Chapter 23: Shrimp Paste

This hot pot meal today was the happiest one Bai Yurou had eaten since waking up.

In the family, she still had to maintain the obedient good-girl persona and couldn’t eat so freely; but in front of good friends, she only needed to be herself, eat whatever she wanted, and could even gossip with friends while eating.

The three young girls in front of her could be considered Bai Yurou’s only friends at present.

As a young lady from a wealthy family, her social circle had never been wide to begin with, plus her body was weak and sickly, and she was often hospitalized.

In elementary school she had one childhood sweetheart she was very close with, but later the other party went abroad.

She and her subsequent classmates were basically just nodding acquaintances, without any good friends or besties.

She and Cai Xiaotong had also met online, and only today had developed into offline friends.

“Do you still want to add more dishes?”

Cai Xiaotong saw that the ingredients were finished, opened her phone to scan the QR code next to the table, and prepared to order more.

“No need.”

Bai Yurou had always been delicate in build and had a small appetite.

Everyone had basically given about a quarter of the amount to her white pot when putting in dishes.

Now she was already about seventy percent full.

She could still eat, but she didn’t want to add more.

“I want some. Add another portion of beef tripe.”

Zhao Dandan said to her cousin.

“Okay. Sister Dandan is really ruthless.”

Cai Xiaotong complained.

Beef tripe was one of the most expensive dishes in hot pot.

“Who told you to always exploit me? Today I’m going to make you bleed a little.”

Although Xiaotong often exploited her, she had actually given enough compensation.

Zhao Dandan was just purely joking by saying this.

“Then what about Ning Mu? What do you want to add?”

Cai Xiaotong added a portion of beef tripe on her phone, then looked toward Ning Mu sitting opposite her.

“Shrimp paste.”

Ning Mu said.

Bai Yurou’s body trembled slightly upon hearing these two words.

Shrimp paste—besides beef tripe, this was her favorite dish.

The image of those pinkish-white little balls tumbling in the hot pot immediately floated up in her mind, along with that smooth, tender, and fresh texture… Thinking about it, she accidentally swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The sound seemed a bit loud and was heard by Ning Mu.

Ning Mu turned her head toward her. “Do you want some too?”

She really wanted to eat it, but just earlier she had told Cai Xiaotong she didn’t need to order more.

If she wanted to eat the dish Ning Mu ordered now, wouldn’t that be slapping her own face?

So she should refuse! But she really wanted to eat it so much…

In the end, Bai Yurou neither refused nor admitted it, and just looked at Ning Mu like that.

“Actually, I can’t finish a whole portion of shrimp paste by myself. It might end up being wasted.”

Ning Mu saw the young girl’s somewhat tsundere and awkward appearance of not wanting to admit it, and actively offered her a way out.

“Then I’ll help you eat some. I’m not too full either. I can take care of the part you can’t finish,” Bai Yurou followed Ning Mu’s step and admitted the fact that she was still craving it.

After saying that, a joyful expression unconsciously appeared on her face.

So cute.

Ning Mu saw the delicate young girl in front of her looking delighted because she could eat something she liked, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve up slightly.

Isn’t it a very normal thing to feel happy because you see a pretty beautiful girl happy?

Ning Mu thought so.

Before long, the waitress brought up the two additional dishes.

Zhao Dandan took the beef tripe handed over by the waitress.

“Yurou, do you still want some beef tripe?”

Zhao Dandan had seen the earlier interaction between Ning Mu and Bai Yurou, and specifically asked.

“No… no need.”

Bai Yurou politely refused.

Beef tripe was a dish that had originally been ordered; she had already eaten some today.

But the shrimp paste hadn’t been in the set meal Cai Xiaotong bought earlier; it was something Ning Mu had added separately, so she wanted to eat it.

“Okay.”

Zhao Dandan didn’t say much more and put all the beef tripe into the hot pot.

“At least blanch them piece by piece. Who dumps them all in at once like you?”

Cai Xiaotong saw her cousin’s action and couldn’t help murmuring.

“What’s the difference? Anyway, Yurou isn’t eating it. The three of us all eat from the red pot. When we want to eat, we can just scoop them out.”

“That’s what you say, but what if you don’t want to eat them right away? Scooping them up and putting them in the bowl will make them cold.”

Cai Xiaotong retorted.

On the other side, the shrimp paste was also handed over by the waitress to Bai Yurou’s side.

The shrimp paste was packed in a light-green bamboo tube, with the natural texture of bamboo still on the tube body.

Through the mouth of the tube, one could see the shrimp paste inside, warm and smooth like solidified fat, with fine shrimp meat particles embedded on the surface.

Orange-red and pinkish-white interwoven, like crushed jade dotted in ointment.

Bai Yurou sat on the outer side, picked up the bamboo tube, and wanted to hand it to Ning Mu on the inside.

“You put your portion in first,” Ning Mu didn’t take it, only reminding her.

“But… I don’t know how much you can eat.”

Bai Yurou still felt she was only responsible for taking care of the part Ning Mu couldn’t finish.

What if she put in too much and Ning Mu wouldn’t have any left to eat?

“No need. Yurou, pour as much as you want to eat. You wouldn’t just leave me a little, would you?”

Ning Mu tilted her head, her tone carrying a teasing note.

“Okay.”

Bai Yurou heard Ning Mu say this and no longer declined.

She picked up the spoon and carefully scraped out the shrimp paste from the bamboo tube, putting it into her exclusive white pot.

She scraped very restrainedly, only taking less than a quarter, then handed the bamboo tube back to Ning Mu.

“Not going to eat a bit more?” Ning Mu asked.

“No, no. These are enough for me,” Bai Yurou was still worried that Ning Mu wouldn’t have enough to eat and refused.

Actually, if she were truly allowed to eat, she could still eat half.

Having some to taste is enough. After all, you yourself refused to add more dishes just earlier. This bit of shrimp paste is only something you can eat because Ning Mu can’t finish it. You can’t push your luck.

Bai Yurou said this to herself.

Ning Mu could sense that the young girl should still be able to eat more, but persuading her further seemed a bit deliberate, so she didn’t say anything more.

She took the bamboo tube and scraped the remaining shrimp paste into the pot bit by bit.

***

The beef tripe Zhao Dandan had put in earlier was cooked.

She scooped up a few pieces with the colander, preparing to pick them into her own bowl with chopsticks.

“Give me some,” Cai Xiaotong said as she picked two pieces from Zhao Dandan’s colander.

Zhao Dandan didn’t stop her.

She had ordered this portion of beef tripe not intending to eat it alone in the first place, and earlier when dumping them in together, she had also said that if anyone wanted to eat, they could scoop it themselves.

“Mumu, do you want some?”

Zhao Dandan held up the colander while asking Ning Mu opposite her.

“No need. I’ll eat the shrimp paste later.”

She had just said she couldn’t finish the shrimp paste.

If she ate the beef tripe now, wouldn’t that be openly saying she had just been lying?

If Bai Yurou found out, she would discover that she was deliberately taking care of her.

But she didn’t want Bai Yurou to know.

“Then the rest is all mine.”

Zhao Dandan saw Ning Mu refuse and poured all the remaining beef tripe in the colander into her own bowl.

Not long after, the shrimp paste was also cooked, floating up from the bottom of the pot to the surface of the broth, the hot steam carrying the aroma spreading out.

“The shrimp paste is done.”

Bai Yurou reminded Ning Mu.

Her shrimp paste had only been put in a little earlier than Ning Mu’s.

Since hers was done, Ning Mu’s was naturally done as well.

Then she used chopsticks to pick the shrimp paste out of the pot, rolled it a few times in the oil dipping sauce, and then sent it into her own mouth.

Indeed, although it lacked the numbing spiciness of the red broth, the smooth, tender, and fresh texture of the shrimp paste was still so wonderful.