During the conversation, a male waiter came over with the base of the pot and placed it down, then along with another waiter, brought all sorts of dishes from the cart to the table.
“Let us know if you need anything.” The male waiter smiled at Xie Tao, still with the standard enthusiastic smile of Haidilao.
But when he saw Wei Yun sitting next to Xie Tao, there was a moment of pause, but it was just a moment before he pushed the cart and left.
There were still many subtle glances around, and some people couldn’t help but whisper.
Xie Tao, however, didn’t pay much attention anymore. When the pot started boiling, she took the items in front of her and put them into the pot.
Then she went to the self-service area to prepare dipping sauces for herself and Wei Yun.
When she turned back, she saw two girls standing by their table, holding mobile phones, their faces bearing shy smiles, as if they were talking to Wei Yun about something.
Xie Tao, holding two bowls and plates, widened her eyes a bit.
Without thinking, she hurried over.
Xie Tao heard them asking if they could get his WeChat, but Wei Yun kept his eyes downcast, not even looking at them, his long eyelashes concealing the annoyance in his eyes.
Seeing him ignore them, the two girls didn’t speak, acting as if they were invisible, which made their expressions a bit awkward.
Xie Tao, holding the bowls and plates, squeezed through them and sat down next to Wei Yun. Under the slightly startled gaze of the two girls, she met their eyes, lifting her chin, “Is there something?”
The two girls, having thin faces, exchanged looks upon hearing Xie Tao’s voice, then both shook their heads and walked back to their seats disheartenedly.
Seeing them leave, Xie Tao relaxed her shoulders.
Then she placed the bowls and plates in front of Wei Yun, “Yours…”
Wei Yun naturally extended his hand, gently touched her head, and when he looked at her, his eyes finally showed a tender smile.
Just as Xie Tao was about to grab some beef with her chopsticks to dip in the bubbling hot pot next to her, her phone in her pocket suddenly rang.
She put down the chopsticks and took out her phone.
It was Xie Lan.
Xie Tao slid the answer button and then brought the phone to her ear, “Hello?”
“Where is Tao Tao?” Xie Lan asked carelessly from the other end.
“Eating.” Xie Tao replied.
Xie Lan hissed, “Oh really? That old Xi said…”
Before Xie Tao could fully make out what Xie Lan was saying, the phone by her ear was snatched away by Wei Yun beside her. At the same time, a piece of cooked beef appeared in her bowl.
She tilted her head to look at him, and when she met his eyes, she couldn’t help but giggle foolishly, then picked up her chopsticks again to feed the piece of beef into her mouth.
“Hello? Tao Tao?” Xie Lan was still shouting from the other end.
Listening to the young voice on the phone, Wei Yun spoke with a cold voice, “Noisy.”
???
Hearing Wei Yun’s voice, Xie Lan realized that Xie Tao was dining with him.
“Are you telling me to…”
Before he could finish his curse, the call was hung up.
Standing on the roadside, Xie Lan looked at his phone, frustrated enough to bite his lollipop into pieces.
This guy always told him to get lost or complained about him being noisy.
Wei Yun ate very little; he was mostly helping Xie Tao pick up food. Seeing her bowl empty, he would pick up his chopsticks to help her.
Seeing her cheeks puffed up from eating, he propped his chin in one hand, looking quite amused.
Until Xie Lan suddenly appeared.
Wei Yun’s face darkened in that instant.
“What are you doing here?” his tone was not very pleasant.
“Here to bring something for Tao Tao.”
Xie Lan replied nonchalantly, then naturally sat down opposite Wei Yun and Xie Tao.
“This is from old Xi for you.” Xie Lan put a small porcelain bottle in front of Xie Tao.
“What’s this?”
Xie Tao picked up the small porcelain bottle, curiously asking.
Xie Lan smirked, “With the speed at which you’re learning magic now, you’re barely good for playing with fireworks. Drink this; it’ll help remove some impurities from your body and speed up your learning.”
“This is fresh off the press, so you’d better drink it quickly. It’s time-sensitive and won’t work after a while.”
If it weren’t for this, Xie Lan wouldn’t have come.
He gets angry just looking at Wei Yun.
The punch to his jaw last time still hurts to this day.
“Oh, okay.”
After hearing this, Xie Tao opens the bottle cap, first smells it close to her nose, sensing an indescribable fragrance, then she directly drinks it.
The taste is sour and sweet.
Quite delicious.
“Aren’t we leaving?” Wei Yun puts a piece of meat into Xie Tao’s bowl and glances at Xie Lan sitting opposite.
Xie Lan glares at him and slams the table, “Waiter.”
The waiter standing by quickly comes over.
“What can I do for you?”
Xie Lan directly says, “Add a set of chopsticks and bowl.”
“Okay.” The waiter quickly gets a set and places it in front of Xie Lan.
Wei Yun narrows his eyes, looking at Xie Lan with malice.
…
Xie Tao bites the meat Wei Yun put in her bowl and feels the atmosphere getting weird.
Then, her bowl starts getting filled with slices of beef, meatballs, shrimp paste, slices of lotus root, etc., piling up like a small mountain.
Mostly, Wei Yun, with chopsticks in hand, beats Xie Lan to it, putting them in her bowl.
This hot pot meal left Xie Tao completely stuffed.
In the end, Xie Lan also had his fill, leaning back in his chair with a bit more comfort, “Does little sister Tao Tao want some dessert after the meal?”
Xie Tao shakes her head, “I can’t eat anymore.”
At that moment, Wei Yun stands up next to Xie Tao, looking down at her, “Let’s go.”
“We’re leaving just like that?” Xie Lan clicks his tongue.
He touches his chin, a mysterious smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Just as Xie Tao stands up, she sees Xie Lan suddenly say, “Oh, Wei Yun, tell me, how did I forget that it’s your birthday today?”
His voice is loud enough for the hallway’s waiters to hear.
Xie Tao’s eyes widen.
Wei Yun is confused.
Then he sees a bunch of waiters hurriedly coming over, some holding “Happy Birthday” signs, and some with glow sticks, all smiling and approaching.
A middle-aged man asks with a smile, “Whose birthday is it?”
“Him.” Xie Lan smiles and points at Wei Yun, who has already stood up.
Upon seeing Wei Yun, the middle-aged man quickly exclaims, “Such good looks on this gentleman, it’s a pity not to debut!”
Wei Yun frowns, seemingly unclear about the situation.
Xie Tao already covers her face.
Then, the group of waiters surrounding the three of them started to earnestly sing the Happy Birthday song. Some were shaking light sticks in their hands, and others were shaking glow sticks.
Perhaps because of Wei Yun’s excessively outstanding appearance, the eyes of many other customers around were always focused on their table, and a few young girls also came over to join in singing the Happy Birthday song.
Then another female waitress came over with a “birthday cake” made of fruits, wishing him a happy birthday.
“…” Wei Yun remained expressionless.
Xie Tao couldn’t help but laugh a little.
Until they walked out of the restaurant, Xie Tao and Xie Lan were still laughing.
“Hahaha, my goodness…” Xie Lan laughed so hard that he had to cover his stomach, feeling that he couldn’t forget the expression on Wei Yun’s face just now.
Xie Tao tried to hold back her laughter, but it was really too funny, and she couldn’t hold it in.
Until suddenly, Wei Yun stretched out his hand and pinched her cheek.
When she was covering her face, she saw Wei Yun kicking Xie Lan hard.
Xie Lan was caught off guard, let out a “ow” sound, and almost fell to the ground.
Wei Yun always looked at him with cold eyes, and then, holding Xie Tao’s hand, they moved forward.
But when they went back, Xie Lan still followed.
On the way, Xie Lan kept shouting to fight with Wei Yun again, until Wei Yun kicked him accurately and quickly in the bend of his leg, and Xie Lan didn’t dare to mention fighting again.
Finally sitting on the sofa in the living room, Xie Lan stared at Wei Yun, “If you have the skills, fight me in a few rounds, I don’t believe you can still win?”
He was referring to a MOBA game on the mobile phone.
If it were according to Wei Yun’s usual character, he would definitely not bother with someone like Xie Lan.
But at this moment, he glanced at Xie Tao sitting beside them, and raised an eyebrow, “What if you lose?”
Xie Lan, as if he heard something funny, “Me? Lose?”
“Fine, if I lose, I’ll call myself an idiot fifty times, how about that?” Xie Lan said, lifting his chin towards Wei Yun.
“And you’ll disappear immediately.” Wei Yun didn’t argue, just added another condition.
“Done.” Xie Lan agreed very decisively.
Since neither Wei Yun nor Xie Tao had ever played video games, the account Wei Yun used to compete with Xie Lan was still Xie Lan’s secondary account.
The two directly chose the 1V1 mode.
Because it was his first time playing such so-called video games, Wei Yun didn’t understand the rules at first, so Xie Lan naturally won the first three rounds.
“Since it’s your first time playing, I’ll give you a few more chances.” Xie Lan laughed proudly.
Wei Yun always had a calm demeanor, unhurried and unflustered.
Xie Tao sat beside Wei Yun, just watching him play the game.
“You keep giving him chances because he’s a newbie, not like you’ve played for so long…” Xie Tao muttered, seeing Xie Lan’s especially radiant smile.
The competition was unfair from the start.
“Got a boyfriend and forgot your brother!” Xie Lan glared at her.
“…” Xie Tao glared back at him.
Xie Lan thought he was sure to win this time. If he couldn’t beat him in reality, he should be able to pin Wei Yun down in the game, right?
Starting from the third game, Wei Yun seemed to finally grasp the knack of it, making Xie Lan give first blood with a series of operations.
???
Xie Lan was baffled.
He didn’t believe in curses, “Again!”
As if the victories of the first three games were just accidents, in the following five or six games, he was thoroughly defeated by Wei Yun.
It was almost like being rubbed against the ground.
Xie Tao was also shocked, “Wei Yun, you’re so amazing!”
Hearing Xie Tao’s praise, Wei Yun’s face remained impassive, but a faint smile crept into his eyes, as if her exclamation added a bit more pride to him.
He was always as calm as water; if it had been before, he definitely wouldn’t have bothered with Xie Lan.
But now, in front of her, he also showed a bit more of a childish desire to win.
In the end, Xie Lan, holding his phone, nearly declared in great sorrow in front of Wei Yun and Xie Tao, repeating fifty times, “I am an idiot.”
Then, he quickly turned into a pale golden light and slipped away.
For him, this place had already become a site of heartbreak.
