"Good afternoon, students. The buffet restaurant has prepared delicious food for you. You are welcome to help yourselves. If needed, please proceed down the corridor to Room Three to dine."
"Before leaving your seats, please return them to their upright positions. You may bring your pets into the restaurant with you."
"For your convenience and that of others, please collect your food in order and dine civilly. Students bringing pets should keep an eye on their companions. Pets are strictly forbidden from running about in the restaurant. Before collecting your food, you may request utensils from the sprites. When you have finished dining, please return your utensils to the sprites. Thank you for your cooperation."
At noon, the cabin broadcast carried the gentle announcement of a flight attendant. Zheng Qing eagerly folded away his tray table and rubbed his stomach.
He really was hungry.
Although he had acted calm and casual at home, only he knew how tense and uneasy he had been inside.
For his last meal before departure, he had only eaten three or five dumplings cooked at home. Then he had drunk half a bowl of millet porridge with some side dishes before putting down his chopsticks.
Under Professor Zheng's stern gaze, he had reluctantly eaten another boiled egg.
By now, that little bit of food had long since been digested.
"Let's go together, let's go together, let's go eat!" Li Meng waved her little fists and cried happily. "I've wanted to try the buffet on the Special Plane for ages! My cousin said the buffet on this flight is absolutely delicious!"
"Where's your cousin? Aren't you asking her to come with us?" Zheng Qing stood up and looked around.
"Her home is in Beta Town." Li Meng seemed a little downcast at the mention of her cousin. "Jiuyou Academy only admitted two publicly funded students this year. My cousin ranked third, so she didn't get one of the publicly funded spots. That's why she locked herself in her tower all summer doing experiments."
"So only the top two freshmen in this year's entrance exam rankings were publicly funded students?" Zheng Qing's heart began to leap with joy. He had never expected to become one of those legendary academic elites! Grinning broadly, he wanted to share his results with his new friends.
"My sister said that once school starts, she's going to challenge the two people ranked above her to a duel!" Li Meng clenched her little fists, looked at the two boys beside her, and said viciously, "You two have to come cheer for my sister when the time comes! We'll crush those two little bastards!"
Zheng Qing gave a dry laugh, abandoning the idea of showing off his results. He hugged Poseidon a little tighter against his chest.
"Of course, if you're first place, I can put in a good word with my sister and have her spare you." After hesitating for a moment, Li Meng pouted at Xiao Xiao.
"I'm deeply grateful." Xiao Xiao answered perfunctorily as he stuffed the old turtle in his arms into his pocket.
Zheng Qing smacked his teeth, hesitating over whether to tell Li Meng that he was the publicly funded student ranked second.
Several young wizards in crisp, tailored robes passed by them in the aisle.
A strong fragrance drilled into Zheng Qing's nostrils. He could not help sneezing several times, spraying away all the flattering words he had just prepared for Li Meng and forgetting them completely.
"What is that smell? It smells like my neighbor's French Curly Haired Dog." Li Meng wrinkled her nose and sneezed as well.
"Calvin Chuxia. Nina Company's featured men's perfume this summer, fairly popular among young aristocratic wizards. A fresh wild orange scent. Dabbed lightly on the side of the neck, it brings a refreshing orange fragrance, perfect for a warm and gentle gentleman. But sprayed directly onto the body, the scent reacts with the clothes and becomes irritating. The effect is awful. Just like what you smell now—it's no different from a poodle that rolled around in a barrel of perfume." Xiao Xiao answered blandly.
"Is there anything you don't know?" Zheng Qing looked at the Watermelon Head boy with an expression of utter admiration.
Xiao Xiao glanced at him without answering.
Passing through the cabin door along the aisle, Zheng Qing entered a spacious room.
Now this was the sort of style wizards should have. He silently praised it in his heart.
Compared to the cramped, enclosed space in the front section, this restaurant was much more spacious and bright, practically like a grand reception hall. Whether it was the ornate chandelier, the towering floor-to-ceiling windows, or even the small garden in the center of the hall, none of it was something an ordinary airplane could accommodate.
Zheng Qing easily concluded that some sort of spell had been cast here to expand the space.
Along the left side of the restaurant was a row of serving counters, neatly arranged with all kinds of delicious dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful. Near the entrance were fruit platters, followed by grilled foods, stir-fries, stews, seafood, vegetarian dishes, and more. At the end were soups, pastries, and drinks. The young wizards lined up reservedly, greedily piling delicacies onto their plates.
On the right side of the restaurant stood a U-shaped mahogany bar. Behind it was a huge wine cabinet, where drinks of every color sat in glass bottles tilted against wooden racks, glittering with crystal-clear radiance under the lights. Several bar stools had been casually arranged outside the counter. Zheng Qing spotted a drowsy cobra coiled atop one of them.
A lovely melody drifted in from somewhere unknown, filling the entire restaurant with a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere.
Zheng Qing looked up. More than a hundred palm-sized sprites carried silver-threaded brass trays, flickering with pale green light like enormous fireflies as they flitted through every corner of the restaurant.
"Are all sprites green?" Zheng Qing accepted a tray from one of the sprites, followed behind Xiao Xiao, and placed a slice of watermelon on his plate.
"That's not a professional way to ask it." Xiao Xiao shook the tongs in his hand and casually picked several grapes for his plate. "Sprites are a large family with three genera beneath it: Plant Sprite, Egg Sprite, and Life Sprite, also called the Seeding Type, Hatching Type, and Regeneration Type. The sprites corresponding to each type are completely different. Sprites grown through seeding are all green. Hatched sprites are basically all white, though golden ones occasionally appear. As for Regeneration Type sprites, they are all blue. They are relatively rare and are also called Blue Sprites."
After adding a few slices of apple to his plate, Zheng Qing handed the tongs to a sprite. He watched them happily whirl about with the tongs in hand, spinning out a graceful dance in midair to the restaurant's lively music.
Meanwhile, Li Meng chattered nonstop beside them, continually stuffing food onto her plate.
"You said seeding just now. Does that mean these little green fellows are grown?" Zheng Qing imagined burying dead sprites in the dirt, then seeing a skeletal sprite tree grow from the ground, with tongue-lolling sprites hanging from its branches and giving off an oily green glow.
He shuddered and shook his head. Then he used a wooden spoon to add some mashed potatoes to his plate.
"I know this!" Li Meng raised her plate and answered enthusiastically. "You bury the seeds in the soil and water them with potion. In less than a month, you can harvest a whole group of sprites!"
"A month!" Zheng Qing got distracted, and a quail egg caught in his tongs slipped back into the bowl.
"Here, this." Li Meng handed her plate to a sprite fluttering beside her, then pulled a small wooden box from her pocket. When she opened the lid, a small handful of pale green, pea-like seeds lay on the soft red velvet inside.
Xi xi! Xi xi!
With a fluttering rush, a large group of sprites gathered around, their antennae trembling as they carefully stared at the seeds in the box.
Li Meng protected the box with one hand and quickly picked out a seed with the other, handing it to Zheng Qing. "These are standard sprite seeds. They're highly adaptable to different environments. Usually, any potion above three potency can make them sprout."
The sprites watched wistfully as Li Meng put the box away, and could only cry out xi xi.
The seed felt as smooth as jade, and it was much heavier than it looked.
Zheng Qing played with it for a moment, marveling at it before returning it to Li Meng.
"It's yours!" The little girl waved her hand generously, then turned and began directing several sprites to carry her plate away to find a table.
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