No Post-Gossip Awkwardness for Kevin and Niki

Friday March 16, 2007 Hongkong

Rumoured couple Kevin Cheng and Niki Chow joined Gigi Wong at the "Smokeless Cooking Final" event yesterday. After smoking for ten years, Kevin finally gave up smoking in 2002. Kevin says that at the time, he was sufferng from high blood pressure and had to go to hospital for treatment. As smoking had hardened his arteries, he decided to give up for the sake of his health. He feels that the process of quitting was not too hard, but you cannot rush it and you must have a lot of willpower and determination. For him to succeed, he felt that he had to have good health in order to work hard and after giving up, he was able to breathe a breath of fresh air again and he would not be so out of breath when he was exercising. He became a smoker then because of his family influence and watching his father smoking seemed stylish, so he adopted an incorrect role model. When he chooses a girlfriend now, the first criteria is that she must not smoke.

Kevin's mother is an expert in making Shanghai food, so has Niki ever tried this? He says: "I have been very busy lately and even I have not had a chance to have my mother's cooking." Niki says that her boyfriend must be a non-smoker and like Shanghai food, so does this mean they are very compatible? Kevin says: "In this world there are many people who don't smoke and are from Shanghai. (Why are you distancing yourself from her?) Not distancing, I am not afraid of her! We have worked together in three series now and she is a very good co-star."

Niki does not smoke and she does not want a boyfriend who smokes. "It is bad for your health and he would smell of smoke." Since being caught with Kevin visiting her home, this was the first time they have appeared together and asked if there was any awkwardness, she says: "What do you mean 'caught out'? We will not be embarrassed, it is just wokr. (Have you tasted Kevin's mother's cooking?) I will not answer that."

credits: tvbspace, asianfanatics.