Ava Sterling’s bowl of noodles was entirely different from his. Ava’s noodles were covered with a layer of chili oil, bright red, even the green leafy vegetables were stained with red oil, but that wasn’t all. In the middle of her noodles was a large chunk of fermented soybean chili, along with plenty of scallions and cilantro, as if she couldn’t resist mixing these seasonings in equal proportion with the noodles. Sitting across from her, Poe Vaughn could clearly smell the strong aroma of chili emanating from her bowl, along with the scent of scallion, cilantro, and... vinegar. Ava didn’t pay attention to Poe. She hadn’t eaten the noodles she cooked herself in a long time. She picked up her chopsticks, mixed the noodles with the seasonings, and happily started eating, enjoying it as if it were a delicacy. Poe sat there, watching as her lips turned rosy from eating the spicy noodles, gradually becoming a strikingly bright red. He glanced at his own bowl of clear chicken noodle soup, with its fresh green vegetables, parted his lips: "Let me have a taste." Ava nodded while eating upon hearing his words: "Go ahead, try it. You’ve never tasted my noodles before, but I’m telling you upfront, it’s definitely not as good as what Mrs. Wei makes, but my culinary skills are limited, so this is the best I can do, bear with it." Ava said, chewing and swallowing the noodles, then took a napkin to wipe the chili oil from her lips, looking at Poe with genuine sincerity in her eyes. She was speaking the truth, not being modest. Mrs. Wei’s cooking was indeed excellent, better than hers. Yet, after having the best for so long, she yearned to occasionally eat her own cooking. A considerable amount of noodles soon disappeared from Ava’s bowl, and Poe spoke: "Yours." Ava was puzzled by Poe’s meaning, but seeing him looking intently at her bowl, those deep dark eyes, an almost unbelievable thought crossed Ava’s mind as she exclaimed: "You wouldn’t be thinking of trying my noodles, would you?" Before she could finish speaking, Ava was interrupted. Instantly, her lips parted, her eyes widened, and she looked at Poe in surprise. Trying her noodles, was he insane? Her noodles were very spicy and sour, especially since they contained scallions and cilantro he didn’t eat, and garlic was mixed in the chili oil. Garlic was something he didn’t eat either. If he wanted to try them now, wasn’t he crazy? Ava was too shocked to react, but Poe’s gaze was fixed on her, his deep eyes clearly indicating his answer. He wanted to try her noodles. Ava’s heartbeat was unsteady; what was wrong with this person today, blurting out such an unimaginable request? She couldn’t understand, but she could be sure that, at this moment, he genuinely wanted to try her noodles. Her spicy and sour noodles. Ava’s lips moved, and she said softly: "Poe Vaughn, my noodles are really spicy, you usually can’t handle something so spicy, seriously." "Yeah, let me try them." Ava thought, if someone wants to enter Hell, you can’t stop them, so let it be, don’t try to stop them. However: "How about I go and get a glass of water, rinse the noodles a bit, and then you can eat them?" At least this way, they won’t be as spicy, and since she had already eaten, he wouldn’t mind, right? Poe gazed at her, facing her still uncertain eyes, his lips parted slightly: "No need." Since he insisted on entering Hell, she wouldn’t hold him back. Ava went and got a small bowl, picked some noodles into it, and placed it in front of him: "Here you go, try it." Saying this, she remembered something and went to pour Poe a glass of water, saying: "Drink water if you find it too spicy." Poe didn’t say anything, looked at the noodles in the bowl, a mere handful, a few strands at most, upon closer inspection. For more chapters visit novel⟡fire.net He wasn’t offended by the small amount, picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. Ava was immensely curious about Poe’s reaction after eating something so spicy, especially since it contained many ingredients he normally didn’t eat. She was exceptionally excited. Yes, she was excited, thrilled, so she sat there, holding her chopsticks, watching Poe as he delivered the noodles into his mouth and chewed slowly. She didn’t blink her eyes. She was just too curious, too curious! Poe picked up the noodles and delivered them into his mouth, immediately, an intense spicy flavor filled his mouth, spread to his taste buds, and his brow furrowed slightly. But he didn’t spit out the noodles, continuing to chew, savoring the flavors within them. No rich broth, no extraordinary ingredients, just a mix of ordinary seasonings, especially the vinegar taste—strongly sour, paired with fiery spiciness, a taste he had never experienced before. Ava noticed Poe’s furrowed brow, her heart clenched, was he getting too spicy? She instinctively thought Poe would spit out the noodles, but he didn’t, continued moving his lips, and gradually swallowed. Ava watched his throat move up and down, lips no longer moving, eyes widened. Doesn’t he find it spicy? Ava looked at Poe’s expression, and she got her answer. Poe’s face was flushed, even his ears turned red, not from embarrassment, but because of the spice. Ava couldn’t help but chuckle aloud. Poe was reaching for the glass to drink water when he heard her laughing heartily and looked up at her. Ava laughed at him and even pointed at him, filled with joy: "Got too spicy, huh? I told you it was really spicy, but you didn’t believe me, hahahaha... Your face is all red from the spice!" Poe’s fair skin turned red almost instantly from the spicy peppers, making it hard not to notice. If it were anyone else being mocked by Ava, they’d surely be embarrassed, but Poe was no ordinary person. Facing Ava’s laughter, like a bright little flower, he calmly picked up the glass and drank water. Ava watched the water in Poe’s glass quickly diminish, laughing even more heartily. This person was too funny! Poe nearly finished drinking the entire glass of water before setting the glass down, then looked at Ava’s bowl of noodles, and spoke: "Next time, don’t make it so spicy." Ava paused, then stopped laughing: "Poe Vaughn, I’m cooking for myself, not you, why shouldn’t I make it so spicy?" "Besides, I just love spicy food, the more spicy the better. You can’t tell me not to eat spicy just because you can’t handle it." "Poe Vaughn, this won’t work." Poe picked up the noodles from his bowl and spoke: "I mean, next time when you make noodles for me, don’t make them so spicy." After saying this, he picked up his own bowl and continued eating. She... she didn’t put any chili in his bowl, not even a bit. His noodles were completely clear chicken noodle soup, okay? Ava didn’t understand his meaning, looked at his bowl of noodles, then at her own bowl of noodles, and suddenly, she understood! He meant that next time, she could add some chili when cooking noodles for him, but not as much as she did. He couldn’t handle it. Could it be that he found the taste of noodles with chili interesting? Ava blinked her eyes, looking at Poe, who was eating his bowl of clear chicken noodle soup with an air of elegance and nobility. Ava said: "Poe Vaughn, do you think my noodles... turned out alright?" She looked at him, not blinking, eager to know the answer to this question. Poe replied, his deep voice spilling out from his throat, intermixed with a hint of unusual hoarseness, as he had just been spiced by the chili. Ava’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she said happily: "Then next time I’ll make you noodles with a little chili, similar to mine, but not as intensely flavored, how about that?" Ava’s brows and eyes curved instantly, smiling with extreme joy: "Alright then, since you’ve agreed, I’ll remember it." "Anyway, we’ll be staying here for a few days, so there will be a chance." After speaking, Ava happily ate her noodles, and the morning’s atmosphere passed in such mundane yet warm moments. Both were heading to the company, both going to work, and after finishing breakfast, Ava began tidying up to wash up when Poe spoke: "Mrs. Wei will come over." Upon hearing that Mrs. Wei would come over to tidy up, Ava immediately said: "Alright, then I won’t tidy up, let’s head to the company first." Originally, had he not called Mrs. Wei, she would have called the auntie to come over, since the mess at home last night, especially in the bedroom, needed someone to tidy up. She herself didn’t have the time, only the auntie did. And now she didn’t feel embarrassed anymore since, after all, they were adults, and she and Poe Vaughn were legally married, formal and legitimate, no need to feel shy. The two briefly tidied up before heading out of the apartment and into the car. Once in the car, Ava remembered something, and immediately said.