The hands of the wall clock in the living room had just passed four in the afternoon. Sunlight filtered through the off-white sheer curtains, weaving diamond-shaped patches of light across the floor.
Xu Xiaoyan curled up on the three-seat sofa with a woven fruit basket in her arms. She held an apple in her left hand and a silver knife in her right, the blade gliding around the flesh in a smooth curve. A little apple juice clung to the tip of her nose as she arranged the rabbit-shaped apple slices on a white porcelain plate. Every time she finished one, she looked up at the two people across the coffee table, as though watching an entertaining silent comedy.
"Gu Yue, you've been turning those pages for half an hour." Xie Xie lounged in an armchair with one leg crossed over the other, spinning the Light Dragon Dagger around his fingertips. The metallic gleam made the eyes dizzy. "Sit on the cold benches at Shrek Library too long, and even your brain freezes solid, huh?" He deliberately stressed the words "cold benches," his tone rising with a barb.
Gu Yue did not look up. The pages rustled beneath her fingertips. "Still better than some people whose footwork on the training ground is all flashy nonsense, yet who can't even control their Soul Power in an actual sparring match." She closed the book, its gilt title, Elemental Origin, gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "When you practiced with Ye Xinglan last week, your second soul skill, Light Dragon Cross Slash, was off by a full fifteen degrees."
"What the hell do you know?" Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger stabbed into the edge of the coffee table with a smack, making the fruit plate tremble. "That was tactics! Throwing off the opponent's judgment! Besides..." He suddenly leaned close to Gu Yue, a roguish grin tugging at his lips. "It's still better than you—standing around like a block of ice all day. Other than Soul Power fluctuations, you don't have a shred of human warmth. You're like some robot with a preset program."
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet by five degrees. Xu Xiaoyan froze mid-slice, and an apple piece rolled to the edge of the plate, nearly falling off. Tang Wulin paused while wiping the table and looked toward Gu Yue, only to see that not even her eyelashes had trembled. A faint shadow merely flickered deep in her eyes.
"Human warmth?" Gu Yue finally looked up. "At the critical moment on the Ascension Platform, your legs went weak from fear, and Wulin had to drag you away."
"You!" Xie Xie's face turned liver-red. He slapped her hand away. "I was conserving my strength! Do you understand tactical maneuvering? Unlike you, wound tight as a bowstring—you'll snap sooner or later!"
"Enough." Tang Wulin put down the cleaning cloth and rose to stand between them. "We're teammates. What are you arguing for?"
But Gu Yue had already gotten up and headed for the kitchen. As she passed Xie Xie, she tossed out, "Since you think I have no humanity, you can sort out your own dinner tonight." Her back was straight, her ponytail swaying gently with her steps like a snow cedar that refused to bend.
Xu Xiaoyan hurriedly gathered up the fruit plate and followed her. "Gu Yue, wait for me! I'll help!" She secretly winked at Xie Xie and mouthed, This is going to be fun.
The sounds of running water and a chopping board soon came from the kitchen. Xie Xie stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the tightly shut kitchen door, a strange uneasiness rising in him. He rubbed his stomach. He had skipped breakfast that morning just to compete with Gu Yue, and he was genuinely hungry now. But the thought of backing down made his stubborn streak flare up again.
"Tch, like I care about her cooking." He waved a fist at the empty air and turned to rummage through the snack cabinet, only for Tang Wulin to stop him with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't mess around. When Gu Yue is angry, the kitchen becomes a restricted zone."
Just as he finished speaking, a muffled bang came from the kitchen, as though a spatula had struck the rim of a wok. Then Xu Xiaoyan cried out, "Gu Yue! Is that chili powder or flour?"
"A special seasoning." Gu Yue's voice came through the door, calm as if she were commenting on the weather. "Didn't someone say I had no human warmth? Let him taste what fiery human warmth feels like."
Xie Xie's ears twitched, and alarm bells blared in his head. He quietly crept to the kitchen door and peered through the crack. Gu Yue wore an apron printed with little daisies—Xu Xiaoyan's birthday gift to her. She stood before the stove, gripping a wok in her left hand while using her right to drip dark-red liquid from a small porcelain bottle into Xie Xie's portion. Steam rose from the sizzling oil, carrying a spicy scent that made his nose itch.
"Gu Yue," Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously, holding a bundle of greens beside her, "how long have you been making this chili sauce?"
"One year." Gu Yue did not raise her head. "It uses fire-aspected spiritual herbs from the Blazing Sun Spring, mixed with five Heaven Soul Chili Peppers of different heat levels." She glanced at Xie Xie's dish, the corner of her lips curving almost imperceptibly. "I guarantee every drop packs enough punch."
Cold sweat broke out on the back of Xie Xie's neck. He remembered that during an assessment last month, someone from the neighboring class had eaten this kind of chili sauce and immediately cried for his mother, claiming his tongue was about to run away from home.
Twenty minutes later, four dishes and a soup were set on the dining table. The scrambled eggs with tomatoes glistened appetizingly, the steamed perch gave off curls of steam, and the garlic broccoli looked fresh and green. Only Xie Xie's plate of stir-fried green peppers and pork had a suspicious layer of red oil floating on top, chili seeds sparkling beneath the lights.
"Dinner's ready!" Xu Xiaoyan pulled out a chair and sat down first. Tang Wulin helped Gu Yue pull out the seat at the head of the table before sitting beside her. Xie Xie slowly shuffled to his seat, staring at the dish in front of him as his Adam's apple bobbed.
"What? Afraid to eat?" Gu Yue served him a bowl of rice, her tone flat. "Or is someone's mouth so hard that even chili peppers have to admit defeat?"
Xie Xie was provoked into a rush of hot blood. He snatched up his chopsticks and picked up a large piece of green pepper—the pork slice was coated in red oil, looking like a glowing coal under the lights. He tipped his head back and shoved it into his mouth, swallowing without even chewing in an attempt to end this "torture" as quickly as possible.
However, his expression froze the very next second.
First, it felt as if sparks had scorched the tip of his tongue. Then blazing heat exploded in his throat, as though he had swallowed a red-hot coal. The spice raced down his esophagus, and an inferno instantly erupted in his stomach. Tears flooded out of his eyes uncontrollably. His mouth hung open, yet he could not make a sound beyond ragged, breathy gasps.
"Xie Xie!" Xu Xiaoyan threw down her chopsticks in fright and hurriedly handed him water. "Drink water, quick!"
Tang Wulin rose as well, placing a palm against Xie Xie's back. Gentle spiritual power entered him, helping guide his chaotic Soul Power. But the spiciness seemed alive, darting wildly through his meridians. Xie Xie's scalp went numb, and his vision repeatedly darkened.
Gu Yue leisurely picked up a piece of broccoli without even lifting her eyelids. "I told you it was special chili sauce. Wulin, don't waste your Soul Power. His taste buds can only recognize the word 'spicy' right now."
"Gu Yue! You... you're trying to murder me!" Xie Xie finally managed to speak, his voice rough as sandpaper. "I'll... I'll tell Teacher Wu! You're abusing a student!"
"Tell on me?" Gu Yue set down her chopsticks and took a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth. "Do you need me to draft the complaint for you? We can write the charge as 'receiving appropriate taste-based discipline due to improper speech.'"
Xu Xiaoyan's shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her laughter while handing Xie Xie his third cup of water. Only after gulping down the entire cup did the heat ease slightly, but his lips had swollen like two sausages, making his speech leak air. "You... just wait... next time... I'll have Wulin... hide that stupid book of yours..."
"You can try." Gu Yue picked up a ladle and served him a spoonful of egg soup. "Finish the soup, and I'll consider telling you the chili sauce recipe, so you can learn what real heat is."
Xie Xie looked at the spoonful of soup, then at Gu Yue's utterly calm eyes, and suddenly deflated. He took the bowl and drained it in one go. The spice made his whole body tremble, yet he still stubbornly muttered, "...You win."
Dinner continued in a strange atmosphere. Every time Xie Xie picked up a piece of food, he inspected it for a long while, only daring to put it in his mouth after confirming there was no red oil on it. Gu Yue, meanwhile, ate peacefully, occasionally serving Tang Wulin food and Xu Xiaoyan soup, while treating Xie Xie's plate as though it did not exist.
Only when the final dish, seaweed egg-drop soup, was served did Gu Yue suddenly push her own bowl toward Xie Xie. "Drink it."
"Why?" Xie Xie looked warily at the clear soup, suspecting it had been poisoned.
"It relieves the spice," Gu Yue said. "I added some honey and mint. It can neutralize the capsaicin."
Xie Xie froze. He looked at the bowl, then at Gu Yue. She still wore that cool, detached expression, and she did not seem to be joking. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the bowl and took a sip. A cool sweetness instantly soothed the burning in his mouth, taking more than half the anger in his heart with it.
"...Thanks," he said quietly, the tips of his ears secretly reddening.
Gu Yue said nothing. She merely put her bottle of chili sauce away on the highest shelf of the cabinet, her movements gentle as if she were hiding a treasure.
Night deepened, and the living room lights were turned to a warm yellow. Tang Wulin cleared the dining table, Xu Xiaoyan hung towels out on the balcony, Xie Xie sprawled on the sofa rubbing his stomach, and Gu Yue returned to the window to reopen Elemental Origin.
"Hey," Xie Xie suddenly said, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Tomorrow... if I beat you in training tomorrow, can you tell me the chili sauce recipe?"
Gu Yue paused while turning a page and glanced at him. Moonlight fell through the window onto her face, softening her features. She was silent for several seconds, then suddenly smiled—not her usual faint smile, but a genuine curve of her lips, like ice and snow beginning to melt.
"Fine," she said. "But first, you have to admit that the chili sauce earlier was indeed a little excessive."
Xie Xie looked at her smile, and for some reason, his heart skipped a beat. He scratched his head and grinned foolishly as well. "Fine! I admit it! But you have to admit that when you smile... you actually look pretty human."
Gu Yue did not argue. She simply lowered her head and resumed reading, though the tips of her ears quietly turned pale pink. When Xu Xiaoyan came back from hanging the towels and saw the scene, she secretly made a victory sign, only for Tang Wulin to smile and ruffle her hair.
The wall clock in the living room pointed to nine. The day's clamor settled into peace. Outside, the wind gently stirred the sheer curtains, carrying the fragrance of flowers from the distant garden.
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