“Ah, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for ages.”
Tang Nai waved to Luo Jialan, who had just arrived at the entrance of the restaurant.
She looked up at the signboard, sniffed the spicy aroma wafting from inside, and frowned.
Sichuan and Chongqing flavors… she couldn’t handle that much spiciness.
But once inside the private room, she found the table topped with a steaming tomato broth.
It was a surprise, but Luo Jialan actually quite liked this flavor.
Su Mu couldn’t help but tease:
“Are we really here at the signature spicy hot pot restaurant to eat tomato broth?”
“Well, the owner of this place had a long online debate with me about whether hot pot should be spicy or tomato-based. In the end, we decided to meet in person and settle it.”
Upon hearing this, Su Mu’s lips twitched violently.
The idea of a magical girl and an ordinary person arguing heatedly over a strange taste preference, to the point of arranging a face-to-face showdown, was just too surreal.
“So what did you end up doing?”
“We had a cook-off. She made the spicy one, and I made the tomato one, to see whose would be more popular.”
“You can cook?”
“Not really.”
Tang Nai shrugged, then conjured a tomato shape in the air with her magic.
“But I can deceive the taste buds with magic. I just bought some ordinary tomato hot pot base online, boiled it up, and easily won her over.”
“Cheating… but I’m not surprised at all.”
Luo Jialan, listening in, couldn’t help but hold her forehead in exasperation.
It sounded like something only Tang Nai would do.
“But what does this have to do with us eating here?”
“Because she decided to take me as her mentor to learn the secret of perfect flavor. So I can eat here for free indefinitely.”
“You accepted? That’s really taking advantage…”
Tang Nai didn’t respond, and Su Mu, looking at the bubbling broth, carefully scooped some with a spoon, brought it to her lips, and took a gentle sip.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
“Not bad. Wait, I think I can feel the magic. You didn’t really teach her how to use it, did you!”
Tang Nai nodded, then added:
“But she’s a mutant and also the biggest figure in the B City Combat Department. Cooking is just a hobby for her.”
“If even someone like me can tell, how did she not see through your cheating?”
“That’s rude. She infused more magic into her broth than I did, yet she still couldn’t beat me. Maybe it’s because her cooking part was just too bad.”
“I’m not eating anymore! Hey, is this 12315? I want to report that there’s a hot pot restaurant here suspected of dangerous cooking!”
Even Luo Jialan couldn’t help but smile.
After Su Mu arrived, the atmosphere among the magical girls seemed to become more cheerful.
They had always been missing a proper person to tease Tang Nai.
Previously, when they gathered, they would often fall into awkward silences, unable to find topics to discuss, only talking a bit more when planning missions.
Motes was used to Tang Nai’s outrageous actions, Miti’s expression wavered between being serious and not, Lemon would just stare blankly, as if her mind had absorbed some strange knowledge, and Luo Jialan herself would just be left speechless.
But Su Mu could break this awkwardness.
Although she was so nervous and uneasy when discussing serious topics, in daily life she could freely express her thoughts without any hesitation.
Such a trait was particularly endearing.
Thinking this, Luo Jialan subconsciously sat between Su Mu and Tang Nai, intentionally or unintentionally separating the two.
“Didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?”
Su Mu was taken aback, shifting her gaze from Tang Nai to Luo Jialan’s face.
“Not really.”
She said that, but the dishes had actually all been served.
“More or less. Since we’re all here, let’s get ready to open the champagne.”
Indeed, Tang Nai had brought some champagne, saying it would be more celebratory.
Although the bottle looked very exquisite, with no recognizable words on the packaging, it was clearly expensive.
But Tang Nai’s tone when she picked it up was quite casual, as if in her eyes these were no different from cola-like sparkling water.
Surprisingly extravagant, completely different from her when she was counting money.
“Wait, am I included?”
Seeing everyone’s eyes on her, Su Mu couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
“Of course. After all, we’re also celebrating Irina joining our feast.”
Tang Nai handed the champagne to Su Mu, who gently pinched the seemingly fragile bottleneck, cautiously holding the champagne with both hands, unsure of what to do next.
Indeed, when it came to such a somewhat serious moment, this little squirrel would be at a loss.
“Ah? This, I…”
Su Mu thought Tang Nai was trying to tease her again, but there was no familiar mischievous smile on her face, which made her very uncomfortable.
She wanted to say something to cover up her nervousness, but the words stuck in her throat.
Like a little social phobe, she could handle one-on-one interactions easily, even chatting and laughing, but when there were more people, she would blush, have a racing heart, and only be able to utter some simple onomatopoeic words.
“Alright, let me show you.”
Luo Jialan was no stranger to this process.
She had once accidentally made the champagne shoot out high, so she had deliberately looked into it afterwards.
“Gently tear off the packaging, twist the wire on that side while holding the cork, not this way——”
Su Mu’s fingertips were trembling slightly, showing excessive restraint, to the point of twisting in the wrong direction.
Seeing this, Luo Jialan instinctively held Su Mu’s small hand, guiding her through the process.
Pop!
The sound of the cork popping out was quite clear.
Su Mu, whose fingers were held by Luo Jialan, had blushed without realizing it.
Her original grip on the cork had lost strength, and in the end, the cork flew out.
Gu Xiaobei excitedly clapped her hands, and under everyone’s gaze, Su Mu embarrassedly buried her eyes in her chest, her eyes slightly dazed.
Whether it was because of Luo Jialan’s natural physical touch or because she was not used to being the center of attention, she now felt her face burning as if it were about to steam.
“Stop being silly, let’s toast.”
Tang Nai timely placed her hand on Su Mu’s shoulder and said with a faint smile.
She seemed to have anticipated Su Mu’s reaction, but this time it was not to deliberately tease her out of mischief.
“Mmm…”
It wasn’t until she waved goodbye to everyone, returned to the café, and lay down on the bed without even taking off her shoes that Su Mu could regain her sense of reality.
Dazed and confused, like a dream that was neither fully awake nor asleep.
A few months ago, she had spent hundreds of yuan on an eight-hour high-speed train ride, leaving that silent home to come to this bustling, unfamiliar city.
She had moved out of the dormitory and into a rental house near the street corner.
The old walls had poor sound insulation, and the noise of people coming and going was extremely loud, yet she still felt lonely, only able to warm herself with the heat from the computer and occasionally staring blankly at the ceiling.
B City was actually very lively during the day, but Su Mu only lived at night, hiding in the shadows, so when she was exposed to the sunlight that didn’t belong to her, it felt particularly glaring.
“Hey Su Mu, try on the other new clothes that you haven’t had time to look at yet~”
Tang Nai poked her head out from the door with a mischievous grin.
But the girl lying on the bed was already breathing evenly and deeply, having fallen asleep without even covering herself with a blanket.
Judging from her peaceful expression, she was probably having a good dream.
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