Chapter 471: A taste of peace and tranquility

Zhuo would definitely not be able to move like this. Not only did she sleep on his back, but she also deprived him of the freedom of one of his hands. I think he must have had a hard time putting me back on the bed.

Ling tried to push herself up on the bed, but she found that their hands were still held, so she quickly withdrew her strength. Her panicked look, fearing that Zhuo would be hurt by just a little pressure, seemed to amuse Zhuo, so he laughed softly and then carefully loosened their intertwined fingers.

A sense of inexplicable loss came over him, and Zero resisted the urge to speak up to try to keep her.

She thought she couldn't just lie in bed like this forever, so she adjusted her sitting position and looked up at Zhuo who was also sitting upright.

Zhuo seemed to notice that he was more energetic than before he went to bed, and gave her a reassuring look.

"Is the medicine taking effect?"

"Yeah, I feel much better now. Sorry to have troubled you."

As she said, Ling felt that she had caused Zhuo a lot of trouble.

Not only did it cost him a lot of care, it also restricted his movements.

This period of time must have been very boring for Zhuo, who was fixed to the bed.

And because he was hanging on Zhuo all the time, he also bore Ling's weight along the way, which made him suffer in vain.

Although Ling felt very sorry, Zhuo's expression remained the same as usual, or rather, he looked as if he didn't understand why she was apologizing, and his black eyes blinked a few times.

"Why? I don't think it's a bother. On the contrary, I'm very happy that you are willing to rely on me."

"……That's not OK."

"How dare you say that? It's obviously you who always spoils me."

Zhuo added, "Don't even think about escaping," and poked Ling's cheek.

The itchy feeling made her squint her eyes.

"That's two different things from what I said."

"Why are you still cheating?"

"Haha, because I'm a bad woman."

Although Zero made a sound similar to laughter, if you really heard it, no one would think it was laughter. Rather than laughter, it was more like saying the word "hehe".

Ling was not willing to be too weak, so she decided to do this kind of thing less often today. Since she said it was less often, it naturally meant that Ling did not hate it, but compared to her own enjoyment, she valued helping and taking care of Zhuo more.

If she cared too much about these things, Zhuo would be even more worried, so she showed gratitude but unwillingness to compromise to such a gentle and gentlemanly Zhuo - it would be better if she could do the same when doing that kind of thing. Thinking of this, Ling quickly gave up this extravagant hope.

Then Zhuo showed an obvious look of dissatisfaction, which made Ling couldn't help but touch his hair.

Although her movements were still a little stiff, she felt a lot more relaxed. She didn't know if it was because she had slept all night and talked and laughed with Zhuo, or if it was just because the medicine was taking effect.

Zero glanced at the clock and it looked like she had slept for nearly twelve hours.

Normally, she would have prepared the table by this time, but this caused trouble for Zhuo. While thinking, Ling said, "It's time to cook," and prepared to stand up - but he couldn't get up.

It's not because of any physical discomfort.

Rather, she was physically restrained.

To be more precise, he pulled Ling's hand to stop her from moving. He did it in his uniquely gentle way, but at the same time, he was determined not to let her stand up.

"Just sit down."

"? ...But I'm much better now."

"But you haven't recovered yet, you look a little tired. Well, since it's agreed that I will do it, let me keep my promise, okay?"

Zhuo did say that he wanted to cook, but Ling had recovered to the point where he could move normally. She had wanted to fight for it again, but after seeing Zhuo's eyes, she realized that he had no intention of giving in.

It was only after getting close to Zhuo after spending a long time together that Ling realized that although Zhuo was basically easily swayed, once he made a decision, he would never change it.

There is no point in resisting at this time, he will persist until he surrenders.

Because the reason he insisted was usually for the sake of others, Zero was unable to strongly object.

This theory made Zero stare at him with dissatisfaction.

She glared at Zhuo, but Zhuo just smiled bitterly. From his determined eyes, she could tell that he had no intention of backing down.

"Don't be like this... Don't always think about solving it on your own. You should rely on me sometimes."

"……Um."

"Very good. Anyway, you are already on the ship, so just wait and don't worry, Mrs. Utsunomiya."

"?...!"

Although she didn't say anything, Ling knew that she was obviously stunned this time, and the words "We are officially married now" popped up in her mind. Zhuo seemed to understand why she was stunned, and smiled and touched her head.

Knowing that the pat on the head was meant to reassure him, Zero quietly accepted it.

She also knew that she had gradually developed this habit.

"…It will take a while. You can get some more sleep."

"I've been asleep for too long. I can't fall asleep. I'll watch you go from here."

"What a worrier you are."

Zhuo smiled as if he found it amusing.

Zero, filled with a feeling of warmth and security, watched her walk towards the kitchen.

It wasn't worry, but the fact that he was willing to work hard for her made Ling extremely happy. No one knew better than her how sloppy Zhuo's attitude towards life was when they met - Ling couldn't express her feelings, so she wanted to witness Zhuo's thoughts and actions without omission and observe his every move. Unfortunately, Zhuo himself wouldn't know.

Now seeing Zhuo wearing his special pink apron is so adorable.

We have become a family - this floating thought emerged in Ling's mind. She kept this unspeakable thought in mind while carefully watching Zhuo start to struggle with various ingredients.

...

...

After nearly an hour, the fragrant dishes, accompanied by steam, were placed in front of Ling.

Although it was only the distance from the bedroom to the sofa, Zhuo still gently escorted Ling to the seat. When Ling saw the food he made, he blinked frequently in surprise.

Since I requested "warm, non-irritating food", I thought Zhuo would choose to cook porridge or something like that. It turned out that he did use rice, but I guessed the nationality of the dish wrong. Served in the deep plate was a thick, creamy-colored risotto.

Judging from the smell and appearance, it should be a cream risotto. It contains not only rice, but also a small amount of mushrooms and spinach, which makes the dish have brown and green embellishments.

"This is risotto. I tried to cook it from raw rice, and I also added some mushrooms and spinach from the fridge. Is that okay?"

Ling was so surprised by the obvious improvement in his explanation that he was speechless. Zhuo then added confidently, "Didn't I say I would do a good job?"

It's not that Ling didn't believe him, but he didn't expect that he would include this dish in his cooking. It's not because of the difficulty, but because he thought Zhuo wouldn't like this kind of Western food, so Ling rarely let them appear on the table. It was this dish that Ling had never shown to Zhuo, but Zhuo made it himself.

I must have tried secretly without her knowing.

There is a saying: People who are quiet or rarely talk do not mean they think less. In fact, in most cases it is the opposite. Because they say less, they think more in their hearts.

Zero's situation is almost the same. As for why I say almost the same - it is because Zero, who is too precocious, is obviously smarter than ordinary people.

That's why when she saw a stew, she would immediately think of Zhuo, who must have tried all kinds of dishes in order to prepare dinner that day, and finally chose his best dish, which he thought he would not hate, and put it on the table that night.

Because she was thinking so much, she looked like she was frozen there.

After reacting, he quickly looked up and gave his comment.

“…It looks delicious.”

"I'm serious. Fortunately, I'm still thinking about what to do if you don't like it."

"Zhuo, you know I'm not picky about food."

"That's true, but it doesn't mean I like you, right?"

"I just made a request casually, and in the end I gave it all to you to do. How could I be so picky..."

The effort behind this thought alone made Zero happy, not to mention that he had demonstrated the results of other efforts before.

Ling had witnessed Zhuo's growth since he had no cooking skills at all. Now, seeing the results of his hard work displayed in front of him, it was impossible for him to find any fault.

"Why did you want to learn how to make rice?"

"Since you didn't seem to have no appetite at all, I looked it up online and decided to make this. I didn't add the chicken broth cubes, but tried using white broth and miso, thinking that the taste would be more reassuring. I tasted it, and it should be okay..."

"For you."

Ling's stiff appearance made Zhuo feel complicated.

Ling, on the other hand, felt complicated because Zhuo refused to give him a direct answer, or rather, he quietly changed the question from "Why learn to make stew" to "Why make stew".

However, when he saw him bringing the soup spoon over, Zero blinked and took it, then looked carefully at the freshly made stew again.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Well, don't always think about me first at a time like this. Please use it."

Ling nodded to Zhuo who was watching him nervously, said "I'm starting", and scooped up the stewed rice with a spoon.

She knew the rice was still hot, so she blew on it to cool it down before putting it in her mouth. The rich flavor and the hardness of the rice grains made the meal taste lighter than it looked, and the viscosity was well controlled, allowing the rice grains to spread naturally in her mouth.

As soon as it spreads in your mouth, the light and fine cream aroma, the smooth texture of the cheese, and the low-key white soup stock that constitutes the flavor theme blend into a gentle taste.

Zhuo said he used miso, so it seems that the light yet rich and mellow taste should be due to the miso.

Although its presence is not strong, it quietly brings out a deeper flavor and can be regarded as the secret recipe for enhancing the flavor of this meal.

The umami flavor of the slightly chopped mushrooms also blends into the risotto, making it smoother. It has a simple, rich and reassuring taste.

"delicious."

“What percentage of the politeness is there?”

"Please don't take it upon yourself to decide that what I said was just a compliment. You know I wouldn't do that."

"If it was when we first met, that was true, but now I'm not sure."

"Ah...it's true."

Zero did pause for a moment because of the deliciousness of the risotto, but the reason was not because he was thinking about how to say polite words.

Come to think of it, even if we don't mention that she herself would not do such a thing, there is no need to be polite when talking about the relationship between the two of them - Ling indicated so with his eyes, and then received a slightly apologetic look from Zhuo.

“It’s really delicious. You can tell that it’s made with a lot of care, and the mild flavor of the ingredients themselves is utilized.”

"That's great, I'm going to start too."

The overly direct praise seemed to make him feel embarrassed. After saying briefly, "I'm starting," he put the stew into his mouth.

Because he had tasted it in the kitchen, he should know what it tasted like. Although he was not as moved as Ling, he also narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

"It's delicious, but it's still far inferior to what you made."

"Why do we have to compete with this? In other words, although I haven't been in this field for a long time, it has been more than three years. If I want to catch up, I need very outstanding talents."

"Haha, I know I can't catch up."

Although Zhuo had indeed grown rapidly, he could never catch up in terms of cooking skills, experience and knowledge.

It would be very troublesome if he was really caught up - Zero thought.

No matter what, Ling also saw that the fact that Zhuo was going to help her cook would not change.

Thinking of this, she felt ashamed of her pettiness and always hoped that Zhuo could rely on her as much as possible.

"You've finished eating. That's good. I don't have to worry about you forcing yourself to eat food you don't like. I'm really grateful."

"I should be thanking you, you are such a fool."

He noticed that she was not feeling well, took care of her, carried her on his back so that she could fall asleep on the way, sat at the head of her bed all night and then prepared breakfast.

It was precisely because Zhuo was so considerate of others that Ling didn't want to become too weak - if that happened, Zhuo would definitely let him take care of everything without saying a word.

Zhuo may not have any sense of reality, but what makes him remarkable is that he can do something that seems ordinary but is not ordinary at all, such as "putting oneself in other people's shoes".

Zhuo seemed a little confused about Ling's attitude. He obviously didn't feel tired at all. He pushed her back on the sofa, turned on the TV, and rushed to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Zero stared at him and muttered softly, "That's just how you are."

(It seems that it has not entered the main plot, but in fact it has entered the main plot a long time ago. I said that the theme of this book is not that the world is waiting for the protagonist to appear at the right time - that's it. By the way, I changed my mind and decided to participate in "Dragon One".)
(End of this chapter)