Xie Jingyu did not understand what had made Yu Huiyin sad, but his heart ached whenever he saw her depressed. Hence, he tried to make her focus on the food and cheer her up.
"Take a look at the menu and tell me what you would like to eat," he said smilingly, and Yu Huiyin happily accepted the menu, looking through it.
"Hot pot!" Yu Huiyin said after merely glancing at the menu for a brief moment, "I want a Sichuan hot pot!"
Xie Jingyu was not a big fan of hot pot, but since Yu Huiyin felt like eating it, he gladly agreed. "That's it then," he said.
After deciding, he rang a small bell that was placed on the table, and moments after, a waiter arrived in the room to take their order.
Not long after the soup base was brought to them, it was dark red, and one could see the chilis lying in the soup, alongside the many spices. Just smelling it was enough to make one sweat, but the tantalizing scent also lured people to want to eat as soon as possible.
After placing the soup base on the table, the other dishes arrived, the dishes that one was to cook in the soup base.
There were finely shaven beef slices, assorted fish balls, thinly sliced fish fillet, tofu sheets, mushrooms, soy puffs, and many more.
It was indeed a magnificent feast for just two people, and Yu Huiyin almost felt that they were wasteful, but she had a hard time waiting to dig into the meal.
The waiters exited the room, and Xie Jingyu handed a set of chopsticks to Yu Huiyin. "Dig in," he said affectionately, and Yu Huiyin accepted the chopsticks before she picked up a finely shaven strip of beef and placed it in the soup base, cooking it before she could taste it.
Although she was not eating yet, her mouth was watering and her eyes were shining. The food was simply smelling too good, and she could almost not wait for it to be done cooking so she could taste.
Xie Jingyu shook his head in amusement as he saw her eyes filled with hunger, and he too picked some of the ingredients and began cooking them.
After ensuring that the beef was cooked, Yu Huiyin placed it in her mouth, and a gratified smile blossomed on her lips.
The food was as good as she had thought.
The two spent a long time dining together and chatting. Xie Jingyu asked into the gaming company, and Yu Huiyin questioned him about a few things that had puzzled her when she had been sitting at her desk, working on the accounting.
As they ate more and more, Yu Huiyin's lips turned plump and red from the spiciness, and Xie Jingyu had a harder time focusing on the conversation.
Seeing her lips, which looked so enticing, he was reminded of the last time they were swollen - when he had kissed her when she was drunk.
He cleared his throat, but he felt thirsty, so he drank some tea. The tea did not change his feeling of thirst, and he felt how his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat.
There was nothing he wanted more than to lean over the table and place his lips on top of her plump, swollen ones, and kiss her into a stupor.
But he knew very well that if he did that she would run away from him.
But unable to control his hand, Xie Jingyu's fingers reached over the table and gently rubbed her lips.
Yu Huiyin's eyes widened in shock, her body froze. "Your lips seem swollen," Xie Jingyu said, his voice sounding apologetic but also as if he was worried about her, and Yu Huiyin instantly felt her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
"I-it's because of the spices," Yu Huiyin stuttered. "My lips always swell when I eat spicy food."
Once again, Yu Huiyin dared not look at Xie Jingyu. He had moved his hand, but suddenly it returned, his thumb rubbing her upper and lower lip gently, massaging them, and her body was so hot that she did not know what to do with herself. Even the Sichuan hot pot had not been able to cause her to feel so hot as she was now.
Xie Jingyu was not sure what he was doing. It was just that the feeling of her lips rubbing against his finger was such an electrifying experience that he could not stop. Since he could not kiss her, this was the next best option.
Xie Jingyu's eyes turned darker and darker as he looked at Yu Huiyin, who had her eyes lowered but was not rejecting his touch.
Finally, he knew he had to stop, and he withdrew his hand, sighing to himself. The moment his fingers left the soft touch, he felt as if he had lost something important to him, and he had to fight very hard not to kiss her hard on the lips.
"Sorry, I thought I might be able to lower the swelling by massaging them," Xie Jingyu said apologetically, his voice so calm and controlled that Yu Huiyin instantly believed him. "I did not know that it would be impossible to do anything for now."
"It is fine," she hurried to say, "I am not done eating anyway, and after I finish eating, they will slowly return to normal."
"I see, that is good," Xie Jingyu said with a nod of his head. His hand was lying on the table next to him, and he could not help but rub his thumb against the other fingers as if trying to recall the soft and tender feeling he had experienced just before.
He had to admit that he had fallen far too deeply. Even a simple touch could make him go insane.