The moment that Li Yang stepped into the diner, he experienced something he couldn't explain. 'Pleasantly surprised' was an understatement—the situation confused him and baffled him. There had been a time when he was much younger that he chanced upon web novels. And his expectations of an immortal chef were far from the one that he would soon encounter. His secretary, Ying Yue He was quick to find them a place in the somewhat cramped diner and he soon followed.

In this small diner that had little room, he had to sit beside her this time. And it was there and then that he heard someone speak up, "Woah, Ying Yue, who's this guy you've brought? He doesn't look like the type who'd come here. Welcome to Mou's Family Diner." .

"Um, he's my boss. Mister Li." The woman beside him coughed slightly and motioned to him with an awkward smile. With a warm glow of red across her cheek and nose, it tinged her usually fair skin. She looked at him and then motioned to the man standing in front of them.

The man had bright pink hair and green eyes, a look that didn't match his idea of even a cook alone. The man gave him a wave and a grin, "The name's Mou Gu, friends call me Gu and you can call me that—"

"Hey, stop making him uncomfortable." Ying Yue He spoke up with a pout.

Mou Gu's brows knitted together. "I was being friendly—you don't have to be so jealous, Ying." He chuckled and gave each of them a menu, a laminated paper that contained all the possible meals to serve.

He held it in his hands, but he was a tad too distracted.

The CEO stared at the man far more than he ought to, and it was only for one reason only. Energy that he had initially thought came from the restaurant and the food that was being served came from this guy alone. Or at least the source arrived from him. Were they actively using their qi or was it that abundant that they did not need to restrain it? Li Yang didn't quite know what the situation was. And he didn't think that it associated with the System and the Celestial Heavens either—he still had his interlude time and there was one more thing.

He didn't think that 'Harem Cultivation' meant men. At least he hoped not.

Mou Gu tilted his head and gave him a grin, "You can take a picture if you like."

"..." Li Yang kept his silence for a second before he shook his head. "There's no need."

Ying Yue He chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and sent a glare the cook's way. She had planned for the chance to eat a simple meal together with her boss, but this two-swinging cook just had to come right here and make the man uncomfortable. He was ruining her chance! She pouted and waved a hand, "I think I'm ready to order now, Mou Gu."

Mou Gu glanced away from her boss and turned to her. He had already taken out a notepad from behind him with a pen. "What will it be, Ying? Will you be having the regular?"

Would she pig out now and look at her boss, or did she have to eat less than usual? The secretary gulped, "... yes." If the man didn't happen to cook well, she wouldn't have really considered this at all. She glanced back at Li Yang and tried to keep her tone lighter, "What about you, Mister Li?"

Mou Gu rolled his eyes at her. But at least he kept his mouth shut and waited for the man to make his order.

"I'll have the Yellow Croaker Noodle Soup then." He handed the menu back to Mou Gu.

Ying Yue He stared at her boss for a good minute. That was all he was going to eat?! historical

"Well, I'll be back in so or so." Mou Gu smiled and moved away from them. "Enjoy your date~"

She fought back the warmth in her cheeks. She glanced at her boss. "Uh, sorry about that. He's just enthusiastic.."

Li Yang shook his head. "It's fine, there's nothing to worry about—somehow, this seems like a date to me."

.

.

.

The moment that Mou Gu stepped back into the kitchen and shut the door, the smile fell off from his face. His brows furrowed together as he tried to make meaning to what he had seen just now— "He's like a sponge, he's absorbing everything.. is he even aware of it? If he was, then he should be refining, but he's not. That's not normal. He's even got the pestilence qi from the city swirling around a bit."

He prepared Ying Yue He's order first, but he still couldn't erase the incident from his mind. Qi Condensation Stage was the time when one absorbed the qi from the earth and refined it in their body, but as far as his spiritual sense could tell from seeing them, none of the refining was happening at all.

"If he keeps this up, there's only one path I'm seeing—Qi Deviation and that's when shit really hits the fan." The man clicked their tongue as they checked on the braised pork, the crab and finally checked the croaker fish as well. He scratched the back of his head and fought back a chuckle, "Some big shot boss with the capacity to absorb qi far more than a normal person? Shen's head is going to explode once he hears about this. Maybe I'll keep this for myself..."

He sighed and heated the fish noodle soup. There really was a need to intervene right now, though. If some other group could find the man, they might take advantage of his situation for being completely clueless about his state. Did he have anything with him right now though to help them? "Got no pills right now.. elixir?" He rubbed his face, "Getting Body Tempering Elixir might be too much for them even if I visit the apartment and check if Jing's there. Anyhow, I can't just offer it up and expect them to drink some weird thing."

But even without calling his superiors, he knew what he needed to do.