Though He Bi said so, he had a hunch. With such clever cooking hands, if the Waste Star girl wanted to earn credits, it wouldn't be that hard.
But for now he merely wanted to needle Cheng Gong—and kept that to himself.
"Hmph! Whatever happens, she must bear the consequences for her wrongdoing!"
Cheng Gong found the Waste Star girl more and more an eyesore.
This girl, always acting out of line, never playing by common sense, her thinking unmoored from logic—if she really entered the Second Military Academy, who knew how much trouble she'd stir up?
He had no wish, from the bottom of his heart, to see her pass.
And now, if it was established that she had eaten a Five‑coloured Bird, perhaps the president would even cancel her exam qualification.
Mentor Jin Ling quietly watched the two men's usual squabbling—and chose silence.
To speak now was to invite a fight; better to sit and let them cool off.
…
Simulated planet, jungle region.
By the bonfire near the stream.
Chen Cheng's request was flatly rejected by Zhao Qingyan the moment he spoke.
Lan Grace, raising her eyes from the gizzard she was eating, saw Chen Cheng's face—so pitiful, so tormented he was on the verge of tears.
She almost laughed. A man so big, sturdy as a bear—could he really cry?
A second later, she saw him lift a hand and wipe his eyes with his knuckles.
He cried as he complained, repeating the same line from start to finish: "It's too hard, too hard! It's really too hard…"
Lan Grace: "…"
Zhao Qingyan frowned. "Crying and snivelling like that—disgusting. Cry again and get out."
Chen Cheng froze—and fell silent at once.
He had to take Zhao Qingyan at her word.
If he kept crying, he might not even be allowed to be this close to the roasting meat with its fragrance.
Weighing the pros and cons, he stopped wiping his eyes.
Even so, he still looked at Lan Grace with big, pleading eyes—as if hoping she would soften and spare him a bite.
In fact, his ploy worked.
After finishing the gizzard skewer in two or three bites, Lan Grace held out the remaining heart skewer to Chen Cheng.
"You can have it, but not for free. When you're done, go collect some dry branches—we're short on fuel."
"Oh—okay!" Chen Cheng dropped his misery in an instant and grinned. He slid the roasted heart off the skewer in one bite and held it in his mouth, almost reluctant to chew.
The savoury flavour rolled over his tongue, stoking his taste buds until he couldn't help himself.
The roasted heart was soft and springy; beneath the charry‑fragrant outside, the inside wasn't at all dried out. A gush of tender juices burst forth—he could no longer resist and began to chomp in big mouthfuls.
Chewing, he didn't forget the task the Waste Star beauty had set—collecting dry branches.
He didn't know how many she needed, but since he had eaten her food, he had to do his utmost to satisfy her.
When Chen Cheng had left, Zhao Qingyan looked at Lan Grace in profile. "Finding twigs is a trivial thing. Leave it to me. That was cheap for him—to get a bite of meat out of it."
Lan Grace understood her thinking.
These days, it had always been the two of them eating and drinking together. For a stranger to show up and take a share of their food—no one would feel comfortable about that.
She smiled. "It's just one mouthful of food in exchange for a labourer to do our chores. Why not?"
"And asking you to pick up sticks would be a waste of your talents. Let him go—it's just right. We've got plenty to eat; one bite won't kill us."
Hearing her, Zhao Qingyan glanced at the meat roasting seven‑ or eight‑tenths done.
True—the bird would be more than enough for the two of them.
"And if we've had one, we'll have a second, even a third. Didn't President Ferrero say there are a hundred Five‑coloured Birds in this jungle?"
At that, Zhao Qingyan's heart gave a jolt.
Lan Grace meant to set her sights on the other birds too?
They didn't even know how the Academy would censure them for eating one—what if they ate another…
She stared at the richly fragrant meat—and swallowed.
Actually… a second wouldn't be bad either…
As for Lan Grace's real purpose in ordering Chen Cheng about—it wasn't just fetching firewood.
There were only two of them. With one more, their search radius would widen—better for finding and capturing birds.
Hadn't the president said there were a hundred? Then when they caught them, they would need someone strong to lug a heap of birds.
The moment she discovered the birds were really just big roosters, Lan Grace had resolved to improve their meals for the next half month.
When Chen Cheng returned with branches and fed the fire at her direction, he then waited with eager eyes for Lan Grace to keep roasting.
Even if he got no more when it was done, he could at least smell it.
Still, he thought, since Lan Grace had given him one bite, she might give him a second—as long as he worked hard. Work more, earn more bites.
When the roast chicken was about nine‑tenths done, several others arrived at the fire.
The three Waste Star natives had different reactions on seeing Lan Grace.
Zhu You had disliked her since before the exam even began—and nothing had changed now.
Especially when they followed the fragrance and discovered it came from someone also from the Waste Star—jealousy surged uncontrollably.
If not for the tall, icy beauty with the sword and imposing aura at her side, and the brawny giant—both clearly not easy to cross—Zhu You would already have marched up.
The long‑braided Waste Star girl saw the pretty Waste Star sister at a glance—then, seeing how strong her companions were, felt ashamed and timid—afraid to approach.
The third Waste Star native didn't know Lan Grace at all—he was even more reluctant to go over.
Besides the three, there were a few youths from across the Alliance's billions of star systems—candidates for the Second Military Academy.
Among them was Ji Chenfeng, the double‑S genius from a battle regiment.