Chapter 391 - 351: I Won’t Leave You Behind
Chapter 391: Chapter 351: I Won’t Leave You Behind
"Hurry and eat, or it’ll get cold."
Barto moved the small table for their meal to Gu Ning’s bedside.
Gu Ning glanced at the table, which was laden with food. There was a generous amount, but only two sets of utensils.
’Alex spent the afternoon sleeping by my side, so he definitely hasn’t eaten yet. And Barto...’
Gu Ning’s gaze shifted between the two males. "Barto," she started, "have you eaten...?"
Before she could finish, Barto sat down across from her, speared a large piece of stew with his fork, and dropped it into his bowl. "I haven’t. You know what Cook’s appetite is like. I can barely get a bite in when I’m with him."
Gu Ning said, "Oh."
She glanced over at Alex, who was standing nearby.
For the past few days, while she’d been sick, Alex and Barto had been taking turns staying with her and eating their meals with her.
Now, they were both here, and neither showed any intention of leaving.
’Ugh, this is tricky.’
"You two eat," Alex said.
As he said this, he went to the side to sort through a large bag of clothes he had brought for Gu Ning.
"What are you spacing out for? Eat." Barto tapped her bowl and placed a piece of deboned meat from the stew into it.
Gu Ning took a single bite with her chopsticks, then set them down and turned to Alex. "Alex, you should eat too."
The corners of Barto’s mouth drooped, his displeasure obvious. "This is a meal for two."
In reality, it was barely enough for one person.
The amount of food was too much for Gu Ning, but far too little for the build and appetite of a Beastman. Even if the two of them ate all of it, it would barely take the edge off their hunger.
Gu Ning knew perfectly well they had only prepared such a generous-looking meal for her sake, just so they could eat a little with her.
"It’s fine, I don’t eat much," she said.
"I’m the one who cooked this," Barto reminded her.
Before, he and Alex had a tacit understanding to take turns caring for Gu Ning, and they never appeared in front of her at the same time. Today was Alex’s turn, and the two sets of utensils were meant for him and Gu Ning. But Barto had just had an unpleasant exchange with Alex, and after getting a bit of Gu Ning’s favor, he didn’t want to leave.
Barto thought, ’I’m the one who cooked the food, so why can’t I sit down and eat it? Why should I have to give way to that wolf?’
Gu Ning said, "Barto, Alex has... brought you food before, too."
Upon hearing this, Barto was about to throw down his utensils and leave, but he held himself back when he saw the Black Wolf emerging from the washroom after washing his hands.
’That wolf is so shameless. Why should I be the one to leave?’
Gu Ning surreptitiously watched Barto’s reaction. She had been worried that with his temper, he might get angry and leave. Seeing him just silently stuffing food into his mouth, she breathed a small sigh of relief.
"I’ll give you the seat when I’m finished,"
Barto said to Alex, his cheeks bulging with food.
"No need."
Alex said, sitting down right next to Gu Ning.
’By the time that fox gave up his seat, there’d be no food left for him. Besides himself, that fox was the only one who knew exactly how little Ningning ate.’
’Besides, as the alpha wolf, he had always fought for everything himself. His whole life, he had only ever been the one to grant things to others; no one granted things to him.’
Gu Ning scooted further into the bed to make room, handing her chopsticks to Alex.
She was used to chopsticks, so they always prepared a pair for her.
Fortunately, the utensils used by Beastmen were as varied as their clans, so chopsticks weren’t considered an unusual dining tool.
She remembered that back in Zone 19, when Barto first moved in to live with her, he had brought over a large case of tableware and cooking tools. It even included various stemmed wine glasses, though she had never seen him use them. Since neither she nor Cook drank alcohol, the glasses ended up packed away and forgotten.
Barto was also very skilled with chopsticks. However, perhaps due to some form of regression, he usually used a knife and fork, only picking up chopsticks occasionally when he saw her using them.
But no matter what, he was always careful to use his utensils properly. Even in the wild, he did his best to avoid touching his food with his hands, making him more fastidious than a typical Beastman.
Gu Ning just assumed he was a stickler for cleanliness.
Alex, on the other hand, was visibly a little awkward with chopsticks.
Gu Ning sipped her soup, watching as Alex picked the meat out of the stir-fried peas and pork, placing it in another bowl. He drained some of the excess oil before setting the bowl, now filled with just peas, in front of her.
This dish had appeared on Gu Ning’s little dinner table for three days in a row.
She loved peas, especially when they were cooked until soft and tender. The problem was that vegetables and fruit were scarce in Zone 19. She had only eaten peas twice before—once at the construction site, and another time when a small bag of them turned up in Barto’s grocery haul.
Here in the 12th District, there was clearly no shortage of ingredients. Barto and Alex had noticed her preference, and now she could have them with every meal.