"Send someone to investigate. I've said before, no one except our people is allowed on that trade route," he said.
The shadowy figure bowed its head deeply. "Yes, sir."
It appeared to have no physical form, like a simulacrum made of insubstantial black mist that could dissipate in the wind at any moment.
The shadow slightly raised its eyes, looking at its master whose features had grown even sharper and more striking over the years, before lowering its gaze again:
"But sir, recently some people from the king's side need to pass through this route."
Hearing this, Anderson was silent for a moment, then said: "Let them through."
After all, they were the young miss's people.
They couldn't be compared to those insects and rabble from outside.
Thinking of Chloe, a hint of warmth finally colored Anderson's icy gaze.
He then glanced at the shadow: "You know what to do."
The shadow nodded: "Yes, sir."
As soon as the words fell, the shadow vanished instantly.
The midday sun leaked in through the window, casting orderly diamond-shaped patterns of light and shadow through the window frames, carving Anderson's cold, hard features into contrasting areas of light and dark.
His fingers rested on the railing as his gaze fell on the yard of the dormitory villa. After about fifteen minutes, he finally turned and went downstairs.
The young miss would likely wake up about an hour after falling asleep.
She hadn't eaten lunch before her nap, so Anderson had to prepare a satisfactory meal for Chloe during this time.
Of course, the timing had to be precise. If Chloe woke up and the food was either cold or too hot, it wouldn't be good.
Admittedly, Anderson quite enjoyed seeing the young miss's spoiled expression when she frowned and nitpicked – it was both lively and cute. But in the end, he couldn't bear to disappoint her.
On the other hand, this was also his responsibility.
The sounds of cooking clattered from the kitchen.
About half an hour later, someone rang the doorbell outside the villa.
Anderson didn't even glance sideways, ignoring it completely.
Sure enough, a second later, the door was opened from the outside.
Katherine, dressed neatly, and Daniel, with a bruised and swollen face, walked in from behind the door.
Daniel was carrying nearly half of the medicine and snacks. His face was so swollen that his speech was slightly slurred as he walked into the kitchen and asked:
"Need any help?"
Anderson looked at his crooked teeth, was silent for a moment, and then said considerately:
"Perhaps you need to rest."
As he spoke, he pushed Daniel out of the kitchen.
But Daniel was clearly unwilling to give up. He protested loudly:
"Are you looking down on me?"
Anderson averted his gaze: "No."
Daniel didn't believe him: "You are. You think my swollen mouth looks terrible and will affect Chloe's mood, don't you?"
Anderson said nothing.
The implication was: if that's what you think, then I can't help it.
Daniel was exasperated. He rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen, starting to cook seriously.
Meanwhile, Katherine carried the snacks upstairs and sat by Chloe's bed, peeling an apple.
Her knife skills were excellent, able to peel the entire apple in one continuous strip.
This process required extreme care.
So the efficiency was naturally slower.
By the time Katherine finished peeling the apple, Chloe was just beginning to wake up languidly.
She still looked a bit dazed, but she was already quite adept at getting out of bed, putting on her slippers, and walking into the bathroom to rinse her mouth and wash her face.
When she came out, Katherine stuffed the apple, which she had cut into small pieces during this time, into Chloe's mouth.
Just as she took a bite, Anderson came in with the prepared lunch.
The series of events flowed smoothly, as if they had been rehearsed thousands of times before.
In fact, that was indeed the case.
For five years, every day had been like this.
Chloe was pampered, with everything done for her, living an idle life like a rice weevil.
Except for when she was on the battlefield.
However, for the past five years, they had mostly engaged in on-campus competitions.
Especially since a new batch of students arrived last year, Chloe and her group were repeatedly called out to spar with them.
Various simulated battlefields were introduced, and they would fight to the death with their junior schoolmates.
The No.1 Military Academy recruited only the toughest individuals. In daily life, when they saw Chloe and her group, they were all polite and well-mannered, addressing them respectfully as senior sisters and brothers.
But once they entered the simulated battlefield, they immediately turned into mad dogs, fighting Chloe's group relentlessly as if their lives depended on it.
Although in Chloe's eyes they were still too green, their frenzied spirit was enough to be shocking.
Chloe lazily raised her eyes, coincidentally catching sight of Daniel's swollen face.
This fool was still trying hard to make a fierce expression in an attempt to put her off her food.
"..."
She nonchalantly averted her gaze, tossing down her knife and fork: "I'm done eating."
Before Anderson could say anything to persuade her, Daniel was the first to protest.
He immediately relaxed his face, trying his best to look less frightening, and said:
"I worked so hard to make this meal, how can you just say you're done and not eat it?"
"No way, you must eat!"
Hearing this, Chloe became even more disgusted: "What? You made this?"
She pushed the food away: "I'm really done."
Seeing this, Daniel was so angry his hair almost stood on end.
If he had known, he wouldn't have deliberately made such a fierce face to scare her.
Daniel thought bitterly.
Chloe, having enjoyed the myriad expressions on Daniel's face long enough, finally picked up her knife and fork again at her leisure.
Seeing that she was willing to eat, Daniel let out a sigh of relief.
If it weren't for the doctor saying that Chloe needed to replenish her body's nutrients evenly, he wouldn't bother coming here every day at noon to watch Chloe eat.
Chloe fastidiously picked out a piece of lettuce with her fork, glancing up at the person beside her.
She then noticed that Anderson was staring at her unblinkingly.
His gaze was cold.
Chloe had no choice but to reluctantly swallow the lettuce.
Anderson knew Chloe's physical condition even better than she did herself. Every day's meals were strictly controlled in terms of the ratio of meat to vegetables, ensuring that eating wouldn't lead to nutritional imbalance.
It's just that Chloe didn't like it.
But even if she didn't like it, there was nothing she could do about it, because on this matter, even Xavier firmly stood on Anderson's side.
Dragging it out, she finally finished her lunch.
As if right on cue, the doorbell rang again outside.
Then came a series of hurried footsteps.
Qin Huaibei flung open the door and said anxiously:
"Instructor Ren is calling us down!"
As soon as the words fell, Chloe slumped back onto the bed:
"Is she wanting us to fight with the first-year kids again?"
"It shouldn't be that this time," Qin Huaibei said, taking the tissue Katherine handed him and wiping his face carelessly. "There are aircraft outside, probably to take us out of the school."
Hearing this, Chloe muttered to herself:
"Instructor Ren clearly doesn't like us and plans to drag us out of school to sell us off."
Daniel nodded in agreement.
Katherine found it amusing.
She was the first to get up from her seat, helping to retrieve Chloe's coat from the bedhead:
"Let's go first, so Instructor Ren doesn't have to come and rush us later."
