It's my turn!

The staff member sighed inwardly, practically tearing their hair out.

The production team hated to admit it, but the romance arc they had set up seemed to have failed.

They had originally given Bai Shen and Yu Manman an older-man, marriage-before-love storyline.

In other words, they would spend time together first, develop feelings through everyday life, and let love follow naturally.

But both had built successful careers in their respective fields and were used to being catered to. Getting them to take the initiative and strike a spark themselves was rather difficult.

At any rate, judging by what had just happened, it had failed.

Shi Zhou seemed to have an innate ability to make everyone around him happy, like a little sun.

Who knew whether this little undercover agent, this little ray of sunshine, could salvage the romance arc the production team had so carefully prepared?

The production team still refused to give up.

Shi Zhou asked hesitantly, "...What am I going in there for?"

"They're running out of things to talk about. Go stoke the fire a little. Go on, go on." The staff member couldn't help laughing at the sight of him tilting his head with a meat skewer raised in his hand.

Only then did Shi Zhou remember that he had signed a new contract. When necessary, he was supposed to cooperate with the production team on little assignments.

He couldn't take their money for nothing.

Besides, it overlapped with his system mission. He had come on the show to play wingman anyway.

"OK!" Shi Zhou's gaze turned resolute. "Leave it to me."

It's my turn!

He marched halfway there before doubling back, reluctantly preparing to entrust his "weapon" to the staff member for the time being.

"Then hold this for me! No sneaking bites!"

The staff member's gaze softened. There was simply no dealing with this kid.

They couldn't help laughing aloud.

"Just put it on a plate. Who's going to fight you for that?"

Realization dawned on Shi Zhou, and he drew the meat skewer back against his chest like a treasure. "Hahahaha, right!"

Using showing off his meat skewer as an excuse, he ran into the kitchen and told the two of them what had just happened. He cracked himself up as he spoke, and smiles appeared on Bai Shen's and Yu Manman's faces too.

"Slow down," Bai Shen said gently. "Your forehead's getting sweaty. Be careful you don't catch a chill later."

Still holding his meat skewer, Shi Zhou reached to open the fridge for some water. Yu Manman smiled and took it from him. "I'll hold that for you. Take it slowly, or you might poke yourself."

His arrival completely swept away the heavy silence in the kitchen.

Holding his meat skewer, Yu Manman looked it up and down, laughing helplessly. "What does durian with meat even taste like? Hahahaha."

She watched Shi Zhou gulp down water, his Adam's apple bobbing. When he lowered his head, his youthful energy washed over her.

Shi Zhou was taller than Yu Manman. Looking down at her, he smiled and said, "I think people really do eat it this way in some places."

As Yu Manman looked into his smiling eyes, something seemed to give the strings of her previously calm, bored heart a gentle pluck.

She couldn't help taking a small half step back.

"Would you dare eat it?" she asked.

Of course Shi Zhou wouldn't. He twisted the bottle cap and said with a smile:

"I think we could make this kind of skewer a punishment. Whoever loses at cards has to eat it. Hahahaha."

"Good idea." Yu Manman burst out laughing.

After finishing his water, Shi Zhou took back his meat skewer and ran out again.

Hearing his footsteps leave, Bai Shen paused briefly, then continued his work without a word.

Yu Manman fell silent too, and the kitchen went quiet again.

The atmosphere settled back into silence.

Before long, however, someone came in again and stood right beside Bai Shen.

Bai Shen heard him say, "Wow, Manman! I didn't get a close look earlier. This looks amazing!"

Bai Shen abruptly raised his head and saw the young man meet his gaze with a bright smile and wink at him.

"Thanks for all your hard work too, Brother Shen. You're doing great!"

Bai Shen's expression softened, like flowering branches shaking off their snow in winter.

"Mm, thank you."

Shi Zhou smiled, then turned back to look at the slices of meat draped over various decorations. One large platter had even been arranged in the shape of a boat.

He marveled at the meat on the counter, teasing a little on purpose. "Whoa, if you eat the bow, does that symbolize rising to greater heights?"

"Brother Shen has to eat this. His company will reach greater heights and sail even farther!"

Yu Manman laughed heartily. "I didn't even think of that! Absolutely, Brother Shen has to eat it!"

Bai Shen smiled. "Thank you both. I promise I'll finish it all."

"Why do you keep thanking me? I'm just talking. Manman did all the work," Shi Zhou said.

"You'll be doing everything later. You're the head chef," Yu Manman said.

Then she tugged at the hem of his shirt and asked with a smile, "So, can you guess what's supporting it underneath?"

Shi Zhou hurriedly leaned closer for another look and clicked his tongue. "No idea. That's amazing."

Yu Manman smiled and explained it to him at length, still seeming eager to say more when she finished.

Shi Zhou quite liked hearing people talk about things he didn't understand. He was humble and had an inquisitive pair of eyes, so everyone was happy to answer his questions.

Besides, he could be either introverted or extroverted. He could listen to others, and he could do the talking himself.

Once he finished chatting with Yu Manman, Shi Zhou checked the time.

"It's about time to start getting some chicken wings, popcorn chicken, and things ready to fry."

Bai Shen said, "Then I'll help you wash them again."

As he spoke, he somewhat awkwardly picked up the apron hanging beside the fridge and slipped it over his neck, but couldn't manage to tie it.

"I'll do it," Shi Zhou said.

He fastened it in one go. "This one's magnetic. It's made of biomimetic fabric that automatically fits your body."

Trying to tie it would only stop it from fastening.

Bai Shen was a little taller, and once he put it on, the apron automatically lengthened to suit his height.

Bai Shen had been busy with work in recent years and hardly ever entered the kitchen. He didn't even spend much time at home.

His memories of the kitchen were still of spending holidays with his parents as a child, the three of them standing close together, doing nothing much, just chatting about everyday things. This scene stirred those warm memories, softening his gaze for a moment.

The apron over his suit waistcoat didn't look strange at all. Instead, it gave him the air of a handsome husband.

Yu Manman watched intently from the side, her face a little flushed. She had always been a sucker for good looks. She liked handsome men.

She had no intention of denying that one reason she had accepted this show was to look at attractive people, men or women.

Maybe she was into him again.

Shi Zhou caught Yu Manman's expression too and couldn't help making a victory sign in his heart.

See? The big shot usually looked so professional and serious. Handsome, yes, but a little unapproachable. This side of him was such a contrast that girls could easily fall for him.

It was time for him to serve his purpose as their wingman!

"Could you help me prepare some ingredients for the marinade too?" Shi Zhou asked.

Only after he saw them standing a little closer did Shi Zhou pretend to ask casually:

"Brother Shen, are you mainly working on AI creation now?"

Once the contrast had sparked interest, it was time to show off his expertise and inspire admiration.

Whew. He had discussed this move with the production team. It was tailored specifically for Yu Manman.

The corners of Bai Shen's thin lips lifted slightly as he understood Shi Zhou's intention. "Yes."

"But I don't have many AI products at home, so I genuinely haven't seen an apron like this before."

Yu Manman smiled and asked, her eyes wide, "Why not?"

Bai Shen wasn't ashamed to admit that there were things he didn't know. That was rare among the successful people Yu Manman had met.

Bai Shen placed the peeled garlic in the food processor and pressed the switch with his long index finger. His voice was refined and pleasant. "Our company's products don't simply use the new W-113 material. Instead, we use Star Energy computation to let AI evolve independently..."

He spoke at length, explaining it very clearly.

Yu Manman lowered her head.

Shi Zhou was genuinely interested and took the initiative to move a little closer to them.

But he quickly came back to his senses. He was here on a mission. Seeing that Yu Manman was bored, he helped put it in simpler terms:

"So does that mean AI could actually think for itself in the future?"

This was also a breakthrough humanity was still striving for. The issue had been raised during the Third Mechanical Intelligence Revolution two hundred years earlier, but had been shelved because of ethical concerns and certain technical obstacles. Over those two centuries, some companies had claimed to create "mechanical life," but they were merely selling a lie under a grand label.

Bai Shen hadn't expected him to follow this topic too. It was even further from the large model's predictions.

According to the profile the large model had predicted, Shi Zhou liked mindlessly buying luxury goods and had a gaudy sense of style with no concept of coordination.

He hardly seemed like an art student.

Yet now the young man before him was plating food while turning back with sparkling eyes. A glance at his outfit showed seemingly simple little design touches that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

It wasn't that Bai Shen had deliberately paid attention to Shi Zhou. He simply had a photographic memory and couldn't forget even if he wanted to.

Bai Shen withdrew his gaze and smiled. "Yes."

He had that confidence.

After listening for quite a while, Yu Manman offered her opinion with satisfaction. "Then someday I want to buy a robot boyfr- ahem, friend."

She remembered that she was on a dating show. Still, she was the sort who anonymously called people "hubby" and "Mom" on StarNet, all bravado online, only to hem and haw endlessly without getting a word out in person.

If only she could have a mechanical lover. Then she wouldn't have to worry about anything and could tell him whatever she wanted.

Right! Wouldn't that solve her problem at its root?!

At that thought, she asked Bai Shen several more questions, wanting to know when robot boyfriends could truly become a reality.

The current ones didn't count. They were merely simulations produced by big-data algorithms.

Satisfied and convinced that he had completed his mission, Shi Zhou found another excuse to go outside.

Sure enough, the staff thought Shi Zhou had done a good job too and gave him a thumbs-up from the corner.

Shi Zhou: Hehe.

Bai Shen's romance progress was sure to shoot up now.

Shi Zhou turned back contentedly, only to see Su Yue standing behind him, watching him with a frown.

"What are you doing here?"