"It's not impressive. These are just common sense."
Mu Qingyun kept the second sentence to herself. She knew if she said it out loud, it would definitely cause quite a stir.
Hearing this, Su smiled at her and then lowered his head to taste the bird soup.
The flavor was indeed very fresh.
But as he ate, something felt off.
"Mu Qingyun, why are there vegetable leaves in the soup?"
Su suddenly looked up at her, furrowing his brows with a flicker of coldness in his eyes.
"They were picked up on the way, just grabbed them casually," Mu Qingyun's heart skipped a beat as she met his gaze.
Xiong Ruoyou and Fan Xuanye were too busy eating to notice the vegetable leaves in the soup. They just assumed it was seasoning.
But Su was surprisingly alert. She had only added a small amount, and was careful not to serve much to him — his bowl had at most four tiny fragments of leaves.
And yet, he still noticed.
"Picked up casually?" Su's eyes were full of curiosity. "Where did you pick them?"
"I can't remember the exact spot," Mu Qingyun glanced at him coolly. "I went out at night to relieve myself, and a bird flew overhead. When I came back, I saw a few leaves lying around."
"Hmm, our planet has no naturally growing plants. Vegetables and such are all cultivated in seed banks and are incredibly valuable, practically unavailable in the market. Even my father's office only has synthetic ornamental plants," Xiong Ruoyou said with her mouth full, mumbling indistinctly.
[Plants? Edible vegetables?]
[Oh my god, I've never eaten vegetables since I was a kid. They're way too expensive. Rather than spend money on those, better to buy more meat and protein powder.]
[Impossible. He's definitely lying. Our living environment now is barren — no plants grow here. If there was any sign of plants growing, research teams would immediately quarantine the area for study.]
[Wait, I just thought of a possibility — could it be that a bird picked up some ornamental plant leaves somewhere, and Mu Qingyun happened to collect them?]
That explanation was well-received.
Mu Qingyun nodded inwardly in approval. Good, she would use that explanation.
"There are ornamental plants here? I didn't know. On my old planet, there was nothing like that — I thought these were edible."
[See, I told you not to overestimate him. Ornamental plants are synthetic! And this guy doesn't even know that.]
[Forget it, cut him some slack. Mu Ge grew up on a trash planet — he's never seen the world.]
[Ah, it's okay. Such a little bit won't kill anyone. But Mu Ge should still be careful in the future — some things really can be deadly.]
[Ha, ugly guys are always up to something. He doesn't eat it himself but lets others do it — takes all the benefits and says he doesn't know about the dangers.]
[Exactly. Mu Qingyun's fans in real life must be those with zero values. How could they idolize someone like this?]
[What nonsense! Just because Mu Ge didn't eat it himself, he fed the good stuff to his family first and cooks without complaint. What right do you have to say that?]
[Really, you guys don't understand Mu Ge at all. You start trashing him for nothing. Who is he even blocking? All haters.]
Ornamental plants, huh?
Su looked down at the leafy bits in his bowl, frowned, and after thinking it over, believed Mu Qingyun's explanation.
Vegetables were something he rarely ate. Existing plant seeds were reserved for research, and even if sold, the price was astronomical.
Moreover, because of the recent forecast, the planet's seed banks were now banned from selling seeds.
Besides, Mu Qingyun had no reason to lie to him.
So the vegetable leaves matter passed with a minor scare, and Mu Qingyun sighed silently, resolving to avoid putting such obviously suspicious things into the soup next time.
Su was just way too cautious.
After the meal, Mu Qingyun kept focusing on her training.
Meanwhile, Su quietly took out a communicator from a corner no one noticed and typed something.
Seeing the green checkmark on the device, he relaxed, hid it back in his storage bag, and closed his eyes to rest.
At dusk, Mu Qingyun started walking outside, using her restored daytime plant powers to search for traces of vegetation.
When you think life is calm and peaceful, surprises always strike out of nowhere.
Like right now.
Mu Qingyun looked at Bai Feifei, who was squatting on the ground crying, her eyes filled with helplessness.
Right beneath Bai Feifei's feet was a small patch of plant traces that Mu Qingyun had painstakingly found.
What should she do? Give up or wait for her to leave?
Green light flickered brightly in her hand. Whatever was under Bai Feifei's feet was definitely something valuable.
She thought for a moment, then hid behind a mound of earth, concealing herself.
After all, she had plenty of time and didn't mind wasting a minute or two.
Fifteen minutes passed; Bai Feifei was still crying.
Half an hour passed; she was still crying.
Longer still, and dawn was breaking — yet the girl hadn't moved from her spot.
Doesn't she get tired?
Mu Qingyun pressed her lips in mild frustration and casually picked up a stone, slowly walking toward Bai Feifei.
Her livestream was off, but she wasn't sure if Bai Feifei's was.
She couldn't just hit the girl with a stone — that would cause trouble.
"Hey, little sister, why are you crying here instead of following Mu Xueyao?"
A cold voice suddenly came from behind, startling Bai Feifei. She shuddered involuntarily, and her crying stopped abruptly.
She turned her head, glaring with watery eyes at Mu Qingyun.
Tsk, she really was a beauty. She had the looks of a troublemaker.
Too bad her mouth was too sharp. Girls like this would get slapped by her in a second.
"Mind your own business, ugly guy! Just take care of yourself and get lost!"
Bai Feifei immediately scowled at her, clearly unhappy.
Despite Bai Feifei's rude words, Mu Qingyun showed no reaction. She glanced at the livestream device in the girl's hand and said coldly:
"Is your livestream off?"
"No, it's not. Why do you care whether it's on or off?" Bai Feifei was furious. Her mood was already bad — what was this ugly guy up to now?
"Turn it off," Mu Qingyun said, tightening her grip on the stone, a teasing smile curling on her lips.
Though her face was ordinary and not particularly striking, the sly, perfectly timed smile on Mu Qingyun's lips made her eyes sparkle irresistibly, almost hypnotic.
For some reason, Bai Feifei was stunned. She instinctively shook her head, "I didn't turn it off. The moderators rest at night and don't monitor how long streams stay on or off."