Chapter 77: Her True Self

After calling Father Ban and Mother to inform them that I wouldn’t be home for dinner tonight, I drove with Mi Cai to the “Spicy to Death” farmhouse-style restaurant, a regular gathering spot for me and my friends.

The restaurant had been recently renovated this year, with slightly increased capacity, but one thing remained unchanged—the old chef Li and his apprentices, wearing their chef hats and busily working in the open kitchen.

As we entered the restaurant, a strong smell of chili filled the air, and instinctively Mi Cai covered her nose and mouth.

I smirked at her and said, “If you can’t handle it, we can still change places now.”

Not wanting to appear weak, Mi Cai lowered her hands without saying a word and directly found an empty seat to sit down.

I smiled and shouted toward the service counter, “Bring us a pot of spicy chicken and crucian carp stir-fried in a clay pot, extra red chili, even more red.”

The waitress at the counter acknowledged, then handed the order to Old Chef Li in the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, the dishes I had ordered were brought to us. We also got two bottles of beer. At that moment, I felt like I was experiencing the best time in my life—with alcohol, meat, and a beautiful girl like Mi Cai by my side. More importantly, I was really looking forward to seeing Mi Cai’s face covered in tears and snot from the spiciness. This definitely wasn’t me enjoying her misfortune—it was just because she had called me a lunatic earlier!

So, if we really had to define our relationship, I thought the term “rivals” would be the most appropriate and accurate.

I poured myself a glass of beer and drank it all in one go, then turned to Mi Cai and said, “Miss Mi, you can start eating now. Why aren’t you picking up your chopsticks?”

“You’re cheating. You drank a glass of beer just to dilute the spiciness, right?” Mi Cai complained.

I naturally knew she was being picky because she was nervous. After all, both dishes in front of us were completely covered with chili peppers, and the spiciness seemed to be boiling in the air.

I smiled and said, “Then you can drink a glass too. I don’t mind.”

“If I drink too, who will drive us back?”

“That’s easy too. You can just drink something else. I’ll get you some herbal tea—it’ll work even better than beer.” Saying this, I went to the service counter, grabbed a can of herbal tea, handed it to her, and raised my eyebrows as I said, “Drink up, eat up, and remember this spicy night that will kill you.”

Mi Cai looked at me unhappily and said, “Fine, I’ll eat, but you don’t need to look so smug about it!”

I immediately changed to a serious expression and told Mi Cai, “Now I’m being proper enough, right? Go ahead and eat. The dishes are best when hot. If they get cold, the flatbread won’t taste good anymore.”

Mi Cai looked at me, then used her chopsticks to push aside the top layer of chili peppers, took a piece of the flatbread, and took a tentative bite, then froze.

I felt a surge of excitement inside, eagerly anticipating Mi Cai’s upcoming breakdown, but unexpectedly, Mi Cai calmly finished the piece of flatbread and said to me very calmly, “It’s not as spicy as I imagined.”

I looked at Mi Cai suspiciously, trying to find any sign of her pretending to endure the spiciness, but she looked completely calm and showed no sign of discomfort. Then she picked up a piece of chicken and began eating it with apparent enjoyment, even managing to throw me a look of disdain in between.

I turned to look at Old Chef Li, doubting whether he had lost his touch. Then I myself pushed aside the chilies, took a piece of flatbread, and chewed it. Instantly, the explosive spiciness seemed to reach the limit of what my taste buds could endure. Just one bite made me feel my body heating up, and sweat began to form on my forehead.

I slammed my chopsticks on the table, quickly drank another glass of beer, still not feeling relieved enough, so I even drank up the entire can of herbal tea Mi Cai had. Today, Old Chef Li hadn’t just maintained his usual standard—he had exceeded it. The spiciness was literally infused into the flatbread!

Mi Cai looked at me with a half-smile and asked, “Zhaoyang, are you even really from Xuzhou? You can’t even handle such a small amount of spiciness?”

“Are you even really from Suzhou? Have you ever met someone from Suzhou who can eat spicy food like you?” I said, then poured myself another glass of beer, which slightly relieved the spiciness, and shamelessly used a tissue to wipe the sweat from my nose.

Mi Cai enjoyed watching my flustered state and finally laughed as she asked me, “Zhaoyang, have you heard of the Carolina Reaper?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the spiciest chili pepper in the world, cultivated by an American. I’ve tried it and couldn’t handle it at all! But this level of spiciness here doesn’t scare me.”

I was speechless for a long time before I finally said, “Then why did you look so cautious just now? I didn’t expect you to be such a good actor!”

Mi Cai replied slowly, “There’s a saying: ‘Stay near ink too long and you’ll turn black.’ After spending time with someone of questionable character, you naturally pick up some bad habits.”

Once again, Mi Cai left me so frustrated I felt like spitting blood. After a while, I covered my chest and said to her, “I’ve got a lump of stagnation in my chest that I can’t spit out…”

“Then you should eat more chili peppers. Maybe the stimulation will help you cough it out.” Mi Cai said, feigning concern.

Suddenly, I felt I couldn’t continue talking with her anymore because I wasn’t at my best today. I would just swallow my pride for now, regroup, and fight back later.

…

After leaving the “Spicy to Death” farmhouse restaurant, my mouth was burning with pain, and I was chugging another can of herbal tea to cool it down, while Mi Cai walked beside me as if nothing had happened. Her calmness only emphasized my flustered state even more.

After walking a few steps, I turned around and asked Mi Cai, “Are you going back to the hotel now?”

Mi Cai shook her head and said, “It’s not time to rest yet. Going back to the hotel would be too boring.”

“Then I’ll take you to play some arcade games. It’ll help with digestion after a meal.” I suggested enthusiastically.

“Do we really have to play those games that only elementary school kids enjoy?”

I got a bit angry and said, “Do you always have to tease me or you’ll gain weight? Who told you that arcade games are only for elementary school students?”

“I saw you yesterday playing with an elementary school kid,” Mi Cai replied calmly.

I looked at Mi Cai for a long time and, in a huff, said, “Fine, consider me an immature elementary school kid. Are you satisfied now?”

“Don’t act so resentful. Look at how angry you are right now—if I tied a red scarf around your neck, you’d look exactly like an elementary school kid.”

I finally surrendered completely and pleaded, “I beg you, stop teasing me. Otherwise, we really won’t be able to get along anymore.”

Mi Cai smiled triumphantly and said, “I don’t necessarily have to tease you, you weak man who can’t even tie a chicken. But from now on, you have to follow my arrangements.”

“My arrangements? Did I hear that right? I’m really not used to you suddenly being so proactive.”

“You must have misunderstood me a bit. Actually, I’m not always passive. Remember when we went singing in the countryside last time? That was my idea.”

I immediately felt a surge of anger: “You actually dare to bring that up again? Do you know how badly you messed me up that time?”

“But you still didn’t learn your lesson. You kept doing whatever you wanted, being such a rogue!”

Her words reminded me of my own bad behavior again, making me feel a bit embarrassed. I quickly changed the subject: “…Let’s not talk about that anymore. It’s pointless. Just tell me what you want to do next.”

Mi Cai thought for a moment and said, “I didn’t really get to listen to your singing last time, and I was always a bit scared inside.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared you’d see through me. I was afraid my fate would be terrible. You even threw my quilt and blanket downstairs like a violent maniac!”

“You were scared? That’s unbelievable. At that time, you were so stubborn, like nothing could shake you!”

“I was stubborn because I didn’t want to give in to a bastard like you, but of course I was scared inside. I’m just a woman after all!”

Looking at Mi Cai’s pitiful expression, I suddenly felt that this woman actually had a lovely side. Perhaps this was her true self, having finally let down her guard—a more genuine version of her!