Spicy Hot Pot

After walking out of the yak meat restaurant, Chen Yusheng pressed the back of her hand against her slightly flushed cheek. A hint of unfulfilled longing flickered in her cool, clear eyes as she murmured softly, "That plate of yak meat looked really red, but it wasn’t spicy at all—not even mildly so."

Su Bai watched her display this rare, adorable petulance and couldn’t help smiling as he gently tapped her delicate nose with his finger. "Alright, I know you’re craving something spicy. When we get to the campsite this afternoon, I’ll cook you an authentic spicy hotpot myself—plenty of it."

Chen Yusheng’s beautiful eyes lit up instantly. Her slender fingers instinctively gripped Su Bai’s arm, and her voice carried a hint of excitement. "Really? Did you bring the seasoning base?"

"Of course. The car fridge has everything. Come on, let’s head to the campsite." Su Bai took her hand and led her into the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

The car continued up the winding mountain road. About half an hour later, they arrived at a wide, open valley halfway up the mountain.

This was an officially designated campsite. The terrain was flat, surrounded by dense pine forests, with a clear stream murmuring past the site. At that moment, more than a dozen colorful tents were already pitched on the grass. Several outdoor enthusiasts were gathered around, organizing their gear, clearly preparing to head into the mountains early the next morning.

Su Bai parked the Mercedes-Benz GLE on the side near the stream, pushed open the door, and stepped out.

The mountain breeze carried the fresh scent of earth and pine needles. The temperature was noticeably a few degrees lower than at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Yusheng got out after him. Her long, shapely legs, wrapped in black stockings, stood out vividly against the green grass. She shrank her neck slightly, her clear eyes scanning the surroundings and casually zipped her windbreaker higher.

On the campsite nearby, several busy outdoor enthusiasts turned their heads to glance at them.

"Wow, are legs like that even real?"

"A luxury SUV for camping, with gear that looks brand new—another influencer here for a photo-op, right?"

"Tsk, these young people sure know how to enjoy themselves. Coming to camp dressed like that."

A few male hikers, boiling water with portable gas canisters, muttered softly among themselves. Their gazes held both admiration and a hint of disdain. In the eyes of these self-proclaimed "hardcore" outdoor enthusiasts, a pretty girl in stockings at a campsite was merely putting on a show.

Su Bai paid no attention to their stares. He walked to the trunk and started unloading the equipment.

"Sheng Sheng, pull out the folding chairs."

"Okay." Chen Yusheng responded obediently.

Su Bai hoisted a premium four-season tent—weighing at least twenty pounds—in one hand and an oversized cooler packed with ingredients in the other, striding effortlessly across the grass.

His smooth, muscular lines were faintly visible beneath his fitted windbreaker. The clean, efficient way he moved made a few nearby hikers—who were struggling to carry boxes—frown in disbelief.

"That guy’s strong. That cooler looks like it must be forty or fifty pounds. He’s just carrying it with one hand?"

"Hmph, strength doesn’t mean much. Outdoor skills come from experience, not grunt work," a middle-aged man in a worn-out hiking jacket said sourly.

Su Bai ignored the whispers and began setting up the tent with practiced ease.

He possessed a range of master-level skills. His hands moved quickly. Within ten minutes, a spacious and sturdy MSR four-season tent stood securely on the grass. Next, he laid out the sleeping pads, set up the camping table and double folding chairs.

Chen Yusheng sat on the chair, swinging her long legs in their black stockings. Her aloof face held a trace of laziness.

"Su Bai, the hotpot," she said, staring at him eagerly, her red lips slightly parted.

"What’s the rush? I’ll get to it," Su Bai said with a smile, pulling out the cherry-pink portable stove that Wan Xinyue had given him.

When that adorably pink stove—decorated with cartoon patterns—was placed on the picnic table, a few onlookers nearby couldn’t hide their smirks.

"A pink portable stove? Is she here for camping or playing house?"

"Young people today, bringing their girlish heart to the wilderness."

But Su Bai ignored their murmurs. He simply turned the gas valve and pressed the ignition switch.

“Click.”

With a crisp sound, a blue flame roared to life.

What amazed everyone, though, was that after flickering briefly in the air, the flame coalesced into a perfect, clear heart shape.

The blue, heart-shaped flame danced merrily in the mountain breeze, radiating warmth.

Chen Yusheng’s cool eyes widened. She leaned in, looking at the flame with delight. "A heart shape? How did you do that?"

"Xin Yue made a modification," Su Bai explained in a smile. "She heard we were coming, so she stayed up all night researching airflow patterns and modified the nozzle. She said it was a gift for us."

Chen Yusheng gazed at that flickering heart-shaped flame. A feeling of indescribable sweetness welled inside her, and a faint blush crept onto her cool cheeks. She mumbled softly, "That girl Xin Yue… she’s thoughtful after all…"

"Holy crap! A heart-shaped flame?"

"Seriously? Am I seeing things? Fire can burn into a heart shape now?"

"What kind of high-tech is this? Has portable stoves become this competitive these days?"

A few hikers who had been expecting to mock them were now dumbfounded, craning their necks to stare, disbelief written all over their faces.

Su Bai paid no attention to their shock. He took a delicate dual-compartment pot from the cooler and placed it on the stove.

Then he began pulling out the ingredients.

As each ingredient was neatly arranged on the picnic table, the nearby hikers—who had been nibbling on bread and self-heating meals—stared wide-eyed.

"Is that… M9+ Wagyu beef? Look at that marbling! Top quality, for sure."

"Holy cow, they have fresh tripe, aorta, and fresh shrimp paste? Does that cooler come with a refrigeration system?"

"That’s a car fridge with power! You think it’s your cheap Styrofoam box?"

"This hotpot must cost thousands. This isn’t camping—it’s a high-end restaurant moved up the mountain!"

Looking at the luxurious ingredients piled high on Su Bai’s table, then back at their own cold, compressed biscuits and instant noodles, the surrounding hikers found their food suddenly unappetizing. They swallowed hard.

Su Bai put the special spicy beef tallow hotpot base into the pot and added purified water.

Before long, as the temperature rose, the red oil began to boil. The rich, spicy aroma spread across the entire campsite.

That bold aroma of beef tallow, mingled with the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers, drifted through the breeze into every corner.

"Ah-choo!"

One nearby hiker, eating bread, sneezed from the sting of the aroma. Looking at Su Bai’s hotpot, tears—driven by longing—overflowed from his eyes, water streaming from the corners of his mouth.

"This smells incredible… Cooking spicy hotpot on a mountain. This is a crime against humanity."

“I can’t take it anymore, that fragrance is just drilling into my nose, my self-heating rice suddenly has no taste.”

“Does she need your money? Look at that gear and that sports car, they’re from a whole different world.”

Su Bai picked up a slice of wagyu beef as thin as a cicada’s wing with his chopsticks and swished it up and down in the bubbling red chili oil for a few seconds.

The originally pink beef immediately curled up, coated in glossy red tallow and fine fragments of Sichuan peppercorn.

“Come on, give it a try.” Su Bai placed the meat into Chen Yusheng’s bowl.

Chen Yusheng blew on it, then eagerly popped it into her mouth.

In an instant, the premium wagyu beef flavor and the bold, numbing spiciness exploded together in her mouth. The beef was tender and juicy, the tallow rich and aromatic, and the spiciness that shot straight to the top of her head made Chen Yusheng’s eyes light up instantly.

“Mmm!” She gasped for air while quickly swallowing the beef, a satisfied flush of red blooming across her cool, pretty face. “This is the flavor! Hot enough, addictive enough!”

“Slow down, there’s plenty more.” Smiling at her adorable look, with her lips all red and pouty from the spice, Su Bai picked up a piece of tripe for her.

Chen Yusheng ate with her cheeks flushed and a fine layer of beads of sweat on her forehead, but the chopsticks in her hand wouldn’t stop. Beneath the table, her long legs in black stockings swung gently, showing just how joyful she felt.

The two of them enjoyed their meal in the campsite, acting as if no one else was around. The rich aroma of hotpot and the warm, cozy atmosphere formed a sharp contrast with the bitter, struggling hikers around them.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the sky gradually darkened.

The temperature in the valley dropped sharply, and the wind began to get fierce, howling so hard it made the tents flap.

Just as Su Bai was about to clean up the dishes, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and saw it was an emergency alert from the local weather bureau.

“Urgent Notice: Due to a strong cold front moving south from the north, our area will experience a sudden, widespread snowfall from tonight through tomorrow, with blizzard conditions in some areas. Temperatures are expected to drop by more than ten degrees Celsius. Citizens and outdoor enthusiasts are advised to take precautions and avoid entering mountainous or dangerous areas...”

At the same time, the campsite management’s loudspeaker started broadcasting, repeating the weather forecast and advising hikers planning to enter the mountains tomorrow to stay safe.

Su Bai looked at the warning on his phone, his brow furrowing slightly.

He turned his head and glanced at the low, leaden gray clouds in the sky. The wind was indeed picking up, and the humidity in the air was rising sharply.

“Shengsheng, we’ll have to change our plans,” Su Bai said.

Chen Yusheng was wiping her mouth with a tissue and looked up at that. “What’s wrong?”

“The weather forecast says there’s going to be a sudden snowfall tonight, blizzard level, and the temperature will drop severely,” Su Bai said, pointing at the sky. “Heavy snow in the mountains makes it easy to get lost, and the roads will be icy, which is dangerous. I’ve decided we’ll wait in the campsite for a couple of days until the heavy snow passes before we go in.”

Even though he possessed a powerful physique and various master-level skills, he had always been a steady man. Bringing Chen Yusheng out was for relaxation and romance, not for taking unnecessary risks.

Chen Yusheng trusted Su Bai unconditionally; she obediently nodded. “Whatever you say. Anyway, we have hotpot, and we can play games in the tent. That sounds good.”

Just as they were discussing delaying their trip, the weather forecast had also stirred up a commotion at the nearby campsite.

Many hikers who had originally planned to set off into the mountains the next morning now looked hesitant and worried, huddling together to discuss.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go into the mountains tomorrow either? If it’s a blizzard, it would be a hassle to get trapped in there.”

“Yeah, safety first. Let’s ride this out in the campsite.”

Just then, a middle-aged man walked out of a high-end tent nearby.

He was wearing a slightly faded Arc’teryx jacket, his hiking boots were heavily worn, and he had a professional GPS device hanging from his neck. He also held a trekking pole, exuding an air of an “old-timer veteran.”

Hearing the discussions around him, a look of disdainful sneer appeared on his face, and he said loudly, “Snowfall? Are you scared off by a little snow? The outdoor enthusiasts nowadays really are getting worse with each generation.”

The surrounding hikers looked at him.

“Brother, this is a blizzard warning. The mountain paths will be slippery, and what if there’s an avalanche or hypothermia...” a young hiker said worriedly.

“An avalanche? At this altitude?” The middle-aged man scoffed, his tone full of superiority. “I’ve been hiking for over ten years. What kind of bad weather haven’t I seen? Back in the day on the plateau, I still camped out at minus twenty degrees. A little sudden snowfall like this is nothing.”

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the Mercedes-Benz GLE and top-tier camping gear Su Bai had, sneering acerbically, “Young people these days have been ruined by the comforts of city life. Driving luxury cars, using gear worth tens of thousands, and they cower as soon as they hear a little snow. What kind of outdoor activity is this? This is just playing house, isn’t it?”

He lifted his chin and pointed his trekking pole at the distant mountains, speaking with mock righteousness: “What’s the true meaning of outdoor sports? It’s to challenge limits! It’s to conquer nature! If a little snow can stop us, then what’s the point of going into the mountains? And if you wait for the snow to stop, the scenery will be just like everyone else’s. What’s so special about that? Going into the mountains during a snowfall—that’s the real scene, that’s the real challenge!”

His remarks earned him a round of cheers from a few fellow travelers nearby, who quickly chimed in.

“Exactly! With our professional gear, what’s there to fear from a little snow?”

“We’re going in tomorrow morning as planned. Let those Internet celebrity posers stay shivering in the campsite, haha!”

The middle-aged man laughed smugly, his face full of arrogance and indifference.

Su Bai listened to this grand, condescending speech, his face completely expressionless.

He turned his head and happened to see Chen Yusheng also looking at him.

Those cool eyes of Chen Yusheng were filled with speechlessness, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

The two of them locked eyes and silently agreed that this man had a death wish.