Those few bites tasted so incredibly good that they completely derailed Derek's train of thought. For a moment, he actually forgot what he had set out to do in the first place.
After chewing a few more times, he suddenly froze. Wait... why exactly did I grab these fire noodles again?
Ah, whatever, I can't remember.
He decided to drop it. There was no point overthinking it anyway; the food tasted great, and that was all that mattered. Pushing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, Derek refocused all his attention on the bowl in front of him, losing any remaining interest in competing with Liam.
Meanwhile, after chugging a large glass of ice-cold milk, Liam finally managed to soothe the raging fire in his mouth. The stinging heat had mostly subsided, but his lips remained vividly red and slightly swollen, giving them a bright, striking appearance against his pale skin. Even his eyes were still rimmed with a delicate flush.
