Chapter 671: Chapter 672: Black Sesame Paste
It smelled so good that it made you lose friends, dark as Nian Shutong’s own skin.
Nian Shutong nodded and said, “It’s really delicious, save two bowls for me, I’m going to wash my face.”
Master Fan cheerfully agreed with a cry and placed the black sesame paste on the dining table, which, upon being seen by Lin Mu, was followed by laughter reverberating around the small wooden house.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Inside the house, preparing to wash up, Nian Shutong shook her head with a smile and said, “Well, at least it wasn’t a complete waste of effort, Lin Mu is cracking up.”
Just as Nian Shutong was about to wash up, she thought of something and turned on her Light Computer to send a message to Fu Yunhe.
At that time, Fu Yunhe had just finished training and, without a doubt, maintained his top position with great scores—the kind where first place had one hundred percent and second place had only sixty percent, a wide margin for first place.
But, as it was clear, both the instructors and the freshmen had gotten used to this.
Some people had been unconvinced, but after almost two months of demoralizing oppression, they had become accustomed to it and recognized a fact—some people are just not human!
Fu Yunhe was already outside, on his way back to the apartment when Nian Shutong’s message came through, which he promptly answered.
“Hello? Where are you?”
“Where did you go? Why is it so dark?”
Fu Yunhe’s two questions made it clear just how black Nian Shutong had been blasted.
“You need to practice your eyesight—how can you not see such a big, living person?”
Once Nian Shutong spoke up, Fu Yunhe finally made out something that looked like teeth against a very dark background.
He didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh, though his first instinct was to laugh. Holding back, he asked, “What have you been up to?”
“If you want to laugh, go ahead. There’s already one person out there who’s gone crazy with laughter.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Fu Yunhe couldn’t help but laugh, although he quickly composed himself. Out of curiosity, he asked, “What did you do?”
Nian Shutong rolled her eyes, making Fu Yunhe’s suppressed laughter burst forth.
“I can’t take it, don’t roll your eyes!”
Watching Fu Yunhe laugh so hard he doubled over, Nian Shutong rolled her eyes again and said, “Okay, I’ve got things to do. Goodbye.”
Fu Yunhe looked at the Light Computer, which had gone completely dark again, unsure whether there was someone on the other end or not.
“Hello? Hello? She really hung up.”
Fu Yunhe shook his head with a slight smile and turned off the Light Computer, revealing a rare smile on his face, which made the people around him incredibly curious.
So, this Fu Yunhe can smile.
When he smiled, he didn’t seem so intimidating.
Moreover, the normally overlooked Fu Yunhe’s appearance made many realize the charm of his smile, transcending gender in its beauty.
Some of the women who were usually subdued by his strict demeanor found themselves lively with new thoughts.
Fu Yunhe didn’t know what everyone was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn’t care much. He knew he wouldn’t do anything to betray Nian Shutong.
If he did, he couldn’t forgive himself, and Nian Shutong would definitely chop him up into pieces without hesitation.
Thinking of Nian Shutong made Fu Yunhe want to laugh, but he composed himself and hurried back to the apartment.
On the other end, Nian Shutong also finished washing up and came out to join everyone for breakfast.
The breakfast that morning was a fusion of Eastern and Western foods, with Master Fan preparing black sesame paste, boiled milk, sandwiches, fried bread slices, and steamed eggs.
Nian Shutong had also locked horns with black sesame paste, having downed several bowls.
After drinking her fill, she slammed the bowl down on the table with a “clang” and defiantly declared, “If I don’t succeed in one day, I will drink black sesame paste at every meal.”
“Master Fan, cook it for me every day. I refuse to believe that I’ll have to keep drinking it!”
Nian Shutong’s bold pronouncement taught everyone a truth: Never make oaths lightly.
Because, for the following week, Nian Shutong was still failing at the furnace.
Nobody knew what was wrong; she just couldn’t succeed.
She’d dutifully consumed a week’s worth of black sesame paste, to the point where Wang Fu started wondering if he ought to plant more sesame seeds.
A week later, in the restaurant, Nian Shutong, who had devoured who knows how many bowls of black sesame paste, put down her bowl with some difficulty and told Dou Dou, who was looking at her, “Remember one thing, Dou Dou, don’t speak carelessly.”
Dou Dou nodded earnestly, “Auntie, Dou Dou understands. Dou Dou doesn’t want to drink black sesame paste anymore. Please succeed soon!”
“Dou Dou made wishes all last night for auntie to succeed!”
“Good kid.” Nian Shutong grinned like the proverbial wolf-in-grandmother’s-clothing and lifted her bowl to everyone again, “Come on, down this one.”
All the people, with half-hearted smiles, reluctantly picked up their bowls, well aware from the color that it was all black sesame paste.
Nian Shutong’s smile grew wider, how could she possibly drink it alone?
“That’s right, trouble shared is trouble halved, right?”
“Come on, down this bowl and let’s hope it’s the last bowl of black sesame paste.”
Nian Shutong led by example, and the people beside her, frowning and holding their breath, eventually resigned themselves to the situation and drank their bowls of black sesame paste.
The clinking sounds of bowls hitting the table filled the room.
“Nice one, you have to succeed, or we’ll all turn into black wolves,” Ha Ha said.
“Boss, you’ll be successful,” Elder Hua couldn’t help adding, having been afraid to open his mouth lately in lectures for fear that his teeth had turned black.
“I don’t want to drink black sesame paste anymore,” Lin Mu was direct, staring intently at Nian Shutong after speaking as though to say: If you make me drink this again, I might just bite someone!
Faced with everyone’s reactions, Nian Shutong just gave a faint smile and said, “Keep calm, keep calm.”
“Look at you all, you’re only drinking one bowl a meal,” Nian Shutong pointed to her own bowl, “I haven’t eaten anything but black sesame paste.”
She continued to feign composure and lifting her bowl, shouted, “Master Fan, another bowl, please!”
“Boss, there isn’t any left.”
Master Fan thought back to before he started cooking when the Boss had said to him: “We don’t have much black sesame left, do we?”
The inquired Master Fan could only silently put away the bag of sesame seeds in his hands and admit, “Not much left.”
Looking at the Boss’s satisfied smile, a smile with a hint of threat, he quickly corrected himself and said, “None left.”
It was only then that the Boss, contented, turned and walked away.
Hearing Master Fan’s words, Nian Shutong shook her head in disappointment and sighed, “Ah, to want but not to have.”
A bowl of steaming hot black sesame paste appeared before Nian Shutong’s eyes.
Nian Shutong slowly turned to see Rubble handing her the black sesame paste and asked, “Why didn’t you drink it?”
“After a detailed analysis, Rubble concluded that this black sesame paste impedes Rubble’s research, so Rubble cannot drink it.”
With the perfect excuse backed by Rubble’s determination, Nian Shutong downed another bowl of black sesame paste.
She wanted to swear off it, but she held herself back.
We’ll see about that later.