Old Friend Visits

Cinnabar City is not unfamiliar to Jane. She has traveled a long way to the food street outside the south gate of Lancaster Rosemont University, where various snacks from all over the place gather, and she is particularly familiar with this place.

As the city falls into twilight, Jane sits down in front of a roadside stall and says to the busy owner, "A bowl of tofu pudding!"

The owner looks up and shouts from a distance, "Salty or sweet?"

Jane hesitates for a moment and replies, "Spicy!"

The tastes of snacks from the north and south are different. There has been a long debate over whether sweet or salty tofu pudding is better, but in the end, everyone just eats what they prefer. Jane looks around. Most of the people who come here are usually tourists or students. Couples sit under dim lights, eating and talking while laughter is mixed with occasional quarrels. This scene feels familiar, as if from a previous life.

The tofu pudding arrives quickly, and its fragrance fills the air. The numbing and spicy flavor makes Jane even hungrier. She eagerly picks up the spoon to mix the tofu pudding and the condiments, then takes a sip. Instantly, she chokes, coughs, and tears involuntarily stream down her face. The red hot chili oil splatters onto her white T-shirt...

There aren't many seats in the plastic shed, so everyone shares tables. Facing Jane are a couple of student lovers. Seeing her in such a sorry state, the girl passes a tissue over and asks, "Are you alright, classmate?"

It takes a while for Jane to realize that she's being called "classmate." She politely accepts the tissue and smiles back, "I'm fine. Thank you." Although she smiles, her vision is blurry.

Jane crumples the tissue into a ball and holds it in her palm. She lifts the lid of the small porcelain bowl on the table, in which the chili oil is contained, and adds some more chili oil inside––not spicy, just scalding, causing her eyes to feel uncomfortable. She's not crying...

Not spicy enough yet.

She repeats this process three times, adding more chili oil each time. Finally, she feels it's enough. The bowl of white tofu pudding has turned into a red color, floating with a layer of chili oil. Jane then picks up the small bottle of vinegar on the table and pours a considerable amount onto it. After mixing, she finally starts eating.

The couple across from her also ordered tofu pudding, but the guy has a bowl of cooled sweet tofu pudding in front of him, while the girl has a bowl of salty tofu pudding with chopped scallions, cilantro, and minced lean meat. They stare in awe at the redness in Jane's bowl. Suddenly, the girl grumbles to the guy, "Sweet tofu pudding is so boring! It's just a plain white bowl with no appetite at all! It's only good when you add chili oil, scallions, cilantro, dried shrimp, seaweed, and shredded kelp! Here, try a bite of mine!" she says and brings a spoonful towards the guy's mouth."

The boy tilted his head to the side to avoid it, his tone filled with disdain, "I don't eat salty soybean pudding! Absolutely not!"

Jane watched the two of them, a faint smile forming on her lips, a hint of envy in her eyes. The girl, with an annoyed expression, finished the spoonful of soybean pudding and noticed Jane's amused gaze. She teasingly remarked, "Little sister, do you have a boyfriend? In the future, if you have a boyfriend, the first requirement should be whether he eats salty soybean pudding or not. If he only eats sweet ones, then he's definitely not good enough!"

The address changed from "classmate" to "little sister." Seventeen-year-old girls always took advantage of their youthful faces to garner some protection. Jane smiled and nodded in agreement, continuing to scoop a spoonful of soybean pudding into her mouth. It was sour, spicy, and tingling, with various flavors rushing over her taste buds.

However, at that moment, Jane couldn't help but think, if she were to follow this standard, she could never be with Jackie. Whenever they came here to eat soybean pudding before, he never wanted to taste a single spoonful from her bowl. He always wrinkled his brow, as if he didn't even know her, and arrogantly declared, "I only eat from my own bowl!"

With her unyielding personality, upon hearing his words, she forcefully poured chili oil, vinegar, scallions, shrimp, and anything else she could find into his bowl of sweet soybean pudding. Then, with a smile on her face, she said, "Here, it's still in your bowl. Hurry up and eat! Look, you're so picky. Take a look at those surviving in the wilderness, they have it so tough. The fact that you have something to eat is already good enough!"

At that time, Jackie, who was around ten years old, was dressed in camouflage with a short military haircut. The training at the military academy had toughened his appearance, making him even more attractive when he frowned. This caught the attention of the girls around him. However, his face looked sour as he pushed his bowl towards Jane and turned his head away, saying, "If you want to eat two bowls, just say so. I knew one bowl wouldn't be enough to satisfy you. Hurry up and eat both!"

Jane happily moved both bowls in front of her and ate slowly, savoring each spoonful, slurping and savoring. The anxious Jackie kept glaring at her, "Little Jane! I still have to go back to training! If you don't want to eat, then don't. You're eating slower than a fish!"

Even when scolded, Jane wasn't bothered. She leaned over unexpectedly and kissed Jackie on the mouth across the table. That silenced him immediately. His sun-kissed face instantly turned purple.

After a moment, Jackie placed his hands on Jane's shoulders and lifted her off him. And, his handsome face seemed shy, using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, while looking around at the laughing passersby. He lowered his voice, grinding his teeth as he said to Jane, "Little Jane, if I don't kill you today, I won't go back tonight..." His voice had changed, becoming hoarse...

"Even eating soybean pudding can make you cry. You're really unique."

Suddenly, a low, mellow voice broke through Jane's distant memories. Startled, she looked up and saw Jackie standing outside the plastic booth in a suit, his hands in his pockets. They were separated by a not-too-distant distance, and he looked at her expressionlessly.

His face was still the same, but it became more defined and angular. The teenage boy in camouflage who was ten years ago couldn't possibly overlap with the sophisticated man in a black business suit standing before her.

Why would Jackie be here?

Jane just regained her composure when she accidentally inhaled a spoonful of douhua due to her surprise, causing her to cough uncontrollably. She quickly covered her mouth with a tissue, peering in Jackie's direction through the hazy steam.

It was quite unexpected to see the imposing figure of Jackie Garcia on this remote food street. Could he actually sit down and eat at a roadside stall? It didn't fit his current status at all.

However, Jackie seemed to be in the mood for it. He strode over to Jane's table with long strides, ignoring the curious gazes around him, and casually said to the vendor, "A bowl of douhua."

"Salty or sweet?"

"Sweet." He answered without hesitation.

The young couple had already left without either of them noticing. Jackie sat down diagonally across from Jane, his deep and cold eyes casually scanning the douhua in front of her. A slight curve formed at the corner of his lips as he mockingly said, "What a waste..."