23. The Temptation of Mala Tang (Spicy Hot Pot)
In the VIP ward, Yu Chun lay listlessly on the electric hospital bed.
After a week of hospitalization, he was able to use his phone with ease, and light brown scabs formed on his skin injuries.
Only his right leg is still wrapped in a thick cast and needs to rest for a while.
Yu Chun opened WeChat and tapped the profile picture of an exploding sun.
The message bar still shows messages from the previous two days.
Yu Chun pursed her lips.
For some reason, Jian Fei hasn't come to see him these past two days!
When he was first hospitalized, Jian Fei came to visit every day without fail, rain or shine, which he found rather awkward.
He's not used to his sudden absence.
So he decided to have a bowl of his family's traditional spicy hot pot.
Even lying in the hospital couldn't stop his love for spicy hot pot!
"Assistant Zhou!" Yu Chun suddenly grabbed the phone from the bedside table.
A sharp, popping sound came from the maid's room in the adjacent suite, where a chair was being moved and scraping against the floor.
"You don't need to come over, just talk on the phone." Yu Chun wanted some peace and quiet.
"..."
Assistant Zhou really couldn't understand Young Master Yu's thought process.
The two were separated by only one wall, and even their room doors were open facing each other. Even if they didn't let others in, they could still hear each other talking directly.
Why bother making a phone call?
Perhaps this is just a hobby of the wealthy.
He checked his phone credit balance of 0.25 yuan and carefully topped up 10 yuan.
Luckily, he doesn't have to pay for phone calls, otherwise he would have applied for a communication subsidy immediately!
"I want to cook mala tang (a spicy hot pot dish)." Yu Chun completely ignored the "No Open Flame" sign on the wall.
"Go get an induction cooker, and..." he counted on his fingers, "The beef must be from the third muscle bundle of the left foreleg of a cow fed with old broccoli grass, the tofu puffs must be freshly fried by 'Tofu Puff Family,' a century-old shop in City A, and the soup base will be my secret recipe that I've kept at home..."
Assistant Zhou silently took out a voice recorder.
"...The lettuce from the family farm will be fine, that's all." Yu Chun hung up the phone, feeling parched, and took a big gulp of water from the table.
Assistant Zhou touched his increasingly thinning hair and sighed deeply.
This high-paying job was practically costing him his hair – every outrageous request he made cost him a handful of hair.
There are so many rich people in the world, why can't there be one more?
Assistant Zhou was inwardly weeping bitterly.
As soon as he opened the door, Assistant Zhou bumped into the head nurse who was pacing in the corridor.
The head nurse arrived when Yu Chun was reading out the menu.
Hearing that long list of dishes, she felt her blood pressure spike.
If it were a regular patient inside, she would have already barged in and sternly stopped them.
But the people inside were also her bosses, so she didn't dare to say anything.
"Excuse me..." The head nurse glanced hesitantly towards the ward, "Does Young Master Yu want to cook spicy hot pot in the ward?"
Assistant Zhou replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, we'll use an induction cooker."
The head nurse's gaze swept over the "No Open Flame" sign on the wall, and her lips twitched.
Assistant Zhou remained unfazed.
As a professional life assistant, his first principle is: if the young master points east, we will never go west; everything else is irrelevant.
"Understood." The head nurse suddenly gave a professional smile.
"Would you like me to prepare a medical-grade sterilized meal box for you? After all, this is..." She pointed to the "Special Needs Sterile Ward" sign at the door.
Assistant Zhou nodded calmly: "Thank you for your trouble."
Watching Assistant Zhou walk away with his back straight, the head nurse sighed.
Never mind, it's the Yu family's own hospital anyway...
...
When Chu Xiao came to visit, Yu Chun was cooking spicy hot pot.
The red oil broth simmered with the aroma of beef tallow, while Sichuan peppercorns and star anise bubbled and sizzled on the induction cooker. The entire ward resembled an old stove in a Chongqing alley, whetting one's appetite.
She swallowed silently.
Chu Xiao's eyes darkened slightly when he caught sight of a half-eaten pancake still wrapped in Jane's packaging on the bedside table.
This reminded her of Jane's pancakes.
Jane's pancakes smelled even more tempting, but she had never thought of trying them.
She was afraid she would get poisoned after tasting it.
It is a poison called bismuth subsalicylate.
But this pot of spicy hot pot in front of me...
She didn't give the male protagonists any special abilities in her writing, because if everyone had special abilities, how could the female protagonist's uniqueness be highlighted?
So... it shouldn't be a problem to try a few bites, right?
Chu Xiao thought uncertainly.
Yu Chun looked up and saw the figure that had silently appeared behind the fog, and her heart skipped a beat—she was startled.
Yu Chun was a little annoyed.
Is it reasonable for a chubby girl to walk without making a sound, given her weight?
She must have been trying to scare him on purpose!
It's one thing for him not to visit for several days, but he also deliberately tries to scare people. It's really despicable!
So he started being sarcastic: "Oh, busy man, you finally remembered me."
Chu Xiao understood.
Through the rising steam, she saw Yu Chun's face gradually regain its former pleasing appearance.
Her patience with Yu Chun always depended on Yu Chun's looks.
So she didn't hold it against Yu Chun.
"Your face looks much better," she said, changing the subject.
"After all, it was the nurses who applied the medicine these past two days. They're professionals; their techniques are much better than yours," Yu Chun persisted.
"Really?" Chu Xiao curled the corners of her lips and suddenly leaned closer. "Let me see how good it is."
Her fingertips touched Yu Chun's fair and delicate face, and she gently pinched it—
"You, you, you!" Yu Chun slapped Chu Xiao's hand away, covered her face, and retreated in terror.
"Not bad, it's really good." Chu Xiao twirled his fingers with satisfaction.
The delicate touch of Yu Chun's skin still lingered on her fingertips.
It felt just as good as it did that night.
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