Do You Like Me?

"Tonight, we're having barbecue." Once Shen Rui'an stopped coughing, Su Tingbai turned and picked up the skewered meat, fruits, and vegetables arranged on a platter. "We'll grill in the courtyard. Go sit down first."

As a food content creator, Su Tingbai had an open kitchen connected to an island counter and dining table. The rectangular table seated seven or eight people, but he found it inconvenient and unattractive for filming barbecue videos, so he preferred grilling at the outdoor dining table, where the smoke dispersed quickly.

More importantly, his villa was built halfway up the mountain. Sitting at the open-air table outside offered a view of the mountain scenery. Grilling meat while enjoying the view was incredibly pleasant.

There was no need to worry about mosquitoes, either. He had planted plenty of mosquito-repelling flowers in the courtyard and installed some mosquito-repellent equipment, so bug bites were rarely a problem.

By the time they reached the courtyard, the sun still had a lingering glow. The distant mountains were dyed a brilliant red, breathtaking from afar.

After sunset, the temperature in the mountains dropped sharply. With the mountain breeze, even summer felt refreshing. It was a pleasant temperature for Su Tingbai, but for someone as frail as Shen Rui'an, who wore long sleeves even in summer, would it be too cold?

Su Tingbai set down the platter and went to fetch a thin jacket. When he turned back, he saw his team members fussing over Shen Rui'an.

Little Zhu raised the taro paste boba milk tea in his hand. "Young Master Shen, do you want to try this? It's really good!"

"My mango pomelo sago is pretty good too. Want a taste?" A-Ming shook the milk tea in his hand.

"Young Master Shen, can you eat spicy food? Later, grilled meat tastes even better dipped in dry seasoning! I'm not exaggerating when I say the boss is amazing at this—it's seriously delicious! Um, can I take a picture with you? This is the first time in my life I've seen someone this good-looking." Meng Meng asked shyly.

Working in her line of business, she had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women, but Shen Rui'an's beauty was particularly striking.

Yes, beauty.

Meng Meng had only one word to describe Shen Rui'an: beautiful!

It was not a soft, feminine kind of beauty, nor was he androgynous. One glance made it clear he was a man, yet upon seeing Shen Rui'an for the first time, all that remained in her mind were the words breathtakingly beautiful.

Meng Meng felt that Shen Rui'an's frail, delicate aura and looks were absolutely one of a kind. Just looking at him made people want to cherish him; he truly inspired tenderness in anyone who saw him.

If they were talking about handsome, Su Tingbai was the truly handsome one. He was tall and broad, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, his face strikingly handsome in a masculine way.

Shen Rui'an rarely met strangers outside the Shen Household and medical staff. Still, everyone who met him reacted this way, so he was used to it.

He took another sip of fruit tea through the straw and shook his head. "Thank you. This is already very good."

He lifted the fruit tea and gave it a little shake. His eyes shone brighter than the Big Dipper already appearing in the sky.

Little Zhu and the others melted at the sight.

Su Tingbai felt a little sour as he watched. Why were these people so annoying? Why had he never seen them fawn over him like this? Why were they being so enthusiastic toward little Shen?

He strode over in silence, squeezed out Little Zhu, who had been standing closest, and draped a jacket over Shen Rui'an's shoulders. "It gets cold after dark. Put this on. What do you want to eat? I prepared a lot."

As he spoke, he laid some pork belly onto the grill. There were also skewers of beef paired with pineapple beside it, refreshing and good for cutting through the richness.

Shen Rui'an watched the veins stand out faintly on Su Tingbai's arms as he used tongs resembling tweezers to turn the pieces of meat. For a moment, he did not know what he should be looking at.

He liked delicious food very much.

He also liked looking at muscles.

Perhaps because he had always been weak and sickly, Shen Rui'an was very thin. Only because the Shen Household had carefully nourished him did he have a little flesh on his bones, rather than looking utterly emaciated.

Yet even putting this little bit of weight on him had been incredibly difficult. His illness had greatly reduced his appetite, and many times he could barely eat anything. He forced food down purely to meet his body's needs, so he watched mukbang videos while eating in order to eat a little more.

But that was all. He was not thin enough to look misshapen, but compared to ordinary young men, he was still exceptionally skinny. Because of that, he had little strength and poor energy; even speaking loudly felt exhausting.

That was why he admired the men with abs on Douyin. Since he did not have them himself, he envied those who did. Thanks to algorithmic recommendations, the videos he saw most often on his personal account were muscular men and mukbang creators.

When looking at others, his gaze was instinctively drawn to their physiques.

Su Tingbai's arm was like one of those so-called qilin arms... It felt as though one punch could kill a cow.

Perhaps Shen Rui'an had stared too intently, and his gaze had been too obvious. Su Tingbai turned his head and caught him looking directly at him.

Shen Rui'an hurriedly looked away.

Su Tingbai glanced at his own arm and raised a brow. Was this... liking him?

Su Tingbai had always known he was handsome. He was fully aware of his advantages. Back when he was in the army, even in an all-male barracks, several men had confessed to him. He was not oblivious to feelings between men.

After leaving the military, there had been no shortage of men and women clinging to him and pursuing him. If he had not hidden himself away in these remote mountains to become a food blogger, he would have had plenty of people surrounding him.

Even so, quite a few people confessed to him in his comments and direct messages. He could not even be bothered to read them anymore.

He had not expected little Shen to like him too.

Tsk.

Su Tingbai shook his head inwardly. He had no interest in dating. Making a few more good meals was far more appealing.

Sizzle— The pork belly on the grill began to brown and release its fragrance. Shen Rui'an's attention was immediately drawn over, his eyes fixed on the meat without blinking. He was a little hungry for it.

Su Tingbai's movements had become mechanical. He was still lost in thought.

"Boss, what are you thinking about? The meat's about to burn!" Little Zhu could not help reminding him.

Shen Rui'an was beside himself with anxiety. After hearing Little Zhu's reminder, he closed his mouth, which had been on the verge of speaking, then could not resist shooting Su Tingbai a glare. This cook was far too careless. How could he treat the ingredients in his hands like that? Wasn't he a food expert?

Su Tingbai came back to himself and saw that the barbecue was slightly charred. He hurriedly flipped it over, then turned his head and met Shen Rui'an's gaze. Had he just given him a reproachful look?

Did he like him?

Su Tingbai felt helpless. What was he supposed to do? He had only agreed to take care of little Shen for a while on his grandfather's behalf. He had not planned on giving up the rest of his life for it.

Su Tingbai looked at Shen Rui'an as if he wanted to speak but hesitated. Shen Rui'an met his complicated expression with an innocent, baffled look.

Shen Rui'an: ?

"You... forget it. This meat is done. What kind of dry seasoning do you like? Can you eat spicy food?" Meeting Shen Rui'an's dark, innocent eyes, Su Tingbai could not bear to say anything. He took out the meat, cut it into pieces with scissors, carefully selected the best portions, and placed them before Shen Rui'an. Then he brought over several dipping sauces.

Shen Rui'an stared solemnly at the dipping sauces before him, as though contemplating some great question of life.

Which one should he eat?

Just then, Meng Meng looked at her phone and said, "Boss, since we're free anyway, why don't we make up for this morning's livestream?"

Food mukbangs only truly hit the spot when updated in the dead of night!

Su Tingbai nodded indifferently, and Little Zhu and A-Ming began setting up the livestream camera angles so they would not miss the food.

Shen Rui'an tilted his head slightly as he watched them bustle about, looking a little at a loss.

Su Tingbai pulled him into a seat and personally mixed several spicy and non-spicy dipping sauces and dry seasonings for him. "Try them. I didn't make them too spicy. If you can't handle spice, try the other two."