Chapter 399: Chapter 358: Graceful in the Hall, Skilled in the Kitchen_2
However, her curiosity was soon satisfied, as it was the office crowd who first spread the news.
"Huge twist in the Chi Ming scandal! It turns out that Chi Ming actually divorced half a year ago. Him bringing a strange woman back to his apartment wasn’t marital infidelity since he wasn’t married at the time. I knew it; Chi Ming is just not that kind of person."
Upon hearing this, Tong Bi quickly went online to check, and though the news was published just ten minutes ago, Chi Ming’s alleged affair had been causing quite a stir, and this piece of news immediately took over the headlines.
The story in the news seemed solid, even presenting a divorce certificate, and on it were the names of Chi Ming and his wife, Xing Shanhu. Not only that, but there was also a revelation online that Xing Shanhu had been unfaithful first, engaging in an affair with one of Chi Ming’s close buddies.
What was originally a tirade of criticisms directed at Chi Ming instantly shifted focus to his wife, Xing Shanhu, leading to a myriad of online digs, exposés, insiders, and whistleblowers.
A renowned director even came out to staunchly support Chi Ming. A bit of digging made it clear that Chi Ming recently starred in this director’s film, which was soon to premiere. Before long, the yet-to-be-released movie surged up the trending search list, with promotional stills flying around everywhere.
Zhuo Yuqing knew that this was Chi Ming capitalizing on his own divorce to create buzz. He managed to hype his movie and smear his ex-wife in the process. It made one wonder how much resentment it would take for someone to go so far as to reveal being cuckolded.
"Yuqing, you’re truly incredible! How did you manage to get this scoop?" Colleagues came up one after another to congratulate her. While articles alone might seem speculative, the fact that Zhuo Yuqing could even produce Chi Ming’s divorce certificate was nothing short of miraculous.
"Our magazine is really making waves this time with two big headlines in a row."
Facing everyone’s compliments, Zhuo Yuqing felt somewhat guilty because both pieces of news had been leaked to her by Bai Chengxi, and not through her own efforts. But the moment she remembered that Bai Chengxi had called her his wife today and told her there was no need to hide any troubles from him, she proudly puffed out her chest.
While all the lively discussions were going on here, Tong Bi was so angry she turned pale. At the magazine, all her limelight had been stolen by Zhuo Yuqing. Last time, Zhuo Yuqing hogged the spotlight with her interview with Xixiao. Tong Bi had barely managed to intercept Zhuo Yuqing’s headline news, only for her to produce an even bigger headline.
Unable to contain her anger, Tong Bi slammed her fist on the desk: "What are you chattering about? Doesn’t anyone have work to do?"
The slam was so loud that nearly everyone heard it. Everyone exchanged glances, moved by an unspoken agreement, and silently returned to their desks.
As the crowd dispersed, Zhuo Yuqing encountered Tong Bi’s envious gaze. Indifferently, she looked back, then turned to get back to work.
Zhuo Yuqing had just typed a few characters on the keyboard when she suddenly remembered Bai Chengxi wanted to eat steamed fish. She promptly searched online for a steamed fish recipe.
After work, Zhuo Yuqing went to the seafood market and bought a garoupa, as online sources suggested this fish was tender and perfect for steaming.
When she brought the fish home, it was still alive, thrashing about in the bag.
"Auntie Tian," Zhuo Yuqing called out as soon as she entered, hoping she would help kill the fish. The fishmonger had said that to preserve its freshness, it needed to be killed just before cooking.
But after calling out twice with no reply from Auntie Tian, it was a casually dressed Bai Chengxi who emerged from the study.
Since moving in, they had barely had any formal encounters in this home, so Zhuo Yuqing was somewhat startled by the sight of a leisurely Bai Chengxi and stood frozen for a moment with the bag in hand.
"What did you buy?" Bai Chengxi came over to ask.
"Garoupa." Zhuo Yuqing hoisted the bag in her hand, "Where’s Auntie Tian?"
"She took some days off; she won’t be coming for the next two days."
"Oh." The thought of being alone with him in the house over the weekend made Zhuo Yuqing inexplicably nervous, as she wasn’t quite accustomed to being alone with him yet.
"I’ll start cooking." She took the fish and some vegetables into the kitchen.
Zhuo Yuqing, who’d never dealt with live fish before, found herself unable to bring herself to kill the fish writhing in the sink, despite holding a fish club in her hand. After several hesitant attempts, she felt too merciful to go through with it and finally turned to outside help.
"Bai Chengxi." Zhuo Yuqing stood at the kitchen doorway, looking out to the living room where Bai Chengxi was smoking and watching TV.
"What’s up?" Hearing her voice, Bai Chengxi stubbed out the cigarette and approached. Zhuo Yuqing, clad in an apron, thin and graceful, had a face flushed from the steam, resembling a ripe peach on a branch.
She parted her red lips and pointed towards the sink with a somewhat pitiful look, "Could you help me kill the fish?"
Bai Chengxi scoffed, "Don’t have the guts to kill it?"
"Mm, I’ve never done it," Zhuo Yuqing handed the club to him, "It’s alive; I can’t bring myself to do it."
"But you have the heart to steam it?" Bai Chengxi took the club and headed to the sink.
"It was you who wanted to eat it; I rarely eat living things," Zhuo Yuqing pouted.
Bai Chengxi raised the club and whacked the fish’s head a few times, and the initially active fish instantly lay motionless.
Zhuo Yuqing cautiously hid behind him, "Could you also clean and prepare it?"
"And then what? Continue and cook it for you?" Bai Chengxi’s mocking tone made Zhuo Yuqing feel a bit abashed, but before she could act, Bai Chengxi had already skillfully started cleaning the fish, scaling and marinating it.
"Pass me the soy sauce."
"The salt shaker."
"A plate."
Throughout the process, Zhuo Yuqing served as the assistant. Bai Chengxi expertly steamed the fish, knowing even she wasn’t fond of meat, and then proceeded to stir-fry two vegetables, and made a seaweed egg drop soup, all in less than half an hour, and brought the three dishes and one soup to the table.
This table of steaming hot dishes amazed Zhuo Yuqing; she would have never imagined that a man like Bai Chengxi could handle both the parlor and the kitchen.