"The soup has arrived," their server announces. Another waiter wheels in a trolley and on it are two white ceramic pots, decorated with intricate paintings of tigers and dragons. Xiao Hui removes both lids with a flourish, and in that very moment, the subtle, delectable scent of steamed chicken soup wafts through the room.
The chef clearly put a lot of effort into the dish. If one looked carefully, one could see a huge chicken drumstick resting in the center of the clear soup. It looked tender and mouth-wateringly delicious, and it was accompanied by other delicacies. Each pot had a thick stalk of ginseng that most likely cost five years worth of pay for the average citizen, along with many varieties of mushrooms to add extra flavour to the soup.
There were even lotus roots, red dates and tofu. It promised to be a hearty meal, especially if someone was cold. The soup was piping hot, with actual steam being visible as it curled in the air.
Sadly for the chef, Xue Ning only spares the soup a cursory, approving glance, most of her attention still on the crab. Perhaps if nothing goes wrong tonight, she'll be able to get this soup for takeaway to enjoy for supper, or even for tomorrow's breakfast. She's sure it'll still taste nice, even reheated.
As Xue Ning contemplates on her next meal, Xiao Hui puts the plan into motion. She firstly gets the waiter to leave - there's no point having more witnesses to this incident. Then she serves Sun Jingwei first, because he's footing the bill.
"Thanks," Sun Jingwei says politely, putting down the crab meat to focus on his soup. He uses a ceramic spoon to take a sip, before wincing at how hot it was.
"Careful Xue Ning, this soup is hot," he says, carefully blowing on his spoon before taking a sip. Xue Ning gives a wordless hum of acknowledgement, too focused on digging the last vestiges of crab meat.
This was almost too easy, Xiao Hui thought to herself. This woman was so distracted by the crab it wouldn't be difficult to tip the entire bowl down on her when serving her.
"Here is yours," Xiao Hui says to Xue Ning, lifting her portion to set it on the table, only for her arms to 'accidentally' tremble and for the pot to accidentally slip out of her shaking hands.
"Xue Ning, look out!" Sun Jingwei screams frantically, his hands outstretched but it's too little, too late.
The ceramic pot tilts over and falls, and piping hot soup dances a graceful arc in the air before landing on Xue Ning, splashing her with broth and bits of chicken meat. Mushrooms and red dates fall to the floor, rolling idly around her feet. The one lone stalk of ginseng ends up wedged between Xue Ning's breasts. Rivulets of soup that weren't immediately absorbed by her clothes dripped on the floor, making soft pitter patter sounds, an accompaniment to the horrified silence in the room.
For a finale, the pot bounces off the edge of the table and slams unceremoniously on the floor with a loud crack, before shattering into two.
Xue Ning, thoroughly unprepared for the unexpected hot soup shower, let out a pained scream, flinging herself away from the table.
The skin on her arms was already turning red, and she had no doubt she was going to develop burns after this dinner. After the initial pain of having hot liquid splashed on her, her skin continued to hurt. It felt like her skin was rubbed raw with sandpaper, doused with lemon juice on an open wound and then set on fire.
'I'm sorry! I'll get a towel!" The server screams and all but flees the room. If Xue Ning was in less pain, she would have glared at her and demanded an explanation, but all she can think about is getting out of those clothes ASAP.
"I'm going to the toilet," she chokes out, and she's running to the restroom before Jingwei has the time to reply.
As she runs, she hears footsteps behind her and hurriedly turns around, only to find Jingwei following her. She ducks into the Ladies, expecting him to wait outside like a normal person, but he immediately follows her inside.
Thankfully, the restroom was empty.
"Xue Ning, are you alright?" Jingwei asks, panicking, his hands fluttering all over her, but never actually touching her. "Did you get burnt? We should go to the hospital now. I'll call an ambulance."
"I don't know," she says. She was going to take off her shirt to check, but then Jingwei was here. They weren't that familiar for her to be stripping for him so easily.
"Do you mind going outside? I want to check!" Xue Ning says.
"It's fine, it's not as though I've never seen a woman's body." Jingwei protests, looking at her with worry and mild exasperation. "You'll need help to clean yourself up."
"...Fine, but if you do anything weird, I'm stuffing your head down the toilet bowl." Xue Ning concedes. It's true that Sun Jingwei had his fair share of women before he even met her, and it wasn't as though her body would drive him into a frenzy of untamed lust.
If he tried anything, she could just break his fingers, bodyguard or not.
"Of course," Jingwei agrees easily enough, so Xue Ning whips off her shirt, throwing it into the sink.
Sun Jingwei sucks in a breath.
"Hey? Does it look that bad?" She asks, taking a look at herself in the mirror.
"We should go to the hospital," Jingwei says shakily. His eyes rove over the curves of her breasts, still encased in a bra that was soaked in soup. Normally, seeing the woman he likes in her wet underwear would have been a dream come true. But in these circumstances, Jingwei couldn't muster up anything other than worry and dismay. The skin on her chest and stomach was red, and Jingwei had a feeling it would start peeling soon.
He hurriedly wet some paper towels and gingerly pressed them onto her bare skin. Xue Ning jolted in surprise - less so from the sensation of cold water on her heated skin, and more from him touching her bare skin.
"Sorry! Does it hurt?" He asks anxiously, peering into her eyes. "Oh wait, that's a stupid question. Of course it does." He scolded himself.
"Nevermind - you should take off your clothes first. You can't have them sticking on your skin." He continues. Before Xue Ning could retort if he was expecting her to walk around naked, he had slipped out of his suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
"Wear this first."
"...Thanks," she says quietly.
"It's no trouble," Jingwei replies, taking a closer look. Thankfully, their size difference meant that his jacket was long enough to reach her mid-thigh, making it a suitable replacement for her lost outfit if she decided to remove her pants.
"If it's any consolation, you look nice in my jacket." Jingwei says sincerely, shooting her an affectionate smile. Xue Ning has to will herself to stop blushing like a schoolgirl - she was drenched in hot soup, half naked in front of him. This was the worst time to find herself attracted to him!
"You must be joking, but thanks anyway," she says, turning around to face the sink, splashing her face with cold water. Focus, Xue Ning, she told herself. Your body is in pain!
"I would never joke about that," he replies, shaking his head. She can see the look on his face from the mirror, but she doesn't recognize it.
"More importantly, do you need my help to take off your pants?"
She chokes.
"Hell no you pervert!" She denies vehemently, face blushing for real, but whether it's out of embarrassment or anger, no one can tell.
"Just asking! They look really tight." Jingwei holds up his hands to protest his innocence. "Taking them off yourself will hurt, and you'll still need to run your legs under cold water."
"And how do you know all this?" Xue Ning asks, curious.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out," Jingwei replies primly before deftly changing the focus. "So if you don't want me to look, I can just wait in the toilet cubicle and call an ambulance."
Xue Ning blinks, surprised at his easy acceptance and thoughtfulness. He didn't wait for her reply, merely taking his phone from his pocket and locking himself into one of the cubicles.
"Hello, yes - I would like an ambulance sent to Crystal Palace Gardens. My friend is suffering from severe burns. Is there anything that can help?"
As Jingwei continues to converse with the call operator, Xue Ning learns that Jingwei had the right idea, she should be running the wounded area with cold water.
But while it would still be possible for her to balance her legs to get them under the running tap, there was no way her upper body could fit, because she was a relatively normal human being and not an olympic gymnast.
Her brain helpfully chimed out a suggestion. How about letting Sun Jingwei drip cold water all over her upper body instead?