Chapter 240 - New rules

Wang Ming couldn't believe how proficient Lang Lin and Fu Ya were in doing their makeup. He was driving as fast as he could the entire ride. Their hair was still wet and messy but when they exited the car, both looked fabulous, like they were ready for a red carpet. 

Hearing the comments they got made Wang Ming laugh. Fu Ya wore a short summer dress emphasizing her cleavage. It was so short that a few perverted men tried to look under it when she bended over to grab her bag, but all they got was disappointment as she wore a pair of shorts under it. Lang Lin wore a black suit, which fit her size perfectly. She even wore a black tie. 

It's the first time he's seen her wear a suit, even was a bit weird for his taste. He appreciated how good she looked. She looks better in a suit than him. Lang Lin wore her hair in a ponytail and had the front of her hair to the side. He felt so proud seeing how gorgeous they both looked, though what made him laugh was, people thought Lang Lin and Fu Ya were a lesbian couple. 

Some people thought that Wang Ming was their butler who was taking care of their niece, but when they saw Wang Ming's face and that both women hugged his arm they realized Wang Ming is not only a successful chef but also has two girlfriends! 

The male chefs looked at Wang Ming with envy, especially thinking about the wives they have at home. Even though many of the men are fairly old, most of them have young wives, only a few of them actually have wives older than 40 years old.

Most of the chefs present are more accomplished than Wang Ming. His net worth is nothing compared to most of them who have net worths of 100s of millions of yuan, but all of them were green with envy seeing his two wifeys. A few thick faced competitors even tried to approach them, but were shut down the moment they tried to persuade them to leave Wang Ming. 

Though luckily the chefs seemed cool about the fact that they got shot down, they tried their shot and failed that was the end. Wang Ming sighed a breath of relief. He didn't want any trouble before the competition again. With Ming Ming on his shoulders, he grabbed their hands and walked inside. This time he didn't get stopped by any guards, but he faced another problem: paparazzi and reporters. 

That Wang Ming's the youngest one to participate and get to the next stage made him a hot topic. Everyone wanted to know more about him and if he had any special plans for today. Luckily, they didn't have access to the arena and could only stay outside. The venue had completely replaced the guards yesterday with new ones. These guards worked fast, like they had dealt with this many times before. 

Inside he met with Uncle Hou, who had come early. He held his phone, ready for Wang Ming to call him. He had talked with the guards already, but couldn't help but worry. Seeing Wang Ming, Zhang Hou felt happy. Today is one of his happiest days in a long time. He and Xu Juan got together just because of Wang Ming. If he hadn't taunted him, then they would probably never confront each other and talked about their feelings.

Wang Ming only said a few words with him. He then let Uncle Hou guide his girls to the seats like yesterday. He then went to the waiting room. He felt a bit worried since he had only arrived 15 minutes before the show starts. Yesterday while he waited, the staff briefed him shortly on what to do.

He didn't know why the competition was setup like this. None of the chefs has gotten any clear directions on what to do while their in front of the camera or where to go. But what Wang Ming didn't know is that it's normal, when the competition first started they did everything meticulously but after having the competition for many years, they've grown accustomed to that everyone has seen the competition before and know what they should do. 

Wang Ming's one of the few anomalies who have never seen the competition on TV before, it's incredibly rare a professional chef doesn't know about the competition because almost all chef's dream is to win this competition. Though luckily for Wang Ming, since the production crew assumes everyone knows what to do they are more relaxed, he only needed to follow instructions and what the other chefs are doing. 

Being inside the preparation room this time was so much different from yesterday. Not only did the people from the production crew act differently, but the other competitors as well. This time the makeup crew approached him to give him makeup. Yesterday no one bothered with him so he walked on stage of. He didn't care too much about how they treat him, but to see the other competitors treat him with respect felt great. 

Even though that's not what determines his skills or worth, having many top chefs in China look at him like their peers made him feel great. He still remembers their eyes of contempt yesterday when Mao Qingling painted him like a bad person. Thinking about Mao Qingling, Wang Ming honestly thought that she wouldn't qualify to the next round, but she did. 

Mao Qingling's the only one still looking at him with contempt. Her anger had clouded her reasoning. She didn't care that Wang Ming qualified to the next round. In her eyes he's still a horrible person who used the backdoor. All the other chefs, including her, had to go through rigorous tests and establish a name for themselves before they could even apply. Or that was what she told herself. The biggest reason she hated Wang Ming is because he took her limelight.

After getting his makeup and runthrough of what was going to happen, Wang Ming sat down to wait. At exactly 8AM, the competition once again started. Angela and Meng Zhong were once again on the stage talking about the competition and yesterday's results. He kept hearing his name mentioned many times. Luckily he was still in the preparation room, so they didn't have a direct shot of him. 

From now on he would have to wear a mask every time he goes out, or at least until the competition dies down. Wang Ming felt a bit torn because the publicity is great for his business, but he hated the fact that it limits his freedom. But it's too late to regret now, he had no way back. 

"This is the 64 remaining chefs. I hope you all give them a massive applause! After today only 32 will remain, there's many big names left like, Tan Ai, Zhong Xiaoli, Mao Qingling and of course Mr. Cheng Kecheng! But don't take me wrong, every remaining chef is capable of winning the competition and shouldn't be disregarded, especially Wang Ming, the dark horse of the competition. Personally I have my hopes on him, if you're betting on the winner of the competition I would bet a small amount on him. I've heard that the odds for him are 1:123!"

"Now, let's start, from where we left off yesterday. Today will be the top 64 round. There will be only 4 groups today with 16 per group, only half of the group will advance to the next round. Angela, will you tell the audience about the changes this year?"

Angela, who was dressed in an elegant red Qi Pao today, took the breaths away from the people watching on the tv and the ones there. She had hid behind Meng Zhong all the way, so no one had seen her until now. Her dress made her look like a proper woman, but the high cut on the Qi Pao told a different story. Many watching wondered if she wore p.a.n.t.i.e.s or not at all, could they maybe get a look at her kitty if they looked from a different angle.

"There're going to be totally new rules for the top 64, today we will not cook any dishes, we're going to test your knowledge and how well you can execute basic actions in the kitchen. For anyone who doesn't have great general knowledge of food and cooking and a great foundation, I can only wish you the best of luck."