"Clatter, clatter..."
As Ma Xiaochen rolled around screaming, an empty Stainless Steel Soup Basin rolled over to his side. A trace of pale yellow liquid remained at the bottom, and heat still rose from its droplet-covered walls. As for what should have been inside the basin, all of it had been transferred onto Ma Xiaochen-
The scalding liquid had soaked his upper body and even the clothes on his legs. Bright green chopped scallions, golden egg ribbons, and deep purple Seaweed Sheets clung haphazardly to him. His drenched clothes stuck to his skin, their dense weave trapping the liquid and retaining its heat, scalding his skin bright red. Ma Xiaochen even felt as though his skin had been cooked through.
He reached out, seemingly trying to tear the source of his agony off his body. But the moment his palm touched his clothes, the searing temperature burned him again, adding fuel to the fire and leaving him in unbearable pain. All he could do was writhe on the floor, spewing filthy curses as though that might ease the excruciating agony.
And the culprit responsible for his suffering stood in the doorway with a dark expression. Even Bo Yi hadn't noticed when she had suddenly appeared there.
"Teacher..." Qiqi's Mom stared fixedly at Ma Xiaochen as he rolled on the floor. "Why won't you do as you're told?"
Her gaze seemed to linger on Ma Xiaochen. Her face showed an unmistakable disappointment that Bo Yi couldn't understand, and she kept muttering, "What a waste, what a waste, such a terrible waste..."
Only after muttering for quite some time did she slowly enter the room. With Ma Xiaochen's terrified cries of "Stay away!" in the background, she picked up the Stainless Steel Soup Basin from the floor and addressed Bo Yi and