Spicy Shrimp

The grilled eel smelled unbelievably good. Its oily skin had been charred until fragrant, while the snow-white, boneless flesh inside was tender from the grill. A sprinkle of salt was all it needed to taste incredible.

Su Tingbai had made several different flavors for everyone to choose from according to their tastes, and he had prepared some seasonings as well.

He had grilled a great many skewers and arranged them neatly on a table. Just looking at them made mouths water, and there was enough for everyone to have a round.

So Su Tingbai took a break for the moment, sitting down beside Shen Rui'an to eat some skewers too.

A King Crab shell held a small bowl of cheesy crab fried rice. Su Tingbai placed it beside Shen Rui'an and thoughtfully handed him a spoon.

The rest was served in a large crab shell placed in the center of the table.

"Your crab fried rice. Want to try it?" He put the small spoon into Shen Rui'an's hand, then paused when his fingers brushed Shen Rui'an's delicate hand.

Shen Rui'an did not notice the touch. His eyes lit up as he accepted the spoon. "Su Tingbai, you're such a nice person."

Xing Ying's gaze shifted back and forth between them. Oh? Had Su Tingbai just been given the nice-guy card?

Huo Heng could not resist being a pain. "Su Tingbai, you're such a nice person. Could you serve me a bowl too?"

Su Tingbai shot him a look. "Are your hands broken?"

Huo Heng clicked his tongue, then happily scooped up a spoonful of fried rice himself and stuffed it into his mouth. He immediately gave Su Tingbai a thumbs-up. "Delicious!"

Everyone started eating. Shen Rui'an had initially felt a little awkward, but seeing how unfazed Su Tingbai and the others were, he gradually got used to it.

He held the spoon and took a bite of the fried rice. It was so good that he could not help nodding. Baisui, who had been circling around his feet, was amused by Shen Rui'an's swinging foot and began running around.

Su Tingbai swept his gaze over everyone before it finally settled on Shen Rui'an's face. Seeing how happy he looked made him feel as if he had downed an iced Coke in the middle of summer. He was immensely satisfied.

The livestream viewers had long since been driven mad with hunger.

[I swear, it still has to be Su Tingbai. This skill level...]

[He made an entire table of food all by himself, holy crap!]

[As a chef, I love seeing diners' satisfied expressions while they eat!]

[Holy crap, everyone looks like they're eating so deliciously. This is making me hungry!]

[It was supposed to be a barbecue, but it turned into barbecue plus a seafood feast. I won't say who's jealous!]

[My mouth has been watering nonstop and I can't deal with it!]

[Idiot, that's drooling because you're craving it!]

[When will someone invent phones that can share tastes? I'm seriously dying of cravings!]

[Holy crap, this really pleased Su Tingbai.]

[The person beside Su Tingbai is the new guest, right? Am I the only one who noticed that Su Tingbai looks at the new guest the most?]

[You're not the only one!]

Little Zhu and A-Ming took turns operating the camera, giving everyone close-ups of the food as they ate—except Shen Rui'an.

When the camera turned to Su Tingbai, he was peeling shrimp for Shen Rui'an.

"Can I have that shrimp with extra spice? I don't really want to eat this one," Shen Rui'an said.

From the corner of his eye, Su Tingbai glanced at Ya-ya's shrimp. She had loaded it up with chili, enough to make even someone who could handle spice smack their lips in alarm.

Su Tingbai refused. "No. That's too spicy. Forget you—even Little Zhu might not be able to handle Ya-ya's level of spice."

Little Zhu nodded. "Yeah, Ya-ya can eat insanely spicy food!"

Ya-ya, who had been eating with her head down, looked up amid her busy meal and smiled sheepishly. "I'm from Sichuan Province, so I can eat a lot of spicy food. An-an, don't try it lightly!"

Half of Shen Rui'an's heart died, but he still refused to give up. Ya-ya's shrimp was covered in chili and looked especially appetizing. "I'll just have one bite!"

He held up his index finger to demonstrate.

Su Tingbai shook his head. "No."

Shen Rui'an pulled a sour face. "Hmph. Then I want yours!"

The shrimp in Su Tingbai's bowl had chili on them, though not as excessively as Ya-ya's. Most of the others had some chili too. Only Shen Rui'an's had cumin powder.

He was unhappy. He wanted spicy grilled shrimp too!

The viewers in the livestream chat, enjoying the show, started egging them on.

[The kid wants to eat it, so let him! Su Tingbai, hurry up and agree!]

[That little hmph made me feel like I could lactate. How can he be this cute? I can't take it anymore! Su Tingbai, hurry up and agree!]

[Oh my god, he's so spoiled. Gasp, pant—]

[So dramatic. Can't he just eat his own? Does he not have hands? Why does someone need to peel shrimp for him?]

[Oh, oh, oh, jealous again? Su Tingbai is happy to do it!]

[I also think the new guest is a little dramatic. If he can't eat spicy food, why insist on it? So annoying.]

[This counts as making a fuss? It's just flirting between a little couple. I'll ship them first!]

[? Su Tingbai has a partner?]

[? The new guest is Su Tingbai's partner?]

[No wonder he treats the new guest so specially.]

[No! He doesn't! Don't believe rumors or spread rumors! Stop misleading passersby!]

Su Tingbai ignored the livestream chat. Every time he streamed, he became deeply absorbed and rarely interacted with his fans unless it was a fan-focused stream.

Whenever he cooked on stream, he was immersed in cooking. If Meng Meng did not occasionally remind him, he probably would not even lift his head.

Even faced with Shen Rui'an's request, he still refused, because the shrimp in his own bowl were spicy too. "No. You've already eaten quite a lot of spicy food, and your lips are red. You can't eat so much. Your stomach can't handle that much irritation."

Feeling guilty, Shen Rui'an touched his lips, which had been turned bright red by the spice, then looked toward the others.

The moment they met his gaze, everyone silently looked away. Shen Rui'an, with his spice-reddened lips, had no idea how heart-stirring he looked right now.

Spicy food easily made his head feel hot, and even his eyes had reddened, let alone his lips. He was already fair-skinned, making it even more noticeable now. It looked as though someone had made him cry, leaving him heartbreakingly pitiful. Anyone who held his gaze for three seconds would probably be unable to resist granting his request.

But the great demon king beside him was watching them like a tiger, so no one dared move. They could only look away.

"Eat this instead. Cheesy crab leg—you wanted to try it before, didn't you?" Su Tingbai said softly, placing the plumpest crab leg in front of him. Yet his eyes remained on Shen Rui'an's face before finally settling on his bright red lips.

They even seemed a little swollen.

Shen Rui'an's body really seemed to mark easily. He turned red from eating spice, and he turned red if someone pinched him a little too hard. Who knew...

Su Tingbai drifted off again. While he was distracted, Shen Rui'an picked up a shrimp from his bowl and cautiously stuck out his tongue to give it a tiny lick. The heat made him shudder, and he put the shrimp down.

Su Tingbai came back to himself and handed him a Coke, both annoyed and amused. "You idiot, I told you it was spicy!"

Shen Rui'an was no longer curious now. He obediently drank the Coke, and once the sharp heat in his mouth had faded, he guiltily scooped up crab meat to eat. In the end, he even ate the cumin shrimp Su Tingbai had peeled for him, leaving the spicy shrimp in his bowl untouched.

Su Tingbai picked it up, did not even peel the shell, and bit straight through it before swallowing it.

Xing Ying and Huo Heng exchanged a glance, stunned. The skewers in their hands nearly fell to the ground.

Didn't Su Tingbai particularly hate eating things other people had already eaten? He did not mind now?

Although Little Zhu and the others were surprised, they were already used to it. After all, their boss had drunk coffee Shen Rui'an had already drunk last time.

Only after Su Tingbai reacted did he realize that Shen Rui'an's bright red tongue had lightly licked that shrimp. His heart suddenly itched, and belatedly, his face grew a little hot too.

Ahem. He had only done it to avoid wasting food. There was absolutely no other meaning behind it.