Chapter 490: Rotating Hot Pot

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Rotating Hot Pot

Lily Hart had an idea right away. ’A revolving hot pot? That sounds pretty good.’

That way, you wouldn’t have to fish around in the pot, only to find the meat you put in has vanished! It’s a total disaster!

Lily Hart sincerely gave Cynthia Whittaker a big thumbs-up, then pointed at the empty, large round table.

"So where are the pots? And the food?" Lily Hart asked curiously.

Cynthia Whittaker put on a mysterious air and strode to the large round table. Lily Hart followed her.

She pressed some kind of switch, and all they heard was a CLICK.

A square black hole appeared in front of Lily Hart, which transformed into a heating plate in the blink of an eye.

It had heat controls and a power button, much like an induction cooktop.

With another soft sound, a flat-bottomed round pot appeared on the heating plate. It was a little bigger than her palm, the perfect size for one person.

"Wow~ So high-tech!" Lily Hart exclaimed.

It was very convenient. You could retract it when you didn’t want it and bring it out when you did.

Cynthia Whittaker accepted her praise unabashedly and pressed another button.

A conveyor belt, like a train track, appeared along the edge of the large round table.

Lily Hart understood. "And then the ingredients come out on this?"

Cynthia Whittaker nodded emphatically and added, "And they’re all in small, single-serving bowls. The dishes are random, so if you see something you want, you have to grab it decisively!"

"Got it. Some dishes, once you miss them, they’re gone for good!" Lily Hart said resolutely.

Cynthia Whittaker was amused by her. She glanced at the time. "It’s almost noon. Let’s find a spot and sit down."

The two of them found a random place to sit, and Lily Hart sent a message to the group chat.

[The gathering is on the second floor of the hot pot restaurant, in the biggest private room. Don’t go to the wrong place, everyone~]

As soon as the message went out, people started trickling in.

This time, it wasn’t just the shop owners, but also the vendors from the night market stalls. All together, it was quite a crowd.

Fortunately, the round table was huge. And if there wasn’t enough room, Cynthia Whittaker could even expand it on the spot.

Some greeted Boss Hart familiarly, making polite small talk. Others gave a quiet greeting and found a secluded spot to sit.

The shop owners and stall vendors had known each other for a long time, so they had all heard of one another to some extent.

They had also made a close friend or two, and were now chatting in small groups of two and three.

Soon, everyone had arrived. The large round table was completely packed.

Lily Hart sat at one end, feeling like she couldn’t even hear what her friends at the other end were saying.

But it didn’t matter. As long as everyone ate and drank well, that was enough. First, they chose their favorite soup bases.

While waiting for the soup bases to boil, the conveyor belt started moving.

Small plates of ingredients appeared one by one, circling around like they were on a little train.

Each was a single-person portion. For example, one plate might have five rolls of fatty beef, and another might have two pieces of corn. If it wasn’t enough, you could just grab more.

The ingredients were unlimited and random anyway. Once a plate was taken, it would be replaced with a different one.

Just as Lily Hart was about to grab a plate of shrimp paste, she noticed everyone was staring at her expectantly.

A thought struck her. ’Is this when I’m supposed to give a pre-meal speech?’

’Motivate everyone and encourage them to do a good job? But I don’t know how to do that stuff.’

Besides, these people were more driven than she was. They didn’t need any motivation from her at all.

So, she could only offer a dry, "Dig in!" Her shout, however, was resounding.

You could even hear her passion and craving for a good meal in her voice. At Lily Hart’s command, everyone sprang into action.

They reached for the dishes they had already set their sights on, but unfortunately, they had already rolled away!

Once they moved past, they were immediately spotted and snatched up by the next person who had their eye on them.

Jeez, this hot pot meal had unexpectedly turned into a competition to grab food.

But it was quite fun. Everyone was laughing, and not a single person was angry or upset.

Lily Hart, however, didn’t have to worry about this problem. She had Cynthia Whittaker on her left and Frost Shaw on her right.

They both knew what she liked to eat, and whenever they saw it, they’d grab it for her.

All she had to do was eat, eat, eat; add ingredients, add, add; drink, drink, drink; and be happy, happy, happy~

Hot pot is best eaten slowly. If you eat too quickly or too hastily, you’ll get full very easily.

Everyone understood this well. They leisurely chatted with friends while adding ingredients to their pots and eating.

The atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.

Lily Hart was tired from eating and ready for a break. Coincidentally, all the food in her pot was gone.

As two o’clock approached, everyone had finished eating. They were all full and, as if on cue, sat staring blankly into space.

It was a dizzying sensation, as if they’d been knocked out by an avalanche of food.

It wasn’t until two-thirty that the large group set off in unison for the bathhouse.

The reason Lily Hart had chosen today for the team-building event was because Central Command had just suffered a major blow.

Many places needed to be rebuilt, which would require mustering a lot of manpower. Everyone would surely be too busy to go out and have fun then.

So, they might as well take a day off now!

When they arrived at the bathhouse, everyone very consciously split up.

They went off to find activities that interested them. Lily Hart stuck to her usual routine.

Since she was full, she’d first watch a movie to help digest, then take a bath, get a scrub, and have a massage.

If she was still in the mood, she’d go for some karaoke at the end. The whole routine was incredibly relaxing.

When Lily Hart sat down in the best viewing spot in the movie theater, she realized she was surrounded by familiar faces.

Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, Owen Warren, Leo Colby, Seth, and Stan Sterling.

All six of them were there, not a single one missing.

"What are you guys doing here? Do you also like to watch a movie first?" Lily Hart asked, confused.

’Do they genuinely like movies, or are they just being clingy? It’s so hard to guess.’

Leo Colby looked prim and proper, his hands folded in front of him. "Of course we like movies."

Owen Warren sat in a languid pose, one leg crossed over the other, one arm resting on the armrest and the other propping up his chin, looking completely roguish.

He looked as if he owned the place, which, well... he kind of did...

He looked at Lily Hart in the row ahead. The theater was dim, and he could only see the top of her fluffy head. He huffed twice but said nothing.

Roman Rowe grinned. "Mainly, it’s so we can watch a movie with you~"

’Smooth talker,’ Owen Warren silently grumbled in his head.

The others thought so too, but unfortunately, they weren’t thick-skinned enough to say something so cheesy.

The movie started. The familiar dragon logo appeared on screen, and everyone tacitly fell silent.

The movie theater in the bathhouse played films on a random loop, twenty-four hours a day.

There was just a ten-minute interval between each film, reminding everyone to rest their eyes and prevent fatigue!

This was a tearjerker. It crept up on you, subtly and silently stabbing you right in the heart.

By the time she realized it, Lily Hart’s face was already streaked with tears.

But she couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away, completely immersed in the plot.

Beside her, Frost Shaw heard her sniffling and quickly looked over. Jeez, she was crying her eyes out.

For a moment, he was at a loss. ’Should I wipe her tears, or not?’

’If I wipe them, will I interrupt her emotional moment? If I don’t, it probably won’t make a difference anyway.’

So, he silently held out a tissue to her, but Lily Hart didn’t notice.

His hand grew tired from holding it out, so he quietly pulled it back. ’I’ll just wait until the movie is over.’

Lily Hart was the type of person whose nose ran uncontrollably when she cried. She kept sniffling as she watched, rummaging through her pockets for ages but failing to find a tissue.