Chapter 32
Ning Sheng ate faster than Gu Xingzhou.
He had been near the front of the line, one of the first to receive a serving. But because it was so delicious, he had taken his time, savoring every bite, unwilling to finish too quickly—only to be caught off guard by the sudden downpour.
Soon, his takeout box was empty.
Meeting Gu Xingzhou so unexpectedly like this, he had assumed he’d be too shaken to eat, too overwhelmed to enjoy the food.
But nope.
The fried rice was still amazing.
From the very first bite, he could tell that the chili powder and oil were made by Ning Menglian—the same flavors he had grown up with, flavors he never got tired of. The moment the intense spice hit his tongue, he felt transported back to his childhood.
Jian Yunlan’s cooking had taken the richness of the chili oil and infused it completely into the rice, saturating the potatoes, making every bite bursting with savory, spicy goodness. The wok’s smoky aroma, the crispy yet soft potatoes, the freshness of the green onions—every element was in perfect harmony.
By the time he scraped up the last grain of rice from the box, his rational mind slowly returned.
The fried rice was gone.
Now, he had no choice but to deal with some… irrelevant and inconsequential matters.
Ning Sheng glanced at Gu Xingzhou beside him.
Like him, Gu Xingzhou was crouched on the ground, completely disregarding his usual composed image, hunched over his takeout box, shoveling in mouthfuls of fried rice. The sight of him—so unpretentious, so down-to-earth—was oddly jarring.
The longer Ning Sheng looked, the more pissed off he felt.
People like Gu Xingzhou, who were born into privilege, always looked down on street food and ordinary people. So why did he get to eat Boss Jian’s fried rice?
Did he even deserve it?!
And all the shadows and trauma that Gu Xingzhou had brought upon Ning Sheng in the past…
Watching Gu Xingzhou eat with increasing enjoyment, the anger in Ning Sheng’s heart finally erupted. He reached out and shoved Gu Xingzhou, making him stumble. “What right do you have to eat Boss Jian’s fried rice?!”
“You don’t deserve it!”
Gu Xingzhou instinctively clutched his fried rice, his dark eyes burning with disbelief and fury. “Why don’t I deserve it?! If I don’t, do you?”
“And why wouldn’t I?” Ning Sheng scoffed, enraged.
He and Boss Jian’s fried rice were a match made in heaven, bound by fate!
Who dared to question that??!
“Ning Sheng, you ungrateful thing! I treated you so well!” Gu Xingzhou shot to his feet, his voice filled with both grievance and rage. Dominant and unquestionable, he declared, “The heavens and earth can bear witness to my love for you! If you wanted the stars, I wouldn’t even give you the moon—”
“…Right now, I just want to finish this precious fried rice, and you won’t even let me? You heartless bastard!”
“You treated me well?!” For once, Ning Sheng’s normally indifferent eyes burned with fury. Even the seductive beauty mark at the corner of his eye seemed to glow with an aggressive, searing light. “Heh, tell me then—just how did you treat me well?”
“By locking me in a room and cuffing me? By forcing me to work in a club?
“By threatening my family to make me submit?”
Gu Xingzhou’s imposing aura immediately diminished.
He had, indeed, done terrible things.
Looking back, he couldn’t even understand why he had acted that way. It was as if some invisible force had been controlling him. Back then, he had believed that money and power were everything, that the upper class was born to oppress those of humble origins.
Even his so-called love for Ning Sheng had been a form of charity. He had never imagined that Ning Sheng wouldn’t accept his ‘noble’ love, and in his anger, he had done countless wrongs.
After a long pause, he gazed at Ning Sheng with deep eyes and said, “I was wrong… I’m sorry.”
Then, after a brief hesitation, he added with tenderness and indulgence, “If you can’t get over it, then hit me, curse me, until you’ve vented all your anger.”
SMACK!
SMACK SMACK!
Without hesitation, Ning Sheng raised his hand and delivered three resounding slaps, one after the other, each with full force.
His brows and eyes were exquisitely beautiful, but from those perfect lips poured out the most vicious insults:
“You dumbass, why the hell did you have to mess with me?! Just because I was kind enough to give you a bowl of rice when we were kids, you wouldn’t leave me alone, you insatiable mutt! I should’ve just stuffed you in a trash can and buried you back then.
“Gave you too much face, and now you actually think you’re someone important?! You think I won’t hit you, won’t curse you? If you don’t get it, I can carve it on your damn tombstone! When you die, I’ll be the first to show up in mourning clothes and dance on your grave—”
“You scheming little bastard! You’ve tainted Boss Jian’s fried rice! Spit out every bite you ate, now!”
Gu Xingzhou: “?”
Gu Xingzhou: “???”
Wait… he’s serious?!
Gu Xingzhou clutched his face in disbelief. Ning Sheng had hit him so hard that his cheek instantly swelled, marked with five distinct finger imprints. And the insults just kept coming! Not satisfied with just words, Ning Sheng went all in—punches, kicks, left hooks, right hooks, sweeping leg strikes…
And he wasn’t holding back at all! Every hit landed with full force!
At first, Gu Xingzhou had endured it with a deep, helpless love—what could he do? He had to spoil him.
But as the beating went on, with Ning Sheng’s strikes becoming sharper and heavier, Gu Xingzhou couldn’t help but feel his patience fray.
Damn it, did Ning Sheng train in underground boxing or something? Why did it hurt so much?!
Finally, when Ning Sheng delivered a sharp kick to his backside, Gu Xingzhou’s voice darkened.
“Enough!”
“You’re pushing it! This is ridiculous—laughable! Absurd! Yes, I made mistakes, but I was good to you too! I gave you everything you wanted, yet you treat me worse than a dog… I apologized! I said I’d change, that I’d make it up to you—didn’t you hear me?!”
“And as for Boss Jian’s fried rice, I’m not giving up a single bite! I earned this! I stood in line and bought it myself! Don’t even think about taking it from me!”
“Who wants your so-called ‘generosity’?” Ning Sheng glared at Gu Xingzhou, his exquisite face twisted with jealousy—his fried rice was already gone, but Gu Xingzhou still had half a bowl left! “I’ll say it one last time—you don’t deserve Boss Jian’s fried rice!”
Gu Xingzhou, triumphant, held up his bowl of fried rice. “I absolutely do. You’re the one who doesn’t deserve it! Haha! If you have the guts, go beg Boss Jian to sell you another one!”
The two of them locked eyes, like two enraged bulls ready to charge.
And then—
With a furious roar, they lunged at each other, wrestling and brawling!
Punches flew, kicks landed—Ning Sheng yanked Gu Xingzhou’s hair, while Gu Xingzhou bit Ning Sheng’s wrist—
All while hurling insults at each other:
“Spit it out! Spit out the fried rice!”
“Pfft, I won’t! You ungrateful traitor!”
“Boss Jian never should’ve wasted his cooking on a mutt like you!”
The people around them: “…”
At first, everyone thought they were just messing around as friends—playfully bickering and roughhousing a little.
Some of the office ladies nearby were even secretly shipping them. After all, both men were incredibly handsome—one had a domineering, forceful kind of attractiveness, while the other had a cold, refined beauty. They looked so good together!
Even when they started arguing, the ladies were still holding their faces, thinking, Ah, just a little lover’s spat, totally normal.
But then… the two of them started hurling insults at each other at full intensity while physically fighting, and the one in the suit ended up with a bruised and swollen face…
The office ladies had been hoping to watch a fight—just not this kind of fight. The kind they wanted to see usually ended up on a bed, not in an all-out brawl on the street!
Office ladies: “…”
Not a single word between them mentioned love. In fact, not a single word even hinted at love.
No matter how they analyzed the situation, every sentence, every line, was filled with just one thing—fried rice.
Sigh. Just another pair of poor souls who’ve lost their minds over not getting enough fried rice.
It was only at this point that the surrounding crowd realized—they were actually fighting for real.
Everyone quickly rushed forward to break up the fight.
“Hey, hey, young men, whatever the issue is, talk it out! There’s no need to make a scene like this!”
“Yeah, yeah, we all understand how frustrating it is to not get enough fried rice, but you can always line up again tomorrow!”
“Speaking of fried rice—dude, we’ve been brothers for twenty years, and today you couldn’t even save me a single bite of fried rice?!” “…That’s completely unrelated to this, okay?” “And why wouldn’t it be related?!”
Two burly men glared at each other, getting more and more riled up… and then, suddenly, they started throwing punches at each other, joining the fight.
The crowd: “…”
Great. They tried breaking up one fight and ended up starting another.
Amidst the growing chaos, a woman stepped forward to bring some order to the situation—Wu Qiuhua, the undisputed heroine of the local food stalls. She cleared her throat and spoke:
“Look at you two—so handsome, so dignified… Why can’t you just get along and share the fried rice?”
——“With him? Share fried rice?!“
The two men turned to Wu Qiuhua and laughed bitterly in sheer rage.
Ning Sheng glared at Gu Xingzhou. Gu Xingzhou glared at Ning Sheng.
Then, in perfect unison, they shouted, “I’d rather DIE!!!”
And just like that, they launched into another round of fighting.
By now, the rain had lightened up. Li Mingxi and Li Yun, who had been separated earlier by the downpour and the crowd, finally managed to find their way over—only to see Ning Sheng locked in a brawl with a sharply dressed, ridiculously good-looking man… and seemingly gaining the upper hand.
Li Yun: “???”
Wait a second… wasn’t that their university’s cold and aloof top student?
And right next to her, someone suddenly cheered, “Nice move! Go for the crotch—yes, yes, there!”
Hearing this, Ning Sheng immediately delivered a low kick. Gu Xingzhou’s face turned white.
“Beautiful!” the same voice cheered again. “Teach him a lesson, that’s right!”
Li Yun: “…”
She turned her head to see who was talking, only to find a stunning woman with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Dressed in athletic wear, she was casually watching the fight while munching on sunflower seeds.
It was Ming Ruogui!
Li Yun’s pupils shook in shock.
Ming Ruogui glanced at Li Yun and handed her some sunflower seeds. “Want some?”
Ever since Gu Xingzhou had tried to get Ming Ruogui to fire Ning Sheng from his job at Hongtu Tech—and she flat-out refused—she had been very displeased with him. She’d been waiting for a chance to teach him a lesson.
And wow—turns out, she didn’t even need to lift a finger. Someone else was already doing the job for her.
Watching Ning Sheng’s smooth, precise movements, with not a single wasted strike, Ming Ruogui grew more and more satisfied.
A young hero indeed!
Of course, while some people were cheering for Ning Sheng, others were trying to strategize ways to help Gu Xingzhou.
For example, his highly paid “professional team.” His secretary and a few key employees were anxiously spectating nearby. None of them wanted to physically intervene, but since they were on the payroll, they figured they should at least offer some tactical advice:
“Boss Gu, you need to assert dominance—punch him in the face! …Wait, no, block your face first, don’t let him mess it up too badly!”
“Dodge to the left!”
“No, wait—dodge to the right! Hang on, we should run some data analysis first to determine the optimal evasive maneuvers!”
Gu Xingzhou: “…”
A bunch of freeloading idiots!
If they didn’t come up with a solution soon, he was seriously about to get beaten to death!!!
Li Yun numbly accepted the sunflower seeds from Ming Ruogui and started absentmindedly snacking, staring blankly at the ridiculous scene unfolding before her.
In front of her—
Two men were engaged in a brutal street fight, screaming profanities at each other over a bowl of fried rice.
A few others had tried to break up the fight, but got so frustrated that they ended up brawling too.
Some were just sitting back, munching on snacks and cheering.
And off to the side, Gu Xingzhou’s corporate team was holding an emergency strategy meeting on the best way to help their boss win the fight.
This wasn’t just chaos.
This was pure, unfiltered madness.
Li Yun had lived for twenty years and had never seen such a spectacle.
She cast a reverent gaze towards the direction of Jian Yunlan, who was still diligently cooking fried rice not far away. Since customers were still waiting, Jian Yunlan noticed the commotion but couldn’t leave.
— Jian Yunlan’s fried rice was no ordinary fried rice. This simple bowl of fried rice held immense power—it could stir up greed and desire in the hearts of those who ate it.
One could even say this was the “disastrous” fried rice that could ruin nations!
Li Yun respectfully bowed in the direction of Jian Yunlan, performing a worshipful gesture.
Ming Ruogui: “?”
It seemed like everyone had lost their minds.
Fortunately, this farce didn’t last too long.
Soon, police officers armed with batons arrived and forcibly separated Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou, who were still in the middle of their fight.
Even after the police arrived, the two of them continued to shout insults at each other:
“You don’t deserve to eat fried rice!”
“Shut your mouth, go mix your brain up before talking to me!”
“You don’t deserve fried rice either! Go hide, the garbage collectors are coming!”
Officer Zhang: “…”
Who’s talking about garbage collectors?
As a community police officer, he had mediated all sorts of bizarre disputes—cheating husbands, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law feuds, and even two college students fighting over loot distribution in an online game.
But fighting over fried rice? This one was definitely among the top of the absurd cases.
These two looked so good, yet they were acting so childish.
“Stop it, stop it,” Officer Zhang sighed and stepped in, pushing them apart. “Both of you, shut up, cover your heads, squat down!”
Reluctantly, the two glared at each other one last time before doing as instructed.
“Alright, both of you, back to the station.”
Officer Zhang shook his head in frustration. The young people nowadays were really hopeless.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou were escorted into the police car, still yelling insults at each other before getting in:
“Officer, arrest him! He’s the one breaking the law, check his company’s books, he’s definitely guilty of tax evasion!”
Gu Xingzhou fired back, “No, arrest him! I’m a model citizen, I even donate to charity. He’s the one who hit me, right in the face!”
“Stop arguing!” Officer Zhang snapped, swinging his baton. “Keep it up and I’ll cuff you both and send you to the detention center!”
Only then did they reluctantly fall silent.
The crowd: “…”
Gu Xingzhou’s secretary was drenched in sweat.
Their company had no tax evasion!
But…
He exchanged glances with a few of Gu Xingzhou’s key subordinates, and they silently communicated: If the CEO was being arrested, does that mean they could leave work early today?
Yay!
*
In the livestream room:
[They’ve gone mad, completely mad]
[This world has gone crazy in ways I can’t even imagine]
[Heh… From the rooftop, a fan of Gu Xingzhou]
[No, no, what?!!! Where’s the melodrama? I want the thrilling, sweet, dramatic twists! The reunion with full sexual tension!]
Because the livestream’s plot had escalated into an unimaginable new level of absurdity, the viewers also went wild.
— No, they weren’t crazy, it was the world that had gone crazy!
Why was the pure, cold beauty they adored saying things like, “I’ll carve your tombstone”? Why was he fighting so well, landing such powerful slaps?
Why was the domineering, paranoid CEO getting beaten to a pulp and protecting his half-eaten fried rice at the same time?
Where was the CEO’s pride?!
Most importantly…
Why, oh why, were the protagonists of a BL drama fighting over a bowl of fried rice?!
Of course, the reasons for their fight were a mix of new grudges and old animosities, but the main trigger was Ning Sheng seeing that Gu Xingzhou still had half a bowl of fried rice left after his own was gone—his jealousy twisted, and the situation escalated rapidly.
How many times had the viewers asked themselves this soul-crushing question?
How good could that fried rice possibly be?!
[Such a good thing, of course, should be shared with your bestie. Enjoy together, hehe~~]
A comment passed by slowly.
The viewers had an epiphany.
— It wasn’t enough for just them to suffer; such a delightful spectacle had to be shared with friends and family!
Thus, that evening, countless confused residents of the multiverse, encouraged by their friends and family’s enthusiastic recommendations, clicked on Room #6666 of the livestream.
Meanwhile, the vlogger from before used his old tricks again, editing a video clip and slapping a hugely eye-catching title on it: [Main couple engaged in intense physical struggle, cold beauty takes the lead, domineering CEO forced to respond, HD, breathing, collision, dirty talk]
This trick never failed.
Terrified and curious viewers eagerly clicked on the link.
And when they opened it:
“…”
So, when you said “intense struggle” and “breathing and collision,” you meant this kind of hardcore physical brawl, right?
You mean the “cold beauty takes the lead” is referring to the cold beauty directly slapping the attacking guy three times, right?
And the HD, I can’t even… why is there a need to censor this?! What’s so bad about it??
The most ridiculous thing is that “dirty talk” label.
This isn’t the kind of dirty talk they imagined! Why is it so filthy—talking about dancing at a grave with mourning clothes, this is beyond obscene!!
[Haha, fell for it again, lighting a cigarette]
[I hate these hands of mine, how come I never learn, knowing it’s a scam but still clicking!]
[Such a great livestream, not only do I want to watch, I’m going to recommend it to my best, most beloved friends, so we can all enjoy it together (evil smile)]
So, that night, as more and more people “kindly” shared the stream…
The heat of Jian Yunlan’s livestream shot through the roof, skyrocketing past several big streamers with massive followings.
At 3 a.m., 50,000 people were watching at the same time, climbing into the top ten of the daily book zone heat rankings, and topping the “Paranoid Possessive” subcategory heat ranking at number one!
*
“Boss Jian, there’s a fight over there!”
As soon as Ning Sheng and Gu Xingzhou started fighting, some curious customers ran over to report to Jian Yunlan.
Jian Yunlan was shocked and a little worried, glancing over at the direction of the fight, but his hands never stopped. He continued to skillfully stir-fry.
“Did they start fighting over the fried rice?” Jian Yunlan hesitated. “Should I make them another portion… you all go tell them to stop?”
Everyone immediately became alert.
Aha, these fighters must be up to no good, trying to scam their way into stealing the fried rice!
And Boss Jian is so kind-hearted, it seems he’s really shaken!
They wouldn’t let those scheming people get away with it.
The customers immediately started talking all at once:
“Don’t give them fried rice! If you do, you’ll encourage bad behavior, and soon everyone will be fighting over fried rice!”
“It’s no big deal, just a little scuffle, hehe.”
“We’ll make sure they stop fighting, no matter how good the fried rice is, we can’t allow fighting!”
“Boss Jian, just focus on cooking, leave the rest to us!”
Everyone said they would go and break up the fight, but when they looked at each other, no one moved.
…Are they joking? If they went now, wouldn’t the long line they had been waiting in all be wasted?
There were still so many people with greedy eyes waiting behind.
No way, even if a mountain collapsed or the ocean flooded, they couldn’t leave.
Jian Yunlan: “…”
This is a bit ridiculous.
But, the fact that they love his fried rice so much, he’s really touched!
Happiness is that simple.
With a grateful expression, Jian Yunlan continued to stir the rice with his spatula, skillfully flipping it up. The fried rice that everyone was eagerly waiting for, he had to cook it with all his effort, bringing his best self to the task!
Soon, a steaming hot serving of fried rice was freshly made, the red spicy oil, the loose rice, the crispy fragrant potatoes…
The lucky Lin Tianqiu, amidst the jealous stares of others, received the fried rice.
A man without fault, but with treasure, Lin Tianqiu nervously looked around, found a corner, and quietly sat down to eat.
“This is the last one,” Jian Yunlan said reluctantly. “Today’s hundred servings are all sold out. Thank you all for your support!”
The crowd erupted in a cacophony of desperate wails, rushing forward to grab at him.
“Boss Jian, no, please, don’t do this to me, I beg you…”
“How could you abandon us, orphaned and widowed!?”
“How cruel, sob sob sob…”
But in the crowd, a few quick-witted ones exchanged glances and came up with an idea:
“Shall we form a team?”
They silently nodded.
And so, Wu Qiuhe, the snack stall owners, Zhang Mo and Bei Shi, Li Mingxi and their classmates… all of them, in perfect unison, extended their hands and legs, dramatically pretending to fight:
“Boss Jian, my wife actually dares to hit me, sob sob sob, I’m injured!”
“It hurts, ah, my knee is scraped!”
“Quick, give me a serving of fried rice to heal my wounded soul!”
“Boss Jian, you don’t want the city management to know that people are fighting in front of your stall, right~”
Love this comedy