Ying Mi helped set up the table whilst the professor was making the dishes for hot pot.
"Winter is the best time to eat hot pot." He has said when he came back from his trip to the local market.
There was slices of raw wagyu beef glistening on a large plate, an arrangement of uncooked vegetables freshly cut and washed that showed water dews that sparkled under the dining table lighting, several types of mushrooms sliced thinly, squares of soft tofu which jiggled when she moved it to the table, there was even a bowl of small cooked eggs that the two of the peeled as he taught her that they were quail eggs. There was many different dishes, but it was the clear bubbling beef tail broth the Professor carried over to the portable stovetop that made the scene complete.
"Don't touch it. It's hot. If you want anything. I'll cook it for you." He kindly told Ying Mi.
Her heart was truly moved. She had dinners with her adoptive parents before. But somehow, it all paled in comparison to this one hot pot dinner. When he placed some of everything to her bowl, she felt a bit nervous. The professor noticed it.
"Why aren't you eating?" He asked.
"I don't know how to use this." She claimed, feeling her growing flush of embarrassment.
Seeing her expressionless face flush, he couldn't help but smile.
"Here. I'll teach you. Hold it like this." He said as he patiently taught her.
He didn't criticise her for not knowing or asked why she could understand her mother tongue but not know how to use chopsticks or know what a hot pot was when he told her.
This warm feeling of being taught and not having to worry about the roof above her head, a bed to sleep on, her next meal and the need to earn money all seemed to disappear in this place. And for that Ying Mi was grateful.
After dinner, the Professor let her rest on the sofa whilst he cleaned up. Seemingly to remember how light she felt and how skinny she was, he prepared a plate of fruits and brought it to her. When he saw her sleeping on the couch, he didn't wake her up but simply wrapped the fruits and placed it inside the fridge.
"This child." He shook his head as he looked at all the uneaten dishes from the hotpot.
He had prepared a hot pot because he saw how skinny she was compared to children her age. He hoped she could eat a bit more. But he knew he should rush it and could only take things step by step.
An incoming phone call woken him from his thoughts. Seeing who the caller was, he checked that Ying Mi was still asleep and went inside his study to answer the call.
Meanwhile, Ying Mi sat up. She was a light sleeper. But the sounds of dish washing lulled her body to a food coma. She only woke up when she heard the call that came from the professor's phone. A part of her wanted to listen in. But she her legs hesitated. If the professor wanted to sell her off like the people from the orphanage or kill her and eat her like a cannibal, she admit that this was her fated life.
In the end, she simply laid back on the sofa pillow and rested once more.