"So, Father, aren't you going to look for the one who will accompany you in this lifetime?"
Shu Yue seemed to be asking an ordinary question, but her focused and affectionate gaze never left Shu Yao for a moment.
She noticed the melancholy between his eyebrows. The furrowed long eyebrows made Shu Yue seem to have already guessed the answer.
The next moment, Shu Yao turned around and happened to meet a pair of tender and gentle eyes, so deep that one could easily get lost in them. He quickly shifted his gaze.
"Who is whose fateful encounter is predestined," Shu Yao said with a faint smile, as gentle as flowing water but lingering in the pain of love.
He couldn't tell Shu Yue that he was his destiny, because that would only make Shu Yue fall into the abyss again and again.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too heavy. Shu Yue let out a soft laugh, breaking the suffocating silence. "Forget it. Let's not talk about it. Anyway, Father, remember what I said. You should learn to discern people's hearts and protect yourself when you're outside."
Suddenly, his flying eyebrows dimmed, and his voice sounded a bit weak. "Even when I'm not by your side, you should be able to protect yourself."
Shu Yao keenly sensed the faint sadness spreading. His heart panicked inexplicably, but he didn't know how to ask.
"Father, do you want to learn how to cook?" Shu Yue grabbed his hand and blurted out unexpectedly.
Thinking it would be good to know more about mortal things, Shu Yao pondered for a while and then nodded. "Sure, no problem."
"Great! Then, Father, let's start preparing for lunch."
Without hesitation, Shu Yue dragged Shu Yao into the kitchen and started teaching him how to cook.
First, she demonstrated how to cut vegetables for Shu Yao. Then, she handed the kitchen knife to Shu Yao, folded her arms across her chest, raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to do it.
Shu Yao held the kitchen knife awkwardly. His slender hands made Shu Yue worry about him. She was really afraid that he would drop the knife and hurt himself.
Shu Yue sized him up and down. Her father was truly not an ordinary person. His proud and aloof demeanor was really out of place in this small kitchen.
But in order to teach Shu Yao, she had to put aside her distress for the time being.
A look of embarrassment and entanglement appeared on Shu Yao's delicate face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shu Yue standing there watching as if from the other side of a river. Although he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of his child, he really felt powerless.
As a tree demon, he was actually afraid of this powerful kitchen knife. In the market, he had seen butchers swing the same kind of kitchen knife and chop the meat into pieces with one strike.
He trembled all over. His hesitation made Shu Yue almost speechless and skeptical.
"Why aren't you starting, Father? Are you scared?" Her tone was somewhat teasing and sarcastic.
This made Shu Yao unhappy. He raised his proud head and showed full confidence. "I'm a demon. How could I be scared? It's just cutting vegetables. Watch me."
For the sake of face, he put one hand on the chopping board and waved the kitchen knife with the other to cut the vegetables. His hand was still trembling.
"Stop!" A sharp shout made his movement freeze in mid - air. Then, Shu Yue forcibly put his hand down.
"Are you trying to hurt yourself?" At this moment, Shu Yue seemed to be scolding a child. Although there were a few black lines on her eyebrows, she couldn't really get angry with Shu Yao.
"I just don't know how to do it."
"If you don't know, you should ask. Can your pride feed you?"
"I..." Shu Yao didn't know what to say. He always felt that no matter when and where, facing this tall man, he would unconsciously feel oppressed like a small tree being overwhelmed by a huge mountain and then looking up at it.
Shu Yue sighed helplessly. Then, she leaned against Shu Yao from behind. Her hands reached over his front and guided his hand movements. Her right hand tightly held his slender wrist.
"Come on, I'll teach you." Her low voice whispered in his ear. Shu Yao's ears tingled. The man's strong breath behind him enveloped him.
Unconsciously, a blush spread across his ears. He seemed to shyly lower his eyes and tried his best to avoid the warm breath on his earlobe.
"Father, you'd better learn well. I'll only teach you once." Her gentle yet authoritative voice reminded Shu Yao to concentrate.
But behind Shu Yao's back, where he couldn't see, there was a crescent - shaped smile on her lips. She was secretly laughing at how easily her father blushed.
She taught him step by step, which could be said to be hand - in - hand teaching. Although her words were as strict as a teacher's, every movement showed patience and tenderness towards Shu Yao.
On the surface, it was Shu Yue teaching how to cook, but in fact, she was tightly pressed against his body from behind. From time to time, she would rest her chin on Shu Yao's shoulder and enjoy the faint cold fragrance coming from the tip of her nose.
Shu Yao tried to avoid her awkwardly, but she still used teaching as an excuse to get close to Shu Yao, even rubbing shoulders and ears with him. The ambiguous atmosphere made Shu Yao want to get angry but didn't dare to.
He could only keep his head down. The magnetic voice in his ear tortured his nerves like a spell. And the occasional touch of her cold lips on his earlobe made him feel a tingle all over, which was really exciting.
Shu Yue had always buried her feelings in her heart. Although she showed more physical contact, Shu Yao seemed to be avoiding suspicion or simply unaware.
"Thank you for your hard work today, Teacher. Here, have a taste." Shu Yao picked up a piece of broccoli and put it in Shu Yue's bowl, with a gentle look but not the kind of tender affection.
Having an idea, Shu Yue leaned forward slightly. Her deep, misty eyes lingered on Shu Yao's face for a moment. She raised the corner of her eye seductively. "As a thank - you, how about Father feeding me?"
The corner of her lips was always slightly upturned in a perfect arc, plain yet a bit evil. She stared directly at him like a hunter eyeing a prey about to be caught.
"Don't you have your own hands?" Shu Yao ignored her, glanced at her, and continued to eat on his own.
Unexpectedly, Shu Yue frowned, lay on the table, and turned her head to the side. An innocent and muffled voice came from behind. "Mmm... Your child taught you so hard, Father. Can't you even feed me? I'm so unlucky!!!"
She made an extremely lazy and coquettish tone. It was really a shock to Shu Yao to hear such a voice from such a tall man.
If you didn't know, you would think it was a young master. Well, it's true that when a man acts coquettishly, there's no way to resist.
Unable to bear this almost noisy torture, Shu Yao finally compromised. He put down his chopsticks and bowls. "Fine, fine. I'm afraid of you, okay?"
The seemingly crying voice stopped immediately. A rascally yet handsome face instantly turned around.
Shu Yao squinted his eyes and suddenly suspected that this man was just acting for him. Why did he seem to see a flash of cunning in those eyes?
"A..." Shu Yue had already opened her mouth and was waiting for Shu Yao to feed her like a child.
Just thinking of her as a naive child, Shu Yao finally picked up the vegetable and put it into her mouth.
"Mmm, the food Father feeds is really delicious."
"You're just sweet - tongued."
It always went like this. Shu Yao fed Shu Yue like a child, while Shu Yue was full of helplessness and entanglement in her heart.
Shu Yao was kind to her, but it was just the kind of affection for a child. He didn't understand that her feelings for him had already gone beyond the father - child relationship.