coobybook Chapter 87 The Significance of Clan Members
Chapter 87 The Significance of Clan Members
Only after Lei Xiu left did the furry ball, which had been quietly nestled at the head of the bed, slowly approach Le Zhi and find a comfortable spot to settle down.
"Lei Xiu, how's Le Zhi?" After Le You and Le Ju finished making and jarring the last batch of mushroom sauce, they tidied up the kitchen and rested in the living room for a while before waiting for Lei Xiu to come out of the room.
"He's fine, he's probably just a little tired," Lei Xiu said softly, his brows furrowed, completely devoid of the warmth he had shown when facing Le Zhi just moments before. "By the way, I'd like to trouble you to stay here a little longer. I have some business to attend to, but I'll be right back. I'm a little worried about leaving Zhi Zhi home alone."
It was rare for Lei Xiu to ask them for help, so Le You and Le Ju exchanged a glance and quickly waved their hands, saying, "No, how could this be troublesome? Le Zhi is our friend, and he's also a cub of our clan. It's our duty to take care of him."
“That’s right,” Leju chimed in. “Go ahead and do what you need to do. Anyway, Leting will be here soon. It’s the same no matter where we work.”
With a slight nod, Lei Xiu strode out of the house, the faint sound of flapping wings filling the air. When Le You peeked out to observe, Lei Xiu had already vanished.
Meanwhile, Le Zhi was still fast asleep, completely unaware that Lei Xiu had gone straight to Le Chu for his sake. Le Chu, who was busy receiving the ruthless Lei Xiu, immediately put down her work upon hearing his purpose, her face grave.
"...According to you, Lezhi has been feeling unwell for some time now. Why didn't he tell us anything? Did he even keep it from Leyou?"
Lei Xiu didn't reply. His purpose was clear: he had come to ask Le Chu for the sap from the Mother Tree. As an individual, he could only obtain a limited amount of the Mother Tree's sap, and especially now that he had recovered, he had no excuse to ask the clan for a larger allocation.
However, as the head of the clan, Le Chu must have extra sap from the mother tree. He had misunderstood before. No matter what, Zhi Zhi is still a cub of the Lingyu clan. Since they are now living in the Lingyu clan, they should rely on the clan appropriately, which does not contradict his goal of pursuing Le Zhi.
Seeing Lei Xiu's unchanging deadpan expression, Le Chu resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Alright, I know what you mean. I do have extra Mother Tree sap here, and I'll arrange to send it to Le Zhi later. As soon as I learned that Le Zhi's talent was incomplete, I sent a message to his birthplace. I believe they should have made some preparations."
As she spoke, Le Chu stood up, looked directly into Lei Xiu's eyes, and solemnly said, "Le Zhi is a cub that our clan has finally found. Our entire clan will do everything in our power to raise him. No matter if he is disabled or not, our hearts will never change."
"Zhizhi's disability doesn't prevent him from contributing to the clan, does it?" Lei Xiu bluntly pointed out his dissatisfaction, referring to the knowledge the Lingyu clan had learned from Lezhi. Lezhi's obliviousness didn't mean Lei Xiu was.
As a cub raised by the clan, Lezhi has already demonstrated a value far exceeding that of ordinary people.
"I knew it. Only you would notice this, hmph." Le Chu scoffed coldly, crossing her arms. "What, in your eyes, are we Lingyu Clan the kind who would take advantage of our clan members without saying a word? Living long is all about the heart, not as cute as our Le Zhi."
Le Chu turned around, took out a bound document, and handed it to Lei Xiu, gesturing for him to look. "Take a look. This is a plan that our entire clan has unanimously signed and approved. Individuals may have other regulations, but for the clan, a portion of the profits from the starch workshop and the clan's common planting will be allocated to Le Zhi. When Le Zhi enters his pre-adolescent stage, you will find that he has become an adult who has no shortage of food and clothing. This can be considered our coming-of-age gift to him."
It's really annoying that Lei Xiu found out about this surprise beforehand.
"I just don't like Zhizhi being taken advantage of." Lei Xiu lowered his eyelids and looked at the plan that had been signed by a powerful figure in the clan and was already in effect before he was satisfied.
"Alright, I know you're doing this for Lezhi's own good."
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lei Xiu still maintained a blank expression, but his aura had softened considerably.
"In short, you don't need to worry about the sap from the mother tree; the clan will prepare it as soon as possible. As for Lezhi, I'll trouble you to keep an eye on things. With the hunting competition just around the corner, everyone is in a rush, and there are bound to be some oversights." Lechu sat up straight, and her tone became much calmer, no longer sharp.
“Protecting Zhizhi is no trouble, you don’t need to ask me to.” As early as their first meeting, Lei Xiu had already conceived the idea of protecting Lezhi with everything he had, and now, he has indeed done just that.
Although he made Lezhi believe he was repaying a debt of gratitude, and everyone around him thought so too, only Lei Xiu himself knew that his feelings for Lezhi, particularly gratitude for saving her life, were negligible compared to another kind of emotion. And based solely on that gratitude, Lei Xiu was willing to risk his life to protect Lezhi, not to mention other unspoken feelings.
When Lei Xiu rushed home, Le Zhi was still asleep. Perhaps due to excessive physical exertion and physical discomfort, Le Zhi slept from noon that day until the morning of the next day, missing both mealtimes in between.
Therefore, when Lezhi woke up in the morning after a good night's sleep, her first thought was, "I'm so hungry!"
"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"
Raising his hand to rub his rumbling stomach, Lezhi slowly sat up, casually placing his hand on the wall beside him, so that Wumu Teng could 'open a window' for him.
Sunlight streamed into the room through the open window, bringing with it the fresh morning air. It was late summer, early autumn, and the morning air carried a hint of chill, instantly waking Lezhi up.
When Lezhi finished washing up and came to the living room, she immediately saw Lei Xiu busy in the kitchen.
Good morning, aren't you going out today?
Lezhi sat down on the kitchen island, resting her chin on one hand and looking at Lei Xiu, who was cooking, with a somewhat dazed expression.
"Good morning, Zhizhi." Lei Xiu took the steamed egg custard out of the pot, poured the sauce over it, and then served the other food. Only then did he wash his hands and turn to look at Lezhi behind him.
“You weren’t feeling well yesterday, how could I leave you alone at home?” Lei Xiu gave Lezhi a light reproachful look, who was feigning innocence. He didn’t press Lezhi’s concealment further, but instead placed the food in front of her. “Here, breakfast. Try it and see how it tastes. I made it the way you did before.”
Lei Xiu placed his hands outstretched on the table, looking as if he was waiting for Le Zhi to inspect his work. Le Zhi lowered his hands from under his chin, feeling embarrassed, and sat up slightly.
Looking at the breakfast in front of her, complete with meat, eggs, staple food, and vegetables, Lezhi didn't start eating right away. Instead, she secretly glanced at Lei Xiu, who was staring intently at her.
He was truly hungry, but being stared at like this made it hard for Lezhi to eat.
Seeing that Lezhi hadn't made a move for a while, Lei Xiu narrowed his eyes, assuming that Lezhi was still feeling unwell, which was why she had no appetite. Raising his hand, Lei Xiu's long arm easily crossed the distance of the central island platform, and his fingers touched Lezhi's forehead.
"Are you still feeling unwell?" Lei Xiu asked with concern, his brows furrowing slightly. "At least eat a little something, otherwise your body won't be able to handle it. If Zhizhi can't eat this, I'll redo it immediately. What would you like to eat..."