Zheng Qing's awful little story had ruined Fatty Xin's appetite for soup, but it had not completely killed his appetite. Instead, it gave him an excuse to get more rice and dishes.
After making a quick trip to the serving windows, Fatty Xin returned to the table carrying several more delicious dishes.
This time, however, he replaced his soup with the same corn chowder Zheng Qing was having—a very safe precaution. At the very least, Zheng Qing would not risk disgusting himself by telling another little story.
After sitting back down at the table, Fatty Xin looked at the publicly funded student happily slurping his soup, sneered twice, then suddenly grabbed a spoon and stirred it through his newly bought little carton of yogurt. He scooped up a spoonful of thick, whitish yogurt and poured it into the turtle soup that had been pushed aside earlier.
The white yogurt hung on the somewhat clear surface of the turtle soup like an ugly blotch of color.
"Now that's pretty vivid, isn't it?" Fatty Xin gave a malicious chuckle.
This time, Zheng Qing could not keep drinking.
"You wasted a carton of yogurt just to disgust me?" The young publicly funded student widened his eyes, his tone full of disbelief.
"No, that isn't waste. It's a necessary loss." Fatty Xin wagged a stubby finger, speaking with righteous solemnity. "In a war of food, there are no winners. Everyone loses. But in a war of food, I cannot lose."
Coming from Fatty Xin, that extremely childish declaration somehow seemed perfectly fitting to Zheng Qing.
It made him seriously wonder whether something was wrong with his mindset.
"You two are adults already. Can't you act a little more maturely?" Seeing the two of them about to start tearing into each other, Dr. Xiao finally