Ugh... This might actually kill me! Tears flowed from the corners of Shirosaki Hana's eyes as she tightly grabbed Uchiha Ryo, who was eating regular ramen beside her.
"Please, Ryo-oniichan..."
Uchiha Ryo stopped his chopsticks. "You want me to finish it for you, right? I told you earlier to order something else. This level of spiciness is not something a child can handle."
Shirosaki Hana's eyes became resolute. "I'm not asking Onii-chan to eat it! My obsession with food is very deep!"
Spiciness... a very wonderful taste sensation, and also one of the only two addictive taste sensations, the other being sweetness.
Regarding this statement, Uchiha Ryo expressed that sweetness being addictive is acceptable, but why would anyone be addicted to spiciness?
In the last century, specifically the mid-1980s, with the popularization of Mexican explosive spicy cuisine, the first wave of extreme spiciness craze was set off in the Cherry Blossom Country. That was also the period when the internet buzzword "Gekikara" (extreme spiciness) exploded.
And the second wave of spicy craze in the Cherry Blossom Country was when various ethnic cuisines from Southeast Asia appeared in the streets and alleys in the 90s and 00s, each leading the way.
Suddenly, spiciness seemed to have entered every household. But at this moment, the appearance of the Hawk's Claw Chili (Takanotsume) suddenly became the challenge target for all spicy lovers.
But humans, as a species, are an unsatisfiable species. The 50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) of the Hawk's Claw Chili was far from the limit of human desire for spiciness.
Thus, in recent years, the Ghost Pepper with one million SHU, and the legendary Dragon's Breath Chili with 2.48 million SHU appeared before people's eyes!
In modern times! The Carolina Reaper with 3 million SHU is sixty times spicier than the Hawk's Claw Chili, the leader of the previous generation's spicy craze!
However, it is a pity that this small ramen shop did not use the Reaper Pepper or Dragon's Breath Chili, which are enough to become biological weapons. But this ramen did contain a small amount of Ghost Pepper powder!
"Yo, isn't this Uchiha, and Hana is here too... Boss! One Limited Extra Spicy Ramen!"
The woman who loves ramen the most, Hiratsuka Shizuka, will inevitably not let go of any ramen shop nearby! And today, her goal is to challenge the limit of this ramen shop!
"Hiratsuka-sensei, you really love eating ramen." Uchiha Ryo was not surprised to see Hiratsuka Shizuka here at all. He even suspected whether this teacher ate ramen for all three meals a day.
"Hmph hmph, ramen is an indispensable part of my life. By the way, Boss, has anyone successfully challenged it recently?"
The shopkeeper raised his head to look at the visitor. "It's Hiratsuka. People order it every day recently, but few finish it properly. Isn't there one challenging it over there?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her eyebrows. "Uchiha? Didn't expect you to like spicy food too. How about it! Want to compete!"
Uchiha Ryo waved his hand, then turned sideways to reveal Shirosaki Hana who had already been cried by the spiciness. "It's not me challenging, it's Hana."
"What? How are you acting as a temporary guardian! Actually agreeing to let a child eat such spicy food!"
"What can I do, she wanted to eat it herself."
Uchiha Ryo turned his head to look at Shirosaki Hana who was still persisting, and couldn't help sighing.
Don't blame Onii-chan. Hana's character of regarding food as heaven will suffer sooner or later. Rather than letting her eat those inexplicable things in the future, it's better to let Hana learn a lesson in advance.
Liking to eat is not a bad thing, but eating everything is not good. And just as Yukinoshita said, spoiling children too much on diet is very bad. Probably after eating this Ghost Pepper noodles once, Hana won't eat too much for a week.
On the other side, Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the ramen served in front of her and couldn't help swallowing her saliva.
"This smell is really impactful!"
Five minutes into the meal, Hiratsuka Shizuka's facial features began to distort, and her right hand holding the chopsticks was also trembling slightly.
Sure enough... challenge failed? It seems I'm still far off.
How about Uchiha's side... What!!! Hana, Hana is actually still eating! Isn't this child afraid of spiciness!
Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes widened, and then she only felt a sense of powerless frustration! Having eaten ramen for half her life, I actually lost to a child who is only in her early teens.
Why is this so? Could it be that Hana's appetite for ramen is even stronger than mine, Hiratsuka Shizuka!
Sure enough, times have changed... As a remnant of the old era, there is no ramen bowl in the new era that can carry me. Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to put down her chopsticks and end the battle, but the last trace of unwillingness forced Hiratsuka Shizuka to look at Hana.
"So spicy, why is Hana still eating..."
Shirosaki Hana wiped the soup from the corner of her mouth, and wiped away the flowing tears.
"Because eating spicy + eating ramen equals zero calories! And the spicier it is, the more weight loss! As long as I prove I'm lighter than Rumi, I can continue to eat delicious food!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka's pupils trembled violently!
Eating spicy plus eating ramen equals zero calories? What theory is this! No... thinking carefully, I obviously eat high-calorie ramen often, why can my figure remain stable until now.
Could it be, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly believed in Shirosaki Hana's theory!
Uchiha Ryo remained silent. He really wanted to tell Shirosaki Hana that your theory is completely... But if he said it, he estimated the child would give up eating noodles immediately.
Looking at Shirosaki Hana's hard-working look, really didn't want to interrupt her!
I acknowledge you for such a vigorous appetite! Among the foodies I know, no one is more excellent than you, Hana. I, Uchiha Ryo, am willing to call you the strongest!
"Hiss ha... Ryo-oniichan, do me a favor..."
On the other side! The chopsticks that were about to be put down were actually raised again!
Screw the old era. Not exercising for a holiday caused me to gain some weight. Didn't expect eating ramen could also lose weight! Then I won't care about anything!
Hiratsuka Shizuka felt the pores all over her body mobilizing to sweat. Today, even if risking her life, she must conquer this bowl of ramen!
....
"Challenge successful! Congratulations to Miss Hiratsuka for being the first conqueror of Ghost Ramen in our shop!"
Finally... Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her head to look at the ceiling, her lips were so spicy that she couldn't speak.
A long time later, until Uchiha Ryo left with Shirosaki Hana, Hiratsuka Shizuka reacted. "Wait! Why only congratulate me, Hana finished it too, right?"
The shopkeeper smiled at Hiratsuka Shizuka. "That little friend only challenged half. Halfway through, she swapped the noodle soup with the big Onii-chan beside her. So the only one who succeeded in the challenge is you."
"Eh!!!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka clutched her burning abdomen. If not for Shirosaki Hana's persistence, she would have given up long ago! Result told her Hana gave up even earlier than her!
Shirosaki Hana: (In order not to waste, Ryo-oniichan and I swapped the noodle soup. Although the noodles were still very spicy, it was much better after being neutralized by the clear soup.)