Chapter 683 - 0392 Loneliness Is the Norm (Two-in-One)_2

But even such an outfit that highlights a slender figure and exudes an enchanting allure cannot conceal her true aura of pride.

No wonder, she feels that if she were to dress like Yun Qian, it would make the girls feel distant... Just like now, those girls lingering on the deck see her in a clearly pensive mood, yet still hesitate to approach her.

Zhu Pingniang thinks, if any of those girls could muster the courage to come over and say a few words to her... she would definitely be delighted.

Perhaps, she wouldn’t be so lonely.

But no one comes, only some look at her with a bit of concern.

Zhu Pingniang can understand; just like she did watching the Sect Leader from afar back then, respect and admiration do not equate to having the courage to approach.

She gently shook her head and turned to leave, walking in the direction of the private kitchen. As she walked, without realizing it, her steps became lighter.

"Bang."

Zhu Pingniang kicked open the kitchen door and shouted.

"Chang’an, can you hurry up? Your sister is starving!"

The sudden loud noise made Xu Chang’an’s hand holding the kitchen knife sink slightly, splitting the cucumber on the chopping board in half.

Xu Chang’an: "..."

He turned around with a troubled expression, seeing Zhu Pingniang walk into the kitchen with a look of calm, like a curious child, her eyes darting around the kitchen as if she had not seen such a scene before.

Sigh.

"It’ll take a little while longer." Xu Chang’an said helplessly.

To be precise, he had just started, not even the preparation was done.

No.

Wasn’t Senior Zhu supposed to be with Miss Yun? Has it been a quarter-hour? She’s already here causing a ruckus in the kitchen.

For a moment, Xu Chang’an wondered if Zhu Pingniang couldn’t resist bullying Yun Qian upon meeting her, then Yun Qian told Zhu Pingniang about her relationship with Li Zhibai?

But now Zhu Pingniang doesn’t seem to be jealous, so it shouldn’t be.

Strange.

What happened?

As if she saw Xu Chang’an’s confusion, Zhu Pingniang waved her hand carelessly and said, "Oh, Lu’Er is chatting with Ms. Yun."

"...Mm." Xu Chang’an wanted to say, then why aren’t you chatting, but sensibly didn’t open his mouth, and continued to do his own thing.

Seeing Xu Chang’an continue to prepare the ingredients, watching his fluid movements, Zhu Pingniang curled her lips and sat down beside him, crossing her legs.

Indeed, watching Chang’an doesn’t make one feel uncomfortable.

Look, the way he looks at her doesn’t have that frustrating sense of distance that others have.

Also, it’s true, he can marry Yun Qian, so naturally, he wouldn’t think a "Zhu Tongjun" is anything significant.

"Ah."

Zhu Pingniang suddenly realized something.

She had left Yun Qian in the banquet hall and came herself to find Xu Chang’an... If seen by others, who knows what they’d think.

But it doesn’t matter.

Her reputation is no longer important.

Facing Yun Qian again would be less preferable than this.

She currently doesn’t want to go back.

So she just sat in the kitchen.

Though Xu Chang’an found it strange, he figured that as long as Zhu Pingniang stayed here, she wouldn’t go "trouble" or "bully" his own Miss Yun, which he thought was fine.

Moreover, Senior Zhu, who clearly has never cooked before, would naturally be curious, which he could understand.

So Xu Chang’an continued doing his own things.

After watching Xu Chang’an chop some garnishes for a while, and noticing the abundant ingredients around, Zhu Pingniang couldn’t help but ask.

"Do you have to handle all this by yourself?"

"Mm, not too much." Xu Chang’an said casually, his hands still wonderfully swift without a hint of pause.

"Chang’an, do you need any help from your sister?"

"?"

Xu Chang’an turned back and glanced, only to see Zhu Pingniang with a poised posture, preparing herself for action, causing a faint headache.

Indeed.

Sister at Muyu Peak often said that Zhu Pingniang’s hands were the fairest on the entire Muyu Peak, after all, she was known for her outstanding Zither Skill, naturally giving her pureness to her hands.

However, the sisters also knew that apart from performing music and hitting people, Zhu Pingniang’s hands were almost useless for anything else... The flower beds and greenery she had helped build were all terribly presentable.

"I’ll do it myself." Xu Chang’an said quietly.

"Hmm?" Zhu Pingniang raised her brows: "Chang’an, you wouldn’t be... despising your sister, would you?"

"I wouldn’t dare." Xu Chang’an paused his actions and asked, "How could a guest personally cook?"

"Oh, that’s true..." Zhu Pingniang said, suddenly realizing, "Wait, isn’t it supposed to be you who is the guest?"

So, what kind of casual invitation leaves the guest to prepare dinner?

At this point, Zhu Pingniang realized the stupidity of what she did, blushing slightly, but she snorted: "Don’t underestimate your sister, your sister can cook too..."

Saying this, she met Xu Chang’an’s eyes, and her tone faltered considerably.

"Alright, I’ve only watched the girls cook."

Simply put, her skills are more theoretical than practical.

"But." Zhu Pingniang said with interest as she watched Xu Chang’an: "Ah Bai ate your food, did he think it tasted alright? No modesty, be honest."

"The teacher’s eating it hasn’t been an issue." Xu Chang’an said truthfully.

Indeed, Ah Bai found it delicious, so... Chang’an, would you have time to teach me cooking?

Originally, Zhu Pingniang wanted to say this, but considering Xu Chang’an was very busy, and she did not want to trouble him, she naturally refrained from asking him to teach her.

She rubbed her fair fingers and said, "Someday, I want to personally prepare a meal for Ah Bai too... Helping you now is just practice."

She didn’t give Xu Chang’an a chance to refuse, then her Storage Ring subtly flashed, and she took out an apron embroidered with Sword Hall’s insignia from inside, tied it around her waist, lifted a strand of blue silk and tucked it behind her ear, exposing her snow-white and jade-like delicate ears with a face of seriousness.

"Chang’an, tell your sister what to do."

Xu Chang’an: "..."

Storage Ring holding an apron.

Alright.

He admitted, senior Zhu seemed genuinely prepared to personally make a dish for the teacher.

As the younger one, could he refuse?

Naturally not.

Thus, Xu Chang’an’s gaze swept around the kitchen, thinking about what he could have Zhu Pingniang do...

It shouldn’t be too simple, as washing vegetables might make Zhu Pingniang feel underestimated, but too hard... she probably couldn’t do it either.

Just as he was contemplating, Zhu Pingniang reminded him: "Chang’an, I meant cooking without Cultivation or Spiritual Power, the ordinary kind."

Li Zhibai usually lives simply, brewing tea, washing clothes, and bathing all by himself, just like an ordinary person, this is Li Zhibai’s Cultivation.

So if Zhu Pingniang wants to prepare food for Li Zhibai, she certainly wouldn’t use Immortal Sect’s methods to cook.

"Mm." Xu Chang’an responded, then said, "Start by beating two eggs, then mix the egg liquid evenly with the ingredients, that’s it."

Xu Chang’an picked a relatively simple task for Zhu Pingniang.

"Start with beating eggs?" Zhu Pingniang paused for two seconds, glanced at Xu Chang’an, "That sounds pretty simple."

She enthusiastically picked up an egg and tapped it against the table corner.

"Pop."

With just a crisp sound, the entire egg broke, some yolk falling onto the ground.

Zhu Pingniang: "..."

Xu Chang’an twitched the corners of his eyes, pretending not to see anything, and continued doing his own thing.

At this moment, he could somewhat understand the sisters’ helplessness.

That action... was too clumsy.

But after recalling how the sisters said Zhu Pingniang did nothing but Cultivation, he felt it wasn’t a big deal.

Actually, rather than Zhu Pingniang’s clumsy actions, what puzzled him more was why she wouldn’t join the big party outside and instead came to the kitchen to "help" him.

If it were Miss Yun, he would have asked her to rest due to the fumes, but facing a senior, he had no place to speak.

"Cough."

Behind him, Zhu Pingniang saw that Xu Chang’an said nothing, felt he was indeed smart, not making her embarrassed.

For the second time, Zhu Pingniang was much more cautious, using both hands, carefully separating the egg shell like breaking corn, finally managing to get the egg into the bowl.

"Is this alright?" Zhu Pingniang handed the bowl for Xu Chang’an to see.

Xu Chang’an glanced at the fragments of egg shell crushed by Spiritual Power inside, and silently said.

"...It’s fine."

Zhu Pingniang couldn’t help laughing.