Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Killing a Chicken

He had no idea how long he’d slept. When he finally surfaced, daylight still filled the room, and for a moment he could’ve sworn he’d only dozed off.

He pulled out his phone and nearly jumped.

It was already the 13th! He’d been out for two whole days!

WeChat and DingTalk were blowing up, messages too many to count. Blank-faced, Lin Jianyuan opened the work group chat to see if a disciplinary notice had dropped. He searched and searched, but there was nothing.

He was still puzzling over it, tapping through the unread messages, when a chat suddenly shot to the top.

He looked closer—it was Pei Shuo.

Pei Shuo: "Bro, are you coming in today? I brought you breakfast! [photo]"

Finding it odd, Lin Jianyuan called him. Pei Shuo picked up instantly. Through the receiver came a voice like a big golden retriever thumping its tail: "Bro!"

Lin Jianyuan: "So? Did Jiang Chen come after you again?"

"Nope! Hahaha—bro, you haven’t heard, have you! Head office tore into Jiang Chen! Hahaha I’m dying! Bro, listen…"

It made no sense at first, but Lin Jianyuan finally pieced it together.

After he’d crammed that egg pancake into Jiang Chen’s mouth the other day, Jiang Chen had indeed run straight to HQ to lodge a complaint.

HQ heard it and—well, damn—an employee called you out in public. Maybe you should take a hard look at what kind of leader you are?

Then, once they dug into the details—well, damn again—the guy’s mentally ill, an acute episode brought on by stress and overwork… Why the hell did you go and provoke him!

"So after all that sobbing, not only did Jiang Chen get nothing out of it, HQ even docked his management bonus for the month—hahaha… I’m dying. And bro, get this—I didn’t expect our head office to be this decent! They actually have a sense of justice! I think I like our company again!"

Lin Jianyuan: "…"

"Anyway, bro, get over here! Everyone says Jiang Chen’s going to make a formal apology to you! Oh—wait—maybe you should rest a bit more. Have you been sleeping these two days? You never replied to my messages. Have you eaten?"

The big golden retriever in him kicked in again; he fussed over Lin Jianyuan like a born sweetheart.

But Lin Jianyuan didn’t think it was as simple as Pei Shuo made it sound.

Pei Shuo had only just graduated—green, guileless, barely out in the world. Lin Jianyuan didn’t for a second believe head office was acting out of kindness.

For all he knew, it was just a move to calm the troops—make a show of taking a stand while the heat was on. There could easily be something else waiting down the line.

The clearest proof: Jiang Chen was still the branch manager, still his direct superior.

If HQ were truly on Lin Jianyuan’s side, why not transfer Jiang Chen—or transfer Lin Jianyuan?

He’d already fallen out with Jiang Chen face-to-face; how was he supposed to keep working under him?

Lin Jianyuan sighed and kept his worries to himself. He got dressed and headed for the office.

He didn’t run into that odd roommate on his way out. Lin Jianyuan didn’t give it a second thought and went straight to work.

The moment he stepped into the office, everyone looked up, eyes on him like he was a hero. Lin Jianyuan swept the room and asked, “Where’s Pei Shuo?”

Qin Shi answered, “Bathroom, maybe? He was just here.”

He was about to head back to his desk when someone coughed above him. He looked up to see Jiang Chen leaning on the railing, staring down at him with a peculiar expression.

Lin Jianyuan frowned, folded his arms, and gave him a look that said, What do you want?

The others had spotted Jiang Chen too; they all paused, fixing him with predatory stares.

“Ahem.” Jiang Chen coughed again, avoiding everyone’s eyes. He seemed about to speak, thought better of it, then thump-thump-thumped down the stairs. “Lin Jianyuan, you’re not busy, right? Come to my office. Let’s sit down and talk calmly.”

At that painfully awkward tone, the peanut gallery lit up, their faces all but spelling out, Go on, go!

But Lin Jianyuan said, “I’m busy.”

Jiang Chen frowned. “You just got here. What could you possibly be busy with…”

Before he could finish, Lin Jianyuan lifted the breakfast on his desk and said, deadpan, “Busy eating breakfast.”

Breakfast happened to be an egg pancake and a cup of hot soy milk.

Jiang Chen: “…”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Jiang Chen forced a smile. “Fine, take your time. Come up when you’re done. No pressure—I just want to sit down and talk honestly.”

Impatient, Lin Jianyuan said, “Mm-hm, got it. Off you go.”

Jiang Chen: “…”

Grinding his teeth but helpless, Jiang Chen could only turn and head upstairs.

Only after Jiang Chen vanished into the manager’s office did the coworkers crowd in, whispering excitedly, “Go on! Why didn’t you go!”

“Yeah, don’t be afraid of him! He’s obviously going to apologize! Did you see that awkward face of his!”

“Totally! I almost burst out laughing. First time I’ve seen Jiang Chen eat humble pie like that. Lin Jianyuan, I really admire you—utterly satisfying!”

The office quickly turned into a sea of laughter and chatter, but Lin Jianyuan’s brow pinched, just a little.

Because he’d seen frogs.

Frogs, hopping one after another. From the stairs above, down step by step.

“Ribbit.”

One frog, two frogs, three frogs…

“Ribbit.” Frogs were hopping everywhere. Everyone kept laughing and chatting as if they couldn’t see them; only Lin Jianyuan, face unreadable, quietly drew his legs in.

Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.

Lin Jianyuan sat back down and ate his breakfast in silence, with the frogs croaking in surround sound.

The egg pancake was tucked into insulated wrapping; when he opened it, steam curled out, fragrant and warm.

“Huh? Lin Jianyuan-ge? Is that you? You’re back at work!” Pei Shuo’s voice sounded from above.

Lin Jianyuan looked up to see a bright, sunny smile on his face as he rubbed his eyes and walked over.

Thud.

Pei Shuo banged into the corner of the neighboring desk.

“Ah—sorry.” He’d clearly smacked it hard; he sucked in a breath, and his first instinct was to apologize.

"It's okay, it's okay. What's wrong—are your eyes bothering you?" Qin Shi at the next desk looked at him with concern.

"Mm... not great..." Pei Shuo obediently dropped his hand and blinked hard. Still wearing his sunny, upbeat smile, he chuckled, "Maybe I stayed up too late watching a series last night. Everything looks a little blurry today."

Qin Shi: "Your eyes are probably too dry."

Pei Shuo: "Yeah, dry and scratchy. This morning my lids felt glued shut—I could barely open them. Oh—bro, can I borrow your eye drops again?"

Pei Shuo turned his head, his puppy-dog eyes big and glittering.

In those glossy, pitch-black eyes, two thick, long, lush-green vines had already taken over the entire pupil.

Two days gone and the vines had grown back—longer than before. As if gorged on nutrients, their stems were stout, their leaves oily-bright. As Pei Shuo rubbed at his eyes, unable to help himself, the vines swayed.

Like two hands reaching out of his pupils, fingers splayed.

Frogs scurried everywhere, croaking in a racket.

Green palms wormed their way out of the eyeballs and waved.

What the hell is this.

What the fuck is going on?!?!

His chest exploded with a bang. Keeping a lid on his anger, Lin Jianyuan beckoned to Pei Shuo: "Come here."

Pei Shuo tottered over, bracing himself on the desk. Thinking he was about to be handed eye drops, he held out a hand.

"Like this." Lin Jianyuan seized his hands, made him clench both fists, the webbing between thumb and forefinger on each hand neatly circling the two vines.

"Huh?" Pei Shuo looked up, blank.

Lin Jianyuan said nothing, just tightened his grip and gave a hard yank!

"Ah!" Pei Shuo's eyes flew wide. Delighted, he said, "How does that even work? My eyes suddenly feel fine!"

"If your eyes bother you again, do this." Lin Jianyuan said, irritated. "I forget where I saw it, no idea how it works—just do it."

"Okay, okay! That's amazing!" Pei Shuo copied him, hands in a grasping pose, tugging again and again in front of his eyes.

Their coworkers, curious, crowded over to study what kind of eye exercise this was.

Only Lin Jianyuan, amid the chorus of frogs, slipped quietly toward the corner of the office.

...That thing was alive.

With his back to everyone, giving nothing away, Lin Jianyuan clenched his fist.

The two vines he’d yanked from Pei Shuo’s eyes were writhing madly in his palm. Like earthworms tossed into hot oil, sensing mortal danger, they thrashed for dear life.

Expressionless, Lin Jianyuan turned on the shredder.

The vines screeched and howled as the shredder devoured them.

Ten minutes later, in General Manager Jiang’s office.

"There you are, Jianyuan. Please, have a sit." Jiang Chen broke into a broad smile the moment he walked in. "Let me say up front—no pressure. I just want a quick chat, speak frankly..."

"I need to take leave," Lin Jianyuan cut him off.

"Huh?" Jiang Chen blanked.

"Sick leave. I need to see a doctor," Lin Jianyuan added. "I think my mental illness is about to flare up again."

Jiang Chen: "................"

Half an hour later, 700 Jiangchuan North Road.

"This hospital's pretty big." As he hunted for a parking spot, Jiang Chen sized up the outpatient building of City A Mental Health Center.

"Thanks, President Jiang." Lin Jianyuan opened the car door. "Go on ahead, no need to wait for me. When I'm done, I'll head back on my own."

Jiang Chen: "..."

The line might have started with "Thanks, President Jiang," but it sounded exactly like he was ordering a chauffeur around.

The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched despite himself, anger just starting to surge, when Lin Jianyuan suddenly doubled back, leaned in at the window, and said, "Oh right, President Jiang, on the way over just now when you were driving me here, I suddenly figured something out."

Jiang Chen fought down the twitch at his lips and forced a smile. "What is it?"

"About why headquarters hasn't transferred either you or me. I used to think they were going to make an example of someone—kill the chicken to scare the monkey—appease everyone on the surface and settle the score in private later. But now I realize I was wrong." Lin Jianyuan scratched his head. "Looks like I'm not the chicken."

Jiang Chen: "?"

With that, Lin Jianyuan left, and Jiang Chen was alone in the parking lot, dumbfounded.

Two minutes later.

"Fuck!!!" When it finally hit him, Jiang Chen blew his top and slapped the steering wheel hard. The horn let out a long blare of impotent rage.