Vivienne Blackwood pulled out a long apron and tied it around her waist with practiced ease.
Turning toward the crabs and fish scattered across the floor, she asked calmly, "Can everyone eat seafood? What do you think about fish soup, chili crab with a sweet and spicy sauce, some fried rice on the side, and a broccoli salad?"
[Swallow... Is Vivienne trying to make me drool? Everything she mentioned sounds insanely good.]
[Of course it does. You have to try chili crab at least once in your life—it’s irresistible. I ate it when I visited Malfory City. It’s one of the most famous dishes there. But how does Vivienne Blackwood even know how to make it?]
[She’s obviously bluffing. How could a celebrity like her know how to cook? She wants some good screentime in front of the cameras.]
[What do you know? If she says she can cook, then she probably can. Stop mocking people. Who said celebrities can’t learn normal life skills?]
[I remember Vivienne once cooked on camera before, but it was just fried skewers. I don’t know if she can actually make a full dinner for six people.]
...
The comment section exploded once again.
Inside the control room, the director watched the steadily rising viewer count and failed to suppress his grin. Choosing Vivienne Blackwood had been the right decision, undeniably.
Who said scandals couldn’t bring attention? Their ratings had skyrocketed because of that fallen star.
The director stared for a long moment at Vivienne Blackwood’s pale yet strikingly beautiful face, then clicked his tongue twice.
"No wonder she was once a breakout star. That face alone is enough to captivate people. We should make good use of her."
After briefly considering the influence of the other side—and Mr. Adrian Voss’s position—the director silently added several new twists to the upcoming challenges.
Back in the kitchen, Arthur Williams was the first to step forward.
"Then I’ll help you clean the fish and cut the crabs."
But Vivienne Blackwood stopped him immediately.
"It’s fine. I can handle that myself. Just wash the vegetables and prepare the broccoli salad."
Then she turned toward Camila Hall.
"Ms. Camila, could you prepare the rice, please? Just put it in the rice cooker for a while, then add a little salt afterward."
Vivienne glanced toward the remaining two men—Oscar Jones and Leo Thompson—who were standing off to the side like spoiled princes, and quietly sighed.
She genuinely wanted to finish everything quickly so she could lie down and sleep.
She could barely suppress the trembling running through her body anymore. At this rate, she doubted she could hold on for more than two hours before collapsing unconscious.
Fine. Let’s not bother with those two. I don’t want any unnecessary trouble.
Vivienne turned around, tossed the fish into a bucket, then casually picked up the kitchen knife.
She placed one of the live fish onto the cutting board and—
Thud.
With a single clean strike, Vivienne Blackwood hit the back of the fish’s neck, instantly stopping its movements. Without hesitation, she began skillfully removing the scales and cleaning out the insides with astonishing speed.
Arthur Williams, who had been worried she might be frightened by the fish, had already taken two steps forward to help her kill them.
"...."
Leo Thompson stared at Vivienne’s hands with dark, unreadable eyes.
And as for Oscar Jones, he seemed to have found something fascinating indeed. He promptly flipped to a new page in his sketchbook and started scribbling frantically.
"Whoa, Vivienne, you’re really good at this!"
Camila Hall gave her a hearty thumbs-up; it was obvious she admired Vivienne’s proficiency in dealing with the fish.
Vivienne Blackwood offered her a small smile in return.
"Not a big deal. After all, I’ve been living on my own since childhood, so it’s only natural that I learn how to cook and clean after myself."
[OMG, did you guys witness that? Vivienne killed that poor fish in literally no time and showed no fear as she got splashed with the blood. I was expecting her to freak out and run off as Emma did. Turns out not all celebrities are good-for-nothing bitches like her.]
[I’m a chef trainee at a top-notch hotel, and let me tell you—Vivienne butchered those fish faster than my head chef.
Note: Please don’t tell him I said that.]
[LOL! Your manager will have a heart attack when he sees this comment. Get ready to be fired, dude.]
[To me, Vivienne Blackwood is actually a very nice girl. I mean, she’s kind, beautiful, intelligent, and talented when it comes to cooking. She’s like the perfect wife everyone would dream about having.]
[If only she stopped chasing Mr. Voss, she’d be perfect. Otherwise, she’s just another cheap gold digger.]
With quick and precise movements, Vivienne started cleaning and cooking a whole bowl of fish.
The crabs were treated equally.
Vivienne picked them up one by one and cleaned them all in an efficient way, without dropping any of them accidentally.
Firstly, she rinsed each of them with water and then turned it on its back, easily removing the upper part of its body. Next, she cleaned the gills both from the front and back sides and washed their insides thoroughly.
Finally, Vivienne lifted her hefty knife and split each crab in half in a flash with a sharp cracking sound.
Everyone: "..."
The whole process was so efficient that it left people watching it via livestream stunned.
Arthur Williams and Camila Hall easily got used to Vivienne’s pace.
The three of them fell into sync with each other without uttering much. Everyone was busy attending to their own tasks and assisting Vivienne while she was cooking.
Arthur kept on moving to and fro without any respite. He prepared the plates and mixed the seasonings and anything that Vivienne required. As such, he really cut down a lot of work for her.
Vivienne instructed Camilla to chop vegetables. She prepared a simple broccoli salad that was elegantly plated by the two for serving.
In less than half an hour, Vivienne had made the two main dishes: an aromatic garlic fried rice and a glossy, vibrant red chilli crab dish that looked really rich and delicious.
As Vivienne began plating the food Arthur stepped forward.
With one palm pressed against the counter next to Vivienne, the tall badge practically surrounded her. It looked like he was hugging her from afar.
The closeness startled Vivienne and she unconsciously shifted a bit to the side.
Arthur talked all of a sudden.
May I try one?
He was likely famished considering he had been running back and forth helping everyone all this time.
Vivienne Blackwood gave a small nod.
"Yes, but it is still very hot, so wait until –."
Arthur bent a little low and caught her wrist gently before using the chopsticks in her hand to take a bite from the remaining piece of crab meat she had been holding.
Vivienne Blackwood froze.
She stood there blankly for a moment, completely unsure how to react.
"It’s seriously delicious." Arthur’s eyes curved with laughter as he looked directly at her. "Your cooking is amazing."