Chapter 23

The next morning, Claire came over to visit, accompanied by Annie and Thomas. Zhen Fan let them in and made a cup of tea for each of them.

"Chinese tea? It's pretty good!" Thomas praised. "Do you know we have new neighbors? I found out yesterday. The house to your left, where the poor woman was killed, has been sold by the real estate company. The new owners are the Turner family, with two daughters."

"Can that house be sold?" Zhen Fan asked in surprise, but then he understood. Whether in China or the United States, real estate agents always speak highly of the houses they are selling.

"If you buy it, you'll have to do a lot of renovation. To be honest, it takes courage to live in such a house!" Thomas shrugged.

"Do you want to warn them?" Annie said kindly.

"Don't be silly, you'll just be causing trouble for yourself. Don't say anything! Listen to me, it's for the best!" Thomas gave Annie a dissatisfied look, indicating his opposition.

Zhen Fan remained silent. This was a tricky situation. If he said something, they might not believe him. He nodded in agreement with Thomas. Seeing that the two men had spoken, Annie didn't say anything more and changed the topic to cooking, which was something she and Zhen Fan could talk about.

To show his hospitality and gratitude to Annie's family, Zhen Fan decided to invite Thomas's family to stay for lunch. He had plenty of ingredients from his last big shopping trip. This time, Zhen Fan decided to make a hot pot, which is more Chinese in style.

Thomas and Claire sat on the sofa watching TV, while Annie went to the kitchen to help Zhen Fan, also wanting to learn how to make Chinese dishes. This was a skill that could impress other housewives at gatherings, making her stand out.

The vegetables were washed, and Zhen Fan prepared lamb slices, thin beef slices, mackerel slices, oysters, squid slices, fish balls, and fresh shrimp, as well as some small crabs. For the vegetarian options, he prepared bean curd sheets, sweet potato noodles, spinach, cabbage, green vegetables, kelp, and mushrooms.

Zhen Fan used fresh chicken to make the hot pot broth, and the spicy side was seasoned with his own blend of Sichuan pepper and chili. When the pot was opened, the aroma filled the air, making Annie constantly sniff the air.

Throughout the process, Annie could only pass tools, as Zhen Fan's knife skills and cooking techniques were so fluid and skilled, it was a pleasure to watch. This made Annie almost envious, as women naturally admire good cooking skills.

"Alright, our lunch is ready!" Zhen Fan called out from the dining room. Actually, there was no need to call, as Thomas and Claire were already drawn by the aroma. The red and white broths, each on one side, emitted a mouth-watering aroma, and Claire eagerly climbed onto her chair.

Zhen Fan took a pack of frozen beer from the fridge, along with a few bottles of drinks for Claire, as eating hot pot without these would not be as enjoyable.

"If you haven't tried a hot pot, you haven't truly experienced Chinese cuisine," Zhen Fan said, inviting Annie and Thomas to sit down. He opened three cans of beer, giving one to Annie and Thomas, and keeping one for himself.

"Do we use chopsticks?"

Claire was a bit uncomfortable but still picked them up, mimicking Zhen Fan. Annie and Thomas had eaten Chinese food a few times and were not too unfamiliar with using chopsticks.

"Yes, this time we use chopsticks!"

Zhen Fan explained the hot pot eating method to the three of them. He first picked up a piece of beef and swirled it in the spicy broth. When he took it out, the beef was cooked, covered in hot red oil. He quickly put it in his mouth.

"Ah—"

Zhen Fan let out a sigh of satisfaction and took a sip of beer.

"Great, I haven't tasted this in a long time!"

Thomas was eager to try, and Annie had already followed Zhen Fan's example, picking up a piece of lamb, swirled it, and put it in her mouth. The spicy flavor immediately spread across her taste buds, making her tongue feel like it was on fire. As the tender lamb circled in her mouth, the spiciness turned into a rich and smooth texture, slightly reducing the heat.

"Beer!"

Zhen Fan called out.

Annie immediately took a sip of beer, and the cold liquid instantly suppressed the spiciness, refreshing her tongue. The refreshing feeling after the intense spiciness was invigorating, but after the coldness subsided, the spiciness slowly returned and gradually diminished.

"Great! This feeling is really..."

Annie exclaimed excitedly. Americans enjoy spicy food, often in the form of chili sauce, but the spiciness of the hot pot was incomparable, especially with the cold beer to balance it.

"Wow—"

Thomas exclaimed. While Annie was swirled the lamb, he couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish and swirled it, then let out a loud exclamation after Annie.

"Wow—"

Suddenly, a loud cry was heard. It turned out that Claire had tried a piece of lamb, but couldn't handle the spiciness. Tears and snot streamed down her face, and she forgot to drink the cold drink to suppress it.

Her face was red, and she was sniffing continuously, with tears on her cheeks.

"Quick, take a sip!" Zhen Fan put the drink to Claire's mouth, and she eagerly took a sip. The cold liquid immediately suppressed the spiciness, and she stopped crying, though she was still breathing heavily, feeling much better.

"Sweetheart, it looks like you don't have the stomach for it!" Annie, both amused and concerned, wiped Claire's face with a handkerchief and swirled a piece of cabbage in the white broth, placing it on Claire's plate.

This flavor was also good, and Claire could handle it.

This hot pot meal made Thomas and Annie sweat profusely, despite the air conditioning in the dining room. They kept drinking cold beer, but still had sweat on their heads and faces, wiping their faces with napkins. Even Claire couldn't resist occasionally swirled a piece of spicy meat, though she still had to breathe heavily to suppress the spiciness, but with the cold drinks, it wasn't as bad as at the beginning.

"Today was really enjoyable!"

Thomas put down his chopsticks, rubbed his belly, and sighed.

"I've eaten Chinese food before, but I've never experienced such a meal or such delicious food. It seems we've missed out on a lot."

"I need to learn more from you. You won't refuse to teach me, right?" Annie said with a smile.

"In that case, all the benefits will be mine!" Thomas laughed, looking very pleased.

"Me too!" Claire chimed in, warning the adults not to forget her. "I want to learn too!"

"Do you want to learn to cook Chinese food? You're too young!" Annie couldn't help but laugh, patting Claire's head.

Claire looked up with a serious face, glanced at Annie disdainfully, and then looked at Zhen Fan expectantly, "I'm a girl, and I'll be a mother one day. Why can't I learn to cook Chinese food?"

"Ha!" Zhen Fan couldn't help but laugh; the little girl was too cute!

"Of course you can, but cooking Chinese food requires strength. Claire is still too young and not strong enough. When you grow up, I'll teach you, okay?" Zhen Fan pinched her cheek.

"Okay!" Claire might have realized she wasn't tall enough or strong enough, so she temporarily gave up the idea. After Zhen Fan cleaned up, the four of them sat on the sofa.

Thomas's stomach was full, and he had to loosen his belt when he sat down.

"Claire's cousin will be coming over tomorrow. Her name is Lottie Haverne, a very pretty girl. She said she might bring a classmate, a good friend of hers. I think it will be nice to have one more person. I believe this trip will be very interesting."

Annie and Zhen Fan chatted about the upcoming camping and barbecue trip.

"More people are better. My time in the U.S. is short, and it's great to meet more friends."

Zhen Fan had no objections and told Annie about the things he had prepared. Annie nodded, pleased, "You've thought of everything, that's great. If we're camping, have you prepared your tent?"

Zhen Fan was taken aback and then laughed. He had only prepared the food and forgotten the tent. "This... I'll prepare it tomorrow. I forgot! Thanks for reminding me!"

After that, Thomas and Zhen Fan talked about fishing, a topic Zhen Fan was also interested in. However, Zhen Fan hadn't prepared a fishing rod, but Thomas promised to lend him one of his extra rods!

They chatted for a while, and Thomas drank two more cups of tea Zhen Fan had made. Feeling the food in his stomach had digested, he wasn't as bloated, he picked up Claire and went back with Annie.

"Goodbye, Uncle Zhen!" Claire jumped out of Thomas's arms, ran over to kiss Zhen Fan, and then held Annie's hand, satisfied.

"Goodbye, Claire, goodbye!" Zhen Fan waved to Thomas and Annie. Watching them leave, he went back inside, watched some TV, and then went to the study to go online. Logging into his QQ, he saw some flashing icons. One was from Li Xingguo, a friend he had played basketball with, another from An Jie, and a third from a stranger.

Zhen Fan had been abroad for almost a month and had not been in contact with anyone in China. This was the first time he had logged into his account. He opened Li Xingguo's message, which was full of greetings and asking when he would return to China to have a drink together.

He then opened An Jie's messages, which had two notes.

First note: "Fanfan, how are you adapting to life abroad? Don't forget about your sister!"

Second note: "Fanfan, no one is giving me a head massage, and I'm not used to it. It's all your fault. But I'm getting a promotion soon, and I might be sent to the U.S. headquarters for training. I know you're in Los Angeles, so I'll contact you when I get there. By the way, send me your U.S. phone number so I can reach you! Don't try to forget about your sister, or I'll come after you!"

The tone was a bit flirtatious. Zhen Fan thought of An Jie and smiled. She always made him feel warm, like family.

But is An Jie really coming to the U.S.? Zhen Fan was a bit excited.

He also opened the stranger's message. The person introduced himself as Wei Chao, someone he had played basketball with, who had recently been selected for the CBA Liaoning team and wanted to challenge Zhen Fan again.

It seemed this guy still wasn't convinced. Zhen Fan just smiled and ignored the challenge. He knew his number, probably from the friends he had played basketball with, but it didn't matter; they were just playing around.

The icons of the three people were all gray, and Zhen Fan hesitated about what to say in reply, so he gave up.

No matter what, he would meet up with these friends when he returned to China. He closed his QQ, looked out the window, and saw the night had fallen, with lights twinkling in the darkness...