Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Because the military camp does not allow exposure to the public, Ruo Manni discussed it with her two adjutants and decided that, on the next rest day, she would return to the Hua De family villa in Baili City for an interview.

After all, anyone with some skill and a mind to inquire could easily find the Hua De family villa in the second ring of Baili City—it couldn’t be hidden, and there was no need to fear making it public.

As for Ruo Manni’s decision to give a news interview, she wasn’t very interested herself, but her little companion was very excited about it. When Ruo Manni mentioned that she would be accompanied by Tamaki Kazia for the interview, Sheila immediately excitedly agreed.

Sheila was no fool; she absolutely wouldn’t just be a mere background for such an opportunity. She understood that it was not merely being a sidekick in the usual sense, but an opportunity to have her Tamaki appear in front of the Topaz Star people, thus adding to their qualifications for the future.

However, before Ruo Manni could even attend the interview, the most famous gossip news website in the Gus Empire suddenly aired an impromptu interview. The interviewee was Prince Hebrew Adam, the second prince.

From the video, it could be seen that Prince Hebrew Adam was cornered by reporters in a public setting and had to stop to answer their questions.

Although the prince’s handsome face remained serious, his tone when answering questions was calm and polite.

“Your Highness, the second prince, it is said that you and Miss Hua De Manni were not only classmates at the military academy but also a couple. Is that true?” suddenly asked a female reporter.

To be honest, although there had been a lot of speculation on Starnet regarding the relationship between the second prince and the eldest daughter of the Hua De family, neither of the parties had ever publicly confirmed it.

Therefore, when the female reporter asked this question, everyone stopped and quietly waited for the second prince’s response.

When Hebrew Adam suddenly heard someone ask if he and Hua De Manni were a couple, he immediately thought of the girl far away on Topaz Star and realized that he would soon be very close to her. His eyes softened involuntarily.

So, everyone saw the second prince’s icy expression melt when he heard Hua De Manni’s name, and he flashed a smile with a slight dimple: “Well, we were first a couple, and later became engaged.”

The people of the Empire, who had been admiring Prince Hebrew Adam’s cool and aloof demeanor, were unexpectedly fed a huge mouthful of dog food, nearly choking on it.

The second prince’s words were quite meaningful; it seemed he was afraid people wouldn’t know that he liked Miss Hua De, and might mistakenly think he was only engaged to her due to a political marriage.

In fact, the public believed the second prince was overthinking it. Everyone could clearly see how much he liked Miss Hua De. A girl like her would be easy to fall for.

Not to mention, just the second prince’s smile earlier was enough to show how much he truly liked Miss Hua De.

Many people from Topaz Star were also fed dog food, and Sheila was greatly surprised. “Ah, I’ve known the second prince for over ten years, and I didn’t know he could smile like that. It’s so silly! He even has a little dimple on his face.”

Tamaki Kazia tiredly pulled his girlfriend’s hand, reminding her to be more cautious.

This girl always said she was determined to “cultivate herself and stay calm,” and would stop saying shocking things. But whenever something exciting happened, she always forgot her resolution and couldn’t help but say something surprising.

Sheila turned to look at her boyfriend, noticing that Lieutenant Ma and Lieutenant Tong were both going about their business as usual, without reacting. She hadn’t said anything wrong, right?

No matter what, though, it’s best not to mock someone’s boyfriend in front of them. Tamaki Kazia felt powerless.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Ruo Manni was always very tolerant of Sheila, never getting truly upset with her. When Sheila said something wrong, Ruo Manni would just give her a light reprimand and let it go.

“I’ve never seen that before. He looks so cute when he smiles like that. Next time I see him, I’m going to ask him to smile like that for me,” Ruo Manni said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Prince Hebrew Adam on the video.

She never expected that Hebrew Adam would have such a silly, cute side. Seeing his somewhat goofy smile, Ruo Manni felt her heart pounding.

If they were alone, she thought she wouldn’t be able to resist and would definitely lean in to kiss his little dimple.

Tamaki Kazia weakly dropped his hand. Alright, no wonder Sheila thought there was nothing wrong with her words. It turned out Ruo Manni had the same reaction.

Tamaki Kazia realized he had overreacted earlier. He momentarily forgot that the way these two girls thought was quite different from theirs, and that’s why they often shared a very similar sense of humor.

So, despite often seeing the two of them argue and bicker, their relationship was actually stronger than anyone else’s.

Mina-Olli was Sheila’s cousin and Ruo Manni’s future sister-in-law, but these two had bypassed Mina-Olli and bonded with each other, showing just how well they clicked.

“Hebrew should be heading to Morning Star, where the headquarters of the Seventh Army is located, soon,” Tamaki Kazia said, trying to change the subject.

Hebrew Adam controlling the Seventh Army was nothing short of perfect for them.

Not to mention, after the two brigade commanders of the stationed 1st Brigade were captured, Lin Changfeng sent an official military appointment letter, appointing Ruo Manni as the acting brigade commander. The 1st Brigade, originally dominated by opposing factions, had hardly anyone objecting to the appointment of a young acting commander.

The influence of the former brigade commanders crumbled in less than ten days.

This was because Ruo Manni had stated that as long as they abandoned their previous allegiances and followed their duties, sincerely taking responsibility as soldiers, she would not hold their past mistakes against them.

This all happened because everyone knew that the supreme commander of Topaz Star was this young lady’s adoptive father. And the new Seventh Army would belong to the second prince. Who on Topaz Star could go against this young lady?

“I think he’s already arrived,” Ruo Manni said. In fact, Hebrew Adam had arrived on Morning Star three hours ago, but when it came to his schedule, Ruo Manni only gave a rough estimate.

“Morning Star is only half a day’s flight away from here,” Sheila teased, blinking her eyes.

Ruo Manni glanced at Sheila and smiled, “No matter how close, it still can’t compare to you two.”

The three girls from their elite class had all fallen into the arms of the boys in their class. However, only Sheila could spend day and night with Tamaki Kazia. Even though Hua Deli and Mina-Olli, an engaged couple for ten years, were together, they still lived across several star systems, and if they wanted to meet regularly, they’d have to go to the battlefield.

When it came to her and Tamaki Kazia, if Tamaki Kazia wasn’t around, Sheila might not feel embarrassed to chat with Ruo Manni. But with him present, Sheila didn’t have the courage to be too bold. She awkwardly changed the subject. “Well, there’s also Prince Albert Adam…”

Before Sheila could finish her sentence, her wrist communicator suddenly flashed, signaling an incoming message.

Sheila was interrupted, and when she saw the message, her expression immediately darkened, her eyes showing anger.

Tamaki Kazia looked at Sheila with some concern but didn’t speak.

Ruo Manni raised an eyebrow. What was going on with Sheila? Was her family harassing her again?

Sheila hesitated for a long time, and in the end, she didn’t answer the call. She sighed and looked up to see Ruo Manni raising an eyebrow at her inquiringly.

Sheila gave Ruo Manni a bitter smile and said, “The younger brother of my family head, my second uncle, was involved in the second prince assassination case and has been dismissed from his position. He’s been calling me these past few days, asking me to plead on his behalf.”

Ruo Manni frowned. “What did he do in this case?”

“He says he was unknowingly trapped into revealing some information. He claims he didn’t know what the Beery family was planning and wasn’t involved in it,” Sheila said with disgust. “I don’t believe his lies. I think he knew something, but because the Beery family didn’t trust him enough, they didn’t let him be involved. Otherwise, he would have jumped at the opportunity. He’s the one who suggested that I marry into the Beery family. Now that something has gone wrong, he comes begging me. He still thinks I’m the same helpless little girl from back in the family, one who wouldn’t dare speak up when bullied, and he thinks he can command me however he wants.”

Tamaki Kazia looked at Sheila with some concern, but Sheila didn’t seem too upset. Instead, there was only a hint of sarcasm in her expression. “They have no idea what kind of training I went through at Xuan Gu First Military Academy. They think I still see them as the same people from my past. They even called my father to give me orders, completely disregarding the fact that I left home. They’re dreaming if they think I’ll listen to them.”

Ruo Manni narrowed her eyes. “I feel like you’re hinting at someone with that remark. Are you implying that because someone constantly torments you, you’ve become so tough you’re no longer afraid of being beaten down?”

Sheila suddenly broke into a smile, and the sadness in her eyes disappeared as if it had never been there. “So, you do have some self-awareness. You don’t even know how irritating you were at the beginning. I’ve never met a more arrogant commoner than you.”

“It seems you don’t have any self-awareness. You don’t even realize how sharp-tongued you were at the beginning. I’ve never met a more sarcastic young lady from a noble family than you.”

Tamaki Kazia watched the two girls start bickering again and once again felt that these two were quite similar in nature. With just a couple of teasing remarks from Ruo Manni, Sheila’s sadness and disappointment were quickly chased away.

Though Sheila’s words sounded like a joke, Tamaki Kazia knew it was the truth. It was because of the influence of friends like them, especially Ruo Manni, that Sheila’s mindset gradually changed. She slowly learned not to be affected by her family.

Especially during the crisis just before graduation, when Ruo Manni became Sheila’s most steadfast supporter, helping her avoid confusion and despair, allowing Sheila to make choices according to her own heart.

So for both of them, they were very fortunate to have met Ruo Manni.

“If your second uncle wasn’t arrested, that means his involvement in the case wasn’t deep. If you want to maintain his dignity, I can help you; it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Ruo Manni said seriously.

This case was being primarily investigated by the National Security Bureau, whose director was her cousin. The crown prince was her cousin as well, and the second prince was her boyfriend. Maintaining such dignity would be easy.

Sheila had always been upset with her family, and if Ruo Manni could really help her second uncle find a way out, her family would surely start paying more attention to her.

“No, if they find out I have that kind of value to them, they’ll only demand more. I don’t want to get entangled with them. My current life is good, and I’m very satisfied,” Sheila wisely refused.

Ruo Manni actually felt the same way. Relationships based on benefits are just a false illusion. They break as soon as touched. It’s better not to have them at all from the start.

Ruo Manni’s interview wasn’t as “exciting” as Hebrew Adam’s.

At the appointed time, Ruo Manni, Sheila , and Tamaki Kazia returned to Baili City.

When the time was almost up, Ruo Manni “saw” the butler leading two women and one man into the room, and one of the women was someone Ruo Manni recognized.

Ruo Manni’s brows suddenly furrowed. She took out an incense burner from her space ring, lit a particular incense, and placed it on the table next to her.

Sheila and Tamaki Kazia both tensed up, but they didn’t speak. Before the guests entered, they returned to their usual demeanor.

The butler led in one man and two women. The young woman walking in the front only had early-level third-tier cultivation, indicating that her potential for cultivation was quite poor.

The two people following her on the left and right weren’t much better. The man on the left was older but was also at mid-third-tier cultivation, while the woman on the right was also at mid-third-tier.

These three people posed no threat to them, and Sheila and Tamaki Kazia secretly let out a sigh of relief. However, they didn’t lower their guard because Ruo Manni was very polite in standing up to greet the guests.

“Sister Yiran!” Ruo Manni smiled brightly. “I didn’t expect it to be you. Just yesterday, I was thinking that you studied journalism, and now, here you are! It’s such a coincidence that we meet again. We really have some fate!”

“Ah! A familiar face!” Sheila chimed in, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

However, in her heart, Sheila was secretly wondering. ‘This girl is smiling so gently; it feels fake and makes people uneasy. Could it be that this familiar face is suspicious?’

Indeed, it was quite a coincidence that the person coming to interview Ruo Manni was someone she had known before.

“I’ve been neighbors with Sister Yiran for over ten years. Uncle Xia and Aunt Xia have always been so kind to me. I really loved Aunt Xia’s pastries. But ever since I went to Xuan Gu First Military Academy, I haven’t had them again,” Ruo Manni said nostalgically, her tone carrying an indescribable sadness.

In truth, she didn’t even know what those pastries tasted like because she had never eaten them. The original owner was the one who loved them. The only reason she remembered them was because the shape and color of the pastries resembled the red date cakes she loved back in the Earth era.

The tone of this sentence sounded much more sincere, and her smile didn’t seem so fake anymore, Sheila thought. ‘Is it because she’s remembering something tasty, or is it because she’s sure this reporter is trustworthy?’

When Xia Yiran heard Ruo Manni greet her first and mention her mother’s pastries, the worry she had been holding in her heart immediately dissipated.

“Ruo Manni, you still remember so clearly. If you still like them, my mother would be very happy to make them for you,” Xia Yiran smiled, no longer worried as she had been before arriving.

When Xia Yiran was about sixteen or seventeen, and Ruo Manni was about four or five, Yiran’s father was seriously injured, but at that time, they couldn’t afford the expensive treatment.

It was Ruo Manni’s mother… well, now she should be called Ruo Manni’s adoptive mother, Teresa Du, who cured her father with medicine and saved their family.

Her mother was someone who valued gratitude deeply. Since they couldn’t repay Teresa Du for saving her life, they would often make small treats, like pastries, that little girls liked, and give them to Ruo Manni.

Since Ruo Manni ate them often back then, she couldn’t forget them, even now.