Chapter 233: New Year's Eve Dinner
However, when the three girls ran out of the kitchen with plates, Mo Tan couldn't smile anymore.
A plate of dumplings, a plate of pork loin, and a dish of glutinous rice balls were all steaming hot and adorned with many thoughtful decorations. For example, the dumplings had the words 'Happy New Year' written in ketchup, which not only looked and smelled appealing but also had various adorable touches that would make people smile…
“What the hell! Why is there ketchup on dumplings?!”
Mo Tan subconsciously took a step back, swallowed hard, and felt a chill down his spine.
Although the three dishes looked relatively normal (excluding the ketchup on the dumplings) and showed no obvious signs of being problematic, Mo Tan knew very well that Ji Xiaoge’s cooking couldn’t be judged by its appearance alone. Her pot of broken tea eggs was fragrant before it exploded, and her Indian flying bread looked crispy and delicious before it flew off to knock out an enemy’s head. In short, everything she made looked edible until you opened it and saw the item description.
And most importantly…
Although the food on the plates seemed fine, the three girls had several charred marks on them. Combined with Mo Tan seeing what looked like the remains of an apron in the trash can when he passed the kitchen earlier, all signs indicated that some thought-provoking stories—or accidents—might have occurred in the kitchen previously.
“In any case, I absolutely cannot act rashly!”
Mo Tan thought firmly.
“Hooray ~ Ladies, you’ve worked hard!” Just then, Kang Lan returned to the dining room carrying chairs and saw the three girls busy arranging the dishes. He immediately blurted out without thinking, “I smelled the aroma from afar. Tsk, tsk, it’s really different from takeout; you can tell it’s made with heart!”
Yu Cheng hurriedly placed the plate in her hand on the table, then smiled somewhat unnaturally: “It… it was made with great care, indeed… especially Xiao Ge. Oh, be careful when you eat…”
At this moment, Cui Xiaoyu and Wan Yang also strode over, each carrying two chairs: “Careful about what? Careful about what?”
Yu Cheng looked at Ji Xiaoge, who was busy styling the various dishes on the table, with a rather complex expression. She opened her mouth for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.
“Yu Cheng meant, be careful of the heat,” Ji Xiaodao calmly interjected, then turned to the former and gave her a faint smile: “Right?”
Yu Cheng pursed her lips, and her small head swayed hesitantly, neither nodding nor shaking.
Yi Dong appeared behind Mo Tan without a sound, and whispered, “Ahem, what do you think? It smells alright to me.”
“I think it’s alright too,” Mo Tan nodded seriously, replying in a Whisper, “It shouldn’t explode.”
Yi Dong: “…”
“Trust me,” Mo Tan looked back at him, his expression exceptionally grave, “Get your first-aid kit out, just in case.”
Yi Dong: “…”
“Hey, what are you two doing ~” Wan Yang, who had already taken his seat, shouted to the two of them, waving vigorously: “Come over, come over, I feel bad starting without everyone.”
Mo Tan sighed and walked heavily towards the dining table, followed by Yi Dong, who had a look of ‘Are you kidding me?’ on his face.
Five minutes later
A group of people gathered around the dining table, and amidst the boisterous shouts of “Happy New Year,” they began their New Year’s Eve dinner.
“Puhaha ~ That’s refreshing!” Cui Xiaoyu put down his cup, feeling as refreshed as an office worker who had struggled for decades, suffered from long-term overtime, whose wife was going through menopause, and who finally got to enjoy a cold beer after his wife went to visit her parents and he got off work early that day: “New Year’s is always more lively with more people!”
Wan Yang stared at him for a while: “Yu Ge, you’re drinking fruit beer, aren’t you…?”
Cui Xiaoyu nodded vigorously: “Yes, yes!”
Wan Yang narrowed his eyes: “I didn’t even drink that stuff when I was underage.”
Cui Xiaoyu pushed up his glasses (yes, he wears glasses) like a professional teacher: “What, got an opinion?”
Wan Yang quickly smiled apologetically: “No, no, no, after all, you, venerable sir, are a fierce man who tore apart Evil Cultists while having ‘Minor Sensory Protection’ activated…”
“Hmph, good that you know,” the fruit beer tough guy snorted, refilled his cup, chugged it down, and then a visible blush appeared on his face.
Everyone else was bewildered.
Mo Tan remained silent, head down, eating his rice.
“Oh, right,” Kang Lan first gave Cui Xiaoyu a look of disdain, then turned to the girls: “Did each of you make one dish?”
Ji Xiaoge blinked with a grin: “Guess ~”
The boys, who hadn't entered the kitchen before, all said they couldn't guess at all.
Mo Tan remained silent, head down, eating his rice.
Yu Cheng softly whispered, “I made one, then Xiao Ge and I made one together, and Xiao Ge and Xiao Dao also made one together, mm.”
Yi Dong, who had been warned several times by Mo Tan, pointed at the three dishes and cautiously asked, “Could you help us match them up?”
“Oh,” Yu Cheng nodded honestly, then pointed to the plate of glutinous rice balls: “This one is…”
Ji Xiaodao, however, calmly interrupted her: “Let’s not tell them; let them guess by eating.”
Yu Cheng blinked: “Okay.”
Mo Tan sighed, remained silent, and continued eating his rice.
“I’ll eat first as a sign of respect!” Kang Lan casually picked up a dumpling with ketchup on it, winked at Ji Xiaodao: “This level of mix-and-match is nothing; I can eat a whole pot ~”
Clearly, he was returning the latter’s ‘You’ll regret it’ from before entering the kitchen.
Ji Xiaodao merely glanced at him indifferently: “Oh.”
“I’m digging in!” Kang Lan smiled as he put the dumpling in his mouth, nodding with relish: “Not bad.”
Mo Tan noticed Yu Cheng by his side shiver slightly, and also noticed Ji Xiaoge’s increasingly bright eyes.
Wan Yang nudged Kang Lan: “Is it good?”
Kang Lan nodded vigorously: “wclmcgzmncddxzgbjbsrcd!!!”
“Holy crap!” Cui Xiaoyu was instantly shocked: “What language is he speaking?”
The next second…
Kang Lan fell to the ground with a thud, his entire body convulsing as if in an epileptic fit, continuously emitting unclear sounds like ‘uh-ah,’ ‘hiss-ha,’ ‘RUAAAAAA,’ and other meaningless noises.
Everyone: (⊙⊙)
Kang Lan started rolling his eyes: “WOOOOOOW!!”
Everyone: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Yi Dong looked at Mo Tan (who was still silently eating his rice), shivered violently, and turned ashen.
Wan Yang looked at Kang Lan, who had calmed down but whose legs occasionally twitched, and muttered with some skepticism, “This guy’s faking it, how could it be that exaggerated?”
Yu Cheng closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.
Ji Xiaoge drooped her head, looking dispirited.
Ji Xiaodao, however, remained expressionless: “Alright, next.”
“That’s a bit too fake,” Cui Xiaoyu suspiciously nudged Kang Lan with his foot. Seeing no reaction from the other, he picked up a dumpling himself and pouted, “Brother here has seen big storms, and Xiao Ge clearly looks like a… wdmyztmsswye! RUAAAAA!!”
Thud!
Ji Xiaodao continued to be expressionless: “Alright, next.”
Survivors: “…”
“Well, Xiao Ge actually put a lot of effort into it, it’s just that the ingredients might be a little strange…”
Yu Cheng, sitting next to Mo Tan, sighed and whispered to him, “The glutinous rice balls are mine. There’s coconut powder and cream in the kitchen… Uh, if you don’t mind, you can try one. I’m not very confident…”
“Okay ~” Mo Tan nodded, picked a coconut-filled glutinous rice ball into his bowl, and chuckled in a low voice: “At least it’s better than Xiao Ge’s…”
“No, that one has…!”
“Ugh!”
“…Xiao Ge made extra… filling.”
“nzmbzs ~”
An indescribable taste spread across his taste buds. Before Mo Tan could even fully comprehend it, his vision went black, and he fortunately fainted due to his body’s self-preservation mechanism.
Thud!
Ji Xiaodao turned her gaze to Yi Dong: “What about you?”
His legs immediately went weak, and he nearly slid off the chair: “Sister, I was wrong, I don’t want to die yet! Hey, you guys, if you’re going to die, don’t die at my house! Get up, hey!”
“Don’t worry,” Xiao Dao calmly sipped her red wine, then glanced down at the three twitching victims on the floor: “Be glad, big sister was very serious today, so they’ll be fine in a little while.”
Ji Xiaoge hugged her sister with a mournful face: “Xiao Dao, what you said is so hurtful…”
But hurtful or not, Ji Xiaodao’s words were quite reliable. Kang Lan, Cui Xiaoyu, and Mo Tan, the three victims, regained consciousness within half an hour. Aside from temporarily losing their sense of taste, they were fine. Coupled with Yu Cheng, who was studying medicine, also confirming that they were okay, Yi Dong’s idea of calling an ambulance was finally dismissed, and the New Year’s Eve dinner, which had a dramatic start, continued lively.
Of course, no one dared to touch that plate of dumplings anymore.
Ji Xiaoge was a little sad. She felt that she must have been off her game this time. After all, usually, when she cooked at home, her dad, even if he was quite resistant to her cooking, wouldn't faint from eating it, and he usually wouldn't leave any for others. Her mom even praised her cooking skills for improving multiple times…
Little did she know, those two were not normal people at all.
PM 23:59
Yi Dong, who had escaped unscathed, checked the time and suddenly raised his cup, saying in unison with the wavy-haired male host on TV: “Five ~”
Ji Xiaoge and Wan Yang reacted quickly: “Four ~”
Yu Cheng, half-kneeling beside the severely injured, smiled: “Three ~”
Ji Xiaodao also curved her lips: “Two.”
The next second…
Kang Lan / Cui Xiaoyu / Mo Tan struggled to get up: “RUAAAAAA ~!”
“Zero! Happy New Year ~” * 7
Real time, Lunar New Year’s Day, Year of the Snake, AM 00:00, Yi Dong’s home was filled with laughter.
In short, after a harmless triple kill, the new year arrived as scheduled. Everyone, following the traditional virtues of our country, chatted lively at the dinner table, and the topic naturally revolved around Innocent World.
Under the exemplary leadership of Cui Xiaoyu, everyone began to talk about their experiences in the game. Kang Lan, from a very skilled and high-level perspective, once again shared a wealth of experience and insights, including but not limited to methods for rapid leveling, trigger mechanisms for specific quests, how to evaluate the pros and cons of equipment, and how to quickly get along with beautiful female NPCs, among other pieces of information.
The three ladies and Mo Tan present were not very interested. The former thought his ideas were too unhealthy, while the latter, as a man who had 'forcibly kissed a beautiful female NPC and received no punishment,' despite his current personality being quite easygoing and low-key, still felt a bit inflated. Of course, he didn't show it…
Yu Cheng and Mo Tan then talked about what they saw and heard in the Plague area. They mentioned the immensely strong Saintess Xia Lian, the bizarre God’s War, the Mutants who resembled zombies, and the hardships suffered by the people of Misha County and their experiences within the blockade. During this process, Mo Tan tried his best to let Yu Cheng tell the story, while he merely played a supplementary role. The reason was simple: he felt that Yu Cheng needed to practice her social skills. Her cautious, stammering, and soft-spoken manner whenever she talked to strangers always made Mo Tan a little worried.
Then Mo Tan briefly mentioned the Violet Empire, but he omitted most of the details, only vaguely stating that the Marshall Family was not a good thing, and he ended up in Fire Claw Territory by chance, did a quest, and then went north to find Yu Cheng.
After all… some things only needed to be remembered in the heart, not laid out on the table to become fodder for a group of people’s conversations.
Yu Cheng, on the other hand, introduced the Light Capital, where she had stayed for almost half a month, describing it as a warm place with various unique sceneries and architectural styles that were quite interesting, and the environment was also comfortable and pleasant—a great place for a vacation.
Wan Yang told everyone about the war between the Evil Cultists and Mount Sumir, and he also hyped up Cui Xiaoyu.
Ji Xiaoge then mentioned her life journey from an unemployed cook in Dragon Soul Town to becoming Master Lu’s closed-door disciple at Tian Zhu Mountain. She also specifically talked about her current Arena team, chatting about her companions like Mo, Lu Jiang, Ya Ya, and Jia Deka.
The onlookers expressed great curiosity about Lu Jiang, the boy who was “forcibly gender-swapped to female” by the system, and were also quite interested in a certain self-detonating mage, a mysteriously “apocalypse light” Half-Dragon player, and a certain beast-eared girl with poor Mandarin pronunciation.
Yi Dong talked about the Eternal Clan and Necromancers.
Ji Xiaodao stated that she was just a scenery enthusiast, so she had nothing to say, and everyone expressed understanding.
Later, Kang Lan also mentioned the ‘Team’ system upgrade. He said that he had already arranged to form a team with several familiar friends and wanted to invite everyone to develop it together. However, seeing that everyone didn’t seem very keen on the idea, he stopped at that point.
The clock struck midnight, and the night sky outside the window was adorned with countless dazzling and beautiful fireworks, legal and illegal. But these young people seemed to have no intention of sleeping. Everyone had had a bit to drink, and their recent good routines meant they didn’t feel too tired, so the New Year’s Eve dinner continued in the form of a tea party until past three in the morning.
Kang Lan and Cui Xiaoyu, having had too much to drink, decided to schedule a fight in the Arena after the servers went live…
Wan Yang, also drunk, clung to Yi Dong’s leg, asking for his mother’s autograph…
Yu Cheng, getting up to find a blanket for Ji Xiaoge who had fallen asleep on the sofa, tripped and knocked over Mo Tan, who had also had quite a bit to drink. Neither of them got up for a long time.
Ji Xiaodao spent most of her time watching TV, and only when she saw that everyone was about to collapse did she lead her sister and Yu Cheng upstairs to rest.
The men, meanwhile, lay sprawled out on the living room carpet, fast asleep.
“Pretty happy ~”
Mo Tan, awakened by thirst, struggled to get up, fumbled in the dark for a glass of ice water, and chugged it down.
“This is the atmosphere a New Year should have…”
He casually placed the empty glass aside, swayed groggily back to the beanbag chair he had been on earlier, and collapsed onto it.
“It’s barely a form of entertainment, I suppose. The quality is mediocre, but at least it’s rare ~”
He smiled lazily, then turned over, and soon fell into a deep sleep again.
“Meaningless noise…”
At the same time
“Is it an illusion…?”
Ji Xiaodao, in a light sleep, suddenly opened her eyes, sat up groggily from the bed, tucked in Ji Xiaoge and Yu Cheng’s blankets, then stared blankly at the floor.
In the previous moment, she had suddenly felt a familiar chill.
Chapter 230: End