His Skin Was Too Delicate

For lunch, they settled on braised prawns, salt-and-pepper ribs, soy sauce chicken legs, stir-fried Indian aster greens, and chicken soup with mushrooms.

Su Tingbai made enough for several people, so the spread was hardly small.

After finishing the 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 fry them in oil.

The ribs he had chosen were meaty rib sections—the classic sort of "ribs," with meat and connective tissue wrapped around a bone.

Many people thought only rib sections counted as ribs, but in fact, butchers now chopped up the whole spine and sold it all as ribs. Some of the scraps counted too; they were simply not as easy to eat as rib sections.

Su Tingbai liked that particular cut, so whenever he made ribs, he chose rib sections first. They were also easy to pull off the bone.

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

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

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

As he pondered, a plate of irresistibly fragrant salt-and-pepper ribs was finished.

Su Tingbai chose ribs with plenty of meat rather than pure lean meat. They had a layer of connective tissue and fat, and after frying, the fat turned crisp and fragrant. Paired with the salt and pepper seasoning, every bite was rich in texture and impossible to stop eating.

High-fat, high-salt food was simply addictive when done well.

"Smells so good!"

Little Zhu hoisted the camera and got a close-up of the dish.

While Su Tingbai worked on the other dishes, he had also put the soup on to simmer in a clay pot. It was June now, so there were few mushrooms to gather around here, but not none. They had picked some red pine mushrooms that morning. There were not many, so Su Tingbai stewed them with chicken.

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

Chicken and mushrooms stewed into soup: the greatest invention 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 snapped his eyes open, then lay there dazed for a while before slowly getting up. The little blanket slid down beside the sofa with his movements. Shen Rui'an tugged it over and dumped it in a heap on the small sofa.

He put on his shoes and stretched, feeling as though he had slept himself sore all over.

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

Thinking of the mushrooms he had gathered with Su Tingbai that morning, he clattered downstairs in his slippers. "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 circles around Shen Rui'an's feet, whimpering softly.

Su Tingbai turned and saw the dark-haired head peeking around the wall, furtive as a kitten. He laughed. "You're awake? We're just about to eat. Come sit down."

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

Su Tingbai quickly stir-fried the Indian aster greens and brought them out, still wearing his apron. Holding the plate in one hand, he pulled out a chair. "Shen Rui'an, sit here."

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

The stir-fried Indian aster greens glistened with oil and steamed in the heat. Shen Rui'an was immediately drawn to them. "Is this the wild vegetable we picked?"

Shen Rui'an had never eaten it before, and this was also his first time seeing it. He had no idea whether it tasted good, but he was curious.

"Mm, that's it. And the red pine mushrooms—we made chicken soup with those." As he spoke, Su Tingbai turned and carried the clay pot to the table. Once everything was set down, he said, "All right. Today's lunch is braised prawns, salt-and-pepper ribs, soy sauce chicken legs, stir-fried Indian aster greens, and old hen soup with red pine mushrooms."

Each time Su Tingbai named a dish, A-Ming gave it a close-up. At the end, 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 took their seats and picked dishes according to their preferences.

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

That pleased Shen Rui'an. He nodded very seriously. He had put in plenty of effort today too!

One of those 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 did not know whether to laugh or cry. This guy had specifically picked mushrooms with pretty colors, most of which were poisonous. Fortunately, Shen Rui'an had not picked many. Su Tingbai sorted through them and ultimately found one that was edible.

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

Su Tingbai served him a bowl of chicken soup with little in it. Drinking some soup before a meal was better than drinking it afterward, although it would make his appetite even 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 could eat, so he had not served much soup.

"Drink slowly. It's hot." He watched Shen Rui'an closely as he took small sips.

The soup was deliciously fresh. Shen Rui'an felt that drinking it with a spoon was unsatisfying, so he planned to hold the bowl in both hands. But it was too hot, and he jerked his hands back.

"Did you burn yourself?" Su Tingbai anxiously grabbed Shen Rui'an's hand and inspected it carefully.

Su Tingbai's wheat-colored, muscular arm stood in striking contrast to Shen Rui'an's slender arm, delicate as jade bamboo. Shen Rui'an could not help widening his eyes. Why was Su Tingbai's arm so much thicker than his...

Shen Rui'an felt that Su Tingbai's hand was scorching, like a piece of hot iron—hotter than the side of the bowl just now.

Shen Rui'an's body temperature was slightly lower than normal, and his hands were cool all year round. Now that they were caught in a pair of burning palms, he somehow felt as if ants were crawling over his own palm, leaving it itchy.

The cool, soft sensation in his hand made Su Tingbai feel as though he had touched warm jade. Unable to resist, he rubbed Shen Rui'an's palm with his thumb. Shen Rui'an found it a little unbearable and wanted 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 while holding their soup bowls, they could not hide their curling smiles.

Hehe... the size difference made it even better.

Little Zhu and A-Ming exchanged looks. For some reason, although they had only taken one sip of soup, they already felt very 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 held on too tightly. He quickly released him. "Sorry."

He looked at the arm he had let go of and saw a red mark around the wrist. Su Tingbai frowned. He clearly had not used much force... Shen Rui'an's skin had to be too delicate. Pinching it felt like pinching tender tofu; one careless moment and it left a mark.