Chapter 96 - Extra Spicy

On the way, Tang Huaijin sent a message to his sister, telling her that there was a gathering with classmates tonight, so she shouldn’t wait for him for dinner.

His sister knew that Tang Huaijin was going to announce their relationship today, so she wouldn’t disturb him from doing important things, just reminded him to stay safe.

Upon reaching the destination, Tang Huaijin glanced at Xia Xinya, who was huddled in a corner, and said irritably, “Get out of the car.”

Xia Xinya glanced outside at the street food stall, grumbling discontentedly, “Why did you bring me here?”

“To treat you to dinner.” Seeing her not moving, Tang Huaijin urged again, “Hurry up.”

“Hmph.” Xia Xinya snorted in dissatisfaction, pouting as she followed him into a roadside food stall.

Seeing the crowded scene inside the stall, Xia Xinya wrinkled her nose in disdain and said, “You’re really treating me to this?”

“What do you know? My buddies and I have been coming here since we were kids.” Tang Huaijin found a table with ease and sat down, patting the seat next to him, “Don’t just stand there, sit down.”

Only then did Xia Xinya reluctantly sit next to him, crossing her arms and pouting as she sulked.

“See if there’s anything else you want to order?” Tang Huaijin ordered a few skewers from the menu and handed it to her.

Rascal, not letting her order first, Xia Xinya felt a bit dissatisfied, grumbling as she took the pen and marked a few skewers of each item on the menu out of spite.

Tang Huaijin naturally noticed her little actions, chuckled, and said, “Order as you like.”

“But if you dare to waste, if you order and can’t finish, I’ll stuff it all into your mouth.”

Knowing Tang Huaijin was a man of his word, Xia Xinya glared at him resentfully but didn’t dare to order recklessly. When she saw the spice levels, her eyes lit up, knowing Tang Huaijin couldn’t handle spicy food, she immediately chose extra spicy.

But after hesitating for a moment, she crossed out the checkmark in the box, her pen hovering over medium spicy before finally ticking mild spicy.

With a face full of grievance, she returned the menu to Tang Huaijin, turning her head away, not wanting to look at him.

Tang Huaijin didn’t notice any of this, gesturing to the nearby aunt who was a server, calling out, “Auntie, come take our order.”

The aunt chuckled, came over, and poured tea for the two of them from a hot water pot, then picked up the menu to confirm their order.

Seeing the spice levels, the aunt frowned and asked, “Do you want extra spicy or mild spicy?”

Tang Huaijin glanced at Xia Xinya, who was sneaking peeks at him, smiled helplessly, and said, “Extra spicy, and bring a case of beer.”

Knowing this girl liked spicy food, Tang Huaijin went along with her, besides, spicy skewers were no big deal.

Hearing this, Xia Xinya’s heart felt sweet, realizing the rascal was still thinking of her.

But somehow, she thought of Tang Huaijin being with Bai Yuerou, and couldn’t feel happy, a sour sadness creeping in.

She asked impulsively, “Rascal, if Rou and I came here to eat, what spice level would you choose?”

Tang Huaijin was taken aback, then said irritably, “I’d choose devil spicy, to burn you.”

Xia Xinya burst into laughter, teasingly said, “If it could burn me, you’d be burned too.”

Tang Huaijin laughed along, saying, “Alright, then we’d be friends in the underworld.”

Hearing him say this, Xia Xinya didn’t feel as sad, absentmindedly poking at the plate in front of her with her chopsticks, softly saying, “Rascal, why are you with Bai Yuerou?”

“We’ll talk about this later, let’s eat first.” Tang Huaijin handed her a skewer of lamb, the dishes had arrived, this place was popular not just for its skill but also for the speed of serving.

Previously, when he came here with friends, they usually ordered medium spicy, this was Tang Huaijin’s first time trying extra spicy, and he found it overwhelmingly spicy, quickly grabbing a bottle of beer, pouring it into a mug, and taking a big gulp.

“Refreshing, it’s been a while since I had beer here.” Tang Huaijin smiled contentedly, looking at Xia Xinya’s curious face, teasingly said, “What are you looking at, never had beer?”

Xia Xinya, holding a skewer, immediately pushed her glass forward defiantly, “Who says I haven’t, fill it up.”

“Alright.” Tang Huaijin cheerfully filled her glass with beer.

Xia Xinya imitated Tang Huaijin, boldly taking a big gulp, but ended up coughing a few times from the fizz.

Tang Huaijin, watching her with amusement, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

“Don’t laugh.” Xia Xinya grabbed a napkin, glaring at him angrily, “I just accidentally choked.”

Tang Huaijin didn’t tease her further, nodding in agreement, quietly eating his skewers, occasionally clinking glasses with her.

Intending to get this girl a bit tipsy, Tang Huaijin drank quickly, and soon, each had downed two bottles of beer.

Seeing her cheeks already flushed, Tang Huaijin put down his glass and asked, “Xinya, tell me, why do you feel sad seeing me with Bai Yuerou?”

Xia Xinya, with a hint of intoxication in her eyes, replied angrily, “You’re taking Rou away, of course I’m sad, you know I like Rou.”

“You’ve mentioned before, you’re afraid of Yuerou leaving you, thinking only by being with her, she won’t leave, so you wanted to be a couple with her.” Tang Huaijin looked at Xia Xinya, asking, “Do you think now that I’m with Yuerou, has she left you?”

“You think I’m stupid, you two together will definitely play together, not include me.” Saying this, Xia Xinya’s eyes reddened slightly, muttering, “Then I’ll be alone again, rascal.”

“No, Xinya, we won’t leave you out.” Tang Huaijin reached out to ruffle Xia Xinya’s hair, gently saying, “Actually, whether we’re together or not, our relationship hasn’t changed, Yuerou is still your friend, and I’m still your friend.”

“Do you think I would stop you from playing with Yuerou?”

Since the last school sports meet, Xia Xinya hadn’t let Tang Huaijin touch her head again. Now, seeing his hand reaching over, she didn’t resist, obediently letting him ruffle her hair. A hint of joy appeared in her eyes, but after hearing his words, she retorted discontentedly, “Who knows if what you’re saying is true? You two are already together, so you can do whatever you want.”

Tang Huaijin’s voice was gentle as he said, “So you see, you actually understand yourself. You’re just afraid of Yuerou leaving you; you don’t really like her.”

Xia Xinya gradually came to realize that she was just afraid of Rou leaving her. But the thought of Tang Huaijin and Bai Yuerou being together made her heart ache again. She said petulantly, “Whenever I think of you and Rou being together, I feel sad. I do like her. You should break up with Rou right now and give her back to me.”

Tang Huaijin was so frustrated that he felt like his teeth were itching. He said helplessly, “That’s just possessiveness over a friend, like a child who gets upset when their friend makes new friends. Don’t you get it?”

“I’m not a child.” Xia Xinya glared at him fiercely and said, “I don’t care. You need to break up with Rou.”

Tang Huaijin was silent for a moment, looking into Xia Xinya’s eyes, and asked, “Let me ask you this: even if I break up with Rou, if I get together with someone else, would you be sad?”

Xia Xinya met his gaze but then looked away, feeling inexplicably guilty, and stubbornly said, “I–I wouldn’t be sad.”

“Oh?” Tang Huaijin chuckled softly and said, “Alright, you said it. Then I’ll reconcile with Lin Ruoxi tomorrow.”

“No way!” Xia Xinya immediately shouted, but quickly realized she had been tricked when she saw Tang Huaijin’s playful smile. She muttered, “Maybe just a little sad.”

“See, isn’t it the same? Both Bai Yuerou and I are your friends. No matter who you see with a partner, you feel sad.”

“No, it’s different.” Xia Xinya’s face felt a bit hot, and she stammered, “I don’t like you; I like Rou.”

Tang Huaijin felt a bit exhausted, not knowing what to say. Words alone couldn’t persuade this stubborn girl. He could only let her slowly accept the fact that he and Bai Yuerou were together, and let her gradually understand that even if they were together, they wouldn’t neglect her.

After a long silence, he said, “Even if you don’t accept it, it doesn’t matter. Yuerou and I are already together.”

Seeing Xia Xinya pouting as if she was about to cry, Tang Huaijin quickly said, “Trust me, even if we’re together, neither I nor Yuerou will leave you. We can still play together, and you and Yuerou can still be together.”

Hearing him say this, Xia Xinya believed that he wouldn’t let Rou leave her. But there was still an indescribable feeling in her heart, a sense of unease in her chest. However, she understood the rascal well enough to know that once he made a decision, he wouldn’t change it easily.

Xia Xinya didn’t say anything, picked up her cup, and took a big gulp of wine, her cheeks flushed as she looked at Tang Huaijin, grumbling, “Then you promise to take me with you no matter what you do.”

“Alright.” Seeing her finally make a concession, Tang Huaijin immediately beamed with joy, clinking his cup with hers in celebration.

Although the system hadn’t given any prompts yet, Xia Xinya was already able to accept that he and Bai Yuerou were together, indicating that she was gradually realizing that she was just afraid of Bai Yuerou leaving her. As long as she believed that even if Bai Yuerou was with him, she wouldn’t leave her, then everything would be perfect.

With the weight lifted from his heart, Tang Huaijin also relaxed and started eating the skewers. Earlier, he hadn’t eaten much because he was preoccupied, just drinking with Xia Xinya.

Seeing him struggling with the spiciness, Xia Xinya snorted, poured a small bowl of hot water from the kettle, dipped the skewer in it, and handed it to Tang Huaijin, saying sweetly, “Rascal, you’re usually so arrogant, but you can’t even handle spicy food.”

Tang Huaijin knew this girl had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He quickly put on a flattered expression and laughed, “The sun must have risen in the west today. How did I get the honor of eating a skewer personally dipped by Miss Xia?”

Even though she knew he was teasing her, Xia Xinya couldn’t help but laugh, giving him a playful glare and saying, “What do you mean by ‘risen in the west’? Am I not usually good to you?” Although she seemed displeased, her tone was coquettish.

“Good, very good indeed.” Tang Huaijin chuckled, “Give me a moment, I’ll finish eating and take you home.”

Xia Xinya was a bit unhappy again upon hearing this. Rascal, does he really not want to spend time with her?

She snorted, put down the skewer she was dipping for Tang Huaijin, and took another sip from her wine glass.

Tang Huaijin noticed that her alcohol tolerance wasn’t great and frowned, advising, “Drink less, you’ll get drunk.”

Xia Xinya was already feeling a bit dizzy and mumbled, “None of your business.” She took another two sips as if she was drinking out of spite.

Tang Huaijin couldn’t do much about her. He didn’t continue to persuade her, mainly because it was okay if she got drunk. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she could sleep in, and there was no safety concern with him around.

Seeing that Tang Huaijin wasn’t coming to coax her, Xia Xinya felt even more aggrieved and continued drinking several more cups, as if determined to get herself drunk.

Tang Huaijin shook his head helplessly, not knowing what was wrong with this girl’s nerves again. He quickly snatched her wine glass away and scolded, “Stop drinking like that. You’re already drunk.”

“Why are you yelling? I’m not drunk, give it back.” Xia Xinya, feeling dizzy, reached out with bleary eyes to grab the glass from his hand.

Tang Huaijin quickly called someone over to settle the bill and helped the unsteady Xia Xinya out of the restaurant.