Xu Yanxia looked at him with a bit of hesitation. "Are you sure? This place serves very authentic Chongqing hotpot, and the spicy beef tallow broth is quite hot."
To say nothing else, in all the days she had been at the Lu family home, she had never seen him eat anything with strong flavors.
...Even the teppanyaki from yesterday wasn't spicy.
However, Lu Jingming just smiled nonchalantly. "Isn't eating Chongqing hotpot all about the thrill? Let's get the spicy beef tallow broth. Go ahead and order."
"...Alright then."
Xu Yanxia selected the broth according to his wishes, though, of course, she quietly chose the mild spice level.
Then she asked him, "Do you have any particular dishes you like to eat?"
Lu Jingming said he didn't. "Just order whatever you think is good."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia chose a few of the restaurant's most popular items, keeping the portion size suitable for two people.
The broth and ingredients were brought out one after another.
Beef, beef tripe, pork aorta, duck intestines, tofu skin, wide glass noodles, and more filled the table. In the middle sat the bright red beef tallow broth, soaking with densely packed chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and various spices.
It was extremely visually striking.
Lu Jingming paused, trying to figure out if it was still too late to change the broth.
Who knew that Xu Yanxia would excitedly pick up her phone and start taking pictures. "I really haven't eaten here in so long! I'm already drooling. I'm going to post this on my Moments to show off to them!"
Is that so?
Lu Jingming also immediately nodded and said, "That's right, it's been a while for me too."
Saying that, he also picked up his phone, took a few photos, and posted them on his Moments just like her.
By the time they finished posting, the broth had quickly started to boil.
Xu Yanxia put the ingredients into the pot one by one and mixed her dipping sauce. As soon as the intense red oil came to a rolling boil, she immediately started eating.
Mmm!
The tripe was crisp and tender, the duck intestines were smooth, and the signature beef was incredibly fresh and juicy!
Sure enough, there was no problem that a hotpot meal couldn't solve.
Of course, she didn't forget to look after Lu Jingming. "This tripe is ready."
"The duck intestines will get tough if they cook any longer."
"The tofu is at its absolute best right now!"
...
Seeing that he was a bit slow at fishing out the food, she used the serving chopsticks and slotted spoon to scoop up quite a bit for him.
Lu Jingming remained as polite as ever, thanking her as he ate, frequently nodding in praise, and looking as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
By the time Xu Yanxia noticed something was wrong, there were almost no ingredients left on the table.
Because the private room was semi-enclosed, the lighting wasn't very bright. Coupled with the constantly boiling pot, she had assumed his reddening face and frequent wiping of sweat were simply because he was hot.
Until she noticed that his eyes were also gradually turning red.
She hurriedly asked him, "Is it too spicy for you?"
However, Lu Jingming stubbornly shook his head and said, "No, it's just a bit hot."
As he spoke, he unbuttoned his shirt collar, rolled up his sleeves, and asked the waiter to bring him a glass of ice water.
Seeing him down a large glass of ice water in just three gulps, Xu Yanxia paused and said, "I'm going to step out for a moment."
She then got up and left the hotpot restaurant.
When she returned, she held two cartons of chilled fresh milk in her hands.
She handed the milk to him and said, "This is what actually works for the spice."
Lu Jingming, whose eyes were almost as red as a little white rabbit's, "..."
Although it was a bit embarrassing, he still said thank you and reached out to take it.
After drinking the two cartons of milk, he indeed felt much better.
He looked at Xu Yanxia again and took the initiative to say, "I'm sorry for making you go out specifically to buy this for me. Did you have to walk far?"
"Not at all,"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "There's a convenience store on the first floor. I just took the elevator down."
She paused for a moment before adding, "Actually, you don't have to go out of your way to accommodate me. We could have gone to eat something else."
Lu Jingming, "..."
Since he had already lost face anyway, he spoke frankly, "I just didn't want to spoil your fun. I didn't expect to fail regardless."
His tone was slightly dejected.
"No, no,"
Xu Yanxia hurriedly smiled and comforted him. "I actually really enjoyed the meal today."
She then told him, "Did you hear Lin Hengnan say earlier that we went to eat hotpot together? Actually, that was a department activity back then. A lot of classmates went to eat together; it wasn't just the two of us."
Lu Jingming was stunned for a moment.
Was she... explaining things to him?
Does that mean she finally...
Joy rapidly spread in the depths of his heart, and he hurriedly tried to speak to her.
But who knew that Xu Yanxia's phone would suddenly start ringing.
She glanced at it and saw it was a video call from Aunt Zhang, so she quickly answered and greeted her.
Housekeeper Zhang asked her from the other end, "Xiaoxia, have you eaten dinner yet?"
Xu Yanxia nodded at the screen. "Almost done. Did you need me for something?"
Aunt Zhang said, "There is a little something. I just saw the menu you sent over, and I wanted to ask if any of the dishes on it are relatively time-consuming and require going to the clubhouse in advance to prepare?"
Xu Yanxia quickly replied, "Yes, there are. I was just thinking about telling you. A few cold dishes on the menu need to be made a day in advance, so I might have to go to the clubhouse tomorrow to prepare."
"No problem,"
Aunt Zhang reminded her, "If you have time tonight, you can go over there first to see if the kitchen equipment and tableware are suitable. If we need to prepare anything, we'll have plenty of time."
"I understand what you mean."
Xu Yanxia immediately said, "I'll go take a look in a bit."
Aunt Zhang asked her again, "Then what time is convenient for you? I'll have Lao Zhao or Lao Li drop you off."
Before Xu Yanxia could speak, Lu Jingming, who was beside her, quickly leaned into the screen and said, "Auntie, I'm with Xiaoxia. I can take her over later."
The distance between the two suddenly closed, and Xu Yanxia's heart couldn't help but quietly skip a beat.
Aunt Zhang on the screen smiled instead and said, "So you two are together. That's good then, you guys arrange it yourselves."
Saying that, she said her goodbyes to the two of them and hung up the video call.
Xu Yanxia checked the time on her phone and asked Lu Jingming, "You must be full, right?"
Lu Jingming, "...Yeah."
Even if he wasn't full from the food, chugging down a large glass of ice water and two cartons of fresh milk had left him incredibly stuffed.
Fortunately, her suggestion was highly effective. Now, his tongue and lips finally felt like his own again.
"Then let's go."
Xu Yanxia had already stood up.
Lu Jingming also stood up, paid the bill, and followed her out of the hotpot restaurant.
With an extra item on the itinerary tonight, their schedule was suddenly a bit tight.
The two planned to take the elevator straight to the parking lot.
In the time it took to eat hotpot, the mall had already become bustling, and the elevators seemed a bit slow.
Xu Yanxia was hesitating over whether she should take Lu Jingming on the escalators to the parking lot when two girls approached from the side.
One of them was tall, wearing sunglasses, with smooth straight hair, dressed in a haute couture long gown, and sporting exquisite makeup.
The other was dressed casually, carrying a backpack and pulling a suitcase, looking like her assistant.
Xu Yanxia glanced over, wondering if this was some celebrity, only to see the tall woman look at Lu Jingming, suddenly take off her sunglasses, and smile as she greeted him, "Big brother, you're here too?"
However, Lu Jingming looked at the other party, his expression somewhat bewildered.
The girl, however, gave another smile and introduced herself once more. "I'm Jingxi's classmate from college, the one who visited your home last time. My name is Jiang Zhiyue."
