Chapter 235 - Danger

After finishing the meal they left Zhang Hou and Xu Juan alone, since they're now official, Wang Ming wanted to give them some time to talk and grow their relationship. Wang Ming learned a big lesson today after seeing Fang Huan. He couldn't become complacent himself either. He's going to open up multiple restaurants soon, he needs to be aware of who he hires and ensure every worker is happy and is not being abused.

If Xu Juan's love for Zhang Hou hadn't been so strong, she might have broken under the pressure and given in to Fang Huan. He found it hard to swallow. That stuff like this happens in a restaurant. Many people depend on their jobs to feed themselves or their families, so they give in to any abuse from their superiors and swallow the humiliation. He had to ensure something like that would never happen in his restaurant.

"Wang Ming, do you want to go back to the competition? It seemed like you wanted to watch the competition earlier. I know it's important for you to win this competition I heard everything from Qiao Meng as well."

"It's fine, I didn't think you'd notice. I can just watch it back on TV later. Even though I want to win the competition and get every advantage possible, Ming Ming's stomach is more important."

"Thank you, Daddy! I think your food is better than grandpa's. But keep it as a secret." Wang Ming laughed hearing Ming Ming's opinion, he felt happy that she thought so. But then it's not really Uncle Hou's food as he didn't cook it, he only owns the restaurant and most likely came up with the menu and recipes. Wang Ming was sure that if Uncle Hou cooked the food, then it would have tasted better.

"Thank you Ming Ming, but if Grandpa Hou cooked the food, then it would have tasted just as good as my food. But remember to keep it a secret, okay? If Grandpa asks next time, then tell him that his food is better than mine, okay?" Wang Ming and Ming Ming then pinky swore. She laughed excitedly that they shared a secret.

It was still fairly early on the day at only 1PM, Wang Ming didn't know what to do other than to prepare for the competition tomorrow. But he didn't want to, his life had revolved around preparing for the competition this past week, even though he knew it could give him a better chance of winning, he wanted to enjoy the day with Fu Ya and Ming Ming.

"Fu Ya, do you have a place in mind? I just want to enjoy the day with you guys." Fu Ya's face lit up, thinking for a second she said. "Let's go to the amus.e.m.e.nt park in the north. They just opened the last month, Ming Ming has pestered me to go every day, but I haven't had time. Today's the perfect opportunity."

"Do you want to go to the amus.e.m.e.nt park, Ming Ming?"

"Ming Ming wants to go!"

"Then let's go." Seeing her so enthusiastic, Wang Ming had no reason to decline. This would be his first time going to an amus.e.m.e.nt park as well, so it would be a fresh experience for him. Grabbing her hand Ming Ming excitedly waddled around, they then got the car and drove to the amus.e.m.e.nt park.

Arriving at the amus.e.m.e.nt park, Wang Ming felt impressed by the place. Even though he had never been to an amus.e.m.e.nt park before, he had seen them in movies. The gigantic Ferris wheel in the middle of the park looked so mesmerizing, Wang Ming felt like a kid again. He wanted to try out every single ride and the different snacks there.

There was a sea of people in front of the amus.e.m.e.nt park which made him bummed out. They had to at least wait an hour to get in, but that's an experience in of it itself, he thought. Grabbing Ming Ming and Fu Ya's hands, he walked to the back of the queue.

Standing in the queue, Wang Ming noticed people staring at him, which made the experience uncomfortable, but he couldn't stop them looking in his direction. After standing in line for 10 minutes, a mother and daughter approached him excitedly and said.

"Excuse me sir, are you Wang Ming? The one who just competed in the Pinnacle Chef's competition hours ago?" Wang Ming felt shocked that they recognized him. Before he could answer, Fu Ya did for him. "It's him, do you need anything, miss?"

"Sorry, my name is Dai Dongmei, this is my daughter Dai Jiaying, I don't mean to bother but my daughter is a huge fan of yours, Mr. Wang. We've eaten at your restaurant many times, but we've never met you before. Until today on TV, we didn't even know how you looked. Your pork belly dish has inspired my little girl to become a chef, she hopes to become a chef just as good as you one day."

"Oh, thank you for the compliment. I hope you become a better chef than me one day, little girl." Patting Dai Jiaying's head, the girl's face lit up like a tomato. She didn't know what to do standing in front of her idol. "Thank you! Could I please get a picture?" Dai Jiaying had to force out every single word. She felt so happy, but also it felt so suffocating standing in front of her idol. Hyperventilating, she looked at Wang Ming with expectant eyes, hoping he would agree.

"Sure little girl, come here." Carrying Dai Jiaying in his arms, Wang Ming posed for her mother to take a picture. She smiled so brightly that even her mother couldn't help but smile.

After he put her down, Dai Jiaying ran over to look at the picture on the phone. Seeing the picture she hugged the phone to her c.h.e.s.t, afraid that she would lose it. "Thank you, Mr Wang. We won't bother you anymore I hope you have a great day and good luck with your competition."

"Thank you too, you have a beautiful daughter." After they left, Fu Ya smiled and said. "Looks like you're a celebrity now hubby, you even have your owns fans! You might even get a chance to expand your harem. Did you see how the mother eyed you earlier, she wanted a piece of your manly body."

"Stop joking, Fu Ya. I'm an honest and loyal man. You know our situation is just circ.u.mstantial. I'm not looking to add anyone into the 'harem'." Seeing Wang Ming's face, Fu Ya knew her joke was bad, she just wanted to tease him, but had completely forgotten about how guilty he feels about the whole situation. "I'm sorry hubby, I'm just joking! I know you feel guilty about it all, but it's fine we all love you!"

Wang Ming didn't get time to answer Fu Ya, as another family approached Wang Ming. They had seen Wang Ming earlier, but weren't sure it was the right person, but after seeing Wang Ming taking a picture with them, they now knew for sure that it's indeed Wang Ming.

It wasn't only one family though; it didn't take long before they were all surrounded by fans wanting to greet Wang Ming and take pictures. If he had known this would happen, Wang Ming would have worn a mask before going out.

While Wang Ming was taking care of his problem, at another place Peng Tong was dealing with the task he had gotten from Wang Ming.

After getting the task from Wang Ming, he hurriedly delegated all his tasks to his underlings. Peng Tong knew that Wang Ming didn't know how dangerous of a mission he had given to him. But Peng Tong also knew that there's no other person Wang Ming knows can execute a mission like this.

Only him an underworld thug with lots of connections could do this. To find out who was behind all this, Peng Tong first went to one of his friends, an information broker. But what awaited Peng Tong there wasn't his friend but an ambush, luckily he got away unscathed by escaping using his friend's secret exit. 

Peng Tong still didn't know who was behind all this, but this made it clear to him that someone is targeting Wang Ming, someone powerful. The people ambushing him all used pistols, with how strict the gun rules in China are, only someone with incredible connections could buy so many weapons.

Since this had failed, Peng Tong could only try another place, he still had a few other friends he could get information from, but if all of that failed then he would have no other choice than to stalk the predator himself. He would start with the Cao family then work himself down the chain, though what scared him the most is that even though the Cao family is powerful, they shouldn't be able to buy so many guns.