New Guest: King Shen

In the video, Shen Rui'an only showed the part of his body below his neck. Viewers could see only his slender neck and those well-defined hands.

Sitting beside Su Tingbai made him look even smaller.

He wore a black long-sleeved shirt of good quality. Though he was clearly very thin, he still carried the clothes well. His neck and shoulder lines were exceptional—the sort of figure artists loved to use as reference material.

Not only was Shen Rui'an fair-skinned, but for some reason, the joints of his fingers were tinged with pink. They looked both alluring and suggestive, making countless hand fetishists lick their screens.

[...To be fair, the new guest looks like a handsome guy too. Those shoulder lines are incredible. I've got my reference material.]

[As a fellow artist, I originally came for Su Tingbai's food, but I ended up falling for the new guest's hands. Hands like these are seriously hard to draw!]

[I don't even know how many hand close-ups I've screenshotted from this video!]

[Wasn't I here for food? Why is everyone focused on the new guest's fingers? Hand fetishists are in love!]

The video showed Shen Rui'an clumsily trying to peel a prawn. He failed, and another thick arm reached in from beside him, took the prawn, and peeled off the shell in two swift motions.

The owner of that hand placed the peeled prawn onto Shen Rui'an's plate.

[If this isn't love...]

[I sure as hell wouldn't peel Oil-Braised Prawns for my bros.]

[Friends? Does that seem right to you?]

The barrage was divided between foodies and horny viewers, yet it was remarkably harmonious, perfectly illustrating that food and desire were human nature.

The video's popularity continued to rise. The rapidly scrolling barrage seemed relatively peaceful, but the comment section was another matter entirely.

Most of the top comments were witty, though some strange remarks were mixed in among them.

[Tingbai must have peeled the shell for the new guest out of good manners. It was just peeling a shell—how did you leap to Tingbai liking the new guest? It's basic politeness! You people are so romance-brained!]

[Who hasn't peeled prawns for a friend? Why make such a fuss? If you ask me, someone who can't even peel a prawn really thinks he's some young master?]

[The new guest is so annoying. Can he get less screen time next time? We don't even know who he is, and he's already here to ride the hype.]

[How can he count as handsome when he hasn't even shown his face? Could he be a prawn-type handsome guy? Edible once the head is removed.]

[Exactly. Hiding his head and tail like that—maybe he's actually ugly as hell.]

[Anyway, none of Tingbai's guests have ever hidden their faces like this. Clearly, the new guest is insecure about his looks!]

[This is hilarious. The people involved haven't said anything, yet you're getting worked up on their behalf?]

[Only toxic solo fans lose it over the real sister-in-law. Same goes for delusional fans.]

Meng Meng watched the rapidly climbing popularity. Much of the discussion centered on the new guest, Shen Rui'an, and Su Tingbai's attitude toward him.

Netizens weren't blind. They could tell that Su Tingbai treated Shen Rui'an differently from everyone else.

The more controversial a video was, the higher its popularity. Within just a few hours, this video had surpassed one million likes, while the comments had reached an astonishing 150,000-plus.

Su Tingbai wasn't a celebrity and hadn't debuted through fan support. He made videos as a hobby, and in the early days, he barely accepted advertisements, leaving those who wanted to accuse him of forgetting his roots with nothing to say.

At present, only a few products were linked in Su Tingbai's shopping cart. Most were kitchen appliances and refrigerators, along with mosquito coils. It was all very down-to-earth.

Su Tingbai knew that brand endorsements required caution. He ran his account for fun, and he owned a company that supported his team. He rarely relied on traffic monetization to keep them afloat, so he seldom ran ads.

Countless businesses had waved money around and begged him for an ad slot, but he ignored them all.

He didn't need that money. Most of the kitchenware displayed in his kitchen came from reliable high-end domestic brands. They were convenient and reassuring to use, and most importantly, the business belonged to a friend of his. He knew its background well, so he trusted it even more.

That was why he rarely accepted advertisements.

Su Tingbai's thinking was simple. If he advertised food, he needed to be extremely cautious. Food products were the most likely to explode into scandal, and he didn't lack the money, so he couldn't be bothered with such flashy nonsense.

Most of the things used in his videos were good products he had personally tried and approved. He removed all the labels, so no one could find fault with him.

That was how Su Tingbai had remained unshaken in the food influencer circle, where scandals and downfalls were everywhere.

Even though plenty of jealous people constantly tried to smear him, they still returned empty-handed.

Instead, they brought Su Tingbai even more traffic. The more people tried to blacken his name, the more spotless he appeared, making his position all the more secure.

As a result, among his enormous fanbase were many boyfriend fans and girlfriend fans who admired strength. Every day, they eagerly confessed their love in his comment section and had even spontaneously formed a group.

Su Tingbai's boyfriend-fan and girlfriend-fan community was fairly well-known because they had once torn apart Young Master Locke, an influencer who had tried to ride Su Tingbai's popularity by hyping up a couple pairing.

The two sides weren't even on the same level. Young Master Locke's fans then played the victim, claiming Su Tingbai had bullied him. Information spread quickly in the internet age, and traffic-chasing marketing accounts followed the trend and posted nonsense for money. The matter only died down after Su Tingbai's official account issued a stern clarification.

That was how his unusual fan community became famous as well.

Su Tingbai had never replied to any comment confessing love to him. He did occasionally respond to food suggestions, saying he would consider trying them. He was known for being aloof and rarely interacted with fans.

After he formed his team, he revealed its members. That gained several of them quite a few followers and gave them another path to making money. Although the income from that little bit of traffic wasn't even a third of the salary Su Tingbai paid them, every little bit counted. Meng Meng and the others became fiercely loyal to Su Tingbai, and despite many people from other companies trying to poach them, none of them left.

They understood very clearly that Su Tingbai's account became popular because of Su Tingbai himself. What company needed to overpackage an influencer who was wealthy, handsome, fit, had served in the military, possessed superb cooking skills, and made high-quality videos?

Su Tingbai was the lifeline of his own account.

Even if they quit and changed jobs, netizens wouldn't remember who they were. They would only know that Su Tingbai's employees had left, then forget them shortly afterward.

This wasn't a case of cutting off the company's lifeline. Who couldn't survive without whom?

Soon enough, the comments from those boyfriend fans and girlfriend fans were pushed down by other comments, and the comment section became much more harmonious.

Shen Rui'an held his phone and happily scrolled through everything, a latte made by Su Tingbai in his other hand.

He and Su Tingbai had spent the entire afternoon sitting up on the rooftop.

"We're going camping in a few days. There might be seafood. You're not allergic to seafood, are you?" Su Tingbai peeled the grapes he had just washed downstairs and brought up, then handed them to Shen Rui'an.

Shen Rui'an opened his mouth, and the grape dropped right in. Upon hearing Su Tingbai's words, he immediately sat up straight. "Seafood? Will there be King Crab? Is it good? I'm not allergic!"

It wasn't that he had never eaten crab before. Crabs were considered cooling foods, and given his health, even though the Shen Household could afford them, his family rarely let him eat such cold-natured foods.

Su Tingbai's hand paused as he peeled another grape, then he nodded. "There will be."

He peeled another grape for Shen Rui'an, wiped his hands, then picked up his phone and sent a message.

At the same time, Xing Ying, trapped at the company, received a message from his childhood friend.

[Su Tingbai: Get me some King Crab for the camping trip.]

[Xing Ying: ? Didn't you say you were sick of it?]

The other side didn't reply after sending that message. Xing Ying couldn't help sending several more question marks in succession, but still received no response.

Su Tingbai, who hadn't replied, was diligently peeling grapes for King Shen like Su Daji.