The Hot Pot Disaster

The chaperone, Cha Yifeng, appeared in Xu Tui's Mental Induction.

There was nothing disgusting in the scene.

It was just that Cha Yifeng's actions were a little unsettling.

The first thing Xu Tui sensed inside the large stall was Cha Yifeng apparently eating something.

Cha Yifeng stuffed something into his mouth and chewed it once or twice.

Xu Tui couldn't sense what was in his mouth.

But the scene was not only a little disgusting, it was also strange.

Why was Cha Yifeng eating in the bathroom? What kind of habit was that?

Only after that did Cha Yifeng start relieving himself.

A dozen seconds later, he came out of the stall.

Xu Tui didn't leave right away, pretending he was still pulling up his pants.

Through Mental Induction, Xu Tui sensed that Cha Yifeng seemed a little tense. But after leaving the large stall, Cha Yifeng seemed to relax slightly.

Something was off.

But Cha Yifeng soon left the range of Xu Tui's senses.

Xu Tui turned back and used Mental Induction to check the large stall Cha Yifeng had used.

He found nothing. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

It was just a little odd that Cha Yifeng had gone into the large stall but hadn't used it for that purpose.

Still, plenty of people went into a large stall just to pee.

It wasn't strange.

But there had been more than one strange thing about Cha Yifeng just now.

He'd gotten off the bus and gone straight to the large stall. Instead of relieving himself, he'd eaten something.

He'd seemed a little tense when leaving the stall.

He'd gone into the stall only to pee, not to take a dump.

Taken together, those things were rather strange.

If this had been Xu Tui before the stalking and milk tea shop incidents, he might not have cared at all.

He wouldn't have given it a second glance.

Sensing a man taking a dump? What was wrong with him?

But after the stalking and milk tea shop incidents, Xu Tui had become much more mature, and his thinking had changed.

Many actions that seemed unreasonable often had deeper reasons behind them.

Xu Tui hadn't watched all those mystery-solving anime for nothing.

Of course, these few details alone weren't enough to justify suspecting anything.

Xu Tui didn't want to make trouble for himself.

Still, that didn't stop him from keeping a closer eye on the chaperone, Cha Yifeng.

During the brief ten-minute break,

Xu Tui also observed the convoy.

There were twelve buses and thirteen escort vehicles at the rest stop.

Each escort vehicle had six armed security personnel.

Add the two security guards assigned to each bus, and their group had a total of 102 security personnel.

That didn't even include the chaperones.

The chaperones were Gene Liberators at the very least.

He just didn't know whether the other buses had one chaperone or two.

In any case, their security detail was formidable.

That reassured Xu Tui quite a bit.

During the break, Xu Tui and Cheng Mo happened to pass behind Cha Yifeng a few times. They didn't notice anything unusual.

Ten minutes later, everyone boarded the buses, and they set off again.

Xu Tui noticed that Professor An, An Xiaoxue, hadn't gotten off the bus.

Had becoming a professor changed her bladder capacity too?

They hadn't been on the road for long when Xu Tui figured out why An Xiaoxue hadn't gotten off.

After relieving themselves, the students were all drinking water. The bus provided free bottled water.

There was a bottle of water in front of An Xiaoxue too. She'd picked it up after boarding.

But she'd drunk less than an inch.

An Xiaoxue only took small sips.

Just enough to wet her throat.

Unlike Cheng Mo and Xu Tui, who'd each gulped down half a bottle in one go.

Perhaps she'd sensed Xu Tui looking at her. An Xiaoxue glanced back at him, then lowered her head and continued reading.

Xu Tui sat slightly behind the middle of the bus. Cha Yifeng, who sat by the front door, was just within Xu Tui's three-meter range of Mental Induction.

But Cha Yifeng hadn't shown any more odd behavior since boarding.

He seemed completely at ease.

Still, through Mental Induction, Xu Tui sensed that Cha Yifeng's mental state was more tense than the other students' mental aura.

Maybe it was because he was responsible for them as their chaperone.

After the break, the thirty students were visibly more relaxed.

The atmosphere in the bus grew livelier.

There was plenty of crinkling and crunching.

All told, they'd only been traveling for three hours since boarding, but more than four hours had passed.

Quite a few students were already hungry.

They started eating and drinking.

The chaperones had also provided snacks like crackers.

But most of the students had brought tasty food their parents had prepared for them.

Everyone had different tastes, and all sorts of aromas mingled together. It was quite a sensation.

Thankfully, none of the students were crazy about stinky tofu or durian. Otherwise, the whole bus would have been overwhelmed.

Young people made friends easily.

Especially with someone like Cheng Mo, who was outgoing by nature, and had brought plenty of different foods in generous quantities—and was generous with them, too.

At Cheng Mo's invitation, everyone quickly turned their individual snacks into a communal feast.

They all brought out their treats to share.

It was also a chance to get to know one another.

With a microphone and a few songs, they could've thrown a party.

Xu Tui naturally had to bring something out, too.

Fragrant braised beef, glossy red pig's trotters, and pickled spicy cucumbers.

Finally, Xu Tui brought out some soybeans and started handing them around.

"Hey, my mom roasted these herself. They're crispy and fragrant, perfect for snacking on the road. Give them a try!"

Gong Ling hesitated, looking a little worried.

She was clearly concerned about the gas soybeans might cause, especially on a long bus ride.

"It's fine. Just have a few and see how they taste," Xu Tui urged warmly.

He passed them around, and more than half the students took at least a few soybeans.

"Teacher Cha, would you like some?" Xu Tui asked with a grin.

"Thanks, no need!" Cha Yifeng refused without hesitation.

"Professor An, would you like some?"

An Xiaoxue shook her head.

Xu Tui and Cheng Mo had a great time organizing the feast with the other students.

Tong Qi, He Mingxuan, and the others had mocked them earlier, so everyone naturally felt some distance from them.

Xu Tui and Cheng Mo didn't invite them over, either.

Their side seemed a little quiet.

Being left out didn't feel very good.

He Mingxuan couldn't sit still.

He immediately took his bag down from the luggage rack and pulled out several large containers.

"Come on, guys. One for each of you. My mom's busy, and I love hot pot, so she packed me some self-heating hot pots in all kinds of flavors. Pick whichever you like."

He Mingxuan had brought six or seven self-heating hot pots. They were supposed to last him two days on the road.

But now, not wanting to be left out, he offered them around with great enthusiasm.

In no time, he'd handed out three boxes.

"Teacher Cha, would you like one?"

"Thanks, no!" Cha Yifeng refused again.

"Professor An, how about you? Would you like one?"

"Thanks!"

An Xiaoxue refused as well.

He Mingxuan tore open the packaging with a crackle and added water.

A few minutes later, his self-heating hot pot began to steam, releasing a powerful aroma.

The spicy flavor was especially strong.

You could tell it would set your mouth on fire without even tasting it. The smell alone was hot and spicy.

"Wow, that's got a serious kick. This is going to be delicious."

He Mingxuan deliberately said it loudly, sounding a little boastful.

Seeing a few spice lovers swallow enviously, He Mingxuan—sweating as he ate—walked into the aisle and started devouring his food right in front of Xu Tui and Cheng Mo.

With every bite, he praised it.

His behavior made many of the students uncomfortable.

It was just self-heating hot pot. Did he really need to make such a show of it?

"Hey, He Mingxuan, be careful. You're standing up while the bus is still moving. Watch out—you might spill that hot pot and scald yourself," Xu Tui suddenly warned him.

He Mingxuan didn't take it seriously. "As if that would happen."

"My Gene Points enhance both strength and speed. These hands of mine are as steady as a mountain."

He Mingxuan was in the middle of boasting when his hot pot tipped over.

The container in his hands suddenly lurched inward.

He Mingxuan instinctively tried to dodge, but he'd been busy bragging and hadn't expected it to spill. He reacted a little too slowly.

The bright-red broth poured down the front of his chest.

Not much landed on his chest. Most of it splashed onto his shoes.

He Mingxuan was wearing a pair of bright white sneakers today.

And then they changed color.

They were splattered with red, oily broth.

A strand of green Sichuan peppercorns clung to his chest.

He Mingxuan was dumbfounded.

He was completely dazed.

It wasn't that hot.

Self-heating hot pot didn't stay hot for long. Once you started eating, the temperature kept dropping.

But what was he supposed to do about his shirt, pants, shoes, socks, and now-soaked underwear?

Worst of all, his clothes and shoes were in his rolling suitcase, which was in the bus's luggage compartment.

They couldn't get his luggage out without stopping the bus.

He Mingxuan's mouth twitched with frustration as he looked at Xu Tui, who had just warned him. "You—you..."

"Hey, He Mingxuan, I warned you, but you still weren't careful. Hurry up and clean yourself up. Do you need tissues?" Xu Tui said.

The students throughout the bus were a little stunned, too.

Xu Tui's words were way too prophetic.

He'd just warned him, and then it happened?

But He Mingxuan had been showing off too much.

It was just self-heating hot pot. Did he really have to make such a production of it?

And stand in the aisle, too!

Now look what happened.

He'd only brought trouble on himself.

A moment ago, some people had even thought Xu Tui shouldn't have warned him.

Maybe He Mingxuan wasn't such a great person after all.

They'd better be careful around him in the future.

Several sharp-eyed students immediately made a note of it in their mental little address books.

Xu Tui and Cheng Mo were people worth befriending.

They'd have to be wary when dealing with He Mingxuan.

While everyone's attention was on He Mingxuan, the female researcher An Xiaoxue's gaze had settled on the foot of the seat beside him.

There, a soybean lay on the floor.

A tiny bit of red chili oil clung to it.

It must have gotten on the bean when it hit the self-heating hot pot just now.

Seeing He Mingxuan's miserable state, An Xiaoxue looked up at Xu Tui, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"That kid's got quite a grudge."

An Xiaoxue hadn't seen what happened, but she'd heard a sharp whoosh cut through the noisy chatter.

The sound had come from Xu Tui and ended at He Mingxuan's self-heating hot pot.

It was obvious what had happened: Xu Tui had knocked over He Mingxuan's hot pot with a soybean.

But even though An Xiaoxue knew the truth, she had no proof.

At that moment, plenty of students had soybeans in their hands.

"Xu Tui is careful about how he does things," An Xiaoxue concluded.

But even if she'd had proof, she wouldn't have exposed Xu Tui.

She didn't like He Mingxuan either.

He certainly didn't deserve her sympathy.

"He Mingxuan, clean up the floor."

With one quiet remark, An Xiaoxue twisted the knife for Xu Tui.

"Huh?"

He Mingxuan grimaced and looked around. No one in the carriage stepped forward to help him.

The classmates who'd just eaten his hot pot didn't so much as move.

Tong Qi in particular was sitting closest to him, but showed no interest in lending a hand.

In the end, a few softhearted girls helped out.

Even so, it took He Mingxuan a full half hour to clean up the mess from the overturned hot pot.

The whole carriage reeked of hot pot, and He Mingxuan smelled even stronger.

His seatmate couldn't stand it and went to sit with the young soldier in uniform at the very back.

He Mingxuan was utterly at a loss.

A short distance away, Xu Tui had already eaten his fill. He tossed one soybean after another into his mouth.

He bit down.

Crisp!

Delicious!

After eating their fill, and tired from the ride, many of the students began to fall asleep.

Once they were asleep, time flew by.

Xu Tui dozed too, but kept a thread of awareness on Cha Yifeng.

Cha Yifeng didn't do anything unusual.

Suddenly, Cha Yifeng spoke again.

"Everyone, wake up. We've reached the second rest stop. There are restrooms here, as well as light meals. You have fifteen minutes.

"Don't expect us to wait."

With that, Cha Yifeng opened the bus door and got off first.

He Mingxuan, who'd been holding it in the whole ride, hopped off second and made a beeline for the luggage compartment.

Xu Tui tugged at Cheng Mo, who was still eating, and hurried after Cha Yifeng with him.

A quick heads-up, guys: there's an official event. In the upper-right corner of the bonus chapter Zhu San posted, there's a submission link. You can submit in any format. After you send something in, Zhu San might pick it, and those selected will get 188 coins. If you've got time, give it a shot.

If any of you talented guys want to draw a character from this book and submit it, there's a good chance it'll get picked. Even minor characters and supporting characters are waiting for you!

Just repeating this so everyone knows.