Chapter 7: The Unforgettable Story of Green Pepper 4
After we finished eating the steak, the waiter brought us a vegetable salad. The colorful vegetables accompanied by the milky white French dressing looked very appetizing. Hongze, who preferred meat, frowned and pushed away the salad placed in front of him by the waiter with an embarrassed look.
Ling Jiao stirred the salad with a fork and said, "After eating the staple food, the vegetable salad is used to neutralize the greasiness brought by the meat. You just ate such a big piece of steak, but you don't feel sick? Are you still human?"
"no!"
Hongze acted as if he didn't care, but he still started eating reluctantly.
"Cough cough!" I was frightened by Hongze's words and started coughing violently, but Hongze looked calm.
"Fu Lingmiao, you've been acting weird today." Ling Jiao rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction and looked at me, "Can you please stop coughing at the table?"
"Hehe... No, no. Maybe I am a little excited because it's my first time in a place like this. Yes, I am a little excited... Hehe, so excited." I smiled awkwardly and made up an excuse to evade Ling Jiao. Although Ling Jiao rolled her eyes again, I could only comfort myself that Hong Ze's words did not attract Ling Jiao's attention.
Ling Jiao refused to let me go and continued, "If Uncle Nie heard that such an 'elite' of the Nie family was so excited about having dinner in a restaurant, he would probably jump off the floor."
"Hehe, this is not just a restaurant. A three-star Michelin restaurant, with a nine-star chef. There will be no seats if you don't make a reservation three months in advance, right?" In order to prevent Ling Jiao from continuing to pester me, I had to say it in a flattering manner.
Obviously, my deliberate flattery worked well for Ling Jiao. Zhou Mian looked at me with a smile on his face and started to change the topic. I was slightly relieved when I saw Ling Jiao took over Zhou Mian's topic and stopped entangled with me.
The corn kernels on the plate looked very tempting at this moment. I scooped up a few yellow corn kernels with a spoon and put them into my mouth. The sweetness of the corn kernels spread on the tip of my tongue, and the taste of the French sauce and the taste of the corn kernels collided and merged in my mouth. A new taste made me feel novel.
Soon, I ate all the corn kernels on the plate, and then I found that there were still a lot of green peppers on the plate. Although I knew that the peppers in French cuisine must be sweet peppers, I still couldn't help but frown slightly.
I looked at Zhou Mian carefully. He was talking to Ling Jiao. Feeling my gaze, he turned his head to look at me, as if asking me what was wrong. I quickly waved my hand, signaling him not to pay attention to me. Are you kidding? I was about to do something "bad", how could he catch me?
After Zhou Mian withdrew his gaze, I ate the purple cabbage happily, and at the same time, I carefully gathered the green peppers in a corner of the plate with an even happier mood, just like before.
"What are you doing? Stacking blocks?" Hongze suddenly shouted excitedly. I was concentrating on stacking green peppers and was startled. The fork made a harsh sound on the plate.
I looked up at Hongze awkwardly. Hongze, who was always focused on food, noticed my little action for the first time. He waved his fork excitedly as if he had discovered a new world.
"You're not going to eat? Can I not eat too? You can't accuse me of wasting food!"
"Eh? I..."
I didn't expect Hongze to be the first person to find out. I was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to do. In fact, I just wanted to act a little cute to Zhou Mian. I saved the green peppers that I didn't like to eat until the end, just like a child who doesn't want to walk and wants to rest for a while.
"Ah, Lingmiao, I've told you this many times, right?" Zhou Mian looked at me with soft and helpless eyes, and like a little old man he enumerated the benefits of green peppers one by one, "This is sweet pepper. The rich vitamins C and B and carotene contained in sweet peppers are strong antioxidants that can fight cataracts, heart disease and cancer. The redder the sweet pepper, the more nutrients it has. The vitamin C it contains is far better than other citrus fruits, so it is more suitable for eating raw. Of course, green peppers are also suitable for eating raw. Sweet peppers can also relieve fever, relieve pain, prevent cancer, increase appetite, aid digestion, reduce fat and lose weight."
I curled my lips slightly, blinked my eyes and pretended to be innocent, then picked up another piece of purple cabbage and put it into my mouth.
"Lingmiao, don't always pick out a single ingredient to eat. Just eat the bell peppers mixed with the purple cabbage and corn kernels. Don't be picky, okay..."
Zhou Mian was still lecturing, but Hongze suddenly jumped up, scooped a few green peppers from my plate across the table, stuffed them into his mouth, and began to chew them heroically. The sudden change made me stare at Hongze in amazement. I didn't expect that he just chewed it a little and then simply swallowed it, pinching his throat with one hand and shouting hoarsely: "Water! Water!"
Ling Jiao quickly picked up Hongze's water cup and handed it to him. He drank all the water in the cup in one gulp, then turned the cup upside down and shook it twice until the last drop of water fell into his mouth. Only then did he seem to finally breathe a sigh of relief, and beads of sweat had already covered his forehead.
"Is everything okay?" Zhou Mian asked anxiously, stopping his hand that was scooping corn kernels into my plate and looking at me with a reproachful look, "Look at you..."
The three short words were deafening, and I felt very embarrassed by Hongze's painful look. It was just a little willfulness of mine, but Hongze paid the price for it. I was so ashamed that I couldn't say anything, and I could only pick up the spoon to scoop the green pepper.
As soon as the spoon touched the green pepper, my hand was grabbed by Hongze. He held my wrist tightly to prevent my spoon from touching the green pepper. Then he took my spoon away and scooped away the green peppers I had piled in the corner. One spoonful, two spoonfuls, three spoonfuls... until all the green peppers were stuffed into his mouth, he let go of my hand. He didn't chew it at all, and swallowed the whole mouthful of green peppers.
Ling Jiao screamed: "Are you crazy? Eating a sweet pepper is so spicy!" After saying that, she opened the door and ran out.
"Ah! Water! I want water!" Hongze threw down the spoon and wanted to take the cup of water in front of me. Unexpectedly, he lost his balance and the whole cup of water spilled onto my plate, instantly submerging the corn kernels in the plate.
Zhou Mian silently handed his water cup to Hong Ze, who drank it in one gulp without hesitation, then picked up Ling Jiao's water cup and drank it in one gulp. He finally sat down panting, sticking out his tongue and breathing out like a puppy, and constantly fanning himself with his hands in an attempt to cool down.
"Are you stupid?" I realized my voice was choking after I said that. I touched my face randomly, tears all over my face, "Who asked you to help me eat it? I can eat it by myself. You are so spicy for this level of pepper. Are you stupid... I can eat it by myself, I don't need you to help me eat it... If you can't eat it, don't eat it..."
Tears slowly blurred my vision. I could only hear Hongze's breathing. I wanted to hide my tears with a smile but I couldn't. I cursed him intermittently: "Are you an idiot? You knocked over all my water... How can I eat my corn kernels soaked in water? I like corn kernels the most... You, you have to compensate me for yours ... You are not allowed to eat chili peppers in the future, do you understand?"
"Ling Miao..." Zhou Mian called my name in a low voice, holding a tissue to wipe my tears, hesitated for a moment, and stuffed the tissue into my hand.
"I... I don't want to cry." I finally couldn't help but lie on the table and burst into tears. I really didn't want to cry, I just wanted to cheat and eat the green peppers I didn't like.
But when a tired child wants to rest for a while, and someone holds him by the waist and tells him that he doesn't have to walk anymore, he will jump for joy. I am the child who has never been held by anyone.
Hongze's big hands covered my head and rubbed it. He said in a hoarse voice: "Hey, don't cry! I'm fine. I just drank two extra glasses of water. Did you get scared? Your uncle Hongze has been in heaven and earth for 500 years. He is the only one like him."
I burst out laughing, still with my head buried in my arms, and muttered with a heavy nasal tone: "What a pretty dragon! Why are you so narcissistic?"
"I have the capital to do this!" Hongze said in an exaggerated tone, "I just said it casually, and I thought it would work quite well. There is only one dragon like this in five hundred years! Tsk, I am really talented."
"Stop talking, it's so stupid. I'm not crying, really." I rubbed my sleeves hard and said in a muffled voice.
"You're not cute at all!" Hongze said unhappily, patting me on the head gently. "I just wanted to make you happy. You cried after eating your green peppers. I should be the one who wants to cry."
"I don't want to cry. Um, are you still hot?"
I was a little embarrassed and muttered something quietly. My tears had stopped flowing, but I couldn't raise my head because of the shyness I realized belatedly.
With a "bang", the door of the room was kicked open. I was so scared that I trembled and reflexively sat up and looked at the door. I saw Ling Jiao walked in with a crystal bottle full of water in her hand . She threw the kettle on the table, and the tableware on the table was shaken and made a collision sound.
She said in a hoarse voice: "Water! If you don't let me drink it all in one breath, I will pour it all over your head!"
Hongze raised his hands in surrender, took the kettle and filled his own cup, then drank it down in one gulp. Ling Jiao wanted to say something, but the waiter came in with a dessert cart, so she had to give up. Ling Jiao and I each ordered a Napoleon, and Zhou Mian ordered a Mont Blanc chestnut cake.
Hongze looked towards the dessert cart and spread his hands: "I'd better drink some water."
Ling Jiao and I both burst into laughter, Zhou Mian silently picked up the crystal bottle in front of Hong Ze and poured a glass of water into his own glass. Seeing this, I quickly handed over my glass of water, wanting to help him share a glass of water.
Ling Jiao was dissatisfied: "Tsk, you make me look like a bad person. Give me a drink too."
The crystal bottle that had been used to drink three cups was almost empty in an instant. Hongze poured himself another cup and raised the cup to the sky: "For the green pepper!"
We all laughed and cried, and raised our glasses: "For the green peppers!"
Four cups filled with water collided with each other, making a crisp sound. The warm sunlight shone on the cups, reflecting colorful light in the water.
