Rebirth Counterattack: I Heard That the Imperial Marshal Has a Crush on Me

Chu Muxi had come here not only to greet his teacher, who hadn’t call him since he became a apprentice, but also to inquire about the mecha from him.

However, he had felt that Mr. Barlow’s character was probably the kind where the more people cared about him, the less he liked them. But if they didn’t care at all, he would show some interest.

All in all, it was a rather awkward situation.

Chu Muxi scratched his head, pondering how to get Mr. Barlow to take the initiative to mention the mecha to him.

“Teacher, how about I make a rainbow cake today?” He was in the kitchen at the moment, having just helped the old man clean up.

Alas, being an apprentice not only required learning a craft but also doing chores such as tidying up the house and cleaning the room.

“You want to learn to run before you’ve learned to crawl? You should make a pudding first.” Mr. Barlow sat aside, smoking a pipe, and spoke like an old sage.

Chu Muxi shrugged, knowing it was better to just do as he was told.

So, when Mr. Barlow went out for a trip and returned, his eyes widened.

“This—did you make this?”

Chu Muxi nodded, “Yes, Teacher, would you like to try it?” He held out the small plate with the cake in front of the old man. “Go ahead, try it.”

With big eyes, he blinked and looked at Mr. Barlow.

Mr. Barlow frowned, “Huh, I don’t believe you could make it on your own. You want me to be a test subject for you. You’re too confident.”

“Teacher, it saddens me when you say that. You have to believe in your apprentice’s talent,” Chu Muxi said, pretending to be sad.

Mr. Barlow snorted, “Fine, fine, just put it down.” Despite his words, he picked up a fork and tasted a small piece, closing his eyes to savor it.

Chu Muxi wasn’t anxious at all. He held his chin and watched Mr. Barlow eat the cake.

When Mr. Barlow opened his eyes, Chu Muxi asked with a smile, “How is it? Does it taste good?” He knew it was delicious; he had tasted it himself. It was hard to believe this old man didn’t like it.

Sure enough, Mr. Barlow gave him a complex look. Though he claimed dessert-making was just a hobby, deep down, he had always wanted to be a cook when he was a child. While he couldn’t call himself a genius, he took pride in his craftsmanship and found it hard to believe someone could casually excel at it.

“Have you really never learned cooking before?” Mr. Barlow asked incredulously. Didn’t rich kids enjoy learning such fancy things like painting or tea art?

“How could that be? I’m a boy, why would I learn such things?” Chu Muxi denied, then realizing the person in front of him had dreamt of being a cook as a child, hastily added, “But of course, I appreciate all beautiful things. Food included.”

Mr. Barlow remained noncommittal, tapping his pipe on the table. “You’ve got some skill, kid. But I won’t heap praises on you; you’ll get too cocky!”

Chu Muxi shrugged, unfazed.

Mr. Barlow suddenly asked, “I heard you and Lu Junzhi were hanging out a few days ago?”

Hang out? What did that mean? After all, Lu Junzhi was the Marshal of the Empire. How could he use casual language when referring to him? It was too inappropriate.

Chu Muxi glanced resentfully at the old man. “Lu da-ge has helped me a lot. He’s amazing.”

“Well, that guy is not bad. Worth getting to know,” Mr. Barlow nodded.

Yes, his apprentice had already formed a close relationship with Lu Junzhi, ahem.

Mr. Barlow stared at Chu Muxi, as if wanting to say something, but then stopped himself.

“What’s wrong, Teacher?” Chu Muxi asked, confused.

“It’s nothing, nothing. There’s nothing else to do today. You can go back now,” Mr. Barlow began to busy himself with other matters.

Chu Muxi said OKAY and left, casually remarking, “Teacher, look at how skilled my hands are. I bet I could do a lot of fine work, right?” After waiting for a moment without a response from Mr. Barlow, he turned his head and noticed Mr. Barlow was frowning, as if struggling with something.

“What’s wrong, Teacher? Is something troubling you?”

Mr. Barlow was silent for a moment. “Wait here,” he said, then turned and walked towards his house.

Chu Muxi looked at his back with a sly smile.

‘I know you won’t keep hiding it forever; sooner or later, you’ll take the bait!’