His Skin Was Too Delicate

Lunch was set: Oil-Braised Prawns, Salt-and-Pepper Ribs, soy sauce chicken legs, stir-fried Indian Aster, and mushroom chicken soup.

Su Tingbai had made enough for several people, so there was quite a spread.

After finishing the Oil-Braised Prawns and glancing at Shen Rui'an, he immediately started on the Salt-and-Pepper Ribs.

Fortunately, he had marinated the ribs before leaving home. Now, he only needed to coat them in cornstarch and pan-fry them in oil.

The ribs he had chosen were meaty rib sections—the typical kind of "ribs," with meat and membrane wrapped around a single bone.

Many people thought only rib sections counted as ribs, but in fact, the pork ribs sold nowadays included the entire chopped spine, so some of the smaller scraps counted as ribs too. They just were not as easy to eat as rib sections.

Su Tingbai liked that particular cut, so he always prioritized rib sections when cooking ribs. They were easy to pull cleanly off the bone, too.

Thinking of Shen Xiaoyao's lazy appearance, Su Tingbai somehow felt that he would like these as well.

Su Tingbai had noticed that Shen Rui'an preferred strong flavors. Like a child, he loved fried foods, though most of them were not very healthy.

Fortunately, since Su Tingbai made them himself, they were relatively healthy.

While he was thinking, the enticingly fragrant Salt-and-Pepper Ribs were ready.

The ribs Su Tingbai made were chosen for their meatiness. They were not purely lean, with a layer of membrane and fat. Once pan-fried, the fat turned crisp and fragrant, carrying the flavor of salt and pepper. The texture was rich and irresistible.

Food this high in oil and salt was simply addictive when done well.

"It smells so good!"

Little Zhu carried the camera over and gave the dish a close-up.

While preparing the other dishes, Su Tingbai had also put the soup on to simmer in a clay pot. It was June, so there were not many mushrooms to gather around here, but there were still some. They had picked Red Pine Mushrooms that morning. There were not many, so Su Tingbai stewed them with chicken.

By now, the soup was boiling away, and the kitchen was filled with a fresh, savory fragrance—the scent of mushroom chicken soup.

Chicken and mushrooms stewed into soup—one of the greatest inventions in the world. Nourishing and delicious.

Shen Rui'an smelled something delicious in his dream and was just about to eat when he woke up. He abruptly opened his eyes, then remained dazed for a while before slowly getting up. The little blanket slipped down beside the sofa with his movement. Shen Rui'an tugged at it and piled it all onto the small sofa.

He put on his shoes and stretched, feeling as though he had slept himself into an aching back and waist.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air. Based on Shen Rui'an's years of experience eating medicinal cuisine, chicken soup had definitely been stewed!

Remembering the mushrooms he had gathered with Su Tingbai that morning, he padded downstairs in his shoes. "Are you stewing chicken soup?"

Shen Rui'an leaned against the wall and poked out his little head, startling everyone.

Baisui had sharp ears and had already run over to circle Shen Rui'an's feet, whimpering softly.

Su Tingbai turned to look at the black-haired head peeking around the wall, sneaky as a kitten. He laughed. "You're awake? Perfect, it's time to eat. Come sit down."

Meng Meng and Ya-ya helped set out the bowls and chopsticks, while Little Zhu and A-Ming secured the cameras before taking turns filming.

Su Tingbai quickly stir-fried the Indian Aster and took it out of the wok. Still wearing his apron, he carried the plate over in one hand and pulled out a chair. "Shen Rui'an, sit here."

Shen Rui'an nodded and obediently sat down. His gaze landed on Su Tingbai's arm, where the muscle lines stood out as he exerted force to hold the plate.

The stir-fried Indian Aster glistened with oil and steamed hotly. Shen Rui'an was immediately drawn to it. "Is this the wild vegetable we picked?"

Shen Rui'an had never eaten it before and was seeing it for the first time. He did not know whether it tasted good, but he was very curious.

"Mm, that's it. And the Red Pine Mushrooms—we stewed them into chicken soup." As he spoke, he turned and carried the clay pot to the table. Once everything had been set down, he announced, "All right, today's lunch is Oil-Braised Prawns, Salt-and-Pepper Ribs, soy sauce chicken legs, stir-fried Indian Aster, and old hen soup stewed with Red Pine Mushrooms."

Each time Su Tingbai named a dish, A-Ming gave it a close-up. Finally, he filmed the whole table.

"Let's eat!"

At Su Tingbai's command, A-Ming secured the camera and joined the others in front of it.

Everyone found a seat and picked dishes according to their preferences.

Su Tingbai filled a bowl with soup and set it before Shen Rui'an. "Give it a try. The fruits of your labor today."

Shen Rui'an was pleased by those words and nodded very seriously. He had put in a lot of effort today too!

One of the mushrooms had been picked by him. How could it not count as the fruits of his labor?

One look was enough for Su Tingbai to know what Shen Rui'an was thinking, and he could not help laughing. This guy had specifically picked mushrooms with pretty colors, most of which were poisonous. Fortunately, Shen Rui'an had not picked many. After sorting through them, Su Tingbai had found one that was edible.

There was no need to tell everyone about that, though. It was enough for him to know.

Su Tingbai had served him a bowl of chicken soup. There was not much in it; having a little soup before a meal was better than drinking it afterward, though it also made one's appetite smaller.

After last night's barbecue and this morning's Snail Rice Noodles, Su Tingbai had a rough estimate of how much Shen Rui'an's stomach could hold, so he had not served much soup.

"Drink slowly. It's hot." He watched Shen Rui'an without blinking as he took small sips of soup.

The soup was deliciously fresh. Shen Rui'an felt that drinking it with a spoon was not satisfying, so he intended to cup the bowl in his hands. But it was too hot, and he jerked his hands back.

"Did you get burned?" Su Tingbai anxiously grabbed his hand and examined it carefully.

The striking contrast between Su Tingbai's wheat-colored, powerful arm and Shen Rui'an's slender arm, delicate as jade bamboo, made Shen Rui'an's eyes widen. How was Su Tingbai's arm so much thicker than his...?

Shen Rui'an felt that Su Tingbai's hand was scorching like heated iron, even hotter than the side of the bowl had been.

Shen Rui'an's body temperature was slightly lower than normal, and his hands were cool all year round. Caught in those burning palms now, he somehow felt as though ants were crawling across his palm, making it itch.

The cool, soft touch in his hand made Su Tingbai feel as though he had touched a piece of warm jade. Unable to resist, he rubbed Shen Rui'an's palm with his thumb. Shen Rui'an could not take it anymore and tried to pull back, but Su Tingbai was far stronger than him, and he could not free himself at once.

Meng Meng and Ya-ya exchanged a glance. Even holding their soup bowls, they could not hide the smiles curving their lips.

Hehe... the size difference made them even more fun to ship.

Little Zhu and A-Ming looked at each other. For some reason, even though they had only taken one sip of soup, they felt completely full.

"No, I didn't. Let go of me." Shen Rui'an was a little embarrassed and angry as he forcefully pulled his hand free.

Only then did Su Tingbai realize that he seemed to have gripped too tightly. He hurriedly released him. "Sorry."

He looked at the arm he had let go of and saw a red mark on the wrist. Su Tingbai frowned. He clearly had not used much force... Shen Rui'an's skin had to be too delicate. It was like pinching tender tofu—one careless touch left a mark.