Warm and refreshing clear broth noodles (Part 1)
"Hey? Old He?" Jiang Yichun opened his eyes wide and waved at him.
He Yixin met her gaze and nudged the boy next to her with her elbow.
The boy next to him tactfully turned around and left, leaving He Yinxin standing there alone.
"Good afternoon, Xiaochun." He Yinxin smiled and let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, Jia Shugui today is in his "original state," without glasses or long hair, only a buzz cut.
Fortunately, Jia Shugui was quick-witted and turned to leave.
Jiang Yichun blinked, gripping his chopsticks: "Old He, weren't you eating with the classmate next to you? Why did he leave you behind?"
He Yinxin avoided her probing gaze, his hands trembling as he held the bibimbap in the stone pot. He walked over and sat down in a spot not far from her.
His mind raced, and he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "We just talked. His advisor suddenly needed to speak with him."
"He said he would just grab a few bites and head to the office."
"Ah, I see. It must be really tough to have a mentor who exploits students." Jiang Yichun nodded.
He Yinxin smiled at her: "I'm used to it, I'm used to it, that's just how he is."
"By the way, Xiaochun, I tried the tuna bibimbap in the cafeteria today. Just like you said before, I added cheese to it."
As he said this, he secretly moved the bowl a few steps closer to where Jiang Yichun was sitting.
Qiao Maizi glanced at He Yinxin up and down, made an "X" with her hands in front of her chest, and said, "He Yinxin, don't come over here. Today I'm having dinner with Jiang Yichun. I don't want to be a third wheel. And don't come over here to be a third wheel either."
He Yinxin's smile froze. He coughed a few times and looked at Jiang Yichun.
He pouted, and a hint of grievance appeared in his almond-shaped eyes through his glasses: "Don't worry, I won't bother you."
Qiao Maizi was so startled she almost knocked over the bowl of noodles: "Damn it, He Yinxin, what's with that expression? It's like I bullied you!"
She poked Jiang Yichun's hand: "Sister Chun, say something! Give me your opinion!"
Jiang Yichun's hands were still in the position of holding the noodles, and her lips were slightly parted.
No? Who was that man who looked so wronged, like a big dog caught in the rain?
He Yinxin? That AI?
Oh no, has he really been captured and modified by aliens?
"Uh, Qiao Maizi is right, I promised her I'd have lunch with her today. Lao He, it's a bit strange that you suddenly squeezed in, sorry about that." Jiang Yichun stammered, avoiding his gaze.
She was afraid that if she softened her heart, she would let him sit down next to her.
He Yinxin sighed softly beside her: "I know, I... I didn't mean to bother you. Don't apologize to me. See you this afternoon."
Jiang Yichun looked up and was discreetly picking up the bowl of bibimbap from the stone pot, moving it to the other side of the two of them, but always keeping it within their line of sight.
His gaze lingered on her for a moment, then shifted elsewhere.
"It feels even stranger now."
Jiang Yichun felt as if she had become the female lead in a story about a perverted senior sitting next to her, being scrutinized by his cold and damp gaze all the time.
Seeing her frowning and reluctant expression, Qiao Maizi raised her hand and snapped her fingers in front of her: "Hello? Weaver Girl, stop looking at your Cowherd and hurry up and eat!"
"Today is our dinner party."
Jiang Yichun finally turned his gaze away from He Yinxin, rubbing his cheeks: "Okay, Seventh Fairy Qiao Maizi~"
Qiao Maizi snorted lightly: "That's more like it."
Jiang Yichun looked away and gazed at the steaming bowl of noodles in front of him.
She ordered the clear soup noodles from the cafeteria window, topped with a large pork chop.
The clear, white noodle soup was immediately soaked in the rich, dark sauce of pork rib soup.
A few blanched bok choy leaves, bright green, stood out even more in the rich soup.
The surface is garnished with a few scallions and cilantro, which, together with the steam, emit a faint fragrance.
Jiang Yichun immediately forgot about the aggrieved dog, picked up his chopsticks, and started chewing on the green vegetables and noodles.
The vegetables were crisp and the noodles were soft; she ate them bite by bite.
Jiang Yichun picked up his chopsticks and stirred the bowl a few times, causing a few scallion and cilantro pieces to swirl around in the bowl.
She finally took a bite of the pork chop covered in sauce.
The pork chop is coated in starch and pan-fried in oil, then dipped in a slightly sweet sauce, and the whole piece of pork chop is soft and sticky to the clear soup.
Jiang Yichun took a bite of the pork chop.
The outer shell, already soaked in broth, and the fibrous meat strands intertwined and lingered between her teeth.
The sweetness of the sauce and the saltiness of the meat made her take a sip of the hot noodle soup.
She squinted, let out a long breath, and felt warm all over.
“Jiang Yichun, I finally understand why He Yinxin wanted to eat with you.” Qiao Maizi raised an eyebrow at her while eating her bowl of clear soup noodles.
"Watching you eat makes my mouth water. Have you ever thought about becoming a food vlogger?"
Jiang Yichun hurriedly shook his head: "No, no, no, I don't want to. Most mukbang streamers have to eat a lot to attract attention, and they might even induce vomiting to maintain their figure."
"I don't want to do that kind of suffering. I eat to enjoy myself."
She stretched and laughed, "This kind of job is too restrictive, I don't like it at all."
"Hey, so having dinner with He Yixin means you're free? You really like it?"
Qiao Maizi took a big gulp of noodles. As if she had seen through something, she smiled at Jiang Yichun, then turned to look at He Yinxin, who was sitting not far from the two of them.
She had already noticed He Yinxin's gaze, which was almost burning a hole in the back of her clothes.
He Yinxin's gaze also fell on Jiang Yichun, and he frowned slightly.
"I……"
Jiang Yichun's lips trembled, but Qiao Maizi beat her to it: "Hey, He Yinxin, Jiang Yichun said she wants you to sit next to her, she feels very free!"
"I don't care about anything now. After all, I'm treating you to this meal as an apology. Come on over!"
He Yinxin's hand holding the spoon trembled, and with a "clatter," the iron spoon almost fell to the ground.
He put down the bibimbap he was holding and walked over to the two of them.
"Really, Xiaochun?"
Jiang Yichun looked up and met his eyes again.
He frowned, his almond-shaped eyes were squeezed flat, and his eyelashes drooped low.
His appearance was strikingly similar to the little mongrel dog in Jiang Yichun's house.
The chubby little pine tree had a similar expression when she dragged her suitcase to university.
Out of longing for his little mongrel at home, Jiang Yichun blurted out, "Okay, Potato."
"Potato?"
"Wow, Jiang Yichun, is this He Yinxin's nickname or just some kind of fun between you two?"
Jiang Yichun looked at the two wide-eyed people, covered her mouth, and replied softly, "This, this is my little..."
The words were on the tip of her tongue when she came back to her senses.
Good heavens, it's strange to think of He Yinxin as your own little mongrel.
She immediately changed her tune: "This is my favorite vegetable, hehe, I love potatoes!"
"Potatoes aren't vegetables, they're a staple food," He Yinxin said, pushing up her glasses and clearing her throat.
Qiao Maizi rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh, He Yinxin, I didn't know you were a nutritionist. You even know about this?"
He Yinxin maintained her polite smile: "Yes. I do plan to take the nutritionist exam—Xiaochun, may I sit here?"
He eventually steered the conversation back to the main topic.
Jiang Yichun smoothed her loose hair, avoiding the crackling sparks between them, and replied softly, "Of course... no one minds now anyway."
He Yinxin immediately strode back to her seat and moved all the things on the table to the two of them.
As Jiang Yichun watched him running around, the image of his dog "Potato" at home, who insisted on sleeping in the same bed with him, still lingered in his mind.
Damn it, I can't think about it anymore! I'm going to sculpt my highly respected and outstanding senior into a dog!
She patted her face, turned her head and met Qiao Maizi's mischievous gaze.
"Hey, I'm really curious, how did you two meet?" she asked, resting her chin on her hand.
He Yinxin coughed a few times, swallowed a mouthful of food, and then said, "She asked me to tutor her for graduate school applications, and that's how we met."
Jiang Yichun shook his head: "It's not that simple. I also relied on a sister who shared an order with me. Let's call her Xixi. It was with her encouragement and introduction that I was able to get in touch with Lao He."
"Xixi is a very good person, right, Lao He?"
He Yinxin's lips twitched, and she nodded: "Yes, but she's been a bit busy lately, so I haven't been in touch with her much."
Jiang Yichun chimed in, "Yeah, she hasn't been talking to me much lately either."
"Oh, so this Xixi is the matchmaker." Qiao Maizi swallowed the last bite of noodles.
"Don't talk nonsense! We're just friends!"
The two spoke in unison once again.
Qiao Maizi looked at the two ripe tomatoes in front of her, and finally decided to shut up and chat with them about other random things.
She was worried that with a single outburst of words, she would turn two tomatoes into two blobs of tomato sauce, and then fry the potatoes that Jiang Yichun was talking about into French fries, which he would then eat dipped in tomato sauce.
A long lunch ended with three empty bowls.
Jiang Yichun put down the bowl and ran to wash his hands, leaving He Yinxin and Qiao Maizi walking one after the other.
He Yinxin took out her phone with one hand and placed the bibimbap on the dish rack with the other.
His phone was ringing, and the screen displayed four large characters: "Cousin Xuexi".
He frowned slightly, but quickly pressed the answer button.
"Old He! Next month is your birthday, what gift do you want?"
He Xuexi's voice was quite loud, and He Yinxin's hand trembled.
He stammered in reply, "Anything is fine, I like whatever you give me."
"Okay, bro, I have something to do, so I'll hang up now."
"Okay. Go ahead and get busy."
He Yinxin hung up the phone with trembling hands, then looked around.
Jiang Yichun hadn't caught up yet.
He patted his chest lightly and let out a long breath.
"He Yinxin".
A woman's voice sounded behind him.
The woman's voice was sweet, but as cold as ice.
He Yinxin felt his blood run cold and froze on the spot.
After thinking it over and over, he turned back.
Qiao Maizi was standing there, arms crossed, looking up at him with a leisurely air.
A gentle breeze lifted her pigtails tied behind her ears.
"What did you hear?" He Yinxin asked tentatively.
Qiao Maizi stepped forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on him: "Don't you know what you heard, Brother He?"
"He Yinxin, you have no shame."
"How could you lie to such a good girl like Jiang Yichun like this?"
He Yinxin's Adam's apple bobbed incessantly, and she met Jiang Yichun's gaze as he walked out of the cafeteria.
"Huh? Lao He, Qiao Maizi, what happened?"
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