Chapter 42
Instantly, that became the liveliest spot in the entire night market, as Shen Bai’s arrival turned it into the focal point of the whole scene. Countless people rushed over upon hearing that both Shen Bai and Su Jinfan—the famous CP—had appeared.

This is essentially what celebrity effect looks like.

Because Shen Bai also started selling barbecue, Su Jinfan’s stall saw an unprecedented surge in popularity, with long queues forming throughout the night market. No one wanted to miss out on this rare opportunity.

The poor “Butterfly Shadow” stall, which had just regained some momentum, lost more than half of its customers in an instant—those who remained either hurriedly grabbed their food or dashed toward Su Jinfan’s stall.

At first, when Su Jinfan saw Shen Bai appear, she was still acting coy and would refuse when someone asked for a photo together. But seeing Shen Bai’s open and natural demeanor, Su Jinfan decided to throw caution to the wind and directly took photos with Shen Bai and the fans.

This was probably the first time Su Jinfan and Shen Bai appeared together on a variety show.

“Shen Bai, can’t you show Su Jinfan some affection?” Then a crowd followed suit, teasing them—the powerful CP fans were practically causing an uproar.

“Alright.” Shen Bai glanced at Su Jinfan lightly, then gently wrapped an arm around her waist.

“You!” Su Jinfan shook her head helplessly. Shen Bai was usually so aloof, but his sudden domineering attitude caught her completely off guard.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stall, Wang Lili fixed her gaze on Su Jinfan and Shen Bai in the distance and coldly asked the others beside her, “Do you all know about Su Jinfan’s movie?”

Su Jinfan is currently a top actress—how could anyone not know about her movie?

Hong Huan, standing next to Wang Lili, pretended to remain calm and nodded, but her relaxed expression quickly stiffened. She couldn’t help but sigh and say, “Su Jinfan’s movie is already generating buzz before its release, with plenty of hype. But as you know, sometimes it’s all just hype.”

Hong Huan’s words were actually just meant to test Wang Lili. Whatever Wang Lili said, she would follow her lead. After hearing Hong Huan’s remark, Wang Lili couldn’t help but narrow her eyes, her expression filled with resentment—clearly, she had developed a dislike for Su Jin Fan.

The reason for this was almost too obvious to mention.

“Ah… Su Jin Fan is over there, let’s go!” The guest Hong Huan had been attending to earlier spotted Su Jin Fan in the distance and exclaimed in unadorned surprise.

After hearing the customer’s comment, not just Hong Huan but the entire “Butterfly Shadow” crew felt displeased.

The night grew deeper, and the crowd gradually thickened. As the city lights came on, the night market became extraordinarily lively.

Amidst this clamor, Su Jinfan was grilling skewers at this very moment. Shen Bai’s gaze fell upon this girl, and under the fluorescent light, he could clearly see her earnest expression.

It was almost identical to how she looked when he first met her seven years ago—delicate, yet resilient.

Dong Xiao silently observed the scene and said to Nuanyang, “Next itinerary.”

“For the next schedule, we’ll divide the group into two teams—the ‘Butterfly Shadow’ team and the ‘Return to Life’ team.” At this point, Dong Xiao said unhurriedly, “For the upcoming shots, just focus more on Su Jin Fan.”

Behind-the-scenes workers must always create the next highlight of the show at any time. Since they are already producing variety shows, advertising and ratings naturally become the top priorities.

“Isn’t this… a bit inappropriate?” Nuanyang forced an awkward smile. “What if they…”

“If they come to my show, there are no ‘what ifs.’ Shen Bai’s appearance today was unexpected, but it certainly gave Su Jin Fan a boost.” Dongxiao blinked. “Do you really think she came just to see Su Jin Fan and help her sell barbecue?”

The perfect couple pairing—one a two-time Best Actor winner, the other the CEO of a major company—subtly flaunting their affection in front of the media. Isn’t all of this the best guarantee for a show’s ratings?

In this world, there are no so-called friends, only the greatest interests. Dongxiao believed Elsa wouldn’t fail to understand this. Nuanyang was startled by Dongxiao’s sudden change. Although screen time for an artist on a variety show is crucial, if all the footage were dominated by Su Jin, it would inevitably lead to accusations of the show being rigged, which would do Su Jin more harm than good.

Meanwhile, all the other artists were arranged to move to another venue for a magic performance.

Everyone was required to learn traditional card tricks from the magician. The entire square crowd surged toward them, watching Shen Bai effortlessly manipulate the deck of cards with such skill that it seemed like he could make flowers bloom.

“Tsk tsk, one might think today is your solo show,” C.A remarked, reluctantly making an appearance at Elsa’s insistence. Though he felt it was a waste of time, the payment for this episode of “Daily Happiness” was too tempting to resist.

However, Su Jinfan, who has weak hands, had only seen magic tricks on TV and had absolutely no idea how to perform them.

The deck of cards became a complete mess in her hands. Seeing her somewhat disappointed expression, Shen Bai finally looked over and said, “Hmm… truly brainless.”

Some people, once you’ve gotten close enough to them, you can tease them freely without them minding in the slightest.

Su Jinfan let out an imperceptible snort. The more Shen Bai looked at her, the more amused he became, and he couldn’t help but remark, “Looks like when your fans see this footage, your goddess image in their hearts will be completely shattered.”

“Hmph, my fans love me very much.” Su Jinfan continued fiddling with the playing cards, answering simply.

“Then I’ll just see what kind of flower you can conjure up.” Shen Bai crossed his arms.

After saying this, he deliberately watched Su Jinfan fiddle with the cards from the side. Every time she failed, he would laugh out loud, eventually even doubling over with laughter, completely abandoning any pretense of decorum.

Just as Su Jinfan was still engrossed in her card tricks, suddenly all the lights in the venue went out. In her momentary panic, all the spotlights converged on her. Shen Bai hugged Su Jinfan and said, “Happy birthday.”

Today is actually Su Jinfan’s birthday? Even Su Jinfan herself had forgotten about it due to work. Since entering the industry, she had never properly celebrated her birthday. Unexpectedly, Shen Bai remembered it for her.

But how could he, as Su Jinfan’s boyfriend, not remember such an important occasion? He came today precisely to surprise her.

And an even bigger surprise was yet to come. Fans kept emerging from the darkness, and as the lights gradually brightened, everyone held up photos—all of them featuring Su Jinfan.

The fans continuously swapped the photos, revealing characters Su Jinfan had once portrayed and even magazine covers. In an instant, all these images were displayed before her.

Seeing Wang Lili showing off her affection so openly, her face couldn’t help but stiffen further at the sight. Today, they were destined to be relegated to Su Jin’s supporting roles.

As for her expression, the embarrassment was self-evident.

Previously, when Shen Bai was preparing this surprise, it was entirely because Fang Yao had casually mentioned it. But the fact proved that if a man truly cares about you, he will remember every moment and every detail of your life.

In short, the occurrence of this incident truly astonished everyone present.

There’s no doubt that the entire plan was a success. This mysterious birthday party, including the unexpected grand gesture, would undoubtedly become the hot topic of discussion the next day.

The best way to solidify a relationship—Shen Bai seemed to have achieved it.

However, both Su Jin Fan and Shen Bai could foresee the ensuing pressure from public opinion and Ding Sheng Company. Su Jin Fan had completely overshadowed Ding Sheng’s representatives in this variety show, showing no mercy—things were bound to get very awkward afterward.

However, Su Jinfan, now immersed in happiness, wouldn’t care about this…

“By the way.” Su Jinfan seemed to remember something and quickly glanced at the time on her phone. There were only three minutes left until midnight. She smirked mischievously, “I wonder what gift you’ve prepared for me?”

Shen Bai had pretty much guessed Su Jinfan would say this and instinctively smiled. Seeing Shen Bai remain silent, Su Jinfan asked with a playful grin, “You didn’t forget to prepare a gift for me, did you?”

“How could I forget to buy you a gift on your birthday? But it seems I’ve misplaced it…” Shen Bai rummaged through his pockets.

“Shen Bai…” Su Jinfan raised her finger but ultimately lowered it slowly: “Forget it, I’ll let you off this time. But if you forget next time, I won’t be so forgiving.”

“That won’t do. It’s our first birthday together. As for the gift… how about I conjure one up for you right now?” Shen Bai smirked mischievously, his eyes sparkling brilliantly.

“Okay!” Su Jinfan responded with anticipation.

Shen Bai took Su Jinfan’s hand in his. She froze momentarily—his hand was warm, while hers was icy cold. Yet she didn’t pull away, only offering a shy, soft laugh.

“This place isn’t suitable.” Shen Bai took Su Jinfan’s hand and led her toward a poolside. Hand in hand, the crowd naturally parted to make way for Su Jinfan and Shen Bai.

“For you.” When they reached the spring’s edge, Shen Bai pointed into the water. Su Jinfan frowned—was Shen Bai planning to gift her this entire pool?

“But… I can’t exactly take this home with me.” Su Jinfan said awkwardly, after all, this was supposed to be her birthday gift.

“I’ve realized sometimes you can be quite silly.” Shen Bai directly pulled Su Jinfan’s hand into the water, where they discovered a transparent box. Upon retrieving it from the pool, they found a diamond ring nestled inside.