The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off - Chapter 4

Fortunately, security arrives quickly, and nothing worse happens. The hospital promptly escorts the troublemaker, Manager Yang, away.

Manager Yang’s clothes are disheveled, and his arm throbs with pain. He can’t understand how things went so wrong—he’d only come to take Jiang Tingzhou back, yet now it’s all a mess.

He’s questioned for ages, but even yelling about calling a lawyer doesn’t help—security has dealt with people like him many times before and isn’t the least bit afraid.

In the end, staff from the store rush over and pay compensation to the hospital. They have to persuade him to leave quietly.

He walks out of the hospital under the gaze of many, covered in dust and thoroughly humiliated.

Back in the ward, Jiang Tingzhou hears how the matter is handled and figures he can finally enjoy some peace.

This tactic of feigning weakness in the face of trouble is something he learned from Jiang You. Right now, he doesn’t have the energy or strength to argue or fight—it’s the most effective method.

He used to scoff at such things, but now, he doesn’t care. As long as it works, that’s enough.

After Manager Yang, who had stormed in so aggressively, leaves in disgrace, Jiang Tingzhou is helped back onto the bed. The crowd that had gathered slowly disperses, and the mess on the floor is quickly cleaned up.

It’s a shame, though—the fruits all fell to the ground and got dirty. He hadn’t even eaten a few bites.

The boy who rushed in—who looks like a high school student—has his hand cut by debris on the floor. The wound isn’t deep, and the bleeding has already stopped.

Hospital security asks if he wants to file a report, but the boy knows a minor injury won’t lead to serious consequences and doesn’t want to go to the police station. He insists on staying by Jiang Tingzhou’s side.

The nurse tries to check his wound, but he refuses. He simply bandages it himself and sits quietly by the bed, unwilling to leave—like he’s afraid someone else might come and hurt Jiang Tingzhou again.

Jiang Tingzhou watches him for a long time before advising, “Don’t be stubborn. Even a small wound needs proper care. Go apply some medicine.”

The boy, who had just risked himself to protect him, snaps: “Jiang Tingzhou, do you still have the nerve to care about me? Did you see how they treated you? You were bullied like that in the Jiang family, and no one even cared if you died of illness!”

Jiang Tingzhou sighs. “An Xiaoping, we haven’t seen each other in a long time. Do you really have to talk to me like this?”

It had indeed been a long time.

Only when he sees that familiar face again does Jiang Tingzhou remember that, apart from the transactional relationships of the business world, he once had a real friend.

His good friend, An Xiaoping, now has orange hair—like the color of the oranges Jiang Tingzhou had just eaten—and looks particularly energetic.

With his fair skin, the bright hair makes him stand out even more. When he hears Jiang Tingzhou call him by name, he gives him a fierce glare, snorts, and turns to leave the room, carrying out the trash he just picked up—leaving Jiang Tingzhou with only his cold back.

Despite the boy’s harsh demeanor, Jiang Tingzhou feels happy. After eating a little, he regains some strength. He no longer lies weakly in bed but sits up on his own.

The aunt in the next bed glances at the two of them and says, “Your friend’s pretty fierce, huh?”

“He’s not fierce,” Jiang Tingzhou replies, finally showing a faint smile. “He wasn’t like this before. He used to be very obedient when he was younger.”

Not just obedient—he’d even been a little timid.

An Xiaoping had been his only friend during childhood. Three years younger, only nineteen this year.

The scar on Jiang Tingzhou’s face from when he first returned to the Jiang family had been for him.

Back then, some high school thugs were demanding protection money—even elementary and junior high kids weren’t spared. Jiang Tingzhou encountered them once and couldn’t stand it. He rolled up his sleeves and fought back. After that, the thugs toned things down and didn’t dare bully others so openly.

An Xiaoping was the one he saved. Since that day, he stuck to Jiang Tingzhou like glue and never seemed afraid. He always called him “brother” and was incredibly sweet.

After that fight, the delinquent kids from surrounding schools all started calling Jiang Tingzhou “boss,” thinking he was the toughest. Though Jiang Tingzhou never acknowledged it—he was too busy working to play the boss—the only person he could truly call a friend was the somewhat silly, naive An Xiaoping.

But why had An Xiaoping shown up now?

It all started with the enthusiastic aunt next door.

After Jiang Tingzhou collapsed and fell into a coma, lying there alone clearly wasn’t good. Someone had to be notified. The aunt wanted to help, so she coordinated with the hospital to use fingerprint unlocking to open his phone and contact the first name in the address book.

An Xiaoping’s name happened to come first alphabetically.

After finishing the college entrance exam, he’d gone to university in Shangying City, the capital of Dongjiang Province, right next to Yongqing. He came rushing over as soon as he got the call.

“He came over in the middle of the night last night, in such a panic,” the auntie says. “Bit of a bad temper, but he’s very warm-hearted. Don’t you two go fighting again.”

Jiang Tingzhou is a bit surprised by what she says.

In recent years, his relationship with An Xiaoping had become strained. Things weren’t as simple as when they were kids—and their current attitudes made that obvious.

The last time they’d seen each other was during Chinese New Year. It should’ve been a joyful day, and they finally had a chance to reunite—but they ended up arguing after just a few words.

An Xiaoping had called the Jiang family a bloodsucking hellhole and told him to leave. Jiang Tingzhou refused, insisting he needed to prove himself. They parted on bad terms, and the awkwardness lingered to this day.

The root of their falling out lay with Jiang You.

When Jiang Tingzhou first returned to the Jiang family, An Xiaoping had been genuinely happy for him—until that birthday party.

Jiang You and Jiang Tingzhou shared the same birthday, so their celebration was held together. It was a grand affair. Jiang You had many friends, but Jiang Tingzhou only had An Xiaoping.

An Xiaoping dressed up in his best clothes but happened to arrive at the same time as Jiang You’s friends.

By some unlucky coincidence—or perhaps not—a few of them were wearing the exact same outfit as An Xiaoping. Theirs were designer originals. His was an imitation.

At the time, An Xiaoping was still a little chubby and looked young. Surrounded by the glittering elite, he felt embarrassed and out of place. Compared to Jiang You and his stylish entourage, they were from two completely different worlds.

Jiang You’s friends even played a prank on him, covering him in cake cream and matting his hair. Jiang Tingzhou couldn’t protect him like he once could—not when he himself was being targeted, both openly and subtly, throughout the banquet.

The slow-to-react An Xiaoping eventually realized what was happening. He left the party in tears.

Similar things had happened more than once.

Every time An Xiaoping went to see him, he often saw Jiang Tingzhou being excluded.

As his only friend, An Xiaoping had tried several times to persuade him to leave the Jiang family, thinking no one in that household respected him and hoping he could return to a peaceful life instead of struggling like this.

But Jiang Tingzhou had no power, and he was constantly mocked by Jiang You and her group.

He knows it’s because of his connection to An Xiaoping. Every time, he steps up to defend him, but he can barely protect himself, and things only get worse afterward.

Eventually, he can’t take it anymore and breaks Jiang You’s nose. Both he and An Xiaoping are detained at the police station for a few days.

When the incident blows up, Jiang Tingzhou has no choice but to drop out of school.

An Xiaoping makes a huge scene over it, but he’s powerless. Nothing changes. He can’t accept that Jiang Tingzhou had to quit school, and that’s when their relationship starts to shift.

Even after Jiang Tingzhou becomes the head chef at Gongyan and invites him over, An Xiaoping doesn’t go. When Jiang tries to reach out, he avoids him. Even if they do meet, they often end up fighting over various things.

An Xiaoping returns quickly after taking out the trash. He’d gone out earlier to fill out the paperwork to stay overnight as a companion, and he brought breakfast too, which he left on the side. The freshly cut fruit, of course, was something he’d carefully prepared.

“I’ve told you so many times—you’re throwing your life away at the Jiang house, and this is the result,” An Xiaoping snaps when he sees his pale face. “You’re this sick and you didn’t even tell me?!”

But his hands say something else—while he’s scolding him, he sees that Jiang Tingzhou’s lips are dry and immediately reaches out to feed him water, moving gently as if afraid he might choke.

Jiang Tingzhou slowly drinks a few sips, then looks up at him.

Getting to see the young and fiery An Xiaoping again is one of the few good things about this miserable rebirth. So even though he’s getting yelled at, Jiang Tingzhou actually feels better.

An Xiaoping senses his gaze and snaps, “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at how good you look,” Jiang Tingzhou says honestly. “That hair color suits you. It looks great.”

He even reaches out to touch it. After being dyed orange, the hair has stiffened—it’s not as soft as it used to be.

An Xiaoping has lost a lot of weight in recent years. He’s no longer the pudgy kid who used to get mocked by Jiang You and her crowd as a “fatso.” He’s grown taller and doesn’t look soft and easy to bully anymore. His features have become quite delicate and handsome, and his personality has changed too. He’s no longer timid like he used to be.

Now a college freshman, An Xiaoping once went viral online after someone took a picture of him. These days, he’s a moderately well-known face in the looks-based influencer world.

He really is quite good-looking now.

An Xiaoping: “……”

He looks at him suspiciously and reaches out to feel his forehead, like he’s checking whether the fever has fried his brain. Why was Jiang Tingzhou suddenly being so nice?

Back then, Jiang Tingzhou would’ve found this inappropriate. He’d worry that An Xiaoping might get led astray and feel like his personality had changed too much. The two of them had even argued over it and fallen out.

“Don’t touch me. I’m perfectly clearheaded,” Jiang Tingzhou says. “You came all this way—you’re not here just to fight with a sick man like me, are you?”

An Xiaoping grumbles a bit but says nothing more.

He’s just angry and sharp-tongued, but his heart is in the right place.

There’s still some fruit left, which he re-cuts, and he also brings porridge for Jiang Tingzhou. That’s what he went out for—to buy breakfast. He won’t let Jiang take it himself either and continues feeding him by hand.

Jiang Tingzhou is a bit unused to it. He’s been handling everything on his own for a long time—no one has treated him like a child in years. But his friend doesn’t care. When Jiang doesn’t open his mouth, An Xiaoping glares at him. “Eat.”

Jiang Tingzhou swallows a spoonful of porridge. It’s just plain white porridge, no strong flavor, but it’s warm and lightly fragrant with the sweetness of rice.

Everyone around him has been affected by his feud with Jiang You, and An Xiaoping is no exception. Most people who sided with Jiang Tingzhou never had a good ending.

In the years that follow, as the fight between him and Jiang You intensifies, Jiang Tingzhou is slandered by Jiang You’s fans. An Xiaoping tries to defend him publicly but is immediately targeted.

Jiang You’s fans dig up old photos of his chubby days, accuse him of heavy photo editing, and even distort facts, claiming he used to bully people alongside Jiang Tingzhou.

Fans obsessed with appearances can be brutal. As a young internet celebrity with no background, An Xiaoping can’t clear his name. He’s eventually forced to leave the internet. Although the truth comes out later, he never returns to the spotlight.

Other influencers who rose alongside him gain fame and fortune, but he remains silent. The cyberbullying changes his personality and impacts his life for a long time.

He should never have had to endure any of this. Even if Jiang Tingzhou eventually wins a round, the damage done to An Xiaoping can’t be undone. In the end, he moves far away. Before leaving, he tells Jiang Tingzhou he doesn’t blame him—it’s just that he can’t take it anymore. He has to go, and he hopes he won’t drag Jiang Tingzhou down any further.

As if that’s just the price you pay for going against the “protagonist”—even though An Xiaoping never did anything wrong.

Later, Jiang Tingzhou becomes smooth and charismatic in the business world, with countless business partners. But those relationships are all entangled with interests. The pure, genuine friendship he had in his youth has been lost.

On the path he’s taken, Jiang Tingzhou doesn’t regret what he’s lost for his own sake—but when it comes to this friend, he always feels guilty, and there’s nothing he can do to make it right.

He thinks maybe God should’ve let An Xiaoping be the one reborn instead, so he could stay far away from this cursed disaster of a person. But instead, reality has him being the one who’s reborn.

Thinking of this, he finally musters a bit of spirit—at least, he doesn’t want to die anymore.

“Your hand still needs some medicine,” Jiang Tingzhou says. “It’s my fault. I should’ve caught you when you fell.”

His voice is hoarse, softer than before. An Xiaoping finds him acting strangely—even the way he looks at him carries a sort of… inexplicable gentleness?

What the hell’s up with Jiang Tingzhou? Did the fever fry his brain?

But with this kind of attitude, the two of them can’t even get into an argument anymore. Things are, for once, peacefully harmonious.

An Xiaoping’s tone also softens. He hums a bit, then says, “No need. It’s just a small injury—it’ll be fine tomorrow. Besides, I’m not the one who lost out. I managed to kick that guy twice when no one was looking. Guarantee you his legs are bruised by now.”

He even seems a bit proud when he talks about it and happily feeds Jiang Tingzhou another few spoonfuls of porridge. The atmosphere between them now feels warm and lighthearted.

At that moment, the young reporter next to the woman in the floral shirt in the next bed plays back the footage she just recorded. After watching it a few times, she suddenly recognizes Jiang Tingzhou and says, “I just remembered who you are—you’re the one who just won that food competition on national TV, right? No wonder you looked familiar!”

“Oh my god, you’re a national champion and you’re still being bullied like this by the people in your own restaurant?”