Chapter 55 Drawing You into My Embrace

Lu You brought Tang Wan to a Chaoshan beef hotpot restaurant known for both its high popularity and great reviews.

Tang Wan looked up at the slightly grand signboard, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky, filled with excitement.

"I've wanted to eat at this place for ages! What a pity I never had the chance."

"Didn't you come to explore food spots with Xu Nian?"

"How could I afford to eat here back in middle school? And after entering high school, we had classes every single day, leaving zero time to go out."

After entering high school, from six in the morning until past ten at night, every moment was spent at school. Especially in the elite rocket classes, there wasn't even a break on weekends, and the pace of studying was suffocatingly tight.

When Lu You agreed to let her sneak out, part of his intention was to help her unwind and relax a little.

Looking at her back, Lu You instinctively raised his right hand, wanting to stroke her soft hair. Halfway through the motion, he realized what he was doing and quickly pulled his hand back.

"Ahem."

Lu You gave a couple of light coughs to mask his guilty conscience and said, "You go inside and find a table first, I need to use the restroom."

"Okay!"

After Tang Wan walked into the restaurant, he gently tapped his faintly aching chest, smiling bitterly and helplessly at himself.

"Sigh, I thought I could drag it out a bit longer, but I didn't expect I wouldn't even be able to control myself now."

...

Lu You came out of the restroom, walked around for a moment, and found Tang Wan at a four-seater table in the corner.

At this moment, she had placed her white outfit and backpack on the opposite side of her seat, her hair tied up to reveal a section of fair, smooth jade-like neck, looking both refined and capable.

Lu You walked toward her.

"Have you finished ordering dishes?"

Hearing his voice, Tang Wan turned her head, looking at him with a full-face smile.

"I was waiting for you to come."

"You can start ordering. Whatever you order, I'll eat; I'm not picky."

As he spoke, Lu You walked past her, intending to take the seat opposite, but unexpectedly she grabbed his sleeve.

"Come on, Lu You, sit here."

Then, Tang Wan scooted a spot inward and patted her previous seat, signaling him to sit down.

Lu You didn't put on airs; he placed his down jacket and gloves on the opposite side and sat down beside her. Every table in the restaurant was steaming hot, the temperature much higher than outside, and eating hotpot while wearing bulky clothes seemed inconvenient no matter how one looked at it.

Tang Wan placed the ordering tablet between the two of them, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Lu You.

"Look at the menu, let's order together."

So close!

Lu You's already unsteady state of mind became even more chaotic. The citrusy fragrance constantly stimulated his sense of smell, provoking his nerves, and the arm touching hers felt as scorching as red-hot iron.

Lu You hurriedly focused his attention on the menu to prevent his mind from wandering.

The dishes at Chaoshan beef hotpot weren't exceptionally numerous; the main appeal was tasting the original flavor of the beef itself. The recommended soup base was clear broth, and the rest were basically various cuts from a single cow, such as chuck tender, blade shoulder, top blade, flank, ox tongue, rib finger, fatty beef, brisket fat, and so on, accompanied by a beef diagram that detailed the texture of each cut and the corresponding boiling method. The menu also featured a selection of mushrooms, soy products, greens, and beverages.

After a moment of thought, Lu You operated the tablet while speaking in a consultative tone: "How about this, let's order this clear broth for the soup base. Since there are two of us, we can get half-portions of the various beef cuts so we can taste a bit of everything without wasting anything. You love tripe, so we can order two portions of that, and for greens, let's get lettuce. Is there anything else you want to add?"

"Another portion of beef balls, and enoki mushrooms!"

Lu You immediately added these two items to the shopping cart and clicked submit.

"I've placed the order. If it's not enough, we can order more later. Let's go get the dipping sauces."

"Don't!"

Tang Wan reached out to stop Lu You, who was about to stand up, and said, "You're treating me to dinner, so let me handle the dipping sauces and blanching the meat. I'd still feel guilty just freeloading."

"Alright then, off you go."

"Can you eat chili, cilantro, and things like that?"

"A little bit of millet chili, and I'm fine with cilantro and scallions."

"Received!"

...

Before long, Tang Wan returned carrying a tray with six small dishes placed on it.

She arranged them on the table one by one and introduced them individually: "This one is shacha sauce; it has a rich peanut flavor and tastes exceptionally delicious with beef—my family has a jar of it too. This one is a dry seasoning dish, mixed with powdered ingredients like chili powder and cumin. Personally, I think it's pretty good and has a unique flavor of its own. And this last one is just a regular flavor dish."

"You certainly know how to eat."

Lu You naturally understood these things. Not to mention the regional specialties he had witnessed during meetings in various major cities in his past life, in this current life, traveling everywhere with his parents meant he could claim to have tasted all kinds of famous delicacies.

However, hearing Tang Wan share her preferences with him, Lu You certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to interrupt. When a girl shares her joys with you, it is inherently a manifestation of closeness.

"Hmph hmph, absolutely!"

Tang Wan curled the corners of her mouth and said proudly, "If I didn't know how to eat, how could I have grown up so pretty?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Goddess Tang is so breathtaking she could cause fish to sink and geese to alight, and make the moon hide and flowers blush; everyone at Chunhua High School knows her."

"I don't want that many people to know me."

*As long as you know, that's enough.*

This latter sentence was not spoken aloud by Tang Wan; she only chanted it quietly in her heart.

After waiting a few minutes, a pot of rolling clear broth and over a dozen dishes were all laid out on the table, along with a skimmer and two soup ladles.

"Woohoo! Let the boiling begin!"

Full of enthusiasm, Tang Wan dumped a plate of beef from an unknown cut into the skimmer, lowered it into the clear broth, shook it gently for about ten seconds, fished it out, and divided it into their respective bowls.

"Quick, taste this. This is the flank; it has lots of tendon, and the meat texture is wonderfully crisp."

Lu You picked up a piece of beef from his bowl with his chopsticks, dipped it in a little shacha sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

Just as she claimed, the quality of the beef was excellent and flavorful enough. Paired with the unique and mellow taste of the shacha sauce, it was well worth the trip.

Lu You praised, "Not bad, the beef is delicious, and the cooking time was controlled just right—no sense of it being overcooked or undercooked."

"That's great then! Although my cooking skills definitely can't compare to yours, I certainly know how to handle hotpot."

When the two of them finished their midterm exams, they also had the experience of eating hotpot together. But the ingredients back then were all dumped into the pot at once, boiled until they floated, and then consumed immediately, lacking that sense of accomplishment after careful operation.

...

After a hotpot meal, all the plates on the table were completely cleared, and both of them were thoroughly satisfied.

One had eaten more than half of the food, while the other had been served and pampered comfortably.

"Ah—so full—"

Tang Wan leaned back against the sofa, touching her slightly bulging belly.

"I feel like my stomach has grown a size."

"I don't believe it, unless you let me touch it."

Saying this, Lu You made a motion to reach out his hand.

"Cut it out!"

Tang Wan slapped away his mischievous hand and scolded, "Men and women should keep a proper distance. A girl's stomach isn't something a guy can just touch whenever he wants."

*Well, at least not right now.*

"Come on, move aside, it's my turn to use the restroom."

Lu You shifted his body aside once more to let her out.

After Tang Wan left, Lu You rested his chin on his left hand, held the soup ladle in his right hand, and continually stirred the already murky soup base while daydreaming alone.

数十秒后 (A dozen seconds later), a figure appeared beside him, blocking out most of the light.

"So fast..."

His voice stopped abruptly. Because when Lu You looked up, he discovered that this figure was not Tang Wan, but a girl wearing a light pink down jacket.

The girl had delicate eyebrows, well-proportioned facial features, clear contours, and her hair fell naturally over her shoulders and down her back. Her temperament was somewhat similar to Tang Wan's.

Lu You put on a detached and polite expression, asking politely, "Hello, is there something you need?"

The girl returned an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry to intrude. Just now, I saw a familiar figure from the other side, so I wanted to come over and confirm."

"Go ahead."

...

"The person sitting next to you, is she a girl named Tang Wan?"

Lu You instantly narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

She could clearly have waited until Tang Wan returned or asked before Tang Wan went to the restroom, yet she deliberately chose the time when she was away to ask? There was definitely something fishy going on!

Lu You heightened his vigilance, deciding to see what she was up to.

"Her name is indeed Tang Wan, but I'm not sure if she's the one you know."

A spring-breeze smile remained on the girl's face as she spoke softly, "Is she very pretty? If so, then that's almost certainly her. Among our peers, there should only be one pretty girl named Tang Wan."

"Then I suppose she is. Do you know her?"

"Of course I do! How could I not know her? We were in the same class for three years in middle school, and we were even good friends!"

*Keep acting, go on acting!*

Knowing each other might be true, but being good friends was probably fabricated.

Would a good friend deliberately wait until she wasn't around to approach her male companion?

This scheme was so blatant it was hitting him right in the face.

Lu You wouldn't believe a single hair on the girl in front of him right now.

"Then what was Tang Wan like back in middle school?"

"Her? Not only was she pretty, but her grades were also great."

"I know that. She's the same in high school. Tell me something I don't know."

"Um..." The girl lightly tapped her lower lip with her right index finger, a slightly troubled expression on her face.

Lu You simply went along with her idea and said, "It's fine, go ahead and say it, I won't mind."

"Back in middle school, she was the school belle of our campus. She had all the boys in the school completely infatuated, and the line of people chasing her stretched from the classroom all the way to the school gate."

After saying this, the girl glanced at Lu You, seemingly wanting to see what expression he had on his face.

Lu You cooperated very well by frowning and showing a displeased expression.

The girl continued, "But don't you worry, she didn't accept a single one of them. Really, I never even saw a single boy appear by her side. You're the very first guy by her side."

Just then, Tang Wan returned from the restroom. Her relaxed and cheerful pace froze instantly, her expression turned murky and dark, and she said coldly, "Why are you here?"

The girl turned her head and exclaimed pleasantly, "Wanwan! Long time no see! Seeing you wear the Chunhua school uniform, how have you been doing over there?"

"None of your business, please leave."

"We haven't seen each other in so long, is that really how you talk to me?" The girl put on a wounded expression again, her eyes welling up with tears.

Tang Wan lowered her head and clenched her fists tight. Just as the suppressed emotions were about to erupt, Lu You came to her side, reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulder, pulled her back to her seat, and said gently, "You're back! Let's sit for a bit to digest our food, then go take a stroll around the square next door before I send you back, okay?"

Tang Wan raised her head, met Lu You's gentle gaze, and slowly rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"Mm, I'll listen to whatever you say."

Receiving her reply, Lu You turned his head, looked expressionlessly at the girl, and said coldly, "Your story is finished, and she doesn't want to see you right now. However you got here, go back the same way. Have a slow walk out, and don't bother seeing yourself off."

The girl still wore a smile on her face; even after being rebuked with cold words, her expression didn't change at all.

"It seems my misunderstanding with classmate Tang Wan hasn't been resolved yet. Let's leave it at that for today, goodbye."

The girl nodded to the two of them and turned to leave.

Lu You watched her retreating figure, his gaze flickering.

This girl was no simple character; she possessed the exact vibes of a scheming manipulator.

Suddenly, he felt someone pinch his hand, and a fragile voice that tugged at the heartstrings came from beside him.

"Stop looking at her, look at me instead."

Lu You remained silent for a moment, hesitating no longer as he reached out his right hand to stroke the back of her neck, pulling her into his arms and lightly breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Alright, from now on, I'll only look at you."