Shu looked at the rice tofu being prepared and thought for a second.
"It should..." he began, "It should have a soft, sticky, and chewy texture... Maybe a bit like mung bean jelly? But it feels like it would be denser and creamier than jelly.
"But he added brown sugar syrup and honey... Hmm, and a bit of osmanthus. It'll probably be like one of those particularly soft, oil-soaked little pastries... Oh, not the creamy kind like tiramisu."
Kiana listened, dumbfounded.
"How... how do you know that?"
"I guessed."
"Guessed?!" Kiana looked at Shu in disbelief. "How did you guess?"
"You can roughly guess just by watching how it's made." Shu pointed at the boss's movements. "That white stuff has the texture of a rice product, so it should be made from rice batter. The texture will lean towards being soft and chewy.
"There are two types of seasoning here: one with a lot of chili oil, and one with a lot of syrup. Since you asked for the sweet one, the taste should be exactly like that..."
Kiana looked at Shu, her gaze full of complex emotions.
"You can... guess the taste just by looking?"
"Probably?"
"Probably?!"
"Uh... how should I put it?" Shu said. "Actually, whenever I see food, I can't help but imagine what it tastes like.
"Sometimes I imagine it in so much detail that it feels like I've actually eaten it, even if I haven't."
Kiana opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the boss was already handing over the two portions of rice tofu.
"Two sweet portions. Careful, they're hot."
Kiana took the two bowls and couldn't wait to hand one of them to Shu.
"Hurry and try it! I specifically chose the sweet one. Sweet should be safer!"
Shu took the bowl, skewered a piece with a bamboo stick, and put it in his mouth.
He chewed.
The rice tofu was very soft and chewy. The brown sugar syrup was sweet but not cloying, and it had a hint of osmanthus fragrance.
It was exactly as he had imagined.
He looked up and met Kiana's expectant gaze.
"How is it?"
"..." Shu paused. "Exactly as I imagined."
Kiana blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"It tastes exactly like what I just described."
Kiana froze.
She looked down at the bowl in her hands, skewered a piece herself, and quickly popped it into her mouth.
She chewed, chewed, chewed, tasting it carefully.
Then she looked up at Shu, her eyes wide open.
"You—everything you said—was completely right!"
Shu looked at her and didn't speak.
"How did you do that!" Kiana was practically vibrating with excitement. "You clearly haven't eaten it before! How did you know what it tasted like!"
"Like I said, imagination."
"How could your imagination be so accurate!"
"Because..." Shu thought for a moment. "The properties of the ingredients are fixed, and the flavors of the seasonings are fixed. What flavor they'll produce when combined together can be deduced."
Kiana was stunned.
"Deducing... flavors?"
"Mhm."
"Flavors can be deduced?!"
"They can... Can't you?"
Shu genuinely thought that a foodie like Kiana would definitely be able to do this.
He really didn't think this ability was all that rare...
Was he wrong, looking at it now?
Was he actually really special?
Kiana stared at him for three seconds.
Then she put down the bowl in her hand and grabbed his arm with both hands.
"Shu!"
"Yeah?"
"You're so amazing!"
"What?"
"You're amazing!" Kiana's eyes were full of stars. "Deducing flavors! Who would even think of that! You actually know what things taste like even if you haven't eaten them!"
She shook his arm, her entire being seemingly glowing.
"So amazing, so amazing, so amazing—"
Shu felt a bit dizzy from her shaking.
"It's... it's just ordinary logical deduction..."
"It's not ordinary at all!" Kiana said righteously. "Can an ordinary person deduce that? No! Only you can! At least, out of everyone I've ever met, only you can do it!"
"..."
Looking at Kiana's sparkling eyes, and seeing the completely unconcealed admiration and excitement on her face, Shu suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
But Kiana could clearly feel Shu suddenly suck in a breath and straighten his back.
"...It's alright," Shu said stiffly, holding his breath.
Kiana was caught off guard for a moment by Shu's subtle reaction. Suddenly, understanding dawned on her.
"What do you mean 'it's alright'! It's obviously super amazing!" Kiana let go of his arm, instead using one hand to pinch his cheek and turn his face toward her.
"Shu, look at me."
Shu was forced to meet her gaze.
"You are amazing," Kiana said, enunciating every word. "Super amazing! More amazing than anyone else!"
Shu's ears turned red.
"Don't... don't be like this..."
"Like what?"
"Just... like this."
Kiana blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Oho, Shu, is your face blushing?"
"...No?"
"Yes, it is! Super red!"
She let go of his face, instead reaching out to poke his genuinely red ears.
Shu dodged backward.
"Stop messing around."
"I'm not messing around! I just want to see how red they are!"
"Don't—"
Shu wanted to run, but with Kiana holding his hand, he couldn't escape at all. The two of them ended up playfully scuffling together.
The boss at the stall next to them watched them, a kindly smile appearing on his face.
Ah, it's good to be young.
Having fooled around enough, the two sat back down and finished their two portions of rice tofu.
"This is really so good!" Kiana said while eating. "The rice tofu is so soft, and the sweetness is just right! Shu, you're really amazing to even guess this!"
Shu ate his portion without speaking.
But his back was noticeably straighter than before.
After finishing the rice tofu, the two continued walking forward.
Kiana kept holding his hand, her grip very tight.
"Shu."
"Yeah?"
"I saw that expression you made just now."
Shu paused, instinctively touching his own face.
"What expression?"
"When you said 'Exactly as I imagined'." Kiana looked at him. "Were you a little... disappointed?"
Shu was silent for a second.
"...Was I?"
"You were." Kiana raised a finger and pointed at her own eyes, her gaze sharp as a ruler. "Even though it was very faint, I saw it plain as day!"
Shu didn't speak.
Kiana didn't press the issue.
She just tightened her grip on his hand.
"Shu."
"Yeah?"
"Next time, we'll find something else you haven't eaten before."
Shu looked at her.
"We'll find lots and lots of things." Kiana's smile sparkled in the sunlight. "We'll keep looking until you take a bite of something that tastes even better than you imagined."
Shu froze.
He looked at Kiana, at the completely unconcealed earnestness in those pure blue eyes, and suddenly felt his throat tighten.
"...Okay," he said.
It was a very soft word.
But Kiana heard it.
She laughed and continued dragging him forward.
"So where's our next stop? It looks like there's someone selling tanghulu over there! Have you ever eaten tanghulu?"
"Eaten it."
"What about cotton candy?"
"Eaten it."
"Dragon's beard candy?"
"Eaten it."
"Then—what about that!"
Kiana pointed to a sugar painting stall in the distance.
Shu looked at the stall where various patterns were painted with melted syrup, and thought for a moment.
"...Eaten it too..."
"But I want to eat that..."
Shu couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud.
"Then let's go eat it."
"Yay!"
She dragged him into a run.
Sunlight spilled down from the glass dome, falling onto the two running figures.
One was laughing, running in front.
The other was being dragged, following behind.
But the corners of his mouth were also smiling.