Chapter 146
Chapter 146
“Yue…” Ning Xi ate until her face twisted into a mask of pain, making like she was about to throw up.
The next second, Xie Lanchen naturally reached his hand over, his voice very gentle. “Go ahead.”
Everyone froze.
Ning Xi was so shocked she didn’t dare move. Throw up? Throw up where?
Was Xiao Xie telling her to throw up into his hand?
Xie Lanchen turned his head. His dark eyes focused intently on Ning Xi as he explained, “There isn’t a trash can here. If it tastes bad, spit it out first.”
Ning Xi looked at Xie Lanchen. His expression was very serious; she couldn’t see the slightest reluctance in it, nor did he seem to be teasing her.
Even she would need a few seconds to consider catching her own vomit, yet Xiao Xie had actually decided, without the slightest hesitation, to catch it with his hand…
Ning Xi once again heard her heartbeat speeding wildly. Every corner of her heart seemed to be filled with an emotion called delight…
A butterfly flapped its wings, and in the depths of her heart, it stirred up a hurricane.
Seeing that Ning Xi still hadn’t moved after so long, Xie Lanchen seemed a little puzzled. “Hm?”
Ning Xi looked at Xie Lanchen’s hand, then slowly swallowed the chicken drumstick meat.
Then she smiled brightly at everyone. “I was just messing with you on purpose. This chicken drumstick is absolutely delicious! Shocking! Delectable!”
As she spoke, she even gave a thumbs-up.
Everyone naturally believed her. After all, they had known Ning Xi for so long; they all knew she had a habit of putting on a performance anytime, anywhere.
Fu Zhi stared blankly at Xie Lanchen and Ning Xi, his entire person seemingly still immersed in the shock of Xie Lanchen telling Ning Xi to throw up into his hand.
If it were him, could he do what Xie Lanchen had done?
Fu Zhi had never felt that his feelings for Ning Xi were any less than anyone else’s, but his first reaction definitely would not be to reach out and catch what Ning Xi spat out…
How could such a move exist in this world? You could actually do that?
Still in the grip of overwhelming shock, Fu Zhi subconsciously took a bite of the chicken drumstick.
The next second: “Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”
He was about to spit it out.
But Ning Xi stopped him with a look she flung his way.
Fu Zhi reacted at once. Steeling his heart and gritting his teeth, he took another vicious bite of the chicken drumstick.
“It’s so good! I’ve never eaten such a delicious chicken drumstick in my life! Fragrant and crispy, we all love it!”
He had already started babbling nonsense.
Smart people like Qin Se and Shen Yibai had already put down their chopsticks.
Jiang Sheshe took one bite of the chicken drumstick and spat it straight back onto her plate. “Why is it so salty?! Did they dump an entire bag of salt in here?”
Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan also spat theirs out one after another.
Seeing that the others had been tricked just like her, Ning Xi smiled in relief.
When it came to unity on a variety show, they had that part covered.
Wei Xuan intended to get closer to Jiang Sheshe, so he looked at Jiang Sheshe, who was drinking water like crazy, with concern. “Is it that bad?”
Jiang Sheshe had originally already drunk enough, but when she heard Wei Xuan speak, she continued taking tiny sips.
In any case, her main strategy was to ignore Wei Xuan and not speak to Wei Xuan.
Wei Xuan’s eyes dimmed.
Ning Xi had already slammed the table and stood up. “Where’s the director?! I want an explanation! Don’t tell me this is a prank! Mess around all you want, but don’t joke about my dinner!”
This was no longer a question of whether it tasted good or bad. It was absolutely! Dis! Gusting!
[Even Ning Xi can’t eat it. That shows just how bad this meal is.]
[Ning Xi: ? That doesn’t feel like a compliment.]
As soon as Ning Xi stood up to question them, Xie Lanchen and Jiang Sheshe immediately followed her into battle.
Xie Lanchen’s smile was as gentle as a spring breeze and drizzle, but the words he spoke seemed to carry another meaning entirely.
“Is the Program Team not going to give us an explanation? Could it be that the investors didn’t provide enough sponsorship money, so you can’t even provide one normal dinner? Otherwise, I really will have to wonder where the Program Team’s budget went.”
Jiang Sheshe was much more crude about it, immediately launching into a spoiled brat’s full tantrum routine. “I want dinner! I want normal dinner! Food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food!”
The high-decibel noise made everyone clap their hands over their ears.
Ning Xi put on her mask of pain again. “Those pale, powerless words are stabbing my ears…”
The assistant director heard the implicit threat in Xie Lanchen’s words and scrambled out of the control room in a panic. He dropped into a sliding kneel in front of everyone, eager to pledge his loyalty to their noble investor-daddy. However-
The floor was a little too smooth. He accidentally slid too far and had an intimate encounter with the wall. In short: he kissed the wall.
Watching the assistant director’s baffling behavior, Ning Xi was genuinely curious. “Is he so hungry he’s trying to gnaw on the wall?”
Assistant director: “…”
He got up and explained to everyone, “After seeing all of your reactions, we contacted the vendor and only then found out there may have been a problem with the marinating process for this batch of meat dishes. The flavor is much stronger than usual. Our own staff usually orders from this place too, so we really didn’t expect something like this to happen at first. We sincerely apologize to all of you. Please wait twenty minutes. The Program Team will prepare a new dinner for all the guests. We’re truly, truly sorry.”
Jiang Sheshe had been so hungry she could hardly stand it anymore. She asked angrily, “We still have to wait twenty minutes? Before you brought the food over, didn’t any of you taste it first?”
Only after the words left her mouth did she remember that all the staff had been working behind the scenes today, preparing for tonight’s stage performance and running around nonstop.
The guests had time to eat dinner in advance, but the staff might not have.
Jiang Sheshe pressed her lips together. Realizing she had lost her temper at the wrong people, she felt a little guilty.
Ning Xi patted Jiang Sheshe on the shoulder, then looked at the assistant director. “Aside from the meat dishes, the other food is fine. We’ll eat these first. If there’s time, we’ll eat the new dinner you prepare. If there isn’t, we’ll all have a meal together after the performance and count it as a celebration banquet.”
Jiang Sheshe nodded from the side. “Right, right, right!”
The assistant director was so moved his eyes filled with tears.
The small episode soon passed.
The guests continued eating.
Although there were far fewer dishes they could eat, the flavors were all normal. They were much better than the dark cuisine everyone had made before.
Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi, who was happily eating, and was just about to ask if she needed him to share some of his food with her when he realized that, ever since earlier, Ning Xi seemed to have been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding his gaze.
Xie Lanchen’s hand paused slightly. A flash of helplessness and confusion crossed his eyes, and his lips pressed together even tighter.
Had he said something wrong?
Or had Ning Xi finally realized that he was not the Xie Lanchen she thought he was at all…
But in the next second, Ning Xi suddenly turned to look at him.
Xie Lanchen did his best to force a small curve onto his tightly pressed lips, but his gaze was still somewhat tense.
He waited for Ning Xi’s verdict.
Yet Ning Xi did not show the slightest negative emotion-no disgust, no suspicion. Instead, she smiled at him, like bright moonlight just rising into the sky.
“The other dishes the Program Team prepared are still really good. I didn’t lie to you this time. Hurry up and eat, or you’ll be performing on an empty stomach tonight.”
Xie Lanchen fixed his eyes on Ning Xi for a long moment. Then he gave a low, hoarse chuckle and answered, “Okay.”
Watching Xie Lanchen obediently eat, Ning Xi withdrew her gaze in satisfaction.
Because of what had happened earlier with him telling her to spit out the chicken drumstick, her heartbeat now went wildly out of control whenever she saw Xiao Xie.
She was not used to it, so she had deliberately made herself stop paying attention to Xiao Xie all the time.
But while her brain had made up its mind, the corner of her eye kept drifting toward Xie Lanchen on its own.
That was how she noticed Xie Lanchen had not touched his chopsticks at all.
Which led to that moment just now.
Ning Xi bit down on her chopsticks and glanced at Xie Lanchen from the corner of her eye.
Just now… what exactly had Xiao Xie meant when he asked her to spit the food into his palm?
Was that the kind of interaction normal friends had?
Although she did not have much experience in relationships, even she knew Guan Yu would not act like that with Zhang Fei, and Li Kui would not act like that with Song Jiang either.