Chapter 157: Signs of Jealousy

After Yu Xin finished speaking, she took the initiative to pick up the shrimp that Tian Boyu had just failed to peel and popped it into her own mouth.

Across the table, Qin Jingchen remained expressionless, keeping his head down as he continued to eat. The movement did not attract much attention, though Tian Boyu paused, his gaze lingering on Su Wanning with a meaningful look.

Off-camera, his manager frantically signaled him with his eyes. Tian Boyu pursed his lips, looking displeased, but he kept his head down and continued peeling shrimp. This time, he distributed the shrimp to the other guests sitting nearby, which finally allowed his manager to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, because of his actions, Su Wanning watched as the entire platter of shrimp vanished at a visible speed, until only one remained. She set down her chopsticks and sighed inwardly.

Su Wanning had a habit: whenever she was dining with others, she would never touch the very last piece of food on a plate; it was a matter of childhood upbringing. Yet, she wasn't interested in the other seafood, and having eaten very little that evening despite significant physical exertion, her stomach was growling. Her eyes wandered toward that final shrimp from time to time, her mouth watering.

The others were chatting while they ate and did not notice, but the audience in the livestream, who had been observing Su Wanning closely, began to pick up on the situation.

"Is Sister Su hungry? Why does she keep looking at the food on the table without touching her chopsticks?"
"She doesn't seem like the reserved type."
"Could she be trying to lose weight?"
"Haha, please. She’s built a persona of 'eating whatever she wants without gaining weight,' but now she’s secretly dieting here. Typical: preaching one thing in public and doing another in private."
"I think she just doesn't like seafood. She didn't eat much of the seafood feast President Qin prepared earlier, either."
"Are you kidding? President Qin himself said that seafood is Su Wanning's favorite, and she even admitted it!"
"Can't a person's tastes change?"

The comments section descended into an argument, but Su Wanning, focused entirely on the shrimp, remained oblivious.

Qin Jingchen, however, noticed the chatter in the comments and frowned slightly. Having spent years in the business world, he had long mastered the habit of hiding his emotions in public, but that did not mean he lacked perception. He had long since realized the true nature of Tian Boyu’s interest in Su Wanning, and he understood perfectly well why the platter of shrimp had disappeared so rapidly.

Across from Su Wanning, Tian Boyu also noticed. He saw that Su Wanning’s gaze kept drifting toward the last shrimp, yet she never reached for it. Hesitant, he glanced at his manager, who was still glaring at him from a distance. With a sigh and a furrowed brow, he set down his chopsticks.

As the seconds ticked by, no one touched the shrimp, and Su Wanning’s glances became increasingly frequent. Eventually, Tian Boyu could sit still no longer. After a few more seconds, as if finally reaching a decision, he picked up his chopsticks. But just as they were inches away from the shrimp, a hand suddenly shot out from the side, snatching the shrimp with surgical precision before he could reach it.

Tian Boyu froze. He instinctively looked up, following the arm, only to find it was Qin Jingchen.

The two men’s gazes met in the air. Qin Jingchen remained expressionless, but his eyes were filled with an imposing sense of pressure. The look made Tian Boyu feel inexplicably guilty; his hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and he shifted his aim to pick up a scallop instead.

Qin Jingchen said nothing. He calmly withdrew his gaze and placed the shrimp onto his own plate. Su Wanning’s eyes seemed glued to it, following the movement all the way to the man beside her.

She was screaming internally with regret. If she had known it would come to this, she wouldn't have bothered acting coy. She should have claimed that shrimp sooner, rather than suffering as she watched it end up on someone else’s plate.

As if oblivious to the burning gaze beside him, Qin Jingchen set down his chopsticks and picked up the shrimp with his fingers. His movements were elegant and refined; he first twisted off the head, then peeled the shell.

In that moment, Qin Jingchen’s movements seemed to be in slow motion. Su Wanning could no longer hear the sounds around her; her appetite was fully piqued. Just by watching, she could almost feel the tender meat bouncing between her lips and teeth.

Soon, Qin Jingchen had the whole piece of meat peeled. Just as she was about to give up and look away, the shrimp was placed onto her plate.

Su Wanning blinked, disbelieving. She turned her head in surprise to look at the man, only to meet Qin Jingchen’s smiling eyes.

"Eat."

At that moment, the word sounded like a divine melody; she had never heard Qin Jingchen’s voice sound so pleasant.

"Thank you!"

The gratitude was heartfelt. After saying it, she lowered her head to eat the shrimp, not noticing that Qin Jingchen’s gaze never left her. Across from them, Tian Boyu watched them both.

It was like a three-way drama that no one else at the lively dinner table could perceive. Beside Tian Boyu sat Yu Xin, who kept her head down, eating. She looked neither at the man beside her nor at the people across the table. As for why she was deliberately avoiding them, only she knew the reason.

When dinner ended, the group was invited by the production team to the beach. The tide had risen after sunset, and the beach looked completely different from how it had appeared during the day.

The crew had built a bonfire on the sand, intending to host a simple welcome ceremony to mark the start of their filming on the island. The fire was lit, and golden flames danced and rose before them. Accompanied by the crackling of burning wood, it felt both grounded in reality and strangely surreal.

Everyone sat around the bonfire, and the director found a speaker from somewhere to play soft, soothing music.

After sitting down, Su Wanning deliberately placed Sui Sui and Nian Nian between herself and Qin Jingchen. Although she had eaten his shrimp, she still needed to maintain a clear boundary. The fact that Qin Jingchen had followed them from the previous filming location all the way to this island, with no intention of leaving, only deepened her suspicions of him.

"Alright, welcome everyone to our beautiful island. As this is our new filming location, you can see that the situation here is completely different from before. I believe even greater challenges and more exciting, novel projects await us!"