After feeding Ah Nan, Xiang Yi went back to the kitchen to cook.
The noodles she selected were handmade soba noodles. Soba was rich in protein, vitamins and more, and was not easily converted into fat for the body.
After the soba was cooked, she soaked it in cold water for a while so the taste was more defined.
At the same time, Xiang Yi pulled out the sour plum soup* she'd prepared earlier that morning and poured it into a transparent juice container before taking everything out at the same time.
In the pavilion, Yan Zhenhua had been gasping non stop because the more he ate, the spicier the food tasted. But the spicier it was, the more he wanted to eat. His throat was about to burn up, but his hands couldn't stop.
Seeing the sour plum soup in Xiang Yi's hands, Yan Zhenhua's eyes lit up. "Miss, you didn't make that yourself, did you?"
XIang Yi poured a glass out for him and sprinkled some osmanthus petals on it. Gently, she responded, "Mhmm. It's made from ebony plum, hawthorn berry, tangerine peel, licorice, and some rock sugar. It's a bit cold, so drink it slowly."
Yan Zhenhua couldn't wait to taste it. The iced sour plum soup was sour and sweet, while the scent of osmanthus lingered inside his mouth. His smoking throat felt more at ease just after a few sips.
At this time, Xiang Yi used the serving chopsticks to stir the soba noodles into the crayfish soup, then scooped bowls for them accordingly: a bowl for Yan Zhenhua, then another one for Shi Sui from the non-spicy pot.
Yan Nai had been eating the scrambled eggs and tomatoes for a while now, and although his mouth was numb, he was still hungry. This was the age when boys would eat the most. Even after eating most of the tomatoes and eggs, his stomach was still rumbling with hunger.
He gazed at Xiang Yi warily, eagerly hoping for her to serve him a bowl of noodles and persuade him enthusiastically. Then he would… reluctantly eat one bowl! Just one bowl!
This was just him recognizing her cooking skills and definitely not him meaning to forgive her!
He didn't actually expect Xiang Yi to pass the third bowl to him. She then put down the serving chopsticks and looked at Yan Nai lightly. "This is soba noodles, I don't know if you will like it, so you can scoop some for yourself if you'd like to try."
Her attitude wasn't cold, but Yan Nai immediately felt cowardly. "I...I'm not hungry."
"Oh." Xiang Yi lowered her head to eat.
The weak, pitiful, and helpless Yan Nai: "..."
He felt that Xiang Yi was writing eight words on his head: Eat if you want, screw it if not.
If anyone else were present, they would have been concerned about Yan Nai.
But Yan Zhenhua had a fat heart and only worried about his own food. Shi Sui was gentle, but didn't have any sense for getting along with others. Moreover, he wasn't the type to worry about other people's business.
Hence, Yan Nai was in just as much pain and hunger as Yan Zhenhua was in delight and full from the food...
"Belch~..." Yan Zhenhua, who had been satisfied from his meal, burped loudly.
Shi Sui had also paused his chopsticks.
Xiang Yi quietly began to clean off the table, making Yan Zhenhua feel a bit embarrassed. "Ah Nai, help your sister clean up."
Xiang Yi had made a lot to begin with, and Yan Nai didn't even get a bite. Shi Sui also didn't eat spicy food, so there was still some spicy crayfish left.
Yan Nai nodded as he began to clean up, then uttered something like a young master who's never seen the real world. "Are these...going to be thrown out?" He was asking Xiang Yi, but he couldn't bring himself to call her 'sister'.
In his heart, the only person worthy of being called sister was the gentle and understanding Qin Wanyan. Xiang Yi… She wasn't worthy.
—[I'm dead! The little puppy is too soft and cute!]
—[QQQQ I want to squeeze didi's cheeks, it still has baby fat, how cute]
—[Don't dump it! Give me an address, I'll take a cab over to clean it off!]
"Ahem..." Li Jianyu cleared his throat from behind the camera and shamelessly said, "Yan Nai-didi, the crew is willing to collect the leftovers."
"Huh?" Yan Nai paused. "That's not good, is it..."
After all, it was leftovers. Would anyone want to eat that?
Translator's note:
* Although called a soup, this is usually treated as a juice and paired with spicy foods (foods with high heat levels like hotpot) because of its cooling properties.