"Everyone, please keep your voices down for a moment and don't reveal Teacher Mingming's identity. Teacher Mingming is here for a secret teaching session this time, and I've brought you something delicious too. Let's be quiet."
Lu Mingming lowered her voice and instructed, gently tapping the table with her hand to produce muffled sounds.
The young cubs obediently quieted down, staring intently at Lu Mingming, as if she might vanish in the next blink. They were reluctant to take their eyes off her for even a moment.
The room finally fell silent.
Lu Mingming placed her index finger to her lips as a signal and quietly took out the rabbit-shaped pastries she had just made that morning from her personal space.
These "mantou" held a great surprise; when broken open, they revealed ample filling. Lu Mingming had prepared them with jam filling and her personal favorite, red bean paste.
Even for those who didn't prefer overly sweet flavors, she had also prepared meat buns made with lean meat and minced mushrooms, as breakfast for the cubs.
The pastries, taken out of the insulated container, were steaming hot and filled with warmth. They were about the size of a fist, the only flaw being that their surface was ultimately just a plain white mass.
"Thank you, Teacher Mingming!"
Lu Mingming distributed them one by one, receiving sincere thanks from each cub. They kept looking at the white mantou in their hands, trying to discern something special about them.
The freshly acquired pastries gave off a wheat aroma, with a subtle sweetness, and nothing more.
They didn't seem to be the captivating, peerless delicacies they had seen on the live stream.
A cub who didn't particularly like Lu Mingming muttered, "Isn't this just what those low-tier streamers use for their cubs, like dough balls? What's so delicious about it..."
He took it without thanks, his voice far from quiet.
The classroom suddenly became quiet, everyone observing Lu Mingming's expression, afraid to anger this important person.
"You can try it. If you don't like it, I'll bring you something else tomorrow."
After distributing them all, Lu Mingming went to the cub's seat.
Even the usually picky Class A students had liked her snacks and bath services, later voting Lu Mingming as the most popular in history.
Even though it was a joke ranking, it still showed the significant influence Lu Mingming had in the hearts of the cubs.
The cub, upon hearing Lu Mingming's words, looked up at the face he disliked the most and said impolitely, "Eat it, I'm eating it. After eating your things, I'm afraid of being poisoned. Don't prepare them for me next time."
After delivering his threat, the cub took a bite without hesitation.
Unlike the hard lumps of other streamers, his teeth easily cut the dough in half. The rich, sweet red bean paste aroma was dense and smooth, a mouthful of mellow fragrance, mixed with the soft, fluffy dough, easily swallowed without much chewing.
The sweetness lingered on his teeth, and the cub couldn't help but take another bite.
"You're very lucky, you're eating the red bean paste filling that I prepared the least of."
Lu Mingming leaned down, saw the filling in the cub's mantou, and congratulated him.
"Is... is that so?"
The cub blushed, continued eating in a muffled voice, and no longer attacked Lu Mingming with sharp words.
Lu Mingming smiled and returned to the original teaching platform.
With permission, the cubs all began their first food stop of the day.
Having heard of Lu Mingming's fame outside, it was indeed unexpected good fortune to receive food from this streamer today.
"If only we hadn't entered the restricted zone these past few days. Perhaps I could have let my parents try it. They haven't tasted food from streamer Mingming."
A little girl in the front row was a bit reluctant to eat it immediately.
A little boy beside her didn't care: "Eat it, eat it! What if Teacher Mingming disappears again after teaching us this time? If we want to eat it, there'll be no place. It's the last day. You can still take it back later. If you take it back today, it will surely go bad and won't taste good."
Receiving encouragement, the little girl ate Lu Mingming's gift with peace of mind.
The room was warm, and the aroma of the food wafted into other classrooms.
All the little cubs' stomachs growled with hunger, but they couldn't find the source, so the cafeteria sold the highest number of meals in a week that day.
This class was much more obedient than the previous Class A. At least they didn't persistently challenge Lu Mingming or act as troublemakers trying to be the class leader. Most of the children were very well-behaved, making Lu Mingming's teaching easier.
As a life teacher, she attended to the basic needs of Class A students regularly, as before, without needing much additional time.
After spending about a week in the academy, Lu Mingming and the cubs became close, and the cubs would occasionally share news they had heard.
As was the case today, someone came forward to report.
Holland, who was the most well-informed in the class, leaned in and said, "Teacher Mingming, have you heard?"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Lu Mingming looked over curiously.
The cub mysteriously covered his mouth with his hand, clearly intending to share this secret only with Lu Mingming.
"I recently heard that something big is about to happen. My housekeeper told me to listen to the teacher carefully in the restricted zone."
Lu Mingming's heart skipped a beat. Holland's family had members within the main planet's inner circle, so they must have received some information.
Was it about to start attacking?
"Can you be more specific?"
"I heard it's related to the main planet—perhaps a war is about to break out!"
This child's guess was quite accurate.
Lu Mingming reached out and ruffled the cub's hair.
"Little clever one, alright, go play. Until the news is confirmed, treat it as gossip. We can keep it in our hearts, no need to panic too much."
"Mm, I know."
The cub nodded obediently and quickly changed the subject.
"Teacher Mingming, what are we having for lunch today?"
Upon hearing the word "eat," Holland's eyes started to water.
"For lunch—"
Lu Mingming pondered for a moment.
"Let's make simple braised chestnuts! I guarantee you'll like it."
Holland cheered and immediately rushed off to share the good news with his friends.
As soon as the cub left, Lu Mingming, feeling uneasy, opened her optical computer and browsed the recent trending news, trying to find any clue to confirm her thoughts.
After midnight, the bell in the courtyard rang "ding-dong," its ancient pendulum bringing a great swinging sound.
At the same time, the optical computer on Lu Mingming's wrist vibrated, and a continuous stream of message notifications arrived.
"Who's looking for me...?"
Lu Mingming opened her optical computer and saw that the very first trending article on the homepage was—[The Star Alliance's Internal Factions Have Finally Engaged for the First Time, Is a Great War Imminent?]
Lu Mingming's breath hitched.
The long-awaited event had finally happened. Holding her breath, she clicked on the holographic video in the first post.
It was clearly recorded by a bystander, the camera hidden in clothing, shaking constantly.
Count Gudeffen's virtual image was projected onto the conference table, revealing his aged upper body. His white hair did nothing to diminish the sternness of the elder's face.
He held the newly forged scepter of the Alliance Leader, clearly confident of victory in this duel.
Gudeffen was aggressive: "I warn you, Ollanar, I don't have time to waste with you! In three days, I will have a formal reckoning with you. If you surrender now, I can let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, by then, there will be no room for regret!"
On the other side, Ollanar, unseen for many days, retained his handsome appearance and sat calmly in his seat.
His eyes were deep, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. After listening to all of Gudeffen's words, he paused and then said, "Scram."
This short, forceful word quickly caused a huge stir online.
Comments called him arrogant and disrespectful to elders, while more young people were attracted by his appearance and attitude, clamoring for Ollanar to take power.
It hasn't started yet.
Lu Mingming switched to the Star Net backend screen and sent a message to Ollanar.
[Lu Mingming: Has the official war started recently?]
The other party replied instantly: [Yes, perhaps tomorrow in advance. That guy always likes to do unexpected things like this.]
[Lu Mingming: You must protect your safety.]
[Ollanar: I will. [Cat rubbing leg] Wait for me to come back!]
Looking at the little cat's affectionate gesture on the screen, Lu Mingming's heart warmed, and all her stress vanished.