Li Xiang was truly furious. "Ms. Dong, don't forget—you're here to cook for me! I'm the lead character, and he isn't! He isn't!" With that, he turned to the security guards and shouted, "Get that young man off the stage! This isn't his stage!" Just as the guards were about to move, they found three strong, solid men blocking their way—Fat Deng, the sturdy one; Yang, the awkward one; and Wu, the soft-spoken one—three close friends who had been trained daily. Behind them came a group of teammates. Seeing the scene, the guards froze, like a turtle. Damn it, I called the police to charge them with disruption. Li Xiang, just about to pull out his phone, found the atmosphere incredibly lively, with screams echoing everywhere. In a dry, strained voice, he called out, "Hey! I'm Li Xiang! I'm looking for your Director Ye. I'd like you to send someone right away..." "I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" replied a sweet-voiced female officer. "I'm looking... well, never mind! Never mind!" Li Xiang's voice had become unusually hoarse. For heaven's sake, what had he accidentally ingested—some medicine that his mother had once secretly given to Dong Jiao? In sharp contrast to Li Xiang's misfortune, Dong Jiao, now a nationwide sensation, was demonstrating her culinary skills to Gao Qiang. Dong Jiao had never been particularly skilled in cooking before, but recently, due to the demands of her television dramas, she had been diligently practicing with chefs every day. She proved to be remarkably quick at learning—especially for ordinary dishes—though she still struggled with more refined ones. Yet, Gao Qiang's potato strips stir-fried with beef was precisely the dish she handled with grace. Her knife danced across the cutting board, slicing each round potato into long, thin strips. She then seasoned the lean meat with a light coating of flour, combined all the ingredients, and tossed them into the hot oil. With a simple shake of the wok, she perfectly distributed all the potato strips into the serving dish. The rising star, with her bright and vibrant cooking, immediately captured the hearts of viewers nationwide. "Husband! This is the dish I prepared especially for you! Come, try it!" Dong Jiao unexpectedly called Gao Liang "husband," leaving everyone envious of Gao's good fortune. Yet Gao Liang still hadn't picked up his chopsticks. He simply said, "To win my heart, you must serve a sea bass banquet!" Dong Jiao, in front of the national audience, said something rather self-congratulatory—only for Gao Liang to turn to the two beautiful women beside him, Zhang Yупing and Chen Yuting, and ask, "Who among you can prepare a sea bass banquet?" Both Zhang Yупing and Chen Yuting raised their hands at the same time. "Wow! Their culinary skills are truly impressive—they're even better than the rising star herself!" A wave of exclamations rose from the audience. Gao Liang beamed with a sly smile, proudly pointing at Dong Jiao and declaring to the national viewers, "She can't!" Dong Jiao, never one to back down, also raised her hand in defiance. And that was exactly what Gao Liang Three beautiful women竟 competed to prepare the same dish for the male lead—the Pau-ya Banquet. As the protagonist, the wives had to be personally guided and trained on the spot. Especially Dong Jiao, who was completely unfamiliar with the preparation of the Pau-ya Banquet, immediately offered her guidance: "Ingredients: 200 grams of abalone. Auxiliaries: 5 grams of salt, 10 grams of rice wine, 10 grams of scallions, 2 grams of monosodium glutamate, 30 grams of ginger, 20 grams of vinegar, 5 grams of Sichuan pepper, 15 grams of soy sauce, 5 grams of sesame oil." Method: 1. Cut diagonal slashes on both sides of the abalone and slice it in half lengthwise; 2. Wash the scallions and ginger; cut the scallions into pieces, and chop half of the ginger into fine powder, the other half into slices; 3. Place the abalone in the serving dish, add rice wine, salt, 100 ml of broth, scallion pieces, ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, and salt, then steam covered; 4. Steam for about 10 minutes, then remove and discard the scallions, ginger, and peppercorns; 5. In a bowl, mix vinegar, soy sauce, ginger powder, and sesame oil to form a ginger sauce; 6. Serve the abalone and ginger sauce together, and eat by dipping the abalone into the sauce. Dong Jiao immediately grasped the point after Zhang Yuping's cue. Hmph! Husband! When did you start speaking foreign languages—so fluently? The entire audience, even the host, leaned in attentively, clapping and cheering enthusiastically. Soon, the three women were competing against each other in preparing the same dish. "Husband, try my dish first!" Chen Yuting served her dish first, as the first course at her managed Dream Zhu Hotel was precisely this abalone banquet. Abalone can be prepared in many ways, and this time she chose the dry abalone preparation. Gao Liang took a bite and gave it a thumbs-up. Chen Yuting beamed with delight. "Now try mine!" Zhang Yuping passed over the plate, and Gao Liang tasted it with his chopsticks: "Excellent! Excellent!" Dong Jiao didn't offer her dish to him. Li Xiang, eager to make a show, stepped forward on his own and said, "Miss Dong, let me have a taste—your dish must be delicious!" And then he rushed to start eating. Yet Dong Jiao didn't hand it to him. At this moment, she was thinking of a scene: Gao Liang had stayed last, solely for her, and it was precisely Gao Liang who had saved her life. No matter what, this dish had been prepared with care—whether it was delicious or not was less important. With this thought in mind, she boldly placed the slightly burnt abalone before Gao Liang and softly said, "To be honest, I've eaten countless abalone dishes, but I've never cooked one myself. For you, I'm not afraid of looking foolish today!" Gao Liang noticed that Dong Jiao's expression was deeply moved, and her gaze at him seemed different. He took the dish, tasted a bit, and then made a 'QQ' gesture to the audience—a simple 'OK' hand signal. The viewers across the country erupted into cheers. The atmosphere on site was exceptionally vibrant. Originally, Gao Liang had cut the abalone from Dong Jiao, Chen Yuting, and Zhang Yuping into small, quick portions, and had the servers package them in small bags, delivering them to the on-site judges, directors, and audience members—essentially one serving per person. "Excellent! Excellent!" the host exclaimed first. Immediately, he turned to the microphone and smiled, saying, "The abalone feasts from the three beautiful women each have their own distinct charm and are truly outstanding—yet, truly unparalleled. The only regret is: where in Jingdu city can one find such a dish?" As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd stirred. It turned out that the three close friends, at Gao Liang's signal, had raised the magnificent golden sign of Mengzhu Hotel onto the stage, casting a dazzling golden light that was truly striking to behold.