National Holiday

It was the first day of the National Day holiday, but Mingmei didn't watch the Empire's National Day broadcast, and didn't even eat breakfast.

Bright and early, she was dragged by her second brother's starship to a private styling salon on Central Star to prepare for this evening's gala.

"Can I eat something?"

"Miss, not for the time being," the stylist said with a smile, tapping the data on the optical brain in his hand, refusing Mingmei's request. "It's strange, but your dress size is the same as it was a month ago. When the dress was made, we left some extra space in certain areas."

Mingmei: …

Oh, so this is a veiled reminder that she's gained weight this month?

"But you can have some nutrient solution, Miss. What flavor would you like? We have strong flavors like mapo tofu and black pepper beef fillet, and lighter flavors like three delicacies and tomato..."

"Do you have anything sweet?"

"Yes, how about durian cake flavor?"

Mingmei: "No, thanks. I'm not hungry. I'll just have some water."

What kind of dark nutrient solution flavors are these?

No wonder people in the interstellar era still have to eat food after so many years. These nutrient solution flavors can't even beat instant noodles!

"Well then, Miss, let's continue discussing today's makeup. To be honest, I think you look great even without makeup. How about applying some moisturizing cherry red lip gloss? And for the gala, we can highlight some areas of your skin..."

"Can you make me up so that even my acquaintances won't recognize me?"

Mingmei stared at herself in the mirror with a serious expression, not realizing how much trouble her request was causing the stylist.

Tonight's Empire gala will be broadcast live, and there will be a red carpet walk.

Mingmei, who was already somewhat famous because of the game NPC, really didn't want another wave of explosive popularity.

#Shocking! It Turns Out the Mysterious Merchant Miss Sister's Modeling is Related to Him!!#

Mingmei could already imagine the trending headline.

"Oh, Miss, you're making things difficult for me! Isn't this making you look ugly? How can a beauty that's passed through my hands become ugly? That would ruin my reputation! Ugh!"

Mingmei saw in the mirror that the strong man behind her, who was nearly two meters tall, was almost twisted into a pretzel.

Mingmei: Obvious stomach discomfort.

"Could you please speak normally?"

Mei Qiu, who had changed his clothes and makeup, walked over and saw that Mingmei's makeup wasn't done and she hadn't changed her dress. First, he complained about the stylist's behavior.

Then, he began to nitpick at Mingmei: "Can you act a little like an idol? Look at you in your T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Are you an old man on a beach vacation?"

"Who was it that disturbed my sweet dreams early in the morning and dragged me out? Did I have time to change clothes?"

"Is that your excuse for not washing your face and changing out of your pajamas?"

"Isn't it?"

"Really? Didn't I tell you what time to meet this morning last night? You couldn't get up and now you're blaming me?"

Mingmei: …

She didn't want to talk. Her second brother was too annoying.

She had stayed up late last night packing her suitcase for her trip with Mu Chen tomorrow. What's wrong with sleeping in a little?

"Cooperate, and I'll tell you Uncle Yan Hui's new contact information the day after tomorrow, how's that?"

Seeing Mingmei's expressionless and silently sulking, Mei Qiu softened his attitude a bit.

"Really?"

Mingmei had been pestering Ruan Xun for a long time these past few days, but she hadn't been able to find out Yan Hui's whereabouts. She looked at Mei Qiu suspiciously, "Do you really know?"

"Of course?"

"Aren't you afraid Dad will come looking for trouble with you?"

Mei Qiu: …

Mentioning his old man, who also wanted to find his uncle, Mei Qiu grimaced and smiled awkwardly, his eyes darting around, and said, "Dad received Uncle's apology gift these past two days, so he should... should be less angry, right?"

"Huh?"

Mei Qiu didn't say what gift Yan Hui sent, but Mingmei was thinking about contacting Yan Hui later to increase her game experience.

"Oh, right,"

Mingmei was spacing out thinking about the game, but Mei Qiu suddenly spoke again: "How do you feel about your contact with that Mu family kid?"

"Hmm?"

Mingmei looked up at Mei Qiu. The stylist next to them had received Mei Qiu's signal and temporarily left the room, leaving the siblings to chat.

Mingmei asked first, "Is he related to Mu Feize?"

She still remembered the character Mu Chen played in *Bloodstained Prelude*.

"Ah..."

Mentioning Mu Feize, Mei Qiu opened his mouth, looked down at his sister sitting in front of him, and nodded in acknowledgment: "He was my good brother, we fought side by side, and then..."

Then he stayed in that place forever.

"Mu Chen is the child adopted by the Mu family for Mu Feize, right? The Mu family... pfft~ Even in the interstellar era, they're considered rare old fogeys, still emphasizing the importance of having an heir in this day and age."

Mei Qiu still spoke in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Last time, during that game, the Mu family's old lady watched the game live stream and cried a lot, saying that Mu Chen looked exactly like Feize when he was young."

Mingmei stared into Mei Qiu's eyes and saw a fleeting moment of remembrance and sorrow. Before she could speak, she heard Mei Qiu say, "The Mu family once wanted to clone a child using the stem cells Feize left behind when he was young."

"Cl-Clone?" Mingmei was startled, "Then Mu Chen is..."

"No, Mu Chen isn't a clone, he's really adopted. After millions of years of evolution, technological progress, and exploration of human genes, human lifespan has been greatly extended, but somatic cells have lost the ability to replicate into a complete person again.

Haven't you noticed that even though humans can live for hundreds of years, they only have one or two children?

Even the activity of reproductive cells that are mainly responsible for reproduction is like that, let alone other cells. Even stem cells... it's unlikely to clone a complete living person again."

Hearing Mei Qiu's explanation, Mingmei breathed a sigh of relief.

"But it's good this way, it prevents the Zerg from exploiting loopholes."

Perhaps because there was really no one else to talk to, Mei Qiu and Mingmei spoke without restraint.

But seeing his sister's expression, which was almost dazed by his words, Mei Qiu put away the loss in his eyes and patted Mingmei's little head as if nothing had happened, bringing the topic back, "So, what's going on with you and that Mu family kid? I saw you in the game, oh my~~~ Tsk tsk! Do you think you're flirting?"

God knows how much the slightly lewd smile on Mei Qiu's face, who looked like he was gossiping, ruined his handsome face!

The impression Mingmei had just formed that her second brother was actually quite reliable and a mature man was instantly shattered.

So, with a bit of a vengeful heart, Mingmei pretended to be stupid, stared at Mei Qiu, tilted her little head, and said innocently, "Hmm... flirting... why not?"

Mu Chen: Barf!

"Heh~"

The big hand that had just gently touched Mingmei's little head instantly became violent. By the time the stylist entered the room, Mei Qiu had already left, leaving only a Mingmei with disheveled hair. The stylist looked puzzled.

What were these siblings doing just now?