Sour Soup Beef Hot Pot
Two mint leaves tumbled in the boiling red sour soup pot.
Jiang Yichun stared at the two mint leaves, lost in thought.
Her fingertips gripped the chopsticks, idly swinging them in mid-air.
A face popped into her mind.
A face she couldn't see clearly.
She could only make out the milk that the person was handing her.
The man's voice echoed in her ears:
"Yi Chun, you don't know how to do this problem? I can teach you."
"Yi Chun, I bought you breakfast. It must be tiring at 8 a.m., right?"
"Yi Chun, you must be tired after studying so late. Here, I brought you an apple."
He certainly seemed like a good person, and his friend was fanning the flames between them:
"Xiaochun, he's really good to you. You should just say yes to such a great guy."
"Yes, he's good-looking, and his family and grades are both good."
"Give it a try! College romance is a valuable experience."
The man's "sincere" words and her roommate's encouragement made her try to lower her guard, so she arranged to meet him in the cafeteria.
"Jiang Yichun, I really like you, let's give it a try?"
"Yi Chun, even though you'll get as fat as a little pig if you keep eating, I'll love you no matter how much you eat, as long as I'm here."
“I know you’re stubborn, closed-minded, and greedy. I know you come from a small city and have suffered a lot. But I have money and resources.”
"You are real and strong, and I like this real you, Yi Chun."
"You are unique."
"Be with me?"
The man stood in front of her and smiled at her.
He stretched out his arms, strode forward, and intended to embrace her.
Jiang Yichun's head was buzzing, and she couldn't see his face clearly at all.
In her blurry vision, he seemed to pick up a camera, point it at her, and with a "click," freeze her vibrant self in his rigid pixelated image.
She became a photograph, not a living person.
She became a beggar relying on charity, rather than a warrior breaking through the encirclement.
At that moment, she suddenly realized that she had never asked herself if she liked him.
She was simply forced into this "warm man pursuing his wife" drama by her roommate's "radio program" and his near-perfect performance.
She heard her mother's voice, a hoarse voice.
The woman always loved to drink beer. After getting drunk, she would light a cigarette and say, "Xiaochun, you have to be careful of those men who are nice to you right away. They're not good people, and of course, I'm not good either."
"Don't follow your mother's example, or you'll end up like this mess with your father."
She seemed to smell a faint tobacco scent on her mother, a smell she hated, and she carried that aversion onto the person.
She pushed him away:
"I know how to do that problem."
"I don't like eating apples either."
"I already ate breakfast the day you brought it to me."
"I don't like you, so please don't come looking for me again."
"I don't want to be your girlfriend."
"I don't want to be that small-town girl you're talking about, the one who needs your charity!"
"You never truly understand me, yet you say you love me!"
What exactly do you love about me?
"Yi Chun, I..."
Jiang Yichun put the milk on the table, turned around, strode past the boy, and walked towards the cafeteria exit.
She was decisive, like throwing away a rotten banana.
Everyone said that banana was still edible, but only she knew that she didn't like it.
She only remembered that she didn't eat lunch that day.
If Yang Fei hadn't felt guilty towards her for talking nonsense and hadn't sponsored her with a hot rice ball, she probably would have fainted on the spot during her advanced mathematics class.
Although the past, shrouded in mist, is long gone, the scars it left behind still quietly reside in her heart, along with those old wounds.
She built a high wall, and everyone could see the greenery climbing on it, but no one could enter the garden in her heart.
Until she met the boy sitting next to her, he stood in front of that high wall, not climbing up the leafy wall like the others.
He just watched from afar, taking small steps closer, scattering flower seeds, water, and fertilizer at the foot of the wall.
He sat quietly in front of his high wall, watching the garden gradually grow.
"Xiaochun, why aren't you eating?" Yang Fei's voice came from beside her ear.
"Didn't you used to often say in the dorm that you wanted to eat this place's red sour soup?"
Jiang Yichun stepped out from in front of his high wall and met He Yinxin's gaze.
He was stirring the dipping sauce in the bowl, his eyes unreadable behind his glasses.
Her fingers trembled, her lips quivered, as if she wanted to say something, but the boy in front of her raised his head and spoke:
"The houttuynia cordata looks quite strange."
"Xiaochun, do you know how to eat this?"
"Huh?" Jiang Yichun's turbulent emotions subsided completely upon hearing his nonsensical words.
"Pfft, hahaha!" Yang Fei was the first to burst out laughing. "Director He, what are you doing? Why are you asking people if they eat houttuynia cordata? Who comes here to eat houttuynia cordata?"
Lin Yan patted He Yinxin on the shoulder and winked at him, "Old He, why don't you try it first?"
He Yinxin's face was flushed. He picked up some vegetables that were bubbling in the pot with his chopsticks, dipped them in the sauce, and put them in his mouth, chewing them slowly.
His expressionless face contorted instantly, and he coughed a few times: "What a strange smell."
"It tastes like fish, and... and it's a little spicy." His face turned even redder from the smell of chili peppers.
"Pfft." Jiang Yichun laughed out loud at his silly look.
"Old He, why don't you drink some tamarind juice to relieve the spiciness?"
He Yinxin reached for the tamarind juice, took a small sip, and frowned again: "This tastes strange, it's sour, but it also has a sweet taste."
"But... it tastes pretty good."
He took a big gulp, choked again, and coughed repeatedly.
Seeing his clumsy appearance, Jiang Yichun's frustration vanished, and she once again threw the rotten banana into the trash can of her memories.
She picked up a piece of raw beef.
The beef was white and red, and the meat was fresh, like a soft wad of paper clinging to the bamboo chopsticks.
Jiang Yichun immersed the beef in the sour soup pot, and the boiling red sour soup cooked the beef instantly.
Jiang Yichun rolled the piece of beef in the dipping sauce and took a bite while it was still hot.
The aroma of beef, mingled with the tangy and spicy broth, filled her mouth, followed by the fragrance of Sichuan pepper, dispelling the hazy memories that had settled in her mind.
"Mmm!" Jiang Yichun's eyes lit up as she chewed the beef in small bites. The thick fat was soft and tender after being cooked in the broth, and it slid smoothly down her throat.
Her previously dull eyes now sparkled: "It's delicious! The beef is so tender!"
Seeing her like this, He Yinxin smiled and picked up the plate of beef: "I'll cook it, then everyone can eat it."
"Wow, Director He, how thoughtful!" Yang Fei clapped her hands, her eyes sweeping over the two of them with a meaningful look.
Her boyfriend chuckled and said, "Old He, this is the first time I've seen you so proactive about eating out."
He Yinxin glanced at Lin Yan, said nothing, and then bent down to put the whole chunk of beef into a strainer and stir it in the boiling pot.
Jiang Yichun stared at his hands.
Fair-skinned, with well-defined joints.
He was currently holding chopsticks and stirring the beef.
She swallowed hard, and Xi Xi's finger appeared before her eyes.
They both have beautiful hands.
"Xiaochun." His voice rang in her ear, "Ah, and Lao Lin and Yang Fei too. I've cooked the meat, it's ready to eat."
Jiang Yichun then looked away from his hands, picked up his chopsticks, and was about to pick up some meat when he met the eyes of Yang Fei and Lin Yan.
The two exchanged winks and glances, and Lin Yan would occasionally nudge He Yinxin's elbow, causing him to frown.
Yang Fei said with a grin, "I never expected the director of the human-machine interface to have such a husbandly side."
The two men looked like they thought, "Young Master hasn't smiled in a long time."
Jiang Yichun gritted his teeth, his stubbornness surging again: "Because Lao He is, is, a very meticulous person."
Her brief sentence sent shockwaves through the four of them.
"What?" He Yinxin looked at her.
Jiang Yichun met his gaze and smiled at him, "I said you're very thoughtful. What's wrong? Can't I praise my friend?"
He Yinxin's cheeks flushed red. He pushed up his glasses, put down his chopsticks, and started eating fried potatoes with chili powder in silence. After a while, he replied in a low voice, "Yeah, totally fine."
"Thank you, Xiaochun."
His voice trembled, whether from the spiciness of the chili powder on the potatoes or from eating another bite of houttuynia cordata.
The atmosphere between the two became like an ice pop emitting cold air, icy cold but with a hint of sweetness.
"Oh dear, Brother Yan, let's not disturb these two close friends. Come on, let's eat. Here, let me feed you, ah—"
Jiang Yichun looked at Yang Fei sitting next to her. She stood up, picked up a piece of beef, and stuffed it into Lin Yan's mouth.
Lin Yan raised her chin, opened her mouth, took a small bite of the beef, and ate it bit by bit.
“It’s delicious, Fifi.”
Their eyes met, their gazes so intense they seemed to stretch into threads.
Jiang Yichun's frantic, chaotic heartbeat was completely brought back to normal by this bowl of dog food.
Uh, why is Feifei's relationship so sticky and complicated?
She frowned but said nothing.
"Ahem." He Yinxin coughed a few times. "Old Lin, I didn't expect you to be so... indescribable when it comes to being in love."
Lin Yan chuckled and put a hand on He Yinxin's shoulder: "What's wrong, Lao He? Are you planning to fight back? I can hardly imagine you can eat so much."
“In the past, when we had dorm gatherings, you would mutter to yourself about how many calories were in each piece of meat and each dish, like a calculator.”
"You seem to be enjoying your meal today."
As he spoke, he winked at Yang Fei.
Yang Fei understood immediately and chimed in with a smile: "That's right, Director He. You said the same thing to Brother Yan at the department dinner before, it's like a calculator."
"Today is quite amazing, isn't it because—"
Yang Fei slapped Jiang Yichun on the shoulder, making her jump: "Xiaochun's here?"
Jiang Yichun lowered his head and ate the vegetables and meat in his bowl in silence, even pouring the red sour soup into his rice.
But she kept her ears open to the other person's reply.
"Yes. After all, she's my friend. One of my... special friends."
He Yinxin's tone remained calm as always, as if she were reporting an objective fact.
Jiang Yichun suddenly raised his head and met He Yinxin's eyes. He looked down at him, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
Whether it was because of the sour and spicy soup or because the heating in the store was too strong, Jiang Yichun's cheeks burned like fire.
Silence fell over the surroundings, and the couple remained silent.
Jiang Yichun quickly looked away and muttered in a low voice, "I know, Lao He."
"Thank you for putting me in such a strange and special position."
Her gaze returned to the sour soup pot.
The two mint leaves tumbled and tangled in the pot, eventually sticking together.
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