Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Doesn’t Taste Good
They looked at Stella Sterling, only to see her expression was calm.
She ate her meal quietly, not saying a word.
The two exchanged a look, but didn’t say anything either. ’Maybe we were both mistaken.’
So, they decided to take another bite before saying anything.
However, after they both took another bite, they once again looked up at the same time, their expressions nearly identical.
Now they were finally sure—it wasn’t a problem with their taste buds.
The food really was bad. It wasn’t disgusting, but it was incredibly bland.
It was just that when they saw Stella Sterling’s practiced movements and confident air, they had assumed her cooking would be excellent and had been looking forward to it for a long time.
But in the end? The presentation was decent, but it had absolutely no flavor.
Before, they had thought they must have been mistaken, since Stella Sterling was eating it so normally.
But when they took another bite, the result was the same as before. Bad was bad.
"What are you looking at me for? Eat."
Stella Sterling glanced up at them, her tone a bit impatient.
When she ate, she liked to focus on her food. Unless there was danger, she didn’t like to be disturbed by other things.
Louis Grant and Vivian Larkin exchanged another glance, then sighed in resignation and said no more.
They lowered their heads, picked up some food, and quickly finished their rice.
They decided it was better not to tell the truth, to avoid discouraging Stella Sterling.
’So what if it’s bad? At least it’s cooked, right? And it’s not disgusting.’
’At least Stella Sterling is better than us. If we had been the ones slaving away, the food might have been completely inedible.’
’Just having something to eat is already great. What’s there to complain about?’
’Besides, if Stella Sterling can eat it just fine, why can’t we?’
’In this apocalypse, how many people have to eat their food raw? This is already fantastic. A person’s got to know when to be content!’
After comforting themselves with these thoughts, they both began to eat much faster.
Though, they were already starting to look forward to the cafeteria food.
Stella Sterling was very satisfied with her own cooking.
However, the portion of food was a bit small, and Louis Grant had made too little rice. After finishing all the food and rice in the pot, she still wasn’t full.
Little did she know, Louis Grant and Vivian Larkin were utterly astonished.
Louis Grant hadn’t made a small amount of rice at all. Because Stella Sterling had told him she had a big appetite, he had cooked enough for four or five people.
After he and Vivian Larkin each had one bowl of rice, neither of them touched their chopsticks again.
Then, they watched as Stella Sterling polished off every last bit of rice and food in the pot.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought Stella Sterling had been starving for days, like a reincarnated hungry ghost. It was a huge contrast to her cold and beautiful face.
But Louis Grant knew Stella Sterling’s identity.
Caeluna Base was able to provide so much food to the relief station to help the survivors.
Her willingness to do so meant, at the very least, that her base had more than enough food for its own members.
As the leader of Caeluna Base, she would be the last person to go hungry. It was impossible for her to be short on food.
Although Vivian Larkin didn’t know Stella Sterling’s exact identity, her fair skin, beautiful features, and rosy complexion made it clear she had never suffered hardship or hunger.
Since she had never gone hungry, the two of them were just surprised at how much Stella Sterling could eat.
If the food had been delicious, it would have been understandable, but this food wasn’t good at all.
"Is there any fruit?"
Stella Sterling asked Louis Grant after she finished eating. ’My stomach isn’t full yet. If I had some fruit, I could probably get to about seventy or eighty percent full.’
"No! My friend, do you know what times we’re living in? We’re lucky to have food at all. Where would we get fruit? I don’t even know how many years it’s been since I’ve had any."
Louis Grant shook his head, his tone a mixture of agitation and sorrow.
A nostalgic look also appeared on Vivian Larkin’s face. Forget fresh fruit; she hadn’t even seen a picture of fruit lately.
Even if there was any, it would be extremely rare. Ordinary people couldn’t get their hands on it. Even at their Meridia Base, they used special technology to preserve a batch of fresh fruit, but people like them had no chance to taste it.
Seeing their expressions, Stella Sterling thought for a moment, then stood up. "Wait for me a minute."
Then she went out.
The two of them watched her, confused, not knowing what she intended to do.
But they could both tell that Stella Sterling obviously still wasn’t full.
For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. They recalled how Stella Sterling had effortlessly lifted them out of the kitchen earlier.
’No wonder she’s so strong and has such a good appetite.’
Louis Grant sighed with feeling. "Good thing I know my own limits."
’Otherwise, in this situation, I wouldn’t be able to afford to feed Stella Sterling at all.’
After some time, Stella Sterling returned, carrying a black bag in her hand.
Stella Sterling placed the black bag on the table, and the other two looked over curiously.
Then, they gasped in unison, "Are... are these apples?"
There were more than a dozen apples in the bag, each one big, red, and looking tantalizingly fresh.
Both of their eyes lit up, and they were practically drooling...
It wasn’t that they had particularly loved apples before, but having not eaten fruit for so long, these apples now held a one-hundred-percent allure for them.
But even though their gazes were captivated by the apples, they hadn’t completely lost their senses. They swallowed hard and turned to look at Stella Sterling in astonishment. "Stella, where did you get these?"
Stella Sterling casually made up an excuse: "I brought them from my base when I came to Meridia Base."
’What does Stella do now? And what’s her status at her base?’ Vivian Larkin wondered.
’To have fruit preserved so perfectly... and more importantly, to be able to bring it out with her.’
Louis Grant gave Stella Sterling a thumbs-up. "You’re still the most impressive."
He didn’t doubt Stella Sterling’s words. After all, their own Meridia Base also had special technology for preserving some fruit.
Caeluna Base’s strength was no less than Meridia Base’s, so it wasn’t strange that Caeluna Base would have fruit.
And as the leader of Caeluna Base, it wasn’t surprising that Stella Sterling could get her hands on these fruits.
’But to bring so much fruit with her even when traveling, isn’t she afraid of getting robbed?’
But thinking about her identity, Louis Grant felt he was overthinking it. Who in the area didn’t know about Caeluna Base? Who would dare to rob her?
’Unless they were blind or had a death wish.’
