Chapter 17 Short Circuit

Chapter 17: Short Circuit

Lin Jianyuan frowned in thought for a couple of seconds, then turned and grabbed another cell phone from the desk.

Pei Shuo quickly yelped, "Bro! That's my phone!!"

However, Lin Jianyuan didn't smash his phone. Instead, he simply grabbed another handful of air and shoved it into Pei Shuo's phone's charging port.

Then, with a look of utter astonishment, he declared, "It actually charges..."

Everyone: "??"

Pei Shuo was genuinely worried now.

He cautiously approached, using the most soothing tone he could muster, "Bro, just calm down for a second. Can you please put the phone down?"

But Lin Jianyuan seemed not to hear him. He turned and addressed a corner of the desk: "Class B? This is Class B? Looks about the same as an Eye Vine to me. Just as useless. You're useless too. But since it can charge my phone, I'll forgive it."

Everyone looked in the direction he was speaking.

The object of his conversation was... a squeeze toy.

Lin Jianyuan conversed with the plastic squeeze toy as if no one else was present. Everyone's expressions gradually shifted from surprise to concern.

After chatting with the squeeze toy for a moment, Lin Jianyuan suddenly walked toward Qin Shi.

Qin Shi nervously took a step back.

Pei Shuo rushed forward, grabbing his arm: "Bro!"

Pei Shuo was filled with worry but didn't know what to say that wouldn't agitate him.

Lin Jianyuan glanced at Pei Shuo, then, as if remembering something, quickly said to Qin Shi, "Oh, it's fine, don't be nervous. I'm just having hallucinations again, a bit obsessive-compulsive... Well, could you move aside? Can I fix something?"

Qin Shi was a little bewildered and looked at the others. Everyone else looked equally confused. Only Pei Shuo, while holding Lin Jianyuan's arm, silently mouthed, "It's okay."

After reassuring everyone, Pei Shuo said to Lin Jianyuan, "Bro, go ahead and do what you need to! Do you need my help?"

Lin Jianyuan: "Can you see it?"

Pei Shuo was stunned: "What?"

Lin Jianyuan pushed his hand away and ducked under the desk: "I knew it. How could you possibly see my hallucinations..."

Lin Jianyuan was under Qin Shi's desk, tinkering with something.

Everyone was curious and uneasy but dared not approach, fearing they might disturb Lin Jianyuan.

Pei Shuo hesitated for a moment, then waved the others off, signaling with his eyes, "I'll keep an eye on him, you all go back to work."

Everyone exchanged glances and returned to their desks.

Someone sighed softly.

Lin Jianyuan reorganized the wildly twisting Blood threads.

The Blood threads growing from the phone were connected to the mouse, those from the office chair were connected to the CPU, and those from the keyboard were connected to the screen.

The goal was the shortest path and optimal solution, perfectly avoiding the risk of overly complex wiring that might trigger an acute psychotic break.

After tidying up all the Blood threads in the office, Lin Jianyuan straightened up and let out a long sigh.

So much better!

Everything was perfectly organized! A sight for sore eyes!

Most importantly, all the Blood threads were clearly routed, forming a self-sustaining closed loop!

So energy-efficient and eco-friendly!

Feeling much lighter, Lin Jianyuan returned to his workstation. Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Pei Shuo and said, "Did I scare you all just now?"

Pei Shuo laughed heartily: "It's fine. Like you said, bro, who doesn't go a little crazy at work?"

Qin Shi chimed in: "It was a bit sudden, but you're sick, so it can't be helped. Maybe next time, just have your breakdown directly in Jiang Chen’s office."

Jiang Chen, who had been secretly watching from the second floor, yelled: "What are you talking about?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lin Jianyuan said agreeably: "Got it, got it. I'll do my best."

Jiang Chen shouted: "Lin Jianyuan!"

Lin Jianyuan: "What!"

"..." Jiang Chen hesitated, searching for words, and finally blurted out, "Take care of yourself! If you’re tired, go home and rest!"

"?" Lin Jianyuan pointed at himself and looked at the others in surprise. "Am I hallucinating again?"

Everyone: "We think we’re hallucinating too..."

Jiang Chen: "..."

By evening, another damn workday was finally over.

In front of the subway station, Pei Shuo said, "Bro, let me walk you home!"

Lin Jianyuan joked, "What, are you trying to ask me out?"

Pei Shuo’s face instantly fell: "I’m just worried about you!"

Lin Jianyuan: "Alright, alright. No need to stick around with your boss after work. It’s not like you’re getting overtime pay."

Pei Shuo looked at him, then at the plastic bag he was carrying.

The bag was filled with air. No one knew what Lin Jianyuan planned to do with it.

No one dared to ask.

Pei Shuo’s gaze rested on the bag of air for a second. Finally, he took a deep breath and said to Lin Jianyuan, "Okay, then get home safe!"

***

Fresh beef slices are cooked with sour cabbage and spices, simmered into a light yellow broth.

A handful of mint leaves is tossed in before serving. The bright green mint leaves form a little pile, creating a stark contrast with the rich, savory soup.

The steam releases the mint’s cool, fresh scent.

Lin Jianyuan leaned against the kitchen doorway, his eyes widening in disbelief: "You can put mint in with beef?!"

His roommate laughed and said, "Yeah."

—Actually, Lin Jianyuan didn't even know it was mint in the first place.

Because what he’d brought back was actually Eye Vine.

To be precise, the tender leaves of the Eye Vine.

Ever since being soaked in a goji berry, chrysanthemum, and cassia seed tea, the Eye Vine had been growing like crazy, covering the entire wall in the blink of an eye.

Some of the tender leaves had even sprouted all the way to Lin Jianyuan’s workstation.

Lin Jianyuan found it annoying, so he casually picked a few leaves.

As he picked, he noticed the leaves were very tender and had a familiar scent.

He couldn’t quite place what the smell was right away.

Anyway, this thing grew fast, and since he was the one who’d cultivated it, Lin Jianyuan felt zero guilt about plucking its leaves.

He just grabbed a large plastic bag, pinched off all the tender leaves from the Eye Vine, and stuffed them firmly into the bag.

Lin Jianyuan had been wondering what these leaves could be used for, but when he got home and casually tossed the bag onto the shoe cabinet, his roommate saw it and said:

"Your company giving out benefits again?"

…And so it ended up like this.

His roommate was in the kitchen performing the incredible skill of "chaotic intestines dancing," the heat from the wok releasing the scent of the Eye Vine leaves.

Lin Jianyuan tilted his head back, sniffing again and again, and finally recognized that familiar aroma!

It was mint!

Wait, he knew mint was good for the throat, but was it also good for the eyes?

Lin Jianyuan quickly pulled out his phone to check. Hey, mint really can help eyesight!

Its fragrance can stimulate the nerves around the eyes to relieve eye strain; mint oil can expand local blood vessels to alleviate dry eyes. Menthol and menthone can also help reduce inflammation and promote the healing of eye infections.

Moreover, in traditional Chinese medicine, mint has effects like dispersing wind-heat, clearing the head and eyes, soothing the throat, promoting rash eruption, regulating liver qi, detoxifying, and reducing swelling…

—Case closed.

Why staring at the Eye Vine could relieve eye strain and even improve vision—case closed!

Because it was actually mint!

Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Mint, as a fresh and easy-to-grow plant, is totally suitable for office settings.

In Lin Jianyuan’s delusional view, it was vines growing out of his colleagues’ eyes, but in reality, it was probably just an office plant he’d plucked and forcibly cultivated in goji berry, chrysanthemum, and cassia seed tea.

Who knows how his colleagues felt witnessing this series of bizarre antics, hahaha.

Anyway, everything made sense now. The world really is grounded in reality after all.

Everything had a logical explanation. Lin Jianyuan instantly felt physically and mentally refreshed again.

The minty pickled cabbage beef hot pot was served, still bubbling vigorously in the pot.

Lin Jianyuan proactively set the table, bringing over two bowls of rice.

The tangy soup was appetizing, the mint fragrant. Just smelling it made Lin Jianyuan start drooling.

"Let’s eat," his roommate said with a smile.

"Eat!" Lin Jianyuan picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. "!"

—Holy crap!!!

The mint wrapped around the beef felt like swallowing a flavor bomb the moment it entered his mouth.

The mint wasn’t as cooling as he’d expected—maybe the steaming hot broth had dissipated that cooling sensation—so all that remained was the fragrance! An incredibly fresh aroma!

This refreshing scent shot straight to his head, making Lin Jianyuan involuntarily squint his eyes.

Then came the sourness.

The slightly spicy pickled cabbage, seemingly mixed with other spices, created a deliciously sour and spicy flavor that rushed down his throat, opened up his appetite, and landed warmly in his stomach, bringing a hearty, spicy satisfaction.

And it was so fresh!

Not the artificial freshness of MSG, but the ultimate crisp freshness brought by the tender beef and mint leaves!

Lin Jianyuan had initially thought adding mint to beef hot pot sounded like a weird food combo, but he never expected the mint flavor to blend in so perfectly.

One sip of hot soup, one bite of tender beef—flavor and aroma attacking from two fronts. Lin Jianyuan felt the minty freshness shooting straight up to his head while the spicy, sour warmth solidly settled in his stomach.

The words "delicious" weren’t enough to describe this experience; Lin Jianyuan felt like his soul was about to fly away from pleasure!

Lin Jianyuan stayed silent, devouring the food intently.

Compared to Lin Jianyuan’s voracious eating, his roommate’s manners were far more refined.

He didn’t gulp down the soup like Lin Jianyuan, holding the bowl and chugging; instead, he used a spoon to slowly savor each mouthful.

His movements were leisurely, his eating style extremely graceful.

Compared to the steaming hot minty pickled cabbage beef hot pot before them, Lin Jianyuan’s voracious eating seemed to capture his attention more.

His roommate’s mouth was curved into a slight smile, his intestines coiling around the spoon handle, slowly stirring circles in his bowl.

"Good, isn't it?" his roommate asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"Honored father above!" Lin Jianyuan presented his empty bowl with both hands, solemnly declaring, "Please allow this child to have another bowl! This child will do anything!"

His roommate paused, then let out a soft laugh before picking up the ladle to serve him more soup.

"I’m serious," Lin Jianyuan said after finishing his third bowl of rice, putting down the bowl respectfully. "Your cooking is really amazing. What exactly do you do for work, master? Did you study to be a chef in school?"

"Ah," his roommate replied noncommittally.

Lin Jianyuan: "Then can you…"

Roommate: "Sure."

Lin Jianyuan: "? I haven’t even said it yet."

"Didn't you ask me to cook for you?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Lin Jianyuan nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that his roommate really understood him well.

Since things had come to this, Lin Jianyuan stopped hesitating. He said, "How about the food expenses..."

He originally intended to suggest splitting it 70-30, but then he remembered his roommate was still a student. So he backtracked and said, "I'll cover the food expenses. You don't have to cook every day either—just whenever you have time, use whatever's in the fridge to whip something up. And let me know what you'd like to eat. I'll go buy it."

Lin Jianyuan wasn't actually well-off, but his roommate's cooking was just too delicious—so delicious that Lin Jianyuan felt like a few more meals would cure his mental health issues entirely.

If he could eat such amazing food every day, why would he even need antipsychotic meds?

His only worry was that his roommate might feel burdened. After all, they were just ordinary roommates—the kind who hadn't even exchanged WeChat contacts yet.

Why should his roommate cook for him?

Lin Jianyuan suddenly remembered the WeChat thing and hesitated about whether to ask for it again.

But his roommate propped his chin up with a section of intestine, tilted his "head," and said, "Sure. Were you really tired from work today?"

Lin Jianyuan's mood instantly dropped. He grumbled, "A little bit."

Roommate: "Then you should get to bed early."

Though he couldn't see his roommate's expression, Lin Jianyuan detected a sense of pushiness in his tone.

He felt puzzled but didn't ask, figuring he was probably overthinking it.

His roommate was likely just casually showing concern.

Or maybe changing the subject?

"..." The stress toy thief hid inside the backpack, trembling, too scared to speak.

That night. Well-fed and content, Lin Jianyuan grew drowsy early, took a shower, and fell fast asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

The flesh-red shadow arrived right on schedule, chomping down on Lin Jianyuan's head and devouring it voraciously.

"Why are you cooking for him..." The stress toy thief mustered up courage and voiced his long-held question.

"Is that even a question?" The soft esophagus wriggled slowly as the pink offal swallowed, mumbling indistinctly.

Squeeze toy: "?"

The squeeze toy didn't understand what that meant, but then he saw the pink offal lift a section of intestine and gently place it on Lin Jianyuan's slender, prominent collarbone.

The soft, smooth intestine tube moved like a snake without scales—cold and slippery—crawling along Lin Jianyuan's collarbone.

Still, no one came to fix the air conditioner today. Wearing only a tank top, Lin Jianyuan remained restless even in his sleep.

He turned over, his arms and legs pressing down on the pink offal.

Lin Jianyuan hugged that soft, cool mass of offal, and his slightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

He even pushed his head deeper into the other's throat, comfortably pressing his cheek against the cool, soft inner wall of the esophagus.

"..." The corners of the mouth holding the entire head curled up slightly. It swallowed a few times happily.

Squeeze toy: "………………"

Enough already!

Why are both of you getting more and more creepy!

Have you ever considered how I, a forced bystander, feel?!

...

Meanwhile, at the company two hours' drive from Lin Jianyuan's home.

In the deepest, darkest part of the office building, lower than the vast, desolate parking garage.

Thump—thud. Thump—thud.

A massive tumor pulsed slowly, countless blood vessels clinging to it like roots, supplying nutrients.

Beneath the thick blood vessels were even more branching smaller vessels, eventually thinning into a dense, web-like network of wriggling blood threads. These threads stretched in all directions, absorbing and drawing vitality from humans.

Deep into the night, many floors of the office building remained brightly lit.

The corporate drones burned their life force to light up the night sky, also making the capillary-like blood threads pulse vigorously, full of vitality.

An endless stream of life force poured in like tidal waves. The giant tumor at the center of the basement seemed to breathe deeply, as if immersed in pleasurable throbbing.

Suddenly. Thump-thud.

The tumor throbbed fiercely—once.

Then the second beat didn't come.

Tumor: "?"

As if puzzled, it slowly writhed, its blood vessels filling and distending.

Thump-thud.

Again, only the first beat came. The second seemed hollowed out—gone?

Tumor: "???"

The tumor and blood threads spent the whole night checking the accounts, completely baffled as to where the problem lay.