Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

A waitress walked over with a smile with the menu.

“What kind of soup base do you want?” She had a sweet voice.

Bai Muchuan took a glance at Xiang Wan. “Spicy red hotpot.”

The waitress added, “Any drinks for both of you?”

Bai Muchuan gazed at Xiang Wan’s crystal clear eyes.

At that moment, she looked at him as well.

His lips formed a smile. “Wanna drink?”

Xiang Wan smiled. “Up to you.”

Bai Muchuan thought for a while and looked at the waitress. “What kind of alcohol do you serve?”

The waitress looked over at the bar counter. “We have beers, liquor, and spirits. It’s stated in the menu, you can have a look.”

Bai Muchuan frowned for a moment as he looked at the menu, not satisfied with the choices.

“I’ll have two bottles of beer.”

The waitress smiled and said, “Okay, what else do you want for the hotpot? Here are the specialties of our shop…”

Xiang Wan looked at the dishes the waitress pointed at, somehow, she felt someone was looking at her.

She looked up and met Bai Muchuan’s gaze. The corners of his mouth lifted upward.

“Why are you looking at me?” She asked.

It was a sweet feeling to make eye contact with the person one liked. That sweet feeling intoxicated Xiang Wan.

She gave a smile and pushed the menu over. “You’ll order.”

Bai Muchuan grinned. “Whatever you like, I like.”

Xiang Wan scoffed. “Cut it out. I’ve ordered what I like. Quick, take a look.”

Bai Muchuan took the menu reluctantly. “Alright.”

The waitress couldn’t help sneaking a soft snicker when she looked at this pair of young lovers.

Bai Muchuan asked, “Do you eat beef tripe?”

“… Yes.”

“How about beef tallow?” he asked again.

“… Sure, I’m fine with it.”

“Potato, Chinese yam? Girls generally like to eat them?”

“…”

How could she possibly eat that much food?

“We can’t eat so much. Hey, I think that’s enough.”

Seeing how the waitress had been suppressing her amused snickers while waiting for their order, she gave Bai Muchuan a gentle kick under the table, signaling him to hurry up.

“Okay, I know.”

Bai Muchuan smiled as he ticked a few more dishes on the ordering slip and gave the slip to the waitress.

“I haven’t eaten hotpot for so long, I should ‘pay tribute to my teeth’!”

‘Pay tribute to my teeth’ 1 means to have to eat to one’s fill in Jin City.

Bai Muchuan had learned and spoken the native dialect using their official language—Mandarin, which was very pleasant and full of charm.

Xiang Wan’s heart skipped a beat.

After the waitress walked away, she drew close to him. “Aye, you know what? Your voice sounds especially pleasant to the ear.”

“Is it?” Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow without any look of surprise. “Many girls tell me that. Try another compliment, anything new?”

“…”

Can’t he just be more modest?

Xiang Wan wanted to laugh but managed to contain it.

“You need to tell me first,” she said seriously, “which strong point of yours no girl has ever pointed out in a compliment?”

Bai Muchuan gave a casual look. “I’m waiting for you to find out…”

“Good looks, great figure, nice voice… all compliments about these must have been too common that you don’t want to hear it anymore?”

“Aye! You’re so right.” Bai Muchuan gazed at her, “I want to hear something else…”

“Hm?” Xiang Wan’s brows were knitted together. “What is it?”

“For instance… good in bed.”

“…”

Xiang Wan was dumbstruck and her face flushed red in an instant.

“We’re out in the public. Can’t you just stop joking around?”

“…” Bai Muchuan snickered. “Well, it’s true no one complimented about this.”

“Don’t be so shameless!”

Xiang Wan squeezed her eyes to signal him.

“Someone’s here…”

A waiter was carrying the hotpot soup.

From the looks of it, the soup did seem appetizing and spicy with all the redness, but they were not sure if it would taste as good.

It had been a while since Xiang Wan ate hotpot. She rubbed her hands in anticipation before furrowing her brows with a tinge of disappointment.

“The smell doesn’t really seem as flavorful?”

“Of course, it can’t be matched up to Jin City.”

“What a pity!”

“When we get to the Capital, I’ll bring you to the authentic restaurants for a feast.”

“Hah! As if the hotpot restaurants at the Capital are more authentic than the ones in Jin City.”

“…”

As the two of them talked, the dishes they ordered were being served respectively.

As there weren’t much customers in the restaurant, the waiters and waitresses did not have much to do.

Two of them actually stood by the side to serve them, occasionally helping to put some food into the soup or stirring the soup. That actually prevented them from talking as freely as they wanted.

Bai Muchuan looked up at the two waitresses. “Thank you, we’ll ask for help if we need to.”

“Sir, Miss,” one of them nodded her head, “please enjoy your meal.”

The two waitresses gave a friendly smile at Xiang Wan and Bai Muchuan before they walked away.

Now, the two lovebirds could finally heave a sigh as they looked at each other. “Finally. I’m more at ease now.”

“Of course… I wanted to crack some dirty jokes but worried I might scare the two young ladies…”

“So you’re not afraid your jokes might have scared me instead? I’m a young lady too.”

“… Don’t say that, Aunty!”

“Bai Muchuan—” Someone was gnashing her teeth.

“Oh, my bad. You’re my girlfriend, you need to withstand such jokes.”

“Jerk! Hmph! Eat this, this, and this, stuff your mouth up!”

While having their meal, Xiang Wan talked and laughed with Bai Muchuan. The gloominess she had for being framed and landing in the police station slowly dissipated.

It seemed that as long as there was Bai Muchuan, there would be sunshine.

He took care of her well. He would take the cooked food and place them on her bowl. Although he was always cracking jokes or teasing her, his actions were gentlemanly.

The hotpot might not taste as nice, but that did not deter Xiang Wan from feeling blissful.

She smiled at Bai Muchuan. “When I first met you, it never crossed my mind that you knew how to take care of others.”

Bai Muchuan raised his eyebrows. “That depends on who it is, isn’t it?”

Although Xiang Wan was feeling glad, she did not expect him to be able to keep her company all the time when she thought of his work.

Thinking about it, she said, “We don’t have to go shopping for clothes. We can go back to the airport after this meal… You’ve come here in a hurry, I’m worried this might affect your work.”

Bai Muchuan did not look up. “No hurry, I’ll go back tomorrow.”

Eh? Xiang Wan was puzzled. “Why?”

Bai Muchuan took a piece of beef tripe into the boiling hotpot. “Today, I met some comrades from the Criminal Investigation Unit in Xi City. They have a case here that requires my assistance.”

“I see…”

Somehow, Xiang Wan was a little baffled.

This is not the Capital, it’s not his area of jurisdiction.

Nevertheless, she gave it a thought and felt it might not be convenient for him to reveal too much about his work.

“Is my case very troublesome?”

“No.” Bai Muchuan smiled as he glanced at her. “Be good and stay at the hotel tomorrow. We’ll go back to the Capital together after I finish my work here.”

“Hmm… alright then.”

Looking at his casual expression, Xiang Wan dispelled her worries.

Eating hotpot was something to be happy about.

It felt even more enjoyable and blissful at the same time as they had not seen each other for a long time.

At that moment, it was not suitable to discuss anything unpleasant lest it spoils the mood.

Xiang Wan did not talk about her unlucky encounter at the airplane again as she chit chatted with Bai Muchuan. She was looking forward to their future together.

Although the restaurant served a not-so-satisfying hotpot, a pair of lovers reuniting in an unfamiliar city with the hotpot boiling in between the two of them actually had a different flavor of its own.

They finished the two bottles of beer before they knew it and ordered two more bottles…

Xiang Wan was not a good drinker. When Bai Muchuan refilled her glass once again, she squinted at him and laughed.

“Hey, are you up to something?”

Bai Muchuan looked at her. “What?”

“Why do you keep refilling my glass?”

“… What do you think?”

“You must be up to no good.”

“Hey! I have a car, a house, and I’m single. Do you think I need to resort to tricks… You’re the one who should watch your behavior!”

“What the—!”

Xiang Wan chortled at his remark when the huge table of men started to create a fuss.

“D*mn! Waitress… Come! Take a look at the hotpot, take a good look at what is inside!”

“…”

Their shouts were so loud it felt like thunder.

Xiang Wan and Bai Muchuan could not continue to talk amongst themselves.

Her seat was facing that huge combined table; she focused on what they were doing and saw that they fished out something from the hotpot and then put it on the table.

“What is that?”

“Beef omasum… No, a rag?”

“Waitress! Ask your boss to come here! D*mn, does your boss still want to do business?”

The group of men drank a lot of beer. All of their faces were red, and they were staring at people with their eyes wide-opened—they sure look a little daunting.

The waitress walked over cautiously.

At first glance, that thing on the table looked like the beef omasum.

However, this thing… she took a pair of chopsticks nervously to check out the thing before she apologized. “We’re terribly sorry, Sir…”

“Sorry? Try to eat this f*cking rag!…”

“Sir, how ’bout this? We’ll serve you a new hotpot for free…”

“We’ve already done with eating. A new hotpot? Who’s gonna eat that? Tell me, how much are you going to compensate?”

“Well… Sir, I can’t decide on that. Would you mind to wait for a while…”

“Wait? D*mn you!”

There was a man in the group who was particularly irascible. He directly picked up a beer bottle and smashed it on the table. “You don’t want to compensate?”

When the waitress looked at his dark face, which was now burning red due to alcohol, her face quickly turned pale from fear.

“It’s not that. Sir, please wait a minute, our boss…”

“Wait my f*cking *ss…”

As it was a big group of men, they started to create a ruckus and their behavior took a turn for the worse.

The other employees in the shop were afraid to come up to them; they could only stand far away to persuade the group of men.

“Sir, please calm down… We’ll definitely handle this problem…”

“Well, we’re not calming down. What about it? Young fellow, do you think you can teach us a lesson?”

The group of drunk men began to cuss and act crazy by smashing dishes and bowls. The originally messy floor under their tables was now filled with pieces of red and green food, white tissue paper, various dip sauces, and broken dishes… it was a huge mess.

This happened too suddenly.

Xiang Wan was dumbfounded. She had no more appetite now.

Bai Muchuan’s brows were knitted as he looked on but did not move.

At this moment, the waitress who was nearest to the group of men wanted to get away when one of them reached out to grab her hair and pressed her head onto the table.

“D*mn, if we don’t show some colors, all of you are treating us like fools! Hurry up, get your boss to come here. If I don’t get a satisfactory result, I’ll put her head into the hotpot…”

“Ah! No! Please help me!”

When the waitress heard those words, she burst into tears and gave a shrill scream.

That waitress was the one who had taken Xiang Wan and Bai Muchuan’s order earlier.

The chopsticks Bai Muchuan had been holding in his hand were finally placed on the table.

“Stop!”

He got up and walked over to them.

“Everyone, when the boss arrives, the issue of compensation will be settled. We’re men and we have no need to make things difficult for a young lady…”

“Hur!” The group of drunk men exchanged glances with each other and immediately turned their attention to Bai Muchuan. “Who the hell are you?”

Bai Muchuan showed a clouded countenance. “Someone who’s eating hotpot here.”

“Then you should eat your hotpot and not meddle in others’ affairs. Are you’re tired of living or something?”

That man was not afraid of Bai Muchuan who was alone.

He looked behind Bai Muchuan when his drunken eyes lit up at the sight of Xiang Wan who was sitting at her spot.

“Your woman’s quite pretty. How ’bout this? You want to meddle in our affairs right? I can let this girl off… But, you need to introduce your woman to us. We can have another hotpot over some drinks and have some fun. What say you?”

That man stared at Bai Muchuan with contempt.

When he roared in laughter, the rest of the men guffawed as well.

Their eyes sized up Xiang Wan presumptuously in a lewd manner.

Xiang Wan started to feel cramps in her heart and felt nauseated by those lecherous looks.

Bai Muchuan, however, still maintained a calm expression. “Taking liberties of my woman right in front of me?” He grunted a laugh.

Next, he nodded his head; there was a tinge of wickedness in his eyes. He licked his gums and turned to look at Xiang Wan.

“Get over there!”

He pointed to where the rest of the staff of the restaurant were.

His facial expression turned grim and brooding as he shouted at the silent employees of the restaurant.

“Why are all of you standing there in a daze? Call the police!”

The employees were as though suddenly enlightened as they quickly took out their mobile phones.

At this moment, the man who pulled the waitress’s hair burst out laughing.

“Police? Hahaha… Call the police!”

The next moment, he bellowed, “Who dares to call the police?”

Suddenly, he pressed the waitress’s neck toward the boiling hotpot…

“AHHHHH!”

“AHHHHH!”

Screams filled the hotpot restaurant.

The man had obviously drunk a lot. He seemed as though he wanted to show off his guts and was serious in what he said.

“Go on! Try calling the police? I’ll cook a spicy red human face hotpot for all of you!”

“AHHHH! Help!”

The waitress screamed and struggled, her face completely drained of color.

When more than 10 burly men gathered together, they had no fear for one man who dared to stand up against them.

Things seemed to be getting out of hand.

Bai Muchuan exchanged glances with Xiang Wan before grabbing a chair and dashing over to hit the man on the head before anyone could react to stop him.

“D*mn!”

Blood instantly flowed from his head down to his neck.

The man wiped a handful of the blood flowing down from his head. When he saw his hand was full of blood, he instantly released the waitress and reached out to grab Bai Muchuan by the arm.

“… Bai Muchuan!” Xiang Wan was petrified by that sight.

He was alone whereas there were more than 10 men against him.

Moreover, there was also a boiling hotpot on the table. That really made her uneasy.

The next instance, she quickly dialed 110.

As for Bai Muchuan, he did not attempt to break free from the man’s grip. He let the man seize his hand and pulled him toward the boiling hotpot…

“AH!” There was another round of screams and shouts.

Everyone’s heart was as though on their mouths.

At the moment when Bai Muchuan was pulled toward the boiling hotpot, it was unsure what kind of combat tactic he used that he managed to break free from the man’s strong grasp. After which, he grabbed the man’s shoulder that the latter was unable to pull back his hand as it directly hit the bottom of the hotpot.

“AHHHHH!”

A ear-piercing scream was made by the man as he convulsed in pain.

Bai Muchuan held the man’s shoulders coldly. “Oh my bad, my hand slipped.”

This man who hurt his hand was the one who took verbal liberties of Xiang Wan earlier.

He screamed tragically, his forehead filled with cold sweat that trickled down his cheeks and his voice was trembling in excruciating pain.

“… Brother San, quick… beat him up! Beat him up to a pulp! My hand… AHH… I’m losing a hand!”

From the behavior of this group of people, they did not seem like law-abiding citizens.

Rather, they behaved like a group of gangsters instead.

When Xiang Wan finished reporting the case to the police, Bai Muchuan was brawling with the group of men. She clenched her fists tightly and was so nervous she started to perspire.

Amongst the employees of the restaurant, there were two young men, but they did not dare to fight with the gangster-like rowdy men.

She was just a woman, what should she do?

As she focused on the fight between Bai Muchuan and the group of men, Xiang Wan also did an estimation as she was told the approximate arrival time of the police. She was worried Bai Muchuan might suffer a disadvantage. She suddenly made a decision and ran to the kitchen where she took out a big and long soup spatula…

The soup spatula used for preparing the soup base in the hotpot restaurant was slightly more than one meter long.

A long soup spatula was actually a good weapon for her to use.

It was the best weapon to use in a scuffle.

She dashed over bravely. “Bai Muchuan! I’ll help you!”

Bai Muchuan turned around and furrowed his brows as he saw her holding that soup spatula. Her delicate looking face was red, looking desperate but brave, totally prepared and wanted to fight it out.

“…”

Women are indeed physically weaker in terms of strength.

However, if there was someone a woman wanted to protect and she was willing to give it her all, she would not lose to a man.

Xiang Wan was slender and delicate. She never fought with anyone before. Yet at that moment, she clasped onto the soup spatula like a female warrior as she swung the spatula about, hitting those rowdy men.

She had done that courageously, although she was inept at it.

“You’re so bleeping brave!”

Bai Muchuan was actually angry at her for joining in the brawl but could not help letting out a burst of laughter. He grabbed a man in front of him and flung him aside before rushing to Xiang Wan.

“Hide behind me!”

“Okay, you’ll be the tanker, I’ll support you.”

“…”

When she said she would support, she really acted as the support.

With Bai Muchuan protecting her with his superb fighting skills, she focused on attacking the drunk men by standing not too far behind him. She was as though holding a long secret weapon as she hit the men, one by one, without holding back…

The two of them cooperated so well with each other that the whole group of rowdy men was actually at a disadvantage.

“D*mmit!”

One of the men got infuriated much.

He suddenly turned around to pick up the boiling hotpot and threw it directly at them—

“Go and die!”