Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Craaaack

This morning, Lin Jianyuan woke to the smell of food.

A sweet, fruity scent laced with the richness of roasting meat pulled him out of sleep.

He didn’t even bother with pants—just bolted straight for the kitchen.

Sure enough, his roommate was cooking.

“Babe, what are you making?” Lin Jianyuan inhaled the air, greedy for the scent of caramelized meat. His stomach was already growling.

His digestive tract was multitasking: the left colon flipped the meat in the air fryer, while the right scooped off foam from the boiling chicken legs on the stove.

His roommate laughed, “Making you breakfast.”

“Breakfast?!” Lin Jianyuan stared at the meat and chicken in shock. “Isn’t this a bit much for breakfast?”

“Is it?”

“It is!” Lin Jianyuan was half amused, half exasperated. “And there’s no time in the morning—wait, what time did you get up?”

“Hmm.” The digestive tract considered. “Six?”

Didn’t need to sleep anyway.

Lin Jianyuan: “…”

He was too touched for words.

He knew his partner was gentle and caring, but this was spoiling him rotten.

What kind of college guy gets up at six to cook a feast for his boyfriend?

At twenty, you can never get enough sleep! How did he even wake up?

“Baby.” Lin Jianyuan wanted to hug him from behind but didn’t know what to say.

But watching the swirl of intestines in action…

Uh, he wasn’t sure where to start.

Honestly, his partner’s cooking was mesmerizing to watch.

It looked chaotic at first glance, but every move was precise.

He was making apple pork chops and lemon shredded chicken.

Lin Jianyuan watched, feeling more relaxed with every passing minute.

Apple pork chops: marbled pork shoulder, pricked with a fork.

Peel an apple, blend it with a chunk of onion and a splash of cooking wine, then mix in salt, ginger, and soy sauce. Smear the sauce over the pork and toss until every piece is coated.

A dusting of starch helps the marinade stick. Sprinkle black pepper, then let the pork rest in the fridge for half an hour, soaking up the apple’s sweetness.

Slice another apple thin and line the air fryer. Lay the marinated pork on top, toss in a sprig of rosemary. Roast at 200°C for ten minutes, flip, brush with honey, and roast ten more.

Apple pork chops, done.

He didn’t even need to open the air fryer—the scent wafting from the vent was enough to make his mouth water.

He couldn’t wait for it to cool. He grabbed his chopsticks and snatched a piece straight from the fryer.

Delicious. Absolutely mouthwatering.

The pork sizzled, fat and lean in perfect balance. The golden crust crackled under his teeth, but inside, the meat was juicy and tender.

The apple puree cut through the richness, adding a bright, sweet tang.

But the real magic was the timing. The timing!

Lin Jianyuan marveled—how could such ordinary pork and apples, tossed so simply into an air fryer, come out tasting this incredible? One bite and the juices burst in his mouth.

Whoever invented (chew chew) apple pork (chew chew), I owe them big time (chew chew).

And then there was the lemon shredded chicken.

Chicken legs into cold water with ginger and cooking wine, brought to a boil, then simmered. While they cooked, he mixed up the sauce.

Scallions, garlic, chili flakes, and sesame seeds, doused in hot oil till they sizzled. Then soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, sugar, and salt—fragrant sesame chili oil, ready to go.

The chicken came out, plunged into ice water, then shredded by hand. The chilled meat was firm and springy. He tossed in sliced lemon and cilantro, then poured the still-warm sesame chili oil over everything.

Every piece of chicken, skin and all, was slicked with spicy red oil.

The sesame fragrance burst from the hot oil; lemon and cilantro cut through, sharp and bright.

Fiery red oil, snowy sesame, fresh lemon and cilantro, and chicken so tender it bounced.

One bite and spice, numbing heat, and bright flavor exploded in his mouth.

Satisfying didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Babe, how are you so good at this? How is everything you make so delicious?” Lin Jianyuan mumbled around a mouthful.

He couldn’t stop himself, standing in the kitchen, eating bite after bite.

Hilarious—who was it, just a minute ago, saying breakfast was too heavy?

His digestive tract watched him devour everything, lips quirking up. “I just learned.”

He really had just learned.

Yesterday, while searching Xiaohongshu for how to wash underwear, the app auto-recommended these recipes.

Apple pork was perfect with rice. Lemon shredded chicken was so spicy and fresh, you could eat a whole bowl plain.

As delicious as it was, this was actually his roommate’s packed lunch for him.

It took all Lin Jianyuan’s willpower not to finish both dishes on the spot.

Because he’d already snuck some in the morning, he could pretend to be restrained at lunch.

But the others couldn’t hold back.

“I can’t take it anymore.” Su Zhiwei stared at the spicy chicken, swallowing hard. “Let me have a bite, Lin Jianyuan! I’ll do anything!”

“Me too!” Qin Shi shouted, full of bravado.

Everyone else joined in, chanting, “Me too! Me too!”

Pei Shuo, the sly puppy of the group, even pitched his voice up, “Ge, please, just a little taste! Just one bite!”

Watching the hungry crowd, Lin Jianyuan was a little reluctant to share—but the urge to show off won out.

“Fine, one bite each, but that’s it—I want some too.” He set the lunchboxes out with a flourish.

They pounced like starving wolves.

Lin Jianyuan hurried to keep order. “One bite, not one bite of each! Pick one! Leave some for me—I still want to eat!”

“Okay, okay! I’ll just have one… million bites!”

“I’m telling you, this is too good. Lin Jianyuan, can I get a meal subscription from you? Ask your girlfriend to make an extra serving for me every day.”

“Me too, me too!”

“Me too!!!”

Pew!

Emotional value: maxed out.

Lin Jianyuan’s smile was about to split his face.

Uh-oh.

Who am I going to kill with happiness this time?

He couldn’t take it—his partner was just too good.

His coworkers ate happily; Lin Jianyuan basked in their praise.

Just as everyone was lost in bliss, a grating voice—like nails on a chalkboard—sounded behind them.

“Living large, huh? Feasting in the middle of the day. No wonder you don’t care about the attendance bonus,” Yu Xiuli sneered.

Everyone bristled, ready to fire back.

But Lin Jianyuan just said, calm as ever:

“If you want some, get in line.”

Yu Xiuli: “?”

Everyone: “Pfft.”

They all tried to stifle their laughter.

Yu Xiuli’s smile froze. “You made this yourself? Didn’t think you could cook. Doesn’t seem like you.”

“It’s not me. My partner got up early to make it fresh for me.” Lin Jianyuan looked innocent. “If no one cooks for you, that’s no reason to be bitter, Ms. Yu.”

Yu Xiuli: “…”

She rolled her eyes, at a loss for words.

So she rolled her eyes again and walked off.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Su Zhiwei watched her go, a little worried. “Lin Jianyuan, she’s gone upstairs to find Jiang Chen. She’s definitely going to complain.”

Before Lin Jianyuan could answer, Pei Shuo shouted, “So what?”

Everyone paused, then realized—

Yeah, so what?

Lin Jianyuan wasn’t scared of Jiang Chen or Yu Xiuli.

He was mentally ill! Who could he possibly be afraid of?

Honestly, when he wasn’t having an episode, he seemed perfectly normal.

They often forgot he even had that “setting.”

Second floor.

Just as predicted, Yu Xiuli rattled off a long complaint to Jiang Chen.

Her closing argument: “He’s so mentally unstable—why don’t you persuade him to quit?!”

Jiang Chen replied meekly, “Because that would violate labor law.”

It was true. Their company skirted the law all the time—overtime, gaslighting, you name it.

What company didn’t?

But firing someone for mental illness was a whole different matter.

Labor law was clear: if an employee was sick, you couldn’t terminate them during the medical treatment period.

Unless Lin Jianyuan made some serious mistake, they couldn’t fire him.

But he hadn’t.

If you had to find fault, it was that he’d talked back to his boss.

But even that—the head office had already weighed in.

When Jiang Chen reported it, the head office just gaslit him: “If your subordinates insult you, maybe you should reflect on your own actions?”

No way was Jiang Chen going to bring it up again—he wasn’t stupid.

Bottom line—

They couldn’t fire him. Not unless they wanted to pay biiiig.

Jiang Chen explained patiently, but Yu Xiuli just looked at him like he was an idiot. “I didn’t say fire him. I said persuade him to quit!”

Jiang Chen: “You go persuade him.”

Yu Xiuli: “I’m not going.”

Jiang Chen: “Then neither am I.”

Yu Xiuli rolled her eyes. “Let’s go together.”

Jiang Chen went silent. He thought. He remembered the time Lin Jianyuan stuffed an egg pancake in his mouth.

“Forget it,” Jiang Chen said, pained. “He’s fine now. He’s calmed down a lot since his first episode.”

Yu Xiuli: “.”

Seeing Jiang Chen’s expression, she suddenly remembered Lin Jianyuan in a purple sequined miniskirt, leg-bracing her against the wall.

Jiang Chen: “…”

Yu Xiuli: “…”

They looked at each other and, suddenly, understood.

After all, who hadn’t suffered at Lin Jianyuan’s hands?

Everyone had! Hahahaha!

With everyone’s “help,” Lin Jianyuan finished lunch in no time.

“Leave the dishes, I’ll wash them! Can’t just eat your food for free!” The big golden retriever of the group bustled over, eager to please. “And next time you bring food, can I have a bite too?”

Before Lin Jianyuan could answer, Su Zhiwei shoved Pei Shuo aside. “Pei Shuo, you stole my line, and now you’re trying to steal my job? Out of line! Newbies to the back—today, I’m washing Lin Jianyuan’s dishes!”

“I’m not like them,” Qin Shi said, hands under his chin, all sincerity. “I want to eat for free again tomorrow.”

Everyone: “…”

Damn, he’s even making a wish!

Lin Jianyuan couldn’t stop smiling. This meal had filled him with joy.

If he’d known his coworkers loved his roommate’s food this much… he still wouldn’t bring it every day.

That was his partner! His!

What if he got tired out?

His coworkers fought over the lunchboxes, eager to wash them.

Lin Jianyuan sat back like a feudal lord, grinning as he watched.

He could get used to this.

Back to his desk for a nap.

Just as he was about to get up—

Crack.

Lin Jianyuan froze, glancing around suspiciously.

Crack.

He twisted his waist.

Crack.

He shimmied.

Crack, crack, crack…

The squish toy piped up, alarmed. “Something’s off, Lin Jianyuan—your bones…”

Lin Jianyuan rolled his eyes. “Of course something’s off. I told you work ruins your health! One morning at work and my back and neck are killing me again!”

Squish toy: “?”

“No more naps. I’m hitting the punching bag—need to work out!”

The big lump in the basement: “???”

Why did the tumor suddenly feel a chill?

Half an hour later.

Lin Jianyuan, refreshed, left the battered punching bag behind.

The bag lay on the floor, seeing stars. QAQ.

“Good news or bad news first?” The squish toy strolled up to the tumor, time slowed, shell on its back.

The tumor was barely hanging on.

It couldn’t even be bothered to answer.

The squish toy continued, smug. “Good news: you took a beating for Master Lin, so he probably won’t bother you again today.”

At that, the tumor perked up, barely. “And the bad news?”

“Bad news: we’ll be back tomorrow.”

Tumor: “…”

Aaaah! qaq!!

Having successfully crushed the tumor’s spirit, the squish toy strutted off to catch up with Lin Jianyuan.

With time sped up, it zipped back into Lin Jianyuan’s pocket in a second.

The little stone asked sincerely, “When did you get promoted to chief steward? How come I didn’t know?”

Squish toy: “?”

Angel Eyeball snorted, “You’re not? Then why are you so nosy?”

Squish toy: “???”

The squish toy bristled. “Come on! I’m helping Lin Jianyuan manage his minions! If he’s happy, the S-class is happy, and we little toys get to live another day! It’s called survival! Don’t you get it?”

Little stone: “…”

Angel Eyeball: “…”

Just as the squish toy was bemoaning their ignorance, that strange sound came again.

Crack.

Lin Jianyuan stopped in his tracks.

In the narrow, airless corridor of the basement.

Ventilation pipes overhead, gray concrete walls on both sides, smooth floor beneath.

There was nowhere that could make a sound like bones grinding.

Lin Jianyuan frowned, twisting his neck, then his waist.

Crack…

The eerie sound echoed through the airtight corridor.

This time, Lin Jianyuan was sure.

The sound was coming from his own bones—his neck, his spine, his back.

But also from the end of the corridor.

Something at the far end was cracking, too.

It was getting closer. Closer.

Resonating with his own bones.

Echoing.

Almost at the same moment—

Shi Shaoning was just about to leave after his shift when his wrist terminal blared an alarm.

“Shit!” he cursed, spinning around to rally his team.

At Lin Jianyuan’s home, the digestive tract, sprawled on the bed scrolling Xiaohongshu, froze.

The lazy humming stopped dead.

A powerful aura erupted, waves of fleshy red shadows surging out!

A moment later, Xie Yu vanished.

In the underground corridor.

The squish toy gasped. “Lin—Lin Jianyuan…!”

Little stone: “Something’s coming! And…”

Angel Eyeball’s voice was grave. “It’s strong. An A-class.”

Lin Jianyuan: “.”

What the hell is this noise?

Goddammit, work is annoying enough—now hallucinations and phantom noises, too?

Furious, Lin Jianyuan yanked everything out of his pockets without thinking.

And hurled it all toward the creepy sound.

Squish toy & little stone & Angel Eyeball: “…”

That’s not what we’re for!!!