Chapter 265 Let's go eat hot pot together

"You should have a serious talk with Jia Lian. Asking for a divorce right off the bat? Do you think this is our world?"

Yuan Hongqu leisurely poured Wang Xifeng another cup of tea.

"Sister, if we don't get a divorce, someone will die! I haven't lived enough, I don't want to die." Wang Xifeng said angrily, took the cup and drank it all in one gulp. The lemon tea had a slightly sweet and sour taste with a hint of bitterness, but the various flavors were magically balanced together, and it felt very refreshing after drinking it.

Wang Xifeng's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed a little.

"Sister, am I really that useless? You've already told me the plot of a transmigrated woman like me, and I even have a fellow villager like you who helped me. I shouldn't be like this..." She wasn't drinking two cups of lemon tea; it looked more like she was drinking alcohol, her eyes hazy.

"If I want to survive in the Rongguo Mansion, I should make sweeping reforms, but I'm afraid that if I change too much, people will find out that I'm an oddball and tie me up and burn me. I finally overcame my fear, but I ended up with a love-struck brain, which is quite embarrassing."

Wang Xifeng covered her face with her hands.

"You've helped me so much, but I haven't improved at all. I get terrified whenever something overlaps with the plot. Sister, why me? I don't want this to happen to me. I want to go home... Even if it means working overtime or pulling all-nighters, I'm not afraid."

"I'm not smart enough; I only scored a little over 300 on the college entrance exam. If I hadn't chosen the arts path, I would never have gotten into university. All those intricacies involved are beyond my understanding! Sister, it's so hard..."

Wang Xifeng, with tears streaming down her face, still looks like the powerful matriarch, but deep down she's clearly still that clueless young actress.

She could play Wang Xifeng for a year or two, no problem, but if she had to play the role for a lifetime, she would eventually lose the ability to immerse herself in the character. How could she not miss modern life?

She got out of character.

Yuan Hongqu didn't have this experience. She transmigrated with her memories intact, so she didn't have that sense of soul isolation and didn't have to deal with the mess left by her predecessor. Compared to Wang Xifeng, she was really lucky.

"Feng'er..."

"Sister, do you still remember my name?" Wang Xifeng said sadly.

Yuan Hongqu was stunned for a moment.

"Even you don't remember my name anymore. I live in this cannibalistic world every day with the name Wang Xifeng and her appearance. Enough is enough!"

“I remember you, Wang Ying.” Yuan Hongqu grasped her hand. “Want to have hot pot together? I remember this is something I owe you.”

"Sister, you saw it? Why didn't you reply when I pressed you for an answer?" Wang Ying remembered their interaction, but no matter how many messages she sent afterward, Yuan Hongqu never replied to a single one.

“I… am a patient with severe depression. Why am I so good to Daiyu? Because she is my sunshine, my air. Being with her makes me feel that my life is not gloomy, and I have the strength to breathe… I have overcome it, and you can too.”

This was the first time she had told outsiders about her past medical condition.

Yuan Hongqu knew that Wang Xifeng's current situation was due to excessive pressure and anxiety. She had not yet developed depression, but if she was not allowed to vent, it was very likely that she would become depressed.

Wang Ying genuinely had no idea that Yuan Hongqu had such an experience.

"Let's go eat hot pot! If one meal isn't enough, we'll have two! Don't think about anything, don't worry about anything, I can get you any side dishes you can think of!"

Yuan Hongqu pulled Wang Xifeng along, her eyes sincere.

"Daiyu is going to a classmate's house for a banquet today. I'll take you to a place that even Daiyu has never been before."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng felt a faint sense of pride at being favored. Although the immediate problem was not yet resolved, she inexplicably felt a surge of joy. What was going on?

Yuan Hongqu led Wang Xifeng to a small courtyard not far from the Lin family.

The courtyard was tidy and simple, but it also had a touch of shabbyness.

This was Wang Xifeng's first impression.

"Sister, is this your private restaurant?" Wang Xifeng wondered to herself.

"No, this is the property my mother left me." Yuan Hongqu led Wang Xifeng to one of the rooms, and as soon as the door opened, Wang Xifeng's eyes widened in disbelief.

The floor was tiled, the tabletop was marble, and the chairs around it were upholstered. Although the tableware was a modern product, a closer look revealed that it was imported from overseas. Various pots and pans and tableware exuded the atmosphere of the Middle Ages.

In modern times, her mother renovated a house, saying it was in a European style, which is pretty much the same as this.

The only thing that didn't quite match was the Chinese-style dining table, with a stove underneath when you lifted up a tabletop in the middle.

Ever since Daiyu was able to enter the space, Yuan Hongqu has become much more restrained in eating inside.

Like hot pot now, she used to eat it directly in her space, but now she has to be wary of Daiyu suddenly coming over and wanting to eat with her.

She wouldn't dare let Daiyu eat hot pot.

So she changed her hot pot restaurant to this place, and naturally, she also had to renovate the environment.

Fan Huaiqing brought a lot of things from overseas here, and Yuan Hongqu had people come over to clean them up. They managed to cobble together a strange, incongruous European-style restaurant.

"Shall we have the spicy hot pot, or the yin-yang hot pot?"

"Let's have a hot pot with two broths, I'm afraid I can't handle too much spice."

“Alright, it’s just the two of us here. If you want to eat quickly, you have to help out. I’ll start the broth and get the meat from the cold storage. You go to the yard and cut some vegetables.” Yuan Hongqu handed a bamboo basket to Wang Xifeng, still a little worried, and asked, “After being the Second Mistress of Lian for so many years, you’ve gotten used to being pampered. Do you even know how to do this little thing?”

"Sister, don't underestimate me. How could I not do this well?" Wang Xifeng took the bamboo basket with great interest, picked up the scissors, and went into the yard.

Seeing that she was focused on cutting various vegetables in the yard, Yuan Hongqu started cooking the base sauce and then went to the cold storage.

Under the cover of the cold storage, they took out a bunch of hot pot ingredients from inside.

Meat rolls, meatballs, shrimp balls, fish balls, tripe, and various classic hot pot ingredients were all available. She even brought out a plate of pig brains. I wonder if Wang Xifeng would be disgusted by this.

The red broth and clear broth simmered separately, clearly distinct. The table was piled high with food, and even the hot pot dipping sauces were served in more than a dozen bowls, allowing Wang Xifeng to mix and match them however she pleased.

When Wang Xifeng saw all this and looked at the modern style around her, she almost thought she had returned home, and tears nearly welled up in her eyes again.

"Come on, let's have a drink first."