Zi Ye stared, dumbfounded, for a long moment, then looked to Little Sprout with an inquisitive gaze. Little Sprout pretended not to notice, drifting lazily to the windowsill where it hung, enjoying the breeze.

It was best to keep quiet about anything involving An Junlie, lest she squeeze it to death. Receiving no response, Zi Ye, puzzled, brought out the first dish from the rack—roast meat.

It looked as if it had just come off the grill, the rendered oil still visibly shimmering. The plate held a transparent, individually sealed wrapper.

Once opened, the aroma of the meat flooded her nostrils. Zi Ye hadn't eaten since her run, her stomach growling fiercely; she could almost sink her teeth into a piece.

However, wary of something so inexplicably appearing, she dared not take a bite immediately. She swallowed, placing the plate on the coffee table, and looked for the second dish.

The second dish was chilled jellyfish salad with dipping sauce. The pale, translucent jellyfish were arranged in a beautiful pattern on the plate, accompanied by a rich, fragrant sauce, and topped with tender yellow and red rose petals.

Zi Ye couldn't help but start salivating. It was all exactly what she loved to eat.

This was a massive stimulation to her taste buds. With great difficulty, Zi Ye tore her gaze away and continued bringing out the rest.

There was also a soup. The final dish was candied yam with rose-infused sweet rice wine.

The pure white yam, the pink rose petals, and the pale yellow osmanthus syrup made it look less like a dish and more like the most exquisite piece of art. Zi Ye gazed blankly at the dishes, then suddenly remembered something.

She picked up a fork, speared a piece of yam, and put it in her mouth. The yam was incredibly soft and sticky, carrying the faint fragrance of rose, the sweetness of honey, the mellow depth of the rice wine, and something else familiar… In an instant, tears streamed down her face.

This was An Junlie’s cooking, the cooking she knew! Wiping the tears away with the back of her hand, she bolted toward the door, running a few steps before doubling back to look at Little Sprout.

“Help me find out where An Junlie is!” Little Sprout zipped instantly to hover above her head, its tiny sprout-tip pointing, causing a virtual light screen to appear before her. “He’s already left Lings, sweetie.

Distance: 215km.” The screen displayed a dynamic reading of An Junlie's coordinates. The distance was rapidly increasing.

Undoubtedly, An Junlie had indeed been in Lings moments ago, and now, he was gone. The speed of the shuttlecraft was unparalleled.

During a jump, not even a missile could keep up. Even if she pursued him, there was no hope.

Zi Ye covered her face, leaned against the wall, and sank to the floor. The crucial question was: should she even try to chase him?

Little Sprout circled mercilessly in mid-air, three times left, three times right. “Silly girl, the first dish’s heat level is only at 54!

If it drops below 50, it won’t taste good anymore!” Zi Ye glared up at it in annoyance, glaring with all her might. Little Sprout triumphantly straightened the little sprout on its head—up, up, and up again.

“There’s a beautiful sister in the Angel Star Sector who’s crazy about aliens, clings to him every day, you know.” Zi Ye snatched a slipper from her foot and flung it toward its head. Smack!

It hit the door panel right next to it. Little Sprout froze for a moment, then burst into loud sobs.

“Waaaah, you brute, now that you have an alien, you don’t love me anymore…” The female protagonist (==|||):…… (Suddenly had nothing to say) She silently returned to the coffee table, sat down, picked up her fork, and began eating the roast meat, paired with the rose salad. An Junlie was An Junlie; even the most ordinary ingredients transformed into peerless delicacies in his hands.

In short, he was born to be a chef! Remembering him wearing an apron and bustling around the kitchen on Silver Rune Star, she felt both deep emotion and profound comfort.

Whether in the Angel Domain or on Silver Rune Star, An Junlie hadn’t changed. Arriving at Lings, he hadn't said a word, only prepared three dishes and one soup for her.

But these three dishes and one soup were enough to convey his feelings. An Junlie was never one to force his will upon others.

He treated her the same way. The knot in Zi Ye’s heart finally loosened the moment he stepped off Silver Rune Star.

She devoured the three dishes and one soup in record time, patted her full stomach, and firmly resolved to be a good friend to him from now on. For the sake of the food!

Seeing her pleasant expression and the smile lingering on her lips, Little Sprout shot out a burst of electrical current onto her arm. As she turned around, annoyed, it sang cheerfully, “La la la, Zi Ye is a silly little dummy, silly dummy, silly little dummy.” Zi Ye glared at it furiously.

Little Sprout thoroughly enjoyed the attention, twirling in the air until, accidentally, it smacked into the wall with a poof and tumbled down. Zi Ye snatched it up and squeezed it relentlessly!

She squeezed until it was completely deflated, then tossed it onto the coffee table like a dishcloth. “Say that again, and I’ll make you do the dishes.” Little Sprout whimpered, flew into the room, and hid under the covers, weeping.

Zi Ye shrugged, took a shower, and got to work. She had plenty to do.

Having eaten An Junlie’s cooking, she suddenly understood many things. Revenge was definitely not the sole purpose of one’s life.

The matter of the Fia Family should be resolved sooner rather than later so she could live a peaceful life. If she didn't want to implicate her friends, she needed to settle the vendetta before it dragged them in.

The longer the night, the more dreams one has. The early bird catches the worm—or in this case, strike first.

She was diligently working on homework assigned by her instructors on her light console when Little Sprout poked its head out of the bedroom. “Hey there, little miss, come wash your daddy!” Zi Ye, focused on her work, didn't look up.

“Get me Fia Family’s blueprint for this quarter, and I’ll wash you.” Little Sprout chirped happily. “Really?

Are you finally going after Illya for revenge?” Zi Ye turned her face away. “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.” Little Sprout glanced at its own pristine white fluff, thinking that since everything trashy was already stuck to its bottom anyway, not washing made no difference.

It automatically shook its fur, landed on her head with a smack, and demanded, “Daddy needs to work, little miss needs to give a kiss!” Zi Ye casually grabbed it, placed it on her face, and absorbed the moisture there. “Kiss delivered.” Little Sprout wiggled its sprout-tip, settled onto the desk in front of her, and got to work.

In truth, Zi Ye didn't just want the Fia Family's blueprints for revenge. Fia had recently hired a new designer, and several of their new mecha models had quite impressive performance, offering significant research value.

As for her enemy, she wasn't concerned with chivalry; she would do what needed to be done with the blueprints once she had them. After all, she was in the Mecha Repair department; cleaning up mechas was her job.

However, from that day forward, an extra item was added to Zi Ye’s daily activities: monitoring the Fia Family’s movements. Developing robots for the Mengya Group.

Researching newly released market mechas. Completing the forum’s Level Five assignments.

Attending specialized courses… Zi Ye made a list of everything she needed to accomplish and pinned it to the wall. There were too many things to do, and too little time in a day.

She wished she could stretch 24 hours into 48, becoming even more reclusive. She attended all her classes during the first week.

Starting the second week, she categorized her courses: she skipped all the foundational subjects—Leadership Studies, Sociology, Planetary Coordination—and courses that were related but Little Sprout was an expert in, such as Principles of Light Console Decryption and Astro-Navigation, which she let Little Sprout teach her instead. She only attended the courses directly relevant to her major.

Beyond that, she couldn't skip her mentor's classes. RS