A friend of mine

Only after the deliveryman left did Yu Nian look at the card. It turned out to be the same business card for the manager of Imperial Flavor House that Assistant Yin had given him before.

But downtown was too far from the university. Even without counting the cooking time, getting from Imperial Flavor House to his place would take at least forty or fifty minutes on the road alone.

Besides, the restaurant looked expensive, and he couldn't readily afford to eat there.

Qin Yuheng had also told him before that if he wanted food from that restaurant, he could have someone deliver it.

At the time, he'd assumed it was just a polite offer. After taking the business card home, he hadn't paid it any attention and had long since lost track of where he'd put it.

Thinking about it now, Qin Yuheng hadn't just been being polite.

No, more accurately, Qin Yuheng didn't seem like someone who made empty polite offers at all.

But how had Qin Yuheng known he hadn't eaten dinner? Or had he simply happened to think of him and ordered some food?

With a complicated expression, Yu Nian carried the food containers back to his room, sat down in front of the screen, and silently took out his phone.

He appeared on camera looking preoccupied, and the chat asked whether something had happened.

But Yu Nian didn't even look up.

[Did something happen to the streamer?]

[He doesn't even seem to notice the screen. Did he forget he was streaming again? Haha.]

[Holy shit... that's actually possible.]

[Don't do anything silly again, streamer! (If you're going to, do it in my room /cute /cute)]

Yu Nian had only been streaming with his face on camera for a few days, and sometimes he even forgot that he'd turned the camera on.

It was usually fine, but once, he'd accidentally gotten his clothes dirty while eating and said he was going to find something to change into.

The computer desk he used for streaming was right beside his bed. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, assuming things were still like before, when he hadn't used a camera.

As a result, he'd nearly lifted his shirt and taken it off right in front of the camera. The chat had instantly exploded in alarm, thinking he was about to go wild and test the limits of the platform's rules.

Fortunately, the phone on his desk had chimed just then. Only when Yu Nian walked over did he notice that the camera was still on. He blurted out, "Holy shit!" in fright and immediately covered the camera with a towel.

The chat had been half disappointed and half teasing, leaving Yu Nian embarrassed for ages.

[Speaking of last time, the streamer seriously owes whoever messaged him a bow.]

[Hahahaha, exactly. That was the first time I'd heard him swear. He must've been scared to death.]

[Not me. I just want to know who ruined my fun! /angry]

[Nian Bao, Nian Bao, look at the screen!]

This time, Yu Nian hadn't forgotten. After sending a message, he looked up at the screen. "Sorry, I had something to deal with just now."

In fact, he'd been messaging Qin Yuheng.

Yu Nian: Brother Yu, thank you for ordering food for me, but you don't need to go to the trouble next time. There's plenty of good food around here too.

Qin Yuheng replied with just one word: Okay.

[That's good. I thought the streamer was about to put on another live strip show...]

Yu Nian blushed. "Of course not. That costs extra."

[Hahaha, you?]

[Talking dirty while blushing. Baby, why are you so cute? /kiss]

[Thinking about how Nian Bao used to act so casual when joking with us while secretly blushing off-camera... ah, that's just too adorable!]

The thought of nearly taking his shirt off last time still left Yu Nian shaken.

By coincidence, Qin Yuheng had messaged him right then, making him realize that his camera was still on. Otherwise, he would have made a complete fool of himself.

Of course, he would never tell Qin Yuheng about something like that. It was far too embarrassing.

Sitting at his desk, Yu Nian opened the packaging. "Sorry, I need to eat. It won't take long."

[It's fine, it's fine. Take your time, Nian Bao. We don't mind watching an eating stream.]

[Wow, today's packaging looks so fancy. I bet the food's delicious.]

[Wasn't the streamer just trying to decide what takeout to order? How did it arrive so fast?]

Yu Nian offered a half-true explanation. "A friend of mine tried this restaurant before and thought it was good, so he ordered some for me."

[Wow, what a nice friend. But his timing was perfect. Could he be watching your stream?]

Yu Nian faltered, but quickly said, "No, that friend is pretty busy with work, and he doesn't like watching streams."

[Oh, so your partner didn't order it? Whatever, let me have a bite.]

[The streamer doesn't have a partner, person above.]

"That's right. I spend all my time with you guys every day, so I don't have time to date." Yu Nian opened a tightly wrapped container of chicken soup and held it toward the camera with a smile. "You guys can have the first bite."

[That looks so good. Now I'm hungry.]

[I'm tearing up. The streamer cares so much about his viewers. So how about dating me? I'm a viewer too. /cute cat face]

[Date me, streamer. I can cook! I'll make you delicious food every day!]

Knowing they were joking, Yu Nian smiled gently without taking it seriously. "Cooking is so much work. How could I make my partner cook for me every day?"

"If you ever meet someone who wants you to cook for them every day, that's really not okay. Don't agree to it."

Remembering how Qin Yu had made him cook this and that whenever he came over, ordering him around like a personal chef, Yu Nian still felt a little scarred.

Yu Nian unpacked all the containers. There were three dishes and a soup in total, with modest portions that were just enough for him.

And just as the deliveryman had said, the food was still hot when he opened it.

[That looks so appetizing. Which restaurant is it from?]

[Isn't that food from Imperial Flavor House? Don't they never offer delivery?]

[I looked it up after seeing the packaging. This place is so expensive, and they really don't deliver.]

Yu Nian froze for a moment. Clearly, he hadn't expected that.

But he quickly recovered. "Right, the restaurant didn't deliver it. My friend happened to be there, so he had it packed up and specifically asked someone to bring it over."

After streaming for so long, Yu Nian sometimes kept private matters to himself rather than telling his viewers the complete truth. He was already quite practiced at these harmless little fabrications.

Although the food had been delivered from far away, it tasted every bit as good as last time.

He had to admit that both their service and their food were excellent. No wonder even Qin Yuheng had gone out of his way to get a platinum membership there.

Yu Nian finished every last drop of the chicken soup, tidied up the desk, and continued streaming.

The dinner Qin Yuheng had sent him that evening reminded him that he still hadn't settled on a gift for him.

Since he couldn't come up with anything himself, he might as well ask everyone for ideas.

"There's something I can't decide on, and I'd like to hear what you guys think."