“Miss is fine; it’s just that Young Master Tang was teaching her how to use her Jingshen. She overextended herself the first time and ended up exhausting it without managing the time properly.”
Ruan Ling’an didn’t ask further. It was something everyone had to go through when learning to use Jingshen, even if it was only at an F level.
“How clueless—not noticing something like that.”
The butler silently thought, Do you remember your own first time using Jingshen? You went all out without a thought, ended up overextending yourself, and blacked out.
At least that little one remembered to have the butler bring something over. She had a bit of a conscience, it seemed.
With that thought, Ruan Ling’an picked up the large food container and headed back to the classroom.
Noticing the three people following behind him, he shot them a side glance. “Why are you guys still following me?”
The three stared back at him, expressionless. “We haven’t eaten yet!”
Ruan Ling’an replied, “Then go to the cafeteria.”
“We waited for you, so we didn’t go!”
Ruan Ling’an made a nonchalant noise, then added with a provoking tone, “Well, I’m not going. You guys can go on your own.”
The three were speechless.
“Are you for real? You were just waiting around for the food Shushu sent, weren’t you? And you didn’t even tell us? We’ve waited with you all this time, and now you’re just abandoning us?”
Ruan Ling’an felt a bit guilty, but not because he was ditching them. Rather, he was a little embarrassed that he’d been waiting specifically for Ruan Shu to send food. But he still kept a stubborn face.
“I wasn’t waiting for her. And remember, when you asked, I told you to go eat first, didn’t I? How is it my fault that you didn’t go?”
As for waiting specifically for Ruan Shu to bring him food? No way. He just hadn’t finished some of his homework yet, that was all.
Rong Jun insisted, “I don’t care. You’ve got to share something with us, or it’s just wrong after wasting our time like this.”
He Qi chimed in, “Yeah! If you’d told us, we wouldn’t have waited.”
An Lan muttered, “Such a tsundere.”
Ruan Ling’an: “….”
“Alright, fine. We’re bros, so don’t call me stingy. But there’s only so much food, so I’ll give you one bowl of soup.”
The food Ruan Shu sent over was actually quite a lot. Not just bone broth and chicken soup, but she’d sent over plenty of meat, too—fish balls, braised pork, and more.
At the very bottom layer of the container, there was even a fruit cake made with mutated fruits.
On top of the box, Ruan Shu had left him a small note.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d already eaten, Third Brother, so I packed extra dishes for you. If you’re still hungry, remember to go to the cafeteria to eat more. Be sure to drink plenty of soup; I added red dates and goji berries to help with blood replenishment.
Also, make sure to take care of yourself, Third Brother. If your injury hasn’t healed, don’t go picking fights—wait until you’re fully recovered to avoid losing out. I may not have delivered this meal to you personally, but I’m thinking of you. Go, Brother, you’re amazing!”
At the bottom of the note, there was a tiny cartoon drawing of a girl cheering, obviously meant to be Shushu herself.
Then, the other three dormmates looked at him with envy again, and asked, “Who wouldn’t want a little sister who remembers her brother, cheers him on, brings him food, makes little cakes, and even writes heartfelt notes?”
Sadly, this little sister wasn’t theirs. She belonged to someone else, which made it all the more depressing.
In their world of four people, three were jealous, while the remaining one simply smiled and carefully put away the note, his lips curling up.
“There’s only one bowl.”
The three of them stared at him, in sync, and asked, “What, you think you’re going to get out of sharing?”
They were already envious enough, and if they didn’t even get a taste of the soup, their resentment would reach deadly levels.
No matter what, they couldn’t let this guy get too smug!
Rong Jun raised his head. “I already asked a classmate to bring us three disposable bowls.”
Ruan Ling’an, who had indeed been planning to keep it all to himself: “….”
Seriously? All this fuss for just one bowl of soup!
The speed of delivery in the interstellar world could be described as almost instantaneous. Anything within the same primary planet could be delivered within a few hours, and slightly longer distances took just as long as traveling between planets.
Planet A-4353 was a highly industrialized planet, known as one of the largest hubs for mercenary trade.
Many renowned exoskeleton engineers preferred to live here, and those engineers shared a few common traits.
They were reclusive, unkempt, quirky, and often quite dangerous.
Star beasts were physically formidable, but other races across the universe were powerful as well.
Some races preferred to fight using exoskeletons—completely encasing themselves in powerful armor.
However, the star beast race preferred using their natural bodies in combat, so this type of exoskeleton wasn’t suitable for them.
Thus, in the Star Beast Empire, a unique form of external exoskeleton emerged.
This external exoskeleton would create specific protection and attack mechanisms around the star beast’s body.
It safeguarded their vital parts, making it harder for them to be injured on the battlefield. The attack functions mainly enhanced their claws, head, and tail, making them more lethal or enabling them to use high-energy thermal weapons.
There was also a type of auxiliary exoskeleton, which could give non-flying star beasts the ability to fly, or enable functions like underwater breathing and burrowing.
Creating these required materials—sometimes special ores, sometimes unique parts from alien beasts. Mercenaries traded mainly in these materials on this planet.
Almost all the residents of Planet A-4353 were experts in external exoskeletons, including one who lived under a hidden identity—the second son of Marshal Ruan’s family.
“Senior Lu, there’s a delivery for you.”
In a private research lab, close to evening, a miracle occurred when a delivery arrived at this typically remote location, one that almost never received outside deliveries.
“It’s sent from the main planet.”
“Probably not materials, right?”
“Doesn’t look like it. I saw something on it saying ‘mooncakes.’ What are mooncakes?”
A group of people, dressed casually with slightly overgrown hair and dark circles under their eyes as if they hadn’t slept in days, gathered around the package, curiously discussing its contents.
“I’m starving. Has anyone ordered takeout?”
“I’m so exhausted. Haven’t slept in three days. I’m going to catch some sleep before I eat.”
“Senior Lu is here…”
A scholarly young man wearing glasses walked out from the large research facility. Though dressed in similarly simple, casual clothes, he exuded a warm and composed aura. Amid a crowd of thin, disheveled, panda-eyed colleagues, his fair, clean appearance stood out strikingly.
He was truly a breath of fresh air among them.
“Senior Lu, this seems to be sent by your family.”
Lu Xinglan—or rather, Ruan Xinglan, as he had adopted his mother’s surname—smiled gently as he walked over, radiating a refined, scholarly demeanor.
“Thanks for bringing it over.”
“No trouble at all, Senior Lu. We’ll head out now.”
Ruan Xinglan nodded. Once they left, his polite smile faded, and he looked down at the package. The sender’s address was indeed from the family’s old residence on the main planet. But who from home would bother sending him something?
Could it be a bomb from his third brother? That was actually possible.
“Heh…”
With a faint, nonchalant smile, Ruan Xinglan’s lips curled just slightly, giving off an impression of warmth and approachability. But if one looked closely, they would notice that his smile was shallow, a bit distant, and carried a hint of playful mischief.