The Reviled God of Cooking Tries to Slack Off Novel Review

When Jiang Tingzhou is reborn, the first two things he does are: quit his job and break up immediately. In his past life, after being lost at age five and then found again by the Jiang family—a family famous for their culinary legacy—he spent nearly half his life fighting against Jiang You, the adopted child who had taken his place. This false young master was deeply favored by fate, as if born under a halo of divine luck. Jiang Tingzhou worked himself to the bone, fighting tooth and nail to prove that this little green tea (pretentious schemer) was inferior to him in every way. He won the prestigious God of Cooking competition. He brought Jiang Group’s restaurant chain to new heights. Even the person Jiang You longed for but could never have fell in love with Jiang Tingzhou instead. He poured every ounce of effort into proving that Jiang You wasn’t naturally worthy of love or admiration—there was no “main character aura.” As long as you worked hard enough, anything could be changed. He believed everyone should prefer him. But in the end, his parents called him aggressive, his old friends drifted away, his coworkers talked behind his back about how cold and unapproachable he was, and the lover he’d forced to stay eventually left him. Only his career had turned out well. Yet just as he began to taste success, Jiang Tingzhou died from overwork. All he could do was watch helplessly as Jiang You played the part of a tragic, returning white moonlight and smoothly inherited everything he had built. Then he found himself reborn—back at twenty-two, sick with a fever, still working nonstop, and being gaslit and bullied by his boss. Wait a second… who even wants to be reborn?! Jiang Tingzhou: [Dead fish eyes] .jpg He’s officially given up on his luckless life. Deep down, he realizes that being reborn means nothing. Nothing he does ends well. No matter how hard he fights, it’s all for nothing. What’s the point of grinding if the end result is just emptiness? Love, money, success—it’s all external. The only thing that’s truly yours is your body. So he finds a quiet place to lie flat and gives up. All he wants now is three good meals a day. To eat well and live peacefully. But strangely enough, once Jiang Tingzhou stops trying, people around him start to regret things. It’s like everyone suddenly starts liking him again. Later, he even goes viral as the internet’s most desirable food vlogger? #TopTierTemptationJiangTingzhou #JiangTingzhouTheManYouCan’tSayNoToAfterMidnight #ISeeHimAndTearsStartDrippingFromMyMouth From the Gong’s POV: Lu Baiyu went through a breakup that felt like falling off a cliff. In their chat history, Jiang Tingzhou had always been the one sending dozens of messages, chatting nonstop in a sweet, clingy way. “Hubby, miss you ❤️” “Dreamed about you last night, I really really want to see you.” “I made a new dish!” “[Photo] ” “When are you coming back to Yongqing? I want to cook for you.” Lu Baiyu had been away on a business trip, working nonstop. He saw the messages but didn’t have time to reply—he was used to it. Then, after finishing an international meeting, he opened his phone and saw a new message from Jiang Tingzhou: “Hi. We’re breaking up. Bye.” Lu Baiyu: …? He sent a question mark. But the chat showed a red exclamation mark. Just like that, he was blocked—out of nowhere. Pairing: Former top achiever turned slacker culinary genius shou × aloof iceberg-type gong who goes feral when he loses his lover Notes: Rebirth, shou is a former overachiever who now lies flat; gong is a “white-cut-black” (appears pure, actually ruthless) top who’s been in love with the shou across both lives. Plot-heavy with dramatic emotional lines. Career storyline takes up a good portion. The gong’s memories of his past life will gradually return. There are lots of misunderstandings, so expect some intense “chasing the wife back from the crematorium” drama. And yes—the crematorium part is serious. The shou seems universally disliked, but is actually a total heartthrob.

Original Publisher

jjwxc

Original Language

chinese

Type

Web Novel