Stealing the most important role wasn't enough-now he wanted to steal his food too?

Su Ying received no reply from the system.

She called out impatiently again, "System!"

[Huh? Host...]

The system's lagging voice sounded.

Su Ying raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? Crashed again?"

[Yes, Host.]

The system suspected that Su Ying had deliberately shut him down the previous two times, but this time he clearly remembered her passing out. She couldn't possibly have shut him down, so how had he, with his extraordinarily long standby time, crashed?

"You crash at the drop of a hat. Are you even any good?" Su Ying said disdainfully.

[Host, I am the latest intelligent system. You cannot question my capabilities.]

The system protested.

"All right, all right. I can't be bothered wasting words on you. Pull up the recipes," Su Ying said.

[Oh, okay.]

Only after carrying out the task did the system realize that she could get out of bed!

[Host, have you recovered?]

"Of course! My back doesn't hurt, my legs aren't sore, and I'm bursting with energy! My Chu Yu really came through-he nursed me right back to health!" Su Ying said. "So I'm going to make a few dishes to reward him."

Hearing her say "my Chu Yu," Chu Yu's lips curved slightly.

The system timidly reminded her,

[Host, with the injuries you sustained, unless you bought medicine from the Shop or a highly accomplished cultivator transferred energy to heal you, you would normally have to spend ten days to half a month in bed before you could get up.]

Su Ying froze. "What are you trying to say?"

[I mean that young fellow cultivator Chu Yu's cultivation isn't high enough yet. He couldn't possibly have transferred energy to you, so it must have been the Male Lead.]

The system analyzed the situation. At this point in the plot, all the capable elders of the Cultivation Sect and the Sect Leader had gone into secluded cultivation, leaving the Male Lead as the only capable person managing the Sect's affairs.

Su Ying instinctively denied it. "Impossible!"

Chu Yu nodded. Exactly. Impossible.

[Host, apart from the Male Lead, no one in the entire sect can help you right now.]

The system was very confident in his analysis.

He couldn't possibly be wrong!

"Shut up!" Su Ying selected a few dishes and walked out of her room.

Xiao Muchen despised her right now. There was no way he would help.

Besides, if he had wanted to help, he would have done it the first time he transferred energy to her.

Su Ying firmly believed that Chu Yu must have brought her good fortune, making her injuries heal faster.

Besides, none of this was in the plot to begin with. Wasn't it perfectly normal for a bug to crop up?

Su Ying finished cooking, put the dishes on a tray, and went to knock on the room beside hers. "Junior brother, are you in there?"

Chu Yu opened the door a crack and gave her a warm smile. "Senior sister, do you need something?"

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I made some food to reward you. Won't you let me in?" Su Ying smiled, looking him up and down. If she remembered correctly, his abs had felt wonderful.

She wondered whether the muscles elsewhere on his body felt as good as his abs.

Chu Yu had intended to keep his guard up around her, since she had already taken advantage of him once. But when he caught the aroma of the food, he swallowed and opened the door.

The delicacies Su Ying made were far too tempting.

Su Ying walked in cheerfully and placed the dishes on the table. "Here, try my cooking."

"Senior sister, you're amazing!" Chu Yu eagerly dug in. The food was so delicious that he nearly bit his tongue, and in an instant, his gloom over her taking advantage of him vanished.

"If you like it, eat more." Su Ying took a couple of bites, set down her chopsticks, and watched him with a beaming smile.

Influenced by the original owner's body, she had little appetite for food.

Besides, the handsome young man before her was more tempting than any delicacy.

Chu Yu ate happily. Even with Su Ying eyeing him like a meal, he didn't care.

Good food had made the great demon king magnanimous.

"What are you two doing?" a voice rang out. Only then did the two come to their senses and look toward the doorway.

Xiao Muchen stood backlit in the doorway, ethereal and sacred, as handsome as a deity from the highest heavens.

Su Ying said to the system inwardly, [No wonder he's the most handsome man in the Cultivation World. He really is gorgeous.]

Chu Yu's expression darkened.

[Host, don't you think young fellow cultivator Chu Yu is handsome?]

the system asked.

Chu Yu nodded slightly, his tiny movement going unnoticed.

[They're two different kinds of handsome. Xiao Muchen has that aloof, icy air-he's beyond the reach of a mere mortal like me. Besides, he's destined to belong to the Female Lead. Why would I swoon over him?] Su Ying declared that she had her feet firmly on the ground.

Chu Yu set down his chopsticks with a snap. Under Su Ying's astonished gaze, he stood and bowed to Xiao Muchen. "Greetings, Master."

"Mm." Xiao Muchen remained expressionless, his face as cool as ever, and turned his gaze to Su Ying.

Wasn't she badly injured?

How was she out of bed already?

The aroma of delicious food drifted to his nose. Without even thinking, he knew Su Ying must have prepared it.

How could an injured person get out of bed and cook?

Had she faked her injuries?

Xiao Muchen immediately dismissed that suspicion. When he had neutralized the poison, he had examined Su Ying's injuries.

They weren't fatal, but she would certainly have needed some time to recuperate.

As for why he hadn't healed Su Ying, it was because he wanted a stretch of peace and quiet, rather than having her throw herself at him every time she saw him.

Then had she cooked for Chu Yu while still injured?

Something unusual flickered in Xiao Muchen's eyes, and his gaze fell on Chu Yu again.

[Host, bow to the Male Lead.]

Seeing her blank expression, the system reminded her irritably.

"Your disciple pays her respects, Master." Su Ying reluctantly bowed.

"Have your injuries all healed?" Xiao Muchen asked.

"Yes. Thanks to your blessings, Master, my injuries healed quickly, and I'm fine now." With the system nagging her, Su Ying could only put on an affectionate expression as she looked at him.

Xiao Muchen had felt that something was off, but the moment he saw Su Ying's expression, everything seemed right again.

It was her expression...

She had been far too calm and cool just now!

"Your recovery has nothing to do with me," Xiao Muchen said mildly. "I came to check on you. Since you're fine now, then..."

He glanced at the food on the table. Although Chu Yu had demolished more than half of it, it still whetted his appetite.

But as their master, he couldn't ruin his image.

"Enjoy your meal." Xiao Muchen restrained himself, turned, and left.

Su Ying breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.

Thank goodness he left quickly. Otherwise, I'd have had to pretend to enthusiastically throw myself at him. How exhausting!

"Chu Yu, keep eating." Su Ying picked up a piece of meat for him, her words laden with another insinuation. "Eat more. You're still growing."

Yet Chu Yu frowned and looked at her. "Senior sister, is it really all right for us to enjoy such a lavish meal here?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Master's eyes looked strange just now. Did he want to scold us? But it didn't look like that either. Did he want some too?" Chu Yu analyzed, secretly displeased.

Was Xiao Muchen trying to steal his delicious food just now?

Stealing the most important role wasn't enough-now he wanted to steal his food too?

No way!

Chu Yu secretly resolved to make Su Ying guard against him!

"Impossible!" Su Ying shook her head. In the novel, Xiao Muchen was cold, detached, and free of desire. Apart from eating a couple of bites of whatever Ling Xian made, he never touched any other food.

The original author had even said that watching Ling Xian eat made him happy, and that he had no interest whatsoever in other delicacies.