Chapter 1031: Chapter 1031

"Lin Chen, do we have any deep-seated hatred between us?" Jia Xiaoqing stared closely at Lin Chen.

"No, why would there be any hatred?" Lin Chen replied with a smile.

"Then why did you try to harm me with a pot of poisonous mushrooms?" Jia Xiaoqing pointed at the pot with bubbling poisonous mushrooms and asked.

Lin Chen chuckled lightly, "I never said you should drink it; you went over there yourself, didn't you?"

With that, Lin Chen also approached the pot, glanced at the rolling soup, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Are you sure you don't want to drink any of it?"

Although the soup in the pot looked fresh and flavorful, Jia Xiaoqing still shook her head, "No, I still want to live a few more years."

"Fine, don't regret it. If you want to drink later, you'll have to pay," Lin Chen laughed, taking the pot off the rack.

Jia Xiaoqing was dumbfounded because the pot had been roasting over the fire for a long time, and it should have been scalding, yet Lin Chen held it as if it wasn't hot at all.

Lin Chen scooped out a cooked mountain chicken and a few poisonous mushrooms, finally ladling plenty of soup.

"This pot of soup took me quite some time to make. If you don't want to drink it, I'll just have it all to myself."

Lin Chen pointed at the chicken and said, "This mountain chicken is a young chick not long out of the shell, with tender meat. Combined with my specially prepared poisonous mushrooms, it's simply a delicacy."

As he spoke, Lin Chen took a bite of the mountain chicken, and an aroma immediately wafted out.

Watching Lin Chen eat and smack his lips, Jia Xiaoqing's stomach growled even louder. She swallowed hard and bit her lip, "Why aren't you poisoned from eating the poisonous mushrooms?"

Lin Chen laughed, "Who said eating poisonous mushrooms has to poison you? That's just because they don't know how to prepare them. I've added dozens of herbs to this soup, which has already neutralized the poison. Now, these poisonous mushrooms have no toxicity but taste even better."

Jia Xiaoqing was stunned, hearing for the first time that poisonous mushrooms could be eaten.

However, she noticed Lin Chen had already eaten quite a bit without showing any signs of poisoning.

Finally, she couldn't resist anymore and said to Lin Chen, "Um, I, I want to eat some too."

Hearing Jia Xiaoqing say she wanted to eat, Lin Chen smiled and said, "I offered it to you earlier, but you didn't want it. Now you want it, and it's too late; it'll cost you."

"You, you're such a money-grubber, how much?" Jia Xiaoqing angrily retorted.

"Twenty thousand!" Lin Chen said with a gleeful grin, having learned from past experiences.

"Twenty thousand! You think this is abalone soup?" Jia Xiaoqing was exasperated at Lin Chen's outrageous price.

"You're wrong, though. This is much tastier than abalone soup," Lin Chen said, sipping and smacking his lips.

"Fine, I'll transfer you the money." Jia Xiaoqing gritted her teeth and directly transferred twenty thousand yuan to Lin Chen using her phone.

Only then did Lin Chen serve Jia Xiaoqing a mountain chicken and some mushrooms.

Jia Xiaoqing's stomach had been growling for a long time; finally having something to eat, she didn't care if the bowl contained poisonous mushrooms—dying of poison was better than starving.

The main reason was she saw Lin Chen eating with relish, which gave her confidence.

If Lin Chen wasn't poisoned from drinking, then she wouldn't be either.

Jia Xiaoqing held the porcelain bowl, hesitated for a moment, and finally took a cautious sip.

A mouthful of warm soup flowed into her mouth from the ladle, and her eyes lit up.

As a local magnate, whether in Zhonghai or Shinjuku, Jia Xiaoqing had almost tasted all the delicacies, but she was sure this was the most delicious soup she'd ever had.

The soup was fragrant and smooth in her mouth, carrying a unique freshness of the wilderness, so much so that she was reluctant to swallow it.

Jia Xiaoqing's taste buds were thoroughly conquered, and she almost without hesitation drank another big bowl.

As the soup entered her body, it quickly transformed into a warm current, spreading throughout her body, making her feel warm all over.

After drinking all the soup, Jia Xiaoqing picked up the little mountain chick in the bowl.

The tender meat melted in her mouth, and the flavorful, smooth sensation was almost overwhelming.

She finished eating the little mountain chick in just a few minutes, yet she still felt unsatisfied.

Now, compared to what Lin Chen had made, Jia Xiaoqing felt those mountain chickens from five-star hotels were nothing.

After finishing the chicken, Jia Xiaoqing used a spoon to scoop the pot, "Did you only make two?"

Seeing Jia Xiaoqing's greedy eyes on his bowl, Lin Chen hurriedly threw the half mountain chicken into his mouth.

"One for each of us, fair and square."

Jia Xiaoqing gnawed every piece of meat off the bones of the chicken before reluctantly discarding them.

"Your cooking is amazing," Jia Xiaoqing smiled warmly at Lin Chen, fully satisfied with the meal.

Just as she was about to get up, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

"What's happening to me?" Jia Xiaoqing felt her whole body go numb, her consciousness blurring a little.

"You're poisoned!" Lin Chen said with a cheerful smile.

"Damn! Didn't you say it wasn't poisonous?" Jia Xiaoqing glared at Lin Chen, fuming.

"Yes, I said the soup isn't poisonous, but I didn't say the mountain chicken isn't," Lin Chen grinned, looking at Jia Xiaoqing.

"By the way, I didn't mention that the soup also contains the venomous snake that bit you earlier, along with venomous spiders, and poisonous insects..."

"You... you bastard." Jia Xiaoqing realized she had unknowingly eaten so many things she wouldn't dare to; she staggered and fell into the grass.

Watching Jia Xiaoqing fall, a wicked smile crept up the corner of Lin Chen's mouth, "Ah, Xiaoqing, there's no choice. Your cold poison must be treated with poison, so you have to try more toxins."

As he spoke, Lin Chen approached Jia Xiaoqing, lifted her chin, then pried open her mouth, and held a venomous frog before squeezing it.

Drop by drop of emerald green poison dripped into Jia Xiaoqing's mouth, and if Jia Xiaoqing knew, she'd surely vomit for days.

The next day, Jia Xiaoqing groggily opened her eyes, finding herself lying in a large bed.

Jia Xiaoqing still felt a bit dizzy, her body weak, but curiously comfortable.

"This is Lin Chen's house." Jia Xiaoqing sat up abruptly.

Seeing her clothes intact, she felt relieved.

She wandered around a bit, but the house was empty, and Lin Chen wasn't home.

"That bastard, if I catch him, he'll be in for it," Jia Xiaoqing remembered the events in the jungle, stomping her foot angrily.

At this moment, Lin Chen was sitting in a coffee shop with Yamamoto.

Yamamoto smiled, "Lin Chen, I wasn't wrong about you. Now that Ye Zi has your support, I'm reassured. Whatever you're up to, rest assured, I'll fully back you."

As an important transfer meeting, Yamamoto didn't attend, intending to test Lin Chen's capability. Yet, even Yamamoto hadn't expected Lin Chen to deliver a result that satisfied him.