"How is it? Is it good?"
Xiangling asked with a look of anticipation.
"It's delicious."
Fang Qiu smiled and nodded, sticking out her tongue to gently lick the grease staining her lips.
"That's good to hear."
Xiangling sighed in relief. She picked up a meat skewer and handed it to Guoba, who was waiting by the side staring intently at the plate, and then she began to eat as well.
The three of them, plus one Guoba, ate and drank while chatting idly.
They talked about things like Fang Qiu's new book.
Fang Qiu told them the specific details regarding the new book. It was already completely written, and she should be able to take it to the publishing house for the editor's review first thing tomorrow morning. If everything went smoothly, she should be able to catch this release cycle.
Fang Qiu thought about it carefully; she could be considered a model worker now, right? To be preparing to release a third book in such a short period of time.
Aside from Fang Qiu's book, they also chatted about some news in Liyue Harbor.
For instance, the Liyue Qixing was planning to build a new dock in the suburbs of Liyue Harbor. According to Hu Tao, this construction project was being personally overseen by the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. Ground was to be broken any day now.
Currently, there was all sorts of speculation in the streets.
Some guessed that the god in the sea hadn't actually been cleaned up yet, and Lady Ningguang wanted to use that dock to build an anti-god weapon to annihilate the threat in one fell swoop.
Others speculated that Lady Ningguang wanted to use that dock to build a maritime Millelith force to invade other nations.
Hu Tao said she had been listening from the side at the time. That person had even explained Lady Ningguang's detailed route clearly: destroy Mondstadt first, then wipe out Inazuma, and then capture Fontaine in one go.
The more he spoke, the more excited he got. Just as he reached the decisive battle against Snezhnaya, several Millelith soldiers arrived, and he was promptly invited away for 'tea'.
Later, she heard people say that the man was a novel writer, and the content he was spouting was actually just the plot of his book. Before he even had time to promote his novel, he was arrested. Publicly slandering the Liyue Qixing.
Fortunately, he hired a great lawyer for his defense and was only fined one thousand Mora to settle the matter; otherwise, he would have been in big trouble. Though, who knows how much Mora he spent hiring that lawyer.
Hu Tao held a skewer that was dripping with grease and covered in chili flakes. As she ate, she smilingly recounted the unlucky deeds of that novel author.
After listening to this story, Xiangling noticed that Fang Qiu's cup was already empty, so she proactively offered, "Give me your cup. I remember there are still oranges in the kitchen; I'll go squeeze some orange juice for you."
"Don't trouble yourself, plain water is fine," Fang Qiu said.
"Don't worry, it'll just take a moment. It just so happens I thought of a brilliant combination earlier," Xiangling said with a beaming smile.
"You're not going to add something strange, are you? You are not allowed to give Fang Qiu Slime Condensate to drink," Hu Tao immediately shielded Fang Qiu's cup with her hand and said.
"Relax, I've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to go out and fight Slimes," Xiangling said.
"You said it, alright?"
Hu Tao handed over the cup with a face full of distrust.
Xiangling took the cup and walked all the way back to the kitchen, while Hu Tao continued chatting with Fang Qiu. She picked up a skewer of meat and took a bite. Because she ate too quickly, grease mixed with chili powder instantly spilled out from the corner of her mouth.
"You... eat slower, don't choke."
Fang Qiu put down her chopsticks and took out a pristine white handkerchief from inside her clothes, still carrying her body warmth and printed with a Silk Flower on the corner. She gently reached out and wiped the grease from the corner of Hu Tao's mouth, speaking softly, "Don't move around, let me wipe it clean for you. Don't let it drip onto your clothes."
"Oh."
Hu Tao responded in a low voice.
Looking at Fang Qiu's pretty face so close at hand, and those textured lips slightly stained with grease... The fresh scent on Fang Qiu's body mixed with the aroma of the meat and flooded into her nose, accompanied by the handkerchief that still held Fang Qiu's warmth.
Hu Tao felt her face burning intensely.
She glanced at Fang Qiu and saw that Fang Qiu was carefully helping her wipe her mouth. She instantly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Luckily, she was eating something spicy, so her face was already red; Fang Qiu shouldn't have noticed she was blushing.
Fang Qiu indeed did not perceive Hu Tao's unusual state. After wiping the grease from Hu Tao's mouth, she sat back, folded the handkerchief, and placed it gently to the side. Then, she picked up a serving of chives with her chopsticks, placed them in her plate, and began to eat methodically.
At this moment, Xiangling walked over carrying a cup of orange-colored juice.
"Hehe, try it. This is based on orange juice, mixed with lemon, honey, and some other ingredients. I just tasted it, and the flavor is quite nice," Xiangling said.
Tasted it?
Fang Qiu froze slightly.
Just now, Xiangling had only taken her cup. Could it be that she used her cup to taste it?
Fang Qiu took the cup and took a gentle sip.
The complex sweetness of the fruits instantly flooded her mouth.
So fresh, so sweet.
The mouthfeel, which had been somewhat greasy from eating meat, was instantly refreshed.
"It's good, so good! Much better than the one before!"
Fang Qiu's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but praise, "With this recipe, if you took it out to sell, it would definitely be a hit."
Compared to this glass before her, those juices from her past life were incredibly weak.
Not to mention how those juices from her past life were frantically packed with various additives. Especially a certain 'Fu' brand orchard; every time she drank it, her body would feel uncomfortable. She didn't know if it was her own problem or the juice's problem.
Just the taste of this juice alone could beat those juice products by several streets.
Regarding this, Fang Qiu felt fortunate once again.
Luckily, the path she chose at the start was writing novels. If she had tried to replicate the gourmet food of her past life, the outcome would have been miserable. She would have been beaten into a sieve by Xiangling.
"Hehe, thanks for the compliment. I had that idea too," Xiangling said with a smile. "I imagine even that picky customer would probably like it quite a bit."
"Is it really that good?"
Hu Tao sat to the side, blinking her eyes, somewhat doubtful.
"Do you want to try?"
Fang Qiu handed the cup toward Hu Tao and asked.
"Mhm."
Hu Tao nodded and took the cup with a suspicious look. However, after she took a sip, her eyes also brightened suddenly.
"It really is delicious," Hu Tao exclaimed after swallowing.
"Hehe, and what's more, this kind of orange juice has the effect of dispelling spiciness. Fang Qiu, do you want to give it a try?" Xiangling said with a smile.
"Eh? Really?"
Fang Qiu paused slightly, asking with some surprise.
This drink could let her eat spicy food?
"However, it relieves the heat after eating. If you occasionally want to taste chili, you can eat the chili first, then take a sip of this orange juice, and it will effectively alleviate the spicy taste," Xiangling said. "But I suppose you could also drink a sip of orange juice first and then eat, though you wouldn't feel much of the spicy flavor that way."
"Then I'll try it."
Fang Qiu nodded firmly.
Fang Qiu had an accurate assessment of herself.
That was: a scrub who loved to play.
Just like when she played Sword and Fairy; she was clearly terrible at it, getting stuck on a boss for days, but she just loved to play.
________________________________________
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