Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 618 - 617 The Awkward Atmosphere Appears

"Lady Nuwa?" Chen Nuo waved his hand in front of her eyes, "What’s wrong? Did the steam from the tea get to you?"

Lady Nuwa suddenly came back to her senses. She felt a bit embarrassed, but also embarrassed to admit it, so she followed Chen Nuo’s lead and continued speaking.

"The tea is indeed a bit hot."

"Oh, should I cool it down for you?" Chen Nuo politely asked.

"No need, no need, tea should be drunk hot," Lady Nuwa quickly took the cup and took a sip.

Mount Fangcun is like spring all year round, always at a comfortable temperature, neither too cool nor too hot—just right.

Except for personal preference for cooler tea, it is always served hot; moreover, when serving tea to guests, it would be disrespectful to serve it cool.

"Are you sure you don’t want it?" Chen Nuo asked with concern.

Just now, Lady Nuwa seemed quite startled by that cup of tea—so much so that even Lady Nuwa was caught off guard. How hot had the tea he poured just been?

While speaking, Chen Nuo also took a sip and found that it wasn’t all that hot—it was just right.

It was probably because Lady Nuwa was not accustomed to drinking hot tea that she found his cup of tea too hot for her taste.

"No need, no need, it’s just right," Lady Nuwa declined Chen Nuo’s offer while trying to prove that the tea wasn’t too hot by gulping down two more sips.

Chen Nuo, seeing how Lady Nuwa was drinking, could tell that the tea was not extremely hot, so he let it go and nodded, "Then that’s good."

Tian Peng’s shrimp cleaning was swift, primarily because the shrimps weren’t living in the mud; their environment was quite clean.

Just a simple rinse was enough to clean them. In the brief interlude while Chen Nuo and Lady Nuwa were having their tea, Tian Peng had already finished cleaning the shrimps.

"Shopkeeper, the shrimp are ready." Tian Peng announced.

"Great, place them aside for a moment, then go outside and help Mr. Monkey sell milk tea," Chen Nuo responded, "Mr. Monkey has been busy alone at the milk tea shop—it’s not easy for you to find time, so go help him out."

"Sure."

Even if Chen Nuo hadn’t mentioned it, Tian Peng would have gone to help Sun Wukong sell milk tea.

Dating always requires some personal space, and Tian Peng considered himself quite perceptive.

While he was dealing with the shrimp, he felt uneasy. Now that the shrimp were prepared, he fled from the kitchen like one seeking escape.

Lady Nuwa looked up at Tian Peng’s rushed exit and wondered, "Can’t Mr. Monkey handle the milk tea sales on his own? Why is Tian Peng in such a hurry?"

Chen Nuo was rather more composed and didn’t notice that Tian Peng wanted to give him and Lady Nuwa some space; he assumed Tian Peng felt pressured because Lady Nuwa was there.

"Perhaps the brothers haven’t seen each other for a long time. They might have a lot to talk about," he speculated.

Lady Nuwa felt Chen Nuo made a lot of sense and agreed, "Indeed, Tian Peng must have experienced many things in the mortal world, and now he probably wants to share them with Sun Wukong."

"Yes." Chen Nuo agreed with Lady Nuwa’s words and got up from his chair. The shrimp were ready, and he was about to start cooking.

Lady Nuwa watched Chen Nuo stand up and got up herself, but Chen Nuo pressed on her shoulders, guiding her to sit back down.

"I’m going to cook; Lady Nuwa can’t really help with that. Just sit and rest for a while," he said.

Chen Nuo didn’t use much strength, but it made Lady Nuwa’s shoulders feel warm and tingly, a sensation that lingered for quite some time.

Lady Nuwa was still processing the feeling of Chen Nuo’s touch on her shoulder when she collected herself and found Chen Nuo had already started cooking.

Even though it was in the kitchen, the aroma of cooking didn’t spread out from the stovetop at all.

Above the stove was a small array that absorbed the gases produced during cooking, then transported them to an open space behind the mountain.

Originally, a magic artifact was placed here, which was also quite useful, but it was a bit of an eyesore, mainly because it was unattractive, and always seemed out of place in front of the stove.

However, there were no other means to extract the cooking fumes; after all, it was ancient times, and he certainly couldn’t use Merit Points to exchange with the system for a range hood, could he?

Moreover, the effectiveness of a range hood wasn’t as good as that of the magic artifact and was even more of an eyesore.

After syncing with Xiong Daoren’s Divine Skills, Chen Nuo replaced the artifact that absorbed cooking fumes with an array. This array didn’t catch the eye, and it worked well, so Chen Nuo continued using it.

Lady Nuwa was sitting with her back to the stove, and originally Chen Nuo was sitting opposite her, at just the right distance so that even without speaking, it wouldn’t be awkward.

Now that Chen Nuo had gone off to cook, she ended up with her back to him, which felt somehow even more improper.

After a series of mental struggles, Lady Nuwa got up and moved to the seat where Chen Nuo had just been sitting.

No sooner had she sat down than her face instantly flushed red.

This chair was made of bamboo, and when you sat down, it generally felt cool, but after a while it would warm up with your body heat.

Lady Nuwa didn’t think too much when she sat down; she merely thought that by turning her back to Chen Nuo, it seemed both awkward and impolite, which was why she wanted to change seats.

All she had in mind was to avoid awkwardness, but she forgot that just a moment ago, Chen Nuo had been sitting there, and when she sat down, the chair still retained Chen Nuo’s body warmth.

Ordinarily, this was nothing out of the ordinary—Chen Nuo was neither a ghost nor a cold-blooded creature, so naturally he had body warmth.

But for Lady Nuwa, who liked Chen Nuo, this normally trivial matter became somewhat peculiar at that moment.

The chair still held Chen Nuo’s body heat, so by a certain logic, it felt as if she was practically sitting in Chen Nuo’s lap. As soon as she entertained that possibility, Lady Nuwa’s face grew even redder.

Now, neither sitting nor standing felt appropriate, and she was just in an awkward limbo as the crayfish prepared by Chen Nuo was almost ready to be stewed.

He took a moment to glance back at Lady Nuwa, intending to ask if she needed more tea or anything, just in time to see her sitting in his previous spot, her face still bright red.

"Lady Nuwa, would you like some more tea..." He got choked up mid-sentence because of that glance.

Even though Chen Nuo was a bit dull, he now knew the reason behind Lady Nuwa’s blushing face.

Lady Nuwa, liking him, sitting in his previously occupied chair, flushed face.

When these images connected, it was hard for him to think of any other explanation.

Lady Nuwa, realizing something was off when Chen Nuo turned around and saw him stammer, quickly stood up from the chair.

"That, Shopkeeper Chen, it’s not what it looks like, actually I thought... well, when you went to cook, I was turning my back on you, and I thought it seemed a bit impolite, so now I’m sitting here..." Lady Nuwa hurriedly explained.

Her explanation itself was fine, and quite reasonable at that.

Though her speech was stumbling, she didn’t say anything particularly erroneous, but coupled with her flushed face, even the most detailed explanation felt a bit like she was trying to cover something up.

"Yes, I understand," Chen Nuo didn’t say much and turned around immediately to continue cooking.

It was clear what he intended; this kind of awkward situation couldn’t be resolved with just a few simple words.

The best approach was for them both to steer clear of the current circumstances, allowing time to dilute the awkward atmosphere. Then, after a while, when both had settled down, it would be fine.

However, to Lady Nuwa, his rational reaction seemed like a sign of anger.