That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 8

Once you get a taste, you’re addicted.

Yuan Xi wasn’t clear on the dynamic between them. Seeing that no one was moving their chopsticks, he hurried to get things started. “Go on and eat. We can talk while we eat.”

Yuan Yue’s eyes darted, and she seized the opportunity to change the subject, asking Yu Xi, “Can you eat spicy food?”

Yu Xi glanced at the side of the broth that was floating with a layer of red chili oil and shook her head. “I don’t eat spicy food.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If you can’t eat spicy, you can just have the clear broth!” Yuan Xi took charge, turning the clear broth side of the pot to face Yu Xi.

The fragrant steam wafted through the air. Yu Xi caught a sweet scent, glanced at Yuan Yue, and couldn’t help but praise, “It really does smell amazing.”

It was rare for Yuan Yue to see such a rich expression on her face, and she had a feeling that Yu Xi would be very satisfied with tonight’s meal. She beamed. “It smells amazing, but it tastes even better. Let’s dig in!”

Yuan Xi was in charge of cooking the meat and vegetables. Once they were cooked, he used the serving chopsticks to first place some in Yu Xi’s bowl. Yu Xi quickly raised her bowl to accept it, feeling startled by the favor¹. “How could I trouble you? I can get it myself.”

Yuan Xi had always been a hospitable person, and after working in the service industry for so long, he had a professional habit of enjoying serving food to others. Yuan Yue, afraid that Yuan Xi’s enthusiasm would scare Yu Xi away, followed up on her words. “Ge², you can stop fussing for now. Just enjoy your food. We can handle it ourselves.”

Only then did Yuan Xi relent.

Yu Xi took a couple of bites, chewing slowly and eating with a refined grace. Yuan Yue observed her carefully, waiting until she had swallowed what was in her mouth before asking, “How is it?”

“It’s delicious,” Yu Xi’s reply was concise, but it was from the heart.

Yuan Yue raised her eyebrows in satisfaction. “If you like it, you can come find me more often in the future. I’ll take you out to eat.”

Yu Xi hadn’t expected her to say that. She paused for a moment, not responding.

Yuan Xi, listening to their conversation, couldn’t help but chime in. “This hot pot³ base is a secret recipe. The flavor is unique. You won’t find a taste like this anywhere but our restaurant.” Speaking of his hot pot, Yuan Xi looked quite proud. He cooked a slice of fatty lamb⁴ for himself and coated it in chili. “It’s a shame Miss Yu doesn’t eat spicy food. And it’s not that I’m blowing up a cow⁵, but our chili is one-of-a-kind, too. It’s fragrant and numbing—I guarantee you’ll get addicted!”

Yuan Yue felt a little embarrassed listening to Yuan Xi boast about their family’s products. She nudged Yu Xi, getting her to look over, then leaned in closer and explained in a low voice, “My brother, my sister-in-law, and I opened a hot pot restaurant downtown. All of this food was brought over from the restaurant.”

Yu Xi understood. She smiled and said, “I never had hot pot when I was abroad. I’ve only had it a few times since returning to China, so I don’t really know much about it.”

Yuan Yue latched onto a key piece of information and pried like a gossip. “You used to live abroad?”

Yu Xi put down her chopsticks and suddenly grew serious, her tone somewhat formal. “Apologies, I forgot to tell you. I’m German. I only recently returned to China.”

“You’re German?!” Yuan Yue exclaimed.

Yu Xi opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by a ringing phone.

Yuan Yue followed the sound and saw Yuan Xi pick up his phone.

Yuan Xi glanced at the screen, then looked up at them. “You two chat. I’m going to step outside to take this call.”

Yuan Xi left the room, and as soon as the door closed, the ringing stopped. Yuan Yue immediately turned her head back toward Yu Xi, her face a mask of curiosity, and continued their previous conversation. “You’re a foreigner? But you don’t look like one at all.”

She deliberately leaned in closer, her eyes brazenly scanning Yu Xi’s features, trying to find some spider silk and horse tracks⁶ of a foreigner on her face. Actually, it wasn’t that there was no resemblance at all. Yu Xi’s features were more defined than those of most Chinese people, and her eyes were very deep. If you looked closely, you could see a faint, captivating hint of blue. Was she mixed-race?

Yu Xi didn’t take offense at Yuan Yue’s questioning of her nationality. She just suddenly realized how close the two of them were—so close she could smell the scent of the cilantro Yuan Yue had just eaten, and her lips were still dotted with chili oil, making them look even fuller and more alluring…

Remembering the taste from last night, Yu Xi’s gaze darkened.

She subtly pulled back a little. Seeing that Yuan Yue was still staring at her so intently, completely unaware, Yu Xi chuckled in spite of herself. She composed herself and got back to the matter at hand, answering her question. “I only have one-eighth German blood, so it’s not easy to tell from my appearance.”

She really was mixed-race!

Yuan Yue’s curiosity grew. She stared at Yu Xi’s face, looking her over again and again. It was just as captivating as when they first met. The contours of her features were distinct: dark, long eyebrows, a pair of deep-set eyes, a tall and elegant nose, the corners of her mouth turned slightly upward… she was beautiful from every angle.

While she was staring so brazenly, Yu Xi was starting to find it a bit much. She tapped Yuan Yue’s shoulder lightly, her tone tinged with amusement. “Had your fill of looking?”

Yuan Yue snapped back to reality. Realizing her rudeness, she quickly sat up straight and took a gulp of the juice beside her to hide her embarrassment. When she looked at Yu Xi again, her gaze was more restrained. “Your eyes look more like it,” she said. After a pause, as if her brain had cramped⁷, she added, “Your eyes are beautiful.”

Yu Xi’s slender fingertips touched the corner of her eye. Her gaze swept over the crimson tip of Yuan Yue’s ear, which was peeking out from under her hair. Her heart stirred, but she maintained a nonchalant expression as she said, “Thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome.” Yuan Yue chugged another big mouthful of juice, feeling like she was a lost cause, unable to resist someone’s beauty even during a meal.

A sound came from the doorway. Yuan Xi was back from his call.

Yuan Yue felt as if she had received a great amnesty⁸.

“You two seem to be having a nice chat!” Yuan Xi said as he returned to his seat.

Nice? Yuan Yue was about to die of embarrassment. She didn’t even dare to look at Yu Xi, just kept chugging her juice.

Yuan Xi didn’t notice the subtle shift in the atmosphere and said, “I just got a call from the restaurant. Something came up, and they need me to go back. Looks like I can’t keep you company for the rest of the meal.”

Business was always busier at night, so Yuan Yue was understanding. “Then you should hurry over.”

Yuan Xi didn’t delay. Before leaving, he said to Yu Xi, “Miss Yu, I’m so sorry. My hospitality was lacking this time. Next time you have a chance, I’ll treat you to a proper meal at the restaurant. I have to go, so please take your time.”

Yu Xi gave a slight nod. “Take care.”

“Drive safe!” Yuan Yue called out. With a guest present, she didn’t get up to see him off.

With Yuan Xi gone, the cramped dining table instantly felt much more spacious. Moreover, Yuan Yue noticed that Yu Xi didn’t seem as reserved as before; she was even picking up food more frequently. Seeing Yu Xi eating only vegetables, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you eating any meat?”

Yu Xi swallowed the food in her mouth, elegantly wiped her lips, and looked at her, saying in all seriousness, “Eating too richly at night makes it easy to gain weight.”

Yuan Yue had just cooked a strip of goose intestine⁹ and was about to pop it into her mouth, fully coated in chili oil. After hearing Yu Xi’s words, she froze and couldn’t help but size Yu Xi up.

And she had to admit, Yu Xi’s figure was perfectly proportioned—slender but not like firewood¹⁰, with curves in all the right places, protruding in the front and curving up in the back¹¹. Combined with her tall frame, she was a living clothes hanger¹². Yuan Yue had only ever focused on Yu Xi’s face before, but she never realized that beyond her face, Yu Xi’s body was also exceptional. She also noticed the hand Yu Xi used to hold her chopsticks; there was a slight bulge on her forearm, which turned out to be beautifully defined muscle. Then her mind drifted to when she had gone to get Yu Xi earlier, and the lovely vest lines¹³ revealed by her camisole.

So girls could look this good with muscles, too.

Yuan Yue couldn’t help but swallow secretly. Her gaze shifted from Yu Xi to herself. She looked down at the flab on her waist that was ready to emerge at a call¹⁴, then looked at the delicious goose intestine in her bowl. She hesitated.

She suddenly felt ashamed of her own filthy form¹⁵. They were both women, so why was Yu Xi’s figure so good?

While Yu Xi wasn’t looking, Yuan Yue steeled herself and dropped the delicious goose intestine into an empty bowl. Then, as if nothing had happened, she picked up a piece of lettuce, swished it in the pot, and, just before eating it, couldn’t resist dipping it in a pile of chili before finally eating it with satisfaction.

Yu Xi watched her do all this in silence and suddenly asked, “You like spicy food that much? You look like you’re really enjoying it.”

Yuan Yue and Yuan Xi had been able to handle extreme spice since they were kids; they were the ‘no spice, no joy’ type¹⁶. She hastily swallowed the food in her mouth, but she’d eaten a bit too fast and the spice hit her. She stuck out her tongue and said, “Chili is a great thing. You really get addicted once you eat it. Want to try?”

Contrary to Yuan Yue, Yu Xi was the type who didn’t touch a speck of chili. But seeing Yuan Yue’s mouth full of red oil—which didn’t look messy, but rather somewhat tempting—she was moved. As if ghosts and gods were at work¹⁷, she nodded.

Yuan Yue’s interest was piqued. “Should I help you, or will you do it yourself?”

“I’ll do it myself.” Yu Xi was afraid she’d give her something insanely spicy; who could handle that?

She dropped a piece of lettuce into the red oil broth. With a ladle in one hand and the serving chopsticks in the other, she first skimmed away the terrifying layer of red oil on the surface, then quickly swished the lettuce and pulled it out. Despite her caution, the lettuce was still stained with a bit of chili oil. Yu Xi had never eaten like this before. She glanced at Yuan Yue and saw her watching with bright, expectant eyes. Steeling herself, she shoved the lettuce into her mouth as if heroically marching to a righteous cause¹⁸.

“Well? Well? Does it taste even better?” Yuan Yue couldn’t wait to hear about her first experience with spicy food.

Yu Xi didn’t answer her. She still ate in a refined manner, savoring it carefully before slowly swallowing. When she opened her mouth, what she said was, “Can I have a glass of ice water?”

“Ice water?” Yuan Yue saw her trying hard to maintain her composure, but her face was flushed red. She realized Yu Xi had been hit by the spice and quickly got up, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, twisted the cap off, and handed it to her.

Yu Xi was in too much of a hurry to even say thank you, taking the ice water and gulping it down.

Yuan Yue waited nervously by her side. “Are you okay?”

Yu Xi drank half the bottle of ice water in one go before she finally recovered. She put the bottle down, let out a hot breath, and said self-deprecatingly, “This mouth of mine really can’t take it.”

Yuan Yue hadn’t expected her to be so weak and regretted encouraging her to eat the chili. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you couldn’t handle spicy food at all.”

She couldn’t be blamed for this; it was her own heart that was bewitched by a ghost¹⁹, making her want to try it. Now, with her tongue numb from the spice, Yu Xi had to comfort her back. “It’s okay. I was actually curious myself whether I could eat spicy food. It seems I really can’t.”

In a flash, Yu Xi’s lips had become a little swollen. How was it that they looked even sexier?

I wonder what it would feel like to kiss them…

Yuan Yue violently shook the inappropriate thought from her head, scratched her head awkwardly, and said, “If you can’t eat spicy, then you should just stick to the clear broth!”

Yu Xi threw up her hands. “I can’t eat anymore. It’s so spicy.”

Yuan Yue felt even more embarrassed. She glanced at her red lips and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Yu Xi, however, didn’t seem to mind much. She took another sip of ice water and said, “You don’t have to keep apologizing to me. Even if I hadn’t been hit by the spice, I usually eat very little at night. Sometimes I don’t even eat at all.”

Yuan Yue didn’t feel much better. She was supposed to be treating someone to a meal, and it had turned into this mess. She pulled out a tissue and handed it to Yu Xi, gesturing for her to wipe the chili oil from her mouth.

Yu Xi wiped her mouth. Seeing Yuan Yue just staring at her without moving her own chopsticks, she said with a laugh, “You go on. I’ll just watch you eat.”

But Yuan Yue kept her eyes fixed on her. “You didn’t get it all.”

“I didn’t?” Yu Xi thought she was talking about her mouth and wiped it again with the tissue.

Yuan Yue was just staring at the dot of chili oil that had somehow gotten onto the tip of her nose. She took a tissue herself, leaned forward, and wiped it for her.

Yu Xi froze, not moving away.

Her skin was very fair and delicate. Yuan Yue, reluctant to use any force, only wiped gently with a tissue. As she was doing so, she noticed Yu Xi’s gaze and stopped.

Yu Xi was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t understand, a look that made her heart grow hot and start to pound.

It was hard to say who made the first move. It might have been her, or it might have been Yu Xi.

When Yu Xi’s hand wrapped tightly around her slender waist, Yuan Yue took a deep breath. She tossed aside the tissue in her hand, took another deep breath, and then cupped Yu Xi’s face with both hands, aiming for those tempting red lips as she kissed her.

Yu Xi tasted the flavor of spicy red oil²⁰ on her lips. It wasn’t unbearable like it had been with the food; on the contrary, just as she had said, once you got a taste, you were addicted.

It was a novel experience, completely different from last night.

Yu Xi carefully licked away the red oil, tasting the sweetness in her mouth. One of her hands gripped her waist and the other supported the back of her head as she deepened the spicy kiss.

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