353: Laksa to be cut and eaten

Li Qinghe's learning ability was incredibly strong now; he mastered every move Shen Jiaxuan taught him instantly.

And after learning them, he applied them quite well.

Shen Jiaxuan watched, dumbfounded, as Li Qinghe transformed from a swimming novice who knew nothing into a swimming enthusiast with perfect breaststroke.

In fact, she couldn't even keep up with Li Qinghe's swimming speed anymore; with a powerful kick of his long legs, a wave of water spread out.

Li Qinghe's lung capacity was also incredibly strong; he could swim the entire lane in one breath.

Of course, he reined it in a bit, taking two breaths midway.

"Brother, your lung capacity is truly amazing; you'd definitely win a medal if you competed in the Olympics."

Overjoyed, Shen Jiaxuan pounced on Li Qinghe and clung to him after he swam back.

Li Qinghe braced himself against the pool wall with one hand and firmly embraced Shen Jiaxuan with the other.

As the soft, sweet mermaid entered his arms,

Li Qinghe's thoughts turned mischievous; he glanced around, saw no one was watching, and quickly kissed Shen Jiaxuan's face.

This kiss caused a sudden freeze.

Shen Jiaxuan's splashing feet abruptly stopped moving.

A blush spread from behind her ears, gradually coloring her entire upper body.

This was even faster than the blush she'd gotten at the cable car station.

Shen Jiaxuan suddenly felt all her strength drain away; she just hung limply on Li Qinghe, murmuring, "Brother, I don't want to swim anymore."

"Alright, then we won't swim."

Li Qinghe carried Shen Jiaxuan out of the water and placed her by the poolside; it took her a while to recover.

The girl seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened in the pool, and she smiled as she took Li Qinghe's hand and walked out.

"Brother, let's go to the nearby food court for some laksa. I said I'd treat you last time, but you never had time. You absolutely have to try it today."

Near the exit, the two parted ways to different changing rooms.

Seeing Shen Jiaxuan's behavior before and after, the experienced driver confirmed that the fresh young cabbage was ready to be served.

For Li Qinghe, he had no psychological burden whatsoever.

Enjoying himself to the fullest within legal and compliant boundaries was his new motto in life.

It was like having a house built by the beach – the waves had come home.

Shen Jiaxuan's reaction was entirely due to an afternoon of groundwork, combined with Li Qinghe's forceful breach of her psychological defenses, leading to her inexplicable surrender.

The two soon met at the main entrance of the swimming pool.

Shen Jiaxuan hesitated for a moment, then initiative took Li Qinghe's hand: "Brother, let's walk. It's only five minutes."

Her small hand, fresh from the pool, was cool and soft, feeling very comfortable in his.

"Then what are we waiting for? You lead the way."

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled at Shen Jiaxuan.

After returning a brilliant smile, Shen Jiaxuan skipped and bounced, pulling Li Qinghe in one direction.

On the edge of the sprawling residential area, the scenery looked similar, and Shen Jiaxuan's home was on the other side.

As she walked, Shen Jiaxuan introduced to Li Qinghe, "Brother, this hawker center is the largest one around here, and everything inside is delicious..."

According to Shen Jiaxuan, this hawker center had many old establishments; sometimes her mother wouldn't cook at home but would bring her and her sister here to eat.

It was completely cheap and convenient.

After walking for five or six minutes, a three-story building appeared before them, resembling a farmers' market in Dragon Country.

But from the outside, you could see that it housed various eateries. Located on the edge of a residential area, most of the shops did good business.

The laksa shop Shen Jiaxuan mentioned was on the far edge of the first floor.

It wasn't even mealtime yet, but there was already a queue of people buying food at this shop.

Unlike most hawker centers that divided portions into large, medium, and small, this place only offered large and small portions.

Small cost 6 singapore dollars, and large cost 8 singapore dollars.

laksa is a very representative Southeast Asian Rice Noodles dish in Singapore, with fresh shrimp and hard-boiled eggs as main ingredients, complemented by coconut milk, laksa paste, vegetables, and various seafood toppings.

It is said that a very important food ingredient in laksa is the egg, and it must be a hard-boiled egg cut in half.

Shen Jiaxuan told Li Qinghe that the busy middle-aged female owner inside was the third-generation successor.

Their laksa broth was incredibly rich, completely free of any fishy seafood smell.

Customers often traveled from the East District of Singapore just to eat a bowl of their authentic laksa.

Li Qinghe watched the owner skillfully cut a handful of Rice Noodles into small pieces with scissors, then turned and quietly asked Shen Jiaxuan.

"Jiaxuan, why does she cut the Rice Noodles so small? That completely takes away the joy of slurping them."

Shen Jiaxuan covered her mouth and laughed when she heard Li Qinghe's question: "Brother, I don't know either, but I've seen that most laksa in Singapore has the Rice Noodles cut up and eaten with a spoon."

Li Qinghe decided to abandon his obsession with slurping Rice Noodles and embrace this unique way of eating with a spoon.

An old man with squinted eyes beside them suddenly interjected, "Young man, the soul of laksa lies in the egg being halved and the Rice Noodles being cut."

"Huh ~ this old guy was eavesdropping on me and Shen Jiaxuan talking."

Li Qinghe flashed a wide, white-toothed smile: "Thank you, I imagine this will be a completely different taste."

Shen Jiaxuan ordered a small laksa for herself and a large one for Li Qinghe.

When Li Qinghe's large laksa was served, it was a huge bowl, and the portion size was indeed quite generous.

Visibly inside were halved hard-boiled eggs, fried tofu puffs, bean sprouts, ham sausage, shrimp, beancurd sticks, and green vegetables.

laksa

Shen Jiaxuan also thoughtfully scooped some chili paste for Li Qinghe with her spoon.

Li Qinghe looked at this bowl, which somewhat resembled fish Rice Noodles, mixed the chili paste from the spoon into the Rice Noodles, stirred it well, and then took a large spoonful into his mouth.

"Brother, how is it? Is it delicious?"

Shen Jiaxuan asked him nervously from the side. This was a delicacy she had highly recommended, and if Li Qinghe didn't like it, she would cry.

"The taste is good. It turns out cutting the Rice Noodles makes them absorb more flavor."

Li Qinghe swallowed a mouthful of Rice Noodles pieces and smiled brightly.

Hearing Li Qinghe's high praise for the laksa, Shen Jiaxuan finally relaxed and sat beside him, eating her small portion of laksa in small bites.

Seeing Li Qinghe eat so quickly, Shen Jiaxuan pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then used her spoon to scoop two shrimp from her bowl into Li Qinghe's bowl.

This innocent gesture of goodwill earned Li Qinghe a big smile: "Thank you, Jiaxuan."

"Mmm, Brother, eat more. If it's not enough, we can order another portion." Shen Jiaxuan lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes, like tiny fans, trembling slightly, looking very cute.

"Jiaxuan, are there any good hotels nearby?"