After forcing herself to ingest the poisonous smoothie from hell, Valentina quickly lost her appetite. Instead of delicious spicy chicken and sides, her stomach was now sloshing around with nasty liquid.
She glared angrily at Kaiser before holding out her hand.
"Where's my beer? You owe me."
"Of course. Let me get you a fresh one." Kaiser lazily got up and walked to the fridge.
"Auntie Val, are you mad at Dad for making you drink medicine?" Luca softly asked.
Valentina gently patted his head before replying. "No, I'm not mad at your dad little nugget. Are you enjoying your chicken?"
"Yes! Can I have another spicy one?" Luca smiled happily.
"You like spicy food? It's not too hot for you?" she glanced at him, noting that although his cheeks were a bit pink he looked fine as he ate the spicy wings.
"Mmmm. It's delicious~"
"Good boy. Have some more. There's plenty so eat slowly."
"Yes!"
Kaiser watched the harmonious scene happening at his dining table and couldn't help but feel left out. How come he didn't get praised? He liked fried chicken too!
Feeling the urge to interrupt, he walked over and made himself a plate of the spicy chicken after handing Valentina a beer.
As he sat down, the smell of pepper wafted into his nose, and he immediately wanted to sneeze. He took a closer look at the spicy wings, just now noticing that the color was quite a frightening red color.
"I would say take a small bite since it's quite spicy." Valentina cautioned him as she happily sipped her beer.
"It's okay. I quite like spicy food."
"Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you." Her eyes were curved in an amused manner as if waiting to watch a good show.
Slowly, Kaiser raised a drumstick and took a large bite, chewed a bit, and swallowed.
Fire.
Immediately his lips, tongue, and cheeks began burning. It felt as if a million needles were poking his mouth at the same time.
"Too spicy? Need some milk? I can get it for you if you can't handle the heat." Valentina asked in a mocking manner, her lips curved up happily. She was happy that she had found a way to get back to Kaiser. Anytime that he teased her, she would immediately order spicy fried chicken and force it down his throat.
Kaiser wiped away the sweat dripping down his forehead and forced himself to talk coherently.
"It's fine hah. I love spicy chicken haah." He could barely speak without breathing out loudly.
"Is that right? Luca, your dad has so little chicken on his plate and is very hungry. Can you help him get some more spicy pieces? Enough to make a mountain on his plate so he can be full."
"Yes!" Luca happily responded before standing on his seat to push the chicken over to Kaiser and then load them onto his plate.
As the pile of chicken got higher and higher, Kaiser felt his fear levels increase. This was an unholy level of spiciness and his son and Valentina had happily eaten it with no problem. How?
Unhappy, Kaiser shot her a look that said, 'I'll get you for this later.'
Smiling confidently, Valentina lifted her beer bottle in salute before snickering and saying, "Bottoms up. Make sure you don't waste the food. After all, you want to set a good example for Luca right? I'm not leaving until you clear the plate."
Luca stared at the two of them in confusion before announcing.
"I'm done eating!"
Laughing once more, she got up to help Luca wash his hands and wipe his face before sending him off.
When she returned to the table, it was to see Kaiser sweating with a red face as he ate the chicken wings.
"You don't have to eat it if you can't take the spice."
"How can I stop when my cute son and dear Auntie Val want me to eat until I'm full." He stopped eating and gave her a pained smile before taking a sip of his beer.
Feeling bad for him, she slid over the container of pickled radishes.
"Have this, it should help. And I'll get you some ice cream."
"Feeling bad for me?"
"Almost." She honestly replied, "I didn't know you were that bad with pepper. Luca seemed fine and honestly, it's not that spicy."
Kaiser: "......" my mouth is no longer tingling but burning like hellfire and you think it's not that spicy?
Ahem hem.
Rather than responding. Kaiser discreetly pushed away the plate and began digging into the pickled radishes, rapidly eating them in an elegant motion.
"Rather than that how are you feeling Valentina? I know your opening ceremony is tomorrow. Do you feel up to it?"
"Yeah, my body feels fine. Rather I'm a bit concerned about what I'll be wearing. Unfortunately, I was down for all of yesterday and most of today, so I didn't have time to chat with Lia. She didn't even take my measurements."
"Ah, there's no need to worry about that. Lia's eyes are all the measuring tape she needs. She said she'd come to grab you first thing in the morning to begin getting you ready. All you need to do today is rest and recover. You can message her later if you want."
"...ah okay." Valentina nodded in response.
They sat quietly for a moment, sipping their beers before Kaiser smirked at her.
"Beer huh? I never would have taken you for a drinker. You seem like the type who can't hold their alcohol."
"Hmph. Beer is the best thing to pair with spicy chicken. And I'll have you know I drink everything very well." Valentina told him confidently. In her past life, her alcohol tolerance was quite high. And even now as she sipped her beer, she was being notified by the system.
[Low-level recovery activated to help host neutralize alcohol.]
She figured as long as she paced herself she wouldn't get drunk and if it continued to neutralize things while she slept, she wouldn't have a hangover in the morning either.
"Is that right? We should go on a date then. I'll take you to a good restaurant and we can go to a nice bar afterward. Ah, you don't need to worry, I'll properly plan everything to make sure your identity is not exposed. You just need to let me know when your schedule is free."
"...Pardon me?" she could only look at him with a stunned expression.
Kaiser threw back his remaining drink before smiling at her.
"You wanted my sincerity, right? This is me formally asking you to make some time for me so I can take you out on a proper date. Just the two of us. What do you think?"
As he finished his drink, she caught sight of his handsome face staring intently at her and she became speechless for a moment. What the hell was going on? How did the conversation switch from going to the opening ceremony to being asked out on a date?
"Valentina? What do you think?"
"Uhm, I'm actually quite busy and don't know what my schedule looks like with the filming, so I'll have to say no. Besides I'm sure you're quite busy, I wouldn't want to impose." She politely declined hoping he would cancel.
"That's fine. I can wait. Just let me know when you have some free time. Any day is fine. I'll properly clear my schedule and take you out to have a good time." Kaiser gave her a knowing smile as she tried to decline.
Valentina: "......"
Big boss. Please take the hint and spare me.
Seeing her expression of wanting to refuse, Kaiser simply laughed as he stood up.
"Think it over Valentina and let me know whenever you decide. The offer is open forever and the ball is in your court. Ah but don't think this is the end. I plan on continuing to show you my sincerity until you believe it and accept it. Make sure you get to bed early. You have a long day tomorrow."
After giving her a bright smile that shook her heart and softly patting her head, he walked away. Once he left, Valentina dropped her head to the table with a thud.
Fuck.
What the hell was she supposed to do after being openly propositioned like that?