And she seemed so unaffected, looking absolutely normal except for a blush on her cheeks.
Her taste buds must be malfunctioning, right?
Or perhaps they were simply not eating from the same hotpot!
Corey could not imagine how anyone could withstand such spicy food.
She must simply be extraordinary!
Ying Xiaoxiao was blowing off some steam. She kept throwing food into the hotpot, picking it out, and putting it into her mouth.
Even though she could no longer feel her mouth because it was so hot, she just kept eating.
In the end, Corey could not take it anymore. He reached for her hand while she was holding the colander, “If you keep eating like this, your stomach is going to play up.”
Ying Xiaoxiao looked up at him and saw the way he frowned as if he was worried about her.
She licked her numb lips and then said half-jokingly, “If you want me to stop eating this, you have to agree to be my boyfriend.”
“Huh?” Corey was dumbfounded, failing to understand what she was saying at all.
Ying Xiaoxiao finally put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth before she said, “Actually, I’m treating you to dinner today because I need a favor from you.”
He just knew that she would never have been so kind to him unless she wanted something from him.
Corey burst out laughing. “Ying Xiaoxiao, why can’t you just be straightforward instead of beating around the bush?”
His tone held a hint of mockery.
Ying Xiaoxiao frowned. “Is treating you to a meal beating around the bush?”
“Uh-huh.” Corey nodded indifferently.
Ying Xiaoxiao bit her lip, reluctantly nodded in agreement, and said, “Fine, I guess I’m not being straightforward enough.”
Corey had not expected her to actually admit it, and he found it a little funny,
“Wow, it really isn’t like you to admit your mistake just like that. Am I dreaming?” He pinched his cheek.
“Ouch, it hurts!” He cried out in pain and quickly rubbed his face.
With a poker face, Ying Xiaoxiao calmly said, “Idiot!”
When she called him an “idiot,” Corey raised his eyebrows and said, “It looks like you don’t need me after all.”
“You haven’t agreed to help me anyway.” Ying Xiaoxiao went right back at him.
“…” Corey was speechless.
The atmosphere between the two of them instantly dropped to the freezing point, in stark contrast with the liveliness around them.
After a long time, Ying Xiaoxiao finally asked, “Corey, will you help me or not?”
She stared straight at him, looking unusually serious this time.
“Tell me what it is that you need my help with before I can make up my mind.” Corey did not reject her outright.
“Well…” Ying Xiaoxiao remained pensive for a moment. “I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Corey was taken aback. “Are you out of your mind?”
The two of them had never gotten along, and they quarreled every time they saw one another. And now she had just confessed her love to him?
Ying Xiaoxiao knew what he was thinking and added, “It’s not for real, just pretend.”
This time, Corey understood.
“You’re going on a blind date again?”
“No. This time, there is a contract.”
“A contract?! Do you think we are doing business together?” Corey found her ridiculous. He glared at her.
Unexpectedly, she nodded in agreement. “Well, it’s a collaboration.”
She handed him a piece of A4 paper, “Here’s the contract. Let’s collaborate, if you have no further objections.”
Corey glanced at her and took the piece of paper from her, then he looked down to browse through this so-called contract.