Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

As Brittany Beery made her exit, the failed attempt at this forced setup finally came to an end. The four who had been unwillingly subjected to this spectacle were left at a loss for words on how to even react to Brittany Beery’s behavior.

“She’s supposed to be a core descendant from one of the top ten families, not to mention a student in the elite class at Xuan Gu First Military Academy. How did she stoop so low?” Dean Atchison looked bewildered, feeling a bit disillusioned.

With both Hua Deli and Hebrew Adam already having someone in their hearts, he was the only one left single. Due to the alien incident, his parents wanted him to marry young, so he figured he wouldn’t escape that fate once he came of age. But if noblewomen from prominent families were all like Brittany, Dean was ready to resist with everything he had.

“Has something happened with the Beery family?” Hua Deli glanced questioningly at Hebrew Adam.

Hua Deli was one of the few people, besides Hebrew Adam, familiar with Brittany Beery since she, too, was a childhood friend of his. For such a proud girl to act this way, it had to be more than just an infatuation with Hebrew Adam. Either she was deeply in love, or her family was in trouble and had pushed her into this behavior. Hua Deli suspected the latter.

Hebrew Adam nodded. “My brother hinted at some issues—apparently, there’s been trouble within the military ranks. Although it’s not yet time for a reckoning, it seems the Beery family has caught on to my brother’s plans. Brittany has been clinging to me, and there’s someone trying the same thing with my brother. But that woman can’t even get close to him.”

“So, you’re obviously not handling things as well as cousin Xiahai,” Dean Atchison said bluntly to Hebrew Adam.

Atchison’s words made Hebrew Adam immediately glance at Ruo Manni nervously. Though he believed he hadn’t done anything wrong, the repeated mention of his mother by Brittany made him uneasy. His biggest fear was that Ruo Manni might reject him because of his mother’s past actions.

Hebrew Adam knew that Ruo Manni had endured much hardship as a child because of his mother, so he feared that Brittany Beery’s actions would only deepen Ruo Manni’s resentment towards her.

Ignoring the others present, he walked up to Ruo Manni and said, “Thank you for trusting me.”

Ruo Manni resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her intelligence wasn’t lacking—she could easily see through Brittany Beery’s little schemes. If there had truly been something between Hebrew Adam and Brittany, he would never have brought her to his private quarters unless he intended to sever all possibility of a future with Ruo Manni.

So, no matter how much Brittany tried to stir up trouble or how many suggestive things she said, without concrete proof, Ruo Manni and the others wouldn’t believe her.

“My brother was right—I really don’t like people gossiping about this kind of thing…” Ruo Manni began, then realized she might have said too much.

Dean Atchison and Hua Deli didn’t catch on immediately, but Hebrew Adam’s eyes lit up, and he said softly, “I’ll take care of it. I know exactly what to do.”

Only someone who wanted to be with him would worry about these rumors. If Ruo Manni didn’t care about being with him, she wouldn’t mind what others might say.

With his bright, joyful gaze fixed on her, Ruo Manni felt her cheeks warming. She turned her head, only to feel Hebrew Adam’s gentle hand briefly clasp hers. Before she could pull away, he had already released her hand.

Bringing Brittany Beery into this situation and addressing it directly was, admittedly, exactly what Ruo Manni had hoped Hebrew Adam would do.

In the novel, Brittany Beery was the official match for the Second Prince, and even after their marriage, the novel’s Second Prince still enjoyed flirting and being with other women. Although the current world and plot have diverged significantly from the novel, Brittany Beery was clearly clinging to Hebrew Adam, and it seemed he still had some consideration for her.

What Ruo Manni worried about most was the possibility that Hebrew Adam might be a philanderer. She didn’t want to discover after an engagement that he had the novel’s tendencies for romantic entanglements everywhere he went.

Some people can make great friends or partners, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they can be a good spouse.

So, when Hebrew Adam was utterly unkind to Brittany Beery earlier, Ruo Manni didn’t see it as rude or lacking in manners—in fact, she thought he handled it well. In matters like this, there’s no room for softness or leniency, as it can lead to future troubles.

The next morning, after getting up, Ruo Manni checked the trending news and found it still focused on the alien situation and public issues.

Following Instructor Dudley’s schedule, the elite class began with two hours of basic training before heading to class for a full day of lectures.

Yesterday, many military academy students saw Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam on the grounds of Xuan Gu First Military Academy. Some even took photos of them together and posted them on the campus network.

Thanks to Sheila’s gossip, Ruo Manni took a look and saw that the post had been trending all day, reaching the top spot on the campus forum. It seemed nearly every cadet knew their idols had been back for classes yesterday. So today, when students spotted Hebrew Adam and Ruo Manni, they didn’t rush over with excitement as they did before; instead, they gazed at them in admiration and quietly moved on.

“After the Junior Elite Competition, you and the president became our new campus idols—practically the top couple at Xuan Gu First Military Academy,” Sheila said with a quiet laugh next to Ruo Manni.

“We didn’t even participate in the competition,” Ruo Manni replied, amused. It seems that as long as someone has enough skill, they can get famous just by being on the bench.

“That’s because you two are both incredible prodigies. With such good looks and how naturally close you are, people can’t help but ship you as a perfect match,” Sheila explained. “Honestly, even within our elite class, aside from your brother and cousin, everyone else pretty much assumed you two were together. Even before you left, the president was always extra attentive to you.”

Ruo Manni laughed quietly, a bit speechless. She hadn’t noticed any of that before.

As she chatted with Sheila, Ruo Manni glanced around the campus. In a group of cadets training ahead of them, one girl’s figure looked strikingly familiar, stirring up an old memory.

Ruo Manni suddenly stopped in her tracks. Walking right behind her, Hebrew Adam reacted quickly, managing to stop just in time to avoid bumping into her.

“What’s wrong? Did you notice something unusual about those people up ahead?” Hebrew Adam immediately picked up on her shift in mood.

Ruo Manni then remembered that three years ago, she had left school abruptly, and in the years since, she had been constantly on the move, completely forgetting to check in on Aoi Dan. She had no idea how Aoi Dan was doing now, though she assumed she was probably still at school.

“It’s nothing. I just remembered something from the past,” Ruo Manni said as she resumed walking. At this point, Aoi Dan really was just a small detail in her life.