Chili Pepper Devotee

Husband material?

Shen Rui'an was startled by his own thought for a moment. Why had he thought that?

Feeling a little guilty, he awkwardly glanced at Su Tingbai, who was still busy in the kitchen, then looked away and quietly rubbed his slightly burning face.

But...

Su Tingbai was practically no different from a husband now!

That was right! It was Su Tingbai's fault! Shen Rui'an thought, utterly lacking in justification but full of confidence.

"It's ready. It's a little hot, so wait for it to cool before eating, okay?" Su Tingbai brought over the fried chicken. After reminding Shen Rui'an, he called Little Zhu and the others over to try some too.

He then prepared dipping dishes for the fried chicken: plain chili powder, cumin powder, and black pepper powder.

He also brought over Korean chili paste, honey mustard, and other sauces. How they ate it was up to their personal preferences.

Most of what he had fried were mid-joint wings and drumettes, along with some large drumsticks. There was a huge amount, neatly piled onto a massive platter, making for a particularly impressive sight.

Still, none of it would go to waste. He had counted the people present, and it should all be finished.

The freshly fried chicken smelled especially delicious. The aroma tempted Shen Rui'an so badly that he wanted to dig in with his hands. If Su Tingbai had not reminded him it was hot, he might really have picked one up and gnawed on it.

"Here, gloves." Su Tingbai put a pair of disposable gloves on Shen Rui'an.

His fingers were long and slender, so they slipped on easily.

Shen Rui'an let him put on the gloves, then suddenly remembered his lemonade. He turned to get up and retrieve it from beside the beanbag chair, but before he could rise, Su Tingbai pressed him back down. "I'll get it."

He refilled the lemonade in his cup before bringing it over, and also grabbed a large bottle of cola.

"Ya-ya, bring some ice over."

"Okay." Ya-ya went to the refrigerator, opened it, and brought over a small half-bucket of edible ice cubes.

Little Zhu poured cola for everyone, while Meng Meng added ice. Ice-cold cola with chicken legs—an absolute perfect match!

A-Ming adjusted the livestream angle, aiming the camera at the dining table and shifting it slightly to the right. That way, it could capture the others while only showing Shen Rui'an's hands. Once he was satisfied with the adjustment, A-Ming walked over.

Baisui caught the scent of fried chicken in the air and greedily circled everyone's feet. He wagged his tail, then sat neatly on the floor, lifting his fluffy little head and gazing pleadingly at everyone with watery eyes as he let out soft whimpers.

The sight amused everyone. Su Tingbai took out the roasted chicken leg he had specially prepared for Baisui, while Shen Rui'an gave him an order. "Baisui, bring over your dog bowl."

Baisui immediately barked, then wagged his tail as he swiftly brought over his stainless-steel bowl.

This was the bowl he considered his food bowl. Seeing how much he liked it, Shen Rui'an had not replaced it with another one.

Stainless steel was quite good—durable, hard to break, and easy to clean.

With a clatter, Baisui set down his food bowl. Seeing the small dent in it, Su Tingbai laughed. "Baisui really is a dog from Gui Province. So thrifty."

He knew that many households in Gui Province liked using stainless-steel basins as dishes. When he had gone there to learn how to make Snail Rice Noodles, most of the dogs' food bowls he saw had also been stainless-steel basins. They were the kind passed down through three generations—people came and went, but the basin remained. Once a basin became dented or warped, it usually became a cat or dog's food bowl.

As though he understood that Su Tingbai was praising him, Baisui sat even straighter. Without blinking, he watched Su Tingbai's movements. The moment Su Tingbai set down the deboned chicken leg, he barked his thanks before immediately beginning a frenzied feast.

Shen Rui'an held a large drumstick in his hand. Once he saw Baisui start eating, he began on his own fried chicken leg as well. He had been craving it for so, so long!

Taking a light bite of the fried chicken leg, the fragrant crispy chicken skin filled Shen Rui'an with immense satisfaction.

He had finally gotten to eat it!

He first took a bite of the original flavor without dipping it in any seasoning. Since the chicken leg had been marinated, it was flavorful even without seasoning. It was crispy on the outside and tender within; when he bit through the crust, the meat inside was still juicy and tender. That crispy coating made Shen Rui'an feel like he was no longer eating stewed chicken, and he was instantly satisfied.

He reached out and dipped it in a little black pepper powder. The faint spicy kick stimulated his appetite even more.

Delicious!

He then sprinkled on some cumin powder in the same way, and it became a completely different flavor.

Shen Rui'an secretly glanced at Su Tingbai, then stealthily reached for the chili powder. As he reached, he carefully watched to see whether Su Tingbai had noticed him.

Su Tingbai definitely would not let him eat chili powder!

But fried chicken without chili powder was the same as fried chicken without a soul!

Shen Rui'an actually wanted to try that Korean chili paste too, but it was too far away, so he gave up.

The viewers in the livestream saw this scene.

Even though only a pair of hands appeared on camera, the movements were so sneaky that they could not help laughing.

[Those hands are Shen An'an's, right? He acts so sneakily every time. He's seriously killing me.]

[Why does he have to take chili like that every time? Can't he just ask openly?]

[Because the answer he'd get from asking openly would probably be no, so he can only sneak it.]

[Why won't they let him eat spicy food? Is it something he can't eat or what?]

[I heard Shen An'an is frail and his stomach isn't very good, so he can't eat anything too spicy. That's why Su Tingbai limits how spicy he can eat.]

[Su Tingbai, look at those little hands beside you! They're about to reach the chili!]

[Oh-ho, he got caught.]

The comments were all gleefully watching the drama unfold. Only Shen Rui'an had sadly achieved his goal, because Su Tingbai caught him red-handed.

Su Tingbai had noticed Shen Rui'an's little movements long ago, but he said nothing. Only when Shen Rui'an was about to touch the packet of chili powder beside him did he calmly grab a certain little cat's paw.

Meeting Little Shen Cat's guilty, evasive gaze, Su Tingbai raised a brow. Shen Xiaoyao really had a special fondness for spice!

Fine! Since he had behaved himself for the past dozen days, Su Tingbai would let him have a little taste.

"You can only have a little. You can't eat too much, understand?" Su Tingbai slowly loosened his grip, his gaze falling on Shen Rui'an's wrist. This time, no red marks had been left on that jade-white wrist. Su Tingbai sighed in relief. He had gotten the strength right this time.

Shen Rui'an was simply overjoyed. His eyes were full of surprise and disbelief. "You're agreeing to let me eat spicy food?"

His expression was so delighted that it was as though he had been given not chili powder, but the greatest treasure in the world. Everyone could not help smiling knowingly, as if that smile had healed them from within.

Su Tingbai's gaze settled on those dark pupils. In those limpid autumn eyes, he saw the smile on his own face. He poured a little chili powder into Shen Rui'an's seasoning bowl. "Mm. You can have just a little."

It would help satisfy his craving.

Shen Rui'an could not hear anything else now. His mind was entirely filled with the fact that he could eat spicy food. He nodded happily, then coated the chicken leg he had already bitten several times in chili powder. He was as devout as a chili pepper devotee, as if he had offered a prayer in his heart before stuffing the chili-covered fried chicken leg into his mouth.

Su Tingbai glanced at the bright-red chili powder in his own bowl, then at the tiny amount of chili on Shen Rui'an's chicken leg, and fell silent. "..."

If he did not know the full story, Su Tingbai would have suspected that he had been abusing Shen Rui'an.

The others were also endlessly amused by Shen Rui'an.