[Wangchuan]: Let’s have hotpot on the weekend!

It was a WeChat message from Qin Tiantian.

After returning from the Chinese New Year, Lu Ban and Qin Tiantian had a hotpot meal on the back street of Jiangcheng University. It must be said that eating around the school is cheap. The two of them ate until they were full and it only cost more than 100 yuan, which means less than 700 yuan per person.

Although the meat is not particularly good and the dishes are not particularly good, the satisfaction of eating hotpot is what you want.

Since then, Qin Tiantian especially likes to have hotpot with Lu Ban.

Maybe it’s because it’s impossible to eat hotpot alone.

When you want to add more sauce halfway through your meal, the waiter may think that you are done and is clearing the table.

【Stand still】: Yes.

Lu Ban thought it would be nice to have a hotpot meal before the mission, but on second thought, he felt that this was a bit too much.

I was still struggling when my phone vibrated again.

[Feng Yu]: I have finished the work at hand and will return to Jiangcheng tomorrow. How about we have dinner together on the weekend?

"?"

Lu Ban was stunned.

Did these two people make an appointment?

Maybe in a place where he couldn't see, Feng Yu and Qin Tiantian had become good friends, sharing Lu Ban's family affairs.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban replied to Feng Yu.

[Motionless]: I have an appointment with someone this weekend.

[Feng Yu]: What a coincidence, can you take me with you? I also want to see what the person you are going to date is like.

Feng Yu replied almost immediately, giving Lu Ban the illusion that she might know that Qin Tiantian was inviting her to eat hotpot.

[Motionless]: ...I'll ask her.

[Feng Yu]: She’s a girl, but she’s very successful.

Lu Ban opened Qin Tiantian’s dialog box and sent another message.

[Moving]: A friend of mine is coming back to Jiangcheng this weekend, and he also wants to have dinner with me. How about the three of us go together?

[Wangchuan]: Okay, we can order more dishes for three people, no problem!

Qin Tiantian responded decisively.

“Perfect solution.”

Lu Ban put down the heavy stone in his heart.

…

On Saturday, the hot pot restaurant at Jiangcheng University is different from other places.

Jiangcheng belongs to the southern city. Hotpots here are mostly based on red oil and bone broth, and the dipping sauces are mostly vinegar, soy sauce, mashed garlic, chili peppers, etc. However, as a hotpot restaurant next to a university, it naturally has to adapt to the tastes of all over the country. Therefore, the hotpot restaurant also has clear water pot, sesame paste, peanut butter, and if you are lucky, you can even find chive sauce.

Of course, the ingredients used in low-cost hotpot restaurants are actually quite ordinary.

Fat beef and lamb are cheap goods sold in supermarkets, but they are not as fresh as those freshly slaughtered cows, which are still jumping before being put into the pot. Kidney, tripe and duck intestines are not as smooth and tasty, but there is not much difference in vegetables.

But eating hotpot here is very lively.

There are no waiters standing by your side watching your service all the time, and there may be some drunk college students making noise, but once you sit here and smell the aroma of the hot pot, you can feel the full flavor of life.

Lu Ban had come here several times during college. They were all dormitory gatherings where a few people ate to their heart's content. Those times and moments were just like this moment.

He saw several college students, both male and female, sitting at the next table. They didn't seem to be from the same class, but more like members of the same club. They were chatting even more animatedly, sometimes even mentioning Lu Ban's new movie, but they were obviously not paying attention to this side and did not recognize Lu Ban who brought them fear.

"Order whatever you want. It's my treat this time."

As Lu Ban spoke, he handed the classic menu, which required customers to mark their own orders with a ballpoint pen, to Qin Tiantian on his left.

"You didn't seem to have mentioned before that your friend was a girl."

Qin Tiantian glanced at Lu Ban, then looked at Feng Yu, who was sitting opposite him on Lu Ban's right.

"Hello, I'm Feng Yu, Lu Ban's college classmate."

Feng Yu looked at Qin Tiantian and then at Lu Ban.

This look is a bit like the look an old mother would have when she sees her son bringing his female classmate home to do homework.

Lu Ban picked up the kettle and poured water for the two of them.

"My name is Qin Tiantian."

Qin Tiantian skillfully checked the hot pot dishes such as fatty beef slices and fatty lamb slices on the menu, and then glanced at Feng Yu.

"Do you eat cilantro offal or anything?"

"I can do anything."

Feng Yu answered generously.

"Then I'll order a shabu-shabu pot."

Qin Tiantian ordered the dishes and handed the menu to Lu Ban.

“Ask your friend what he eats.”

"Order these first, if they're not enough we can add more."

Feng Yu didn't look at the menu that Lu Ban handed over, as if he already knew what Qin Tiantian would order.

While waiting for the food to be served, the three of them looked at each other.

“Do you often come here to eat hot pot?”

On the way, Feng Yu broke the silence.

"yes."

Qin Tiantian answered first and looked at Feng Yu again.

"You must have come here often when you were in college, right?"

"Not really."

Lu Ban told the truth that he and Feng Yu were not familiar with each other at all when they were in college. Not to mention eating hotpot together, even when they attended the graduation banquet, they only exchanged a few words when toasting.

"I guess so. I feel like he must have been the type of guy in college who never talked at all, ate like crazy in a corner during parties, and would babble a bunch of incomprehensible things when you asked him about something."

Qin muttered every day.

"You're right. It's difficult to communicate with him. Sometimes I have no idea what he's thinking."

Feng Yu nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes. When I first met him, I felt that this person must have difficulty in socializing."

Qin Tiantian felt like he had found a soulmate.

"Yes, you see he doesn't have many friends. I was worried. Fortunately, you are here to take care of Lu Ban."

Feng Yu spoke like an old woman entrusting her son with something.

"That's not the case. It's just that we are all alone outside, so we must take care of each other. Lu Ban also helped me a lot!"

Qin Tiantian suddenly became humble for some reason.

"That's good. I've always been worried about him eating takeout all the time and not eating well. When you have time, ask him to exercise more often. Although it's not obvious now that he's young, he will definitely gain weight if he maintains this kind of eating and sleeping habits when he's older."

Feng Yu warned.

"Don't worry, I won't let him sit in front of the computer all the time!"

Qin Tiantian patted his chest and promised.

"I said..."

Lu Ban originally wanted to remind the two people that he was still here, but before he could finish his words, he saw Qin Tiantian and Feng Yu turned their heads to look at him.

"What do you want to say?"

Feng Yu asked.

"Isn't what I said the truth?"

Qin Tiantian also followed up with the question.

"You guys continue."

Lu Ban picked up the cup and took a sip of the warm tea.

After a hotpot meal, Feng Yu and Qin Tiantian added each other on WeChat and created a small group of three with Lu Ban, named "Jiangcheng Family".

Lu Ban didn't know how they became friends.

Or do I have some misunderstandings about girls' friendship?

He doesn't know.

After sending Feng Yu away and Qin Tiantian home, Lu Ban went home, packed up and went to sleep.

The next morning, he extracted the [Knowledge of a Madman].