Karuizawa Kei tied the apron for his best friend and patted Matsushita Chiaki on the shoulder.
"Okay, sit down and eat quickly."
While the two were talking, the soup in the pot was already boiling and steaming.
Kitagawa Kai used serving chopsticks to rinse the beef and put a portion into each of their small plates.
"Are you done with your work? Come on, try Chiaki's secret sauce."
Karuizawa Kei picked up the chopsticks, Kitagawa Kai also picked up the beef, dipped it in the dipping bowl, and put it into his mouth.
Matsushita Chiaki saw that both of them had a taste and asked expectantly, "Hui, Adoptive Father, how do you like it?"
"The taste is very good, the garlic aroma is quite strong, it is refreshing and relieves greasiness, and it is perfect when paired with beef." Kitagawa Kai praised it sincerely.
Karuizawa Kei also nodded, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and couldn't help but pick up another piece for dipping. "Chiaki, when did you study these? It's much more delicious than what I randomly prepared myself."
There are roughly two types of people who eat hot pot.
One likes to taste the original taste of ingredients, and the other likes the combination of seasonings and ingredients.
The three of them are the latter, so they pay more attention to the dipping sauce.
It can make both Kitagawa Kai and Hui full of praise. Obviously Matsushita Chiaki's preparation has not been in vain.
"Fortunately, most of them were prepared by the chef of the hotel. I just combined them. However, each of us is different."
Matsushita Chiaki smiled softly, then picked up the beef on his plate, dipped it in the seasoning and took a bite.
But after swallowing it, she looked at her small bowl with some confusion.
"What's wrong?" Kitagawa Kai asked.
"My bowl seems a bit too sour."
Matsushita Chiaki used chopsticks to gently mix the dipping sauce in the mixing bowl, and gently pushed the small bowl in front of him, with a look of help in his eyes. "Adoptive Father, try it for me, did I put too much vinegar because my hands were shaking just now?"
Kitagawa Kai looked at the girl with a slightly suspicious look.
Real or fake?
After experiencing a series of battles of wits between the girls, he fully suspected that his girlfriends were undergoing some kind of transformation.
And Matsushita Chiaki, who is good at observing words and expressions and has some wisdom, is obviously the best among them.
However, he doesn't dislike this little trick at all.
After all, wouldn't this kind of just-right little naughtiness and little jokes make them look more delicate and cute?
Kitagawa Kai picked up a piece of beef, dipped it in and took a bite, then looked at the half of the pot where she had just put her chopsticks down.
"What you just ate was from the hot and sour pot, right? Paired with this, the sourness might be a bit strong."
He picked out a piece of cooked beef from the three delicacies pot and put it on the girl's small plate.
"Try this one instead."
Matsushita Chiaki picked it up and took a bite. The initially harsh sour taste was neutralized by the sweet soup base, making it smooth and fragrant.
"Really, I thought my hands were shaking, Adoptive Father, let me try yours?"
"Okay, take it."
Kitagawa Kai pushed his dipping bowl in front of her.
Matsushita Chiaki picked up the beef and took a bite, then dipped it in a little more. "Sure enough, this bowl of Adoptive Father is more suitable. It's not so sour when eaten with it."
Immediately, she moved her small plate to the middle. "We'll use it together, Adoptive Father, don't you mind?"
"Of course I don't mind. It was you who arranged it."
Next, the two of them shared the bowl of dipping sauce. You had chopsticks and I had chopsticks, and they chatted while eating. No one thought there was anything wrong.
Karuizawa Kei on the side stared blankly again.
Does this make it a natural thing to share?
From asking Kai-kun to help taste it, to moving his own bowl, Chiaki did it so naturally!
It's so unexpected and so smooth!
As the saying goes, women understand women best, and best friends understand best friends.
On the surface, they were just tasting the dipping sauce normally, but as they tasted it, the two of them started to enjoy the same bowl happily.
Rounding it off, wouldn't it be an indirect kiss?
Why didn't I think of these little tricks in the first place?
Karuizawa Kei held his chopsticks and thought about it carefully.
Oh... no.
I got on the car directly at the beginning, and got it right in one step, without using any of these fancy little tricks.
Thinking about it this way, it turns out that I am still better!
She felt excited again, proudly picked up the small plate, and then naturally sat on the left side of Kitagawa Kai: "Kai-kun, I'm a little tired of eating this bowl, so you can give me a dip too."
"Come on, let's try it together."
The three of them chatted while eating, and unknowingly, the dipping sauce became a lot lighter.
Kitagawa Kai saw this and took the initiative to stand up and said, "You guys eat first, I'll make a bowl and get some other specialties by the way."
When he came back, in addition to the prepared dipping sauce, he also had a small bowl in which he mixed the paste of chili peppers and chopped green onions, as well as a lot of white roots cut into small pieces.
"Kai-kun, what is this?"
Karuizawa Kei curiously put his little head over to take a look. He smelled the unique plant smell on the tip of his nose and wrinkled the tip of his nose slightly. "Why does it smell... feeling weird?"
"Zheergen, also known as Houttuynia cordata, is a special condiment from China. People who like it like to eat it."
Kitagawa Kai explained as he wrapped it with dipping sauce and folded ear root and put it into his mouth. He chewed it for a few mouthfuls and nodded with satisfaction. "Yeah! It's still a familiar recipe, and it still has a familiar taste."
Seeing the young man eating so deliciously, Karuizawa Kei felt a little itchy in his heart, and tentatively stretched out his chopsticks like Kitten.
"That... let me taste a little."
She picked up a small piece of ear root, put it into her mouth, and chewed it twice tentatively.
The next second, Karuizawa Kei froze.
Why does that indescribable taste get stronger the more you chew it?
She stopped her chopsticks and looked at Kitagawa Kai with a confused look on her face.
"Kai-kun... Why do I feel... that the earth is starting to rotate vertically?"
Kitagawa Kai suppressed laughter and deliberately teased her, "What, is it so delicious that it makes you dizzy?"
"It's a big change at the equator!"
Karuizawa Kei quickly picked up the drink and took two sips, waving his hands repeatedly. "No, no, I really can't eat this!"
Matsushita Chiaki was originally planning to try it, but when he heard this sentence, he laughed so much that he couldn't hold his chopsticks steady.
"Hui, how can I say what you said just now?"
"You'll know after you taste it."
Karuizawa Kei looked at his best friend holding out her chopsticks and reminded, "Pinch it less, really."
Matsushita Chiaki picked up a small piece of ear root, put it into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and frowned.
Karuizawa Kei immediately came over and said, "How is it? Isn't it strange?"
"It's a little bit, but I think it's still acceptable."
Matsushita Chiaki swallowed it, picked up another piece of meat, and followed the way Kitagawa Kai had just eaten it, wrapping it in dipping sauce and eating it with a little bit of fenugreek.
This time, she no longer frowned, but the corners of her eyes curled up with surprise. "It goes well with the meat, it's crunchy, and it's quite refreshing to chew."
Kitagawa Kai smiled and pushed the small bowl towards her, "Really? I just said this is delicious."
Karuizawa Kei couldn't believe it. "Chiaki, you don't have to change your own taste just to accompany Kai-kun, right?"
Matsushita Chiaki took a few more bites and slowed down the action of picking up the vegetables.
She is usually prone to bloating, but today she had a good appetite and ate more than usual.
Hearing Hui's words, she smiled, "But I really think it's okay."