Chapter 250: A Rare Moment of Leisure

Chapter 250: Chapter 249: A Rare Moment of Leisure

“Is that so?”

Xiong Jiaojiao didn’t believe it at all. She shot back the question, then turned her head to look at Cheng Miao.

An unnatural expression flickered across Cheng Miao’s face, but he quickly composed himself, neither denying nor confirming it.

Xiong Jiaojiao was no fool. She could see something was off, and remembering what the Elder had said, she instantly fell silent.

“Well, these ingredients should be enough. I’ll go help Sister Liangyu with the grilling.”

Xiong Jiaojiao’s excuse was a little clumsy. Both the Elder and Cheng Miao could tell, but they said nothing and let her go.

Watching her leave, the atmosphere around Cheng Miao clearly grew somber.

“Elder, is she rejecting me?”

“You’re asking an old man like me?”

The Elder, still holding a skewer of meat, pointed to himself in surprise. “Honestly,” he couldn’t help but say, “if not for how you’ve been acting today, I’d have no idea you were interested in that girl.”

“Last time the Leader had us prepare the medicinal herbs for the pouches, you weren’t considerate of her at all. You made her run all over the place helping you find medicinal herbs.”

“It wasn’t just about making her find medicinal herbs.”

The sound of a cleaver hitting the wooden board rang out again; Cheng Miao had resumed cutting the meat.

But the Elder grew pensive at his words, his hands pausing in the middle of skewering meat. “You mean?”

“She’s already the Elf King, but her mastery of medicinal herbs isn’t as good as the other two. So, running around a bit more is good for her.”

“You foolish boy, you have a mouth but you never use it. If I hadn’t asked today, who would know what you were thinking.”

But Cheng Miao was completely unconcerned. “It’s nothing major. There’s no need to make a big announcement about it.”

“You’re interested in her. If you don’t say anything, how is she supposed to know?”

“Speaking of which, when you used being busy as an excuse to give more than half of your medicinal herb fields to her, was that on purpose too?”

The Elder recalled various oddities from the past and suddenly found his answer. ‘So this kid has had his mind set on this for that long, huh.’

This time, however, Cheng Miao didn’t answer his question.

But even without a word, the Elder could read it all on his face.

Their conversation trailed off into silence. In contrast, over by Chu Liangyu, Xiong Jiaojiao—who was supposedly there to help—was chattering away nonstop.

“Sister Liangyu, did you notice something? Is that why you deliberately didn’t want me to come over and help?”

Chu Liangyu was growing impatient with her questions. Seeing no other way out, she finally relented. “Yes. I could tell Cheng Miao is interested in you.”

“So, what do you think?”

Now that she had a real answer, Xiong Jiaojiao was at a loss. “This… I don’t know either.”

Chu Liangyu turned the skewers in her hands, a little puzzled. “Liking someone is liking someone. How can you not know?”

“Well, I think I admire his talent more than anything. I wouldn’t say I like-like him. If I have to put a label on it, I guess I have a slightly good impression of him, at most.”

Xiong Jiaojiao was no innocent maiden. Perhaps it was the lingering shadow of her past experiences with the Wandering Beasts, but she currently had little interest in males.

She was already quite content just being able to do things she enjoyed every day in the tribe.

“Sister Liangyu, what do you think? If you want me to be with him, I could probably accept that.”

Hearing this, Chu Liangyu glanced up at her. When she saw that Xiong Jiaojiao wasn’t joking, her brows furrowed. She didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “And what if I didn’t want you to be together?”

“Then we won’t be together, simple as that.”

Xiong Jiaojiao shrugged, her expression completely nonchalant. “Life is long, and plenty of people are chasing after me. It’s not like he’s the only one.”

“So if you fell in love with someone, and I didn’t like him, would you break up with him immediately?”

“I would.”

Chu Liangyu felt a surge of joy at being chosen so decisively, but it was overshadowed by a sense of helplessness.

“Matters of the heart are your own. I won’t interfere too much.”

Xiong Jiaojiao opened her mouth, about to say something, when Cheng Miao walked over. “Leader, these are the seasonings I prepared. Try brushing some on.”

Though he addressed Chu Liangyu, Cheng Miao handed the bowl to Xiong Jiaojiao.

Xiong Jiaojiao reflexively glanced at Chu Liangyu, who just smiled without saying a word.

After a moment’s hesitation, she took it.

“If there are enough skewers, tell the other three to stop what they’re doing. They can start setting up the tables.”

“It should be about enough. I’ll go check.”

Despite the awkwardness between those two, the barbecue was quite enjoyable. Chu Liangyu hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.

As for the flavor, Chu Liangyu found Cheng Miao’s seasoning mix to be excellent. It was subtle, with what seemed to be a hint of medicinal herbs.

It wasn’t a bitter taste, however; on the contrary, it cut through the richness of the meat perfectly.

Chu Liangyu still hadn’t fully digested the breakfast Chi Yizhong had prepared, so she hadn’t planned on eating much. But she couldn’t resist the barbecue’s flavor, which was perfectly to her liking.

“Sister Liangyu, let me tell you, a lot of people want to learn our Body Technique now.”

“The first batch of trainees has already reached the Great Perfection stage of the Body Technique, and they’re all capable of helping guide others.”

Xiong Jiaojiao’s eyes shone, and for a moment, she forgot all about the awkwardness with Cheng Miao.

Chu Liangyu smiled and handed her a skewer. “Here,” she praised, “your reward.”

“Thank you, Sister Liangyu~”

Xiong Jiaojiao stood up and gave Chu Liangyu a playfully exaggerated bow before accepting the skewer.

“Sister Liangyu, I’m a little curious. When you become the Beast God, what will happen to the previous one?”

“Once there’s a new Beast God, the previous one naturally steps down to rest. They no longer have to worry so much about the affairs of the Beast World.”

Xiong Jiaojiao was chewing on her skewer, about to ask another question before she’d even swallowed, but she ended up choking on the meat before she could get the words out.

Chu Liangyu was about to hand her a glass of water, but a hand from the side moved faster, extending a glass right in front of Xiong Jiaojiao.

Without looking, Xiong Jiaojiao assumed it was Chu Liangyu and said reflexively, “Thanks, Sister Liangyu.”

“You should talk less while you’re eating.”

Once she’d mostly recovered, Xiong Jiaojiao looked up to see Cheng Miao’s somewhat stern face.

“Can’t you speak nicely for once? Your tone is more stuffy than my grandpa’s.”

Chu Liangyu silently withdrew her own outstretched hand. Seeing the two about to bicker over another trivial matter, she wisely stood up and fled the scene.

Of the five guests, the Elder and two others had eaten their fill and were already starting to clean up. Seeing this, Chu Liangyu hurried over.

“I can handle the cleanup. You can all head back first.”

“We ate some of it too. Leader, there’s no need to be a stranger. It’s just a small task, cleaning up won’t take much effort.”

Chu Liangyu couldn’t refuse their offer, so she let them be. But she didn’t feel right just letting them do all the work, so with nothing better to do, she joined in on the cleanup.