Chapter 69 - A Feather Tickling His Heart
It was only a week and a half since Luo Xiao had left Jiang Yao, but to him, it felt like an eternity apart. So much had happened, and he could not help but feel extra reluctant to leave the warm embrace.
There was nothing on the schedule for today. Luo Xiao had planned on checking out the various cultivation locations, and see what he could gain from the different facilities, but now he was not eager to do anything.
It was a rare chance that Luo Xiao and Jiang Yao could spend time together so he quickly decided to push back his schedule and a content smile appeared on his lips.
"Are you happy Xiaoxiao?" a magnetic and husky voice sounded out from above his head, the voice making Luo Xiao somewhat surprised, but he soon composed himself and nodded his head as he clutched the clothes in front of him in his hands and tried to move even closer, almost as if he was trying to merge his body with the body in front of him.
Jiang Yao chuckled when he felt the dependence Luo Xiao had towards him. Although he knew that he was in Luo Xiao's heart, it was one of the first times he had seen the younger male being so obvious about his feelings towards the older man.
Jiang Yao felt as if a cat was gently pawing his chest, an itch appeared within him, making him melt. He treasured every moment together with Luo Xiao, and now that he was displaying his affection so obviously, he had a hard time withstanding his urge to just hold him close for the rest of their lives.
He wished that he could place Luo Xiao in his storage treasure and bring him with him everywhere he went, never let him be out of his sight and forever be tied to his side, but he was realistic.
Luo Xiao deserved the best of everything. He also had to be able to protect himself from all the people who were threatening him, either because of his talents or because he was close to Jiang Yao.
Because of this, Jiang Yao felt it was necessary to send Luo Xiao to the academy to study. Although he was not happy with this decision, for the future growth of his little lover, he held back his possessiveness and allowed for Luo Xiao to enter the academy for a period of time.
Fortunately, this young man was an Astral Soul. It should be possible for him to raise his strength rapidly, without having to stay at the academy for more than a few years.
Jiang Yao had great faith in Luo Xiao and his abilities. He also understood that his ability was something that could never be mentioned. If he had told Jiang Bai that this young man was an Astral Soul, then even if Jiang Bai did not believe in the love between them, he would still look at Luo Xiao as if he was an important person.
But Jiang Yao knew his youngest brother rather well. Jiang Bai was not a scheming person, but he was very trusting towards his friends. He would not keep quiet about the soul grade of Luo Xiao and suddenly everyone would know about it - resulting in the fourth brother's attention being drawn towards him.
The fourth brother was already alert to Luo Xiao's existence. He was aware that a human had appeared next to Jiang Yao, and that this human was being pampered and spoiled.
Currently, the reason could not be explained, either Jiang Yao had truly fallen for this human, or he had something planned - some sort of a trick up his sleeve.
Knowing Jiang Yao, all of them were very skeptical about him truly have fallen in love with someone, and Jiang Yao knew this, which was why he dared show his affection. Even he found it strange that he had fallen in love, he who was so ruthless and unfeeling would never have guessed that someday a person would appear, a person who could cause his mood to change with a single expression on his face, a person who could entrance him with a single thought.
Luo Xiao was bathing in the warmth that Jiang Yao gave him, neither of them was willing to move, just nestling up in the bed together, feeling each other's warmth while being in deep thought about their own matters.
Like this time slowly ticked by, the sun rose to the sky and eventually the young man retreated from the warm embrace as his stomach was growling at him.
"Do you want to stay and eat?" he asked Jiang Yao who was feeling as if someone had removed a part of his body as the lithe figure moved away from his warm arms.
"Mhm," Jiang Yao nodded his head. Although he was at a stage in cultivation where he no longer needed to eat or sleep, he had found that these mundane things were very pleasurable when doing together with Luo Xiao.
Luo Xiao had never been able to do anything for Jiang Yao, it was always the demon prince who was doing things for him - buying him things, protecting him, bringing him places, and in the end, he felt that he owed the other so much.
Now that he was in Luo Xiao's place, the youngster felt like cooking food for him and do his utmost to please the other. Fortunately, he had purchased enough ingredients to make a scrumptious meal now.
The ingredients were not of those kinds that could increase one's spiritual energy or one's Qi, but it was still tasty when eaten. On their way towards the Cloudsoar City, Luo Xiao and Jiang Yao had eaten this kind of mortal food quite often, so he knew that the older male did not loathe it.
This was also another reason why he offered to cook. Hearing the question, Jiang Yao's eyes flashed. He had eaten the most delicious meals from all around, he had enjoyed any kind of delicacy, but never had he felt the kind of anticipation that he felt right now for a meal.
"Please," he answered with his magnetic voice that made Luo Xiao weak at the knees. Luo Xiao had changed quite a bit after attending the school, he was no longer as silent as before, and more outgoing.
He had had enough time to consider his emotions thoroughly and to know what his position was like, and he had found an inner strength and peace.
So what if he liked a man? So what if he was weak? As long as Jiang Yao liked him and needed him, then Luo Xiao would stay by his side and do anything in his power to support him.
He would work hard to become a person who would not have to be protected all the time, but become someone who could assist Jiang Yao, someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the seventh demon prince.
Since he had acknowledged this as his wish in life, he was no longer as bashful and embarrassed as before whenever he thought of their emotions, however, he was still rather flustered whenever Jiang Yao looked at him or touched him. He was overwhelmed by the warmth and sweetness.
Luo Xiao walked into the kitchen where he began to cut the vegetables. He decided to make a seafood congee, as he knew that Jiang Yao had just woken up, and congee was the best to eat during the morning.
Usually, he would eat congee plainly, but since Jiang Yao was here, he decided to add some flavor to it and make it a bit more luxurious.
The storage pouch that Luo Xiao had gotten from Jiang Yao was of the highest quality. It could freeze time for every item within the pouch, so the ingredients were as fresh as when he had bought them, the cilantro still had dew on it, the crabs, shrimps, and scallions were as fresh as if they had just been pulled from the sea.
Luo Xiao was busying himself in the kitchen, washing the rice first while humming a nursery rhyme he had heard when he was a kid, his entire focus on the rice, not noticing that Jiang Yao was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of his chest and smiling gently at the sight of Luo Xiao cooking for him.
After rinsing the rice, he put it aside and started cleaning the prawns, removing the strings and taking off the heads. After the prawns, he cleaned the crab, cut them into four pieces each, and kept the shells.
After cleaning all the ingredients, one at a time, with a meticulous and careful hand, he started frying off the prawn heads in some oil. A delicious scent of seafood started spreading in the kitchen.
The shrimp heads were removed and wine was added before the rice was put into the soup and left to simmer. Even at this point in time, Luo Xiao did not notice that a certain someone was observing him.
He was humming the same happy tune as before, a gentle smile hung on his face, and he was fully occupied with cooking. Luo Xiao never noticed that Jiang Yao's eyes did not leave his figure for even a moment, he looked as if he could not wait to eat - as to whether or not he wanted to eat the food or the cook was not certain.
Luo Xiao was adding the seafood and allowing it to simmer a bit longer before he added the herbs and seasoning. After finishing he took a small spoon and sampled the food, deciding that it was indeed delicious enough to let Jiang Yao eat. In fact, it was one of the more successful dishes he had ever cooked. Picking a simple dish was a double-edged sword.
On one hand, it was easy to cook and would not be too challenging, but if the flavor was wrong it would turn out to be a complete failure. Fortunately, he had been capable of pulling it off and he happily scooped up two portions into two bowls before he turned around.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the casual and elegant man that was leaning leisurely against the doorframe. He was the definition of a graceful demon, he was so handsome that Luo Xiao felt his heart skip a beat, and even had an urge to pounce on him, yet moments after he shook his head to eliminate those thoughts.
His face was red as a tomato, his heart beating so fast and powerful that he thought it would break free from his chest, and he almost dropped the two plates of congee.
"Let's eat," Jiang Yao said with a gentle smile on his face, pretending that he did not see the adorable blush on the other's face, or that he could not hear the drumming of his heart that was beating erratically.
Although he really wanted to mention it, and to tease Luo Xiao, now was not the time to do so. In fact, he was worried that Luo Xiao would be incapable of handling it and be so embarrassed that he would hide from him in the future, that would be a huge loss so he held back, but his eyes were still glued to the younger man, savoring his adorable embarrassed expression.
As they sat down at the table, Luo Xiao placed a bowl in front of Jiang Yao and another across from him, they sat face to face and enjoyed the food.
The moment the congee entered Jiang Yao's mouth, he felt that this was without a doubt the best dish he had ever tasted. It was so fragrant and delicious, much more delicious than the rarest delicacy that increased his Qi levels, this was a simple dish but it filled his heart and when he thought of how Luo Xiao had cooked it for him, it was as if a feather was tickling his heart.