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Chapter 71 Eating hot pot

When Yue Qihua and Yang Xingyue arrived at the amusement park entrance, Ai Liang and the other two had been waiting for them for a long time.

The air was very hot and humid in the afternoon. Leaving the amusement park lobby was like entering a steam room. After walking for only a few minutes, the four of them started to sweat.

The amusement park's rides are all air-conditioned, and since they didn't spend a long time in the open air, they didn't feel too hot inside.

But it's different on the street. You can't just walk a few steps and then go into a shop to rest for a while, can you?

"Ugh, it's so hot! Why is the bus stop so far from the amusement park?"

Fang Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and said.

Hearing Fang Xiaoxiao's complaints, Yue Qihua took out a pack of wet wipes and handed one to everyone.

When it was Ai Liang's turn, Yue Qihua looked at his face and her ears immediately turned red. Yang Xingyue's suggestion was like a curse, playing on repeat in her mind, making it impossible for her to look Ai Liang in the eye.

After exchanging a glance with Ai Liang, Yue Qihua hurriedly looked away, then pulled out two wet wipes and stuffed them into Ma Yu's hands, without personally handing them to Ai Liang.

"You and Ai Liang's."

Seeing the usually cheerful Yue Qihua in this state, Ma Yu was curious about what Ai Liang had done on the Ferris wheel.

"Sister Hua is so thoughtful."

As Ma Yu took the wet wipe to wipe his sweat, he carefully observed Ai Liang's expression.

Unfortunately, he still had the same cold face as always.

The only difference was that her complexion was slightly softer than before, unlike in the past when she exuded an aura that said "keep away, strangers!"

While observing facial expressions, Ma Yu suddenly noticed that Ai Liang's forehead and nose showed no signs of sweating.

He asked with some curiosity, "Xiao Ai, you don't seem to be sweating much?"

“I’m quite heat-resistant,” Ai Liang replied calmly.

"Is this what they call 'a calm mind brings coolness'? No wonder he's a man with 'coolness' in his name," Fang Xiaoxiao muttered beside him. "If only your coolness could emanate..."

As Ma Yu handed over the wet wipes, he tapped Fang Xiaoxiao on the head: "Say less."

Ai Liang's constitution didn't require wet wipes, so he ignored Fang Xiaoxiao's nonsense and handed the wet wipes that Ma Yu had given him to Yang Xingyue.

This move drew three cryptic glances.

Ai Liang naturally noticed their gaze.

The wet wipes were given to him by Yue Qihua, and he couldn't return them to her. Ma Yu didn't really like them and would just wipe his hands with them for a couple of seconds before throwing them away.

Since she hadn't broken a sweat, she couldn't just throw it in the trash as soon as she got it, so Ai Liang gave it to Yang Xingyue, who was closest to her.

Logically, this makes sense.

However, after taking the wet wipes, Yang Xingyue did not use them herself but turned around to wipe Yue Qihua's sweat.

Upon learning of Yang Xingyue's idea, Yue Qihua resisted and dodged her hand, her expression as if she had eaten an unripe hawthorn, her whole face contorted in a grimace.

But seeing Yang Xingyue's pitiful appearance, Yue Qihua sighed and returned to her side, letting her wipe her face with a wet wipe.

Upon arriving at the bus stop, the sky began to darken, giving the impression that a heavy rain was imminent.

This is not an illusion, as the forecast predicted heavy to torrential rain tonight.

After boarding the bus, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, especially Ma Yu, who sprawled out on the seat. Luckily, there weren't many people on the bus at that time, otherwise everyone would have pretended not to know him.

Ai Liang found a seat as soon as he got on the bus. Yang Xingyue originally wanted to pull him to sit in the back, but she had to give up when she saw this. She couldn't very well ask him to get up and find another seat.

Ma Yu and Fang Xiaoxiao naturally sat together, so only Ai Liang sat in a single seat, separated from the four of them by a clearly defined aisle.

There were no hot pot restaurants near the station, so the group had to go to the city center to eat.

The hot pot restaurant that Yue Qihua chose was not far away; it was less than 300 meters away after getting off the bus.

A faint rumbling sound could be heard from the sky, indicating that a downpour was brewing above.

The torrential rain, which was originally scheduled to start at 8 p.m., seems to be coming earlier.

The pedestrian street was packed with people, but the pedestrians seemed unconcerned about the impending downpour and were engrossed in their shopping.

For everyone, it's just a rainstorm, nothing compared to a precious day off. It's not too late to leave when it rains.

Upon entering the hot pot restaurant, they were led by a waiter to a window seat, where they could see the street scene.

Fang Xiaoxiao liked this position the most because she could look down at others from this position and no longer had to look up at people's nostrils.

"Order, order! What would you all like to eat?"

Fang Xiaoxiao excitedly picked up the menu; she was always the most enthusiastic when it came to eating.

Sitting next to her, Ma Yu was the first to speak: "Broken internal organs, congealed bird blood, entwined tentacles, curled flesh, shattered limbs, twisted remnants of leaves, sprouting mycelium..."

You can tell at a glance that this is a veteran investigator.

"Beef tripe, duck blood, squid, beef rolls, shrimp paste, cabbage leaves, shiitake mushrooms..." Fang Xiaoxiao lightly sketched on the menu with a pencil.

"Ma Yu, can you please stop causing trouble while we're having a meal?"

Yue Qihua gave a helpless warning, then looked at Fang Xiaoxiao and said, "It's amazing that you can understand it."

"You'll understand once you hear it at home. Sister Hua, what would you like to eat?"

After Fang Xiaoxiao ticked the box on the hot pot, she asked the remaining three people.

"Just add an extra serving of tofu for me and Xingyue..." Yue Qihua pointed her slender finger at the white tofu.

Seeing Ai Liang staring at the menu without saying a word, Yue Qihua hesitated for a moment before Yang Xingyue spoke first: "Ai Liang, what do you want to eat?"

Yang Xingyue secretly took out her phone to record Ai Liang's tastes.

Ai Liang always seemed indifferent to everything and didn't show any particular preference when it came to food, which greatly troubled her.

Over the course of three years, she knew almost nothing about Ai Liang's preferences, as if he had no desires at all.

"Ma Yu has already ordered what I wanted to eat."

Ai Liang subtly shifted her gaze away from the shiitake mushrooms.

Why order so many dishes at once? Couldn't you have brought them one at a time?

Having missed the opportunity to gather intelligence, Yang Xingyue closed the notepad in frustration, then silently grumbled about Ma Yu.

While we were chatting, the waiter came over with a hot pot that had two broths, and soon after, a cart with the ingredients was also brought over.

Having been hungry all day, the four of them turned the heat up to the highest setting and dumped all the food into the pot until it was overflowing.

Ten minutes later, the soup pot began to boil, and five pairs of chopsticks were inserted at the same time.

With her appetite satisfied, Yue Qihua gradually forgot about Yang Xingyue's suggestion of a threesome, and the atmosphere between her and Ai Liang began to return to normal. Yang Xingyue's gloom also gradually dissipated.

Rumble.

The sound of thunder and lightning could be heard outside the window.

"It's about to rain. It would be terrible if the buses had to stop running early because of the heavy rain."

Ma Yu noticed the view outside the window: dark clouds loomed overhead, and pedestrians below were calling Didi (ride-hailing services) to go home.

"The weather forecast said the heavy rain would come tonight... It seems like it's coming earlier than expected."

Fang Xiaoxiao picked up a cabbage leaf, gnawed off the stem bit by bit like a rabbit, and finally slurped it into her mouth.

"The weather has been so hot lately. Wouldn't it be great if there was a downpour? It would definitely be much cooler at night."

Yue Qihua didn't care much about the weather: "If the buses stop running later, we can just take a Didi back. Besides, how could the buses stop running early just because of a rainstorm?"

Ma Yu stretched and said, "That makes sense. Anyway, today is coming to an end."

"Xingyue, hurry up and eat, the tofu in your bowl will get cold soon." Yue Qihua glanced at Yang Xingyue and noticed that the tofu she had just put on her plate hadn't been touched.

She gently nudged Yang Xingyue, who was staring blankly at her phone: "What are you looking at?"

"Ai Liang." Yang Xingyue turned her head stiffly. "Your desired high school... isn't the Experimental High School?"

In an instant, the world fell silent.

Yue Qihua and Yang Xingyue's bodies seemed to form a soundproof barrier.

The conversations of other guests, the honking of horns outside the window, and even the bubbling of the soup pot in front of him were all shut out.

The only sound was the pounding of my heart, which grew louder and louder until the chopsticks in my hand seemed to tremble along with it.

Yue Qihua began to ponder the meaning of Yang Xingyue's words, but her stagnant brain had ceased functioning, and she only wanted to passively wait for that peculiar voice to come and explain.

Only that voice could penetrate the soundproof barrier the two of them had created.

Unfortunately, the voice brought not the joke they had hoped for, but a cold, hard reality that extinguished the last embers of their hearts.

"I did apply to the Experimental Middle School."

Ai Liang swallowed the mushroom in her mouth and said the second half of the sentence: "The Experimental Middle School of Qianhua City".

(End of this chapter)