“Captain, wait, there’s still one seasoning packet left!” Gao Haiyang stopped Yan Yifei, who was just about to stuff noodles into his mouth, and held up a packet of shredded seaweed and sesame seeds.
He tore open the packaging and added it to Yan Yifei’s bowl. “Captain, just mix it up and it’s ready to eat.”
Yan Yifei glanced at Gao Haiyang. He quickly retracted his previous thought that Gao Haiyang was actually somewhat useful.
“I don’t need you to tell me; I’m not an idiot,” Yan Yifei said, using his chopsticks to stir the enticing Fiery Noodles. It was just mixing—it wasn’t like he was going to turn it into some monstrous dark cuisine.
Gao Haiyang couldn’t care less about Yan Yifei’s little temper. His eyes, his body, and his stomach were all captivated by these bright red noodles emitting an enchanting aroma.
Beside them, Lu Ziyu, who was carefully stirring his own bowl, lowered his head and took a deep sniff of the savory scent. Then, all three of them simultaneously picked up a huge chopstick-full of Fiery Noodles and shoved it into their mouths.
Holding back the tears that threatened to spill, they slurped the dangling ends of the noodles into their mouths.
As they chewed, Gao Haiyang was the first to break. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. He quickly swallowed, hastily poured a cup of the leftover hot water from making the instant noodles, and gulped it down without even blowing on it.
“I… F—! It really lives up to the name Fiery!” Gao Haiyang spat out the water. The scalding water combined with the incredibly spicy noodles made it feel like a ball of fire was blazing in his mouth. He felt like he was going to die.
He collapsed onto the floor, constantly letting out agonizing HISS and HAAH sounds while his tears flowed endlessly. He looked truly miserable.
Lu Ziyu wiped away his tears and poured himself a cup of hot water as well. He drank it right after Gao Haiyang and was immediately choked by the even fiercer flames roaring in his mouth. COUGH… COUGH COUGH… “Gao… Haiyang, you… why didn’t you warn me that drinking hot water makes it three or four times spicier?”
Seeing the tragic state of those two, Yan Yifei picked up a nearby tissue and wiped his own uncontrollable tears. He stood up in silence and went to pour himself a glass of ice water to soothe the fire blazing in his mouth.
Downing one glass only provided a tiny bit of relief. He drank a second, but it still wasn’t enough. It was only after a third glass that the spiciness finally eased. He then poured another glass of ice water and returned to his seat in the dining room, his eyes rimmed red as he stared at the still-enticing Fiery Noodles.
His mouth was still a little spicy, but as the aftertaste set in, he noticed a lingering trace of sweetness. It was actually quite delicious…
He picked up his chopsticks and grabbed another bite. This time, he was a bit more restrained, taking a smaller portion. He carefully placed it in his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the chewy texture of the noodles. Along with the hint of sweetness, it grew more fragrant and spicier the more he chewed. Once again, tears flowed down his cheeks uncontrollably.
Yan Yifei calmly wiped his tears, took a sip of ice water, and picked up another bite. He repeated this cycle. The more he ate, the better it tasted. His tears were falling desperately, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.
Meanwhile, the two men lying on the floor had finally recovered. They couldn’t help but stare at the Fiery Noodles on the table, smacking their lips. Other than being a bit too spicy—no, unbearably spicy—now that they tasted the lingering flavor, it really was pretty good…
They watched as Yan Yifei, wearing an expression of both bliss and agony, continued to stuff noodles into his mouth while tears streamed down his face and he took occasional sips of ice water.
They decided to try again. The aroma was simply impossible to resist. So what if it was a little spicy? True warriors dared to face super insanely spicy Fiery Noodles head-on!
But they had better prepare some ice water first. The two exchanged a glance, their eyes locked in a silent battle. Gao Haiyang lost, so he scrambled to his feet to fetch the ice water.
Lu Ziyu sat back down in his chair, his posture upright as he stared straight ahead, waiting for his drink. From time to time, he stole a glance at Yan Yifei, who was crying while eating. He thought the captain looked even better when he cried…
Yan Yifei glared fiercely at Lu Ziyu, his eyes practically screaming a threat that he would kill him if he kept looking.
Receiving this terrifying visual threat, Lu Ziyu stiffened in fear. The captain was even more horrifying when threatening people like this. Thinking he looked good earlier had been a complete illusion. Mommy, he wanted to go home…
Satisfied to see Lu Ziyu behave himself, Yan Yifei continued his struggle with the Fiery Noodles that he had come to both love and hate. He thought again of the culprit who had sent him these noodles in the middle of the night. What was he supposed to do if he couldn’t bring himself to hate her at all? He even thought her wickedness was adorable.
Gao Haiyang poured a huge glass of ice water and vigorously added a generous amount of ice cubes. For the Fiery Noodles, for the midnight snack that his junior had specially prepared for him, he was going all out!
“What took you so long? The noodles are going to get cold!” Lu Ziyu complained. He poured himself a glass of ice water and took a sip, breathing a sigh of relief now that Gao Haiyang had finally returned. The captain’s earlier glare had really scared him to death.
Gao Haiyang rolled his eyes at Lu Ziyu and sat straight down. With trembling fingers, he picked up two strands of Fiery Noodles, squeezed his eyes shut tight, shakily placed them in his mouth, and chewed slowly.
Whoa! Eating them just two strands at a time wasn’t too spicy at all; in fact, they were incredibly delicious. He couldn’t stop. But two strands were far from enough to satisfy him. Gao Haiyang stuffed a massive mouthful in and chewed slowly. The tears he had barely managed to control earlier completely broke free again. But it was so good, what could he do? BOOHOO. His junior was really too evil.
Watching the other two men’s ceaseless chopsticks and miserable appearances, Lu Ziyu shrank back a bit. Their expressions were somewhat contorted yet simultaneously filled with intense satisfaction, causing him to panic slightly.
Seeing Lu Ziyu acting so cowardly, Gao Haiyang shot him a disdainful look and mumbled indistinctly around a full mouth, “Coward. If you’re not going to eat it, leave it for me!” With that, he reached over, trying to snatch Lu Ziyu’s bowl.
“Bah! In your dreams! This is the late-night snack our junior specially sent me. How could I let her good intentions go to waste? Impossible!” Moving quickly, Lu Ziyu shielded his bowl. No longer acting like a coward, he picked up his chopsticks and took a huge bite.
Immersed in the blissful torment of the Fiery Noodles, Yan Yifei heard this remark and lifted his eyelids to glance at Lu Ziyu. He thought, “Specially? You shameless bastard! I’ll definitely teach you a good lesson tomorrow!”
“BOOHOO, it’s so good, but just too spicy. No wonder it’s called Fiery Noodles. My mouth is really on fire. Our junior is so wicked, BOOHOO.” Lu Ziyu was completely captivated by the food now. He ate while crying, showing absolutely no intention of stopping.
“Nonsense! Just look at who made it! That’s my goddess! My junior! The person I want to marry!” Gao Haiyang’s lips were stained bright red by the chili, and even the corners of his eyes were flushed. His eyes were even swollen, but he still got carried away and said something immensely infuriating.
Furious, Yan Yifei stopped eating his noodles. He stood up, pinned Gao Haiyang down, and delivered a sound beating. As he punched him, he demanded, “Who do you want to marry? I’ll give you one more chance to reorganize your words! Think carefully before you speak!”
Lu Ziyu shot a sympathetic glance at Gao Haiyang, who was being beaten black and blue. He continued to eat his Fiery Noodles with tears streaming down his face, enjoying the live action scene while he ate. It really added a special flavor to the meal.
He couldn’t help but inwardly criticize Gao Haiyang’s low EQ. Could he not tell that the captain had already fallen for Junior Gan Lan? Wasn’t saying that right to the captain’s face just begging for a death wish? What an idiot.
Lu Ziyu shook his head, unable to bear looking at Gao Haiyang’s miserable state any longer, and continued eating noodles with his swollen lips.