Chapter – 78
The Matriarch’s Popsicle Tastes Better
Lu Liufeng was slightly taken aback.
Then, his amber-colored eyes lowered. He bent his head and took a bite with a smile.
The taro paste was soft and fluffy, the honey sweet and fragrant. A cool sensation slid down his throat and into his stomach—more delicious than any food he had ever eaten.
“It’s very tasty.”
Jiang Xi looked up at him. When she met those gentle eyes, she grinned as well.
“In the future, when we have ingredients, we can make lots and lots of delicious food!!”
Lu Liufeng smiled. “Alright.”
Mu Ling ground his teeth, viciously chewing the popsicle as if it were Lu Liufeng himself!
Yi Yuexi sat on a chair, eating a popsicle by the fire pit. It tasted good, but he felt no joy in eating it.
Only Huo Lun actually savored some flavor and even commented,
“If this popsicle could be made in summer, it would definitely be very popular.”
Even though he wasn’t fond of sweets, he found it quite distinctive.
But the moment he finished speaking, he received knife-like glares from Mu Ling and Yi Yuexi.
Huo Lun rubbed his nose.
He glanced at the dishes on the table and spoke directly.
“Matriarch, the food will get cold soon. Let’s eat first.”
Lu Liufeng came back to his senses and quickly added,
“Yes, Matriarch, eat first. You can have the popsicle after the meal.”
Jiang Xi had only taken one bite. Thinking it over, she agreed it made sense to eat first, so she put the popsicle on a bamboo plate, planning to take it outside to freeze.
Before she could move, however, Mu Ling very perceptively picked it up and took it out for her.
Jiang Xi snorted inwardly.
At least you’ve got some sense!!
Jiang Xi sat down and looked at the abundant lunch spread on the table, then looked at the beast husbands.
“Have you all finished eating? Do you want some more?”
Huo Lun raised the popsicle in his hand. “I’ll just have this popsicle.”
Yi Yuexi was so full of anger that he had no appetite at all.
His fox eyes lifted as he glanced at Lu Liufeng, speaking with heavy sarcasm.
“Lu Liufeng made us such a huge pot of potato noodles!!”
Just boiling them in water and scooping them out—who can’t do that?!
The braised sauce and beef were things they had cut themselves!!
Otherwise, Lu Liufeng would probably have made them eat plain potato noodles!!
He really treated them like cursed beasts!!
Jiang Xi scratched her head, not catching the hidden meaning in his words. She assumed they were full from the potato noodles and didn’t stand on ceremony anymore.
Rubbing her chopsticks together, she looked at the dishes, appetite wide open.
“I’m starting then!”
The steak was tender, the lamb slices dipped in water were delicious, the cold-dressed purslane was refreshing, the corn and potato mash soft and fragrant…
As she ate, Lu Liufeng cut another plate of braised beef for her.
Jiang Xi chewed and chewed, her cheeks puffed out, and thanked him in a sticky, muffled voice.
“Thank you~”
Lu Liufeng sat beside her, elbow on the table, chin propped on his hand, gazing at the matriarch eating with eyes full of tenderness.
Seeing her eat so happily filled his heart as well, leaving him deeply satisfied.
After finishing his popsicle, Huo Lun felt that he really should go back to his room to rest for a while.
He stood up and said, “I’ll go rest in my room. Call me if you need anything.”
Jiang Xi nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Lu Liufeng also looked over and nodded.
Yi Yuexi stared blankly into the fire pit, not responding at all.
Huo Lun walked outside.
However, this time, when he reached outside the fire kitchen, he stopped again.
Because…
“Mu Ling, what are you doing?!”
Huo Lun walked over and patted Mu Ling, who was squatting in the snow.
At a critical time like this, such sneaky behavior had to be watched carefully.
But the moment Mu Ling turned his head, Huo Lun knew he shouldn’t have patted him.
Mu Ling was holding a popsicle, secretly licking it. When he saw Huo Lun, he froze for a moment.
Huo Lun glanced at the other intact popsicles nearby. Without thinking, he knew that the one in Mu Ling’s hand was the one the matriarch had bitten.
“Ahem.”
Huo Lun clenched his fist and coughed lightly into it.
He was just about to say go on, continue, when Mu Ling suddenly jumped to his feet, quickly glanced toward the fire kitchen, and dragged Huo Lun into a blind spot out of its view.
Holding up the popsicle, Mu Ling’s wolf eyes sharpened as he threatened him.
“Don’t tell the matriarch!”
Huo Lun really wanted to roll his eyes.
But as a matter of etiquette befitting a great beastman, he calmly nodded.
“Rest assured, I won’t tell the matriarch.”
Seeing Mu Ling’s suspicious look, he added, “I promise.”
Huo Lun brushed Mu Ling’s hand away and straightened his clothes.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to rest. You carry on.”
Mu Ling let go of him, muttering, “Carry on with what… I’m just eating a popsicle…”
Even though this popsicle had been bitten by the matriarch…
Thinking of that, Mu Ling felt his heart—and his mouth—grow sweet together.
A popsicle bitten by the matriarch really was sweeter than his own!
Huo Lun shook his head and returned to his room.
He couldn’t understand it.
When Mu Ling returned to the fire kitchen, he had already regained his composure.
Still, Lu Liufeng noticed that Mu Ling had been gone a bit longer than expected.
But it wasn’t a big deal, so he didn’t pay it much attention.
Later, when the matriarch finished lunch and he went out to fetch her popsicle, he discovered that the one she had bitten was gone. Instantly, he guessed what had happened.
Helplessly, he took a new one inside and handed it to her.
Jiang Xi was puzzled. “Where’s my old one? I could still eat it. Don’t waste it.”
Mu Ling’s ears perked up very casually as he heard Lu Liufeng say,
“It fell into the snow, got muddy and dirty, so I threw it away.”
For some reason, Mu Ling felt a bit regretful.
He didn’t expose him?
If he had exposed him, the matriarch would definitely have slapped him, right?
Jiang Xi took the new popsicle. Before eating it, she couldn’t help saying,
“Next time, you can just wash it and still eat it. No need to throw it away.”
She could understand Lu Liufeng not wanting her to eat dirty food, but she wasn’t that picky.
Besides, food was precious here. If they could save it, they should.
Lu Liufeng’s amber eyes swept briefly toward Mu Ling, then he said, “Alright.”
Jiang Xi sat by the fire pit, happily sucking on her popsicle.
Snowy weather, fire pit, popsicle.
Life felt downright immortal!
Lu Liufeng also took a popsicle and sat down to eat with her.
Jiang Xi, Lu Liufeng, Yi Yuexi, and Mu Ling sat in a circle around the fire pit, all eating popsicles together.
It should have been a lively scene, but for some reason, it suddenly grew quiet.
At first, Jiang Xi didn’t notice. But later, in the silence, two impossible-to-ignore gazes came from the side.
She looked over and met the eyes of Mu Ling and Yi Yuexi, pausing in confusion for two seconds.
“Is… is there something wrong?”
Mu Ling had been caught sneaking a look, and his mouth ran ahead of his brain as he asked,
“Is it tasty?”
Jiang Xi glanced at the half-eaten popsicle in his hand, her expression strange.
“Aren’t you already eating it?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Mu Ling realized what he had said.
He felt annoyed, but when the matriarch asked him, he once again spoke without thinking.
“The matriarch’s one feels like it tastes better than mine.”
Jiang Xi: “?”
She quickly bit down on her popsicle and turned toward Lu Liufeng, looking as if she were afraid Mu Ling might come steal it.
Yi Yuexi burst out laughing.
“Mu Ling, if you keep this up, you’re probably going to get kicked out by the matriarch sooner or later.”
