Chapter 185: Yao Ji Protects the Dog

"I'll just eat straight from the pot with my mouth—by then, let's see if you still dare touch those ingredients!" Xiao Tian spoke with a nasty tone, acting like a rascal.

He'd rather inflict a thousand wounds on the enemy and suffer eight hundred himself—getting scalded is just a minor thing, since he can use magic to speed up recovery.

As for whether Yang Chan can bear it in her heart, who knows!

Thinking of this, Xiao Tian couldn't help but lift his lips in a smug, infuriating grin—he's a dog, and he's proud!

"You!" Yang Chan glared furiously, yet could do nothing against Xiao Tian.

Indeed, if he just licks a bite from the pot, she wouldn't want to eat anymore—not a matter of taste, but psychologically she simply can't get past this hurdle.

"Give me a straight answer—will you or won't you give me some vegetables, Sir?" Xiao Tian boasted proudly.

But Haotian nearby couldn't stand it—daring to bully his niece in front of him? What gall!

Fine!

Even if it's just the dog raised by my nephew, let alone the nephew himself—no one dares bully Yang Chan, my niece; I'm utterly fond of her.

Compared to her, what even is my nephew?

"You dare?!" Haotian snapped coldly, a heavy pressure instantly bearing down, nearly crushing Xiao Tian.

This pressure targeted only Xiao Tian the dog—others felt nothing.

Shrinking his neck, Xiao Tian trembled like a cicada in frost, hastily chuckling: "No dare, no dare! Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty, calm your anger!"

He had no doubt about Haotian's fury—if he kept this up, Haotian might really slap him to death.

But if he just gave up, he'd feel unwilling—this isn't about not being able to afford it; it's about buying it, having it within reach, yet being unable to obtain it.

Watching the hot pot steam and bubble, smelling the fragrant, fully cooked ingredients, imagining them dipped in sauce and eaten—just thinking of it makes the frustration unbearable.

"Alright, alright! Chan'er, just let Xiao Tian have some vegetables—use his ingredients to blanch, it won't cost much." Yao Ji looked at the utterly dejected Xiao Tian, her heart stirred with compassion.

"Mother! You!" Yang Chan's face flushed with urgency, unable to hold back her words.

Before Yang Chan could finish, Yao Ji lightly laughed: "It's just picking some vegetables—again, not eating your portion, nothing at all."

She felt Xiao Tian was quite nice—his words were sweet when speaking to her, and he's her son's dog; there's no need for this.

Hearing this, Xiao Tian's heart leapt with joy, hastily trying to please:

"Thank you, Lady! Countenance arises from the heart—just one look and I can tell you're a truly great person!"

"Lady, you're not only beautiful but also broad-minded—my admiration for you is truly like the endless, flowing river!"

Xiao Tian spat flattery left and right, using his limited knowledge to fawn in every way—just to eat the hot pot, he's giving it his all!

Haotian shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head helplessly at Yang Chan: "Niece, your mother has spoken—uncle can't do anything either, you're on your own now."

Toward Yao Ji, he's always held a guilty heart, just as Yang Jian and Yang Chan don't wish to defy Yao Ji's will—he too doesn't want to hurt his sister's heart again.

"Fine, you can have the vegetables—but you're not allowed to shove your face into the hot pot!" Mother spoke, Yang Chan had no choice but to comply, pouting as she spoke.

Xiao Tian readily agreed: "No problem, no problem."

He grabbed a neck, dragging over the plate piled with raw lamb slices.

"First, blanch this for me, Sir!" Xiao Tian said cheerfully.

Though he doesn't discriminate between meat and vegetables, if there's meat, he'll definitely eat meat!

Yang Chan stared coldly: "Spicy or not?"

Xiao Tian examined the hot pot closely—this white broth looked rich and mellow, but he felt the taste would likely be rather bland.

Or maybe this uniformly red broth looks more flavorful.

"Give me the red broth to blanch, Sir!" Xiao Tian declared firmly.

May it kill you with spice!

Yang Chan inwardly fumed and muttered:

She picked up a new pair of chopsticks, lifted a few meat slices, and dropped them into the bubbling, scalding red broth.

"Just these few slices feeding birds? I'm a dog! I'm a dog!"

"Fill my bowl completely! Pour it all in!" Seeing this, Xiao Tian glared with dog eyes, shouting in dissatisfaction.

Chen Nuo, already seated back at the counter watching the show, heard Xiao Tian's words—his eyelids twitched, and he tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Such words—only Xiao Tian in the Three Realms could say them with such grandeur.

Yang Chan pouted, face full of reluctance: "Truly hard to serve!"

She reached out, took the untouched meat from Xiao Tian, lifted the whole plate, and dumped it all into the spicy pot of the hot pot.

"Done yet?" The meat had barely sunk for less than two seconds when Xiao Tian impatiently urged—he could already smell the meat aroma!

"What the hell!" Yang Chan exploded, swearing outright.

This Xiao Tian—too infuriating!

Yang Chan loudly demanded: "Have you ever seen meat ready in just one second?"

"If it's not good, it's not good—why are you yelling so loud for nothing!" Xiao Tian complained, starting to grumble.

"Chan'er, didn't I teach you to speak elegantly?" Yao Ji frowned her willow brows, quickly scolding: "How could you forget my words so fast?"

After speaking, Yao Ji subtly glanced toward Chen Nuo's side.

Tonight, what should I cook to make it good? Ah, knowing too many things is also a kind of worry!

Resting his chin on one hand, Chen Nuo sank into thought, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Seeing Chen Nuo showed nothing unusual, Yao Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief—fortunately, Shopkeeper Chen bore no grudge!

From the moment she first saw Chen Nuo, she'd begun calculating: flawless appearance, pleasant voice, cultivation profound and unfathomable, plus this unmatched cooking skill.

This is practically the only choice for a son-in-law!

Earlier, when she woke up and talked with her daughter, she learned her daughter seemed to have someone she liked.

And today, coming to this Chaos Residence, while holding the Lotus Lantern, she also carefully observed her daughter's attitude toward Chen Nuo.

When paying, her daughter didn't even realize how many times she'd glanced sideways at Chen Nuo.

So, from that moment on, she could determine that the person her daughter liked was this Chen shopkeeper.

This was the conclusion she reached through her careful observation and woman's intuition.

Looking at this fiery daughter of hers, Yao Ji couldn't help but worry for her, this girl, acting so rudely in front of her beloved.

I really don't know what's in her head; when we get back, I'll have to give her a proper talking-to!

"I know, I know!"

Yang Chan pouted, her face fallen, and muttered sullenly, "Honestly, why is Mother taking this so seriously?"

In front of so many people, doesn't she care about saving face?

"Little sister, Chan'er is still young, you shouldn't be so harsh on her!" Haotian, seeing the situation, hurriedly stepped in to mediate.

One saying "she's still young" doesn't know how insincere that is.

However, compared to Haotian's own age of several yuanhui, she is indeed young to the point of being impossibly young.

"What do you know?!" Yao Ji's eyes flashed, her aura rising like a rainbow, her temperament completely opposite to the gentle Wēnwǎn from before.

"I'm doing this for her own good!"

Butting in without understanding anything, if this ruins my daughter's good marriage prospect, what then?

Faced with Yao Ji's firm questioning, Haotian did not get angry.

As cold and hard as Yao Ji was in life, so now is she humble.

My younger sister finally had her soul reunited after great difficulty; I dote on her and can barely keep up, how could I dare to anger her?

The Heavenly Dao is heartless, yet all things have feeling; perhaps precisely because of this, no one in the Three Realms can stand upon the Heavenly Dao.

But no one will therefore regret it.