Love at First Sight

The two of them broke out in goosebumps. Looking down at the grilled sausages still steaming on their plates, they each grabbed one and took a bite, then picked up the chili seasoning beside them and sprinkled some on. They accidentally added too much, and one bite made their faces flush bright red from the heat.

Even so, they did not give up on the grilled sausages. This really was Su Tingbai's cooking—delicious!

Curious, they walked over and saw the owner of those snow-white calves stand up. Only then did they notice a little mongrel puppy that was eating a grilled sausage.

The puppy's owner held another grilled sausage in his hand. His fingers were especially slender and fair. They could not see his face because Su Tingbai was blocking it, but they heard his voice, which sounded somewhat soft and airy.

This was Shen Rui'an, right?

Xing Ying and Huo Heng exchanged a look and silently walked forward together.

Shen Rui'an had been drying Baisui's fur, and his legs had gone a little numb from squatting. When he suddenly heard Su Tingbai's voice and stood up, his vision went black, and he nearly fell.

Su Tingbai caught him with quick reflexes, one large hand wrapping around his waist. The thin shirt could not block the scorching warmth of his palm, and Shen Rui'an immediately felt a tingling numbness at his waist. He abruptly pushed Su Tingbai away, but he had stood too fast and was weak from low blood sugar, leaving him no choice but to slump limply against Su Tingbai's chest.

Su Tingbai was scared out of his wits. "Why did you get up so suddenly?"

He pulled out a piece of fruit candy, tore off the wrapper, and popped it into Shen Rui'an's mouth. "Are you okay? Shen Rui'an? Can you hear me?"

Listening to Su Tingbai's anxious voice, Shen Rui'an could hear the frantic pounding of his heart through his chest, thump, thump, thump—deafeningly loud.

Shen Rui'an was a little weak. "I'm fine... I'll be okay after I rest for a bit..."

Being too frail was like this. Standing up too abruptly could easily trigger low blood sugar and make him faint. He had not had an episode lately, so he had forgotten just how delicate he was.

Shen Rui'an leaned against Su Tingbai's chest and took deep breaths. The cloying sweetness in his mouth gradually brought him around.

Su Tingbai pinched his cheek with one large hand. Only after seeing that he had not fainted did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He helped Shen Rui'an sit down in a chair before handing him the grilled sausage. "Do you still want to eat it? Next time, finish your breakfast. No being picky."

That morning, he had made dumplings filled with fresh shepherd's purse and ground fungus greens bought from the villagers. They tasted wonderfully fresh, and even he thought they were good.

Shen Rui'an had eaten several and drunk a cup of soy milk. Su Tingbai had even specifically asked whether he was full, because he felt Shen Rui'an had eaten too little.

Shen Rui'an had said he was full, so Su Tingbai had not forced him to eat more. He had simply told him to wait nearby while he and the team packed up the supplies they would need for camping.

Who would have thought Shen Rui'an would still have a low blood sugar episode!

Su Tingbai frowned as he squeezed that bony wrist. "You're still too thin. You need to eat more."

He was six feet tall and barely over a hundred pounds. He was practically all bones. How could he not be weak?

"Mm." Shen Rui'an seemed to have had all his energy sucked away by the sudden mishap. He looked drowsy and listless, yawning again and again.

Su Tingbai stuffed the grilled sausage into his hand. "Eat your fill, then go sleep in the car. I've already made up the bed for you."

Shen Rui'an nodded indifferently. Baisui seemed to sense that something was wrong with his owner and anxiously circled his feet, barking. "What about Baisui?"

Su Tingbai placed a grilled sausage on the ground. "This one is his. I grilled it especially for him. It's cooled down, and there's barely any salt in it."

"This one is yours. I didn't add chili." To keep Shen Rui'an from demanding chili, he cut him off right away. "Eat. No picky eating."

Shen Rui'an was still shaken from the scare and was not as finicky as usual. He spat out the candy and took a small bite. "It's delicious. Thank you, Su Tingbai."

Su Tingbai casually stuffed the candy wrapped in tissue into his pocket and rubbed Shen Rui'an's head. "If it's good, eat more. Do you want anything else? I'll grill it for you."

Shen Rui'an nodded. After making sure he was fine, Su Tingbai carefully stood up. When he turned around, he saw Xing Ying and Huo Heng staring as though they had seen a ghost. Su Tingbai suddenly felt a little awkward. "Ahem. What do you two want to eat?"

Xing Ying and Huo Heng: "..."

Rather than answer Su Tingbai, Xing Ying craned his neck to look at Shen Rui'an behind him. "Tingbai, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Su Tingbai paused. He glanced at Xing Ying, then met Shen Rui'an's curious gaze. At last, he stepped aside and introduced him to the two of them. "This is Shen Rui'an. He's... staying here temporarily."

For a moment, Su Tingbai did not know how to explain what Shen Rui'an was to him.

"This is Xing Ying, and this is Huo Heng. They're two friends of mine," Su Tingbai introduced.

"Hello." Shen Rui'an softly greeted the two unfamiliar men, following Su Tingbai's hand to identify each of them.

Xing Ying and Huo Heng finally saw the legendary Shen Rui'an. The moment they met his clear eyes, both froze where they stood. Their unblinking gazes landed on Shen Rui'an, and for a long while, neither came back to his senses.

Su Tingbai was somewhat displeased. Frowning, he slowly shifted his body to block his two friends' view.

Shen Rui'an did not understand. Tugging on his clothes, he said, "You're blocking me."

Xing Ying and Huo Heng snapped out of their daze, looking utterly bewildered. Then they pushed Su Tingbai aside and stepped forward to enthusiastically grasp Shen Rui'an's hand. "Hello, hello. I'm Xing Ying."

Huo Heng squeezed Xing Ying aside and shook his hand as well. "Hello, I'm Huo Heng. I'm the third son of the Huo family..."

"Ahem!" Su Tingbai coughed heavily, pulling his two friends back. He ground out through clenched teeth, "That's enough. No need to stand so close. Shen Rui'an needs fresh air. Since you have nothing better to do, come help me skewer the food."

When he turned back, his voice softened again as he spoke to Shen Rui'an. "Rest here for a while. I'll call you once it's grilled."

"Okay." Shen Rui'an had no idea what was going on. Somewhat awkwardly, he rubbed the hand Xing Ying and Huo Heng had just held. Su Tingbai's friends were strangely enthusiastic.

Over there, Xing Ying and Huo Heng struggled, but neither could break free from Su Tingbai's grip.

"Hey, Su Tingbai, what are you doing? I was planning to say a few more words to An'an!" Huo Heng shouted.

The veins on Su Tingbai's forehead bulged. His hand gripping Huo Heng's shoulder tightened sharply. An'an? Who was his An'an? What gave him the right to call him An'an? Who did he think he was?

"Exactly. He's Brother Shen's younger brother, after all. Of course we need to take good care of Shen Xiaoyao. Stop dragging me away, Su Tingbai!" Xing Ying could not break free from Su Tingbai's hold either.

The two of them glanced at Su Tingbai's stormy expression and finally understood why his face had changed so quickly.

Xing Ying felt thoroughly slapped in the face. He had originally thought Su Tingbai was a gentleman who could remain unmoved even with a beauty in his arms. Only now did he realize Su Tingbai was just a shameless pervert!

It was not love at first sight at all. He was simply lusting after a pretty face!

Xing Ying dared swear it to the heavens!

Anyone would love Shen Rui'an with a face like that!

He had never seen anyone so beautiful!

Huo Heng was also dazed by his beauty. He ran an entertainment company and had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women, yet even the top beauties in the industry today fell somewhat short compared with Shen Rui'an.

"Shut up, both of you!" Su Tingbai was furious. These two idiots.

Xing Ying was dissatisfied. "No wonder you're such a hypocrite. You've got your eye on his looks, haven't you? Pah, shameless!"

Huo Heng agreed. "You're just after his body. Shameless!"

Su Tingbai knew the two of them had indeed been stunned by Shen Rui'an's beauty, but more than that, they definitely wanted to mock him. Still, he truly found it hard to argue back.

These past two days, whenever he saw Shen Rui'an, his heartbeat inexplicably sped up. He even wondered if he had some hereditary heart condition; otherwise, why was his heart acting up for no reason?