Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

The barbecue restaurant was located in a somewhat hidden alley. If they hadn't met a kind local guy who led the way, Chen Chao and his friends might have spent the rest of the day wandering around without finding the place.

The barbecue restaurant wasn't large, but it was packed with customers. As soon as Chen Chao and his friends approached, they could smell the aroma of charcoal, cumin, and chili in the air.

"It smells so good! This barbecue must be really good." Taking a deep breath, Meng Ziyi nodded with satisfaction, giving his evaluation as a seasoned barbecue connoisseur.

After entering the store, the four of them found a corner seat. Considering that Meng Ziyi came from Changchun, the city of barbecue, she should know better which barbecue restaurants were less likely to be bad, so Chen Chao and the other two unanimously decided to entrust her with the important task of ordering.

"Hey, this restaurant even has roasted lamb chops!" Meng Ziyi's eyes quickly scanned the menu, and soon she found something she really wanted to eat.

"Are you sure you can finish it?" Chen Chao couldn't help but ask after peeking at the portion size of lamb chops on the menu.

"It's not like I'm eating alone," Meng Ziyi retorted confidently. "We're all eating together."

Seeing her "I'm doing this for everyone" expression, Chen Chao couldn't help but shake his head with amusement: "Okay, then you can continue ordering."

After looking at the menu for a while, Meng Ziyi called over a waiter and began to announce the dishes: "Two servings of roasted lamb chops, twelve beef skewers, four chicken wing skewers, eight squid tentacles, two roasted eggplants, two servings of enoki mushrooms, one serving of potato slices, one serving of stir-fried snails, and—"

"Wait a minute." Seeing Meng Ziyi's expression, Chen Chao quickly interrupted her, "Are you sure the four of us can eat that much right now?"

Faced with Chen Chao's questioning, Meng Ziyi counted on her fingers and told him: "Two people share the lamb chops, three beef skewers each, chicken wings..."

Halfway through the calculation, Meng Ziyi finally realized that she might have ordered a bit too much, and her voice gradually softened, "Then... shall I order less?"

Seeing this, Chen Xingxu silently reached out and took the order from the waiter. He first changed the quantity of barbecue, then added a portion of grilled mantou slices, before handing the order back to the waiter.

After the waiter left, Meng Ziyi couldn't wait to ask, "How did you know I like toasted bread slices?"

When Meng Ziyi asked him the question, Chen Xingxu remained calm: "Last time you snatched the baked bun from Chen Chao's plate and ate it."

The air fell silent for a second, and Meng Ziyi's face flushed red at a visible speed: "Why...why are you observing me! Also, Chen Chao himself agreed to give me that piece of toasted bread."

In response, Chen Xingxu remained calm: "You were sitting right across from me at the time, it would have been difficult for me not to see you."

Listening to the conversation between the two, Chen Chao laughed so hard his shoulders shook, and Li Yitong couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh as well.

Looking at this and then at that, Meng Ziyi held back for a long time, and finally could only say something that sounded like a child who had lost an argument: "I'm not playing with you anymore."

"Hey, stop now." Although teasing Meng Ziyi was fun, Chen Chao knew that too much of a good thing could be bad, so when he saw that the situation was about right, he immediately smiled and patted her shoulder, "You haven't brought out your secret weapon yet."

Upon hearing Chen Chao's words, Meng Ziyi, who had been pretending to be emotional, suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Oh yeah!"

Meng Ziyi quickly reached into his canvas bag and pulled out two or three packets that were clearly barbecue seasonings.

Li Yitong leaned over and picked up a packet, examining it curiously: "Is this barbecue seasoning from Changchun? It doesn't seem much different from what we usually eat."

"The barbecue seasoning at this shop is especially delicious!" Meng Ziyi said earnestly. "I brought these all from Changchun specifically for you to try today."

Chen Chao, who was very curious about the dry seasoning for Northeastern barbecue, picked up a bag and looked at it. Inside, he could clearly see that there were two essential barbecue seasonings: chili flakes and white sesame seeds.

"This shouldn't be too spicy, right?" As a Cantonese person who doesn't eat much spicy food, Chen Chao decided to ask again just to be on the safe side.

Without much thought, Meng Ziyi answered almost instinctively, "I think it's okay, not particularly spicy."

After hearing Meng Ziyi's answer, Chen Chao finally felt completely relieved. After all, when it came to their ability to eat spicy food, the two were actually quite similar. Since she had no problem, then Chen Chao naturally wouldn't have any problem either.

As if sensing something, Meng Ziyi narrowed her eyes and looked at Chen Chao. "I have a feeling you're thinking about something rude!"

"That's your imagination!" Chen Chao denied without changing his expression.

"Really?" Meng Ziyi leaned closer to Chen Chao, her eyes filled with doubt.

"Really." Chen Chao leaned back, using this to create some distance between himself and Meng Ziyi.

With a soft snort, Meng Ziyi showed complete disbelief in Chen Chao's answer, but she didn't press him further. Instead, she focused intently on preparing her "secret dipping sauce."

After pouring the barbecue seasoning powder into a small dish, she asked the waiter for some vinegar and sesame oil, poured them in, stirred them together, and finally took a bite, nodding with great satisfaction.

"Alright, you can use this as a dip in later."

Seeing her very professional demeanor, Chen Chao asked with some curiosity, "Who taught you this skill? It looks quite professional."

"With my mom." Meng Ziyi answered Chen Chao's question with a matter-of-fact manner, "I used to eat barbecue a lot, and I gradually learned how to make it by watching her."

"Is it that amazing?" Chen Chao chimed in, playing along perfectly.

"Of course." She puffed out her chest with pride. "I could grill skewers when I was ten, I could watch the grill by myself when I was twelve, and when I was thirteen—"

"And when you were thirteen?" Seeing Meng Ziyi suddenly pause, Li Yitong asked curiously.

"When I was thirteen... I set the table on fire." Meng Ziyi's voice trailed off, sounding very unsure of herself.

After a moment of silence, Chen Chao and Li Yitong couldn't help but burst into laughter, and even Chen Xingxu's lips curled up, clearly unable to suppress his laughter either.

"What are you laughing at!" Meng Ziyi's face was as red as a tomato. "That's because the table was too dry and old, it has nothing to do with me!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Chen Chao wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, "It has nothing to do with a thirteen-year-old child, it's all the table's fault."

Hearing Chen Chao's teasing, Meng Ziyi was so angry that she reached out to pinch him, but Chen Chao nimbly dodged her. She missed and almost fell off the chair.

"Be careful." Fortunately, Chen Chao reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and preventing an accident.