Su Bai lit a small campfire.
The firewood and other supplies were, of course, delivered by a supplier. Su Bai had recently realized that with his current status, at least within Jiangcheng's territory, he had familiar channels for just about anything he wanted, capable of delivering items in a relatively short amount of time.
Unless it was something rarely in stock and required customization.
However, that kind of situation wasn't very common anyway.
The night was as dark as ink, gently wrapping the tranquility around the reservoir. The light of the campfire reflected on Li Xingya's face, making her look exceptionally beautiful.
Not only the warm glow of the campfire, but the faint blue flame of the portable stove also looked beautiful.
Li Xingya seemed to fit seamlessly into any slice-of-life scene.
Therefore, adding her to Su Bai's big family of female confidantes naturally wouldn't feel out of place either.
The seafood rice was ready, and Su Bai called Li Xingya over to eat. Her expression was still quite reserved; her mindset hadn't completely shifted yet. The way she looked at Su Bai still carried a hint of awe reserved for a boss. Moreover, that sense of obedience and admiration was something Su Bai thoroughly enjoyed.
Deliberate flattery and genuine admiration were certainly two entirely different things.
The breathtaking deep kiss from earlier had left Li Xingya melting like a puddle of water in Su Bai's arms. Her mind was dizzy, and she had completely lost track of time and place.
If her stomach hadn't embarrassingly let out a protest, she felt she might not have been able to bear leaving that warm embrace.
So now, Li Xingya's attention was wildly drawn to the seafood rice in front of her.
She really did love eating fish.
When she was little, she had occasionally tasted a very delicious fish at a relative's banquet. Being young and not thinking much of it, she clamored for her parents to buy that kind of fish after returning home, only to be scolded by them.
She only found out later that it seemed to be a very expensive type of fish.
As for now, Li Xingya finally realized that salmon actually wasn't that expensive. Buying it online cost a few dozen yuan a pound, which was honestly quite reasonable.
The King Salmon Su Bai used for the seafood rice might be a bit pricier, but among the ingredients used in this dish, it was already the cheapest.
The real cost came from the bluefin tuna, as well as some top-quality squid and cuttlefish, which had a much higher price ceiling.
While cooking, Li Xingya had listened to Su Bai explain quite a bit about it.
Su Bai took the time to truly understand his ingredients. The actual rule of thumb was simple: for any fish species where ordinary quality could only be cooked, but high quality could be served as sashimi, the sashimi-grade versions were always very expensive.
For example, squid, sliced and scored, then mixed into the seafood rice, tasted absolutely incredible.
Seeing Li Xingya looking like she was about to drool while still trying to maintain her composure, Su Bai felt it was necessary to help her relax a bit. So, he picked up her spoon and fed her.
"Mmph? Mmm..."
Li Xingya let out a soft sound, her face flushed red as she had no choice but to accept Su Bai feeding her.
Later on, she simply leaned against Su Bai's chest to eat.
After finishing the seafood rice, Su Bai wanted to pan-fry some beef to eat, and Li Xingya volunteered to cook it for him.
Tsk tsk, what a diligent girl. Su Bai could clearly feel how reluctant she was to leave his embrace, yet she still took the initiative to get up and cook. She was probably the type of person who felt guilty whenever she was idle.
This kind of girl was the easiest to tease.
"It seems Xingya has a good appetite today."
"Mmm... Boss, do you think I eat too much?"
"Not at all, why would anyone dislike you eating a lot? Eating a lot means you're healthy; that's a good thing."
"Eh, but... my dad always used to say... mmph..."
Li Xingya didn't quite know how to articulate it.
Su Bai, however, seemed to understand. It looked like a classic family of origin issue.
Some girls always used their family of origin as an excuse for their various questionable behaviors.
Li Xingya obviously wasn't that kind of case; her parents genuinely hadn't treated her very well.
Su Bai wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her on the cheek.
"It's okay. Now that you've joined our side, no one will ever complain about you eating too much. You can eat whatever you want, as much as you want." Su Bai smiled. "Hah, now I finally have someone to enjoy good food with."
She was a top-tier foodie companion.
Moreover, she was very skilled at cooking, making it obvious that she had frequently done chores at home since she was young.
She could be his assistant when he was experimenting in the kitchen.
Su Bai had always felt that bustling about in the kitchen with someone you like, cooking purely for fun and without any pressure, was a very happy thing.
Eating delicious food you made yourself gave a great sense of accomplishment.
Cooking with a beautiful girl gave double the sense of accomplishment.
The beef was pan-fried to perfection.
This time, Su Bai hadn't chosen Wagyu. He had gotten sick of eating Wagyu when hanging out with Xia Lin. Aside from its fatty aroma, in many cooking methods, it actually wasn't as good as high-quality domestic yellow beef.
Su Bai picked up a perfectly cooked piece of beef with his chopsticks, blew on it, and offered it directly to her lips.
Li Xingya obediently opened her mouth and, without even reaching for the chopsticks, took a bite of the beef.
The fresh, tender meat juices burst in her mouth, and the rich, milky aroma instantly conquered her taste buds.
"Mmm! So good!"
Li Xingya narrowed her eyes in bliss, her cheeks bulging like a little hamster eating.
Looking at her completely defenseless and entirely dependent appearance, Su Bai's protective instincts overflowed. She was like a blank sheet of paper, allowing him to paint her with his own colors.
After filling their stomachs, the item Su Bai had requested arrived. Li Xingya had been curious earlier about what Su Bai had ordered, but kissing him and cooking together had been so blissful that it drove the curiosity right out of her head. She only remembered it just now.
Fortunately, the delivery guy hadn't forgotten his job.
"Boss, here is the lounge chair you ordered. Where should I set it up for you?"
"Right here is fine, not too far from the tent."
"Alright!"
The driver directed his companion, and they very carefully brought over a lounge chair.
This was probably the most exquisite lounge chair Li Xingya had ever seen.
Whether it was the eye-catching yet low-key luxurious design, or the genuine leather upholstery that looked incredibly expensive at first glance, everything about it exuded an air of exclusivity.
"Boss, this lounge chair... must be very expensive, right?"
Li Xingya asked softly.
"It is indeed an expensive chair. I actually ordered it a while ago, but I just remembered it today, so I had them deliver it. Lying on it by the reservoir and looking at the stars at night should feel pretty nice."
This lounge chair was the famous Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair.
Although it wasn't an office chair, it was the jewel in the crown of the Herman Miller brand. It was an artwork in the permanent collection of the MoMA museum, and a standard fixture in the studies of countless successful people.
Made of molded plywood and premium leather, its original design intention was to wrap around you like a warm, well-used baseball mitt. It wasn't suitable for office work; it was only meant for reading, thinking, and resting.
Fitted with the highest quality wood veneer and leather, a single chair cost eighty thousand yuan.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.