The holiday ended quickly, and the fans who had come to visit Water-Land Star gradually left. They had to leave too.
It was time for school to start, and she had to go back to her studies.
And then there was her father's work. He had to return to take over his responsibilities, and their home in the Imperial Capital needed to be put back in order.
When it was time to leave, Yu Shu was very reluctant. She had only lived on this planet for less than two months, but it felt like every corner held memories of her and her mother.
Fortunately, she and her mother had left behind many photos and videos as mementos. Even after leaving, opening the photo album or watching the recorded videos would allow her to see her mother again.
Upon returning to the Imperial Capital, they went back to the place where they had lived their whole lives. However, everything seemed different.
Grandma loved her, and she knew it. Grandma had never truly disliked her.
Her father seemed to smile more often, and... he seemed to have become a bit smarter.
Their online plant hospital had never closed. After work, whenever her father had time, he would treat guests' plants.
They earned money slowly, but they were living their lives diligently. Every time they received their salary and earned money, her father would make careful plans. After setting aside the funds for daily necessities, he would send the rest to her mother, as their family owed her mother a lot of money!
Her mother had told them several times that they didn't need to rush to repay, but they didn't want to delay. Her father wanted to clear the debt to her mother as soon as possible. As for her, seeing the money she and her father worked hard to earn being paid back to her mother little by little made her feel incredibly happy. It was as if her mother was still by their side, never having left.
School soon started. However, she was no longer a kindergarten child; she had grown up. She had graduated from kindergarten, and the new semester meant she was now a first-grader!
Her new classmates all liked her, and they liked her mother even more. Everyone loved hearing her talk about her stories with her mother.
Little Yu Shu, as before, would make small handicrafts from Old Earth and bring them to school to sell to classmates during her free time to earn money.
Some children would even secretly bring their own potted plants from home to school, asking Little Yu Shu to help them check if their plants were sick. If Little Yu Shu could cure their plants, they would give her a small reward.
Time passed day by day until Uncle Mu sent a message, telling them that their mother had appeared on the Junk Star. They wanted to go to the Junk Star to have a look and asked if they wanted to join.
Her father was a bit of a simpleton. Apart from matters concerning plants, he was rather slow to react to other things.
Her father asked her if she wanted to go. Little Yu Shu missed her mother, so she agreed without hesitation.
Her father did not refuse her; he was very supportive. Seeing that she was willing to go, he immediately replied to Uncle Mu.
Soon, they were ready to depart. It was only when they boarded the spaceship that Little Yu Shu realized she wasn't the only one going. Brother Lan Lan, Brother Xiao Yi, and Sister Cui Cui would all be going too.
They set off together, and after the spaceship jumped through a wormhole, they finally arrived at the Junk Star.
As they stepped out of the spaceship port, Little Yu Shu couldn't help but raise her small hand to cover her nose.
It stank!
The Junk Star lived up to its name, with the stench of garbage permeating the very air.
It wasn't just Little Yu Shu. Little Cui Cui, Little Lan Lan, Little Yi, and even Wei Xingzhou and Mu Sijie covered their noses. Accustomed to the fresh air of the Imperial Capital, the sudden smell of the Junk Star was truly unbearable, like stepping into a pile of garbage.
"Let's go," Uncle Zhong Li was the calmest. He reminded everyone.
So, Uncle Zhong Li led the way, and everyone followed. They soon found a small inn.
According to the information found by Uncle Zhong Li and Uncle Mu, their mother had been here a few days ago and had stayed at this inn.
The inn... was indeed very run-down.
Looking at the dilapidated little inn, Little Yu Shu suddenly worried about her mother. What was that pirate brother thinking, bringing her mother to a place like this? Would her mother be uncomfortable? Little Yu Shu was a little concerned.
Uncle Wei quickly went to ask the innkeeper about the accommodation fees. It turned out that staying there for one night only cost six star coins.
How cheap! Little Yu Shu's eyes lit up, but only for a moment. Thinking of how dirty and run-down it was, and with the stench of garbage in the air, she still felt disgusted. Even if it was cheap, she wouldn't want to stay. It was too ugly and too dirty!
They wanted to see the room their mother had stayed in, but the innkeeper told them that there were other guests in the room their mother had occupied.
This news made everyone's hearts sink with worry.
However, they wouldn't give up.
Uncle Mu suggested they go in and see. They could try to negotiate with the current occupants of that room to see if they could exchange rooms.
The innkeeper knew who they were, so he didn't refuse. Smiling, he led them over.
When they knocked on the door, after a moment, an uncle opened it.
This was the first time Little Yu Shu and Little Cui Cui had met His Majesty Father. However, at this time, they didn't yet know the man before them was related to them.
The uncle opened the door and looked down at them, his gaze calm, unlike others in the interstellar world. This uncle... didn't seem to find their presence out of the ordinary.
In the end, Uncle Wei proposed the room exchange, offering to compensate the uncle several times the accommodation price.
But none of them expected that the uncle would not agree.
No.
It wasn't that he completely disagreed.
The uncle looked at her and Little Cui Cui, and finally agreed that the children could go in, but the adults could not.
At this moment, they all knew that this uncle also recognized them. The uncle likely watched the live broadcasts on the star network and knew who they were.
They were just children, and their fathers would certainly not be at ease with them going in alone.
Uncle Zhong Li, Uncle Mu, Uncle Wei, and her father – all their fathers would worry about them children.
As everyone was in a difficult situation, the strange uncle took out a candy and offered it to Sister Cui Cui.
Sister Cui Cui was a little scared and hid behind Uncle Wei.
Much, much later, they would learn that this uncle was not a bad person, nor was he a stranger. He was His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire, an old acquaintance of their mother, and he would later become their His Majesty Father. He... was also Sister Cui Cui's biological father!
But that was all much, much later.
When her mother married His Majesty Father, she was also present and felt happy for her mother. Because she saw how incredibly happy her mother was when she was with His Majesty Father. His Majesty Father doted on her mother like a child.