At this moment, Stelle was very nervous.
As for the reason, it was naturally because of the sudden change in Ruan Mei's expression.
She had just explained her work habits and the purpose of that kind of contact. Yet now, when she touched Nero, she showed a surprised and serious expression.
It was practically like a doctor struggling with whether or not to tell a patient their real diagnosis.
This made Stelle start worrying that something might be wrong with Nero's body.
"Th-That... Nero, he..."
Stelle wanted to ask Ruan Mei what exactly was wrong, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Ruan Mei's expression return to normal. Although her voice still carried a hint of surprise, it was not much different from her usual steady tone.
"How unexpectedly normal."
Ruan Mei narrowed her eyes and looked at Nero.
After touching Nero's body and trying to understand his life structure, the result she got was that he was no different from an ordinary Xianzhou native.
It could be said that he was normal beyond normal, even normal to the point of being ordinary, and extremely healthy.
And it was precisely this normality and ordinariness that surprised Ruan Mei.
Because for an "embodiment of the Aeon of Beauty" and a "body forged from a Fragment of Beauty," this result was far too ordinary.
This result even made Ruan Mei briefly doubt what Herta had said. However, what happened during the Swarm Disaster simulation that day had been experienced by all of them personally. That could not be faked.
"Isn't normal a good thing? It would be strange if he wasn't normal," Stelle said.
Ruan Mei turned to look at Stelle. Although she did not speak, it felt as though she had said everything.
"I know Nero is a Fragment of Beauty, but he's a person now, right? Since he's a person, then being normal based on a human life structure is naturally normal. Otherwise, Nero wouldn't be human now. He'd be some other species instead, wouldn't he?"
Ruan Mei thought about it for a moment and felt that Stelle made sense.
Fragments of Aeons were indeed special. That did not need to be emphasized. But expecting the embodiment of a Fragment of an Aeon to show something special in its life structure was indeed a somewhat one-sided view.
Rather, it was because he was too normal that he seemed special.
She carefully recalled the feeling of patting his head earlier...
The life structure she detected in Nero was indeed different from other lifeforms in subtle ways.
In this "dynamic" world, life structures were not fixed. They remained stable within a small range of fluctuation. Even an intelligent mechanical lifeform like Screwllum was the same.
But this boy who felt like osmanthus cake to the touch... this embodiment of a Fragment of Beauty... had a life structure that did not change at all.
It was almost like a machine running according to a preset program. As though some kind of shackles bound those microscopic particles, forcing them to move along a single path and remain in fixed positions.
It could almost be called a perfect body...
If this body had been shaped by a Fragment of an Aeon by imitating an ordinary human, then this boy's body could be said to have surpassed the original because the imitation was too accurate.
Because he was even more like a normal human than a normal human, he ended up seeming somewhat unlike a normal human.
Ruan Mei felt she had figured out quite a few things.
"Is that pastry in your hand good? Can I try some?"
Seeing Ruan Mei stand there for so long without moving, Nero finally set his sights on the pink pastry on the plate in her hand.
He also wondered whether her arm was getting tired from holding it up the whole time.
Hearing Nero's words, Ruan Mei looked at the pastry in her hand, then at Nero. She actually looked a little reluctant.
But after a brief struggle, she still handed him the plate.
Nero was a polite child. He could tell that Ruan Mei liked this kind of dessert very much, so he did not take all of it. Instead, he used the spoon on the plate to cut off a small piece and took that.
As expected, it was sweet.
Although Nero was not exempt from the universal rule that eating sweets made people happy, he was not particularly fond of sweet food. He preferred spicy and numbing flavors or sour and spicy food.
Seeing that Nero had only taken a small bite, Ruan Mei's mood improved a little.
A child who felt like osmanthus cake was a good child.
Then she smiled and used the spoon to divide the remaining pastry on the plate into three portions.
"Come over here. You can have a share of this dessert too. We can eat while enjoying the view. The Blue Planet is right beneath us. It's so full of vitality."
If someone was offering food, then of course Stelle and Nero were not going to refuse.
This was why Dan Heng's usual worries were not completely unreasonable. Even without March 7th around, these two were actually quite easy to fool.
"Sweet pastries always remind people of blooming flowers. Bite after bite, the fragrance lingers between the lips and teeth."
As everyone ate the dessert, Ruan Mei continued sharing some of her thoughts.
"I hope you like it as well."
"It's alright. Pretty tasty. The texture is light and not overly rich. It's the kind of dessert I quite like."
Nero commented while eating, looking as though he thought Ruan Mei was about to host a dessert tasting event.
Stelle looked at Ruan Mei, then at Nero. She felt that it would be inappropriate not to say something at a moment like this.
So after forcefully swallowing the dessert in her mouth, she said, "Delicious!"
Ruan Mei smiled at the two of them as they ate the pastry.
"Is it good? If we have the chance to meet again, I can make more for you. Whenever I visit Stephen Lloyd, I always bring strawberry cake. Otherwise, he won't show himself."
"Mm, an excellent dessert. Ten grams of sugar cubes, one dried salted plum blossom. Baking and cooking are no different from creating a universe."
"The heat must be controlled well, the mind must be careful, and no matter what situation arises... one must not panic."
"Unfortunately, there are still too many people on the space station. The noise doesn't match desserts very well. So..."
Ruan Mei looked at Stelle.
"Do you still remember my research?"
Nero blinked as he listened to the conversation between Ruan Mei and Stelle, which seemed to carry hidden meanings. At the same time, he left a little pastry for Peppy below.
After Peppy finished eating, Nero smiled and rubbed the dog's head.
Meanwhile, Stelle began answering Ruan Mei's question.
She originally wanted to say, "I remember it was life creation."
But after the words left her mouth, they became, "I don't remember. I only like studying stories about toilets."
The smile at the corner of Ruan Mei's mouth widened slightly.
Meanwhile, Nero and Peppy both shuddered before immediately turning to stare at Stelle in shock, as if deeply shaken by her answer.
Although Nero had long realized that the Stelle of this universe was just as mischievous as the players, hearing her say something like that with such a pretty face still dealt a certain amount of damage to his mind.
However, Stelle herself froze after speaking.
Because what she had said was not what she had intended to say at all.
She had only recently experienced her words not matching her thoughts because of Heliobus possession. She had not expected it to happen again so soon.
"What's going on... What am I saying?" Stelle wondered.
The next second, a familiar voice sounded.
"Hehe, you got caught, little girl. There's something in that pastry."
Cirrus opened with mockery as usual.
"But don't worry. That kid asked me to help you. Say whatever you want, and I'll relay it exactly as it is for you. Hehe..."
"Wait, if it's the pastry, then what about Nero...?"
Stelle spoke with Cirrus in her mind. She was somewhat worried about Nero.
"Relax. A body forged by divine power. If it could be restrained by such little human tricks, wouldn't that be too embarrassing?"
Stelle, "..."
'That makes sense. Great, Nero is fine.'