Chapter 1973: Trending Again

Nan Jiaojiao didn’t hear clearly, so she casually asked, “What happened?”

Then she saw Bo Yanching’s face looking bad, just as she was about to say she didn’t want to hear, but Mo Tingshen’s mouth was too fast, blurting everything out: “You don’t know, when Bo Lao San was little, he was sick and went to the countryside ancestral home to recuperate. Yaen Chi and I often went to play with him, but honestly, who likes to trek mountains for fun? But their chef cooked delicious food, and every time we went, they’d make us special meals, though only four or five dishes. The rest were all bland because this guy soaked in a medicine jar all day, couldn’t eat sour, sweet, or spicy food, his taste was fading away. We were worried he’d waste away at a young age, so we coaxed him to play in the mountains. The two of us carried baskets, tricking him into picking bamboo shoots alone.”

“He didn’t want to, but we said it’s medicinal herbs. Xu Shu had been looking for them for a long time, barely saw them, so he reluctantly picked a few. After returning, Yaen Chi and I sliced them up, not knowing how to cook them, just mixed all the seasonings in a cold dish, adding two spoons of mustard. The taste was too strong, wanted vinegar to mask it but couldn’t find any. Finally grabbed a bottle of syrup from the cabinet.”

Bo Yanching’s face grew increasingly unsightly, Nan Jiaojiao noticed and felt a chill, yet someone kept exposing people’s disgraceful pasts, “We didn’t recognize vinegar, just knew it might be white. Isn’t maltose also white? Dumped half a bottle in, the whole plate of bitter shoots became sticky, mixing it was disgusting, but too precious to throw away, so we buried them under rice. Bo Yanching didn’t know anything, ate a few bites while digging rice and vomited on the spot, had diarrhea for two days. Yaen Chi and I were terrified, worried he’d collapse from dehydration, considering how frail he was as a child, a gust of wind could blow him down. Our worse-case scenario had us Google historical cases about minors involuntarily committing manslaughter and potential sentences.”

Bo Yanching: “…”

“Since then, for years he didn’t care for any kind of bamboo shoots, suddenly, without knowing what provoked him, every time eating privately, he must order a dish of bitter shoots, just to place it in front of Yaen Chi and me as a reminder of grudges until now.”

Bo Yanching gritted his teeth, eyes sharp like a hawk, eager to peck certain someone.

Nan Jiaojiao’s eyes darted around, pursed her lips, not daring to make a sound, then silently covered her ears, pretending not to hear, turning her head to look at Chu Yao, refusing to speak.

Bo Yanching naturally saw her little move, anger then turned tiredly amused, so he didn’t hold back any longer, directly kicked Mo Tingshen’s knee, “Shut up, if you’re not eating properly, get out.”

Mo Tingshen rubbed his knee, nobody sympathizing with him, he didn’t tease anymore, obediently ate his meal.

Bo Yanching picked at least three forks of bitter shoots and placed them in Yaen Chi’s bowl.

During breakfast, other tastes weren’t felt, but bitterness fermented in the mouth.

After finishing, the two men cleaned up the utensils, restored the Imperial Garden’s plate into a food box, soon the restaurant staff would come and collect it.

They went out together, heading to their respective companies.

Chu Yao took off her shoes, lay on the sofa, tore open a bag of banana chips, chewing each piece in small bites.

Lu Zhenzhen called, Nan Jiaojiao had just brewed two cups of milk tea, hands were occupied, so she turned on the speaker phone.

“Check the hot search.”

Nan Jiaojiao instinctively thought the hot search was linked to Chu Yao, “Chu Yao is next to me.”

“It’s not her, it’s you. Last night Song Yuan spread the news, now you’re being chased online as an ‘ungrateful wolf’.”