Hot Stone Pot Rice
Jiang Yichun ran ahead, her ponytail swaying, as she rushed towards the window.
He Yinxin followed behind her, weighing his schoolbag in his hand.
His gaze fell on the ponytail swaying behind her head. She was some distance away from him, but those strands of hair seemed to brush against his heart, tickling him.
He raised the corner of his mouth slightly, but quickly suppressed it.
He walked up slowly, stood behind her, and looked up at the cafeteria window sign:
Hot and spicy bibimbap in a stone pot.
Jiang Yichun turned around and smiled at him: "Senior, this is my favorite window."
"The bibimbap sold by the auntie here is super delicious, you have to try it! I would call it the top food in the cafeteria!"
He Yinxin's lips unconsciously curled up: "Mm."
"I used to eat self-selected dishes in the cafeteria to change things up."
"That's great! The self-service vegetables are cheap and delicious, and most importantly, they save money!" Jiang Yichun waved his arms.
He Yinxin nodded in agreement, her fingertips rubbing her cuffs: "Yeah, it does save money."
Jiang Yichun quickly reached the window and smiled at the cafeteria lady: "Auntie, I..."
"Oh my, isn't this Xiaochun?" The cafeteria auntie had a chubby face. "The same as before, beef bibimbap with cheese, and a bowl of soup?"
“That’s right, thank you, Auntie!” Jiang Yichun took the number plate handed to him by the auntie and walked to the side.
He Yinxin stepped forward and, before the aunt could speak, said succinctly, "Beef bibimbap... Auntie, would it taste better with cheese?"
The cafeteria lady smiled, revealing two dimples at the corners of her mouth: "Of course, young man, that girl in front of me always loves to eat it like this, saying it has a milky flavor."
"Okay. Then add cheese." He replied softly.
"Okay, just a moment, young man." The cafeteria lady handed him a number tag and turned to get busy.
Before long, two steaming plates of hot stone pot rice appeared on the table in front of the two of them.
Jiang Yichun looked down at the bowl of bibimbap.
The food sizzled as it touched the scalding hot stone pot, and the red chili sauce churned up along with it.
The cheese slice had long since melted into the food, leaving only its milky aroma.
An egg, fried until golden brown at the edges and half-cooked in the center, lies in the middle of the pan.
Jiang Yichun picked up the spoon and gently poked the yolk.
The half-cooked egg yolk overflowed from the small opening, blending with the surrounding side dishes.
She poked the spoon into the rice, stirred it a few times, and the cheese, various vegetables, eggs, rice, beef, and the bright red sauce were mixed together.
"Perfect."
Jiang Yichun couldn't wait to scoop up a large spoonful and stuff it into his mouth.
The plain rice, wrapped in the aroma of cheese, the saltiness of beef, the tenderness of egg, and the sweet and spicy flavor of sauce, all slid into her mouth at once, bursting with fragrance.
She swallowed the mouthful of rice, her eyes shining, then picked up the bowl next to her and drank a mouthful of seaweed soup to quench her thirst.
At this moment, all the muscles in her body completely relaxed.
After learning so much, I still think that a bowl of hot rice or a bowl of hot soup is the best way to relieve fatigue.
Jiang Yichun shouted in his heart, subconsciously stuffing a few more mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.
He Yinxin still held the iron spoon in his hand. Following Jiang Yichun's skillful manner, he lowered his head and imitated her, chopping the eggs piece by piece and then mixing all the food together.
"Jiang Yichun... junior, is this how you mix rice?" He pushed up his glasses and looked at her tentatively.
The spoon was hanging in the air, reflecting the light from above.
He seemed to be talking about academic issues, rather than the meal in front of him.
Jiang Yichun almost spat out the rice in his mouth.
She covered her mouth and replied, "It's fine with me, senior. Mix it however you like."
"It's just a meal, not homework."
He Yinxin's ears turned red, and her hand holding the spoon trembled a few times.
He pushed up his glasses, avoiding her gaze: "Okay, I understand."
The bowl of rice in front of him was steaming, and a rich aroma wafted into his nose.
He took off his glasses, and the bowl of rice was still on the table.
Without any calories listed, your mind won't subconsciously calculate its value, let alone make those complicated additions and subtractions from today's intake.
It's just a bowl of rice.
The rice smells delicious.
He Yinxin exhaled a breath of stale air, scooped up a spoonful, and began to chew it in small bites.
The aroma of rice, mixed with various side dishes, swirled on his tongue, then he broke it into small pieces with his teeth and swallowed it.
After eating the hot rice and hot dishes, his whole body warmed up, and he kept scooping up spoonful after spoonful and putting them into his mouth.
"tasty."
He stared blankly at the stone pot bowl, where only some burnt rice crust remained.
I actually... finished eating again?
A smile unconsciously crept onto Jiang Yichun's lips as he casually pulled out a pack of tissues and wiped the sauce stains from the corners of his mouth.
"Senior, you have sauce on the corner of your mouth too."
Jiang Yichun pushed the pack of napkins in front of him, her smile wide: "Wipe yourself, you look a bit like a cat with clowns."
"Actually, it's quite..." She swallowed the rest of her sentence before she could finish it.
He Yinxin frowned: "What's wrong?"
"It's alright, Senior He, hurry up and wipe it off. Your lips are all red, people would think you've switched careers to become a beauty blogger!" Jiang Yichun chuckled dryly, her mouth running off like a machine gun, her hands not idle either. She pushed the pack of tissues a few times and quickly withdrew her hand.
He Yinxin took out a box of tissues from her bag: "Thank you, I brought my own. I often go to the library, so I always carry tissues with me."
He pulled out a tissue and wiped his mouth.
Jiang Yichun's mouth still wouldn't stop. She rested her chin on her hands and asked, "So, is Senior He satisfied with my service today?"
"Hmm. That's good. I successfully finished this bowl of bibimbap today." He straightened his back, his eyebrows relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Like a child who has just learned to walk.
"It was a very pleasant first collaboration."
Jiang Yichun was taken aback, and the muscles on his face twitched a few times.
He was smiling, but his smile turned into a sharp sword, piercing her vision.
“Me too, Senior He.” She stood up, one hand already on the tray of bibimbap. “I’m going back to my dorm now. One of my roommates came back from out of town today and said he brought us some delicious food.”
"I have to go back and try it."
"Bye-bye, senior. See you for dinner next time."
"Ah, okay, then..." Before He Yinxin could raise her hand to wave goodbye, Jiang Yichun had already slipped to the food collection area with a bag in one hand and a tray in the other, and then disappeared into the cafeteria stairwell.
He Yinxin looked at the people coming and going at the stairwell, shook her head slightly, stood up, and left the cafeteria with her things.
Jiang Yichun rushed out of the cafeteria with his head down, holding a milk in one hand and playing on his phone with his bag in the other.
Her burning cheeks did not cool down at all despite her temporary escape.
My heart was starting to race as I spent time with that person.
If I hadn't run away... I'm afraid He Yinxin would have found out, right?
Sure enough, the time I felt uncomfortable being with that human-machine was shorter than the time I spent with other boys.
Most of the time, he's like a robot analyzing problems, even when he's eating.
But that smile of his just now...
He seemed happier than ever before.
This was the first time my heart had been beating so fast.
But she could smell that unease again in that excitement.
Whenever she smelled that scent, all she wanted to do was run away, instinctively leaving.
She just wanted to become an ostrich, swaggering away and finding an excuse to escape.
"Beep beep." A new message popped up on my phone.
It's Sister Xixi.
Guan Shuoxi: [Xiaochun, I just saw you in the cafeteria. Were you having lunch with Lao He?]
What did you eat?
She abruptly ended the stage play in her mind and typed a reply:
Yes, I ate with him to help him out. We had bibimbap.
[It's super delicious, XiXi, you have to try it!]
Guan Shuoxi: [Haha, okay. I've tried it, and it really tastes great.]
By the way, what do you think of Lao He after spending time with him? Is he a decent person?
Jiang Yichun gulped down a mouthful of milk:
Well... he's a little strange.
[You know what? He immediately asked me to sign a contract, which terrified me!]
[People who don't know better might think I'm following a script for a marriage of convenience or a marriage of convenience.]
The other party's message was delayed for a while before it arrived.
Guan Shuoxi: [Hahaha!]
[So he is indeed a little too obsessed with academics?]
[It's absurd, but it seems normal in his case.]
[So how's his teaching going? I heard from Lao He that he's going to tutor a female student, I think it's you?]
[Although he may be a bit odd, his teaching skills should be decent?]
Jiang Yichun drank the last sip of milk, casually tossed it into the trash can at the dormitory entrance, and walked up the stairs step by step, replying to her as he went.
Everything is easy: [He is very rigorous and professional in his studies, and he explains the knowledge points very thoroughly.]
Unlike some teachers who arrogantly read from PowerPoint slides, he genuinely wanted me to learn math and economics.
He is a very responsible senior student.
As Jiang Yichun typed these words, the heat gradually spread from his cheeks to his entire body.
Whether it was the stone pot rice and hot milk that warmed her body, or the warmth of the indoor space that offered temporary respite from the cold night wind, her face flushed.
She could only press the back of her slightly cold hands against her cheeks.
Guan Shuoxi: [Oh, that's great. I knew Lao He was eccentric, but his academic ability was undeniable.]
He was once known as the "God of the School of Management" because he tutored 20 students on their papers and debugged their code.
"Pfft." Jiang Yichun laughed out loud at the four big characters "God of the School of Management".
Everything is easy: [The god of the School of Management, hahaha, is there a show where we all kneel down and shout "You are my god"?]
Guan Shuoxi: [We could organize this spontaneously, haha.]
It was a tired trope, but Jiang Yichun still had a smile on his face.
Guan Shuoxi: [I had dinner with other people today, and it made me feel much better.]
[Xiaochun, keep enjoying delicious food!]
Jiang Yichun's hand was already on the dormitory doorknob. She sent a message to the other party: 【Absolutely!】
After sending the message, she turned off her phone, pressed the doorknob, and strode into the dormitory where the lights were already on.
"Xiaochun, you're back?" Yang Fei sat in front of the computer, holding a light snack in her hand, and ate it in big bites.
Jiang Yichun slammed the heavy bag onto his desk: "I'm back, I'm back. I spent half the day in the library again today."
"Oh, I get it, I get it. You're preparing for graduate school recommendation, right?" Yang Fei slurped down a mouthful of buckwheat noodles, her gaze still fixed on the computer screen.
Jiang Yichun nodded, his gaze sweeping around the room: "By the way, where's Xingxing? Didn't she say in the group chat that she would go back to her dorm after eating at the library?"
"Oh, Xingxing went downstairs to the public bathhouse to take a shower." Yang Fei waved her hand. "Sister Xing is such a punctual person, how could she possibly stand someone up?"
Jiang Yichun plopped down in a chair and pulled out a suspense novel from the side: "That's right, then let's wait for Xiao Su to come back."
"Yan Yue said she's almost there, but there's always traffic on the way from the high-speed rail station to the university, and if she's unlucky, she might even encounter a taxi driver who takes a longer route," Yang Fei said casually while scrolling through her phone.
"Yes. That's right."
A silence gradually fell between them, and they both began to do their own things.
Yang Fei continued watching the drama, while Jiang Yichun read a novel to relax her brain, which had been battered by knowledge that day.
"Da da da".
"Splash splash splash".
Footsteps and the sound of wheels scraping the ground could be heard outside the door.
Jiang Yichun snapped out of the terrifying atmosphere of the suspense novel and looked towards the door.
"Whoosh!"
The door was suddenly pushed open.
"My buddies in 306, I've missed you all so much!" A strong voice rang out as the door opened.
A tall, slender figure stood by the door.
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