At the request of Juliet, Payton drove the car to the underground parking lot of a shopping mall in the
center of the city.
When he asked her what she wanted to eat in the car, she said two words-hot pot!
So, they came to this shopping mall. According to Juliet, there was an authentic hot pot restaurant
there.
After getting off the car, Juliet and Payton headed straight for the fourth floor of the mall and entered a
hot pot restaurant that looked quite old- styled.
The enthusiastic waiter immediately greeted them, "Welcome. Only you two?”
"Yes." Juliet looked at the empty hot pot restaurant and said, "We want to sit in the corner."
“Alright, please follow me."
The waiter led them to a table at the corner. "Take a seat, please. I'll get the menu."
Payton looked at the waiter who was walking away and sat down.
"Did you come here often before?”
He looked at Juliet's pretty face and asked with raised eyebrows.
"I used to come here a lot with Rosiley.” Juliet turned her head to look at the decoration of the
restaurant that had not been changed for many years, and she couldn't help feeling nostalgia.
She missed the carefree days in the past. When she was free, she would come here to have a meal
with her best friend, and it was so refreshing.
Then, she smiled and said to Payton, "Have a taste. The hot pot here has been well received by me,
Rosiley and Yayoi."
Payton smiled and said, "Then I'd like to try it.”
The waiter walked over and handed them the menu. "Take your time and tick whatever you want to eat.
Call me when you are done.”
After saying that, he walked away again.
"Can you eat spicy food?" Juliet asked without raising her head as she scanned the menu.
"Yeah, I think.” Actually, Payton felt a slight stomach ache when he saw the seemingly spicy hot pot
printed on the menu.
Juliet raised her eyes and glanced at him, "If you can't, then don't. Don't push yourself.”
Payton raised his eyebrows. Was she looking down on him?
Indeed, he could not stand spicy food, but how could he lose face for it?
Thus, he coughed and said calmly, "I'm good at eating spicy food. Don't worry, order as much spicy
food as you want. I will be with you to the very end.”
Juliet frowned and looked at him suspiciously, as if she did not believe his words.
But she didn't stop him.
Juliet's eyes flashed and she ticked the heavy spicy hot pot base.
Payton was shocked.
He stared blankly at the hot pot on the table, in which were red peppers and chilly oil, and a spicy
aroma lingered on the tip of his nose.
He couldn't help but sneeze.
Juliet was using boiling water to sterilize the bowls and chopsticks, and then, she looked up at him.
She saw him frown and rub his nose with an expression resulted from discomfort.
It looked like he couldn't stand the pungent smell.
He deserved to be taught a lesson for biting off more than he could chew.
"Juliet, how spicy did you make the order?” Payton asked.
Juliet blinked her eyes with a confused expression, "You said that I could order as spicy as I wanted, so
I chose the spiciest one."
Payton stared at the dazzling red hot pot and swallowed his saliva with great difficulty.
This was about being more nice than wise.
Because the hot pot was too spicy, Payton didn't eat much. After eating just a bit, he would sweat
profusely. He had to adjust himself before he could continue eating.
In stark contrast to him was Juliet. From the moment she picked up the chopsticks until now, she never
stopped.
Moreover, she was exceptionally calm. Other than her cheeks turning red, everything else about her
was normal.
Did she lose her taste?
Or were they eating different hotpots?
Payton couldn't imagine that there would be someone who could withstand such spicy food.
She was not an ordinary person!
It was as if Juliet was venting her emotion, she continuously put food into the hotpot, and then got it out
and ate it.
Even though her mouth was numb from spiciness, she still continued to eat non-stop.
In the end, Payton couldn't bear it. He reached out and grabbed her hand that was holding the ladle. "If
you continue, your stomach won't be able to take it."
Juliet looked up at him, only to find that his eyebrows were slightly knitted, as if he was worried about
her.
She pursed her numb lips and said half-jokingly, "If you don't want me to continue, then, be my
boyfriend."
"What?" Payton was dumbfounded, and he was completely unable to understand what she said.
Juliet finally put down her chopsticks. She wiped her mouth with a wet tissue and continued, "I treat
you to dinner because I want your help."
Sure enough, there was no free lunch, she must be up to something!
Payton couldn't help laughing, "Juliet, why don't you be straightforward? Why do you have to do this?"
His tone carried ridicule.
Juliet frowned and said, "Is treating you to a meal equals to not being straightforward?"
"Yep." Payton nodded noncommittally.
Juliet bit her lips and reluctantly nodded, “Alright, I'm not straightforward enough."
Payton didn't expect her to say that, so he found it amusing.
“Juliet, this isn't your personality, is it? You actually admitted your mistake? Am I dreaming?" With that,
he pinched his cheek.
"It hurts!" He cried out in pain and rubbed his face.
Juliet expressionlessly spat out one word: "Idiot!"
When Payton heard the word "idiot", he raised his eyebrows and said, "Looks like you don't want my
help."
"You didn't agree to help me either,” Juliet retorted.
"... Payton was rendered speechless."
The atmosphere instantly froze, sharply contrasting with the liveliness in the surroundings.
After a long time, Juliet asked, "Payton, will you help?”
She looked straight at him with rare seriousness.
“Tell me what it is, and then I'll think about it.” Payton did not reject her.
"It's..." Juliet pondered for a moment. "I want you to be my boyfriend."
Payton was stunned, "Are you serious?"
The two had always been at odds and often quarreled when they met, yet she actually confessed her
love to him?!
Juliet understood what he was thinking, so she added, "It's fake, not real."
Payton understood.
“You will go on another blind date?"
“No, there is a contract."
"Contract?! Do you think we're talking about business?" Payton glared at her wryly.
Unexpectedly, she nodded. "Yes, it's about business."
After that, she took out a piece of paper from her bag and handed it to him. "This is the contract. If you
have no objection, we will cooperate."
Payton glanced at her, then took the paper over and lowered his head to browse through the so-called
contract.
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