Light Fortress
Chapter 347 - 38 Dating and Dining Out

Chapter 347: Chapter 38 Dating and Dining Out

"Join me for dinner."

What a terribly cliché line.

If said by one man to another, it would be even more dreadful than the previous "Old Gong," sounding almost like an invitation for a date.

However... half an hour later.

Gu Shen was already seated at the dining table.

"Research data shows that the tone of the speaker can have a very important effect on the outcome of the matter."

On the other end of the Spiritual Link.

With a touch of irony, Chu Ling spoke, "Although it’s incomprehensible, you were indeed convinced by Gong Zi. Actually... dining with him is not a good choice if you wish to avoid trouble."

"Indeed."

Gu Shen rubbed his temples.

He was not yet clear on the relationships between the five major noble families within Changye City... but what was certain was that news of him dining with the Gong Family’s eldest legitimate son would spread throughout Snow Forbidden City before the night was over.

Perhaps, he would thereby attract even more trouble.

"But on the other hand... you’re not really going to have this for dinner, are you?"

The dining spot was in a quiet, deserted old alley in Snow Forbidden City, peaceful indeed, but a bit too desolate... if not for the several hotpot tables set up inside the house, Gu Shen might have thought it was just an ordinary family home.

Snowflakes danced outside the window.

The hotpot bubbled with boiling water.

Gu Shen was never one to be "extravagant and wasteful," but this was his first encounter with a clear water hotpot.

The hotpot on the Qing River side usually started with a base of spicy oil and butter, dotted with a dense layer of chili and Sichuan pepper, perfect for contradictory enjoyment, warming the stomach after just a few bites. The flavors in Da Du were much lighter, with most people opting for a golden broth or tomato base in the non-spicy half of the divided pot.

But in front of him, the small copper stove contained nothing but lightly simmering water, just a couple of goji berries and a segment of spring onion, boiling and bubbling away.

Could such a hotpot... possibly taste good?

Gu Shen was quite skeptical.

After all, he was dining with the eldest legitimate son of the Gong Family, a man of status from one of the top five families... shouldn’t he be enjoying luxurious and extravagant meals? How could his dining habits be more frugal than Gu Shen’s own?

"You can tell at a glance you’re from the south." Gong Zi chuckled, "It’s cold in Jiangbei, we enjoy meat cooked in a copper pot... Just wait a bit longer, freshly sliced beef and mutton are coming. Here, try the sesame pancake."

Gu Shen pinched a palm-sized pancake and examined it closely.

Chu Ling earnestly commented, "It doesn’t look very appetizing."

Gu Shen took a small bite and his eyes lit up.

"Appearances can be deceiving... the same goes for the sesame pancake," Gu Shen seriously exclaimed to the young girl on the train, "This ’thing’... is really delicious."

"Really?"

Chu Ling felt a bit envious and thought for a moment before asking, "How does it compare to Liwan’s sweet potatoes?"

"It’s still a bit inferior..." Gu Shen finished the sesame pancake in small bites, wiped his lips, and said, "But not by much."

The freshly sliced beef and mutton arrived.

The top sirloin was cut into even, thin slices that clung to the plate.

Gong Zi picked up a slice of beef with long chopsticks, gently swishing it through the steaming pot, up and down, and after about ten seconds, he rolled the now color-changed sirloin in the sesame paste and slowly put it in his mouth.

He let out a contented, long sigh.

Mu Nan was less refined, grabbing a huge plate of mutton and pouring it into the clear water pot, scooping everything up with a strainer and taking big bites, letting out a hot breath and a similarly contented sigh.

Is it really that delicious?

Gu Shen tentatively mirrored their actions, then cautiously tasted.

His eyes became even brighter than before!

"How does it taste... this thing... is it good?"

Chu Ling whispered again.

At that moment, the girl sitting on the train suddenly felt a strong urge welling up from the depths of her heart.

With the assistance of the Spiritual Link, she shared the same view as Gu Shen, looking at the table full of sliced beef, and the hot steam rising from the pot of clear water in front of her; this was a temperature beyond the perception of artificial intelligence.

For more than ten years, she had watched humans eat countless times, but never before had she felt such an intense desire to consume these foods... Previously, she attributed it to never feeling hunger and not being able to physically experience the satisfaction that eating brings.

But what about now, how could she explain it?

She very much wanted to sit at this table, make the same gestures, and taste these delicacies.

These things that supposedly held "no temptation" for her.

Suddenly, they possessed temperature, taste.

"This beef is very tasty," Gu Shen replied to Chu Ling’s message seriously, "it’s not spicy at all, very fresh, and the beef is chewy but doesn’t stick to your teeth. After blanching, the fat has a gentle fragrance, and there’s a sweet aftertaste as you eat."

He went on and on.

But Chu Ling seemed to have fallen silent, not replying anymore.

So Gu Shen asked with a smirk, "How about that, doesn’t my description hit the mark?"

Still no reply.

Gu Shen felt a bit embarrassed and quickly apologized with guilt, "Actually, I made all that up, you know that, right... after all, it’s my first time in Jiangbei, and I’ve never had clear water beef hotpot before, but it really is quite tasty."

Three seconds passed.

"Gu Shen..."

A very aggrieved voice echoed from Heart Lake.

"I’m hungry."

Gu Shen paused.

He suddenly found the beef hotpot less appetizing, rubbed his temples, ignoring the two opposite him who were wolfing down their food, forgoing the battle for the beef hotpot.

Chi Huo pulled a thread of spiritual power downwards.

The next moment, he was in the train compartment of 001, where a girl sat on her seat hugging her book, looking at him forlornly.

"I want to eat... blanched beef."

Chu Ling let her spirit wander, guiding her to speak, and finally uttered this pitiful sentence.

Chu Ling gazed at the young man and murmured, "And... I also want to eat sesame seed cakes, baked sweet potatoes from Liwan, and Da Teng’s spicy hotpot..."

While speaking,

she was experiencing the emotions slowly spreading in her chest.

This emotion... seemed to be what the dictionary described as "envy."

When Gu Shen heard this, he couldn’t help but smile.

Chu Ling was slightly annoyed, "Why are you laughing?"

"I just think you’re cute..." Gu Shen thought for a moment and added, "It turns out that the orange cat really is your true form; if one day you come into the real world, you might eat even more than that orange cat."

Chu Ling paused.

Her voice dimmed, "I can’t come into the real world..."

"Who says you can’t," Gu Shen said calmly, "there’s nothing impossible in this world... If you can feel affection, feel hunger, then one day you will surely enter reality."

Chu Ling’s eyes became even more lost; a question surfaced in her heart, one that millions of system calculations couldn’t solve.

She looked at Gu Shen, nervously and tentatively asking, "Really... can I? Then can I eat all these things in the future?"

Without a second of hesitation, the young man on the train replied.

"Of course."

Gu Shen assured her earnestly, "I’ll wait for you. When you arrive, whatever you want to eat, I’ll accompany you."