Chapter Fifty-Four: The Culinary God Ma Wu

After Ma Wu finished speaking, Wu Ting instantly fell silent.

Ma Wu could clearly see that something in Wu Ting’s eyes was quietly dimming, fading away.

After a while, Wu Ting finally regained her composure. There was a trace of weariness in her gaze; she spoke with no discernible emotion, simply saying, “Alright.”

Ma Wu quickly drove Wu Ting back to the Wu residence. After she got out of the car, she didn’t look back, disappearing alone into the night. Her solitary figure, tinged with desolation, made Ma Wu’s heart ache with every step she took.

Upon returning to Jingshan Apartment, Ma Wu took a cold beer from the fridge and sat alone in his room, drinking in silence. He needed the alcohol to numb his mind.

At some point, Li Mida came in, carrying a glass of milk. She looked at Ma Wu gently and softly asked, “Wu Ting… hasn’t come back? I thought she would stay with us tonight.”

Irritated, Ma Wu ran his hand through his hair, trying to keep his voice steady. “No. She had something to take care of, so she went back.”

Li Mida sat down beside him. “You two had a fight, didn’t you, Ma Wu? But don’t worry, I believe you’ll make up. Even though I haven’t known her long, I can tell she truly loves you.”

A fleeting warmth passed through Ma Wu’s heart. He nodded at Li Mida, pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and said tenderly, “I know. You should get some rest. I need to think for a while.”

Li Mida smiled, quietly left the room, and closed the door behind her, reminding him, “Don’t stay up too late. Try to get some rest.”

Ma Wu sat alone in the moonlit room, unable to calm himself after what Wu Ting had done. He felt a deep sense of guilt toward her.

A cold gleam flashed in Ma Wu’s eyes. The most pressing matter now was to ruin Wu Di, to ensure he posed no more threat. Only then could Ma Wu explain his actions to Wu Ting, and perhaps there would be a chance for reconciliation.

With this in mind, Ma Wu opened the system interface—his greatest support at the moment.

System, I want to check my personal stats.

Ding! Name: Ma Wu
Level: One
Spending Points: Zero (all previously exchanged for Huaxia currency before acquiring Goldfish TV)
Face-Slapping Value: Two thousand (maxed out)
Pretentious Value: Two thousand (maxed out)
Success Points: Two thousand

Ma Wu frowned. All his points had reached their upper limits. Previously, he had been too busy to pay attention to this, but now that he had some free time, he needed to spend or upgrade these points, or the cap would severely hinder his progress.

He now noticed he had completed the second stage of the Wu Family side quest: Prevent Wu Di from approaching Wu Ting. He had received thirty million Huaxia yuan and ten million HuHu coins as a reward.

Ma Wu felt a chill—clearly, the system had anticipated he would soon enter the HuHu TV arena and rewarded him with HuHu coins specifically.

HuHu coins were the tipping currency on HuHu TV, and unlike Goldfish coins, they had a one-to-one exchange rate with Huaxia currency. In other words, ten million HuHu coins equaled ten million Huaxia yuan. If Ma Wu spent these coins as tips, he would regain ten million spending points.

Looking at the extra thirty million in his account, Ma Wu pondered for a long while and decided to return the money to Wu Ting immediately.

When he’d bought Goldfish TV, Wu Ting had raised the life-saving twenty million by selling off the Wu family’s assets. Now that Old Master Wu Xin was recovering, their faction was at a crucial rebuilding stage, and they were undoubtedly strapped for cash.

No matter what misunderstandings existed between him and Wu Ting, he needed to return part of the money to her first.

With that decided, Ma Wu didn’t bother sleeping. Since he would visit the Wu family tomorrow, he decided to prepare more detoxifying and restorative medicine for the old master, in case someone tried to harm Wu Xin again.

The night passed quickly.

Ma Wu had been busy all night, barely noticing the time. When he finally finished preparing all the medicines, he realized it was already daylight outside.

He checked his phone—it was six o’clock. There was no point in sleeping, so he decided to make breakfast for Li Mida.

Now that he was well-off, Ma Wu still remembered the days when he had nothing and often cooked for himself. As a result, his culinary skills were quite impressive.

He surveyed the kitchen and, seeing some leftover shrimp, dried scallops, and seaweed in the fridge, decided to make seafood congee for Li Mida.

He washed the shrimp, peeled and deveined them, then rinsed the scallops and seaweed in salted water before adding them to the pot with rice to steam. As he cooked, he also added some Chinese medicinal herbs known to prolong life and boost energy for ordinary people.

These herbs, specially prepared by Ma Wu, had lost their bitterness and medicinal taste, leaving only a faint fragrance. According to the basic medical knowledge provided by the system, this would make the ordinary ingredients even more delicious.

When all was ready and Li Mida still hadn’t woken, Ma Wu decided to call her.

Li Mida was lying on her bed; since it was summer, she was barely covered, her long, fair legs exposed, drawing Ma Wu’s gaze. As a former model, her legs were not overly thin but had healthy muscle lines, exuding a wild and youthful beauty.

Ma Wu swallowed, gently shook her, and said, “Mida, wake up, I made you breakfast.”

Li Mida turned over, lying on her back. The movement made her chest rise and fall, immediately attracting Ma Wu’s hungry eyes. To his surprise, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath!

Ma Wu bit his tongue, barely restraining the urge to climb into bed and ravish this alluring woman. He leaned in and blew into her ear, teasing, “Li Mida, if you don’t get up, I’ll be forced to take action right now!”

Li Mida’s ears were extremely sensitive. The breath on her ear made her shudder and wake up a bit.

Hearing Ma Wu’s suggestive words, her face flushed red and she hurriedly pushed him away. “What do you think you’re doing, barging into a girl’s room? Out, get out!”

Ma Wu smirked. “Come on, there’s nothing I haven’t seen or touched on you. What’s there to be shy about?”

Unable to withstand his teasing, Li Mida’s face turned even redder, almost dripping with embarrassment. She wrapped herself in the blanket, curling up into a little ball, and looked at Ma Wu warily.

Seeing her like this, Ma Wu didn’t want to tease her any further. Smiling, he said, “Come eat, I made breakfast for you today,” and left her room.

Soon after, Li Mida came out in simple home clothes.

Seeing the seafood congee on the table, she exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, I didn’t expect you to know how to cook, Ma Wu. It looks impressive!”

Ma Wu raised an eyebrow and smiled to himself: You’ll know just how impressive it is after you taste it.

Li Mida gently picked up her bowl, blew on it, and took a small sip.

With the first mouthful, her eyes widened in delight, and she let out a sigh of pleasure. “Wow, what did you put in here? It’s so fresh and fragrant!”

Ma Wu answered mysteriously, “Now you see my true skills. Hmph, my cooking is on par with yours—if not better. I just don’t usually bother.”

Li Mida’s eyes sparkled; she looked at Ma Wu as if he were a treasure. “Then you’ll have to cook every time from now on! It’s delicious!”

A black line appeared on Ma Wu’s forehead. “No way. I’m busy. You’ll still have to cook—unless I feel like it.”

Li Mida pouted but didn’t argue further, instead happily heading into the kitchen for another helping.

After breakfast, Ma Wu thought that since his cooking was so well-received, he might as well make a portion for Wu Ting too.

Checking the kitchen, he found more shrimp and scallops, added some cured meat and sausage, and made another seafood and cured meat congee for Wu Ting. He packed it in a thermos, grabbed the medicine and his bank card, and headed out.