No Wonder He Was a King

"It smells pretty good, too."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not bad, Xiao Chunzi. I didn't expect you to be such a good cook."

Mo Jingchun chuckled. "Of course! How could I get by without a few tricks up my sleeve?"

Zhang Huizhen pointed at Mo Jingchun, then turned to Na Jie. "Na Jie, look at him. People with real skills don't need to be humble."

"Right, Yang Wenzhao?"

Yang Wenzhao, who was pouring Sprite for the four of them, glanced at Zhang Huizhen and said in a flat tone, "I just can't cook. So what?"

"Who says men have to know how to cook?"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Zhang Huizhen wagged her right index finger and shook her head.

"Like they say, if you want to capture a woman's heart, you have to capture her stomach first. Once you've won her stomach, you're at least halfway there."

Knock, knock, knock~

Zhang Huizhen tapped the table and winked at Mo Jingchun. "You should take notes, junior. This is all hard-earned wisdom. Remember to write it down after dinner. A good memory is no match for a quick note. Jot it down, look it over from time to time, and you'll benefit from this advice for the rest of your life."

Li Na, who had just sat down, rolled her eyes at Zhang Huizhen, who was talking as if she knew everything, and reminded her, "All right, can't you keep quiet while we eat? Save your advice for Yang Wenzhao. Mo Jingchun already knows how to cook. That's something you can't help envying."

"You two are the ones who can't cook. You'd better learn from Mo Jingchun while you can, or are you planning to live on takeout every day?"

Mo Jingchun looked surprised, his eyes shifting between Yang Wenzhao and Zhang Huizhen. To be honest, if Na Jie hadn't just said so, he never would have guessed Yang Wenzhao and Zhang Huizhen were a couple.

One was so outgoing, while the other was so reserved. Mo Jingchun was very curious about how the two of them had gotten together.

Zhang Huizhen, usually so carefree, blushed under Mo Jingchun's astonished gaze. Thinking about how she'd managed to win Yang Wenzhao over made her feel embarrassed.

Li Na's lips curled up as she teased, "Mo Jingchun, you should be wary of women who seem as gentle as little rabbits. You never know which one's the hunter and which one's the prey."

Mo Jingchun and Yang Wenzhao sat on the same side of the table. Underneath it, Mo Jingchun kicked Yang Wenzhao and gave him a thumbs-up.

Now that's a real man!

"Eat," Yang Wenzhao said. He rarely spoke, and when he did, he was always as brief and direct as ever.

"Oh, right, right. Let's eat! Go ahead and try everything. I cooked it the way I usually do, so I hope it suits your tastes."

As he spoke, Mo Jingchun got up and went over to his counselor, then took his little sister from Na Jie's arms.

Once he returned to his seat, Mo Jingchun fed his little sister, Candy, a couple of spoonfuls of millet porridge. Then he raised his glass and smiled softly. "Thanks, everyone, for taking such good care of my little sister, Candy. Let me raise a glass to you."

"Cheers!"

Ice-cold Sprite went down like a dream!

"Come on, eat up. Don't be shy."

During the meal, Candy kept reaching for the glass of Sprite in front of Mo Jingchun, but her little arms couldn't reach it.

"Hey, Mo Jingchun, isn't Candy old enough to try other foods? I've seen you feed her nothing but millet porridge and milk. Couldn't she end up malnourished?"

Mo Jingchun hesitated for a moment, then answered firmly, "Let's wait a little longer. Candy's still a bit too young. She has infant formula, so she won't be malnourished. Besides, I give her fruit, too—things like apple purée and strawberries."

Half an hour later, the four of them had polished off all six dishes and the soup. Mo Jingchun's hometown cooking was just too good. Once they started eating, they couldn't stop.

They hadn't even cleared the table. All four of them were sprawled on the sofa, rubbing their full stomachs, while Candy sat in the Baby Carriage, gnawing on a strawberry with her baby teeth. Her wise little eyes seemed unable to understand why Guo-ge and everyone else were lying around without moving.

"Xiao Chunzi, next time you invite us over, don't cook so much. Look at our stomachs! Anyone who didn't know better would think we were all several months pregnant."

Yang Wenzhao and Li Na, sitting on either side of Zhang Huizhen, nodded in agreement. They'd thought Mo Jingchun was a decent cook, good enough to serve guests. But after one bite, they'd realized he wasn't merely gold-tier—he was king-tier.

His very first dish was a grand slam!

It was no exaggeration to say that even if Mo Jingchun hadn't gotten into Jing University, he could still have lived a comfortable life thanks to his cooking.

It was true: eating with other people made you hungrier. Usually, Mo Jingchun could barely finish one bowl of rice by himself, but today he'd polished off two big bowls. He was just as stuffed as the others, lying on the sofa without the strength to move. Even shifting a little made his stomach ache.

Li Na yawned, patting her wide-open mouth with her delicate hand.

"I can't do this. I ate too much and now I'm sleepy. You all lie down for a while. I'm going to take a nap."

"I still have a meeting tonight. What a pain."

After resting in the living room for over half an hour, Yang Wenzhao and Zhang Huizhen got up to leave.

Zhang Huizhen casually patted Mo Jingchun on the shoulder, speaking gravely like a leader on an inspection. "Xiao Chunzi, we won't help you clear the table. Yang Wenzhao and I have a movie to catch this afternoon, so you'll have to put in the effort. Next time—next time we eat together—Dishwashing Sister will take care of the dishes."

"See you. Bye-bye."

After Zhang Huizhen and Yang Wenzhao left, Mo Jingchun still didn't get up to clear the table. Instead, he took his little sister out of the Baby Carriage, gently rocked her to sleep, and laid her on the bed.

Just as Na Jie had said, a full stomach really did make you sleepy. And since he hadn't slept well the night before, it took less than a minute after he'd lulled Candy to sleep for Mo Jingchun to doze off beside her.

Candy pushed Mo Jingchun awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw her nudging his arm with her little head.

Heh, this little one's pretty strong.

He picked up the phone from the bedside table. It was already past two in the afternoon, nearly three. No wonder the little one had woken up.

Looks like getting into a routine really was useful.

After unlocking his phone, Mo Jingchun was surprised to see a message from Na Jie.

"I've already cleaned up the table. I'm heading out."

"Oh, right. Your food was really good. I've decided I'm going to come over and mooch meals from you regularly from now on. Haha."

Still wearing his slippers, Mo Jingchun walked into the living room and saw that the table was spotless.