Cooking Gourmet Meals in the Apocalypse

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Solo Barbecue

As for Chen Xing, she didn’t have much to strive for beyond eating, drinking, and sleeping well.

After all, she had no memories and no one to cherish.

But now, she had a goal. It was to slowly, enjoyably, make Hao Wenli suffer, time and time again—a deep, gnawing torment that clawed at her heart, yet one she couldn’t put into words.

That was exactly how she had felt in her past life. She knew something was wrong—that she was being tormented, framed, and manipulated—but she could never articulate it clearly. It had left her miserable and depressed for years. The more it happened, the more she relied on Hao Wenli, which in turn made it easier for Hao Wenli to control her. It was a vicious cycle.

Looking back now, Hao Wenli’s methods had been so despicable and obvious; she must have been a real fool not to have seen it.

Chen Xing shifted her gaze to Mr. Hu.

Seeing Mr. Hu’s pathetic, gut-wrenching look of regret brought her a thrill of satisfaction.

’Looks like I’ll be staying here for a few more days.’

Chen Xing was in a particularly good mood. Before starting on dinner, she entered her space to check on it and tidy up.

To think that Cheng Fang had possessed such an amazing space and never upgraded it—it was a criminal waste of a god-sent gift.

The livestock and poultry, which had only been inside for a day, were growing at a visible rate. It wouldn’t be long before they had offspring.

She didn’t know how often the chickens and ducks laid eggs, but a corner of the grassy field was already piled high with them.

Even if she couldn’t collect anything from the outside world later on, as long as she managed the space well, its contents would be more than enough for her to survive.

With that thought, her mood doubled in happiness, and naturally, she had to celebrate with a good meal.

She had left the things in Song Yiguo’s kitchen untouched, since she would be staying for a while anyway.

Just as she was about to start preparing, the phone in the living room suddenly rang.

Chen Xing hesitated for a moment before walking over to answer it.

The voice on the other end belonged to a middle-aged man, and it was filled with anxiety. He started talking before Chen Xing could even say a word. ”Young Master, you finally answered! What are you thinking, disappearing on us like this? The Capital City isn’t safe anymore. The big boss and his wife have already entered the National Capital Safety Zone, and they’re just waiting for you to get there! Young Master... Why are you still in Hualai City? Young Master...” Sensing no response from the other side, he realized something was wrong and finally slowed down.

”If you’re looking for Song Yiguo, he’s not here right now,” Chen Xing stated directly, not one for pleasantries.

The man on the other end was silent. A brief moment of shock.

He was so shocked that he completely missed the part about his young master not being there.

All he could think was that this was breaking news!

A woman was in the home of the famously scandal-free young master?

And she even used his full name?

”May I ask who you are...?” Song Yiguo’s assistant asked, then suddenly remembered his orders after the young master had boarded the helicopter. He had been told to contact the building manager and, if she was still in the building, to take special care of a woman named Chen Xing. ”Are you Miss Chen Xing?”

”Yes,” Chen Xing replied, not surprised.

The assistant seemed to put the pieces together. His attitude immediately became exceptionally warm, even more obsequious than when he spoke to Song Yiguo. ”Hello, I’m the young master’s assistant. You can just call me Xiao Liu!”

Chen Xing didn’t know why his tone had changed so abruptly. ”Song Yiguo isn’t here. He left on a helicopter this morning and said he was going to the Capital City.”

”What did you say? The young master isn’t home?” It was only then that the assistant felt a sense of dread. ”If he left this morning, he should have reached the Capital City by now. Don’t tell me something happened?” His voice trembled.

’The young master is the big boss’s whole world! Nothing can happen to him!’

Chen Xing frowned.

Even a slow helicopter should have reached the Capital City by now.

’Could he have had an accident on the way?’

”Have you tried calling him?” Chen Xing reminded him.

’Unless something went wrong, he shouldn’t be out of contact.’

”His phone won’t connect. It says it’s turned off!” The assistant was truly panicking now.

’In that case, something must have really happened to the young master.’

Chen Xing also realized that Song Yiguo was genuinely missing, but it didn’t have much to do with her.

They were just two strangers who had a chance encounter, a relationship of mutual convenience.

She was about to hang up—after all, it really wasn’t her business—when the assistant pleaded, ”Miss Chen Xing, if you hear any news about the young master, please, I beg you, call me at this number right away. I’ll answer anytime. I also hope you can ask around for any news about him... Thank you for your trouble!”

Chen Xing was speechless. Just as she was about to refuse, he had already hung up.

Her eyes casually glanced at the landline’s caller ID before she walked briskly to the kitchen. She was hungry.

Tonight’s meal couldn’t be just anything.

The family downstairs might have seemed generous in taking Hao Wenli and the others in, but she doubted they were being honest at mealtimes. They were surely saving every scrap they could.

’The more they save, the more lavishly I’ll eat.’

In the past, whenever she had something nice, she never dared to eat it openly, afraid that others would covet it.

But now... now she was going to flaunt it.

She remembered there was marinated lamb in the fridge, along with all sorts of food for grilling.

’There’s probably a grill on the rooftop terrace.’

Chen Xing pulled down the attic ladder and opened the door to the rooftop.

In the center of the terrace was the helipad, with a small garden to the side. And in the middle of the garden sat a barbecue grill.

She started the fire, and before long, the fragrant skewers, sausages, and other treats were cooked through.

She opened her live-streaming platform, switched to video mode, and started eating without a word.

She took a bite of a huge, tender lamb skewer, and half of it was gone. She polished off a skewer of leeks in one go, yet her mouth remained immaculately clean.

Grilled buns, grilled green beans, grilled sausages, grilled lamb leg, grilled jumbo shrimp...

She ate with great relish, to the torment of the people downstairs.

It had just gotten dark, and each of them had only eaten a single slice of bread.

Mr. Hu had said that with the current situation, no one knew what would happen, so it was best to conserve food for now.

Hao Wenli hadn’t expected Mr. Hu to be so stingy. Clutching her growling stomach, she opened the balcony window to get some air.

But then, the captivating and irresistible aroma of barbecue wafted over.

She looked down. The entire street was infested with zombies; there was no one having a barbecue.

She looked up at the roof of the opposite building but thought it was unlikely. ’Doesn’t smoke rise?’

How could she have known that Chen Xing had deliberately set up a fan to blow the barbecue smoke downstairs? It wasn’t very effective, but at least they could smell it.

At that moment, the others inside also caught the scent of the barbecue and one by one, they came out onto the balcony.

Mrs. Hu had sharp eyes. Seeing the flicker of fire reflected in the windows of the building across the street, she identified the source on her own building’s rooftop, swallowed hard, and said with envy, ”Oh my god, is that Boss Song’s official girlfriend having a solo barbecue upstairs?”

’How wonderful would it be to go up there and get a bite?’

Everyone else now noticed it too. In the firelight, they could see a slender figure continuously lifting food to her mouth.

Du Yina was already painfully hungry, and the sight made her crave it even more. ”I can’t take it! The craving is killing me!” She hunched over, shuffled to the sofa, and grabbed her phone.

A moment later, she was drooling as she called out to Hao Wenli, ”Honey, come look at our ’good neighbor’! She’s having a barbecue party by herself on the roof and eating her heart out!”