Chapter 525: Chapter 525

The small taxi had a stark contrast in atmosphere between the front and back seats, like fire and ice.

The driver in the front seat was an Indian man, coincidentally also a fan of Manchester City. He was overjoyed to have Tang Long as a passenger on the last day of 2015 and started chatting excitedly with him. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel~fire~net

Even though he didn’t watch the game, the Indian driver had heard on the radio about Tang Long’s astonishing feat of assisting Agüero four times in a single match. He enthusiastically applauded him and even said he would waive the fare, giving them a free ride.

The front seat conversation was lively.

The back seat, however, was dead silent.

Gracie and Dilata sat on opposite sides of the back seat.

The car’s rear-seat hump was like a dividing line between them.

They had agreed to have Christmas dinner together, but Dilata showed up as an unexpected third party. What was this about? If she had known, she wouldn’t have come.

She was so downcast that when Dilata tried to strike up a conversation, she responded with indifference, ignoring him.

Seeing Gracie’s cold shoulder, Dilata shrugged and stopped trying to converse.

Resting her long arms against the window of the back seat, she watched the bustling Christmas scene in Manchester at sunset.

This bustling city of England stood in stark contrast to her hometown of Venice.

She even started missing her grandmother in Venice, wondering if she was doing well alone, if she had saved the 3,000 euros left under her pillow in the bank instead of buying her favorite cake.

She was reminded that Sky Sports might be preparing for a new job rotation, possibly sending her to the branch in France.

But she didn’t know French, and was unfamiliar with France. How would she manage her job there?

Thinking of this, Dilata felt anxious and stressed, affecting her sleep lately.

Tang Long was heatedly chatting with the unknown driver in the front seat, but ignoring the two behind. This made Dilata a bit displeased, and she gently kicked the back of the front seat with the tip of her high heel.

Tang Long, engrossed in his conversation about his past football experiences in Italy and the driver’s tales of the sweet Ganges water back home, suddenly felt a jolt and realized someone was kicking his chair from behind.

He turned around and saw two pairs of eyes staring at him moodily.

Aware that he had neglected the two ladies in the back, Tang Long cleared his throat.

He shifted the topic to their upcoming destination.

"Ahem! The restaurant we’re about to arrive at is also new to me. According to online reviews, the food here is particularly spicy, with a fiery aftertaste. On this last day of the year, let’s indulge a bit."

"Dilata, can you handle spicy food?"

When the topic turned to food, Dilata, who often cooked, finally showed a rare smile and nodded slightly.

"Yes, I can. Italy is the culinary capital of Europe, featuring a variety of flavors. I grew up eating very spicy food."

What Dilata said was true.

In southern European countries like Italy and Spain, the warm climate and abundant sunshine encouraged diverse cuisine, richer than those in northern Europe such as the United Kingdom.

"I wonder if Miss Gracie can handle spicy food," Dilata turned to Gracie, "I heard that British people tend to eat relatively mildly."

Tang Long shook his hand from the front seat, "She can really handle spicy food; don’t worry about her."

Gracie let out a humph from her nose, forcing a smile and nodded, "Yes, I can eat spicy food, don’t worry about me."

Inwardly she was planning, "Damn it, when the food comes, I won’t touch anything with chili!"

After getting out of the car, Tang Long noticed that Dilata had bundled herself up tightly, with a black down jacket hood covering her head and eyebrows, and even a mask on.

"Why are you dressing so tightly? It’s not that cold."

"I’m afraid of being recognized and getting you into The Sun again."

"What’s there to be afraid of? We haven’t done anything wrong. If we’re recognized, so be it. The Sun has already been banned by the club; let them be."

After entering the restaurant, Tang Long chose a more private booth where the three of them sat down.

Only then did Dilata remove her heavy coat and mask, revealing a tight-fitting white sweater underneath.

Gracie looked at Dilata’s slender and shapely figure with silent envy, unable to resist stealing a few glances at her chest.

Tang Long picked up the menu and ordered the spiciest dishes available.

As the waiter brought the dishes one by one, the booth was filled with the pungent aroma of chilies and Sichuan peppercorns.

Enticed by the aroma, Dilata felt her appetite surge.

"This is chili chicken, this is spicy grilled fish, this is sliced meat in chili sauce, and this is hot pot..." Tang Long introduced the dishes to the two.

Gracie frowned, trying hard to suppress the nose-stinging spiciness, only wanting to sneeze.

Conversely, Dilata expertly picked up a long piece of duck intestine from the hot pot with chopsticks and placed it in her bowl to eat.

"Wow, you can use chopsticks?" Tang Long exclaimed in surprise.

Gracie, witnessing Dilata’s adept use of chopsticks, was also curious.

"Not bad, the chili oil smells amazing!"

You could tell Dilata’s compliment was genuine, and her tone turned pleasantly melodious.

She talked about her previous experiences reporting in Mexico, mentioning how the natives there also loved spicy food. Mexican cuisine suited her taste perfectly—aromatic and spicy, just like the food she had just tasted.

In fact, because of her position as a Sky Sports reporter, when Dilata first started her career, she traveled all over the world, covering various events.

Those extended journeys not only enriched her social experiences but also exposed her to different local customs and cultures.

Through their conversation, Gracie learned that what Dilata had just eaten was duck intestine, and she couldn’t help but exclaim "Ah!"

"Oh my God, you can actually eat duck intestines? How do you even stomach that?"

Dilata and Tang Long exchanged a smile, and then explained to Gracie that animal intestines can be delicious, just like foie gras, a national dish of France, which is also an internal organ of a goose.

Gracie, however, felt a bit nauseous listening to that. She could accept foie gras, but she just couldn’t handle the idea of eating duck intestines.

Tang Long used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of boiled beef and put it in Gracie’s bowl.

"If you can’t eat duck intestines, surely you can eat this beef. Hey, look at these chili peppers, they must be really spicy, just how you like it."

Gracie held her fork, looking at the spicy dish in her bowl, not wanting to eat it at all;

Noticing Dilata across the table, who had repeatedly picked up slices of boiled beef and was enjoying them, the spirit of competition in Gracie prompted her to use her fork to taste a piece as well.

The moment her taste buds came in contact with the chili oil, a fierce, nasal-piercing sensation surged straight to her head!

Gracie’s body shuddered slightly. She quickly swallowed the piece of boiled beef with just a couple of chews.

She then looked pitifully at Tang Long, tears brimming in her eyes.

"How is it? Isn’t it both spicy and fragrant? I can see your tears of joy from how good it is that I want to try it too."

Tang Long also picked a few slices into his bowl and dug in, continuously praising it.

After half a year of eating peppered Italian pasta, boiled chicken breast, pan-seared steak, and boiled broccoli, it’s about time during the festival to indulge in something rich and salty.

Seeing Gracie’s teary eyes, Dilata knew it wasn’t emotion but the spiciness causing her tears.

Feeling a bit sorry for her, she called a waiter over to bring something sweet and cool.

So, the waiter brought over a bowl of Sichuan ice jelly.

The transparent ice jelly was topped with watermelon cubes, raisins, sesame seeds, and simmered brown sugar, resembling British afternoon tea desserts.

Gracie’s mouth, already swollen from the spice, quickly picked up the ice jelly before expressing gratitude to Dilata. After slurping a couple of times, she found it utterly refreshing, and the spicy sensation in her mouth was significantly relieved.

"This is delicious!" Gracie said, breaking into a smile through her tears.

Seeing Gracie in such a state, Dilata kindly said to her:

"Dear sister, I think you’re not used to spicy food. Your mouth is all swollen. When I checked the menu earlier, I saw something like fried sticky rice. Let me order it for you."

What Dilata referred to was brown sugar glutinous rice cake, soft, sticky, sweet, and delicious.

Looking at Gracie’s spice-reddened lips, Tang Long teased her: "So you were just boasting to me. If I’d known you couldn’t handle spice, I wouldn’t have booked this Sichuan restaurant."

Both of them, one due to concern and the other in jest, seemed to Gracie to be looking down on her, mocking her inability to handle spicy food.

Since childhood, she’d been a top student in her class, always excelling academically, and her postgraduate grades were also among the top three in her field.

"Who says I can’t handle spicy food? It’s delicious, I love it!"

With that, Gracie, braving the numb sensation on her scalp, picked a few more pieces of boiled beef and placed them in her bowl. Then she filled a small bowl with spicy chicken pieces, spicy grilled fish, duck blood from spicy hot pot, and other foods, and started eating them one by one with her fork.

As a medical graduate, Gracie was well aware of the consequences of her actions.

Now it’s her mouth that’s burning, and once she’s back home, her, um, behind will also experience the burn.

Seeing they couldn’t stop her, Tang Long and Dilata simply joined in the spicy feast.

Before long, all three were sweating profusely, emitting heat.

Halfway through the meal, Tang Long was wearing only a blue tank top, using the menu to fan himself continuously.

Dilata had already taken off her sweater, revealing a tight-fitting shirt, unbuttoning the top two buttons, with sweat continuously flowing from her neck into her cleavage.

Both reduced their clothing to ease the heat caused by spicy food.

Compared to Tang Long and Dilata, Gracie was having a tougher time.

Because of her outfit, after removing her coat, she had on a fitted knit top, and underneath that, just her underwear, so the knit top couldn’t be taken off.

Unfortunately, the knit top wasn’t breathable at all.

So Gracie had sweat trapped inside, steaming her up.

She could only keep drinking ice jelly to quell the heat, having downed six bowls of ice jelly, leaving empty bowls all around her.

Compared to Gracie’s struggle, Dilata was enjoying herself more and more.

"Tang, with every bite, it feels so spicy, but the spicier it gets, the more I want to eat. Do you think I might have a masochistic tendency?"