My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 118

Chapter 118: Hot Pot

A week after the Qingming Festival holiday, the final selection exam for high school seniors began.

For Jiang Xue, the pressure of the selection exam wasn’t that great. After all, she had already achieved scores of “90+” in three subjects last October. This time, she mainly wanted to improve her scores further, hopefully exceeding 95 in all three subjects.

Perhaps because she was relaxed, and the new guqin from the craftsman would arrive soon, nothing unexpected happened to Jiang Xue before the exam this time.

The nervous one was Xiao Luohan. Since Jiang Xue’s exams would be over in two days, she hadn’t slept well for two consecutive nights, constantly waking up in the middle of the night, or having strange dreams about frantically searching for the exam room with Jiang Xue in the school building, only to be transported near Ms. Silin’s studio, finally finding her way out, and then encountering the same traffic jam as on White Day on her way to the exam venue in a taxi…

Every time Xiao Luohan woke up from these fragmented, illogical nightmares, seeing Jiang Xue’s peaceful sleeping face would gradually calm her pounding heart.

A-Xue was confident this time and didn’t need her to worry too much.

Besides, she had already taken the selection exam once before and achieved good results. This time, it was just to consolidate her knowledge and “refresh” her scores, to give herself more confidence.

She resisted the urge to kiss Jiang Xue for comfort, forcing herself to endure.

It wasn’t until Jiang Xue returned home after the exam, rushed upstairs, and hugged her, shouting “Halfway to liberation!”, that she couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. Ignoring the fact that they weren’t in their room yet, she kissed Jiang Xue at the turn of the stairs.

Teacher Sui, hearing the commotion, came out, intending to congratulate them, but seeing the young couple being lovey-dovey, she just clicked her tongue and returned to the study to play on her phone.

Caught off guard by the kiss, Jiang Xue was a little dazed, but habits were a good thing. Once formed, even a surprise attack wouldn’t make her as flustered as before.

However, she still had to pretend a little. Teacher Sui, an elder, was still around!

So she responded to Xiao Luo while moving towards her bedroom, finally closing the door. Perfect, a world for just the two of them!

Xiao Luo was so clingy today, just kisses weren’t enough.

Jiang Xue was initially happy, but soon became alert and grabbed Xiao Luohan’s hand, which was reaching for the buttons of her pajamas, asking seriously, “Are you hiding something from me again?”

Even though she now knew that Xiao Luo wasn’t reserved and was mentally an adult, if Xiao Luo, usually restrained, suddenly became exceptionally passionate, it must be because she was releasing pent-up emotions, seeking comfort through intimacy.

Jiang Xue was happy to be Xiao Luo’s emotional outlet, but before that, she still felt it was necessary to understand the root cause.

“It’s already passed,” Xiao Luohan said, burying her face in Jiang Xue’s shoulder. “Just worried about you messing up the selection exam.”

Jiang Xue suddenly understood and ruffled her hair. “There’s no need to be so nervous!”

Despite saying this, she was still quite happy. She couldn’t help but kiss Xiao Luohan’s hair—Xiao Luo had just washed her hair today, using the same lemon-scented shampoo as her.

Her girlfriend was so attentive!

With the selection exam over, this stage was finally complete, and Xiao Luohan was able to sleep well that night.

Of course, before lying down, she still pestered Jiang Xue, asking her to test the new knowledge she had learned.

Jiang Xue cooperated, puzzled, then let out a shriek of surprise. “Who taught you this?!”

Who else? The only adult who could openly discuss such topics and spend a long time with Xiao Luo, “teaching” her legitimately, was Teacher Sui!

Teacher Sui was happy to see the young couple progressing rapidly and taught Xiao Luohan everything she knew. At least both teacher and student felt that the theory was solid. As for the practical application… they could adjust based on Jiang Xue’s feedback.

“I’m going to complain to my sister about Teacher Sui!!” Jiang Xue wailed, “It’s all Teacher Sui’s fault!” She leaned against Xiao Luohan’s shoulder, letting her gently massage her stomach, her fingers gradually moving downwards.

Those nimble fingers that skillfully plucked the guqin strings were just as adept elsewhere.

“Considering that you’ve been focusing on the exams these past two days, and your hand must be sore, you can give me your feedback later,” Xiao Luohan whispered into her ear, assigning her “homework.”

This made Jiang Xue add another item to her summer vacation plans.

Xiao Luo went to Teacher Sui, right? Then she would consult Dr. Qi!

She knew that Xiao Luo preferred her to be proactive. Although they could take things gradually in this aspect, she should still try to improve and close the gap in their understanding.

After they had expended enough energy, the two embraced each other and fell asleep peacefully.

There was a two-day break after the selection exam, so Jiang Xue took Xiao Luohan to a nearby mall for hot pot to celebrate.

Considering that A-Xi’s selection exam was also over, and she could relax for a bit, she called Xie Xitong the night before and asked if she wanted to join them.

Xie Xitong, who was teaching Cang Ling how to play video games: ?

She said, “Let me ask,” then muted the call and complained to Cang Ling, “Why would I go? To be a third wheel for them?”

“Then why not use this opportunity?” Cang Ling said, her eyes glued to the computer screen. “Mei-jiejie is also free tomorrow, and I want to see Your Highness.”

Xie Xitong had already thought of this the moment she spoke, and finding that the other version of herself had the same idea, she couldn’t help but pinch Cang Ling’s cheeks playfully. “That’s a great idea! I’ll ask right away!”

Cang Ling let out a small cry and dodged. Xie Xitong then unmuted the call and gave Jiang Xue her answer, also paying attention to what was happening in the game. After confirming that Jiang Mei would also come, she returned to the game with peace of mind.

The time for hot pot was set, but since Jiang Mei had agreed to join them, she definitely wouldn’t let the students pay.

After making a reservation at her usual hot pot restaurant, she asked in their small group chat when choosing the broth base: 【yuanyang hot pot (dual-flavor)? Or just plain broth? Or sour soup?】

yuanyang hot pot: (Chinese hot pot style with a split pot (one side spicy, the other mild)

Since the college entrance exam wasn’t over yet, there was no spicy broth option.

The group chat was silent. A few minutes later, Xiao Luohan was the first to reply: 【A-Xue and I want yuanyang hot pot.】

【XiXi Can’t Move (College Entrance Exam Sprint Edition): I’ll go with the flow~】

Jiang Mei then asked if they wanted soy beans or bone broth for the plain side of the yuanyang hot pot, sent the menu, and after receiving their responses, filled out the reservation form.

The next day at noon, the red sports car, carrying four people and two souls, arrived at the mall.

To accommodate Cang Ling, Jiang Mei specifically requested a smoking room, actually to light incense for the offering.

Despite this, the room was still clean. Jiang Xue had been worried about the lingering smell of smoke, but after entering, she found the air fresh and clean.

The yuanyang hot pot had tomato sour soup on one side and classic bone broth with white radish, chicken bones, and beef bones on the other. After they were all seated, the waiter lit the solid alcohol fuel below the pot.

“Your dishes will be served in about five minutes,” the waiter said and left the room.

Jiang Xue immediately went to prepare the chili dipping sauce. She couldn’t have the spicy broth, but she could still have some chili sauce!

Seeing Xie Xitong also bring her bowl and plate over, Xiao Luohan hesitated for a moment, then joined them.

Cang Ling didn’t mind. Although the food in the Office of Astronomy had always been light, she had been introduced to many rich-flavored dishes by Xie Xitong since coming here. Plus, her soul wasn’t affected by such things, so she simply ate whatever dipping sauce Xie Xitong made.

Jiang Mei remained seated, but asked each girl to show her their dipping sauce. If there was too much chili, she would remove some until she approved.

Xiao Linghan didn’t tease her this time, but actively helped her “inspect” the chili dipping sauces.

“Even though there are still two months until the college entrance exam, and only three subjects left, getting gastroenteritis would be terrible!” Xiao Linghan exclaimed. “I can’t bear to see the little ones fall ill.”

Xiao Luo had always been sickly, and it pained her every time she saw her like that, but she couldn’t do anything, only asking her mother to find the best imperial physician for Xiao Luo, wishing she could bear the suffering for her.

So the chili dipping sauce, after being inspected by the two older sisters, only had a thin layer of red oil left.

Jiang Xue knew she was in the wrong, but still immediately acted cute towards Jiang Mei. “After the college entrance exam, can we come back and have a proper spicy feast?”

After being glared at by her older sister, she smiled and sat back down next to Xiao Luohan, adding the crispy fried pork, which had just arrived, to her favorite sour soup.

Xiao Luohan, on the other hand, wanted to eat some vegetables first, so she added some fresh cabbage and tofu to the pot, next to Jiang Xue’s crispy pork.

These two ingredients cooked quickly. After a quick blanch, they were delicious even with just a little bit of dipping sauce, having absorbed the flavor of the sour soup.

After eating two pieces of cabbage and a few pieces of tofu, Jiang Xue used her serving chopsticks to place a piece of crispy pork in her bowl, so she also used the communal slotted spoon to scoop up the remaining two pieces of tofu for Jiang Xue and added some beef rolls to the pot.

Jiang Mei was mostly eating from the clear broth side. Halfway through, she asked Xiao Linghan, “Do you want to try some?”

“No need, I often accompanied Mother when she ate this while I was still a princess,” Xiao Linghan refused. “You enjoy yourself, I’ll just watch Cang Ling eat.”

It was her first time seeing Cang Ling eat hot pot. Such food was forbidden in the Office of Astronomy. Even if she wanted to bring hot pot to treat Cang Ling, she would have been stopped.

Unfortunately, eating as a soul was more troublesome than normal eating. Cang Ling couldn’t put the food into the pot and then fish it out herself.

However, Cang Ling didn’t seem to mind. She obediently waited for Xie Xitong to serve her food, happy with whatever she could eat.

Xiao Linghan sighed, a mixture of relief and sadness, in Jiang Mei’s consciousness.

Jiang Mei knew what she was worried about and asked Xie Xitong directly, “I’ve had a strange thought for a while now. I wonder if you’re willing to try it.”

Xie Xitong smiled and asked, “What kind of thought could even Mei-jiejie find strange?”

“If Cang Ling possesses you, would it have the same effect as Princess Zhemei using my body?” Jiang Mei asked bluntly.

“Theoretically, yes,” Cang Ling said, swallowing her food and looking at Jiang Mei, before Xie Xitong could answer. “But we’re already separate individuals, is there a need for that?”

Xie Xitong, however, understood why Jiang Mei asked and said, “For example, do you want to possess me now and eat hot pot with everyone?”

Cang Ling paused, then tilted her head, frowning in thought for a few seconds. “But isn’t it more convenient for you to serve me food?”

“See? No problem at all,” Jiang Mei said to Xiao Linghan.