Honest Beta gets scammed

Upon hearing this, He Xiangchen didn't stand on ceremony with Li Qing. He glanced at the menu and pointed with his finger: "I'd like a half-and-half, since I can't handle spicy food very well."

He Xiangchen wasn't lying about this. He prefers bland food and can't eat spicy food at all. He rarely eats hot pot, and when he does feel like it, he just eats a pot of clear broth.

"Okay." Li Qing nodded.

He Xiangchen ticked the box next to the hot pot with two broths, but after ticking it, his gaze lingered on the word "Yuan Yang" on the menu for a second. He pursed his lips slightly and snorted coldly in his heart.

This Beta still has such a low sense of boundaries. He always does things that make people misunderstand, even when he doesn't mean anything by it. It's because he's always like this that I've misunderstood him one day and embarrassed myself so much.

He was thinking to himself, but his face remained impassive, his smile unchanged, so much so that Li Qing was completely unaware of He Xiangchen's thoughts.

The two quickly ordered their food, and soon the waiter brought out a copper pot shaped like a yin-yang symbol. One side had a spicy broth, and the other side had a mushroom broth. Then, one after another, neatly arranged dishes were served.

Li Qing looked at the dried chilies floating in the red oil pot, and his mouth watered instantly. He was about to cook some meat when He Xiangchen, who was next to him, took the first bite.

He Xiangchen picked up the serving chopsticks, skillfully picked up a plate of tender beef, carefully put it into the pot, and then added the other dishes one after another.

Seeing this, Li Qing silently withdrew his outstretched hand.

He Xiangchen didn't forget his purpose this time; his main goal was to be considerate and attentive!

Throughout the meal, Li Qing only needed to eat. He Xiangchen not only cooked the vegetables for him, but also prepared the dipping sauce and brought it to him.

Slices of meat, tripe, and vegetables kept appearing in Li Qing's bowl. Towards the end, Li Qing felt that He Xiangchen hadn't touched his chopsticks at all, as he was busy serving him.

This made him feel embarrassed, and he quickly said, "I'll finish the rest. You should eat too, don't just focus on me."

Upon hearing this, He Xiangchen looked up, smiled at him, and his eyes appeared especially gentle in the steaming hot pot.

"It's okay, I've been eating the whole time, just as much as you. You keep eating."

Seeing that Li Qing still wanted to say something, he quickly scooped a mouthful of blanched tripe from the pot and put it in Li Qing's bowl, urging, "Eat quickly, or it will get too old and won't taste good."

Looking at the mountain of food piled up in her bowl, and then at He Xiangchen's sincere smile, Li Qing swallowed back the words of refusal that were on the tip of her tongue.

After a few words, Li Qing had almost completely forgotten the embarrassing incident that had just happened in the car.

He Xiangchen watched Li Qing eat with a satisfied expression and felt smug. He didn't just play the victim all the time. When dealing with someone like Li Qing, occasionally showing weakness and playing the victim could arouse his sympathy and protective instincts, but if he kept playing the victim, the effect would be wrong.

He Xiangchen is here to seduce people, not to find himself another mother.

Seeing Li Qing eating with relish, He Xiangchen also felt a bit hungry. He lowered his head, picked up a piece of meat, and put it in his mouth. The taste was indeed good. He raised his head and his gaze fell back on Li Qing. He noticed that Li Qing's mouth was smeared with red oil.

Li Qing himself felt it, but he was too lazy to take out a tissue to wipe it, so he stuck out his tongue and kept licking the corner of his mouth.

This action caught He Xiangchen's eye, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly. He stared at Li Qing's tongue for a second, then reached out and pulled a tissue from the tissue box, leaning forward slightly.

Li Qing was still working hard when he suddenly felt a shadow in front of him.

The next second, his cheek was gently cupped by a hand, and the fingertip, through a thin tissue, lightly wiped the corner of his mouth.

The entire process was seamless and took only a few seconds.

It wasn't until the warmth of that hand left that Li Qing realized what had happened. He suddenly looked up and stared at He Xiangchen in shock.

He Xiangchen's face still wore the same smile, unchanged, as if he had just done something perfectly normal. After withdrawing his hand, he casually crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can next to the table.

Sensing Li Qing's gaze, he looked up and saw Li Qing staring at him. Li Qing's eyes curved into a smile, revealing a slyness and an ambiguous feeling that was hard to define.

But the words he uttered didn't match his expression at all.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Li Qing stared at He Xiangchen's face, feeling her cheeks start to burn again.

"you……"

He opened his mouth, uttered a single word, but then seemed unable to continue, as if stuck, and fell silent.

He Xiangchen seemed completely oblivious to his embarrassment. Seeing that he was stuck, he actually reached out to him again, this time without using a tissue, and gently touched Li Qing's cheek with the back of his hand.

"Your face is so hot."

He Xiangchen asked with concern, "Did you get too hot from the hot pot? Should we ask them to turn the air conditioning down a bit?"

The touch on his face felt like an electric current, instantly coursing through his body. Startled, Li Qing recoiled, distancing his face from He Xiangchen's hand. He blurted out the answer, shaking his head vigorously.

"No, no need! I'm not hot!"

Are you kidding me! If you asked He Xiangchen to ask a waiter to turn down the air conditioning right now, he'd want to crawl into a hole in the ground!

Li Qing's heart was pounding wildly. He no longer dared to look up at He Xiangchen. He lowered his head, stared at the food in front of him, and frantically stuffed it into his mouth.

The little voice inside my head was jumping around and screaming: Seriously! What's wrong with this guy! Why does he hit me all the time! Even if it's a habit, it's so bad! So bad!

He Xiangchen did it on purpose, of course.

He was well aware of his physical advantages and knew how to use them. Seeing that Li Qing was already ashamed, he was quite satisfied and readily agreed, "Alright then."

Then, with one hand supporting his chin and the other continuing to put food into the hot pot, his eyes remained glued to Li Qing. Seeing Li Qing's bright red ears, he was overjoyed and began to plan his next move.

His gaze was unfocused, yet it was like a hunter eyeing its prey.

All of this was observed by four young people eating hot pot at the next table.

Their eyes kept shifting between He Xiangchen and Li Qing, sometimes lingering on the shy and speechless Li Qing, and sometimes on the slyly smiling He Xiangchen.

They were so amused they couldn't close their mouths, and each of them held their food for a long time without putting it in their mouths.

After a while, a girl spoke softly.

"The poor Betas were just being manipulated like puppets."