Chapter 128: Hmph! You are far too young!
(Zrudread University - Family Housing Complex - Apartment 302B)
The family housing complex was a section of the central city occupied by row after row of endless villas and mansions.
Zrudread University allowed students to bring up to five family members with them for the duration of their study and had even created a local high school to provide education for the minors.
Not all the villas were the same size and students could upgrade their accommodations by either paying extra cash or rising up in status.
Elite students were given mansions twice the size of the surrounding houses with robotic butlers and cleaners to maintain the property.
A certain quiet girl wearing thick glasses was standing in front of one such house.
Ring! Ring!
Qiana nervously pressed the doorbell and waited patiently for what seemed like an eternity before she heard footsteps walking towards the door.
"Hey Qiana! Welcome to my...." Astrid swung open the door and could not help but give her friend a second look.
The girl standing in front of her was almost unrecognizable.
Qiana was wearing a lovely green dress that left the top of her shoulders exposed but gently flowed down the rest of her body.
It was an elegant fit that accentuated her slender figure and thin waist.
She wore a diamond necklace that sparkled in the sunlight along with two emerald earrings forged by an alien race of blacksmiths known as the Samiela.
Qiana was the spitting image of an attractive noble heiress and her natural aura of wealth and luxury was a direct contrast to her usual look.
"Do... do you like it?" Qiana hesitantly spoke as she nervously gripped a small white bag.
"Yeah you look absolutely stunning," Astrid quickly replied.
In fact, Qiana's appearance had left her lost for words.
Astrid's parents had been fairly well-off merchants, but their wealth was a far cry from being able to match those hailing from ancient noble households.
"Please come inside," Astrid just realised that she had been staring at Qiana for far too long, so she hurriedly gestured for the girl to come in.
Qiana smiled shyly and walked quietly inside while observing the interior of the mansion. Her first impression was that it was very clean and tidy.
The temperature was carefully controlled using air vents and not a single speck of dust could be seen on any of the furniture.
Large packing boxes that were placed at the corner of the reception room were the only sign that Astrid and her family had recently moved in.
"I was just making lunch," Astrid spoke as she guided Qiana around the house.
"Do you want some help?" Qiana offered.
"Sure!" came the enthusiastic reply.
Astrid was not sure where her siblings were hiding as no one came to disturb her private time with Qiana.
She had told them in great detail that a very important friend of hers was coming over and they had to be on their best behaviour.
But now they seemed to have vanished.
"Here's the kitchen," Astrid said proudly as she led Qiana inside.
This was definitely a professional kitchen, but it seemed to have been modified to have an old school appearance with culinary appliances such as a solar oven, an induction stove, blender, microwave and chopping board.
But Astrid still had a food replicator for the days when she did not have time to cook.
A pot of water was boiling on the stovetop and a variety of fruits, vegetables and white meat were laying down on the countertop.
"Shall I peel the vegetables?" Qiana asked.
Truthfully, this noble girl did not have much experience in cooking but Qiana figured that handling simple tasks wouldn't be a problem.
"Yeah I will de bone the meat," Astrid headed for the rack of knives and started to cut open an unidentified slab of meat on the counter.
Qiana stared at the vegetable in front of her in a bit of confusion as she also held a small knife that she had found nearby.
What the hell was this?
It was purplish red in colour with small liquid filled sacs covering its body that resembled pimples.
Qiana almost gagged as she cut one of the boils and a rotten smell entered her nose.
Is this even edible?
Qiana held back her complaints and resolutely sliced and diced the remaining vegetables all while holding her nose and trying not to breathe.
"Oh yeah... what's in that white bag?" Astrid asked curiously.
"Just some small gifts for your siblings," Qiana spoke casually as if it were no big deal.
What she did not mention was that she had spent five hours browsing ten different shopping sites to try and find the perfect presents to leave a good impression.
The atmosphere between the girls was very pleasant and Qiana suddenly had an unexpected thought that they resembled a pair of housewives.
The tips of her ears immediately turned red and she shot a look at the Mendolesa girl whose attention was drawn to the soup boiling on the stove.
Suddenly three unexpected voices could be heard from the distance.
"Hey, is that a human?"
"Woah her dress is so pretty!"
"Shh... don't let big sis catch us."
Qiana tried her best not to laugh as she spotted three small heads poking out from behind one of the doors leading to the kitchen.
She was just about to give Astrid a gentle nudge but the Mendolesa girl had long noticed her three mischievous siblings.
"Isla, Jackson and Emma you can stop hiding now," Astrid called loud enough for the triplets to hear.
"Big sister is too powerful," Emma exclaimed in awe.
"Darn I knew you two loud mouths would give us away," Isla muttered with a scowl.
"You want to fight?" Jackson raised his arm menacingly, but his sister just stuck out her tongue and ran ahead.
Isla jumped into Astrid's arms and hugged her big sister cutely before getting ready to put on her performance.
"Astrid... Jackson said he wanted to hit me," Isla sobbed as tears ran down her cheek.
"Jackson how many times do I have to tell you to stop bullying your sisters?!" Astrid tried her best to remain calm in front of Qiana, but a trace of anger could still be heard in her tone.
She started to lecture poor Jackson who was now kneeling down with an aggravated expression.
Isla continued to cry in a heartbreaking tone, but she could not stop the corners of her lips from curling up.
Want to mess with me brother?
Hmph! You are far too young!