Chapter 268: So Hungry

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“What is this? Something going on with the two of you?”

She was pleasantly surprised by what she just saw that her eyes were wide-opened. While at that moment, Bai Muchuan was speechless at her expression.

“… I had a fight with Laowu.”

“So he did that?”

“Mm.”

“He’s really serious!” Xiang Wan could not stop expressing her sympathy.

Looking at the big patch of redness on Bai Muchuan’s chest, they were really fighting for real!

“… I feel like you are on the receiving end?”

Xiang Wan mumbled softly, trying hard to contain the urge to laugh out loud. She lovingly stroked the patch of redness and asked jokingly, “Is it painful?”

Bai Muchuan gave a cold sneer and got her hands off him.

“Relax, he’s worse off than me!”

…

Five minutes later, everybody gathered at the main lobby.

Xiang Wan saw a cool-looking Quan Shaoteng who was wearing a pair of shades, hands in his trouser pockets.

At that time, the sky was dark and the lobby was well lit by the lights but the streets were dark.

Why would someone wear shades at night?

Everyone looked at him but Quan Shaoteng simply waved his hand in dissatisfaction.

“Let’s go! Aren’t we supposed to eat hotpot?”

…

Tu Liang was certainly someone who knew how to enjoy life.

In less than a day, he had already familiarized himself with Nanmu.

Nanmu’s delicacies and its geographic location were now at his fingertips. He looked more like the local than the naive and innocent looking Salimu.

He drove the SUV and took them to a restaurant which was reputed to be the most delicious hotpot restaurant in Nanmu.

While on their way, Tang Yuanchu kept praising Tu Liang.

“Brother Tu, from today onward, I want to learn from you. You will be my teacher—I want to learn all your skills!”

“Do you have to go to this extent just for food?” Quan Shaoteng stretched his long legs and laughed.

“Hey!” Tang Yuanchu turned around to look at him. “Master Quan, do you have his skill?”

“Well, I have other skills.” Quan Shaoteng’s eyes were half-opened as he stroked his stud earring. “I might not be adept at looking for good food, but I know how to eat!”

“…” Pffft!

Originally, Xiang Wan didn’t want to participate in their bantering.

But when she heard what they said, she couldn’t control her laughter anymore.

Quan Shaoteng was still wearing that big pair of shades even when they hopped onto the SUV. Nobody knew what happened and did not dare to ask about it, either…

Although he might seem to be able to talk to anyone, besides Bai Muchuan, he did not share anything about his personal life.

“Brother Tu! Are you married?” Seeing that nobody was talking, Xiang Wan decided to break the ice.

Women are always curious when it comes to matters of the heart.

In her opinion, she felt that if a guy like Tu Liang were to be married, he would definitely take good care of his wife. He was the type of man who would look after his family.

“I’m married,” Tu Liang replied, his face had happiness written all over it. “My kid is already five years old.”

“Wow! That’s unexpected.” Xiang Wan smiled. “You still look so young!”

She had made this remark out of courtesy and didn’t think much about it. Very soon, she felt a hand sneaking over to hold and squeeze her hand. When she turned, she saw her man’s lips were pressed together but were expressionless.

Xiang Wan’s lips twitched and stopped the conversation.

“Tu Liang, your wife is so fortunate!” Quan Shaoteng saw the subtle interaction between the couple and continued the conversation meaningfully.

“So when a woman looks for her life partner, she should keep her eyes open and think more carefully. She should find someone like Tu Liang, who knows how to enjoy life and treat others well. Don’t look for those who have a fiery temper and don’t do anything else… Am I correct, Teacher Xiang?”

“…”

Xiang Wan could hear the sarcasm in his words.

Her lips pressed together to form a straight line when Bai Muchuan laughed and retaliated.

“Are you talking about yourself? No wonder! You’re already at this age and haven’t found a girlfriend!”

Ouch!

For a man who had been a bachelor for so many years, those words were a blow to him.

Yet Quan Shaoteng didn’t respond in anger. Instead, he laughed. “Who told you that I don’t have a girlfriend?”

Hurhur! Bai Muchuan didn’t even turn to look at him.

Quan Shaoteng snorted a laugh. “Zhan Yuan has helped to do a reading for me. He said after this year, I’ll have a lot of luck with women! It’s all up to me!”

“Aye! Since you’re that capable, why don’t you remove your shades?” Bai Muchuan said in a lazy tone.

“… Little Bai, Let’s get off the vehicle now and have a match!”

“I’m not interested!”

“…”

The rest of the people in the car kept quiet.

By now, they knew the reason behind why Quan Shaoteng wore a pair of shades.

It must be because of Bai Muchuan’s fists!

Only the naive and innocent Salimu was admiring the night sky and had a joyous smile on his face.

“This is the most lively trip that I have taken,” said Salimu in his accented Mandarin. “I get to return to my hometown together with such interesting colleagues and a nice superior. Every day is an interesting day, with lots of interesting topics to talk about…”

Every day is an interesting day…

Indeed, it sure is interesting.

Xiang Wan almost laughed upon hearing that.

…

The conveyor belt hotpot restaurant was situated at the south of Nanmu City.

When they arrived here, Xiang Wan completely changed her previous impression of Nanmu.

Sure enough, no matter how poor a place was, there would also be people who were very wealthy.

This small conveyor belt hotpot restaurant was located at level two of a building which was part of a newly developed district and quite a distance from the place that they were currently staying. There were no other high rise buildings and the building was surrounded by greenery, making that place rather quiet.

Most wealthy Nanmu citizens would come to this location for their nightlife and it became a gathering spot for these people.

“During the daytime, we did not visit this part of Nanmu. I never expect that such a place existed.”

Looking at the well-illuminated signboards, Xiang Wan let out a sigh. Her stomach suddenly grumbled—she’s hungry.

“The aroma of the hotpot smells so good! Tonight, I’m going to eat to my heart’s content!”

Bai Muchuan took her hand and gazed at her with a smile. “You little greedy cat,” he said in a doting tone.

Then he turned toward Tu Liang, Tang Yuanchu, and the rest of them with a calm, serious expression. “Everyone, be on your guard.”

Everyone: “Got it!”

After hearing that, Xiang Wan came back to reality from her foodie world.

Oh yeah! This is Nanmu.

If they could encounter trouble in a small noodle house, what could be waiting in a buzzing hotpot restaurant like this?

She pressed on her stomach and moved closer to Bai Muchuan.

“Hah!” Bai Muchuan was amused by her sudden behavior. He turned his head to her. “With me around, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Mm!”

The line from a man that could calm a woman’s nerves was probably that.

Xiang Wan blinked at him. “I have total confidence in you!”

With that, her attention was moved back to the interior decor of the hotpot restaurant.

This was not the usual decoration of those hotpot restaurants that she had seen.

The sides of the staircase were renovated to give a feeling of Nanmu’s local culture.

Melodious local folk music was playing in the background of the hall. There were many ethnic elements in their decoration. Some of the people who came here to eat hotpot were even wearing their ethnic costumes. Just one glance was enough to tell that they were locals.

The appearance of Bai Muchuan and rest of them quickly attracted a lot of attention.

For that short moment, other than the light music playing in the background, no one seemed to be talking.

A waitress dressed in ethnic costume walked up towards them.

“Welcome Sir, table for?”

Bai Muchuan kept quiet. Tu Liang responded to the waitress.

“Seven of us. Thank you!”

The waitress smiled politely. “This way, please!”

Tu Liang gave a frown as he looked at the main hall of the restaurant. “Any private dining room available?”

The waitress apologized, “I’m sorry. All the private dining rooms are taken up.”

Tu Liang swept a glance at her and pointed his finger slowly toward a private dining room with a half-opened door. “Isn’t that room empty?”

The waitress was a little embarrassed upon hearing that.

“I’m sorry, Sir, that room’s already reserved by another customer in advance.”

The tables in the main hall were rather small. It would be quite cramped if the seven of them were to sit together in one table. It was also inconvenient to talk if they sat at the main hall.

Nevertheless, since the waitress had said so, it wouldn’t be nice to be pushy.

“Okay then.” Tu Liang didn’t contest further but, instead, point toward a table that was next to a window, facing the street.

“We’ll sit there.”

The waitress nodded her head. “Sure, this way please!”

…

It was a U-shaped table with the cutlery already placed neatly on it.

There were eight electromagnetic cookers around the table. At the center of the table was the conveyor belt where the dishes they ordered would be delivered from. Various kinds of dishes would be placed on the conveyor belt and sent to different customers. The customers could just take the dish they wanted to eat. In this hotpot restaurant, everybody also had their own mini hotpot which was a hygienic feature.

Salimu was recommending dishes to Tu Liang as he placed the order.

But when the local dishes that Salimu recommended got thrown out of the window, he decided to just keep quiet.

“You guys just don’t believe me.”

He sounded like an innocent child who had just been wronged when he said that.

“Who says so?” consoled Tang Yuanchu, “look, Brother Tu is ordering the food that you like?”

“It’s not about what I like, it’s about what I want all of you to try!”

It was very normal for Salimu to want them to try out the local dishes and to like his hometown.

“When the dishes are served,” smiled Xiang Wan, “I’m going to try those that you have recommended!”

Salimu’s eyes brightened up when he heard that. “They’re really delicious! You’ll know after you try them.”

“You are making me so hungry that I’m going to swallow my tongue…”

For Xiang Wan who came from the place where hotpot originated from, just the aroma alone was enough to take her soul away. After Salimu gave it a description of his favorite local dishes, she told them openly that she couldn’t wait anymore.

Everyone laughed at their exchange.

The soup bases were served in succession and everybody had just turned on the cooker when the waitress from earlier came back.

“Sir, do you still want the private dining room?”

“Oh?” Tu Liang gave her a strange look. “Someone left?”

“No, it’s the one that’s empty.”

Tu Liang asked, “Didn’t you say that was reserved by a guest?”

“Yes,” replied the waitress with a smile, “the guest who reserved it told us to let you and your friends have it—”

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