The first day of exams passed quickly. When Lu Chuqing got home from school, she sent a message to Lu Ying saying she wanted to eat snail rice noodles and didn't want her to cook.
Thinking that she had worked hard for the exam, Lu Ying agreed as a reward.
Less than ten minutes after the exam, the teacher knew they weren't in the mood to study, so she counted the number of students in the class and let them leave three or four minutes early.
The ninth graders are different from them; they can't leave until school is over.
After a long day of exams, Lu Chuqing said goodbye to Qu Fusang and Nangong Yu and took the bus home alone.
When Lu Ying arrived home, she was dressed neatly and was eating a plate of cut fruit on the sofa.
The girl changed her shoes, but didn't rush upstairs. She put her schoolbag on the entryway cabinet and walked over.
"Are Mom and Uncle Xi going out?" She opened her mouth to eat the honeydew melon that Lu Ying fed her; it was sweet and juicy.
The kitchen was semi-open, and the man was dressed quite neatly, wearing a light pink floral apron that gave him a married look. He was stirring the food cooking in the pot with chopsticks.
When Lu Chuqing saw the packaging of the snail rice noodles she had bought on the counter, her eyes lit up instantly, and she teleported over to check how the noodles were cooking in the pot.
Lu Ying answered her question from behind, "Your Uncle Xi and I are going to meet his friends and have a meal. We'll leave when Qingxu comes back. You two kids should make sure to lock the doors and windows at home. We'll be back early."
Lu Chuqing was completely focused on the snail rice noodles and didn't care what time they would be back. She cheerfully replied, "I know, I know, you can go without worry. It's fine if you don't come back tonight!"
Hearing this, Xi Jun's ears turned red, and he coughed twice. "Qingqing, check if the noodles are cooked. If they are, Uncle will add the seasoning packet for you."
She likes it cooked a little soft and sticky. Hearing this, she took the chopsticks, picked up a noodle, and tried it. She could easily break it, which was the consistency she wanted.
"Okay," the girl said cheerfully. "I'll put the seasoning packets away. You and Mom should stay away, I'm afraid you can't stand it."
Xi Jun had never heard of snail rice noodles before. When he first opened the package, a not-too-strong odor wafted out, and he wondered if it had gone bad.
Then I checked the seasoning packets and saw that they were all in good condition and the dates were fresh, so I asked Lu Ying about them.
The woman told him that the powder just didn't smell good, and that it would smell even worse after the seasoning packet was added and boiled.
He was puzzled for a while after hearing this, unable to understand why his daughter liked to eat such smelly food.
But my daughter loves to eat it, so even though I can't understand it, I respect her choice and went to the kitchen myself to cook noodles for her.
Whether it was a problem with the packaging or because she didn't have enough strength, Lu Chuqing couldn't open the soup packet even after pulling the packaging quite a bit.
Seeing this, Xi Jun reached out and took it, saying, "Let me put it away for you," and took out kitchen scissors from the knife basket.
With a single snip of the scissors, a strange and spicy flavor wafted out. The man's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered and continued to cut open the other spice packets, putting them into the pot one by one.
Especially after adding pickled bamboo shoots, the flavor is elevated to a whole new level, becoming both sour and pungent, yet also infused with the aroma of chili oil.
It had an indescribable smell, but for Xi Jun, who was smelling snail rice noodles for the first time, it was extremely unpleasant.
But there's nothing I can do, my daughter loves to eat it.
He could only hold his breath, pour the cooked snail rice noodles into a large bowl, and then bring it to the table.
Lu Chuqing followed behind with chopsticks and a soup spoon, thoroughly enjoying the aroma of the snail rice noodles.
"Thank you, Uncle Xi!"
After the man walked away, he took a breath and said with difficulty, "You're welcome."
The doorknob turned, and the boy entered the room.
Xi Qingxu paused, wondering what was wrong with the room; there was a foul smell.
"Qingxu is back. Are you tired from the exams?" Lu Ying wanted to go over and help him take off his schoolbag, but the boy took off his schoolbag first and placed it next to Lu Chuqing's schoolbag.
"It's alright," he replied.
On the phone, Lao Lin asked again why they hadn't arrived yet. Just then, Xi Qingxu returned, and Xi Jun picked up Lu Ying's bag and said to him, "Qingxu, your Aunt Lu and I have made plans with friends, so we won't be eating dinner at home."
"There's food in the fridge. Qingqing ate snail rice noodles, so you can see what you want to eat. You're older than Qingqing, and she's a girl, so please take good care of her while we're not home. Remember to close the balcony and the front door when you go upstairs. We'll be back soon."
The man kept talking, helping the woman change her shoes while giving instructions to the boy.
Xi Qingxu made way for them, standing between the entryway and the living room, her face expressionless. "Okay."
The door closed, leaving only the two of them inside.
Lu Chuqing's seat was directly facing the door. She saw Xi Qingxu standing still, seemingly lost in thought.
She glanced at it and looked away, then took out her phone and found a currently popular TV series, intending to watch it while slurping noodles.
The boy not far away moved. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him enter the kitchen, open the refrigerator, look inside, and then close it again, his head slightly lowered, seemingly looking at something.
Xi Qingxu looked at the packaging bags thrown in the trash can, memorized the style of the bags, and a thought popped into her mind.
Oh, she ate this brand of snail rice noodles.
The freshly cooked snail rice noodles were very hot. Lu Chuqing picked up a strand with her chopsticks, put it in her spoon, and blew on it for a while before eating it.
Even so, my tongue was still trembling from the heat.
A shadow fell in front of her, and when she looked up, she saw Xi Qingxu staring at the bowl in front of her.
"Luosifen..." the boy's low voice rang out.
She asked, "What's wrong?"
"Is it tasty?"
Looking at that expressionless, wooden face, Lu Chuqing paused for a moment before asking a question, "Don't you think it smells terrible?"
Xi Qingxu actually took a serious sniff and said sincerely, "It's alright."
After saying that, she remembered what her deskmate had said and added, "I couldn't accept it at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it's not that bad."
Lu Chuqing put down her cutlery and stood up. "If you can accept the taste, you'll most likely be able to eat it."
Xi Qingxu watched her walk past him into the kitchen, and then take out another set of bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard.
"But just in case, you should try a small amount first."
She picked up a strand of rice noodle and put it in her spoon. The bowl of noodles was still relatively clean. She then picked up a piece of rice noodle with her chopsticks, put it in a new bowl, and handed it to the boy who was still standing.
"Try it."
Xi Qingxu glanced at the girl, reached out and took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a rice noodle with chili oil, blew on it twice, and slurped it into his mouth.
"How was it?" Lu Chuqing asked him with a hint of anticipation.
She's the only one in the family eating snail rice noodles, so it must be lonely. If someone could slurp the noodles with her, that would be something to be truly happy about.
The rice noodles were soft and chewy, coated with spicy chili oil. Xi Qingxu chewed and swallowed them before replying, "It's alright."
Then, remembering something, she added, "It smells a bit stinky, but it's spicy when you eat it, and it tastes better than I expected."
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