(Here we go again, picking up where we left off.)
“You… you haven’t fed me yet!!!”
This shout contained the girl’s pure feelings, her long-standing closeness and dependence on “Sister Nie,” and a hint of resentment, as if saying, “I was here first.”
Selene paused in the middle of feeding Xing, looking at March 7th’s “I’m hurt” expression.
Xing stopped chewing and blinked, looking at the sulking March 7th, then at Selene, whose expression remained subtly gentle.
Suddenly, she found the food in her mouth tasted even better.
Selene quickly regained her composure.
She temporarily put down the spoon in her hand and the lunchbox on Xing’s lap, maneuvered her wheelchair toward March 7th, reached out, and gently took March 7th’s wrist.
“March,” her voice was still gentle, carrying a hint of reassurance, though a mischievous glint seemed to flash through her eyes.
“Are you… jealous?”
“I-I’m not!” March 7th immediately denied it, her face unconsciously flushing slightly.
She looked away but didn’t pull her wrist back.
“Then…” Selene gently pulled the still somewhat hesitant March 7th a little closer.
Looking up at her, she spoke in a soft yet firm voice, “Next time, I’ll make some snacks just for you, and then… feed you myself, okay?”
“Really? It’s a promise!” March 7th nodded repeatedly, her voice brimming with joy.
“Yes, it’s a promise.” Selene smiled and gently patted the back of March 7th’s hand before picking up the spoon again and looking at Xing, who was eagerly waiting for the meal to continue.
“Come on, let’s continue eating, Xing. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold.”
“Ah—” Xing immediately opened her mouth obediently.
Time passed quietly.
Xing had just swallowed the last bite of her delicious meal, happily patting her stomach.
At that moment, Herta walked in carrying a beautifully crafted puppet.
“I’ve only been gone for a few months,” the puppet girl said with her hands on her hips, sounding rather dissatisfied.
“Hmm? How did the space station end up in such a mess?”
Her gaze landed on Selene in the wheelchair and then on Xing, who had just finished eating and still had a bit of sauce at the corner of her mouth.
She raised an eyebrow and teased, “Oh? Selene, are you playing mother to this brat?”
“Little Herta, you’re here.” Selene turned toward her with a gentle smile, completely unfazed by the teasing.
“Herta is Herta. Why add ‘Little’?” Herta wrinkled her nose, clearly dissatisfied with the nickname.
“It’s my nickname for you.” Selene’s tone was completely natural, as though she were stating an obvious fact.
“…”
Herta stared at her for two seconds before snorting.
“Fine.”
“I’ll let it slide since it’s you, Selene.”
“This is…?” Xing asked curiously.
“She’s the true owner of this space station,” Himeko explained from the side.
“Genius Society Member #83.”
“Hey, Himeko.” Herta immediately interrupted.
“If you’re introducing me, then do it properly. I have so many impressive titles. Why do you always use ‘Member #83′?”
“Alright, Little Herta,” Selene called gently.
“Tch.”
Herta gave up arguing about the nickname and instead turned her scrutinizing gaze toward Xing, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
She slowly circled around her, carefully examining her.
“You’re that… Stellaron brat?”
She stopped and tilted her head.
“I built an entire space station just to contain that Stellaron, yet someone somehow managed to simplify the whole process by stuffing it inside a little brat like you…”
“How exactly did they pull that off?”
“The Stellaron inside her is stable for now,” Selene added softly from the side.
“Interesting.”
“Very interesting.”
“You.”
“Come to my office with me.”
Although it sounded like an order, Herta still glanced at Selene, seemingly making a token request.
“I want her to assist with one of my experiments.”
“Is that alright?”
Selene smiled and gently shook her head.
“That depends on her own wishes, Little Herta.”
“I can’t make that decision for her.”
Xing immediately looked toward Selene for guidance.
“Although Herta has a somewhat…
unique personality,” Selene explained gently, “she isn’t a bad person.
She won’t force you to participate in any truly dangerous experiments.”
“I…”
Xing lowered her head and thought seriously for a moment before asking a very practical question.
“Is there any payment?”
Herta was clearly caught off guard.
Her eyes widened slightly, and her tone carried both disbelief and amusement.
“Huh?”
“There are countless people in the universe begging to participate in my experiments.”
“And you…”
“You little brat…”
“You’re actually asking for payment?”
“Sure.”
She nodded readily.
“What do you want?”
“Credits?”
Xing picked up the baseball bat she had obtained at March 7th’s suggestion and held it out toward Herta.
“This.”
Herta looked at the baseball bat and frowned.
“This?”
“Isn’t this one of my collections?”
“Are you sure?”
“Other than being ridiculously durable, it isn’t particularly useful.”
“Yeah.”
Xing nodded firmly while tightly gripping the bat.
“Fine.”
Herta agreed without hesitation.
“Come on.”
“Add me as a friend.”
“I’ll send you the navigation route to my office.”
“Come over once you’re done here.”
“And don’t keep me waiting too long.”
The two of them quickly added each other through the interstellar communication app.
A second later, the navigation route arrived.
After sending it, Herta’s puppet suddenly looked as though it had lost all motivation.
Her tone became flat and straightforward.
“I’ve sent it.”
“Come over by yourself.”
Xing looked at the navigation displayed on her phone before turning toward Selene and Himeko.
“Go ahead,” Himeko encouraged with a smile.
Selene also nodded gently toward Xing.
Clutching the baseball bat tightly, Xing took a deep breath and followed the navigation toward Herta’s office.
After Xing disappeared from sight, Selene turned toward Himeko.
“If nothing unexpected happens…”
“We’ll soon have a new member aboard the Astral Express.”
“Yes.”
Himeko nodded gently.
“But in the end…”
“We have to respect her own decision.”
“Mm.”
Selene softly agreed.
Her gaze then shifted toward March 7th, who was absentmindedly staring in the direction Xing had left.
“March.”
“Yes!”
March 7th immediately snapped back to reality.
Her pink-and-blue eyes focused on Selene.
“Could you push me back to the Astral Express?” Selene asked gently.
“Of course!”
“No problem!”
March 7th cheerfully walked behind the wheelchair and grabbed the handles.
“Leave it to me, Sister Selene!”
On the way back to the Astral Express, March 7th steadily pushed the wheelchair while quietly muttering things like,
“I wonder if Herta is going to bully Xing…”
Selene quietly sat in her wheelchair, occasionally responding to March 7th while letting her consciousness sink deeper into her mind.
There…
A system interface visible only to her quietly displayed a single line.
[Current Popularity: 1,034,567]
Her popularity had officially surpassed one million.
(Now that I’ve revealed my face enough… it’s time to move on to the next step.)