As Long as There Are Children

In the general perception, red wine—specifically dry red—is actually quite astringent. Unless you are someone like Su Bai who particularly enjoys that specific note, you would likely make a face at it.

It really needs to be paired with roast meat to be truly enjoyable; it is meant to cut through the grease.

If there is no meat, sweet wine is actually much tastier.

Watching Su Bai taking large bites of meat and small sips of wine, a new thought popped into Xia Lin's head: Does drinking affect Su Bai's performance in *that* department?

Oh my, thinking about these weird things again... Xia Lin shook her head, banishing the messy thoughts, and focused intently on the skewer in front of her.

It was a skewer alternating between meat-stuffed peppers and chicken cartilage. Xia Lin loved this; it possessed both texture and freshness. It was sprinkled with salt and black pepper while grilling, and finally drizzled with lemon juice... though lime would have been best.

Many fresh poultry and seafood dishes were suitable for this method, and Xia Lin’s palate tended toward the lighter side.

Zhou Jialu, on the other hand, was busy messing with the chopped chili sauce. She was piling it wildly onto grilled oysters and serving them to Su Bai once they were done.

The junior student felt that every time he ate these "fuel-injecting" foods, his performance would improve.

She felt this was likely a psychological suggestion, because given Su Bai's capabilities, he didn't need external supplements. Su Bai was like an alien utilizing dark energy from a mysterious dimension—his vigor was eternally boundless.

Halfway through the wine, the sales manager approached with a beaming smile to ask Su Bai for a favor.

"You want me to help film a promotional video?" Su Bai glanced at her.

"It doesn't count as a promotional video, just a daily vlog for our Douyin account. You would just need to show your face. You don't need to worry about the filming or the script, and we will send the video to you for approval before we publish it."

The sales manager had finally "shown her hand." It appeared this red wine wasn't purely a free gift.

Of course, Su Bai felt there was no malice involved; it was a healthy exchange of value. She needed something from him, so she catered to his preferences to please him, and then proposed a collaboration. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Sure, film away. We've already added each other on WeChat, right? Just contact me then."

"Great, Mr. Su. Please continue eating, I won't disturb you."

The sales manager wore a sweet smile as she quickly retreated with small steps.

The other employees nearby watched, looking somewhat bewildered.

Their manager, usually so decisive and radiating the aura of a business elite, was incredibly respectful and submissive in front of Su Bai. They even detected a hint of her walking on eggshells.

Was that really necessary?

Amidst their curiosity, the employees also felt a little unconvinced. After all, Su Bai was simply too young. Some of them didn't know the true extent of Su Bai's assets, so they couldn't help but go up to the manager and mutter their dissatisfaction with subtle implications.

"Su Bai? Let me put it this way: it's not that I'm overthinking it, it's that you all are underthinking it."

Since the opportunity was rare and they had just closed a deal, the manager took the moment to offer some guidance to the group. "In business, 'Aura' is very important. What is Aura? Among the local influencers in Jiangcheng with any fame, the only one who touches upon true nobility is Su Bai. He has his own independent aesthetic, so whatever he does creates a bandwagon effect... At the end of the day, many wealthy people are just trend-followers."

"True... hey, so... people really just like to follow him..."

"Do you think a man who modifies a fully-loaded Porsche Panamera is in the same social class as those guys who buy second-hand Porsches just to show off at bars?"

As the saying goes, you can see the big picture from small details. The manager offered a few simple pointers, and the employees with intuition understood immediately. There was no need to say too much; those who didn't get it would never get it.

That was all there was to say.

The opportunity to latch onto a VIP was indeed something one had to grasp for themselves.

...

While Su Bai was still devouring skewers, Xia Lin had ended her lunch early and ran alone to the temporary restrooms behind the camping area to wash up.

Specifically, she wanted to rinse her mouth. In addition to buying safety tools at the supermarket (which she had shyly run away from without buying), she had purchased mouthwash.

Mouthwash was very useful; aside from freshening breath, it also killed bacteria. She thought that when she kissed Su Bai later, her mouth had to be sweet and fragrant.

"Can't wait already, sister?"

Just as she finished rinsing, Su Bai's voice came from behind her, scaring Xia Lin into a little jump.

"You little rascal, aren't you still eating?"

"The grilled flat noodles still need a moment. I saw Sister Lin doing something interesting, so I followed."

"..."

"I want to rinse too."

Su Bai took the mouthwash from Xia Lin's hand.

Xia Lin watched Su Bai rinsing his mouth earnestly and suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"Phew... what is it?"

"Nothing." She couldn't very well say that she found him incredibly handsome even when he was just rinsing his mouth, could she? Xia Lin didn't want to expose her infatuated nature to Su Bai... even though Su Bai had already sensed it, knowing it was one thing, but keeping up appearances was another.

Xia Lin changed the subject: "This cherry-flavored mouthwash tastes pretty good."

"I think it tastes better here."

"Where? Mmph..."

A long time passed.

Their lips parted, a crystal thread refracting the streaming light filtering through the leaves.

"You rascal, take it easy... I almost couldn't breathe!"

"You're so weak. Don't you work out every day? I didn't expect your cardio function to be this poor..."

"What does this have to do with cardio function!" Xia Lin was torn between laughing and crying. Su Bai, this guy, could always come up with some absurd logic that made people laugh. Come to think of it, she was always happy when she was with him; perhaps this was what they called a sense of relaxation.

True relaxation couldn't be faked; in Xia Lin's eyes, those who mindlessly imitated the "chill" foreign style were pure idiots.

"It seems Sister Lin's training is still lacking. If you were to pass away in bed later, your parents would be furious. They'd probably put a bounty on my head."

"Hahaha, that won't happen... Hey, do you know what my dad's bottom line is for my expectations?"

"Uh, failing the college entrance exams and only getting into a school like Jiangcheng University of Technology?"

"...Not regarding studies. I mean regarding marriage and relationships." Xia Lin paused. "Dad said I just need to have children. Even if I don't get married, I have to have kids."

Is this the universal bottom line for rich girls? Su Bai thought of Xu Xinran's gene plan, and his expression became quite colorful.

"So, brother, I... I'm okay with joining your... um, no problem, as long as we have children."

Xia Lin was still thin-skinned, speaking haltingly, and then she hugged Su Bai, enjoying the sweetness of the embrace.

"That's definitely no problem. If Sister Lin wants one now..."

"No! Now is definitely not okay, I still have to do my Master's degree."

Xia Lin glared at Su Bai with a flirtatious pout. Honestly, she wasn't ready to enter the role of a mother just yet.