Trust led to dependence, and dependence gave rise to feelings.
Ye Qinglian was simply a little proud by nature. If you paid attention, you could still sense the enormous change in their relationship.
At first glance, Chu Ning held a kitchen knife in his hand. In truth, he held the heart of the woman watching him nearby!
"There's something I don't understand."
Chu Ning handled the ingredients with practiced ease, even finding time to glance at Ye Qinglian as he asked, puzzled.
"What is it?"
Ye Qinglian crouched nearby, staring fixedly at the flames inside the stove.
"Why would the Great Zhou Dynasty cooperate with our Great Gan Dynasty?"
Chu Ning answered casually, "Whatever the reason, isn't it a good thing? Do you feel pressured and not want to cooperate?"
"The Great Zhou Dynasty is offering resources worth decades of what our country has. Why wouldn't we cooperate?"
"Exactly."
Ye Qinglian narrowed her eyes slightly, picked up a pebble, and tossed it into the fire. Watching the sparks dance, she spoke with a hint of confusion.
"But Xiao Bing said today that it was because of you."
Chu Ning put down the kitchen knife, clasped his hands behind his back, and tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky!
"Of course! With an otherworldly expert like me holding down the fort, they couldn't wait to form an alliance and cooperate!"
The woman's mouth twitched, and she couldn't help pressing a hand to her forehead.
"How could I be so absurd as to actually believe it was you..."
Chu Ning froze, looking utterly incredulous.
"Do I not look like an otherworldly expert?"
"You look like a street charlatan setting up a stall to tell fortunes."
"Actually, people like me, who look less like experts, are the