"You're quite interesting."

Merita lowered her eyes, concealing the coldness in them, took a sip of champagne, and proudly raised her chin. Just as Tia had said, she was exactly like a spoiled little princess.

Cong Yu remained expressionless, her head slightly lowered, and her body trembled slightly as she spoke.

"Speaking of which, you look quite unfamiliar. I've never seen you on Duxing before?"

Merita seemed genuinely interested as she carefully examined the girl in front of her. Although the girl hadn't caused any trouble while standing in the corner, Merita noticed that the corner was unusually obvious from her previous position.

I don't know if the person in front of me did it on purpose.

"I... my family isn't from Duxing. I came here with my cousin," Cong Yu said timidly in a low voice, her tone hesitant as she answered, as if she were trying to get her to speak.

In the past, she would definitely have asked, "Who is your cousin?"

But that's not so important now, since she's not interested in any of the people here.

"Your cousin is very understanding. This party was a bit quieter than usual. It would have been more lively with more people." In her words, it seemed that it didn't matter who her cousin was among those present.

Are people like this really brainless, as Tia says?

"Is...is that so?"

Cong Yu was taken aback for a moment, then pursed her lips and revealed a shy smile, showing her cute little tiger teeth appropriately, and said, "Miss Merita, I'm glad you like it. My cousin just wanted to broaden my horizons, but she was afraid of upsetting you. It seems you're quite happy now."

Did I upset her?

Merita listened as the other person kept mentioning her cousin, their face full of dependence yet seemingly innocently trying to sow discord. Merita chuckled inwardly, then couldn't help glancing back at the small groups of girls behind her, chatting as if nothing had happened. (cascoo.net)

Sure enough, she only paused for two or three seconds before someone gave themselves away and looked in her direction. When they met her gaze, they gave an awkward smile but made no move to come closer.

Merita raised an eyebrow, noticing that she recognized the girl—Tia Crohn, whose father, as a member of her grandfather's party, seemed to have a decent reputation in the federal parliament.

Seeing her previous demeanor, Merita turned to stare at Cong Yu, and asked in a tone of certainty, "Are you a relative of the Kron family?"

"yes."

"But Congressman Kron's parents died on the battlefield when he was very young. Since there were no close relatives within three generations, he was raised by the Federal Military Household Agency."

His wife came from an ordinary family in the capital, an only child, and both her parents were only children. What kind of relative are you?

Since the incident involving the hidden insectoid race, Duxing has undergone a major purge, which included the young ladies who had previously interacted with her, some of whom were also members of the hidden insectoid race!

She was taken away for investigation because of this. After she was released, without her grandfather saying anything, she asked him to investigate the family backgrounds of all the girls he had contacted and played with.

She hadn't expected to see such a surge of people here.

Merita's gaze was fixed on Cong Yu, giving off a "keep making this up" vibe.

“My great-grandfather and my maternal great-uncle were cousins… Later, my great-grandfather went to settle on another planet, and we lost contact for a while. It was only a few years ago that we reconnected… My aunt said that since we are all relatives, it’s good to be able to visit each other…”

After Cong Yu finished speaking, she lowered her head so that no one could see her expression. From a distance, she looked as if she had been bullied.

Even those who had been watching from afar with indifference couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Meretta seems to have gotten more and more temperamental since she started military school."

"Who can argue with that?"

"She even tries to bully someone from the countryside, it's really..."

"But speaking of which, who brought this country bumpkin?"

As Tia listened to the mixed comments from those around her, both praising and criticizing, she nearly dropped the wine glass she was holding. Her eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding on Merita's side, and she desperately wanted to leave immediately to avoid the embarrassment that followed.

...

"Aren't you two childish?"

On the central star of the Empire, in the new year, Lu Gui and Lu Xiaoyao brought gifts to visit the Sen family next door. When Lu Gui saw his classmate there, he couldn't help but be surprised.

Surprised, he had no choice but to avoid others and chat directly with the Senye and Senxuan siblings, who were sitting on a swing in the garden eating small cakes.

"Is it childish?" Sen Ye looked at Lu Gui innocently with his round, doe-like eyes. "Is there a problem with my mother hiring a tutor for me?"

"They're clearly just little monsters disguised as children, acting all cutesy and whiny in front of people... This kind of behavior, huh?" With no one around, Lu Gui directly exposed Sen Ye and Sen Xuan's true ages, saying, "You're both in your twenties, what are you pretending for? And, isn't recognizing your father online enough for you? You want to bring him over offline right now, does your mother know what you're thinking?"

"Hmph! Mind your own business! Mind your own business, don't end up with such a healthy body but be unable to do anything!"

Normally, the two little siblings are more likely to act cute and charming than the other, but at this moment, their faces revealed a mature look that we had never seen before.

It feels somewhat out of place.

But I can understand it.

After all, they've looked like this for over a decade.

...

"Uncle, what are you busy with?"

Mu Chen showed off her pastry-making skills, and then her father took her to the kitchen for a friendly exchange.

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