Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

As Ruo Manni and Hua Deli got out of the car at the flying vehicle lot of Xuan Gu First Military Academy, a school security team quickly approached to conduct a check. Leading the team was a guard captain familiar to Ruo Manni; he had once accompanied her elite class on a mission to a desolate star three years ago.

“Back on campus, are you, Miss Ruo?” the stoic guard actually greeted her, breaking his usual silence.

“Yes! If I didn’t come back soon, I’d be graduating without realizing it,” Ruo Manni replied with a touch of nostalgia.

“If it were based solely on your skills, you should have graduated two years ago,” the captain remarked.

“But the school doesn’t just teach us to grow our power; it teaches us to grow our minds,” Ruo Manni replied thoughtfully. After spending so much time wandering around off-campus, she still hadn’t completed all her cultural credits.

Just as she finished saying this, she spotted Hebrew Adam standing at the exit of the vehicle lot. Was he… waiting specifically for her?

“Student Adam has been waiting for a while,” the guard captain commented, his expression… suggesting that he’d likely read some of the rumors.

This was the first time Ruo Manni had seen Hebrew Adam in person since he’d asked his father and brother to formally propose on his behalf the day before. She hadn’t expected much awkwardness, just a little, considering they’d been through so much as partners and had only been apart for three days. But to her surprise, having never dated in either of her two lives, she was momentarily flustered by Hebrew Adam’s sudden appearance and felt slightly embarrassed under the captain’s teasing gaze.

When Ruo Manni turned back, she realized that Hebrew Adam had been staring at her the whole time, and her cheeks flushed involuntarily.

Ruo Manni estimated that the blush on her face was impossible to hide, especially since Hebrew Adam was looking directly at her, making her feel even hotter.

Fortunately, Hua Deli was there. He wouldn’t allow Hebrew Adam to stare at his sister like that.

Hua Deli stepped forward, positioning himself between his sister and Hebrew Adam, blocking Hebrew Adam’s gaze. He casually said to Ruo Manni, “Let’s go. If we’re late, don’t think that just because you haven’t been back to school for three years, Instructor Dudley will let you off the hook.”

Remembering that stern-faced instructor, Ruo Manni realized time was indeed running out, and the embarrassment faded from her mind.

Even through the Sky Network, Instructor Dudley could set up a mountain of training tasks that would be grueling for both her and Hebrew Adam. Now that he was right in front of her, it would be even more intense.

After three years, stepping back into Xuan Gu First Military Academy, Ruo Manni didn’t have much interest in looking around since Hebrew Adam was walking casually beside her.

Perhaps because they had gained fame as substitute players in the Youth Elite Competition, Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam hadn’t appeared at Xuan Gu First Military Academy for several years, yet almost no one didn’t recognize them.

As a result, Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam walked into the campus like superstars, and the military students looked at them with admiration. Those closer to them seized the opportunity to greet them, saying, “Hello, senior!”

Hebrew Adam had a faint smile on his face, exuding an air of aloofness that perfectly matched his princely demeanor.

In contrast, Ruo Manni smiled brightly and radiated warmth, fully aware that these were their juniors, and some of them could potentially become talents she could recruit for Topaz Star.

Amidst the glamorous reception, they finally arrived at their classroom. Ruo Manni rubbed her face, which had been smiling a bit stiffly, and momentarily forgot the awkwardness between her and Hebrew Adam. She quietly said to him, “After three years away, we come back to find we’ve become celebrities.”

Hebrew Adam looked at Ruo Manni with a smile in his eyes and said meaningfully in a low voice, “Remember when you first arrived at Xuan Gu First Military Academy…”

“What about it? How was I back then?” Ruo Manni couldn’t help but glare at him, knowing exactly what he was hinting at.

“Oh, nothing much. You were really sensitive about people saying you weren’t tall enough, yet you tried to pretend not to care, which was just adorable,” Hebrew Adam laughed.

He actually said it! Ruo Manni shot him an annoyed glare before turning and quickly walking into the classroom, sitting down next to Sheila and ignoring Tamaki Kazia’s gaze.

Back then, she didn’t know if it was because of her sharp tongue, but after the elite class discovered that she was a bit sensitive about being called short, they made jokes about it for quite a while.

Fortunately, after the island training in her first year, she wasn’t sure if it was the result of the potion brought by Doctor Xia, but she had been happily growing taller every year since.

Now, she had already surpassed Sheila in height and was almost as tall as Mina-Olli. However, she still couldn’t compare to boys like Hebrew Adam and Hua Deli, and she remained just about at their chin level.

Speaking of which, the person who teased her about being short the most back then was Sheila. As a result, she and Mina-Olli had grown quite a bit taller over the past few years, while Sheila was left jumping in place. It seems like those who laugh last are the best off, right?

Although she hadn’t been back to school for three years, there wasn’t any sense of strangeness with her friends. When they met in the classroom, there wasn’t much emotional impact; they simply sighed a few times before discussing the public’s reactions to the prince’s press conference yesterday.

Sheila and Mina-Olli listened in with varying degrees of engagement, their glances at Ruo Manni filled with gossip and meaning.

Ruo Manni strongly suspected that these two were well-informed and likely knew about the rumors circulating on the internet from other countries a few days ago.

“Want me to kindly share a piece of hot news with you?” Sheila winked playfully at Ruo Manni.

Ruo Manni politely declined, “No, I feel like you’re up to no good. And as for those flirtatious eyes of yours, you might as well save them for Tamaki. I don’t think I can handle it.”

Ruo Manni pretended to smooth her arm, saying, “That’s too scary.”

Sheila immediately dropped her intentionally sweet and playful smile, pinching Ruo Manni hard and revealing a mischievous grin.

“Do you know? Queen Amber hosted a small banquet in the palace yesterday afternoon, inviting the noblewomen from the top ten prominent families. The matriarch of your Hua De family was also present, and it’s said that Lady Beery had a dark expression the entire time,” Sheila said, blinking her eyes and grinning even more wickedly.

Ruo Manni felt a bad premonition and stared blankly at Sheila.

After having her fun, Sheila leaned closer to Ruo Manni’s ear and whispered, “It’s said that at the banquet, Queen Amber praised you highly in front of the matriarch of the Hua De family, then mentioned how the Second Prince has been paired with you for a long time and that feelings have developed over time. She hopes you’ll agree to get engaged to the Second Prince soon.”

“You wouldn’t know, but for the past two years, the Beery family has been shamelessly spreading rumors that Queen Amber favors Brittany Beery. So yesterday, in front of all those noblewomen, the Queen expressed her hope to marry you into her family. Lady Beery didn’t say a word, but her face was so dark… I wonder how Brittany Beery will feel being so proud in our guild from now on?” Sheila laughed joyfully, relishing the gossip.