"Ah? Ruan Mei, you?!"
Herta's eyes were already wide with shock. Even the real Herta herself, far away on the blue planet, wore an expression of utter astonishment.
The Ruan Mei who once lived in seclusion, cold and aloof—had actually agreed to stay in this space station for three whole months?
The other cat-cakes, meanwhile, had gathered around Ruan Mei, cheering.
Ruan Mei's expression remained as calm as ever, but inwardly she couldn't help questioning.
"I've fulfilled Wisteria Cake's wish. What about your reward?"
That flawless, ethereal voice appeared once more.
[This was the wish of all the cat-cakes, not just Wisteria Cake alone.] ♪
"So the task you gave me remains incomplete. And the so-called reward is nothing but a castle in the air."
[Wisteria Cake's true wish might not be suitable for all the cat-cakes to hear. You can ask her alone sometime.] ♪
Ruan Mei closed her eyes. This voice—so familiar, yet so foreign.
She wanted to save her, just as she was saving Tingyun. But where was she? And who was she?
No matter. She would trust her. After all, the reward of "divinity" might come at some cost.
"Herta. Take the other cat-cakes out first. I want to speak with Wisteria Cake alone."
"Tch. Fine, I'll listen to you for once. All of you, follow me. Anyone who disobeys gets sent to the lowest level to visit the Starcrusher Swarm King."
Hearing this, the cat-cakes instantly fell into line, obediently trailing behind Herta—leaving only Wisteria Cake and Ruan Mei behind.
"Now. Can you tell me your truest, most essential wish?"
Wisteria Cake blinked. She slowly looked up at Ruan Mei, clenched her teeth, and finally steeled herself.
"Ruan Mei... once, I secretly left this place and met a wise being named Peppy. She said that all living things have families and parents."
"Since you created me... that makes you my family, doesn't it?"
Ruan Mei furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment.
The cat-cake used her tail to offer the magic hat to Ruan Mei.
"And I'm supposed to be like Herta, so... between you and Herta... who is my 'father'? And who is my 'mother'?"
Ruan Mei couldn't help but pause. Her eyes, usually half-lidded, opened fully as she studied Wisteria Cake before her.
Truly a cat-cake modeled after Herta—even her thought processes were completely different from Ruan Mei's other creations.
But... the concept of "father" between her and Herta was truly difficult to articulate. Wait. Wasn't there someone nearby who also bore that title?
"Forgive me. Even I don't know the answer to that question. What does this have to do with your true wish?"
Wisteria Cake looked around carefully, making absolutely certain that no other cat-cakes or Herta puppets were eavesdropping, before whispering:
"My wish is simple. I want our family to be truly reunited! The kind with a happy, wonderful ending."
...
Three days later, the new Simulated Universe observation data was complete.
Ruan Mei simply set the data on the table. Then, eyes lightly closed, she smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Wisteria Cake.
"Father." "Family."
Such bonds felt impossibly distant—like something from countless Amber Eras ago. Remote and unreachable.
"Ugh. That little Stellaron brat hasn't come to run the Simulated Universe in two days!
Honestly. I'll have to increase the Stellar Jade rewards if I want her to actually show up."
The real Herta's voice echoed in Ruan Mei's ears. She opened her eyes and studied Herta carefully.
Perfect features. Confident and composed. The hat atop her head radiated an ancient magic, making Herta seem all the more mysterious.
As the light of the Simulated Universe fell upon Herta's profile, she felt Ruan Mei's gaze and looked up, meeting her eyes with those amethyst orbs.
They regarded each other in silence.
After several seconds, Herta was the first to break the silence.
"If anyone else stared at me like that, I'd have annihilated them seven or eight hundred times by now!"
"Oh."
Two minutes passed quietly. Ruan Mei's gaze never wavered. Herta gritted her teeth and pressed again.
"You... why are you still staring at me?! Do I have some kind of curio stuck to my face or something?"
Ruan Mei remained as calm as still water. Her voice soft and unhurried, she murmured:
"Mmn. The moonlight over the blue planet must be beautiful tonight."
Herta froze for three full seconds before retorting:
"Half of the blue planet is day, half is night. Also, we're on the space station right now—what moonlight?!"
Ruan Mei rose silently and stepped forward. Herta instinctively stepped back.
Even she couldn't predict what Ruan Mei was thinking.
Until she could retreat no further. The real Herta frowned slightly, a hint of panic in her expression.
"Ruan Mei, you! What's wrong with you today?! Why are you acting so strange!"
Ruan Mei gently reached out, brushing a strand of hair from Herta's temple. The magic hat tilted slightly to one side. She asked softly:
"Herta. What is 'family'?"
"Ah? Family? How should I know?! Besides, I was an orphan from birth. Don't ask me about things like that again."
Ruan Mei gazed at Herta thoughtfully. She recalled how March 7th had once asked Bailu about her parents in Alchemy Commission—and thought she understood something of that feeling.
"Then what am I, in your eyes?"
Herta's amethyst eyes reflected Ruan Mei's image. Faced with Ruan Mei standing so close, and all her strange questions today, Herta seemed unusually flustered.
"Cold. Aloof. Stubborn—just like me. A genius who doesn't fit in anywhere. There! Satisfied?!"
Ruan Mei released Herta's hand. She produced a piece of pastry, offered it to Herta, then stepped back.
"Herta. Before exploring 'divinity' and embarking on the long path toward divine ascension, I believe I must first observe and understand 'humanity.'"
Herta adjusted her magic hat and answered directly:
"Humans? Humans are just joy, anger, sorrow, happiness—the seven emotions and six desires. What's there to observe about that?"
Ruan Mei smiled faintly. She touched her lute, and a note sounded.
"Friendship. Bonds. Revenge. Despair... Under the weight of all kinds of emotions, human beings can transcend."
"Nanook's homeland was plundered. In his despair, he ascended—and with his own hands, brought 'Destruction' upon his home."
"The Xianzhou's Lan harbored vengeance against Yaoshi. That vengeance ultimately forged the arrows of the 'Hunt.'"
"I have drifted too far from 'humanity' and human emotion. So this time, I wish to take you as my subject of observation."
Herta blinked. She recovered herself and retorted sharply:
"Observe me?! You think I'm that Stellaron brat?!
And aren't we the same?! If it's that important, I'll just fetch Asta for you—she'd be more than willing to help with your experiment."
Ruan Mei shook her head slightly. When the lute fell silent, she continued:
"Herta. Only you can help me with this. And this time, I wish to observe only you. This observation... is also an experiment."