Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 207: "Zhou Mochen, Let Go First!

The cafeteria lady worked quickly, but the line was long. By the time Xu Su carried her sour and spicy noodles—for which she had insistently requested extra chili and extra vinegar—to their table, the first-floor cafeteria was already packed. If Qian Jia hadn’t saved them a spot beforehand, they wouldn’t have had anywhere to sit.

The bowl of sour and spicy noodles in front of Xu Su was coated in a thick layer of red chili oil, with several extra spoonfuls of vinegar mixed in. The aroma alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.

Huang Feng glanced at the bowl and immediately averted her eyes. She complained, "Susu, you look like a little angel, so how can your tastes be so intense? I’d believe you if you told me that level of spice could kill someone."

Huang Feng’s own spice tolerance was average. She could handle a little, or she wouldn’t have dared to order sour and spicy noodles in the first place. But even so, it never failed to shock her just how much spice Xu Su could handle.

Qian Jia had a higher spice tolerance than Huang Feng, but she was still taken aback by the thick layer of chili oil in Xu Su’s bowl. She glanced at Xu Su’s shoulder. "Is your wound healed? Won’t eating something so spicy affect it?"

Xu Su waved her hand dismissively. "It’s fine. It already scabbed over."

After so many days of a bland diet, Xu Su’s taste buds were screaming for flavor. With Xi Zirong not around to police her and Zhou Mochen too far away to interfere, she had long since forgotten the doctor’s instructions—given when her bandages were removed—to stick to a mild diet for a week.

The freshly cooked noodles were scalding hot. Xu Su picked up a mouthful with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and then cautiously took a bite.

"Hssss..."

That hissing sound came from Huang Feng. She reacted as if she’d taken the bite herself, grimacing from the imaginary spice and frantically chugging her soda.

"..." Xu Su shot her a speechless glance. "Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not even that spicy. It’s delicious. Hurry up and try yours."

As they were talking, the chatter in the massive cafeteria inexplicably quieted down, but Xu Su didn’t notice a thing.

After urging Huang Feng to try her own noodles, she lowered her head, scooped up a spoonful of the chili oil-laden broth, blew on it lightly, and slurped it down.

So sour, so satisfying!

’It’s been too long since I’ve had anything spicy. This is pure bliss...’

Xu Su’s eyes crinkled shut in blissful satisfaction.

Still not quite satisfied, she scooped up another spoonful. But just as she was about to drink it, a hand clamped down on her left arm from behind, holding it firm. The action stopped her from bringing the spoon to her lips.

"So this is what you call eating properly?" A familiar voice, laced with palpable anger, spoke from behind her. "What on earth are you eating?"

Xu Su stiffened. ’...Am I hearing things?’

’Why would I be hearing Zhou Mochen’s voice in the school cafeteria?’

She looked up and saw Huang Feng across the table, mouth hanging half-open in astonishment.

Huang Feng was staring blankly at her brother, who was trailing behind a large group of school administrators. And his boss... his boss was holding her best friend’s arm...

The area had fallen silent. In a cafeteria packed with people, not a single person spoke. The atmosphere was completely off. Overcome with the urge to bury her head in the sand, Xu Su, stiff as a board, had no choice but to slowly turn her head.

’Of course it’s Zhou Mochen...’

Her eyes swept past him to the school administrators in his wake. ’Oh... Huang Feng’s brother is here too...’

’Ah... even Teacher Wu is with them...’

Xu Su felt completely numb. She set down her spoon and tried to wrench her arm free from Zhou Mochen’s grip, but as expected, he had no intention of letting go. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Xu Su began to prevaricate. "This is a new item in our cafeteria. Sour and spicy noodles..."

"...Sour and spicy noodles," Zhou Mochen repeated softly. His expression darkened as he reached out and wiped a speck of chili oil from the corner of her mouth.

He stared at the red oil on his thumb and slowly began to raise his hand. Horrified, Xu Su grabbed his arm, quickly fumbled in her pocket for a pack of tissues, pulled one out, and thrust it at him.

’Damn it!’

’She seriously suspected that if she hadn’t stopped him, Zhou Mochen would have licked his thumb clean right here, in front of everyone.’

’This damn man was already desperate to make their relationship official; he would clearly stop at nothing.’

Zhou Mochen glanced down at her and snorted coldly. He took the tissue, wiped his thumb, and then yanked Xu Su to her feet.

"Your wound hasn’t even healed yet. Have you forgotten what the doctor said? What did you promise me? That you’d stick to a mild diet this week so I wouldn’t have to worry."

He pointed at the bowl of terrifyingly spicy noodles. "Is this your idea of not making me worry?"

Xu Su laughed awkwardly. "My wound is almost heal—"

Before she could finish, she wilted under Zhou Mochen’s intense stare and guiltily lowered her head.

She grumbled internally. ’I can’t believe my luck. The one time I try to spice up my meals, I get caught red-handed.’

With her head bowed, she looked just like a small, guilty child, the picture of innocence.

Zhou Mochen’s anger instantly evaporated. He pulled her a little closer, his tone softening considerably. "If you don’t want to come home with me for dinner every day, then from now on, you’ll send me a picture of your meal before you eat."

Before Xu Su could answer, Zhou Mochen glanced at the people behind him. "Do any of you mind if I bring one more person?"

The administrators from City No.1 High School, who had witnessed the entire scene, were still in shock. For a moment, no one spoke.

It was Vice Principal Zheng who recovered first. He quickly offered an obsequious smile. "Not at all, Mr. Zhou, not at all! The private room upstairs is quite spacious. The food and drinks are ready. You must try our school’s specialty dishes."

Vice Principal Zheng was in charge of academics. The last time they met, he had already gathered that this Mr. Zhou, a man with an impressive background, treated their student, Xu, with unusual favor.

’...He just never imagined that in a few short months, things would have progressed to the ’coming home for dinner’ stage.’

As he spoke, he feigned a casual glance at the girl whose arm was being held. A single, fleeting look was all it took for him to understand.

’Sure enough, the young master from Beijing had a wickedly sharp eye. He’d only given a casual glance during the scholarship ceremony and had immediately singled out this student, Xu.’

’For men of wealth and power, they’ve seen more beauties than they’ve had hot meals. That means when they encounter a true gem, they’re even less likely to make a mistake.’

...No one knew what was going through Vice Principal Zheng’s mind.

Zhou Mochen gave a slight nod. He jutted his chin toward the bowl of noodles, of which Xu Su had only eaten a single bite, and instructed Huang Chao behind him, "Get rid of this."

With that said, his hand slid from her arm to her wrist. He started walking, pulling Xu Su along behind another school administrator—one whose name she didn’t know—who was leading them toward the private room upstairs.

Feeling the intense stares of every student in the cafeteria, Xu Su snapped out of her guilt. She finally realized the massive impact Zhou Mochen’s intimate gesture would have on her reputation among the other students.

Xu Su struggled, her voice a fierce whisper. "Zhou Mochen, let go of me!"

Zhou Mochen glanced sideways at her and obediently released his grip. A little afraid she might throw a tantrum, he began to explain in a low voice,

"My only reason for coming to your school was to see you, even just from a distance. But Susu, what you were eating is bad for your wound. I couldn’t just stand by and watch you eat it without intervening."