Bai Su watched him with amusement. "It’s all right. We were going to eat them anyway."

Yelias stared at the shrimp in his hand. It even gave a little hop on the cutting board, looking so full of life.

He took a deep breath. "All right..."

His long, slender hand gently pressed down on the shrimp’s back as the knife he was holding slowly drew near.

The tip of the knife touched its back.

Even the viewers in the live chat grew tense, holding their breath along with him.

[Fun fact: You, the person in front of the screen, don’t have to hold your breath.]

[Hahahahahahaha, fuck! I was actually getting nervous!]

[Doctor Yelias is too kind, isn’t he? He’s a natural-born healer, so compassionate he can’t even bring himself to kill a little shrimp!]

The tip of the knife rested on the shrimp’s back, just about to pierce through.

Sensing the threat of death, the shrimp suddenly thrashed, breaking free from Yelias’s grasp and smacking him across the face in the process.

Yelias: "..."

Bai Su burst out laughing. "How could... a big guy like you get bullied by a shrimp?"

Water splashed all over Yelias’s face, leaving him with a bewildered expression.

Bai Su found this absolutely hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing.

[Hahahahahahahaha, Doctor Yelias is so adorable!]

[You wretched shrimp! How dare you bully our doctor! Let me at you, I’ll devour you!]

[You wretched shrimp! Do you have any idea how precious Doctor Yelias’s handsome face is? The absolute audacity!]

Yelias was a little mortified, and Bai Su’s laughter made him even more flustered. "Susu..."

Bai Su managed to stifle her laughter. "Okay, okay, I’ll stop laughing..."

Her eyes, shimmering with mirth and mischief, curved into crescents when she smiled, making it impossible for anyone to stay mad at her.

Bai Su recaptured the shrimp, slapped it onto the cutting board, and looked at him. "All right now, you have to hold it down firmly, or it’ll get away again."

Yelias nodded, a little more serious this time.

He gripped the knife, took a deep breath, and decisively lopped off the shrimp’s head.

After completing this step, he couldn’t help but pause, momentarily stunned.

’This is the first time I’ve ever used a blade to end a life.’

’Even if it’s only a shrimp.’

’But it’s undeniable that taking a life with a blade is so much simpler than saving one.’

’No distractions, no need to overthink it.’

He took another deep breath and looked down at the shrimp. Aiming the blade at its back, he mimicked Bai Su’s earlier action and sliced it open.

His force and angle were perfectly precise, cutting just deep enough to expose the vein.

With a deft flick, the vein came right out.

Bai Su clapped beside him. "Amazing, Doctor Yelias! You’re a natural, you picked it up right away!"

Yelias breathed a sigh of relief, no longer feeling so averse to holding the knife.

[Congrats to Doctor Yelias on his first knife-assisted shrimp kill! A momentous occasion!]

[Doctor Yelias has such an unexpectedly cute side to him. He’s adorable.]

[I think the boss lady and Doctor Yelias make a good pair too! One is a stunningly beautiful and cheerful little female, and the other is a reserved, gentle, and doting male. Hee hee...]

Lu Tingyan: [What’s so funny? You find something amusing?]

[Holy crap... Leader Lu is here.]

[Leader Lu, you’re a little too invested. Please give us Susu fans some space! Let us ship our couples and drool in peace!]

Lu Tingyan: [No.]

[Ahhhhh, I’m dying! This ship is killing me! The canon couple is the real deal!]

[When the canon couple provides the fluff, it’s the most lethal!]

[Leader Lu is so adorably proud and grumpy!]

[Sob, sob, who wouldn’t want a Wolf Beastman? They’re loyal by nature and only ever have one mate in their entire life!]

Because the Wolf Clan is by nature devoted to a single partner for life, Wolf Beastmen have always been the number one marriage prospect for females across the globe.

Lu Tingyan then sent 1,000 Carnivals, with the message: Honey, I love you.

A vein throbbed on Bai Su’s forehead as she watched. "Lu Tingyan, if you have that much money burning a hole in your pocket, then hand over your bank card for safekeeping!"

’He’s donating so much money, and the platform takes half of it!’

Lu Tingyan: [Honey, don’t be mad...]

Bai Su shot a glare at the stream’s camera.

[Hiss... The boss lady is so hot when she’s mad!]

[Can the boss lady glare at me again? Just like that. I’m weak in the knees. (I’m a female, btw)]

[Hahahaha, stop it, you’re gonna make Leader Lu get tilted again.]

[Question Leader Lu. Become Leader Lu. Surpass Leader Lu.]

[Whip me again, boss lady! (I’m kidding)]

Bai Su watched them, amused. "That’s enough out of you lot."

Yelias suddenly spoke up from the side. "Does Leader Lu make such a public declaration of his love in the stream every day?"

Lu Tingyan: [Is there a problem?]

Yelias smiled faintly. "Not at all. I just find it surprising that the great Leader has so much free time."

He was implying that a leader of his stature had nothing better to do than get paid to slack off and watch streams all day.

Lu Tingyan didn’t miss a beat: [It’s because I’m efficient. And isn’t Doctor Lanton quite free himself? Instead of saving the world one patient at a time, you have time to come to my wife for cooking lessons.]

The viewers in the stream could smell the gunpowder in the air.

The live chat went silent for a moment, then...

[Fight! Fight! Fight!]

[Leader Lu, are you just going to take that? If I were you, I wouldn’t stand for it!]

[Doctor Yelias, you’re too amazing to have a secret crush! If I were you, I’d declare my love for all to see!]

The live chat was doing its best to stir up trouble.

The corner of Bai Su’s mouth twitched. She looked at the camera with a helpless expression. "Lu Tingyan, behave."

Lu Tingyan: [...Awoo.]

[Awoooo~~~~ This ship is going to be the death of me!]

[Our great Leader has such a gentle side?] 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

[I dunno about that. He wasn’t like this during training when he swatted me into a wall with his wolf claw and I couldn’t be peeled off.]

[Leader Lu is so obedient!!! I’m writhing on my bed like a grub!!]

[Boss lady, please teach us your ways! How can we get such an obedient Wolf Beast Husband? I’m overheating with envy!]

Suddenly, a massive new wave of people flooded into the stream.

[What? Leader Lu is here?]

[Leader Lu!!! *Sob, sob* I sent you a letter, why haven’t you replied?]

[Leader Lu, I submitted an anonymous letter on behalf of the Sky Rainbow District proposing a statue of you in the main square! Please get back to me!]

[Leader Lu, I sent you 99 letters filled with my love for you! Please just take one look!]

[Leader Lu! I wanted to ask, if I enlist, can I be assigned to your command? I’m a Rat Beastman!]

Lu Tingyan silently left the livestream.

A message quickly appeared on Bai Su’s personal terminal: [I’m getting back to work. I won’t disturb you. See you tonight.]

Bai Su couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. She messaged back: [Okay.]

The entire chat was clamoring for Leader Lu, though their pleas were interspersed with comments fawning over Doctor Yelias’s handsome face.

Stifling another laugh, Bai Su messaged him again: [You’re just going to leave without saying goodbye to your adoring public?]

Lu Tingyan: [They’re too loud.]

Bai Su: [So there are things that give the great Leader Lu a headache after all.]

She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she pictured Lu Tingyan staring at the stream with a dark expression for a few seconds before silently retreating.

Beside her, Yelias suddenly spoke up. "Susu, this shrimp still seems a bit difficult to handle. Could you perhaps guide me again, hand-over-hand, like before?"

With a single sentence, he successfully drew the attention of both Bai Su and the entire livestream audience back to himself.