The Battle on the Tip of the Tongue! On the Last Day of 2015, Let's Go Eat Spicy Food Together!
The atmosphere in the front and back seats of this small taxi is completely different, like two contrasting worlds.
The driver in the front seat was an Indian man who happened to be a Manchester City fan. He was overjoyed to be able to pick up Tang Long on the last day of 2015 and chatted with him excitedly.
Although he didn't watch the game, the Indian guy learned about Tang Long's amazing feat of providing four assists to Agüero in a single match through the radio. He couldn't help but cheer for him and even said that he would waive his travel expenses and send them there for free.
The people in the seats in front of me were having a great time chatting.
The back seat was deathly silent.
Gracie and Diletta sat on either side of the back seat.
Between the two, the raised longitudinal beam in the back of the car acted as a boundary, separating them.
Gracie was absolutely furious!
We had agreed to have Christmas dinner together as a couple, but then Diletta showed up halfway through – what's going on? If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have come.
She was so down that when Diletta tried to strike up a conversation, she ignored her and didn't say a word.
Seeing that Gracie was ignoring him, Diletta pouted and decided not to make a fool of herself.
Her long, slender arm rested on the window of the back seat of the taxi, watching the bustling Christmas street scene of Manchester under the setting sun.
This bustling Britain city stands in stark contrast to her hometown, Venezia.
She even started to miss her grandmother in Venezia, wondering if she was doing well alone at home, and if she had used the 3,000 euros she left under her pillow to buy a fixed deposit instead of buying her favorite cake.
Then I remembered that Sky Sport was preparing for another round of personnel changes, and they even said they would be sending me to their branch in France.
But she doesn't speak French and is unfamiliar with France; how can she begin her work?
Diletta suddenly felt agitated and stressed, and her sleep had been poor recently.
Tang Long, sitting in the front seat, was chatting animatedly with the unfamiliar driver, ignoring the person sitting behind him. Diletta was also somewhat displeased, and with the tip of her high heel, she lightly kicked the back seat of the passenger seat.
Tang Long was chatting enthusiastically with the Indian driver about his past experiences playing football in Italy, while the driver talked about how sweet the Ganges River was and how if he ever went to India, he must drink a bowl of Ganges water to improve his football skills.
Tang Long suddenly felt a jolt, as if someone was kicking his chair from behind.
He turned around and found two pairs of eyes staring at him with a resentful look.
Realizing he had neglected the two beautiful women in the back seat, Tang Long coughed twice.
Shift the conversation to where they are about to arrive.
"Ahem! This is the first time I've been to the restaurant we're about to arrive at. I've read online reviews that the food here is exceptionally spicy, and that it feels like you're breathing fire after eating it. It's the last day of the year, so I can eat as much as I want and indulge myself."
"Diletta, can you eat spicy food?"
When it came to food, Diletta, who often cooks, finally showed a long-lost smile and nodded slightly.
"Sure, Italy is the culinary capital of Europe, with a wide variety of dishes and flavors. I used to eat really spicy food when I was a kid."
Diletta is telling the truth.
Southern European countries like Italy and Spain, with their warmer climates and abundant sunshine, are well-suited to the growth of various plants and animals. As a result, their cuisines have historically been more diverse than those of northern European UK like England.
"I wonder if Miss Gracie can handle spicy food," Diletta turned to Gracie. "I've heard that the UK eat rather bland food."
Tang Long waved his hand from the front seat, "She can handle a lot of spicy food, don't worry about her."
Gracie couldn't help but snort, forcing a smile as she nodded and said, "Yes, I can eat that too, don't worry about me."
But in his heart he was thinking, "Damn it, when the food comes out, I won't touch a single bite of anything with chili peppers!"
After getting off the bus, Tang Long noticed that Diletta had wrapped herself up tightly, with the hood of her black down jacket covering her head and eyebrows, and she was even wearing a mask.
"Why are you covered up so tightly? It's not that cold."
"I'm afraid of being recognized and ending up in the Sun again."
"What's there to be afraid of? We haven't done anything wrong. Let them recognize us if they want. The Sun has already been blacklisted by the club, so let them be."
After entering the restaurant, Tang Long chose a more private room, and the three of them sat down.
Only then did Diletta take off her heavy coat, remove her mask, and reveal a tight-fitting white sweater.
Gracie looked at Diletta's curvaceous and slender figure and couldn't help but secretly envy her, glancing at her chest a few more times.
Tang Long picked up the menu and ordered all the spiciest dishes.
So when the waiters brought out the dishes one after another, the entire private room was filled with the spicy aroma of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.
Diletta was greeted by a fragrant aroma and a rich, spicy flavor, which immediately whetted her appetite and made her mouth water.
"This is spicy chicken, this is Mala Grilled Fish, this is Shuizhu Roupian, and this is Maoxuewang..." Tang Long introduced them to the two of them one by one.
Gracie frowned, trying to suppress the pungent spiciness, and all she wanted to do was sneeze.
Diletta, however, skillfully picked up the serving chopsticks, took a long piece of duck intestine from the Maoxuewang, put it in her own bowl, and ate it.
"Huh, you can actually use chopsticks?" Tang Long asked in surprise.
Gracie was also curious as she watched Diletta skillfully use chopsticks.
"Great, the chili oil smells wonderful!"
Diletta's praise was clearly heartfelt, and her tone of voice became pleasant.
She talked about her previous experience interviewing in Mexico, saying that the indigenous people there also love to eat chili peppers, and that Mexico food suited her taste perfectly, being both fragrant and spicy, just like the bite she had just eaten.
In fact, as a Sky Sport reporter, Diletta was flying all over the world covering various sporting events when he first started working.
His years of travel not only enriched his social experience but also exposed him to the local customs and cultures of various places.
From their conversation, Gracie learned that Diletta had just eaten duck intestines, and couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!"
"My God, duck intestines are edible?! How can anyone eat this?!"
Diletta and Tang Long exchanged a smile, then explained to Gracie that animal offal is a delicious food, such as foie gras, the national dish of France, which is also made from goose offal.
Gracie felt nauseous at the thought. He could accept foie gras, but he really couldn't stand duck intestines.
Tang Long used serving chopsticks to pick up a slice of Shuizhu Roupian and placed it in Gracie's bowl.
"You can't eat duck intestines, but you can surely eat this beef, right? Hey, look at these chilies, they must be really spicy, just to your liking."
Gracie held her fork, looking at the pungent spiciness of the bowl, with absolutely no desire to eat it;
Not seeing Diletta across from her, she picked up several slices of Shuizhu Roupian and put them in her bowl, eating heartily by herself. The competitive spirit in the girl's heart made her fork up the pork slices and put them into her mouth.
The moment your taste buds come into contact with the chili oil, a strong, pungent sensation rushes straight to your head!
"Wow..."
Gracie's body trembled slightly, and she quickly swallowed the Shuizhu Roupian that she hadn't chewed more than twice.
Then, with teary eyes, she looked at Tang Long Baba.
"How is it? Isn't it spicy and delicious? You're so moved by how much you enjoyed it that you even cried. I'll try it too."
Tang Long also picked up a few slices and put them in his bowl, rummaged through them, and then repeatedly praised how delicious they were.
Damn it, after eating pepper Italy, boiled chicken breast, pan-fried steak, and boiled broccoli for half a year, I have to indulge myself with some heavy oil and salt for the New Year.
When Diletta saw Gracie's red eyes, she knew his tears weren't from emotion, but purely from the spiciness.
Feeling a little sorry for her, I called over a waiter and asked him to bring something sweet and cool.
So the waiter brought over a bowl of Sichuan Bingfen.
The translucent ice jelly is topped with watermelon chunks, raisins, sesame seeds, and boiled brown sugar, making it look very similar to UK afternoon tea desserts.
Gracie, whose lips were already a little swollen from the spiciness, didn't have time to thank Diletta before picking up the ice jelly and slurping it down. She felt a refreshing sensation, and the spiciness in her mouth was relieved by most of it.
"This is delicious!" Gracie burst into laughter through her tears.
Seeing Gracie's disheveled appearance, Diletta kindly said to her:
"My dear sis, I think you can't handle spicy food. Your lips are all swollen from the spiciness. I just looked at the menu, and there's this kind of food that looks like glutinous rice and is fried until golden brown. Let me order some for you."
Diletta was referring to Brown Sugar Ciba, a soft, chewy, sweet, and delicious food.
Tang Long looked at Gracie's lips, which were red from the spiciness, and teased, "So you were just bragging to me. If I'd known you couldn't handle spicy food, I wouldn't have booked this Sichuan restaurant."
One of them was showing concern, and the other was teasing, but in Gracie's eyes, they were both looking down on her and mocking her for not being able to handle spicy food.
From childhood, she was always a top student in her class, ranking at the top of her class academically, and her master's degree was also among the top three in her major.
"Who says I can't handle spicy food? It's delicious, I really like it!"
After saying that, Gracie, still feeling a tingling sensation on her scalp, picked up a few more pieces of Shuizhu Roupian and put them in her bowl. Then she filled a small bowl with Laziji, Mala Grilled Fish, duck blood from the Maoxuewang blood curd, and other foods, and put it in front of her, stuffing it into her mouth one bite at a time with her fork.
As a medical graduate, Gracie was well aware of the consequences of doing so.
It's spicy on the lips now, but once we get home, the chrysanthemum will be spicy too.
Seeing that they couldn't dissuade them, Tang Long and Diletta simply started eating as well.
Before long, all three of them were sweating profusely and steaming hot.
Halfway through the meal, Tang Long, wearing only a blue vest, kept fanning himself with the menu.
Diletta had already taken off her sweater, revealing a tight-fitting shirt underneath, and had even unbuttoned the top two buttons. Sweat dripped from her neck into the cleavage of her chest.
Both of them reduced the amount of clothing they wore on their upper bodies to relieve the heatiness caused by eating spicy food.
Compared to Tang Long and Diletta, Gracie's situation is much worse.
Because of the clothing arrangement, after taking off the coat, underneath is a close-fitting knit sweater, and under that is the underwear, so this knit sweater absolutely cannot be taken off.
But unfortunately, this knitted sweater is not breathable at all.
So Gracie couldn't sweat out and was stuck inside, steaming.
She could only keep drinking ice jelly to suppress the heat in her body. She had already downed six bowls of ice jelly, and there were empty bowls all around her.
In contrast to Gracie's struggles, Diletta ate with increasing gusto.
"Tang, every bite I take feels so spicy, but the spicier it is, the more I want to eat. Tell me, do you think I have masochistic tendencies?"