"Zane, do you think Master got angry?"
By the light of the lamp, Hsi finished her homework. Closing the book, she raised her head and looked toward Zane, who was leaning against a tree branch.
Under the moonlight, the white-haired boy had a night-blooming flower stem in his mouth, staring blankly at the moon hanging in the sky.
Hearing Hsi's voice, Zane lowered his head to look at her. The moonlight coated the little girl in a soft glow, like a fairy descending from the moon palace.
"Angry? Don't be silly. It's your first time using resonance ability, Master's probably too happy to even think about being mad."
Zane explained confidently, but the hesitation on Hsi's little face only deepened.
"Next time, don't make Master angry anymore."
"Even though I know she just wanted to scare you, there's no guarantee she won't really hit you if she gets too mad. With your physique, you can't withstand even a casual strike from her."
"Alright, alright, sis, don't act like an old housekeeper. One housekeeper at home is enough."
"Huh?" Hearing that, how could Hsi accept it? She immediately put her hands on her hips, showing her little tiger teeth. "Who are you calling a housekeeper!?"
"No, I mean, Sister Hsi is unmatched in beauty."
Seeing Hsi getting angry, Zane quickly jumped down from the tree, but when he landed, he tripped over a stone by his foot.
Seeing this, Hsi immediately forgot about being called a housekeeper and hurried to the base of the tree to help Zane up.
After carefully checking him over and confirming he had only twisted his ankle, she finally let out a sigh of relief. But then she put on a stern face, pretending to be angry.
"Next time don't climb so high. If you fall, I'll have to take care of you again."
That's what she said, but she seemed to think of something, and her little face turned rosy red.
Zane didn't notice.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, sis. Otherwise, if I end up bedridden in the future, there won't be anyone to take care of me."
"You're not allowed to say things like that! It's too unlucky."
Hsi quickly covered Zane's mouth, stopping him from continuing.
A warm softness with a faint milky scent pressed against his lips. Wouldn't it be a waste not to lick it?
As if possessed, Zane stuck out his tongue and lightly licked Hsi's palm. The soft palm carried a faint sweetness, stimulating his taste buds.
Maybe he should take a bite?
But Hsi didn't give him that chance.
The fingers are connected to the heart, let alone the palm. Hsi's heart trembled. Her rosy lips parted slightly as she let out a small cry, quickly pulling away from Zane.
"Zane! You… what are you doing?"
Seeing his usually mature, composed sister show a startled expression like a frightened little rabbit, Zane naturally wouldn't admit that it was just a sudden impulse.
It's like when a delicious cake is placed in front of you, can you really resist taking a bite?
But saying something like that would probably corrupt a little girl's innocent mind.
On the other side, seeing Zane staring straight at her, Hsi suddenly felt flustered for no reason.
She wasn't some sheltered girl ignorant of the world. Having been exposed to all kinds of books since childhood, Hsi naturally understood those things between men and women.
'...Just'
'...Isn't Zane still too young right now?'
'The books say boys have to mature first…'
'But if I wait until Zane grows up, there will definitely be other people trying to take him from me…'
'Better to act first while I still can.'
Zane had no idea what Hsi was thinking. All he could see was wisps of steam rising from her little head.
"Sister Hsi?"
Hearing Zane's voice out of nowhere, Hsi thought her thoughts had been exposed. Her round little face instantly turned as red as an apple, and it felt like a mushroom cloud had popped up above her head.
"Ahhh! I wasn't thinking anything! Absolutely didn't think about anything weird!"
Watching Hsi suddenly fall into deep thought and then suddenly start flailing around, Zane was completely confused.
"No, sis, what were you thinking? What are you trying to do?"
"I don't even know what I'm trying to do!"
With a cute wail, Hsi turned and ran away in a panic, leaving Zane alone in the wind.
'Who am I?'
'Where am I?'
'What's wrong with her?'
Zane racked his little brain like crazy. In the end, he could only attribute it to...menopause…
Look, emotional instability and sudden shouting, isn't that menopause?
Of course, for Zane, anything he couldn't figure out could be left to yesterday's self.
"Master, when did you get here?"
Zane turned around and spoke firmly toward a shadow in the garden.
As his words fell, the sound of high heels stepping on grass rustled, and a crimson figure walked out of the shadows.
"Very sharp intuition. But… did you get the direction wrong?"
Hearing the voice from behind him, Zane's body stiffened.
'...Crap, that didn't work.'
He got the position wrong just by listening to the sound…
Watching Zane stiffly turn around with an awkward smile on his face, Changli couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh softly.
Zane's toes were already digging out a three-bedroom apartment.
"Ahahaha, it's so late, why isn't Master asleep yet?"
"Late?", Changli smiled faintly as she walked over and sat by the table next to Zane.
"But it's only the Xu hour… using your terms, it's just 8 o'clock. Nightlife hasn't even started yet."
Seeing Changli mercilessly expose him, Zane's mouth twitched.
'...What a vicious woman, hope you choke on cold water…'
"Oh? You dare to badmouth me right in front of me now?"
Zane didn't expect that even his inner muttering would be noticed. He immediately showed a flattering smile.
"How would I dare? I was thinking that Master Changli is unmatched in beauty."
Face-changing is one of the traditional opera techniques.
Hearing this, Changli found it a bit amusing. If she remembered correctly, he had just said that same sentence to Hsi a few minutes ago.
Zane knew that when it came to verbal sparring, even ten of him wouldn't be a match for Changli.
There was no other reason, mainly because he couldn't beat her.
'If I could beat her, I'd definitely make her lie on the bed and sing "Conquer"…'
Sneaking a glance at Changli, he saw she was staring straight at him as well. Her phoenix eyes seemed able to see straight through people.
Zane's heart skipped a beat. He decisively stopped dwelling on the topic and changed the subject.
"Master, does this count as imperial strategy?"
"Oh?", Hearing that, Changli finally lifted her head, her delicate brows raising slightly, curiosity appearing in her eyes.
"What did you figure out?"
Seeing he had successfully shifted the topic, Zane let out a sigh of relief.
"During the day, you deliberately acted like you were going to hit me, just to make Sister Hsi step out and protect me. That way, in the future, I'll treat Sister Hsi as the main one and serve her wholeheartedly."
It's kind of like an old emperor throwing a capable minister into prison, then having the crown prince release him later. Both kindness and authority used together, making the minister loyal to the crown prince.
"It's just that you didn't expect that by coincidence, Sister Hsi would actually trigger her resonance ability. It's like planting willows unintentionally and getting shade."
"And coming here tonight to secretly watch us, besides confirming that we get along well, you also wanted to observe whether Sister Hsi would have any aftereffects after using her resonance ability."
Zane felt like he was just one step away from pointing forward and shouting, "There's only one truth."
But as his words ended, Changli gently shook her head, then nodded. Under Zane's surprised gaze, she slowly stood up.
"Not bad. Hsi using her resonance ability was indeed beyond my expectations, and I did want to use that method to observe the relationship between you two little ones. Coming here tonight was indeed to observe Hsi's condition…"
Changli paused, a bright and charming smile appearing on her alluring face.
"But how can you be so sure I was pretending to hit you?"
A bamboo stick appeared in her hand along with her words.
Seeing this, Zane suddenly felt like his backside was doomed. The proud expression on his face instantly froze.
But no panic, he still had a trump card…
He stepped with the seven-star footwork, spread his arms like a white crane, and dashed into the house. Then he gathered his breath...
"Sister Hsi, save me!!!"
But at this moment, Hsi's room was already surrounded by the steam rising from her head, and she didn't hear Zane's call for help at all.
After a tense and thrilling chase (ending with him being grabbed), Chef Changli completed today's first dish, bamboo stick fried meat.
As for whether there would be a second dish of belt-fried meat… that would depend on Zane's awareness.