Chapter 253 - Harem

Wang Ming was the only one with the exact answer, which guaranteed him a spot to the quarter-finals. 

"Now let us please welcome everyone else back to the stage and please everyone here give them a loud applause. Even for those that didn't get through to the quarterfinals, be proud it's an impressive achievement already to get to this round, please don't be sad and try harder for next year!" Meng Zhong said, he knows how it feels to fail on a big stage. It must be hard on them, but it is what it is. In a competition like this, only your skill will get you deeper in it. 

"Every round in the first round of this top 32 was intense, especially that last round. Please, everyone give a last applause for the ones that qualified, Cheng Kecheng, Tan Ai, Mao Qingling, Fu Jian, Xu Guo, Pan Hong Hui, Yin Lifen and Wang Ming! But don't go anywhere we will soon be back with not only the next groups of top 32 but also the quarter final! Please sit tight."

After the cameras shut down, Wang Ming could calm down. That he made it through to the next round finally set in. Ming Ming had run from her seats, dragging Zhang Hou with her to give him a big hug. Even though she couldn't make loud noises, Wang Ming had noticed every time he guessed an ingredient right, Ming Ming would silently clap her hands and wave them at him.

It felt good to get through to the next round, but before he could even celebrate properly, a staff member grabbed him to do an interview again. Since this is Wang Ming's first time coupled with being the youngest competitor ever, the staff wanted to hype him up more. 

Wang Ming felt stupid for his initial fear about the competition being bad for his reputation and business. Talking with the interviewer, Dai Mingxia gave him a wider perspective. He hadn't realized at all how much this competition would help his business. Most questions were just trivial questions still, but a few questions she asked were superb. Like what strategies did he apply to make such a successful restaurant? 

What he had learned to become so successful not only fast but at such a young age. Even Dai Mingxia, had stars in her eyes talking with Wang Ming. She wanted to uncover every secret he had. A person like Wang Ming would be an inspiration for many young aspiring chefs. He has shown the younger populace what you can achieve at the age of only 25. 

The questions soon made its way back to Wang Ming's private life. Dai Mingxia felt curious about Wang Ming's life outside of his job. 

"Wang Ming, I want to know more about your daily life. Please tell me how your life is when you're not working or trying to make new recipes for your restaurants?"

"Honestly, I'm a very simple man. I just like to spend time with my family and friends. I have had little time to do so until recently. From since i was young I've been working in the kitchen every day, even when I was going to school, I would attend school then go home to work at my father's restaurant. But the more I did this, I realized I need to have balance in my life. I want and need to have time for myself and my family, or else I might just go crazy."

"Are you talking about your daughter? I saw an adorable child rooting for you earlier."

"That's her, she's 5 years old, but she's very m.a.t.u.r.e and understanding for her age, I love her to death."

"What about your wife? Why isn't she here today to support you? If I was her, I would have been here bright and early to support you."

Wang Ming felt his back hearing the interviewer's question. He had enough to deal with already. If he added another girlfriend, his girls would probably skin him alive. Though in the heat of the moment, Wang Ming said something which he regretted on heavily. "My wives support me a lot. Two of them were here early in the morning to support me, but they have their own lives and business to take care of. I can't be that selfish to expect them being here the whole day. But even though they aren't here, I know I have their support from home, they're probably plastered to the TV screens while multitasking their work."

Even though Wang Ming said the last part as a joke, what he didn't know is that not only did Lang Ling and Fu Ya watch the show, but even Qiao Meng did. Hearing him talk about them as their wives made them all embarassed, but none of them truly resisted the thought of becoming his wife. Though it's still too early for them, marriage would have to be years out from now. 

Qiao Meng, who was watching the show with her phone, almost lost her phone down a ditch. Luckily she caught it in time, but she still vowed to give Wang Ming a painful revenge tomorrow when they meet. Lang Lin and Fu Ya didn't have as strong of a reaction as Qiao Meng, but they were indeed both watching and supporting Wang Ming while they were busy with their tasks. It dramatically reduced their focus and work speed but for them it's worth it. 

"Wait, did you say wives? Do you have multiple wives? You know it's illegal right?"

Wang Ming finally realized his slip of the tongue. He had become so comfortable with the fact that he has three girlfriends. He had gotten so used to the fact that he has multiple girlfriends he didn't find it weird to talk about it, also all his close friends knows about it as well.

"We're not married to any of us, so it isn't illegal. It was just a slip of the tongue, they're all my girlfriends. I'd appreciate if the conversation ends here as I would like for any other details of my love life to be private, I hope that's ok."

Normally she would have backed off, as she could easily lose her job if Wang Ming complained about her. But this piece of news was just too juicy for her to step back from. Not only that, she had to figure out if Wang Ming's exploiting the girls. If Wang Ming or the other staff members had known her thoughts, they would have stopped her.

Firstly, it's not good to talk about s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e information on TV, especially when Wang Ming doesn't want to talk about it, secondly it's not her business at all and lastly if Wang Ming were truly exploiting them would he have admitted on camera that he's dating multiple girls? Wouldn't it be like Wang Ming taking a stone and crushing it on his own feet?

"I'm sorry, Wang Ming. But I can't let this go. You said that you have multiple girlfriends, right? Do you know how sc.u.mmy that is? Are you exploiting them? Do they even know of each other?" Dai Mingxia's tone changed completely minutes ago: she was amiable and happily chatting with Wang Ming, but now she had an angry, accusatory tone.

Dai Mingxia thought that Wang Ming would look guilty or maybe even sad, but he only showed anger on his face. He couldn't believe that she would just accuse him like that directly on live television. The second round of top 32 had started already, but yet they still showed Wang Ming's interview on the TV. Many of Wang Ming's female fans looked at him with resentment through the screen. 

They didn't think that such a nice young man would be a playboy, but before they could see anything more they finally switched feed from Wang Ming's interview to the competition which had already progressed to the second round. Before the feed changed, his girls at home all caught a glance of Wang Ming's livid face.

After the cameras shut down, Wang Ming bolted out of the chair and walked away. Dai Mingxia tried to stop and interrogate him, but Wang Ming wouldn't have any of it. He didn't want to explain his relationsh.i.p.s to someone who isn't even close to him, it's his fault to bring it up, but how she reacted to everything, was too unprofessional.

With Dai Mingxia's feeble strength she couldn't hold back Wang Ming at all. She tried to shout for someone to stop Wang Ming, but instead of getting support, she only got weird stares back. Seeing that she couldn't get any support at all, Dai Mingxia sat down again. She would let Wang Ming go for now, but there were still the quarter finals today and semis and finals tomorrow. She had many opportunities to find out what she wanted to know. If Wang Ming's a playboy who exploits women, she would definitely expose him on stage like the rat he is. 

Though what she never thought about is what if Wang Ming isn't a playboy, what would she do then? Apologize? Is an apology enough to patch up such a big accusation?