Baisui

Meng Meng steered the conversation toward food, then sent out a lucky bag. After muting several people whose comments were particularly aggressive, the chat finally returned to normal.

After Meng Meng's reminder, Su Tingbai introduced him. "Let me introduce our new dining buddy. He's also the friend of an old family acquaintance of mine, Mr. Shen. Everyone can call him An'an. You'll be seeing him often for quite a while, so I hope you'll all be understanding toward Shen Xia... Shen An'an."

Normally, Su Tingbai only casually introduced guests as "my friend" and left it at that. But since this had caused some controversy, he decided to explain a little.

He took the phone and read a few comments, then chuckled. "What's our relationship? You could say we grew up together. He was the kid next door. Childhood sweethearts? I suppose that counts too."

The more comments Su Tingbai read, the wider his smile became. At the same time, he did not forget to recommend the dishes he had made to Shen Rui'an.

Once he moved aside, everyone saw Shen Rui'an. His face was not in frame, but his body was. He was a slender, exceptionally fair young man in a black long-sleeved shirt, which made him look even thinner and paler. He wore a slightly oversized coat and held a milk tea in one hand.

Though thin, he had an outstanding bearing. Simply sitting there gave him an air of refined melancholy.

Some viewers' eyes fell on the only part of him exposed on camera—his hand. Perhaps because he was so thin, it looked smaller than an ordinary man's hand. His wrist was as white as frost and snow, his fingers like peeled scallion roots, his knuckles evenly proportioned. His fingertips were faintly red from the pressure he was applying.

The hand enthusiasts were instantly glued to the screen.

[What a gorgeous hand!]

[Holy shit! I've got hand reference material now!]

[Hand fetishists rejoice!]

[I really want to lick it...]

Seeing the comments in the livestream becoming increasingly explicit, Su Tingbai frowned and handed the phone back to Meng Meng. He signaled Little Zhu to move the camera away from Shen Rui'an. It was nothing personal—he was just afraid those viewers would say something forbidden on stream and get his livestream room banned.

Little Zhu reluctantly aimed the camera at the grill, and the viewers immediately grew anxious.

[Little Zhu, A-Ming, do you even know what people want to see? Move aside and let me do it!]

[Point the camera back at him!]

[Do you know what "a feast for the eyes" means? Turn the camera back!]

Some people did not need to show their faces. Just sitting there was enough to make everyone think they were beautiful.

But no matter how loudly the viewers clamored, Su Tingbai ignored them. Little Zhu and A-Ming did not dare film Shen Rui'an any more either, even though they wanted to. Their boss's glare could kill.

Left with no choice, everyone turned their attention to the food.

Shen Rui'an picked up a shrimp paste-stuffed green pepper and, while Su Tingbai was not paying attention, dipped it into the dry chili sauce Su Tingbai had moved farther away. He was extremely sneaky about it. From the viewers' angle, all they saw was a beautiful hand holding the stuffed pepper flash past behind Su Tingbai's back. The chat burst into laughter.

[Old Su, look behind you. Your childhood sweetheart is secretly eating chili again behind your back.]

[Hahaha, he totally looks like a kitten.]

[My little brat does this too, secretly dipping his paws into my cup to drink.]

[I'm dying, Su Tingbai has no idea.]

Little Zhu and the others, who were facing Su Tingbai and Shen Rui'an, saw it, but they did not point it out because Shen Rui'an was eating with such relish.

It was only when Su Tingbai noticed something off about Little Zhu's expression as he hid outside the camera's view that he turned around. He saw Shen Rui'an jump in fright and speed up his eating, only to choke.

"Cough, cough..."

"Have some water." Su Tingbai patted Shen Rui'an's thin back, feeling the hardness of his spine. He silently decided to feed Shen Rui'an properly. He was far too skinny!

"It was your fault for scaring me!" Shen Rui'an shot him a displeased glare. Su Tingbai raised both hands. "My fault."

He cut the chili in half and placed it in front of Shen Rui'an. "There, you can eat it now. It's your first time eating something this spicy, so you need to ease into it."

Shen Rui'an had successfully secured the right to eat spicy food and was quite pleased. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he raised his chin and huffed. "That's more like it."

To make up for his mistake, Su Tingbai diligently fed Shen Rui'an. Their movements were so natural that no one around them felt anything was amiss.

Even Little Zhu and the others were only briefly surprised before deciding it was normal.

Why did the two of them act like an old married couple?

Su Tingbai did not notice his double standard. He only thought Shen Rui'an was a patient, and he considered himself someone who pitied the poor and protected the weak. What was wrong with taking a little extra care of him? Besides, had his family not given him the task of treating Shen Rui'an well?

Shen Rui'an did not think anything was strange either. Since childhood, he had always been the treasured darling of his family, the one everyone took care of. Su Tingbai's behavior seemed perfectly normal to him, and he overlooked the fact that Su Tingbai was not part of the Shen Household.

Meanwhile, at the Su Household, the family members who regularly watched Su Tingbai's livestream were staring at one another wide-eyed.

Eldest Brother Su said, "Is that really that stubborn mule, the second one?"

Mother Su said, "Could he have taken a liking to Shen Xiaoyao?"

Father Su said, "No way, right? Hasn't the second one always hated taking care of people? Dad, you promised to give him all your retirement savings, didn't you? Otherwise, why is he being so obedient?"

To put it bluntly, he would be afraid if Su Tingbai were the one taking care of him. That brat's temperament was awful.

Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su exchanged a glance. "No. Could he really have taken a liking to Little Treasure?"

Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su often visited the Shen Household and had occasionally met Shen Rui'an. They liked him immensely. Thinking of Shen Rui'an's face, they felt it would not be surprising if their youngest grandson liked him.

After hearing Grandfather Su and Grandmother Su's analysis, Father Su, Mother Su, and Eldest Brother Su felt it was unlikely.

After all, Su Tingbai had never seemed like the type to bow before beauty. Ever since he was young, how many handsome men and beautiful women had surrounded him? Yet he had never looked at anyone twice!

The Su family unanimously concluded that Su Tingbai had probably had a sudden attack of kindness.

When the Shen Household learned that Su Tingbai was livestreaming, they followed his account when they sent Little Treasure to Su Family Manor. Seeing that Su Tingbai was taking good care of Shen Rui'an, they were relieved.

"Little Treasure seems to be adapting well over there. Should we send Baisui over too?"

Eldest Brother Shen opened WeChat. "I'll ask Tingbai. If he agrees, we'll send him over. Little Treasure misses Baisui too."

When Baisui heard someone mention his name, he raised his head and whimpered for a while. Then he obediently held a little ball in his mouth, lay at Mother Shen's feet, and whined softly.

Mother Shen stroked his fluffy head. "Baisui misses Little Treasure too, doesn't he?"

Eldest Brother Shen received Su Tingbai's reply and said happily, "He agreed. I'll drive Baisui over tomorrow."

Early the next morning, Shen Rui'an woke up and got out of bed, only for something to tug at his pant leg.

Looking down, he saw a creamy yellow puppy gnawing at his pant leg and whimpering, "Woof, woof!"

Baisui stuck out his pink tongue, his little tail wagging as if it were about to fly off.

Shen Rui'an was overjoyed. He bent down and picked Baisui up. "Baisui!"

From the doorway, Su Tingbai saw Shen Rui'an beaming as he held the little puppy, and the corners of his own lips rose unconsciously.