Chapter 1 Facing Each Other

In such a situation where it seemed neither of them had said anything nice about the other, suddenly facing each other was, undeniably, a test of acting skills.

"Oh, I left something inside! I'll go get it."

Mingmei had a flash of inspiration, but the surprise she imagined came out strangely flat.

Mu Chen: "…Then, go get it. I'll wait for you."

Fortunately, Mu Chen could still play along. The other two, feeling awkward, seized the chance to escape when they saw the two were held up. Hu Yue spoke up first, saying they'd go ahead, then gave an awkward smile and hurried off.

Help!

If this soundproof room really leaked sound, they'd have to disconnect from the internet and run away overnight!

One pair chose to escape, running away on the spot; the other chose to face it head-on.

Soon after Hu Yue and the other left, Mu Chen turned around and saw that Mingmei, rarely, had a relaxed smile on her face.

She had looked very serious when she went in just now.

"What's wrong? What did you go in there to do?"

Mu Chen ultimately didn't believe Mingmei's excuse about leaving something inside.

"I went in to shout."

Mu Chen: ??

Seeing the momentary bewilderment on Mu Chen's face, Mingmei couldn't help but laugh. This made Mu Chen understand what she meant.

She just wanted to know if the room was soundproof or not. The fact that Mu Chen hadn't heard anything proved that no one had heard what she said earlier.

"You…" Mu Chen smiled helplessly, pulled Mingmei closer, and they walked intimately side by side. He whispered, "Who did you learn that from?"

"Lu Xiaoyao. She always says that if you want to know the answer to a question, you have to try it yourself."

Mu Chen: …

Mu Chen had good reason to suspect that Mingmei's version of Lu Xiaoyao's words had been beautified.

Because Lu Xiaoyao was always courting death when she tested things, always causing chaos. It was amazing that Mingmei hadn't learned the wrong things.

…

"Achoo!"

"Who's cursing you?"

Lu Xiaoyao was having a video call with Julian, and she noticed that his background didn't look like his dorm room.

"Hey! How could anyone curse a beautiful girl like me? What are you thinking!" Lu Xiaoyao rubbed her nose and glared at Julian, adding, "You, on the other hand, where are you going so late when you're not in your dorm?"

"Going home. Our school has a one-week break every week, much better than yours."

"Hey! Are you dissing my school in front of me? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

Seeing Lu Xiaoyao suddenly glaring at him fiercely, looking like an angry little kitten, Julian couldn't help but reach out and poke the corner of her mouth on the projection.

Lu Xiaoyao: 0.0!!

"Okay, it's nothing, I often go home."

A dark glint flashed in Julian's eyes, but he smiled and changed the subject without saying anything more about it.

Whenever his father had something big to do, Secretary Chen would take him home, including his mother, even if her concert tour wasn't over.

He and his mother couldn't be his father's weakness, at least not at a critical moment.

When he left school today, he even saw Merrita. Like him, she had been picked up.

He wondered what major event was happening in the Federation recently.

Julian pondered for a moment.

In fact, the incident some time ago had given him an illusion, a feeling that he could already stand on his own.

But this time, Secretary Chen's usual smile and concealment woke him up.

His strength was not yet enough to reach his father's level.

"What are you spacing out for? I'm talking to you."

Coming back to his senses, Julian saw Lu Xiaoyao's pursed lips almost reaching for an oil bottle. She said, "Tomorrow I'm going to be on the desolate planet for survival! I don't know how long I'll be there, and I won't be able to contact you. Don't cause me any trouble!"

"Who would cause trouble?"

"Also! When I get back, will you come to the Empire when you're on vacation? My brother wants to meet you, in person."

"If the situation is stable then."

"Tch~ Still talking about a stable situation, let me tell you, if you stand up my brother, you'll be in trouble later!"

…

The morning of departure was filled with brilliant rays of dawn.

Mingmei rarely noticed that the morning sun in the Central Star was so dazzling.

The tangerine-pink sun and the clusters of rose-red, pink, and lavender clouds in the sky made her feel better and better.

Mingmei stood on the balcony, enjoying the rays of dawn behind her, and carefully put on the bracelet that Cecil had given her yesterday to disguise the space button.

This way, the security check wouldn't detect the space button, since this was an "exam" and bringing a space button would be cheating.

To put on an act, one has to do a complete set.

After confirming that the mecha, food, water, and medical supplies were all ready in the disguised space button, Mingmei left.

Arriving at the school's airfield and looking at the starships, Mingmei looked around and realized for the first time that there were so many classmates.

Mingmei saw Cecil and walked straight to her side.

She didn't say hello, just stood quietly beside her, and glanced around casually, following Cecil's gaze.

Since Cecil suspected an undercover agent, then there might be one where she was looking.

Students, teachers, starship ground crew, logistics staff…

Cecil looked at almost everyone there.

"You're here?"

Cecil noticed Mingmei at this moment.

"Yeah." Mingmei nodded, her eyes flickered to both sides, and she whispered, "Any situation?"

"No, your starship is over there." Cecil shook her head, pointed to the starship at the front, looked at Mingmei, her eyes encouraging, and told Mingmei to go up first.

"Your brother has already flown to his assessment location." While saying this, Cecil didn't lower her voice, patted Mingmei's shoulder, and told Mingmei to leave first.

Mingmei suppressed the doubts in her eyes, nodded slowly, and turned to leave. Cecil, behind her, was already chatting with another teacher who had come to greet her.

Mingmei suppressed the urge to look back, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she found her seat on the starship and sat down.

"You did very well just now."

Mingmei had just sat down when Mu Chen appeared beside her, handing her a small biscuit.

He had been watching all her reactions from not far away on the airfield, including what happened on Cecil's side after she left.

"Did you have breakfast this morning?" Not continuing the previous topic, Mu Chen looked at Mingmei, who was finishing the small biscuit in a few bites, and couldn't help but ask.

"I drank some nutrient solution in the dorm."

Mingmei took a few bites and finished Mu Chen's small biscuit, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Chen knew that she didn't like nutrient solution.

But every time she was nervous, she didn't want to eat and would lazily drink nutrient solution instead.

Mingmei's seat was arranged by the starship window. After finishing the small biscuit, she tilted her head and looked out the window, but from this angle, she couldn't see Cecil's direction.

"Just now, I felt like someone was watching me from behind, not my second sister-in-law's gaze…"

Mingmei turned her head and whispered this to Mu Chen. Mu Chen smiled gently and said, "That's why I said just now that you did very well not looking back."