CH 62

November 10, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 62: Cooking Problems

The family of three walked out of the door of the gala together. Gongxi Xiong and Qiao Lanfen saw reporters coming. They didn’t want to show their faces on camera, so after saying a few words to Gongxi Qiao, they left first.

The news that the two items donated by Gongxi Qiao had fetched a high price had already reached the ears of the reporters, so they wanted to get in on the action and interview him for an article.

Originally, the astoundingly high price fetched by the T-Shirt Gu Nan donated, which he wore to participate in the opening ceremony of the Intercontinental Games, was enough to get their attention. Who knew that the total price of the two items donated by Gongxi Qiao would reach about five million at auction?

It’s impossible not to compare between two people. If there were no Gongxi Qiao here today, then Film Emperor Gu would be the biggest winner among the artists on the scene. Unfortunately, there was this General Cheng Yaojin[1], Gongxi Qiao, who killed him.

The reporters who were qualified to enter the inner area saw with their own eyes how enthusiastic the charitable people in the audience were when the ‘Winter Snow’ auction started. In order to grab headlines, some of them had already taken a few photos and sent them to online media platforms.

If an average artist stole the limelight from a superstar like Gu Nan, there would have been a group of people saying he was deliberately seeking fame, but Gongxi Qiao was different from other artists.

The black sapphire men’s ring wasn’t a particularly precious thing. With Gongxi Qiao’s status in the entertainment industry, it was just the right thing to donate. However, Gongxi Qiao wasn’t only an entertainer, but also a famous young calligrapher and painter. Therefore, since he attended this occasion, he couldn’t just bring an insignificant black sapphire ring. His own painting would be more suitable.

Although Gongxi Qiao was young, his status in the painting and calligraphy world was very high. In addition, his works were rarely seen on the market, so the collection value was very high. However, it was definitely not up to the price given by the Xue family.

3.8 million was enough to collect an ancient masterpiece painting.

So, this kind of charity gala was just a place for rich people to throw money around to show their compassion. These journalists who were so poor they drank the wind and ate the sun[2] all day long could only watch.

A few million yuan was just a number in the eyes of these people, but for the journalists, it would take half a lifetime of hard work.

While lamenting the fact that they couldn’t compare to other people, they sent out various entertainment reports on internet platforms, such as “At the Charity Gala, Qiao Shao Painting Fetches Sky-High Price”, “Tycoon Movie Fan Cries with Joy After Bidding for Film Emperor Gu’s T-Shirt”, “Lavish Charity, Counting the Rich at the Charity Gala”, “Master Xi Supports His Friend, Spent 1.2 Million on Ring Worth 100,000”, and so on.

Some people were focused on what the crowd was wearing, some were concerned about how rich the bigwigs on the scene really were, and some were sourly hating the rich. But no matter what, journalists knew that there was a lot of news to write about tonight’s charity gala.

So immediately after the Gongxi parents left, Gongxi Qiao was surrounded by the media.

“Qiao Shao, are you happy that your work fetched a high price of 3.8 million?”

“I’m definitely happy thinking that the money will help people who need it,” said Gongxi Qiao. He was always very polite but not overly solicitous when facing the media. “But the price could be so high because a few friends took the opportunity to donate more money to charity by bidding, not because my work is so precious.”

Reporter: They actually wanted to first hype his work fetching a sky-high price, then later, they would reveal that it was actually “Qiao Shao’s own people” bidding, causing the price to be inflated. It turned out, Gongxi Qiao was too honest. It was really uncooperative with their job requirements.

“The person who finally won the painting was a representative of the Xue family. Qiao Shao, are you good friends with the Xue family?”

Gongxi Qiao’s smile remained unchanged. His eyes swept over the reporter who asked the question. The man was about 30 years old. He didn’t look like a newcomer who wasn’t familiar with the rules of the circle, but this question had several big traps lurking inside.

If Gongxi Qiao said yes, it was possible that tomorrow’s news would be about him trying to put gold on his face by attaching himself to the Xue family. If he said no, then it would turn into him looking down on the Xue family. If he was ambiguous, it would be even better. Journalists could write whatever they wanted to. Under the pen of the entertainment reporters, white could become black and black could become multicolored.

“Qiao Shao.” The representative of the Xue family stood outside the circle of reporters with a smile. After the reporters made a path for him, he walked to Gongxi Qiao with a smile on his face. He took the initiative to shake hands with Gongxi Qiao. “Xue Shao[3] was very happy when he learned that I bought your artwork. He specially asked me to come thank you.”

With this move, the Xue family representative was undoubtedly honoring Gongxi Qiao. Faced with the Xue family’s kindness, Gongxi Qiao silently accepted it. “Xue Shao is too polite. We’re all friends. Next time, if you like one of my pieces, just say it directly. There’s no need to spend money.”

When the surrounding journalists looked at this situation, it suddenly dawned on them that Xue Shao already highly esteemed Qiao Shao’s paintings and calligraphy works, so he deliberately sent someone to spend a lot of money to obtain it. However, Qiao Shao was modest, only saying that his friend was supporting him.

In that case, was Xue Shao…… Qiao Shao’s fanboy?

As an entertainer, Gongxi Qiao was such a winner in life, even his fans were high-end. These entertainment reporters were simply embarrassed to write it down.

After the reporters were shocked by the news that Xue Shao was Gongxi Qiao’s fanboy, several bodyguards soon came over and squeezed them out of the way and escorted Gongxi Qiao into a black car, leaving them in the dust.

“That car…… Isn’t it the one Master Xi was riding in when he arrived?” A male reporter snapped countless pictures of the faraway car’s backside before he put down his camera and said in surprise, “Why is Qiao Shao riding in Master Xi’s car?”

Perhaps the bodyguards who escorted Qiao Shao away just now were also sent by Master Xi?

“What’s so strange about that?” The female reporter next to him calmly took out the camera memory card and carefully put it into her bag. “Gongxi Qiao and Master Xi are close friends. It would be strange for Master Xi not to send bodyguards to escort him to the car at this time.”

The male reporter smiled dryly and scratched his head, but there was a feeling of indescribable strangeness in his heart.

“It’s late, I’ll take you back to rest.” Xi Qing looked at Gongxi Qiao beside him. “Where are you going back to?”

“Go to my own villa.” Gongxi Qiao yawned. “I have to go to the set tomorrow to shoot indoor scenes. It’s not convenient to go to my parents’ place.”

Xi Qing nodded. “Okay.”

Gongxi Qiao rubbed his eyes, leaned against the car window and half squinted. “Since I saw you today, my mother has mentioned to me several times that I should bring you to the house for dinner, so when you’re free, do me the honor, okay?”

Xi Qing’s Adam’s apple moved. He put his left hand on his knee and slightly tilted his head, saying, “As a junior, I should have visited Auntie and Uncle.”

“Then when we’re both free, we’ll go to my parents’ place for dinner,” Gongxi Qiao said with the corner of his mouth raised. “My father is a very good cook. He relied on this cooking skill to woo my mother back then.”

The corner of Xi Qing’s mouth twitched slightly, “Uncle and Auntie are very affectionate.”

Thinking of Xi Qing’s parents, Gongxi Qiao smiled and didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, he said, “I heard that the Bai Group has been making a lot of moves lately. Will this affect you?”

“It’s fine.” Xi Qing saw the concern in Gongxi Qiao’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth finally curved up. “You don’t have to worry.”

“I don’t know much about business, so I don’t have any advice to give,” said Gongxi Qiao with a frank smile. He didn’t feel embarrassed that he was a rich second generation and didn’t know much about business. “It’s just that, as far as I know, Bai Zhong is a very arrogant person. If he succeeds, he might act very strong and unforgiving. If he fails, he might disregard everything and turn into a mad dog and bite people. You should be a little more careful.”

Xi Qing knew very well that Gongxi Qiao had a personality that was polite and courteous to everyone, but didn’t make friends easily. Being willing to put aside his identity and say this to him meant that he was already a true friend in his heart.

Merely this little specialness was enough to satisfy Xi Qing. His hand on his knee shook unnaturally before he suppressed the urge to embrace the other person. “I will.”

Gongxi Qiao smiled and didn’t speak again.

About half an hour later, the car stopped at Gongxi Qiao’s villa.

Gongxi Qiao stepped out of the car and said good night to Xi Qing before walking towards the house’s front door. After a few steps, he turned around and looked at Xi Qing inside the car. “Do you have anything else to say to me?”

“It might rain tomorrow. Take care of your health while filming.” Xi Qing opened the car door and leaned half of his body out. “The crew doesn’t need to rush too much. Your body is the most important thing.”

Gongxi Qiao chuckled. After he watched Xi Qing for two seconds, he waved his hand at him. “Okay, I will.”

As usual, Xi Qing’s car waited until Gongxi Qiao’s bedroom light came on before slowly leaving. Without Gongxi Qiao, the car became silent.

“Tomorrow, have someone find a cookbook and send it to my villa.”

“What kind of cuisine cookbook?” The bodyguard sitting in the passenger side was stunned, “or, a comprehensive cookbook?” Flower Country was known as a gourmet country, and there were many different cuisines. What type of cookbook should he buy?

Xi Qing carefully recalled Gongxi Qiao’s tastes and hobbies. “A complete collection of national recipes.”

“Boss, what dishes do you like to eat? Why don’t you hire more chefs to help you?” The bodyguard who had been with Xi Qing for several years spoke honestly from a position of consideration for his boss. “I’m worried that the two chefs you have now won’t be able to make the tastes you like.”

Unfortunately, Xi Qing didn’t need his honesty at all.

“I have no intention of letting them learn.”

“Oh.” The bodyguard nodded, then looked down and sent a text message to his subordinates, asking them to find an authoritative national recipe book.

But…… Buying a cookbook and not letting the chef learn it? It couldn’t be for the boss himself to learn it, right?

The dignified head of the Xi family suddenly had a new hobby of wanting to cook. Wasn’t there something wrong with that?

Xi Qing looked at the flashing neon lights outside the car window and felt a little lost in his heart.

In fact, when Xiao Qiao asked him what else he wanted to say, what he wanted to say wasn’t those words.

But some words, once said, couldn’t be unsaid.

The next morning, Gongxi Qiao got up from bed and casually browsed Weibo when he found that Xi Qing had suddenly tagged him. He was a little curious and clicked on his own Weibo feed.

Xi Qing V: Good morning. Are my fried poached eggs okay? [with picture] @Gongxi Qiao V

Putting down his phone, Gongxi Qiao stroked his chin and thought, this fried egg is a bit burnt, should he say it’s okay or not?

T/N