Chapter 94: Without Comparison, There Is No Hurt

After finishing their meal and paying the bill, Bai Renzong and Han Jiayi went outside for a stroll to help digest, planning to head to the cinema a little later.

Truth be told, Han Jiayi was really beautiful today, even though she was dressed very plainly. Feeling the envious glances cast their way, Bai Renzong could not help wondering: why had no one recognized them? Seems the buzz still was not strong enough...

"I actually know a pretty good place for boiled fish. I can take you there next time," Han Jiayi said softly.

"Oh? Sure." Bai Renzong nodded. Before they realized it, they had already reached the cinema.

"Want some popcorn?" Bai Renzong turned to ask her.

Han Jiayi nodded with a bright smile. "Salted."

After buying their tickets and popcorn, the two of them quickly queued up to enter. Since it had already been a week and a half since the premiere, and it was a weekday afternoon, there were only six or seven people in the theater.

Once the movie began, the room soon fell quiet.

"Wanna eat?" Han Jiayi held out the popcorn to Bai Renzong, her lovely eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Bai Renzong absentmindedly took a little and ate it, while sizing her up from the corner of his eye.

The way this girl ate popcorn made her look like a little squirrel, chewing rapidly with crisp little bites, just as she did when eating potato chips. It was adorable.

"The bald guys in this series are all so handsome," Han Jiayi said with a grin. Maybe the popcorn had made her thirsty, because she grabbed her drink and took a big gulp.

But once you eat popcorn, you get thirsty, and once you drink, then...

"What are you doing?" Bai Renzong looked at her fidgeting beside him and frowned. "Need to use the restroom?"

Han Jiayi pressed her lips together and nodded awkwardly. "Mm..."

"Then go."

"But if I go, I'll miss the best part..." she said, unwilling to give in.

"Then go later. The part you miss will be even better," Bai Renzong said with a roll of his eyes.

Han Jiayi bit her lip. After a moment's hesitation, she finally made up her mind, rose to her feet, and walked out of the auditorium with elegant haste.

Watching her anxious yet still graceful figure, Bai Renzong did not know whether to laugh or be exasperated.

A while later, when Han Jiayi returned, she hurriedly asked, "What did I miss?"

"Those two fought the villain, but they lost," Bai Renzong replied lightly.

"Hmph!" Han Jiayi angrily shoved the popcorn into Bai Renzong's hands, as if her mid-movie trip to the bathroom was all the popcorn's fault. "Here! You eat it!"

"Popcorn: what did I do wrong?" Bai Renzong thought to himself as he set the popcorn on the armrest.

By the end of the movie, the popcorn had been the one left neglected.

Bai Renzong and Han Jiayi then walked out of the auditorium.

"That was so good!" Han Jiayi said cheerfully.

"..." Bai Renzong looked as if he had something to say but did not quite know how to say it. Han Jiayi lowered her lashes beside him. "If you have something to say, just say it."

"I want to say this series has been going downhill for a long time," Bai Renzong said with a sigh, shaking his head. "They've already started throwing logic out the window just to make the audience feel thrilled... Come on, at the end that guy was wearing full mechanized armor, and punches actually worked better than bullets? They really are going to milk this IP until it's dry and there's nothing left to squeeze out of it."

"I don't think it was that bad..." Han Jiayi muttered softly.

"True enough. It's not the best, but not the worst either. It's just that if this goes on, they'll ruin the brand sooner or later." Bai Renzong gave a wry smile, then checked the time. "So, where to next? Want to wander around a bit more, or head home?"

Han Jiayi glanced at the time. It was five minutes past four in the afternoon.

"It's too early to go back now... Since we're already out shopping today, let's eat dinner before we head home?"

"Sure. Where do you want to eat?" Bai Renzong asked curiously.

Han Jiayi blinked at him and said with a mischievous smile, "Follow me, and I'll take you to some really good boiled fish."

Then Han Jiayi led him to the front of a shop called Evening Rice.

"It's a weekday, and business is still this good..." Bai Renzong murmured as he looked around. "No wonder it's such a famous local old establishment."

Although Evening Rice only had one Michelin star, Michelin was for foreigners.

As a Chinese restaurant, Evening Rice was extremely popular in the country, especially locally. It was a decades-old establishment, and its two signature dishes were boiled fish and chopped-chili fish head. It was even specially marked in local travel guides as a must-visit restaurant for anyone touring North Chang City.

The reason Bai Renzong had never come here to review it was simply that it was already far too famous; there was no need for a review.

"It's here! Smells amazing..." Han Jiayi said joyfully, clapping her hands as the boiled fish was served.

"Here." Bai Renzong handed her the chopsticks, and the two of them tasted it together.

Bai Renzong let out a quiet sigh: without comparison, there is no harm. Compared like this, the boiled fish at Imperial Banquet Hall... what even was that?

"So delicious!" Han Jiayi said happily, then looked at Bai Renzong with a teasing smile. "Give it a review, Old Bai?"

Bai Renzong answered at once. "The fish is very fresh. It's a little spicy, but the numbing sensation is dominant, and they use the gentler aroma of green Sichuan pepper rather than ordinary Sichuan peppercorns, so even someone like me, who can't handle spicy food very well, can take it. As for the other seasonings, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, cooking wine... all of those are pretty standard. As for what makes it special..."

He raised an eyebrow. "They added a little lemon juice to lend a touch of sourness, which also helps make the fish firmer, and they tossed in a few mint leaves for fragrance. But..."

Bai Renzong shook his head. "That aroma... I can't quite describe it. It comes from the oil they use. I feel like I've tasted this oil somewhere before. It wasn't peanut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or lard..."

"Could it be olive oil? That kind of distinctive aroma?" Han Jiayi asked curiously.

Bai Renzong still shook his head. "No. I've tasted olive oil before. It doesn't smell like that."

"It's tea seed oil," said a man in his fifties beside them with a smile.

"Ah!" Bai Renzong suddenly understood. "So it was tea seed oil... No wonder the fragrance of this oil is so distinctive, blending perfectly with the aroma of the lemon juice and mint. One bite, and that strange fragrance lingers in the mouth together with the scent of green Sichuan pepper, like music echoing in a hall, lingering long after the sound fades. Truly... unforgettable. As expected of a decades-old establishment."

"No, this recipe was actually my son-in-law's newer version of boiled fish that he researched himself," the man said with a wry smile. "The old recipe... well, you could say it has been replaced. Sometimes you do have to keep up with the times."

It was clearly an old shop with an old recipe, yet it had boldly sought innovation? Bai Renzong thought, slightly surprised. Then a flash of inspiration struck him, and he finally remembered where he had tasted that oil before.

"Um..." Bai Renzong gave an awkward laugh. "Your son-in-law... does he have anything to do with Willow Studio?"

The man also looked surprised. "The owner of Willow Studio is my son-in-law! You know him?"

No wonder Willow Studio closed by three or four every day... Bai Renzong thought to himself.

"You're Brother Xing's father-in-law?!" Han Jiayi looked at the man in astonishment.

"That's right. My name is Yang Chengzhi, and I'm the manager of this restaurant." The man smiled kindly. "What a rare coincidence. Let me treat you to this meal."

"No, no, no!" Bai Renzong hurriedly replied. "How could we possibly let you do that?"

"Don't mind it. Think of it as a reward for recognizing good food," Yang Chengzhi said, raising a hand to stop him. "You're the first person who could tell at the first bite that the secret lies in the oil."

Thanks to Moonlit Milking Spirit, Moonlit Remains, Ripples Appearing, and Flying Fire Sword for the monthly tickets, and thanks to Happy Space One for the two monthly tickets.