After getting into the car, Chai Qianning yawned at the window, then slid down a lot and collapsed onto the seat.
Sheng Muxi tilted her head and leaned back in her chair, looking rather unwell, while Shi Manwen also looked unwell.
Qiu Jie glanced at them and couldn't help but ask, "Did the three of you go stealing chickens last night?"
Upon hearing this, Chai Qianning lifted her eyelids and replied, "No, it's eating chicken."
“I’ll eat chicken with her.” Sheng Muxi pointed at Chai Qianning with her thumb, then looked at Shi Manwen: “I also went to deliver medicine to Manwen.”
Shi Manwen turned her head away: "I had a stomachache in the middle of the night and didn't sleep well."
Qiu Jie: "..."
"Eating chicken" is a term used in the game.
As a hardcore game enthusiast, Qiu Jie naturally interpreted Chai Qianning's "eating chicken" as playing games.
She had stayed up all night playing games before, but she never expected Sheng Muxi to play games.
Qiu Jie's gaze settled on Sheng Muxi, and she said with some surprise, "Teacher Sheng, you actually stay up all night playing games too!"
Sheng Muxi: "?"
What does this have to do with playing video games?
However, Chai Qianning understood and blinked lightly.
"What do you mean, playing games?" Sheng Muxi asked.
Qiu Jie glanced at Chai Qianning, then looked away, her lips moving as she said, "Didn't you just say you'd play PUBG with Xiaoning?"
Sheng Muxi exclaimed "Ah!" and her eyelashes fluttered blankly. She had indeed eaten fried chicken cutlet.
The mountain road was winding, so we drove rather slowly.
Midway through the journey, Qiu Jie noticed that the car was relatively quiet, so she spoke up and said, "Teacher Sheng, don't you never play games? I tried to get you to play games before, but you refused, saying you weren't interested. But when Xiao Ning asks you to play, you play. What a double standard!"
Sheng Muxi finally understood that this "chicken dinner" must be related to the game.
But she didn't know what kind of game it was, so based on her own understanding, a bunch of images of yellow chicks pecking at rice appeared in her mind.
She turned her head to look at Chai Qianning.
Since it was Chai Qianning who said "eating chicken," she had to explain something, otherwise Qiu Jie would always think that she stayed up all night playing games.
When she felt the other person's gaze, Chai Qianning turned her head, just smiled, and said in a low voice, as if she were only talking to her: "Is playing PUBG fun?"
Sheng Muxi was a little confused about what she meant by "fun." Did she mean the game that Qiu Jie had misunderstood, or the chicken cutlet she ate in the kitchen late at night?
If it's the latter, then it can't be defined as just fun.
She rubbed her thumb against her index finger; the tooth mark on it was almost invisible. But if you looked closely, you could still see some faint traces.
She withdrew her gaze from Chai Qianning, turned to look at the scenery outside, and gave up on this awkward conversation.
The dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves outside brushed across her face, and the various scenes passed through her eyes. But in her mind, it was like a slideshow, playing frame by frame the image of the kitchen scene where she placed her index finger to Chai Qianning's lips to be quiet, and the other woman lowered her eyelashes and used her lips and teeth to restrain her finger.
Thinking of this, Sheng Muxi blinked hard to suppress the emotions welling up inside her.
Chai Qianning's lazy gaze swept over the corner of her eye and saw the other person's thumb rubbing against his index finger.
She slightly curved her lips into a smile, then rested her elbow on the car window, half-supporting her chin.
I remembered what Qiu Jie had just said.
Sheng Muxi never plays games! He has no interest in games!
Why did the other person specifically ask her what games she played before?
For some unknown reason, a faint smile gradually appeared in Chai Qianning's eyes, hidden in the rapidly flowing light and shadow, unnoticed by anyone.
——
Qiu Jie found a place to park and then met up with them.
However, the gathering of four people was short-lived, and they were soon separated by the crowd.
Shi Manwen saw a group of people gathered around something and went over to join in the fun.
Sheng Muxi was watching Chai Qianning's back as she walked away when a message came through her phone.
She lowered her eyes and replied to the message for a short time, and then the other three people beside her disappeared.
It's peak summer season, and there are many tourists here. There are cars and people coming and going outside the resort, and you might bump into someone if you're not careful after just a few steps.
Sheng Muxi found a slightly open space to stand, and was about to send a message to ask where they went when she saw Chai Qianning waving at her.
She walked over and asked, "Where are Shi Manwen and Qiu Jie?"
"I don't know." Just as Chai Qianning finished speaking, Sheng Muxi received a call from Qiu Jie: "Teacher Shi and I are about to have lunch at the villa. Where are you? Do you want to come and have lunch with us?"
Based on the location they gave, Chai Qianning led Sheng Muxi to find Qiu Jie and Shi Manwen.
Sitting down on the wooden chair, Chai Qianning asked, "Have you already placed the order?"
"Yes, is there anything else you and Teacher Sheng would like to eat? Would you like to order some more?" Shi Manwen asked.
Chai Qianning looked around, lowered her voice to the lowest level, and shielded her eyes with her hand as she said to them, "You have no idea, the food here is particularly awful."
"Huh?" Qiu Jie leaned closer and said, "Really? You can't back out after placing an order? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
How was I supposed to know you guys were eating here?
Shi Manwen patted Qiu Jie's arm: "Why are you in such a hurry to place an order? We have people here who know about this, why don't you ask them first?"
"I'm just too hungry," Qiu Jie muttered.
Sheng Muxi looked at Chai Qianning: "Have you eaten here before?"
"No," Chai Qianning said softly, "I found out from feedback from several guests."
Several dishes had already been served, and a refund was out of the question. It would be too wasteful to leave without eating, so the four of them decided to make do with what they had to eat.
As Sheng Muxi picked up her chopsticks, she thought to herself, "No matter how bad it tastes, it can't be inedible, right?"
However, after taking a few bites, Sheng Muxi realized that she was wrong.
Putting aside the fact that there was only a tiny bit of minced meat in the stir-fried green peppers and pork, the green peppers themselves were so mushy that they were practically rotten and had a sticky texture when you ate them. I have no idea how they managed to cook them to this texture.
The other dishes were either undercooked or made with stale ingredients, and the rice was also very coarse.
After tasting all the dishes on the table, Sheng Muxi leaned close to Chai Qianning's ear and said, "Compared to this, I suddenly realized that your milk tea is actually quite delicious."
"..." Chai Qianning's lips twitched, then she smiled and said, "Since you think it tastes good, I'll make it for you again later. Let's call this one 'Adultery Milk Tea' for now."
Cheating on milk tea!
What kind of name is that!
Sheng Muxi almost choked to death on a mouthful of rice.
...
Shi Manwen and Qiu Jie both thought the dish was not tasty.
Seeing the customers coming in, Qiu Jie really wanted to run over and tell them not to come to this place and make a mistake, but she was afraid of being beaten by the boss, so she didn't interfere.
Sheng Muxi pointed to one of the dishes with her chopsticks: "These mushrooms are barely edible."
The four of them finished off the only edible mushroom, paid the bill, and left, silently adding the restaurant to their blacklist.
During dinner, Sheng Muxi noticed that Chai Qianning had only eaten a few bites of rice. So she asked her if she was hungry and if she wanted to go somewhere else to eat.
Chai Qianning shook her head: "It's hot, so I don't really have much of an appetite. Also, I ate chicken cutlet at midnight, and I'm still feeling full."
Sheng Muxi's eyebrows twitched: "Then you digested it quite slowly today."
“I think I have a bit of indigestion…” Chai Qianning paused, her eyes crinkling into a smile, and pulled Sheng Muxi along: “Come on, I’ll take you to help with your digestion.”
Chapter 30 and beyond
Qiu Jie and Shi Manwen were still hungry and wanted to get something else to eat.
Based on her experience, Chai Qianning gave them a food guide and then parted ways with them.
Near Yuding Mountain, there is a place that tourists have named "Summer Resort". Chai Qianning took Sheng Muxi there.
There is a small waterfall nestled among the rocks in the mountain stream. The water flow is not very rapid, but it is very refreshing.
Next to the pavilion was a watermelon shop. As Chai Qianning stepped across the threshold, the proprietress saw her through the small window and exclaimed with surprise and delight, "Oh, Xiaoning's here!"
Chai Qianning is familiar with the owner of this shop mainly because the owner has a good relationship with her grandmother, and her grandmother often brought her here when she was a child.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the proprietress, Chai Qianning leaned on the edge of the counter with one hand and said, "Aunt Fu, give me a watermelon."
"Okay, I'll pick the sweetest one for you." Aunt Fu's voice came from inside the wooden door.
A few minutes later, Chai Qianning carried the watermelon to the stream and put it in.
Sheng Muxi looked around and found that several other tourists nearby were doing the same thing.
She squatted down next to a large rock and splashed the water a few times with her fingers. The cool touch felt like water that never gets any sunlight all day long, just the right temperature for summer.
"Let the watermelon sit in here for a while, and it will taste even more refreshing and delicious when you eat it."
Chai Qianning dipped her hand into the water to touch the watermelon. The water flowed over the back of her hand, reflecting shimmering ripples.
A few strands of hair slipped down her temples. Sheng Muxi stared at her profile for a few seconds, her red lips parting slightly: "What's the difference between this and putting it in the refrigerator?"
Chai Qianning tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Maybe there's no difference. It's just psychological. People feel that chilled watermelon is more natural."
"And it has a camping feel to it," Chai Qianning added.
The waterfall cascades down, splashing water in a small circle around it. Nearby rocks provide shade, and tall, lush trees provide shelter. It can be chilly in winter, but perfect for escaping the summer heat.
The air was filled with moisture, making it somewhat humid.
The watermelon needed to soak in the water for a while, so Chai Qianning sat down and chatted with Sheng Muxi.
A dozen minutes later, Chai Qianning picked up the watermelon, placed it on the shore, touched the green rind, and felt its coolness.
"Half for you, half for me?" Chai Qianning raised her eyelashes and looked at Sheng Muxi.
Sheng Muxi's brow twitched slightly: "How do you intend to cut it in half?"