At the request of the young mistress, Corey drove the car to the underground parking lot of a city center shopping mall.
While in the car, he asked her what she’d want to eat, and she replied eagerly with one word: Hotpot!
As a result, they had come to this shopping mall, since according to Miss Ying, it housed a super authentic and delicious hotpot restaurant.
After getting out of the car, Ying Xiaoxiao and Corey went straight to the fourth floor and walked into a hotpot restaurant that looked rather old.
A friendly waiter approached them immediately and said, “Welcome! Table for two?”
“Yeah.” Ying Xiaoxiao looked around at the restaurant. It had few diners. She said, “We would like to sit in the corner.”
“Sure, please follow me.”
The waiter led them to their table in the corner and said, “Please take a seat. I am going to fetch the menu for you.”
Corey gave the waiter a glance before sitting down.
“Did you used to come here often?”
He looked at Ying Xiaoxiao’s pretty little face opposite him and cocked an eyebrow.
“I used to come here a lot with Rosiley and the others,” she replied as she turned to check out the decor at the restaurant. It had not changed much over the years, and she could not help but feel a little nostalgic.
She missed the simple and untroubled days in the past when she would enjoy a meal here with her best friends whenever she had the time. She felt at ease.
Then, she smiled at Corey and said, “You have to give it a try. Rosiley, Yayoi, and I all love the hotpot here.”
Corey smiled and said, “Then I shall savor it carefully.”
The waiter came over and handed them the menu. “Please take your time, and put a check on anything that you want to order. You can call me when you are done.”
He walked away again.
“Do you like spicy food?” Ying Xiaoxiao asked without looking up as she browsed through the menu.
“I can do some.” Actually, Corey already felt his stomach aching when he saw the fiery red color of the hotpot picture on the menu.
Ying Xiaoxiao glanced up at him briefly and said, “If you don’t like it then say so, don’t force yourself to eat it.”
Corey raised his brow almost imperceptibly. Was she looking down at him?
But the truth was, he really could not eat spicy food, though his pride would never let him give up just like that.
Thus, he coughed softly and said in a rather calm voice, “I’m very good at eating spicy food, you can rest assured. Order it as spicy as you like, and I’ll just take whatever I’m served.”
Ying Xiaoxiao frowned and looked at him suspiciously, clearly not believing him.
Nevertheless, she was not about to stop him from taking the road to ruin.
A wicked spark of light flashed in her eyes briefly, as Ying Xiaoxiao checked the box for the spiciest hotpot on the menu.
…
Corey was blown away.
He looked at the steaming hotpot on the table in stupefaction, as it was filled to the top with boiling red chili oil. He could feel his nose immersed in an intensely spicy aroma.
“Achoo…” He could not help but sneeze.
Ying Xiaoxiao gave him a look as she disinfected her tableware with hot water.
She could see that he was frowning deeply and rubbing his nose in discomfort.
It was obvious that he would not be able to stand the spiciness.
He must be taught a lesson for being too proud to yield.
“Miss Ying, how spicy did you order it?” Corey asked.
Ying Xiao blinked innocently and replied, “You said I could order it as spicy as I wanted, so I chose the spiciest one.”
Corey stared at the glaring red hotpot and swallowed reluctantly.
He had to suffer through this hell to save face after his bold claim.
The hotpot was really way too hot, and Corey could not eat very much of it. Even a small mouthful made him sweat! He could only continue eating after the effect of each bite had worn off after a bit.
In stark contrast to his embarrassing situation, Ying Xiaoxiao had not stopped eating from the moment she had picked up her chopsticks.