Chapter 105: Getting Closer
But even as everything went more and more smoothly, Chen Mo felt a strange, faint sense of unease.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.
When things went too well, it was natural to start getting paranoid for no reason.
But looking at the current situation, aside from not having found the person who killed Su Yuqing in the original timeline, everything else was going according to plan.
’I probably have nothing to worry about.’
Seeing Lin Yu’an let her try it first, Zhao Yuanyuan didn’t bother with false modesty.
She was a very straightforward and open person, and she assumed others were the same way. The thought of feigning politeness never crossed her mind.
She picked up a fried ice cream—which looked like a plump dumpling—with her chopsticks. Feeling the heat coming off it, she blew on it carefully.
Chen Mo immediately smiled. "No need to blow on it. You should be more worried about how cold it is."
"Huh?" Puzzled by his comment, Zhao Yuanyuan had already popped half of the fried ice cream into her mouth and bitten down.
An explosion of hot and cold sensations instantly erupted in her mouth. The cool, sweet flavor of the ice cream mixed with the warm, soft crust, creating a taste experience unlike anything Zhao Yuanyuan had ever had before.
The dish wasn’t expensive, and it was easy to buy the semi-prepared version to make at home.
But for someone trying it for the first time, it was still a stunning surprise.
"This is amazing! The hot and cold cancel each other out perfectly. The outside is chewy, and the ice cream inside is so fragrant and sweet. It’s delicious!" Zhao Yuanyuan’s eyes lit up as she instantly fell in love with the dish.
"Here, Yuqing, you try one too." Afraid Su Yuqing would be too shy, Chen Mo picked up a fried ice cream and placed it in her small bowl.
"Ugh, the sickeningly sweet smell of love!" Huang Mao scoffed at the sight.
Chen Mo just smiled, unbothered, but Huang Mao’s comment made Su Yuqing’s cheeks flush red.
Learning from Zhao Yuanyuan’s experience, Su Yuqing didn’t blow on it this time, simply placing half the fried ice cream in her mouth.
The moment she bit into it, a rich, cool stream of ice cream flowed out, its flavor and temperature spreading through her mouth. Su Yuqing, too, was thoroughly impressed.
"So? Do you like it? You can buy these semi-prepared online. If you like them, I’ll get some to keep at home, and we can just fry them up whenever you’re craving them," Chen Mo said softly, looking at Su Yuqing with a doting expression.
Su Yuqing glanced at the fried ice cream on the table and nodded.
Now that both girls had tried it, it was naturally time for the person who ordered the dish to have some.
Feeling a little embarrassed under their gazes, Lin Yu’an picked up one with his chopsticks and began to eat.
After that, no one paid special attention to anyone else; they all just ate on their own.
At some point, Chen Mo ordered some more drinks.
Before long, the salt-and-pepper mantis shrimp arrived.
Zhao Yuanyuan finally understood what Huang Mao meant by "lobster-sized mantis shrimp."
She also finally understood why the dish was so expensive.
The mantis shrimp her grandfather bought from the market were skinny, only about as thick as an adult’s finger.
That’s why they were so cheap.
But the ones in front of her now were each nearly the size of her forearm.
There were only four fried mantis shrimp in total, which meant each one cost about 25 yuan.
Zhao Yuanyuan was stunned just looking at them.
Huang Mao, however, didn’t seem to mind. He simply picked one up and placed it in her bowl.
"Eat up. Don’t keep staring at the price. Remember, I was going to order this anyway, you just beat me to it." Huang Mao could see that Zhao Yuanyuan was still hung up on the cost, so he tried to reassure her again.
Staring at the enormous mantis shrimp, Zhao Yuanyuan grew curious about how it would taste.
Chen Mo, for his part, served one to Su Yuqing.
Then he looked at Lin Yu’an and Huang Mao. "I’m not a big fan of these. You two can split the last two."
"For real?" Huang Mao glanced at Chen Mo to confirm.
Normally, Chen Mo wouldn’t be so polite with him.
Chen Mo laughed. "Of course. If I wanted one, I’d just tell you not to eat and we’d all four split them."
Hearing this, Huang Mao just smiled and didn’t say anything else.
’That does sound like Chen Mo.’
’But even if he said that, if it came down to it, he’d probably still offer me half.’
It was her first time eating such a huge mantis shrimp, and Zhao Yuanyuan was thoroughly enjoying it.
These big ones were really something else. The small ones she’d had before barely had any meat and were gone in a few bites.
But these were packed with meat and roe; they were fragrant and delicious.
After finishing one, you couldn’t help but want another.
But the thought of the price made Zhao Yuanyuan stop in her tracks.
By the time she finished hers, Huang Mao still hadn’t touched his own. Seeing her look like she was still craving more, he picked up his mantis shrimp and placed it in her bowl.
"If you like it, have some more," Huang Mao said with a smile.
"No, no, I can’t. It’s too expensive, I can’t eat it all by myself."
Zhao Yuanyuan quickly put the mantis shrimp back in Huang Mao’s bowl.
"I don’t..."
Huang Mao was about to say he didn’t like them either, just like Chen Mo, hoping to use that as an excuse to give it to her.
But then he remembered he had just claimed he was planning to order it himself. Why would he order it if he didn’t like it?
’That would just put the blame back on Zhao Yuanyuan for ordering the most expensive dish.’
He shot Chen Mo a helpless look.
Chen Mo smiled and said, "Just trying one for the novelty is enough. Any more and you’ll overload on nutrients. You should just eat it yourself, Huang Mao."
Seeing no other way out, Huang Mao had no choice but to eat it himself.
After a pleasant lunch, the five of them felt their friendship had grown even more harmonious.
This was especially true for Lin Yu’an. His addition to the group had been a bit sudden at first.
But after his behavior over the past two days, especially since he’d ordered the fried ice cream that both girls enjoyed so much, they were all starting to feel much closer to him.
The meal finished, the group returned to school, fully satisfied.
They still had two exams to get through in the afternoon.
However, after the two afternoon exams, Saturday was Zhao Yuanyuan’s birthday, so they could all get together again for a full day of fun.
On top of that, evening self-study had been canceled for the night, giving everyone some extra time to unwind.
Chen Mo was looking forward to the chance to relax.
He’d spent the whole week worrying about all sorts of things on top of studying for his exams. It had been pretty exhausting, so having some time to completely unwind sounded great.
Just as he, Huang Mao, and the others were heading back to the classroom, Wang Lulu suddenly came up and grabbed his arm.