Exiting the subway station, Xin Nan took Exit D. There were no elevators, so he had to climb a long flight of stairs.
During this process, Xin Nan discovered that Yan Yu's stamina was surprisingly good; she climbed the stairs without even blushing or panting.
Chatting casually with Yan Yu, they exited the subway station and turned right, spotting a 16-story old, renovated building.
Not far away was the Second Municipal Hospital, from which the red cross symbol was clearly visible.
Yan Yu blinked her eyes. "Classmate Xin Nan, is this your home?"
"Yes, the bottom three floors are rented out as shops, the ten floors above are residential, and I live on the top three floors."
"Ah! This entire building belongs to your family?"
The girl was surprised. The fact that Xin Nan owned a building within the first ring of Yangcheng clearly astonished her.
Xin Nan narrowed his eyes.
A person's expression might be a disguise, but the tentacles in the background painting behind her vividly revealed the same surprised emotion at this moment.
Although it was difficult to describe the feeling, Xin Nan had never encountered a being capable of disguising these "background paintings" before.
Growing up, almost no one had been able to lie to Xin Nan.
Therefore, Yan Yu genuinely didn't know he owned a building, meaning her motive was likely not as simple as money.
It couldn't possibly be just a romantic encounter, could it?
Underestimating his own attractiveness, Xin Nan chuckled and pointed to a hot pot restaurant on the third floor. "You haven't eaten yet, right? How about hot pot?"
Yan Yu hesitated.
"Um, Classmate Xin Nan, can I take a shower at your place? My hair will smell after eating hot pot, and I won't be able to sleep like that, so..."
"Of course. If you don't mind, I can lend you my younger sister's clothes."
"That would be great! I really like hot pot."
Saying this, Yan Yu glanced at the name of the hot pot restaurant.
The Boss Lady's Hot Pot Restaurant.
They took the elevator straight up to the third floor.
Xin Nan and Yan Yu walked to the right. Less than ten meters away was the entrance to the hot pot restaurant. The decor leaned towards ancient elegance, with solid wood and blue bricks, appearing particularly comfortable under the orange-yellow lighting.
A welcoming stand was placed in front of the door, but there was no one there, likely helping inside.
"It seems business is good today. I recommend their brain flower; it's very fresh."
"I prefer tripe. By the way, Classmate Xin Nan, why are you always looking down? I always feel like..."
As they were talking, the two entered the hot pot restaurant.
Indeed, business was booming today. Through the screen at the entrance, they could see it was filled with diners. They were unusually quiet, sitting at their respective seats and eating voraciously without a word, as if they couldn't stop eating.
This scene made them even more eager.
The rich aroma of hot pot wafted and permeated through the boiling broth, causing Yan Yu to involuntarily swallow. She instinctively moved to go inside.
However, Xin Nan immediately grabbed her left hand.
"Classmate Xin Nan, let's go! I'm so hungry!"
At this moment, Xin Nan held Yan Yu with one hand, while the other was covering his head, his entire body trembling.
Seeing his increasingly ferocious expression, Yan Yu gradually realized something was wrong. Just as she was about to speak, a waitress in a red uniform, with a toothy smile on her face, approached them.
"Are you two?"
I. Really. Want. To. Eat!
Let. More. People. Eat!
The sharp, piercing scream, filled with both agony and joyous pleasure, intensified as the waitress approached.
Xin Nan, who had been looking down, covered his head and suddenly looked up.
Immediately, his eyes snapped wide open!
Red worms. All he could see were red worms.
They were burrowing into the waitress's head and occasionally diving back into her flesh and blood!
Not just the waitress, but the diners too. On the plates of meat, which were being served endlessly, the worms were stretching their bodies freely.
It was only because these worms were so tiny, as if trapped on these things, forming only a thin layer, that Xin Nan hadn't noticed them before.
This was the second time Xin Nan had seen "background paintings" that had color and made sounds!
But this was an indescribably terrifying entity.
Xin Nan's suddenly ferocious expression startled Yan Yu. Her sudden appetite also strangely vanished, and she nervously tugged on Xin Nan's hand.
"Classmate Xin Nan, what's wrong?"
Xin Nan's expression quickly returned to calm. He said faintly:
"It's nothing. Let's change to..."
a seat!
All the diners in the hot pot restaurant simultaneously stopped their actions and, in unison, raised their heads, offering Xin Nan and Yan Yu a toothy smile.
A chilling dread, like tentacles, crawled up their spines.
Yan Yu let out a frightened, low yelp.
The bright red broth, enveloped in the orange-yellow light, and the people with steaming faces and flushed skin, now looked like corpses, as if they would melt into a puddle at any moment.
She couldn't help but move closer to Xin Nan, as if only then could she find a trace of safety.
She and the tentacle monster behind her were both radiating panic.
In this regard, Yan Yu might indeed be an ordinary person.
The toothy smile on the waitress's face, standing before Xin Nan and Yan Yu, had disappeared at some point, replaced by wide, cold eyes.
Her eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to tear open at the corners.
"Guests, our hot pot is delicious. Please try it, you must try it!"
As she spoke, a strand of red thread drifted over from the food counter in the hall.
It was as if some colossal being had cast a silent glance this way, and the red thread began to emit a dangerous aura.
Xin Nan's eyes told him that if he turned and left now, something terrible, truly terrible, would happen!
Taking a deep breath, he frowned and used the acting skills he had honed over the past decade, allowing him to converse normally with people even when facing monsters in background paintings.
"Hurry and take us to our seats!"
Crunch, crunch!
The diners' attention was once again drawn to their food.
The waitress's terrifyingly cold expression dissolved, and the toothy smile reappeared. She enthusiastically bent over and gestured.
"This way, please."
"Okay!"
Xin Nan calmly walked forward, while tightly gripping Yan Yu, who had no intention of entering the hot pot restaurant and was trying to escape.
Seeing the panic in her eyes, on the verge of tears, Xin Nan took out his mobile phone, typed a few words casually, and handed it to her.
If you walk directly, you will die.
But going inside looks like an even more miserable death!
Yan Yu was on the verge of tears and continued to struggle, but Xin Nan didn't let go, forcibly dragging her into the hot pot restaurant.
The pitiful class beauty dared not speak, nor could she struggle too violently, fearing that the smiling diners, who were eating but still watching them with raised eyes, would all erupt.
As Yan Yu looked at one of the diners, she saw hot pot oil bubbling into his eye, but he remained hunched over the table, enjoying his meal without blinking.
When her chaotic mind finally processed what was happening, she found herself already seated by Xin Nan.
Diagonally opposite her was the kitchen, hidden in a corner of the hot pot restaurant's entrance, facing the hall.
To showcase the freshness and cleanliness of their ingredients to customers, the kitchen counter was elevated. Most customers would notice it upon entering, thus seeing the restaurant's sincerity.
At this moment, accompanied by the sound of chopping, dishes of their specialty ingredients like intestine, kidney slices, and tripe were being sent out in a continuous, assembly-line fashion on white plates.
Thump!
Crack!
Thump!
At the food delivery counter, four chefs were diligently preparing complex and delicate ingredients for the diners.
Their knife skills were displayed to perfection in a pleasing manner through the transparent display window.
However, there was one slight anomaly.
The ingredient they were all processing was a woman hanging in mid-air.
Chopped, sliced, and plated, the dishes were sent out one by one to the surrounding diners.
Every trace of pain transformed into pleasure on her face. With her eyes tightly shut, she seemed to be enjoying a superb massage, occasionally letting out a soft hum.
Even hell could probably not depict such a scene.
Yan Yu froze, her whole body trembling.
Beside her, Xin Nan watched with an expressionless face.
Even though the skin from the "ingredient lady's" neck down was completely gone, leaving only a face with a charming appearance, twitching with a smile.
Even though her meticulously cared-for long hair had all been shaved off.
Xin Nan still recognized her as his tenant, the owner of this hot pot restaurant!
The red threads that had prevented Xin Nan from fleeing directly earlier had emanated from her.
And those red threads were formed by countless dense worms.
She was the core of this establishment!
Xin Nan couldn't help but look at the sides of the display window at the food counter, where fiery red text displayed two sentences.
The Boss Lady's Hot Pot is made with heart; eat the freshest ingredients with peace of mind.
Xin Nan felt a strangely inappropriate sense of comfort.
She had achieved it! Just in a different way.
Newcomer, new work. Currently two chapters a day, possibly 4000-6000 words, mainly depending on the plot, not forcing divisions.
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