Yan Huo was pretty much on the mark, though he didn't know this sort of lapse had happened before. He saw Xin Huohuo's red and swollen eyes and assumed it was the result of her putting on a show—the classic crying and screaming routine—and that the Master had finally caved.
He scooped some rice drenched in gravy into his mouth. As he ate, he thought, 'The number one rule in the Yan Family's book of wooing women: it doesn't matter how tough a guy is. In front of the woman he likes, he's useless and can't last three rounds.'
"Aren't you eating?" Yan Huo asked Xin Huohuo, his conscience finally kicking in as he went to refill his bowl.
Xin Huohuo sat to one side, flipping through the book of the Xiang Family's secret recipes that Xiang Xiaoxue had given her. Without looking up, she shook her head. "My mouth still hurts. I'll just make some plain congee later. All this meaty, greasy, heavy-sauced food will just make it more inflamed, and the wound won't heal as easily."
