“Hello, Ding.” Ouyang Qing stood up and greeted Ning Ran politely.
“Hello, Ms. Ouyang.”
Ning Ran was extremely unhappy but kept a neutral expression on her face anyway.
As an actress, her acting skills were no worse than Ouyang Qing’s.
Nan Chen eyed Dabao and Ning Ran.
This is really strange, but I can’t quite put my finger on what’s going on here… Nan Xing knows better than to invite her, and Erbao isn’t smart enough to do such a thing, so it’s either Dabao or Ning Ran!
He then noticed the displeased look in Ning Ran’s eyes and knew it had to be Dabao who invited her.
She wouldn’t be so unhappy if she were the one who set this up, so it must be Dabao! What on earth is he planning? I can’t believe I failed to see through a child’s intentions! Good thing he’s my child, I guess… It’d be so humiliating if I were to be played by someone else’s child…
“I’ve ordered some, but you guys can have a look at the menu and see if you’d like to add anything else. They have all sorts of soup here, so pick whichever you like.” Nan Chen said while handing the tablet over.
“I want it extra spicy!” Ning Ran said.
“Spicy food is bad for your skin, you know? You have an image to maintain now that you’re a superstar!”
Nan Xing reminded her but he soon fell silent when he realized that Nan Chen was there.
“Nan Xing is right.” Nan Chen continued.
Ouyang Qing felt jealous when she saw the Nan brothers express their concern for Ning Ran.
It’s a woman’s responsibility to maintain their image! No guy cares about a woman’s image unless he likes her!
“I don’t care! I chose this place specifically for the spicy hotpot!” Ning Ran said stubbornly.
“Even so, you can’t have it extra spicy! We’ll just have it mildly spicy, and that’s final.” Nan Chen decided.
Ning Ran wasn’t happy about him controlling her diet.
However, she noticed the look of envy in Ouyang Qing’s eyes and realized that it was a great honor for most women to have Nan Chen care about them.
“Fine, I’ll listen to you, then. You’re so annoying, controlling what I do all the time!” Ning Ran whined.
Both Nan Xing and Nan Chen were taken aback by her sudden change in attitude and tone. They weren’t used to her speaking so softly and gently.
Nan Xing looked at his arm to see if he had goosebumps while Nan Chen shot Ning Ran an amused look.
He realized why Ning Ran had spoken to him like that and found it somewhat interesting.
In order to prevent everyone from dipping their chopsticks into the same pot, they were each given a separate pot and allowed to choose their soup.
Everyone else chose a clear soup, whereas Ning Ran and her kids decided to stick with the spicy one.
Nan Chen frowned. These kids want the spicy one too? She sure trained them well, huh?
“But that’s bad for your tummy. How about you try the clear soup instead? It’s really tasty!” Nan Chen tried to persuade Erbao.
“No, I want the spicy one! Dabao wants it too! He’s a man, and a man must be able to handle spicy food!” Erbao said sweetly.
Nan Xing and Nan Chen were both speechless upon hearing that.
How could she say that? We ordered the clear soup, so what would that make us?
“On second thought, I want the spicy one. Time to try something with a little more flavor!” Nan Xing said.
“You don’t have to take a child’s words so seriously.” Nan Chen advised.
“No, I didn’t do it because of what Erbao said. I just thought I’d try something different every once in a while, that’s all. Believe it or not, I actually like spicy food! When I was overseas, there was this Chinese restaurant near my place that makes really spicy dishes. Needless to say, I was their favorite customer! However, I’ve been losing my spice tolerance since my return, and that simply won’t do. Eating spicy food can help keep the body healthy from the cold, so I’ll go with the spicy soup!” Nan Xing insisted.
“That’s amazing, Uncle Xing! You’re a true man!” Erbao raised her thumb in approval.
“In that case, I’ll have the spicy one too.” Nan Chen blurted out.
Ning Ran was sipping on some tea and nearly spat it out when she heard that.
Oh, my god! They actually took a child’s words so seriously? How stubborn must they be to try and compete over their spice tolerance levels? They say men have a childish side to them, I guess this just goes to prove it!
“You shouldn’t, Daddy! You can’t handle spicy food!” Erbao advised him.
However, the little girl’s advice only made Nan Chen feel embarrassed that a seven-foot-tall man like himself had lost to a child in terms of spice tolerance.
“No, I’m okay with it.” Nan Chen was determined to prove himself.
“Let’s all have the spicy one, then!” Erbao suggested.
Ouyang Qing was going green with envy at that point.
What a family… I can’t believe the Nan brothers are taking a little girl’s words as gospel! Great, now everyone is going for the spicy one like her. Everyone except me…
“Well, I’m not a man, and I can’t handle the spice either… I don’t have to go for it, do I?” Ouyang Qing asked with a smile.
“Of course not! You’re an outsider, so you don’t have to follow our lead.”
Erbao’s words stung so hard that Ouyang Qing felt an urge to leave on the spot.
No, I must maintain my smile! It’s unbecoming for the Young Miss of the Ouyang family to argue with a child!
“I’m really sorry… I would’ve gone with the spicy one too if I could, but… If I recall, Chen can’t take spicy food too. It’ll hurt his stomach!” Ouyang Qing said with a smile.
“Do you know Daddy that well, Ms. Qing? How do you know he can’t handle spicy food?” Erbao asked.
Even without Dabao’s help, she had been doing a lot of damage on her own that day.
“N-Not really… But I do know Chen can’t take spicy food…”
“That’s in the past. I can take it now.” Nan Chen cut her off.
The repeated blows to Ouyang Qing’s ego and pride hurt her so much that she couldn’t even maintain a natural smile anymore.
At that moment, she hated Ning Ran, Erbao, and even Nan Chen by a little.
With a forced smile on her face, she said, “Oh, I see… I didn’t know that… I guess I’m just too much of a loser that I’m still unable to.”
“All right, enough of this. Let’s continue ordering.”
Ning Ran handed Ouyang Qing the tablet. “We pretty much eat the same things here, so you can go ahead and order what you like for yourself.”
She even made sure to place emphasis on the word “we”, just to add insult to injury.
