Heart Pounding

Baisui was a mutt he had picked up while recuperating in the land of longevity.

Since he was renting a villager's courtyard, he occasionally went for walks in the back hills.

The local graveyard was in those hills, unlike in the city, where people were buried in designated cemeteries.

He had just recovered from a serious illness then. Tormented by pain until he had lost all desire to live, he had somehow pulled through, but remained deeply depressed. He told his bodyguards not to follow him and wandered aimlessly alone through that scenic place.

He had considered giving up. He strolled slowly through the mountains by himself, lost and uncertain of what he was supposed to do.

He had merely grown tired from walking and, with his blood sugar running low, sat down wherever he was. Leaning against a tombstone, he fell asleep. When he woke, he heard a dog bark. A pale yellow puppy emerged from the weeds atop a grave, and he noticed that the tombstone belonged to a martyr who had been only nineteen when he died.

He stared wordlessly at the account of the man's life carved into the stone. After wiping down the tombstone, he bowed to the grave and took the puppy away, naming it Baisui.

For some reason, he had not wanted to give up after that. Still, he did not hold much hope for his own life. He would simply live one day at a time.

Baisui's arrival truly brought him plenty of joy. It was his first time raising a puppy, and he did everything himself, caring for it almost like a mother. Over time, he found himself reluctant to die, afraid that Baisui would be sad after he was gone.

Perhaps it was selfish. He had never considered whether his family would be sad after his death, yet he worried whether a puppy would be sad.

Shen Rui'an felt that he was despicable, but when his illness flared up, it hurt too much. He did not have such a strong will.

"Woof, woof!" Baisui stuck out its tongue, about to lick Shen Rui'an. Shen Rui'an pinched its snout. "You can't lick me. I haven't even washed my face yet!"

After setting Baisui down, Shen Rui'an noticed the tall figure leaning against the doorway. He paused, then nodded to Su Tingbai in greeting. "Morning."

"Morning. I made breakfast. Come downstairs and try it. I made Snail Rice Noodles today, though I'm not sure whether you like it." Su Tingbai withdrew his gaze from Shen Rui'an and looked at the puppy circling Shen Rui'an's pant legs. "Oh, I prepared its breakfast too. Is minced meat porridge all right?"

Pleased by Su Tingbai's thoughtfulness, Shen Rui'an gave him a rare, brilliant smile. "Thank you."

The sun was already high in the sky. When Su Tingbai had lived here before, he had set the curtains to open automatically at nine. At around nine-thirty, he had gone upstairs intending to wake Shen Rui'an.

The smart curtains had long since opened, sunlight spilling over the entire bed. The room was filled with the scent of warm sunshine. A fluffy black head was tucked beneath the blankets, and Shen Rui'an was still sleeping soundly, so Su Tingbai had not disturbed him.

Not long after going downstairs, he received Baisui, the little mutt Shen Rui'an's eldest brother had sent over.

After putting away all the puppy's belongings that Shen Rui'an's brother had brought in a small room on the third floor, he checked on Shen Rui'an again. He was still asleep, which made Su Tingbai a little worried.

Then, at ten-thirty, Baisui trotted eagerly into Shen Rui'an's room and lay by the bed, playing with its toy ball by itself. Before long, Shen Rui'an woke up.

Su Tingbai was quite surprised.

The sunlight was bright now, and lush greenery filled the view outside. Golden, dazzling rays streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, making the entire room brilliantly lit. Shen Rui'an stood with his back to the window, sunlight scattered over him. He looked like a glowing angel, every strand of hair rimmed in gold. He smiled at Su Tingbai, and Su Tingbai felt as though all those late nights had given him a heart problem. His heart pounded wildly.

Why would his heart keep beating so hard? It was more intense than after his five-kilometer run that morning.

"N-No problem." He fled in a panic. "I'll go check on your food."

With that, he vanished.

"?" Shen Rui'an blinked, touching his face. Why had Su Tingbai run off so quickly?

Without giving it much thought, he was nudged in the leg by Baisui's fluffy little head. He came back to himself, went to wash up, then headed downstairs feeling refreshed.

Come to think of it, it was strange. Was the feng shui here particularly good? He had actually been in fine condition these past two days, without that muddled, exhausting feeling in his body.

Shen Rui'an did not have time to think further before his attention was captured by the domineering aroma of the Snail Rice Noodles downstairs.

Baisui was a little mutt from Gui Province. Shen Rui'an had been there before. He had never eaten Snail Rice Noodles, but even passing by noodle shops, he had been tempted by their aggressive fragrance. Unfortunately, they were too spicy, and his family would not let him try them. Even when he secretly ordered some, the auntie hired to look after him would stop him.

He had no choice but to give up.

Now that he had come to Su Tingbai's villa, it was like a little mouse falling into a rice jar. No one could control him!

The smell of pickled bamboo shoots made Shen Rui'an swallow. Before him was a bowl of perfectly authentic Snail Rice Noodles, with a braised egg and other side dishes beside it: deep-fried then braised pig trotters, chicken feet, duck feet, and even quail eggs!

Freshly ground soy milk had been chilled in a glass, carrying a rich soybean fragrance. One sniff told him that the soybeans must have been roasted before being blended, giving it a toasted aroma.

Su Tingbai placed Baisui's minced meat porridge into its bowl. Seeing Shen Rui'an staring curiously at the soy milk, he said, "I roasted the soybeans before grinding them, so there's no raw bean smell, and it's more fragrant and mellow. Try it and see whether the sweetness suits you."

Shen Rui'an nodded. Not seeing Little Zhu and the others, he could not help asking, "Where are Little Zhu and the others?"

Su Tingbai pulled out a chair and sat across from Shen Rui'an, pushing the Snail Rice Noodles side dishes toward him. "They filmed the footage this morning. They're busy in the studio now."

Only Su Tingbai and Shen Rui'an stayed in this building. Little Zhu and the others only came over when they needed to film cooking footage. Usually, they edited videos in another building, where they also had rooms. When they were not busy, they could drive back into the city to have fun.

Su Tingbai did not necessarily upload food videos every day. His update frequency was not high; once a week was already quite good, so Little Zhu and the others did not work particularly long hours.

He mainly stayed here because he wanted to be alone and avoid those annoying romantic pursuers.

Sheltered beneath the Shen Household's wings, Shen Rui'an had not even attended school in person. He had little contact with people or society and did not know much about other people's work schedules. After hearing Su Tingbai's explanation, he did not find anything strange about it.

His mind had already been completely drawn to the Snail Rice Noodles.

Snail Rice Noodles, Fire Chicken Noodles, Cao's, Spicy Hot Pot, and the like were mostly popular foods in mukbang videos. He had long yearned for them.

Like an overgrown child, Shen Rui'an was not interested in premium ingredients or gourmet food. Instead, he had a particular fondness for the "junk food" parents disliked.

It was like children who hated regular meals but loved instant noodles, wishing that once they grew up, they could eat instant noodles every day.

He did not really understand hardship. He felt that his greatest suffering was the recurring, unpredictable pain of his illness. Precisely because of that, he had no spare energy to think about much else. He lived one day at a time, hoping to spend every day happily and freely.

Seeing Baisui begin to eat, he accepted the chopsticks Su Tingbai handed him and picked up a piece of tofu skin that had softened slightly in the Snail Rice Noodles.

He had heard that tofu skin soaked in broth until it absorbed all the flavor was delicious.

"I wasn't sure whether you eat things like scallions and garlic, so I didn't add any. If you can have them, here, I brought some." Su Tingbai strode into the kitchen and brought back a few small side dishes, mostly standard accompaniments from Snail Rice Noodles shops: pickled water spinach stems, finely minced garlic and chopped scallions, some chopped cilantro, as well as chili sauce and pickled radish.