My game, Orange Flavor, is great!

Lu Zhao's eyes trembled slightly. He silently stuffed a piece of apple into his mouth and mumbled, "Okay, I'll never mention this again."

Even though that's what you said, could your expression be any more sorrowful?

Xia Zhifei laughed and patted her on the back: "I was just kidding! It's just applying for subsidies. Anyway, the bureau allocates a lot of subsidies to other spirit races every year. We can just add that child's name to the list!"

As she spoke, she winked at Lu Zhao and said, "Bodhisattva Lu, are you happy now?"

Lu Zhao's face flushed red and then turned pale. He suddenly stood up and shoved the fruit plate in his hand into Xia Zhifei's hands: "I'm going to the restroom!"

Oh dear, you've gotten all worked up.

The young lady watched with a leisurely air as someone quickly left the ward, vaguely sensing a hint of him fleeing in panic.

Her daughter, Ah Zhao, is beautiful and kind-hearted, but she gets easily angered.

Although this was the first time she had seen Lu Zhao like this in a month, his familiar expression was enough to make Xia Zhifei feel gratified.

Although it's a little different from before, some small details are still exactly the same as when I was a child.

Women's restroom.

Lu Zhao didn't expect to actually run into the toilet. He hesitated at the door for a while before going in to wash his face.

Even she couldn't help but shiver when she came to wash her face with cold water in the dead of winter.

She looked up and saw her face covered in water stains in the mirror, then blinked sharply.

Since realizing that the original owner of this body would not return, her behavior seems to have gradually become more self-centered.

Is this a good sign?

she does not know.

However, when Xia Zhifei agreed to her suggestion, the slight pleasure that rose in her heart was something she couldn't ignore.

The game "Lingzu" spans three or four years and contains a huge amount of textual information. When my junior first mentioned it, she thought the game had too much content and planned to finish the game after playing only the prologue.

But now... if possible, in the less than five years she has left in this world, she wants to try to be happier, at least in a state where the character isn't too out of character, so that she can do some things she really wants to do while curled up in this shell.

Anyway, once she goes back, she'll become that ordinary person again, waiting to graduate and become a corporate slave, working hard for a house, money, and children.

Oh, she might not even have children. She doesn't even know whether she likes a boy or a girl.

Wiping the cold water off his face and letting out a long, relaxed breath, Lu Zhao was about to leave when he bumped into a woman who had just walked in.

"Ah... I'm sorry!" She quickly took a step back to apologize, but then heard a very familiar chuckle.

Lu Zhao's heart stirred, and he looked up at the other person, only to see an extremely ordinary face.

Feeling inexplicably disappointed, she took a half step back to let the other person pass first. She then took a closer look at the other person's back, but still couldn't match anyone in her memory.

She must have misheard the laughter just now.

She stopped thinking about it and quickly walked out of the restroom.

……

A few days later, the young lady was discharged from the hospital. Although her physique was slightly weaker than that of a physical monster like Lu Zhao, it was still much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

The trio, who had just increased their mission completion rate to 50%, finally had some free time to pick up the young lady, which attracted the attention of passersby.

"Miss, you've really shown off your status now, haven't you?" Lu Zhao, pulling a suitcase and carrying several bags, glanced back at Messiah and Song Lingge, who were empty-handed, and couldn't help but complain, "So why didn't they help carry things!"

"Ah Zhao, you said it yourself!" Xia Zhifei's doe eyes widened slightly, a smile playing on her lips. "If I agree to add people to the subsidy list, you'll be my slave for a whole day!"

As the eldest daughter of the Xia family, although she is already in a semi-exile state, her status is still there. It is not difficult for the Xia family's errand boys to add her to the family list that will be submitted to the Bureau of Spirits next year.

It should be noted that the Xia family has many branches and a considerable influence in Yongling City. There will always be a group of people in the family who awaken as spirits, and these people need to apply for subsidies every year.

With this subsidy, at least the child named Fu Ying can continue to receive treatment in the hospital.

Lu Zhao never considered asking for anything more.

"Fine, fine, whatever you ask me to do today, I'll do it without complaint!" She smiled wryly and resignedly carried the young lady's luggage down the street.

Messiah followed behind her, a mischievous smile on his face: "Captain, will you treat us to dinner today? We still owe you a hot pot dinner."

“Hey,” Lu Zhao rolled his eyes at her, “Don’t take advantage of the situation. Xiao Fei has just been discharged from the hospital and can’t eat spicy food.”

Xia Zhifei turned her head, "Really? Then I want to eat hot pot! We can always order a half-and-half pot! What do you think, Sister Song?"

All three of them turned their gazes toward Song Lingge.

The latter could only helplessly raise his hands in surrender: "If I say I won't go, Xiao Fei will be unhappy."

Well, so Xia Zhifei is the group's darling, and she's at the very bottom of the team, right?

Lu Zhao sighed with a bitter expression, "Three to one, I'll accept this meal, okay? You can eat wherever you want!"

Fortunately, I just received my salary a while ago. Although I only received my basic salary because I took too long of sick leave, it was still enough to treat myself to a hot pot meal.

Chapter Ninety-Five Hot Pot Party

So they found a particularly remote hot pot restaurant.

After winding his way into the alley, Lu Zhao looked up at the wall, most of the paint of which had peeled off, and then glanced at the hot pot restaurant with a big red lantern hanging in front of its sign not far away. He was speechless for a moment.

Why would a hot pot restaurant be located in such a remote place? Don't they want to do business and make money?!

“Yes,” Xia Zhifei nodded matter-of-factly. “The owner of this shop was relocated a few years ago and bought a building. Now he’s a landlord and he’s not short of money.”

Oh, so it's a shop opened out of passion. Never mind then.

Lu Zhao was speechless and could only follow her into the hot pot restaurant.

From the outside, it didn't seem that great, but as soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by a warm, comforting smell of hot pot. She took a closer look at the decor; it was simple and elegant, more like a teahouse than a hot pot restaurant.

Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of guests here, filling the entire hall.

“We booked a private room before, the man’s surname is Lu,” Xia Zhifei said to the waiter at the door.

The waiter immediately nodded and, with a smile, ushered them inside.

As soon as he sat down, Lu Zhao was still a little puzzled. "Since you're the landlord, you must be very rich, right? Why would you open a hot pot restaurant in such a remote alley?"

Xia Zhifei didn't answer, but the waiter next to him smiled and handed over the menu, saying, "When our boss was taking stock of the assets, he found that there was a shop here that couldn't be rented out, so he simply took it and opened a shop himself."

These words made Lu Zhao's eyelids twitch.

Well, by saving the money on rent, the hot pot restaurant's expenses are reduced by a quarter compared to other restaurants.

In addition, the people sitting in the hall just now were all young people, probably the kind of gourmands who are willing to go through alleys for good food. If this is the kind of customer flow every day, the owner will definitely make a profit.

Is she really the only poor person?

Meanwhile, Messiah, who was still sharpening his knives to fleece the poor, quickly grabbed a bunch of dishes from the menu and handed the list to Song Lingge with a grin, "Sister Song, this time we're going to have to really fleece the captain, so don't be shy!"

Lu Zhao silently opened his mobile payment app, glanced at the balance, and felt a pang of heartache.

Fine, fine, she'll just eat at the Bureau of Spirits' cafeteria for the rest of the month!

"That's all. We'll order more if it's not enough." After Xia Zhifei finished ordering the last batch, she looked at Lu Zhao with a smile. "Zhao, this time we'll order a half-and-half hot pot, and the spicy broth will be extra spicy!"

Eh?

She paused for a moment, and a memory flashed through her mind: the original owner of this body was sweating profusely and frantically drinking water while eating spicy food.

Oh wow, this body doesn't seem to be very good at eating spicy food.

Watching the waiter leave with the menu, Lu Zhao forced a smile, his eyelids twitching. "Miss, you're in charge today."

It's just spicy food. At worst, I'll have to go to the bathroom a couple more times tonight.

As soon as he finished speaking, the group burst into laughter, with Messiah laughing the loudest, his laughter even punctuating a goose-like honking.

Lu Zhao rolled his eyes at her: "Can't you smile a little nicer?"

"No way!" The grown-up child leaned against Xia Zhifei without any courtesy. "Sorry, Captain, Sister Xiaofei is the boss today!"

“That’s true.” Song Lingge, standing to the side, covered her mouth, smiling modestly, her eyes crinkling in agreement.

All right, as long as you are happy.

She leaned back helplessly. Because she was sitting near the door, she could easily see the large floor-to-ceiling window behind the three people.

There wasn't much to see, though; the windows of the first-floor private rooms only offered a glimpse of the rather unattractive alleyway outside.

The hot pot broth was served quickly. Lu Zhao glanced at the hot pot soup with red chili oil floating on top, then looked at the small circle of clear broth in the middle, and immediately felt utterly hopeless.

"Ah Zhao, the clear soup is for me, you're not allowed to touch it." Xia Zhifei was still frantically talking on the side, and then poured most of the ingredients into the pot.

Lu Zhao sat there silently for a while, then suddenly got up, opened the door, and said to the waiter, "Two more bottles of Coke! The large ones!"

Laughter erupted again from the private room behind her. She couldn't help but rub her forehead. She didn't know why, but despite the frustrating scene, she felt an overwhelming sense of joy that told her she was very happy.

I'd be even happier if I didn't eat such spicy food!

The waiter brought over two bottles of iced cola, and Lu Zhao couldn't wait to pour a glass for everyone. He stood up, coughed lightly, and said, "I won't waste any more time on small talk. First, we're celebrating Xiao Fei's discharge from the hospital. Second, there's finally good progress on Xiao Yue's matter. Third, our mission completion rate has finally reached the excellent level. Let's use beverages instead of alcohol and drink this!"

"Okay!" Messiah responded the loudest and gulped down the cola in one go.

Phew, iced cola, forever the best!

She finished her glass quickly, exhaled a satisfied breath of carbon dioxide, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face. "Alright! Let's eat!"

The bubbling hot pot, with its fiery red aroma of butter, filled the entire private room, along with the sounds of talking and laughter.

"Phew! It's spicy!" Lu Zhao, unaware of how many cups of cola he had drunk, stuck out his tongue, steaming profusely, his forehead covered in sweat.

Goodness, she didn't feel hot sitting on the crater, but after eating hot pot, she felt like she was about to die.

"Captain, don't just eat! Let's take a selfie!"

"Sister Song, ignore these two people, let's just have some clear soup."

"Hmm... this restaurant's food is indeed quite spicy."

The room was filled with laughter and joy, making Lu Zhao feel a little dazed. When she saw the picture Messiah quickly posted to her WeChat Moments with the caption "A long-awaited hot pot gathering," she couldn't help but reach out and touch the selfie of the four of them.

Well, anyway... it was quite heartwarming.

She couldn't help but smile, clicked to save the picture, and when she looked up again, she saw that her bowl was piled high with food once more.

"Captain, eat quickly!"

She quickly raised her hands in surrender, bent down again, and continued to struggle with this pile of food that she both loved and hated.