The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 26

At that moment, even Lu Jiahe didn’t dare step in to help, fearing that Jiang Tingzhou might actually slip and stab the guy in the eye.

He sensed something off about Jiang Tingzhou.

As someone from the Lu family, he was trained in self-defense since childhood to guard against kidnappings and similar emergencies. But even with all that training, he didn’t catch the moment Jiang Tingzhou began to fight back—nor did he see when he grabbed the knife. Every move was fast and practiced, more decisive and precise than anything he learned professionally.

Only then did he realize—when Jiang Tingzhou said Jiang You got out alive last time, he wasn’t joking.

An Xiaoping was also completely stunned. He only remembered how weak and frail Jiang Tingzhou looked in the hospital, when Manager Yang pushed him off the bed. But now that his health recovered, he returned to how he should be—no more polite or reserved demeanor.

Lu Jiahe spoke up with effort. “Let Xu Feng go first.”

Xu Feng was the name of the buzz-cut guy. After realizing what was happening, his face flushed deep red, but he still didn’t back down.

“Jiang Tingzhou, are you insane?! You dare lay hands on me? Even the entire Jiang family couldn’t compensate if anything happens!” His voice was loud but shaking. “Let me go right now, or I’ll have someone lock you up again for a few days! Go ahead and use that knife if you have the guts—I dare you—ah!”

Xu Feng went to the same private high school as Jiang Tingzhou. He was on the basketball team and one of Jiang You’s close friends. Ever since high school, he never treated Jiang Tingzhou kindly, and now he was even worse.

Jiang Tingzhou finally started applying real pressure.

As a chef who could effortlessly lift heavy iron pots with one hand, his grip strength was far beyond average.

Xu Feng felt like he was suffocating. The grip holding him wasn’t a hand, but steel. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even speak.

Jiang Tingzhou pinched his neck with one hand and held the knife in the other.

Xu Feng didn’t dare struggle and couldn’t break free from his grip.

“If I really stab you, what are you gonna do about it?” Jiang Tingzhou said calmly. “Should I call the police for you? Let’s call it mutual assault. I’ll drag you in with me. Your family will probably send someone to bail you out, just like always, but I’ll make sure to tell them that you’ve been messing around abroad, that things have gotten so bad you’re about to be expelled—that you won’t even get your diploma. Let’s see if your parents break your legs this time.”

Hearing this, Xu Feng’s eyes widened, and his screams of pain grew quieter. He couldn’t bear the pain in his wrist and begged, “Let go, let go…”

Jiang Tingzhou didn’t loosen his grip. He even applied more pressure, as if he wanted to kill him.

“I was wrong, I was wrong, okay!” Xu Feng’s face flushed red, feeling like he would die if this continued. He bowed his head and said, “I’m sorry.”

It was the first time in years he bowed to Jiang Tingzhou, because the man in front of him really seemed fearless.

At that moment, the girl who stood silently at the back finally spoke.

“Tingzhou, forget it. That’s enough. If you want to discipline him, there are other ways,” she said. “No need to get yourself in trouble.”

Jiang Tingzhou always knew his limits. In his past life, he was professionally trained—he knew this wouldn’t kill anyone. It would just hurt, and medical exams wouldn’t reveal anything serious. But the familiar voice startled him. He loosened his grip, and Xu Feng slumped down along the wall.

Still, Jiang Tingzhou showed no mercy. As soon as Xu Feng caught his breath and tried to counterattack, Jiang Tingzhou kicked his knee, forcing him to kneel.

At the same time, the knife in Jiang Tingzhou’s hand swept past Xu Feng’s hair and thudded into the wall behind him.

Xu Feng broke out in a cold sweat.

He really shouldn’t have messed with a professional chef skilled with knives.

Seeing this, Lu Jiahe stepped forward to help him, but he approached from behind. When Jiang Tingzhou was most on guard—he was immediately thrown to the ground, the back of his head slamming into the floor.

“Aah!” Lu Jiahe cried out in pain. His injury shocked the others.

Jiang Tingzhou frowned but didn’t look back.

Instead, it was An Xiaoping who reacted.

“Sister Shuyan?” He looked at the girl carefully, shocked. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if you hadn’t spoken. You’ve… changed so much.”

Among the four who came, Jiang Tingzhou recognized three immediately: Lu Jiahe, Xu Feng, and the young man behind them—Jang Li, of the Jang family.

Among this group of young elites, Lu Jiahe was the center—he had the best family background. The Jiang family’s financial resources weren’t quite enough to be considered part of that circle. But because of Jiang You’s close relationship with Lu Jiahe and his influencer status, he was accepted as part of the core group.

Then there was Jang Li.

The Jang family was a major real estate developer in Dongjiang Province, distant relatives of the Qin family. By seniority, Lu Jiahe called him cousin. The circle was small, so kinship ties were common.

Jang Li had an excellent resume and was a celebrity in high school. Like Lu Baiyu, he was trained by the Jiang family—well-mannered, excellent academically, and educated abroad. He kept out of trouble.

There were always a few fools in every small group, and Xu Feng was a typical stupid follower.

Now that they were older, most entered the family business and rarely got together. Few like Xu Feng lived carelessly without worry.

Jiang Tingzhou didn’t recognize the girl at first. She had long, curly chestnut hair and was pretty with a scholarly air. Standing beside Jang Li, they looked like a couple from wealthy families, well matched.

When she spoke, her familiar tone made Jiang Tingzhou realize who she was.

It was Li Shuyan.

She was one of the few friends Jiang Tingzhou had in private high school.

Lu Baiyu was studying abroad and only visited occasionally, so he couldn’t always look after Jiang Tingzhou. Besides An Xiaoping, Li Shuyan was the one who stayed close, though she didn’t do well at school either.

But that was the past.

Jiang Tingzhou stood at the door for a long moment before daring to look at her. Looking at each other as old friends, it felt like another world. He gazed into Li Shuyan’s eyes and recognized her a little.

An Xiaoping chuckled awkwardly, unsure what to say. After a long pause, he finally managed, “Thanks.”

“Tingzhou, Xiaoping, you’ve both changed a lot,” Li Shuyan smiled faintly but stiffly. “Especially you, Xiaoping, you look much better after losing weight.”

“Cousin, stop reminiscing!” Lu Jiahe groaned, rubbing his head. He finally sat up. “Jiang Tingzhou hit me—he hit me!”

Li Shuyan replied calmly, “You’re a grown man. So what if you bumped your head? Just stand up.”

“What’s wrong?” Lu Jiahe widened his eyes. “Who are you related to? Have you forgotten what Jiang Tingzhou did to you in high school? You forgot the pain after the wound healed?”

Xu Feng stood beside him, still feeling like he almost died. Seeing Lu Jiahe like that, he started shouting, “Sister Shuyan, please help me! Jiang Tingzhou is too arrogant. Don’t be fooled by him again. He was like this in school—the basketball team money was stolen and the case was never solved. Then he dared to do that to you. If you had expelled him back then, you wouldn’t have had to suddenly go abroad to study. Jiang Tingzhou…”

“Xu Feng, enough,” Jang Li, who had been silent until then, spoke firmly. “Watch your mouth.”

Li Shuyan frowned. “What happened back then wasn’t necessarily what it looked like. I couldn’t tell the difference in high school, but do you think I still can’t now? And you, Xu Feng—did you really get expelled from your overseas university? I’ll be confirming that with your sister. If it’s true, you’re finished.”

Rebuked, Xu Feng didn’t dare say another word.

He stared at Jiang Tingzhou for a long time, as if looking at a ghost, unable to understand why this person had become like this.

How did Jiang Tingzhou know he was expelled from school? This matter could have been concealed for at least a few months. He already bribed the old dean, so it should’ve been settled. There was no news about it in China.

But someone like Xu Feng, with a brain wired straight to his mouth, couldn’t understand that his constant scheming only made things worse. Within the next two months, not only would news of his expulsion spread through the overseas student community—it would even go viral on social media, making him a laughingstock.

Jiang Tingzhou, having lived through it once before, knew all about it.

But Jiang Tingzhou’s grudge against Xu Feng ran deeper than just that.

Xu Feng’s arrogance lasted only a short while before he started screaming in pain, claiming his legs felt broken after being kicked and that he was dizzy.

Lu Jiahe couldn’t ignore him. Because Xu Feng kept making noise, Lu Jiahe asked the driver to take him to the hospital.

But the alleys in the old city were so narrow that the car couldn’t get in. Xu Feng was almost lying on the ground, and the driver, sweating profusely, finally dragged out a wheelchair from somewhere and managed to take him away.

Xu Feng had never been so embarrassed before.

Meanwhile, Li Shuyan said lightly, “Okay, let’s leave it at that. If the Xu family asks, just say he accidentally fell.”

Lu Jiahe looked at her incredulously. “Are you really siding with Jiang Tingzhou this much? Are you crazy?”

Li Shuyan said, “You know Jiang Tingzhou and I are friends. There’s nothing wrong with me supporting him.”

Lu Jiahe emphasized, “That was in the past.”

“It’s still the same now,” Li Shuyan said. “I couldn’t do anything before, but I can’t just watch you bully him now.”

Lu Jiahe said, “Say that again—who’s bullying who?!”

Jiang Tingzhou stood quietly in the corner, his hair neat.

Li Shuyan said, “He was sitting peacefully in the kitchen eating without saying a word, and you rushed over with a mad dog like Xu Feng to cause trouble for him. And Jiang You, that little manipulator. You think I didn’t see this kind of scene in high school? Every time it was like this. You never touched him directly, but how many times did Jiang Tingzhou suffer because of you?”

Her voice grew more intense, and even Jang Li came to pull her away. She withdrew her hand, looked at Jiang Tingzhou, took a few deep breaths, and sneered, “I used to be in the same boat. But now that the Li family is doing better, everyone’s suddenly treating me like a VIP.”

Li Shuyan’s uncle was President Li Xu, the man who casually spent five million on a bowl. The Li family struck it rich in recent years. She was clearly doing far better now than she was in high school.

Back then, people in tough situations stuck together for warmth. You couldn’t tell now that she was also struggling.

The Li family was in the investment business, which was risky. They weren’t rich then. When she was in high school, the family nearly went bankrupt due to failed investments. Debt collectors came to her home with knives and threatened her. She was young and scared.

Li Shuyan wasn’t as pretty as she was now. The debt collectors’ visits affected her deeply. She took anxiety medication in high school, her mental state was fragile, and she couldn’t hide her dark circles even behind thick black-framed glasses. She was sensitive and timid, didn’t like to talk, and just kept her head down studying.

Jiang Tingzhou was trying to improve his abysmal grades at the time. He couldn’t always rely on his tutor, so he asked Li Shuyan—the top student—for help.

She didn’t answer at first, just avoided him. Jiang Tingzhou thought she hated him like everyone else, but later he found a small piece of paper in her desk with clear, beautifully handwritten solutions.

Her math solutions were clear and easy to understand, better than his tutor’s explanations at home. Over time, they became familiar and gradually friends. Like Jiang Tingzhou, she wasn’t invisible—she was always targeted by others. They were a pair of sympathetic friends.

Jiang Tingzhou couldn’t understand why a group of girls in school always targeted her. She was simple and honest. If it was only because the family business failed temporarily, it shouldn’t have been like that.

Li Shuyan explained it was because of Jang Li.

“Our families used to have a good relationship. When we were young, there was even a marriage arrangement—but that’s just an old joke now,” she scoffed. “It was just the elders talking for fun. He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him either. Some people blame me when they can’t get Jang Li. It’s so childish.”

Jang Li was handsome and smart. He was a big shot at school then, with many admirers, but he was cold and indifferent. Compared to him, Li Shuyan was a bit special, but it wasn’t just because she used the Jiang family’s car a few times to avoid debt collectors. Most of the care came from family orders, and Jang Li did it perfunctorily. For Li Shuyan, it was an unprovoked disaster.

Private high schools were strict. Fights rarely caused injuries or big incidents, but there were many small things—lost homework, being locked accidentally in the empty gym, clothes soiled. The school couldn’t make a fuss, and it was hard to find proof.

But after the two became friends, their lives improved. Jiang Tingzhou’s grades rose significantly, and he was no longer at the bottom. School wasn’t useless anymore. When Li Shuyan was in trouble, someone stood up for her.

Li Shuyan also naturally met An Xiaoping this way. She taught An Xiaoping how to study. At that time, An Xiaoping’s grades were average. He got admitted to Dongjiang University in the college entrance exam, credit partly due to Li Shuyan’s tutoring.

Having friends improved Li Shuyan’s mental state a lot.

Each of the three had their own difficulties, but when they came together, they found rare warmth and strength.

At first, Jiang Tingzhou thought they would always be friends and things would keep getting better. But he was unlucky, and friends with him inevitably got implicated.

This happened to An Xiaoping, and now Li Shuyan. Sooner or later, they would be dragged down by him.

Now, after years apart, Li Shuyan had clearly changed. After distancing herself from him, even someone like Jang Li was interested in her. She was living a much better life.

“Jiang Tingzhou got expelled from high school, then resigned from his job. What more do you want from him?” she demanded. “Lu Jiahe, you pity Jiang You—don’t you think Tingzhou deserves some pity too?”

Lu Jiahe covered the back of his head where he was hit, then turned to look at Jiang Tingzhou standing quietly in the room.

Please, did you even see that he was still holding a knife in his hand?!