The Rise of the White Lotus

"Well?" Churu perked up. Her ardent eyes sought for feedback as he ate a spoonful of the meal she prepared for him.

Slowly, Morris wiped the side of his lips by a white cloth. "So?" He heard her asked again before he slowly turned to the side where the curious human bun slash demon in disguise perched. She had her elbows on the edge of the table, half of her body forwarded, as her eyes were on him.

"It's good." Deep and gentle, Morris answered, which caused her face to brighten. 

"Really??" Her lips stretched into a grin, biting her bottom lip as she slowly went back to her seat. "Hehe." She giggled, picking up her cutlery and started cutting smaller pieces of meat. 

"I learned this dish when Ethan was dying on a chase, hehehe~" As she cut the meat, Churu shared where she learned this dish that she prepared for him for the first time. Although she was confident with her cooking skills, Churu still wanted to prepare the best food for him.

Why? Because she needed to fatten the sheep before eating it!

"Dying? On a chase?" Morris arched his right brow, glancing at the meat she was cutting before averting it back to her. "Aren't you supposed to protect him from harm? Why are you studying cooking?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Ehh… he was the one who's chasing the bad guys." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, forking out a piece of meat, and then sprawled her arm to him. "Ahh…" She opened her mouth while the piece of meat hovered in front of his lips.

Morris swallowed a mouthful of saliva before his lips parted. Without further ado, he ate the piece of meat she gave him and chewed it slowly while she continued — using the fork as her barbecue stick, forking several pieces before feeding it to him.

"You shouldn't have cut them into small pieces if you're going to feed it to me all at once." Although there wasn't a change in his countenance, Morris's words were still blunt and direct. 

"Hehe. My arms will hurt if I feed them to you one by one." She giggled, realizing that she cut the meat into extra small pieces that it would take forever to fatten her little sheep.

Morris only shook his head without a word. He then opened his mouth and ate the meat without any complaints. His eyes fixated with her bright, happy front, which caused his eyes to soften gently while chewing the meat that was stuffing his mouth.

"Anyway, don't tell Lexi about her husband's activity." As she waited for him to chew his food down before shoving the next batch, Churu rubbed her chin as she realized she rat Ethan once again. 

Morris nodded in understanding. Well, he never said anything to Lexi about everything that Churu tells him because he knew his disposition. Also, he didn't want to be the root of the husband and wife's argument. He would rather zip his mouth despite knowing more.

"Welp! Now, I'm worried." After a minute, Churu cupped her cute cheeks as she pouted. 

"Why?" He asked after drinking a mouthful of water.

"Lexi will know." Still pouting, Churu raised her pair of ardent eyes towards him. "Ethan will rat himself out and prepare a washboard himself! I really think he is a lowkey masochist. He knows his wife would be mad, but he kept doing things grand without a thought." Her tone sounded more as a complaint; one could discern her stress as Ethan's guardian angel and demon at the same time.

"They'll be fine." Slowly, his arm extended towards her, stroking her silky silver hair that shone the brightest under the little glass chandelier in the kitchen. "Don't worry." He comforted, smiling as his eyes roamed around her adorable facial features.

"I know they will be fine because Lexi is such a softie! I should teach her how to dominate a man!" Despite the pair of gentle eyes and hand that was stroking her hair, Churu's pout remained. She heard him chuckle briefly, which made her pick up the fork and shoved it lightly to his mouth.

*cough*

Morris coughed, smacking his lips before eating the meat that was on the fork."Stop laughing. I'm serious!" She muttered, glaring at him as his chuckles had a touch of ridiculing as if he didn't believe her words.

Once again, Morris drank a mouthful of water to help himself swallow down the food. "I know." He answered shortly, shaking his head sideways. "I'm chuckling because you look cute." He added, his eyes back on her.

Her white as a snow complexion revealed the slight pinkish hue on her cheeks upon hearing his explanation. She bit her bottom lip lightly, resisting herself from smiling like an idiot for the seemingly simple compliment from him.

"Do you think I don't know that?" She looked down, began cutting some meat again quickly as she could sense his eyes on her side profile. Morris rested his jaw by the back of his hand, smiling as she handled the meat without care.

"Are you shy?" He asked, his lips crooked into a playful smile. 

Churu stopped, turning her distorting face to his playful visage. "No!" She firmly denied, a glint of dismay flickered across her eyes.

"Really?" Still bearing his mirth on his lips, Morris leaned closer, arching his right brow. "Your face says otherwise." Slowly, his face inched closer. But before he could come closer, Churu was about to shove the meat to his lips.

However, her act of stopping him failed miserably as he grabbed her wrist, guiding it to the side as it was blocking his sight. "I'm full." He said, his eyelashes fluttered slowly as an inexplicable glint flashed across his eyes.

"You -- you can't waste food." Churu stuttered, drawing back slightly as she gulped down a mouthful of saliva. "You know you need to be healthy…" She murmured, looking away as her heart raced whenever this playful side of him resurfaced. 

For a moment, Morris stared at her in delight. Without further ado, he ate the food from the fork and chewed in front of her. This time, he didn't need the help of water to swallow it down.

"I don't." He uttered, watching her dart her eyes from the fork to his eyes and then to the greasy part on his lips.

"Uhm…" Churu hummed a tune, her other hand massaged her shoulder as she looked up. "There's still oil on your lips…" She murmured, recklessly looking around for her to used to wipe his lips. She immediately spotted the cloth for her, grabbed it and used it to wipe his thin lips.

"You're good now! Hehe!" She announced once she was done wiping his lips. However, Morris remained in his position with his eyes glued on her. "You want dessert?" She asked awkwardly, seeing him nodded his head in response.