I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 363 Busy with all sorts of things
As the sun sets, a line of red appears on the dark blue sky.

In the courtyard, Xiao Jingfan put down his book, blinking to ease his discomfort as he said, "Tea."

When the white porcelain cup was handed to him, he looked up and saw Zhou Yuande's fat face again.

He glanced around the courtyard with his tea in hand, but as expected, he didn't see that familiar figure.

Why isn't he here again?
Before he could even ask, Zhou Yuande blurted out, "Miss Liu Zheng is cooking dinner in the kitchen."

Then I cooked again.

Xiao Jingfan frowned: "She wants to stay at the Du residence as a cook?"

Zhou Yuande had no answer to that.

Fortunately, Xiao Jingfan wasn't really asking him to answer. He sipped his tea and carefully recalled the events, realizing that he had only seen Chu Liuzheng twice today, once at lunch and once when he was served snacks, without even exchanging a single complete sentence with him.

The rest of the time they are not there. When asked, they are always busy with all sorts of things.

He couldn't help but pull Zhou Yuande aside to reflect on whether he had assigned too much work to Chu Liuzheng.

How can you be so busy?

I didn't realize it before.

Zhou Yuande was wronged.

How could he not know what his emperor was thinking?

He really didn't assign Chu Liuzheng any work, at most just making tea and serving some snacks, hoping to keep him quiet in front of Xiao Jingfan so that this master wouldn't keep asking questions, but Chu Liuzheng took the initiative to do the work.

That diligent one is always busy; even he couldn't find him several times.

Xiao Jingfan thought for a moment, put down his teacup, stood up and said, "Go to the kitchen."

Zhou Yuande instinctively advised, "The kitchen is a filthy place. You're of noble birth, you shouldn't—"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Jingfan had almost disappeared from sight. Zhou Yuande didn't have time to say anything more and quickly chased after him.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, with only Feng Jing and Chen Xing having nothing to do.

The two of them stood by the stove, each holding a cucumber, watching Chu Liuzheng fry meatballs as they ate them.

"It smells delicious," Chen Xing said, taking a bite of cucumber.

Ever since she entered the kitchen, Chu Liuzheng would praise her for washing vegetables even when she was just washing them, making her incredibly valuable to him.

Feng Jing was different; he came to sample the food.

Chu Liuzheng glanced at the two idle people and asked, "Don't you two have anything else to do?"

What's so appealing about fried meatballs?

"No." Chen Xing didn't mind the heat, reached out and pinched a fried meatball, pursed her lips and blew on it twice, then took a bite out of half of it. "Delicious!"

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

You should swallow it first before praising it.

Feng Jing speared a meatball with a bamboo skewer, blew on it while glancing at Chu Liuzheng, and said meaningfully, "You've been quite busy today."

Chu Liuzheng ignored him, lowered his eyes, and focused on putting meatballs into the oil.

Seeing this, Chen Xing tugged at Feng Jing's sleeve, gestured towards Chu Liuzheng with her chin, and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Before Feng Jing could finish speaking, Chu Liuzheng glared at him, focusing on the fried meatball in his hand.

Feng Jing: "..."

"It's nothing." He took a bite of the meatball and nodded in approval. "It really is quite delicious."

Chen Xing glanced at him, then at Chu Liuzheng, her eyes darting around, and pulled Feng Jing outside.

Feng Jing quickly skewered two more fried meatballs onto a bamboo stick, and as he turned his head, he almost bumped into Xiao Jingfan and Zhou Yuande who were coming in.

He blinked, holding up a fried meatball: "Young Master, what brings you here?" "Just came to take a look." The kitchen was filled with acrid fumes, which made Xiao Jingfan frown and look around the kitchen.

Chen Xing pointed to the stove: "Sister Liu Zheng is over there."

She didn't keep quiet at all, and when she heard it, Chu Liuzheng's hand trembled, and he was scalded by the hot oil that splashed out. Seeing several bubbles appear, he hurriedly ran to rinse it with cold water.

Seeing this, Feng Jing, while chewing on a meatball, reached into his purse and finally managed to pull out a box of burn ointment. He was about to give it to Chu Liuzheng when, before he could even take a step, the ointment was gone.

"I wouldn't dare trouble you, young master. I'll do it myself." Chu Liuzheng trembled at the sight of this man and hurriedly reached out to take the ointment.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Jingfan pulled his hand holding the ointment back and said coldly, "Open your hand."

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

Her skin was fair, and her fingers were slender and long. There wasn't even a mole on her hands, so the few small blisters on the back of her hands and fingers looked particularly unsightly.

Xiao Jingfan frowned and scooped out a large piece of ointment to apply.

The ointment was cool and refreshing, and it almost instantly suppressed the burning sensation on the wound, giving off a grassy scent.

"Exactly," Chu Liuzheng stared at the medicine box that was missing a third of its contents. "It's just a few small blisters. There's really no need to apply so much ointment!"

Feng Jing watched from the doorway, feeling a pang of heartache.

The medicine he carries with him must be of excellent quality. For a minor burn like Chu Liuzheng's, a thin layer is enough, and it will be fine after a couple of applications. But this guy seems to want to apply the whole box of medicine.

Seeing that Xiao Jingfan seemed to want to apply ointment to her entire hand, Chu Liuzheng had to speak up to stop him: "Young Master, there's no need to apply so much."

Don't force yourself to take care of people if you've never done it before. The way you're applying this medicine makes it look like I'm performing acrobatics in a vat of boiling oil.

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

He glared at Chu Liuzheng with a helpless expression, then handed her the ointment and told her to keep it herself.

Feng Jing: ? ?

No, then I'll use ointment!
Xiao Jingfan said, "The Du family has a cook. Go back and rest."

Chu Liuzheng didn't move: "You go back first, I'll finish frying the meatballs before I leave."

Xiao Jingfan said unhappily, "Your hands are in this state, why are you still frying meatballs?"

[It's just a few blisters; who hasn't gotten burned a couple of times while cooking?]

Chu Liuzheng didn't think he was that precious. He raised his intact left hand and waved it at Xiao Jingfan, a slightly playful smile on his lips: "Young Master, my left hand is fine."

Xiao Jingfan could tell the difference between a forced smile and a genuine one.

At this moment, Chu Liuzheng clearly belongs to the former category.

He didn't understand what Chu Liuzheng was being stubborn about. Couldn't he just stay put and wait for someone to take care of him since he had injured his hand?

He frowned, suppressing his displeasure, and said patiently, "Have the cook make it."

Upon hearing this, the forced smile on Chu Liuzheng's face gradually faded. She lowered her eyes to look at the ground, put her injured right hand behind her back, and unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt with her left hand. Her pursed lips showed a hint of stubbornness.

She didn't want to do anything even if she could rest. She didn't have a penchant for self-torture, but she didn't know what she was persisting in. Anyway, she didn't want to leave now, and she didn't want to leave with Xiao Jingfan.

The atmosphere between the two was tense, but the lively cooking in the kitchen had no effect on them.

Zhou Yuande glanced at Xiao Jingfan's somber face and quickly tried to persuade her, "Miss, you've been busy all day. Let the cook handle the rest. Go back and rest for a while before having dinner."

As he spoke, he winked at Chu Liuzheng.

He usually seems so clever, why is he being so stubborn now? It's not worth it!
Chu Liuzheng knew he should take the opportunity offered by Eunuch Zhou and agree to leave. After all, he couldn't fight city hall, and it wouldn't be worth it to upset the big boss for no reason.

But once her stubbornness kicked in, she got stuck in a rut, and no amount of weighing or planning mattered. She insisted, "There's not much left."

"Do you really have to do it?" Xiao Jingfan glanced at the stove not far away, his voice devoid of emotion.

Even though he could tell, Chu Liuzheng had no intention of distinguishing the words at the moment and just nodded haphazardly.

"Okay." After some time, Xiao Jingfan stepped aside. "I'll wait for you."