“Little Klee, we need to dry your clothes by the fire, or you’ll catch a cold.” “Okay!” Before coming to the Whispering Woods, Chen Mo had bought plenty of seasonings in Mondstadt.
He certainly couldn’t call himself a master chef, but having lived through two lifetimes, he at least knew how to cook a few decent dishes.
“Wow!
The fish you grilled smells so good, Big Brother!” “It’ll smell even better once I add the seasoning.” The aroma of grilled fish drifted through the air, making Eula’s mouth water.
Today was supposed to be her day off, but Jean had suddenly assigned her a mission.
In her rush, she hadn’t even had breakfast.
“Damn Liyuean…
How can he make grilled fish smell this good…?” Where Eula couldn’t see him, the corners of Chen Mo’s lips curled upward.
Eula had been watching him from behind for quite a while.
Surely she was starting to get hungry by now, right?
Earlier, all of his attention had been focused on Big Ivan, to the point that he had completely forgotten about the woman secretly spying on him from behind.
Sure, he was the one who had written the bomb formula for Klee.
And sure, he was also the one who had brought Klee along to blow up the fish.
But Eula was supposed to be monitoring him.
If he had taken the little girl and caused such a huge disaster right under her nose, didn’t that mean she bore at least a tiny bit of responsibility too?
Obviously, she did!
Since he couldn’t dump all the blame on someone else like he had last night, surely there was nothing wrong with dragging someone else in to share a little of the guilt, right?
“Big Brother Chen Mo, what are you smiling about?” “Nothing.” Chen Mo shook his head and continued what he was doing.
He sprinkled seasoning over the grilled fish.
The instant the pepper hit the scorching surface, the tiny grains crackled with a sizzling sound, making the aroma of the grilled fish even richer.
“It smells so good!
Klee can’t wait anymore!” “Alright, here you go.” He handed the freshly grilled fish to the little girl.
“Careful.
Don’t burn yourself.” To make sure he didn’t obstruct Eula’s view of Klee eating, Chen Mo even deliberately shifted his position.
He refused to believe that Klee’s delightfully enthusiastic eating wouldn’t be enough to lure Eula out on her own!
“How is it?
Is it good?” “It’s delicious!
Even better than Sister Sara’s grilled fish!” The little girl took another huge bite, her soft pink cheeks soon smeared with oil.
“Slow down.
No one’s going to steal it from you.” Chen Mo smiled warmly, but in secret, he was constantly using Star Platinum’s eyesight to observe Eula’s reactions.
Picking up a large leaf, he began fanning vigorously.
The aroma that had previously scattered in every direction was now being blown almost entirely toward Eula’s hiding place.
“Damn it!
Is that Liyuean doing this on purpose?!” Eula bit her lower lip.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that becoming a Knight of Favonius would force her to endure a trial like this.
Every time she saw Chen Mo’s smug, smiling face, irritation bubbled up inside her.
“Hm?” Chen Mo suddenly received a system notification.
Eula’s affection toward him had actually dropped by five points.
That wasn’t a good sign.
“Little Klee, do you want some mushrooms?” He stopped fanning and pointed toward a matsutake mushroom growing beside a nearby bush.
“If you want some, how about Big Brother picks it and grills it for you?” “Yes, yes!” The little girl nodded so vigorously that her hat nearly slipped off her head.
That nearly scared Eula out of her skin.
The matsutake mushroom Chen Mo had pointed at was less than a meter away from her!
The moment Chen Mo approached, all he had to do was bend down and there was a one-hundred-percent chance he would spot her hiding in the bushes!
Eula watched as Chen Mo stood up and walked straight toward her.
As he drew closer, she lowered herself further and further, retreating backward until she even covered her mouth and nose and held her breath.
Black strands of hair appeared at the top of her vision.
Just as she was about to see Chen Mo’s lowered head— Amber’s voice suddenly came from the distance.
“So that huge commotion really was your doing!” Chen Mo’s hand froze in midair.
He looked up and saw Amber hurrying toward them with a basket in hand.
“Sister Amber!” Klee stood up and waved, coincidentally moving closer to the bushes where Eula was hiding.
Amber stopped in front of Chen Mo.
Compared to yesterday, much of her previous shyness had already faded.
After returning Klee’s greeting, she turned and looked Chen Mo straight in the eyes.
“How could you take little Klee out to blast fish?” “Do you have any idea how angry Jean was when she found out that commotion just now was caused by you two?” The little girl immediately shuddered.
All the happiness she had accumulated since last night vanished in an instant.
“Big Brother Chen Mo, what do we do…?
Acting Grand Master Jean isn’t going to spank Klee this time, is she…?” “Don’t worry.
If anything happens, Big Brother will take the blame for you.” After briefly comforting the little girl, Chen Mo gave Amber an awkward laugh.
“You didn’t come all the way here just to tell us that, did you?” “No.
I actually came to bring Eula her lunch.” Amber lowered her gaze toward the bushes and teased, “You can stop hiding now, Eula.
Your butt is sticking out.” Eula’s entire body trembled.
It felt as though she had been thrown into an icy cavern.
The embarrassment in her heart was beyond description.
Like a spring compressed to its absolute limit, she shot upright with a whoosh.
“Y-You…
Why did you have to say it so bluntly?!” Her embarrassment was so intense that even the tips of her ears had turned red.
At this point, she almost wished Chen Mo had simply discovered her himself.
“Oh, come on.
I was just worried you’d try to deny it later.” Amber handed the basket to Eula.
Inside were today’s recommended dish from Good Hunter and Eula’s favorite chilled drink.
“I still have a mission to take care of, so I won’t bother you guys any longer.” She waved goodbye to them before darting deeper into the Whispering Woods like a gust of wind.
Amber leaving was all well and good.
Unfortunately, that left Eula alone to endure the awkward atmosphere.
“Miss Eula, why don’t you join us for lunch?” Eula carefully considered the situation.
Her mission to secretly follow and monitor him had already been exposed anyway.
In that case, she might as well stop hiding it.
With a cold snort, she sat beside the campfire to warm herself.
That was effectively her acceptance of Chen Mo’s invitation.
For quite a while afterward, Klee remained nervous and gloomy.
After all, the splash from that explosion had been more than ten meters high!
Last month, she had only blown up enough fish to create a seven- or eight-meter-high splash, and Jean had locked her in solitary confinement for an entire two weeks.
“Here.
Eat something first.” Eula cut off a piece of Sticky Honey Roast and held it in front of Klee’s mouth.
“This isn’t your fault.
That guy is the one who dragged you into trouble.
Big Sister will testify for you when we get back.” “Yes, yes.
It’s all Big Brother’s fault.
Little Klee didn’t do anything wrong.” Eula glanced sideways at Chen Mo.
She hadn’t expected him to be so loyal.
He was actually willing to take responsibility voluntarily.
For a moment, her impression of the man improved yet again.
“Klee doesn’t want Big Brother to be punished by Acting Grand Master Jean…
Big Brother only did it because he wanted Klee to be happy, so…” “Big Brother is a foreign envoy.
No matter what, Acting Grand Master Jean will have to give Big Brother some face.
She won’t punish either Klee or Big Brother.” “Really?” “Really.” The little girl couldn’t tell whether he was telling the truth, but his words still worked like a calming pill.
Much of the gloom disappeared from her face.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally ate the piece of roast meat Eula was holding out to her.
“Is it good?” “Mm.
Thank you, Big Sister.” Klee then handed the grilled fish Chen Mo had given her over to Eula.
“Big Brother’s grilled fish smells super good!
Sister Eula should have some too.” “Alright.” Eula didn’t refuse.
After all, she had been craving that fish for a very, very long time.
She brushed her hair aside and gently took a bite.
Although the fish and seasonings were roughly the same as Mondstadt-style grilled fish, the stronger heat used to cook it gave the dish a distinctive flavor of its own.
“It’s…
actually pretty good…” “I’m glad it suits your taste.” Chen Mo smiled faintly.
Now that you’ve eaten my fish, you’ll have to help shoulder some of the blame too.
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