Chapter 140: Cuisine Too Horrific to Bear

Song Wanning finally could not contain her curiosity and asked, "What do you mean by 'doing your best'?"

Wen Jingxing opened his mouth to reply, but the old man quickly stepped hard on his foot under the table—though he was the only one who dared to treat Wen Jingxing this way.

The old man then looked at Song Wanning with a kindly expression and said, "Wanning, it’s nothing. Last time he promised me he would come to see me once a day, but he never showed up later. I scolded him for it this time, and that’s when he said he would 'do his best.'"

"Oh... Jingxing had to go to Rong City to participate in a variety show, so he wasn't able to make it," Song Wanning said. Though half-skeptical, she still helped explain on his behalf after hearing the old man’s words.

"I see the time has passed; why don't you stay and eat lunch here?"

"Alright." Song Wanning agreed. She couldn't just visit the old man for a moment and leave without eating; the old man would be heartbroken.

"What would you like to eat? I'll have Sun bring some ingredients over."

Neither of them was particularly picky, so they casually suggested a dish or two, mainly catering to the old man’s palate. Song Wanning had expected Dr. Sun to bring ready-made food, but when she saw him arrive with a large bag of fresh vegetables and meat, she realized she had overthought it.

She quickly stood up and said, "Are we going to cook ourselves? My cooking skills are quite good; let me handle the kitchen today."

The old man and Wen Jingxing both spoke at the same time: "Sit down."

After saying this, the grandfather and grandson exchanged a glance. The old man thought to himself that this boy had truly made progress. Previously, he had adamantly refused the arranged marriage with Song Wanning, and even after they were engaged, he wouldn't set a date, likely hoping to call it off easily later. Today, however, not only had he agreed to the old man's wish to set a date, but he was even unwilling to let Song Wanning do the cooking.

It seemed that variety show trip hadn't been in vain! His original decision had been correct. The old man still had faith in what Wen Jingxing said; if there was something he didn't want to do, he wouldn't agree to it even if his life depended on it. Since he had given his word, he would definitely follow through.

Song Wanning felt awkward standing there after they had both spoken, not knowing whether to sit or stay standing. Meanwhile, the audience was more excited than anyone.

[Song Wanning got blocked! Who will end up cooking? Could it be Dr. Sun?]
[Doesn't seem likely; if it were Dr. Sun, he would have just brought the food ready-made.]
[Could it be the old man?]
[Even less likely, at his age.]
[Could it be...]

Then, they heard Wen Jingxing say, "I'll do it."

The old man added, "Wanning, just sit down. Why should a young lady go into the kitchen? Let Jingxing handle the rough work."

"Is that really okay?" Having Wen Jingxing cook for her? Song Wanning couldn't quite imagine it. Besides, Wen Jingxing’s cooking skills didn't seem very good. With so many ingredients, would he know how to handle them?

"What’s wrong with it? I won your grandmother over with my cooking. All the other men in our family know how to cook; only Jingxing never bothered to learn."

Song Wanning felt as if she had just heard an incredible secret—all the men in the Wen family knew how to cook?!

In the end, Wen Jingxing went into the kitchen. The two waited for a long time before Wen Jingxing finally called them to eat. There was a kitchen in the corner of the courtyard; it wasn't large, but it was fully equipped. Everything looked brand new but was covered in dust, clearly showing it hadn't been used in a long time.

The three decided to eat under the pavilion in the courtyard, and Song Wanning helped carry the dishes over. Wen Jingxing had made four dishes and a soup—two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.

However... the dishes were prepared in such a way that Song Wanning barely recognized them. The vegetable dish was shredded carrots stir-fried with shredded potatoes, but there seemed to be too much soy sauce, making the colors of both dishes nearly identical. Another dish was bitter melon with scrambled eggs; this one looked normal, but it was hard to say how it tasted. The two meat dishes were mushrooms with chicken and cabbage stewed with meat. The soup was corn, carrot, and bone soup, which was the only dish that looked truly normal.

Once the food was on the table, the three looked at each other, but no one moved their chopsticks first.

[I bet none of them trust the taste of these dishes, including Young Master Wen himself, hahaha.]
[What do you mean, even Young Master Wen doesn't dare eat it?]
[If you had the misfortune of witnessing the disaster zone in the kitchen, you wouldn't dare eat it either.]

Old Man Wen, who had insisted on having Wen Jingxing cook, was now afraid to be the first to taste it, yet he didn't want Song Wanning to suffer through a bad meal. He said to Wen Jingxing, "You worked hard cooking, so you should be the first to take a bite."

Wen Jingxing looked at Song Wanning on his left, then at the old man on his right, and resigned himself to his fate: "Fine, I'll eat first."

He first tasted the mushroom and chicken stew, then tried the other dishes one by one, yet his expression remained completely unchanged. The other two stared intently at his face, hoping to see even a slight reaction, but they couldn't tell anything.

The old man asked, "How is it?"
"It's alright."

The old man thought to himself, *Oh? It’s been a while—has Jingxing’s cooking actually improved?*

Without any suspicion, he picked up a mouthful of the stir-fried carrots and potatoes and put it in his mouth. After one bite, the old man’s face twisted in agony.

Dr. Sun, watching from the side, frowned and couldn't help but interject: "Um, Young Master Wen... the old man is currently recuperating, he shouldn't eat anything too salty."

Wen Jingxing nodded and continued to eat with an expressionless face. "I know, my hand slipped earlier."

Dr. Sun: ...*You must have slipped at least a third of a bag of salt into that dish!*

[Hahaha, Young Master Wen’s reaction is killing me.]
[The old man’s face changed the moment he tasted it, how does Young Master Wen manage to eat it without batting an eye? What a tough guy!]

In the end, the old man tasted all the dishes and served Song Wanning a full bowl of rib soup. He muttered, "At least one dish is edible."

As a result, Song Wanning didn't touch the other dishes. Wen Jingxing ended up eating all of them. Song Wanning also noticed that Wen Jingxing ate a whole extra bowl of rice compared to usual! She smiled to herself as she finished the meal.

The old man signaled to Wen Jingxing with his eyes and whispered, "Your cooking is no good! You need to practice. If you want to capture a woman's heart, you must first capture her stomach!"

Wen Jingxing smiled and agreed, but in his heart, he thought that the woman he had his eye on probably didn't care about that. Song Wanning’s cooking skills were thousands of times better than his. Wen Jingxing pondered his own strengths and realized he really only had money. It seemed he would have to spend more effort—and more money—on her!

After the meal, Song Wanning played chess with the old man again, refusing to believe she couldn't win today. Of course, the result was as expected; she didn't win a single game. By the time she realized it, the sun was setting and it was already five o'clock.

The old man said, "Stay for dinner tonight."
"Alright," said Wen Jingxing.
Song Wanning nodded in agreement. "Then let me do the cooking tonight."
The old man added, "Well, it will be late after dinner; why don't you just stay the night?"