Chapter 75 Eat yours!
At 6 PM, the observation deck on the rooftop of the building.
Shen Zhaoyao had already arrived and was looking down at her phone. She was wearing a plain-colored dress, her long hair was loosely tied up, and she had beautiful features and a gentle temperament.
"Yao Yao!"
Jiang Le excitedly pulled the people over and introduced them to Shen Zhaoyao: "This is my childhood friend Xie Xun, and his boyfriend Fu Qinghuai!"
Shen Zhaoyao turned around upon hearing the sound, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
But the moment her gaze fell upon Fu Qinghuai, her smile froze almost imperceptibly, and she instinctively leaned into Jiang Lehui's arms, as if she had been stunned by something invisible.
"What's wrong, sister?"
Jiang Lehui immediately sensed something was wrong, naturally put his arm around her shoulder, and asked with concern, "Are you experiencing low blood sugar again?"
As he spoke, he pulled a fruit candy from his pocket, deftly unwrapped it, and held it to her lips. "Have a candy first, and I'll order you a brown sugar glutinous rice cake later."
Fu Qinghuai raised an eyebrow at the scene, glancing at Xie Xun with a half-smile, "Xunxun, I also want to act cute like her~"
Xie Xun stepped on his foot without any expression.
"Aww!"
Fu Qinghuai feigned a cry of pain, then took the opportunity to lean against Xie Xun, saying, "I want some candy too~"
Xie Xun suddenly curled his lips into a smile, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Eat yours!"
Fu Qinghuai froze, and the tips of his ears turned red at a visible speed.
Shen Zhaoyao smiled slightly, her lips pursed, and whispered to Jiang Le, "They have such a good relationship."
"Haha, someone with Ah Xun's personality should be paired with someone like Brother Fu."
Jiang Lehui couldn't help but laugh at Fu Qinghuai's rare moment of frustration, "One is willing to hit, and the other is willing to be hit, hahaha~"
Shen Zhaoyao gently tugged at Jiang Lehui's sleeve, signaling him not to go too far. With a candy in her mouth, her pale complexion improved slightly, but she still looked at Fu Qinghuai with a hint of fear in her eyes.
"Brother Fu, please don't mind,"
She gently smoothed things over, saying, "He just loves to joke around."
"fine,"
Fu Qinghuai finally snapped out of his daze from the teasing, coughed lightly, and picked up his teacup to cover his burning ears. "Brother Jiang is right, Xunxun and I are indeed very close."
As he spoke, he deliberately hooked Xie Xun's finger under the table and gently tickled his palm with his fingertip.
Xie Xun withdrew his hand expressionlessly and gently turned the menu toward Shen Zhaoyao: "Ladies first."
"No need to be so polite, we're all friends."
Shen Zhaoyao smiled gently and pushed the menu back to the center of the table. "Besides, we all order by scanning a QR code now, let's all take a look together."
She took out her phone, about to scan the QR code, when Jiang Lehui immediately leaned over, "I'll scan it! I'll scan it! What would you like to eat, sister? How about I order you some brown sugar glutinous rice cake to tide you over?"
Seeing this, Fu Qinghuai's mischievous thoughts resurfaced. He took the opportunity to lean close to Xie Xun's ear and said meaningfully, "Tsk tsk, our Xunxun really knows how to take care of people."
Xie Xun frowned slightly, glanced at him sideways, and warned him to behave himself.
Watching the two interact, Shen Zhaoyao couldn't help but chuckle. She leaned gently against Jiang Lehui's chest and said softly, "Let's order West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce. It's their signature dish."
"Can Ah Xun and Brother Fu both eat seafood?"
She naturally turned to Xie Xun, "Would you like to try their Longjing Shrimp? The whole plate is full of shrimp meat, and the taste is very refreshing."
The way he called out "Ah Xun" sounded so natural did indeed shorten the distance between them.
Xie Xun nodded, "Okay."
As Jiang Le placed the order, she kept saying, "Sister, you really know how to order! These are all my favorite dishes!"
While waiting for the food, Shen Zhaoyao's phone lit up.
She glanced at the screen, her expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and casually placed the phone face down on the table.
"Sister, is it a work-related message?" Jiang Le asked with concern.
"fine,"
Shen Zhaoyao smiled and poured him a cup of tea. "It's just spam text messages."
Xie Xun frowned slightly.
Just a moment ago, he vaguely sensed a strange aura emanating from Shen Zhaoyao.
It wasn't an evil aura, but rather a suppressed energy fluctuation that vanished in an instant.
At this point, the waiter began serving the dishes.
Half a West Lake Vinegar Fish, Cantonese Roast Duck, West Lake Water Chestnut Soup, Hangzhou Soy Sauce Duck, Dongpo Pork, Shrimp and Eel Back Stir-fry, Song Sao Fish Soup, Shaoxing Wine Drunken Chicken, and Hangzhou Three Delicacies.
"Sister, try this Hangzhou-style braised duck, it's delicious! I heard it's a family recipe made with intangible cultural heritage!"
Jiang Lehui busied herself serving food to Shen Zhaoyao, and then scooped a bowl of Song Sao fish soup and pushed it over, saying, "You haven't had much of an appetite lately, so this is a good way to whet your appetite."
Shen Zhaoyao forced a smile, her gaze inadvertently sweeping out the window before suddenly freezing.
"What's wrong?" Xie Xun followed her gaze.
Night was falling outside the window, and the river was calm and still.
"nothing,"
Shen Zhaoyao smiled and shook her head, then looked away, her face pale. "Perhaps I saw it wrong."
Seeing this, Xie Xun frowned even more deeply.
He had just clearly seen that Shen Zhaoyao had tightly clutched the small amulet to her chest.
Although it's not very clear from a distance, the material and texture have an indescribable strangeness.
After wiping her mouth, Shen Zhaoyao softly said that she needed to go to the restroom.
Jiang Le was about to get up and follow her, but she gently pressed him back into his seat. "Sit still, I'll be right back."
"Then call me immediately if you need anything, sister!" Jiang Le watched her leave with pleading eyes, just like a little puppy afraid of being abandoned.
Xie Xun was completely dumbfounded.
When did his childhood friend get transferred to this position?
Jiang Lehui, who used to forget her schoolbag on the bus and needed to be reminded three times to eat, is now so obedient.
"This is good." Fu Qinghuai tasted the stir-fried shrimp and eel back and picked up a piece for Xie Xun.
Xie Xun initially wanted to refuse, but upon smelling the sweet and sour aroma, he silently took a bite.
The eel was coated in batter and fried, resulting in a crispy exterior and tender interior. It also had a sweet and sour flavor, tasting similar to sweet and sour pork, but not as sweet or sour overall. It was delicious.
He couldn't resist picking up another piece.
Fu Qinghuai looked at his slightly bright eyes and chuckled, "You like it?"
"Not bad." Xie Xun's words were indifferent, but his chopsticks betrayed him.
"Oh, Ah Xun actually likes to eat this?"
Jiang Lehui leaned closer and said, "I remember you used to hate sweet and sour foods, didn't you?"
"The sweet and sour sauce we used to eat was diluted with water, which didn't taste good."
Xie Xun said calmly, picking up another piece of eel back.
To be honest, he had never eaten anything delicious before, and those sweet and sour sauces were diluted with water and were of inferior quality, so how could they possibly taste good?
Jiang Lehui kept craning her neck to look towards the bathroom. After a few minutes, she couldn't sit still any longer and took out her phone to send a voice message.
"Sister, are you alright? Do you want me to come pick you up?"
The phone lit up immediately, and Shen Zhaoyao replied with a patting puppy emoji. Jiang Le was relieved and scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "Yaoyao hasn't been feeling well lately, and I'm a little worried."
Xie Xun looked at his childhood friend in this state, his feelings were complicated.
This isn't dating, it's practically raising a little prince.
But as the saying goes, one is willing to hit and the other is willing to be hit. It's just a little fun between the young couple, so he naturally won't say anything more.
Just now, Shen Zhaoyao returned from the restroom, and her complexion had improved.
Fu Qinghuai placed a piece of Dongpo pork in his bowl, "Try this, it's stewed until very tender."
Xie Xun looked at the extra meat in the bowl, then glanced at Jiang Lehui, who was happily hugging his girlfriend and then peeling shrimp for her. He suddenly felt that this scene was a bit familiar.
He lowered his head and took a bite of Dongpo pork. The meat was indeed very chewy, even a little bit stuck in his teeth, but it tasted good. This kind of savory sauce flavor was something he had never tasted before.
As I chewed, it seemed to develop a different flavor.
Although the meat wasn't as tender and flavorful as the one he had in the Miao village before, it was still quite delicious for him.
He was used to simple meals, so this kind of meat felt more substantial to him.
"Tsk, I thought it would be more delicious..."
Jiang Lehui, a food blogger, couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "The meat is so dry! It's comparable to what my grandma makes."
Shen Zhaoyao gently touched him and said softly, "I think it smells quite nice."
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