Chapter Sixty: Adding Flowers to Brocade

Chapter Sixty: The Icing on the Cake

Because it was the weekend, Guoguo didn't have to go to school, and Qin Wan'er was off work, so the medicinal cuisine restaurant was livelier than usual. From early morning, Guoguo's melodious singing filled the air: "Sunlight shining bright and gold, Guoguo sings a cheerful song, Mama wakes up, Wan'er busy dressing up, Sister Qiu Yan goes to brush her teeth, while Daddy cooks with the greatest honor~"

Xu Yun almost wanted to bang his head against the wall. Why was he stuck making breakfast even on weekends when everyone else was free? Was cooking only honorable when he did it? Still, looking around at this house full of bewitchingly beautiful women, he, being one to cherish the fairer sex, couldn’t possibly bear to let them toil in the kitchen.

Once breakfast was over, the busy day truly began. Aside from Guoguo and Qin Wan'er, who were always plotting to go shopping, the other three steadfastly manned their posts. Unable to go out, Guoguo was a bit glum. Business was no longer what it used to be, and, now accustomed to handling wads of cash, Guoguo no longer cared for small change. Her interest in working the register had faded, and she now sat with her laptop, delving into finance, economics, and stocks.

Xu Yun suspected she was just pretending; after all, even he could barely make sense of those things. Still, he couldn't help but envy people with a knack for finance, who could make a fortune with a few clicks in the stock market—far more impressive than being a mere chef.

After a busy lunch rush, all the beauties, young and old, went upstairs to rest, leaving Xu Yun alone to mind the shop. At this moment, a fair-skinned, graceful woman entered, her complexion like porcelain. Xu Yun's eyes lit up as he took in her tall, elegant figure, pearly white teeth, and striking eyes. A silver microphone in her hand accentuated her poise, but compared to Qin Wan'er, her figure was quite modest.

Right behind her, a rather ordinary-looking man with an equally average build came in, lugging a video camera. "Gao Song, are you sure it's this place?"

"Uh... it should be." The fair-skinned beauty, seeing the man at the counter staring blatantly at her chest, felt more than a little speechless.

Xu Yun stroked his chin, clicking his tongue inwardly: Her parents must have meant well naming her "Gao Song"—meaning "tall and lofty"—but surely she didn't live up to their hopes. She was more like a runway than a mountain... No "loftiness" at all.

The cameraman, sharp-eyed, quickly noticed Xu Yun's wandering gaze. "Hey, buddy, snap out of it and show some reaction!"

"Wow, are you two from the TV station?" Xu Yun slapped the counter and stood up with wide eyes. He truly had been distracted by the beauty, forgetting himself for a moment. With the cameraman and the female host together, unless they were filming an action romance from Japan, they had to be TV reporters.

But why would reporters come to a medicinal cuisine restaurant, especially outside meal hours?

"Excuse me, is Qin Wan'er working here as a chef's apprentice?" the elegant woman named Gao Song asked quietly.

"You mean the errand girl, Qin Wan'er?" Xu Yun almost laughed. Chef’s apprentice? Her? Not a chance!

Gao Song broke out in a cold sweat. That rotten Wan'er had told her she was apprenticing as a chef—how had it turned into just being an errand girl?

Hearing noise downstairs, Qin Wan'er peeked from the stairs. Seeing the two newcomers, she was momentarily startled. "Gao Song! You’re half an hour early! I was planning to go out and greet you!"

"Phew... good thing we didn’t get the wrong place," Gao Song sighed in relief. "I call this professionalism, you know."

As soon as Qin Wan'er came downstairs, Xu Yun grinned and said, "Qin Wan'er, when did I agree to take you on as my apprentice? You're quite good at boosting your own credentials! Just keep doing odd jobs—maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll teach you a trick or two."

Qin Wan'er gritted her teeth and landed a punch on his chest. "You're the errand boy! Keep your mouth shut if you have nothing useful to say!"

"Braggart!" Xu Yun shot back, undaunted.

"Scoundrel!" Qin Wan'er was mortified—how could he expose her in front of her friend?

Seeing the two bicker, Gao Song smiled. "Alright, Wan'er, it doesn't matter what you do. I’m mainly here to interview and record the restaurant’s owner and head chef, so hurry up and introduce me."

The commotion downstairs had already drawn Ruan Qingshuang and Guoguo down from upstairs.

"What a beautiful sister!" Guoguo exclaimed, scanning the room before her gaze landed on Gao Song's chest. She mused to herself: probably not Daddy's preferred type.

Ruan Qingshuang looked over the two guests, then at Qin Wan'er, feeling the girl looked oddly familiar. "Who is this?"

"Qingshuang, come down! Let me introduce you," Qin Wan'er beckoned. "This is Gao Song from Hedong City TV Station—my good friend!"

TV station? On hearing this, Ruan Qingshuang hurried down.

"Wow, so cool!" Guoguo couldn't help but dash over to Gao Song. "Sister, am I going to be on TV?"

"Of course!" Gao Song smiled warmly. What a bright and lovable little girl.

Ruan Qingshuang apologized, "My daughter can be a bit mischievous. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not! I really like her," Gao Song replied with a gentle smile.

"Sister, you have great taste!" Guoguo beamed, then dashed back to the stairs. "If I'm going to be on TV, I need to change into something nice..."

Good grief! Qin Wan'er was exasperated. You're not even being interviewed. What's got you so excited?

Meanwhile, the cameraman had already started filming the restaurant’s interior, amazed at how immaculately clean it was.

"Gao Song, this is the owner of our restaurant, Ruan Qingshuang. If you have any questions, just ask her directly," Qin Wan'er said, before sourly gesturing at Xu Yun. "And that unreliable-looking guy is the head chef."

Gao Song and Ruan Qingshuang exchanged polite handshakes, but Gao Song glanced at Xu Yun, unsure how to greet him.

"Wan'er, can you explain what's going on?" Ruan Qingshuang was still confused.

"Hehe, Qingshuang, this is a good thing," Qin Wan'er replied. "Recently, there's been a surge of interest in medicinal cuisine in Hedong City, so the TV station decided to interview a restaurant. Gao Song, being in charge, is my friend, so how could I pass up this free publicity?"

The word "interview" left Ruan Qingshuang flustered. "An interview? I don't know how..."

"Don't worry, just do as I say," Gao Song assured her, seasoned as she was. She smiled and signaled the cameraman to get ready.

The cameraman was in awe—this was the cleanest restaurant he’d ever seen. The floor was spotless, the tables free of oil stains, and even the kitchen gleamed.

Qin Wan'er’s favor was truly the icing on the cake. Ruan Qingshuang had just partnered with Dan Hongning to introduce medicinal cuisine to several large hotels, and Lv Feng had just opened a third branch in the downtown district...

Now, with the TV station interviewing them, their reputation would surely skyrocket!

"Xu Yun, aren’t you going to change clothes? You’ll be cooking on camera, and they’ll edit it into a promo video," Qin Wan'er said disdainfully. "Boxers and a tank top? Could you be any more underdressed?"

"Want to see more? Hah, I’m not that easy," Xu Yun retorted, heading into the kitchen to change into a clean white chef’s uniform, looking every bit the part. "I’m the most handsome chef there is, and the best cook among all the handsome men."

The interview lasted over two hours, and through it all, Guoguo never came back downstairs. It seemed everyone had forgotten her. Frustrated, she sat upstairs in her beautiful new dress, wishing she could be on TV. If only she could, she’d wow all her classmates on Monday.

Qiu Yan, stern-faced, kept a close eye on Guoguo. She would never be foolish enough to let Guoguo appear in public like this. They couldn’t be sure if that deadly scorpion had arrived or not—if Guoguo was recognized on TV, it would be courting disaster.

"Can't I at least show my face for a second?" Guoguo bit her finger in dismay.

"No," Qiu Yan answered without hesitation.

So Guoguo slumped onto the sofa, resigned, listening to the animated voices downstairs. Though mischievous by nature, she always obeyed Qiu Yan when she was serious, knowing everything Qiu Yan did was for her sake.

The reason was simple: Guoguo knew Qiu Yan would risk her life for her.

She remembered that night vividly, a memory she kept buried but never forgot. If Qiu Yan hadn’t risked everything to get her out, who knew where those vicious people would have taken her.

"I’m fine with it," Guoguo suddenly cheered up. "There will be plenty of chances in the future."

Qiu Yan felt a pang of guilt. "Guoguo, it's my fault. I just can't protect you..."

Guoguo, in her little-adult way, patted Qiu Yan on the shoulder. "Don’t say that, Sister Qiu Yan. I’ve never thought that. If it weren’t for you, who knows where I’d be now... Oh, and I kind of miss Grandpa."

Qiu Yan's heart trembled, her gaze turning sharp as she looked out the window. She would make sure to avenge Feng Qiansui...

"Don’t worry, Sister," Guoguo continued. "Didn’t I just gain a... well, a godfather? He’s not someone to mess with, you know—even I know that. How could you not?"

Qiu Yan was taken aback. This little girl never failed to shock.

Soon, the interview wrapped up before the afternoon customers arrived—after all, even TV stations had no right to interfere with business. Qin Wan'er did her best to persuade the two to stay for a meal, but they politely declined, not wanting to disrupt the restaurant.

Not wanting to lose face, Qin Wan'er headed upstairs to get money and planned to treat Gao Song to a Western meal instead.

As business picked up unexpectedly, Gao Song decided to shoot some footage of the bustling restaurant. But the camera was suddenly pressed down by a large hand, accompanied by a rough voice: "What do you think you're doing? Who said you could film here?"

Gao Song and the cameraman jumped, startled by the group of rough-looking men who had just entered.

"I told them to film!" Qin Wan'er came out of the restaurant at that moment, glaring fiercely at Dan Hongning, who had blocked Gao Song.

As soon as Dan Hongning saw Qin Wan'er, his face broke into a wide grin. "Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know you invited these guests, Officer Qin! Go ahead, film away! Need any help?"

His attitude did a complete one-eighty!