A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 160: Wrong Gift
Chapter 160: Wrong Gift

Out of the captain’s sight, Drexel felt a sharp pang in his chest. He was heartbroken.

He had just given away 100 million astrocredits.

Arix noticed what happened and gave her brother an approving thumbs up. ”You did the right thing,” she said. ”I saw their mechas were badly damaged. With that Insectoid Core, they should have enough money to fix them.”

Drexel nodded. That was exactly why he gave away the Insectoid Core.

It made sense, but his heart still ached.

Thaddeus listened quietly to his kids’ conversation. Once he understood the situation, he reached out and ruffled both their heads, smiling proudly. ”You did the right thing. I am so proud of you.”

Both Drexel and Arix felt a bit embarrassed by the praise.

Drexel, in particular, felt shy. He looked proud, though, and a big smile spread across his face.

No matter how strong someone is, they’re still just kids who need love from their parents.

On Planet Hecaris...

The ship carrying Arix and her family stopped at the gates of the Kerings’.

Thaddeus spoke to the officers seeing them off, then got off with his children.

As soon as he got off the ship, Thaddeus spotted Fleur running toward him excitedly.

He had been busy lately, and his wife must have missed him a lot.

Looking at his beautiful wife, Thaddeus’s eyes were brimming with love, and a big smile appeared on his face. He opened his arms, ready for a hug.

But then, his dear wife ran right past him.

Thaddeus was confused.

He turned stiffly and saw his wife happily hugging Arix, looking very content.

Thaddeus glanced at his empty arms, then at Drexel, and quietly lowered his arms.

Fleur didn’t notice Thaddeus’s actions. She was too happy hugging her daughter and kissing her cheeks.

”You little rascal, you didn’t come to see me for a whole month. Did you forget about your mother?” Fleur playfully tapped Arix’s forehead with a smile.

”Hehe, no way, Mom. I missed you too. Look, I brought you a gift from the Empire.” Arix said, taking out an ice-blue bead from her Space Button and handing it to Fleur like a treasure.

Though she bought this bead from a street vendor, she had soaked it in a special solution for a long time. Now it not only had a calming effect but also smelled nice.

Looking at the beaded pendant on a string, Fleur happily took it and examined it for a while. Then she kissed Arix and said, ”Thank you, Arix. I love it.”

”I’m glad you like it, Mom,” Arix said, shyly touching her face with her hands.

”Arix, where’s my gift?” Thaddeus coughed and asked nonchalantly.

Fleur chuckled as she saw how much Thaddeus wanted a gift but tried to act indifferent.

”Oh, right, I have something for Dad too.” Arix rummaged through her space pocket and took out another beaded pendant.

”This is for you, Dad,” Arix said sweetly, handing the pendant to Thaddeus.

”Thank you, Arix. I love it,” Thaddeus said, patting Arix’s head fondly.

Drexel watched his parents shower Arix with more affection after receiving her gifts. A thought struck him, and he also took out something from his Space Button, handing it to Thaddeus and Fleur.

”Mom, Dad, these are my gifts for you,” Drexel said confidently with a smile.

Thaddeus and Fleur were surprised and looked at Drexel and then at the gifts he handed them.

Drexel gave each of them a book. To Thaddeus, he handed ”Dream Guy DIY,” and to Fleur, he gave ”Cougar’s Playbook.”

Thaddeus and Fleur’s faces turned dark simultaneously. Fleur gave a cold laugh and looked at Drexel with a smirk, ”Are you sure these are the books you meant to give us?”

Arix glanced at the awkward books and sympathetically looked at Drexel. She knew he must have grabbed the wrong ones. Seeing the frustration on their parents’ faces, she figured Drexel wouldn’t escape punishment today.

Drexel proudly lifted his chin and nodded confidently. But when he didn’t hear any praise from his parents after a while, he realized something was wrong. He looked down at the books and almost had a heart attack.

He cautiously looked up and, with an innocent smile, said, ”Mom, Dad, do you believe I grabbed the wrong gifts? These are for my classmates...”

Before Drexel could continue, Fleur interrupted him. ”The truth doesn’t matter anymore, son. I just want you to know that your allowance for this month is gone,” she said with a sweet smile.

Drexel’s eyes widened, and just as he was about to plead, Thaddeus cut him off.

”Son, we haven’t trained together in a while. Today, I have time to train with you more,” Thaddeus said, grinning as he put his arm around Drexel’s neck and dragged him towards the training center.

Drexel wanted to ask Arix for help but was too scared it would make things worse. In the end, he just moved his lips a bit and resigned himself to his fate.

”Mom, will Drexel be okay?” Arix asked sympathetically, watching her brother being dragged away like a helpless puppy.

”He’ll be fine. Your dad and he are just having some fun,” Fleur reassured her, patting Arix’s head. Then she remembered something and said, ”Oh, by the way, Cirilla and the others are in the garden. Do you want to go and join your friends?”

”Cirilla is here?!” Arix’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Fleur nodded gently.

”Great! Mom, I’m going to see them now. Bye-bye!” Arix said, waving goodbye to her mother and running excitedly towards the garden.

As for Drexel, she had already forgotten about him.

In the garden, Arix showed up and spotted Cirilla and her friends chatting in a cozy gazebo.

She wanted to greet them but hesitated, pulling out a small mirror to check her face. Seeing her new look, Arix grinned mischievously and got an idea.

She grabbed a plate of fruit from her Space Button.

After another quick glance at her reflection, Arix made her way softly towards Cirilla and the gang.

Cirilla and the others were ”admiring” Elio at the moment.

”Elio, did you secretly get some cosmetic work done? You look completely different,” Cirilla said lazily. She held a Celesterror Lord egg, glancing at the young man beside her.

Elio, with his delicate features and smooth skin, looked like a work of art among the flowers. He glared at Cirilla and then, feeling a bit self-conscious, pulled out a small mirror to examine his thin face.

Elio said, pinching his still chubby cheeks with some concern, ”Now I think I look better when I’m chubby. Now I’m just to thin. If I get any thinner, I’ll be like Arix. Gosh, she’s almost all bones, remember?”

Arix, arriving with the fruit, almost tripped when she heard this.

’All bone? Really?’ she thought but held back her retort as they noticed her. She put on a sweet expression and greeted them softly, ”Hello, my name is Ari...a, yes, Aria. I brought some fruit for you.”

Cirilla, Zephyr, and Varden were a bit taken aback by her nice appearance, but they stayed polite, only nodding quietly in acknowledgment.

Cirilla, uninterested in delicate girls, kept focusing on her Celesterror Lord egg She adjusted the incubator temperature to 36 degrees as suggested online.

Zephyr was more interested in his new energy gun, which he hadn’t tried out yet. His cold eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Varden eyed Arix skeptically, wondering if she was related to the Kering family.

Among them, only Elio was struck by her beauty. He stared at her for a moment before blurting out, ”She’s a vision! Gosh!”

Realizing what he said, Elio’s face turned red. He scratched his head shyly and greeted Arix, ”Hello, I’m Elio.”