Chapter 1016: Doomsday Big Boss 20

Seeing him hold the piece of meat out to her, Tang Wan glanced at Hu Tongxia, then let out a soft hum and leaned forward to take a bite. As her lips parted slightly, revealing that faint flush of red, Hu Tongxia’s throat tightened unconsciously. For a fleeting moment, he even had the absurd thought that he wished he were that piece of meat, just to brush against her lips.

Tang Wan chewed, then nodded with clear approval. “It’s delicious! Really delicious! I didn’t expect your barbecue to turn out this good on your first try. That’s impressive.”

“Really?” Hu Tongxia felt a little lightheaded from the praise.

“Really,” Tang Wan affirmed seriously.

A smile spread across his face, soft and unguarded. Then he turned his attention to the chicken Tang Wan had roasted. “Let me try yours too.”

“Alright.” Tang Wan nodded and tore off a drumstick for him, handing it over. “Here.”

Hu Tongxia took it, pressed his lips together slightly, then brought it to his mouth and took a bite.

The next second, his expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.

The taste… was still just as indescribable as before.

Tang Wan watched him and asked, “Well? How is it?”

“…It’s good,” Hu Tongxia replied without hesitation, forcing himself to nod. Then, as if casually, he added, “Why don’t you try both and compare? See what the difference is between mine and yours?”

Tang Wan looked at him, slightly puzzled, but still nodded. She cut a piece from her own roast chicken and took a bite. Her expression remained completely natural as she said, “It’s good too—just not as good as yours.”

“Really?” Hu Tongxia asked carefully. “Then… can you describe the difference?”

Tang Wan tilted her head slightly, thinking for a moment. “The difference? Yours tastes richer, more flavorful. Mine is… a bit more average. Maybe the heat isn’t as even?”

Hearing her say that so seriously, without the slightest suspicion, Hu Tongxia couldn’t help taking a slow breath.

In the end, he swallowed the truth that had reached his lips.

If he told her now, wouldn’t it hurt her confidence?

“Then eat more if you like it,” he said with a small smile.

“Mm!” Tang Wan nodded happily.

The two finished their meal like that, and from beginning to end, Hu Tongxia never brought up the issue.

From what he had observed, her sense of taste seemed… inconsistent—sometimes normal, sometimes completely off. If he said it outright, she might even think he was teasing her on purpose.

…

However, even if he didn’t say it, someone else would.

After Tang Wan returned to her room, Little Cutie finally spoke up, unable to hold back any longer. “Host… is there something wrong with your sense of taste?”

Tang Wan froze. “What do you mean?”

“Well… you can’t actually taste the real flavor of the food you cook,” Little Cutie said carefully.

Tang Wan frowned immediately. “That’s impossible. It tasted fine to me. Why would you say that? Did something happen that I don’t know about?”

Seeing that she was taking it seriously, Little Cutie quickly pulled up a few video clips.

They showed the reactions of others eating her roasted pigeon from earlier.

Every single person—including Liu Feifei—had frowned after one bite, then spat it out, complaining that it was bitter.

Tang Wan: …

She stood there, stunned.

After a long moment, she finally came back to herself, her expression filled with disbelief. “No way… what they were eating… was that really the same thing I made? I didn’t taste any bitterness at all!”

As she spoke, she even stuck out her tongue slightly, as if trying to inspect it.

“Show me again,” she said quickly to Little Cutie. “Is there really something wrong with my taste?”

Why did everyone else find it bitter, but she couldn’t taste it?

And Tong Tong…

He had said it was delicious at the time.

Was he just trying to comfort her?

And everything that happened this morning—the porridge, the juice, the pancakes—

Was that all just him testing whether her sense of taste was normal?