In the back kitchen, Tao An and President Gu were eating their special treat together with Ruan Tang. Ruan Tang had one roast suckling pig specially reserved for themselves. At this time, they had casually fried a simple vegetable dish and with some with rice, the three of them were enjoying the aromatic suckling pig. When the smart robot told them that the guests have requested to see the main chef, Tao An and President Gu were at a loss. They had never heard of guests wanting to meet the chef after a banquet.

However, Ruan Tang was relatively calm. Although he was not a full-time chef in his previous life, he occasionally followed his parents to work at the hotel. He knew that some guests would like to see the chef to personally show their grat.i.tude and respect when they tasted a very satisfying meal.

Ruan Tang hadn't expected these aliens to be quite so courteous.

“President Gu, Xiao Tao, let's go.” He put down his rice bowl and stood up.

“But doesn't the Rute leader want to see the main chef? Isn't it a little inappropriate for us to go out together?” Tao An asked with some hesitation.

“The Rute leader should have been very satisfied with this meal and probably wishes to thank the chefs. Today's food wasn't done by me alone. Without President Gu and Xiao Tao's help, I can't have managed this big order.” Ruan Tang didn't think too much and simply decided according to the customs during his previous life. Generally, for a large banquet like this, a single chef was definitely not enough. When receiving thanks for a banquet, the main chef would customarily take with him some of the other main chefs. That was why Ruan Tang could ask President Gu and Xiao Tao to come with him.

Both President Gu and Tao An felt that what he said was quite reasonable. They also got up, sorted out their appearance, and walked towards the main banquet hall together with him.

When Gilbert saw three people dressed in chef's clothes coming out of the kitchen, he was suddenly stupefied. He thought that the meal had been prepared by the ‘famous chef' that he had requested. He didn't think that there were actually three people.

When Cheng Ji saw three people come out, he was a bit surprised, but he quickly reacted. He smiled and said to Gilbert beside him: “The three are the chefs who made this delicious food for us today.”

In fact, when Cheng Ji heard Gilbert's request, he was immediately aware of Gilbert's plan. Gilbert had taken a fancy to Ruan Tang's cooking skill and wanted to go headhunting! However, in consideration of the cooperation between their two countries, he could not directly reject his request and not give him face. Cheng Ji did not expect that three people would come out. That was even better. He'll take advantage of Gilbert's confusion over his real objective and muddle the situation even more.

“Thank you to the three chefs. Today I had the best meal I have ever eaten in my life.” As Gilbert said that, he looked at them back and forth and asked, "Might I know who was responsible for this roast suckling pig?”

“It's me.” Ruan Tang replied with a smile.

Gilbert's eyes suddenly brightened, he immediately asked, “Are you the legendary Great Chef Ruan?”

Ruan Tang felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing this. He has never been called a “great chef”. So, he forced a smile and said, “You can just call me Ruan Tang, I am not a full-time chef, just a food anchor.”

“Okay, Ruan Tang, your cooking was heaven and earth, I have never eaten anything so delicious!” Gilbert was not the least bit stingy in his praise.  In order to show his cultural accomplishment and leave the other with a good impression, Gilbert had deliberately used a four-character idiom learned from the Empire.

– Although he had learned it wrong.

Ruan Tang's smile became a bit more genuine. He smiled and said, “I don't deserve such praise.” For a chef, getting such straightforward compliments was the most satisfying thing. He didn't expect the Rutes to be such an enthusiastic and direct race.  Thus Ruan Tang started to have a more favorable impression of the Rutes.

"May I know which of the dishes today were yours?"

“Aside from the cabbage soup and the Hu Mi Jiao Bai, which President Gu personally made, the other dishes were mainly my work. Tao An is our a.s.sistant and has helped us a lot.”

Hearing this, the light in Gilbert's eyes brightened even more. He also thanked President Gu and Tao An. Though, of course, more attention was paid Ruan Tang himself. He also asked a few questions about Ruan Tang's food. When he found out that Ruan Tang still had a lot of specialty dishes he hadn't had time to make, he really couldn't wait to eat it all.

His eager eyes turned around and looked at Cheng Ji beside him.

Cheng Ji: “…”

Ah, here it comes.

This guy who looked as though he had a straightforward character was actually very shrewd. He was obviously trying to entice their four-star chef to take him away!

This was absolutely unacceptable! This was his first time eating Ruan Tang's cooking. He still wanted to eat more! No, no matter what conditions he proposes, he must refuse!

Besides, outstandingly gifted chefs like Ruan Tang were obviously the future of their empire's culinary industry!

Just when Cheng Ji had a mental speech to tactfully refuse Gilbert's request to transfer Ruan Tang, Gilbert suddenly said, "I think it is time for us to be connected by marriage!"

Cheng Ji: “Ah?”

He was a bit unsure whether he had heard wrong. How did he suddenly propose marriage? His little princess was only four years old!

Gilbert turned his gaze back to Ruan Tang. His eyes were filled with bright light. “I want Mr. Ruan Tang to be my queen!”

How could eating such a delicious meal just once be enough? He has to find a way to be able to eat it every day!

Everyone:? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Ruan Tang:? ? ? !

He Yun Chen had unconsciously grabbed the edge of the table, and he grabbed it so tight that a crack appeared.

He Yun Yi, who was sitting next to him, was first to notice that something was the matter with him. He quickly held down He Yun Chen's hand to keep him calm.

[Plain clothes don't speak: What sort of drama is this? Why did he suddenly want to be connected by marriage? Do they even know what that means?]

[Sesame Fox: What is this situation? I've been studying ancient earth history but I've never heard of using a chef for a political marriage!]

[Mario's girlfriend: I am also studying ancient earth history. That kind of marriage is usually with a princess, but our princess is only four years old…]

[Mu Ge Er Xing: Could it be that the Rutes' main agenda is to kidnap our anchor?]

[Mo Xi Ming: I didn't think the Rutes were this crafty! They want to abduct our anchor!]

[Small Orange Cheng: Your majesty! You mustn't let him succeed! We can't be without Tang Tang!]

The audience who are watching the live broadcast were also shocked by this sudden plot twist. They had already seen Gilbert's sinister intentions to take Ruan Tang away. The public sentiment was immediately aroused.  The number of live chat comments suddenly exploded.

Cheng Ji did not expect Gilbert's brain circuits to be so strange. If he wanted to take Ruan Tang, he just had to use the term “food amba.s.sador exchange” or something like that.  What was this ‘connected by marriage'? Did Gilbert expect him to recognize Ruan Tang as a son, right here – right now, and then send him off to be married?

If he really did that, G.o.d knows how many of the Empire's citizens would spit on him!

“Your Excellency, Ruan Tang is a free citizen of the empire.  Not even the royal family can interfere in his marriage plans. And…” Cheng Ji's face showed a disapproving look, “The Empire's people deem marriage to be an event of utmost importance.  It is no trifling matter. I think you should give it more consideration.” I think you need to think about this more.”

“I don't need to rethink this.” Gilbert heroically waved his hand. “Doesn't the Empire have a saying? The way to a man's heart is through his stomach? Now, my stomach has been completely conquered by him. I think that soon even my heart will be conquered by my beloved Ruan Tang's cooking.”

Beloved…….

He Yun Chen snapped a pair of chopsticks without any change in his expression.

A nice thank-you feast suddenly became a marriage affair involving himself. He simply didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course, he didn't believe that Gilbert really liked him. As he just said so himself, what he liked was Ruan Tang's cooking.

“Sorry, I have no plans of get married for the time being.” He shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “If you want to taste more dishes, you're welcome to follow my broadcasts.”

[Miao Miao loves to eat all the dishes of the anchor: Hahahahahaha the anchor is managing beautifully! Our live room is getting more and more stylis.h.!.+ ]

[Zuo Tian: Us ordinary citizens are getting less and less remarkable in the live broadcast!]

[Light autumn dust: If the Rute leader really comes to the live broadcasts, will the anchor pick him every time he draws a lottery? This could be a matter of diplomatic relations! [Laughing cry.jpg]]

[Can't stop hugging trees: Hey, money does not afford you any special privileges! There's no use having power either! The anchor is just and fair!]

Gilbert was still unwilling to give up, “I really do think I might be falling in love with you, my stomach is still jumping about!”

The Rutes' body structure was a bit different from humans'. Their hearts were positioned lower, usually above the navel, huddled together with other organs such as the stomach.

When Ruan Tang heard him say this, Ruan Tang could only helplessly reply, “Maybe you just ate too much.”

“Okay…” Gilbert looked extremely disappointed and helplessly nodded. “If you ever have plans of getting married, I would like to recommend myself.”

Watching this farce finally come to an end, Cheng Ji quickly smoothed things over: “Well, the meal is finished, why don't we go to the mech training field to see the power of the new model?”

Gilbert was distracted by the news of the new mech, and he was in high spirits. “Good!” They came to the empire for the sake of this new mech. They couldn't have imagined that the empire had already produced a finished product, and he could even check it out in person. This made him all the more elated.

“So, can Mr. Ruan come with us?” The look Gilbert directed at Ruan Tang was like a hook. His appearance was very European. His brows were high, his eyes were deep set, and his blue eyes looked very expressive. The pointed ears made him look like those elves he'd seen in movies during his past life.

Cheng Ji said: “This is no problem.”

Though he said this, Cheng Ji was giving Ruan Tang a loaded look, willing him to refuse so as to not let Gilbert take him away for real. However, another voice suddenly rang out.

“Xiao Tang, you can walk with me.”

He Yun Chen stood between the two and blocked Gilbert's gaze. With a fake smile on his face, he explained, “We're good friends.”

—————————->>>>>>>>>

The t.i.tle of today's chapter is 挖牆腳 (wa qiang jiao) which means to seduce someone away from something. I just couldn't find an English equivalent that was good for a t.i.tle so I ended up with “Headhunting”.