Chapter 32

"Okay. Let's have the shabu-shabu hotpot." Lin Qi agreed to Chen Yan's perfect plan with a smile on his face, and then added, "Actually, I can handle a little bit of spicy food occasionally. Don't be so stingy, let me have a taste of yours too."

Hearing her cute request with a hint of "going too far", Chen Yan laughed out loud.

He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes like he was looking at a child who knew the answer but still asked a question that made people completely unable to refuse.

"I'm worried that one of my classmates might try to be tough," he said slowly, his tone full of laughter. "If they get hurt by the spiciness and burst into tears, I'll be responsible for comforting them."

He said that it was troublesome, but his expression was full of indulgence of "I do".

He steered the car and turned into another road skillfully.

"Okay." He agreed straightforwardly, "I'll let you try it."

He paused, and in a half-joking, half-serious tone, he laid out three rules for her in advance: "But let's make a deal, if you cry because of the spicy food, I won't comfort you."

He drove to an elegantly decorated Sichuan hotpot restaurant with familiarity. Unlike the noisy and greasy hotpot restaurants Lin Qi had imagined, the environment here was very quiet, with bamboo curtains separating the tables, providing good privacy.

Chen Yan ordered the base of the hot pot, which turned out to be a double-boiled hot pot, half bubbling with red oil and the other half filled with rich bone broth. He then expertly ordered a few dishes like tripe and pig throat for the spicy hot pot, and some vegetables and mushrooms for the clear soup.

The dishes were served quickly.

In the copper pot, the soup base was bubbling and the hot steam was rising, instantly dispelling all the cold and humidity outside the window.

He first used a serving chopstick to dip a few slices of her favorite mushrooms in the clear soup pot and put them into her bowl.

"Let me fill my stomach first," he said.

Then, he slowly picked up a piece of tripe and placed it in the pot of boiling red oil. Following the principle of "seven up, eight down", he put it into his own oil dish. He took a bite and a very satisfied expression appeared on his face.

Then, he raised his eyes and looked at Lin Qi, who was staring at him eagerly. He raised his eyebrows deliberately and seemed to be mouthing, "Want to try it?"

"Is it spicy? Give me a piece." Lin Qi immediately took the bait.

Chen Yan looked at her curious and slightly scared expression, and the smile in his eyes became even more intense.

He deliberately waved the piece of tripe covered with red oil and minced garlic in front of her, then slowly put it into his mouth and chewed it with relish.

"Not bad," he commented, his expression appearing relaxed. "Not too spicy, but very fragrant."

After saying that, he seemed to finally show mercy and picked up the serving chopsticks again, picked up another piece of fresh tripe, put it into the boiling red soup, and after it was cooked, put it into the small plate in front of Lin Qi.

The piece of tripe was covered with bright red soup, and it looked... tempting and dangerous.

He looked at her and made a "please" gesture, his tone full of complete and amusing teasing.

"Come on, warrior."

"Try it."

Lin Qi carefully picked up the piece of tripe and put it in her mouth. Before she could chew it twice, an overbearing, burning spiciness instantly exploded in her mouth. She suddenly spat it out, panting with tears in her eyes, and quickly took a big gulp of iced sparkling water to suppress the spiciness.

"You're a liar!" she complained. "I don't want to eat it anymore. Enjoy it yourself."

The way she looked, tears welling up in her eyes from the spiciness and her instant surrender, was exactly as he had expected.

Chen Yan didn't laugh out loud, but the smile in his eyes was almost impossible to hide. He immediately put down his chopsticks and entered a state of "emergency plan".

He quickly waved over the waiter and said in a deep voice, "Please bring me a can of iced yogurt or coconut milk, quickly, thank you."

Then, he turned his head and looked at Lin Qi, who was still breathing heavily. In a helpless yet doting tone that sounded like "I knew this would happen," he said, "Showing off."

He pushed the sparkling water in front of her aside and explained very professionally, "Don't drink this. The carbonated version will be more irritating. Only milk or yogurt can relieve the spiciness."

As we were talking, the waiter had already brought the iced coconut milk.

He opened it for her and handed it to her, watching her take a few gulps before the expression on her face softened. He then used his serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of soft winter melon from the clear soup pot and put it on her plate.

"Take some of this to calm you down."

After completing this series of orderly "first aid" measures, he leaned back in his chair and leisurely looked at Lin Qi who had finally recovered.

He raised his eyebrows and asked in a teasing tone, trying to suppress his laughter:

"Okay, our classmate Lin. Now, do you still think I'm stingy?"

"You're still holding a grudge." Lin Qi said with a bit of grievance, turning the tables and saying, "Why aren't you afraid of spicy food?"

Her accusation made him laugh completely.

He put down his chopsticks, looked at her, shook his head, and a complete and gentle smile appeared on his face.

"I'm not holding a grudge," he explained slowly, his tone full of indulgence. "I'm teaching you a lesson, so you don't act so arrogantly next time."

He answered the first question before slowly beginning to answer the second.

"As for why I'm not afraid of spicy food..." He paused, picked up a piece of yellow throat, and dipped it in the red soup before saying, "Maybe it's just a way of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do.'"

He looked at her with a hint of self-mockery in his eyes. "After so many years in this city where spicy food is the norm, you have to assimilate a little. Otherwise, every time I go out to eat with my colleagues, I might really only be able to eat white rice."

He used a very down-to-earth and somewhat helpless reason to explain his eating habits, and once again pointed out what kind of city they were living in together at the moment.

After saying that, as if to appease this "non-local" teammate, he considerately used his serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef from the clear soup pot that she loved and put it into her bowl.

"Okay," he said, "have this. This is definitely not spicy."