She was finally off work.

Tong Xin dragged her exhausted body home, pulled out her keys, and opened the door to her tiny rented apartment.

She rented the whole place. It was small, but the rent was affordable, and living alone meant she didn’t have to adjust to strangers.

The moment she stepped inside, a wave of heat hit her in the face and made her head feel stuffy.

She hurried over to turn on the air conditioner. God knew when this sweltering weather was going to end. Was it planning to stay this hot all the way through the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day?

Speaking of which, should she go somewhere during the holiday?

Tong Xin casually opened Little Red Book and searched: “Where should I go for National Day?”

Little Red Book immediately pushed a whole flood of posts at her. Posts about taking beautiful photos and lavish food spreads.

Tong Xin happily scrolled for a while and saved several posts. But before long, she came back to her senses.

No. Forget it. Every tourist destination would be packed to death during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. And she was so tired too...

Work and meetings were exhausting. Today was Monday, so she was busy from eight in the morning straight through the afternoon. She barely even had time to drink water because of the meetings, and also didn’t eat lunch until three in the afternoon.

So tired.

Tong Xin stood directly beneath the air conditioner vent and let the cold air blast against her head.

She didn’t feel like cooking dinner, so she decided to order delivery instead.

Tong Xin took out her phone, intending to browse food delivery apps. But the moment she unlocked the screen, muscle memory kicked in, and she habitually tapped the little red app instead.

The very first recommendation on the home screen happened to be about an obscure anime she absolutely loved!

Holy sh*t, little XX, you’ve finally made something of yourself!

Little Red Book is even creating dedicated topics and producing content for you!

Tong Xin excitedly tapped in and began devouring her spiritual sustenance like a starving tiger.

... More than an hour passed before she snapped out of it and remembered that she still needed to order dinner.

Holy sh*t, time went by so fast!

Tong Xin hurriedly scrambled up from the sofa and ordered delivery at lightning speed.

Once she placed the order, there wasn’t much to do while waiting for it to arrive. Thus, Tong Xin flopped back onto the sofa, shifted into a more comfortable position, and happily resumed scrolling Little Red Book.

Not long afterward, the delivery rider called her.

Tong Xin said, “Mm-hm, just leave it outside the door.”

It was so hot anyway. Leaving it outside for a little while wouldn’t matter. Besides, she didn’t really have an appetite yet.

Hugging a throw pillow, Tong Xin happily continued scrolling Little Red Book.

Short videos were a bottomless pit.

After a funny skit came a cute pet. Then abs. Then a beautifully shot video with atmospheric music titled “Endless Summer.” Then...

One video after another.

Tong Xin felt deeply healed. And as she watched, she forwarded things into her group chat with her best friends.

But in their little three-person group, everyone seemed busy with their own lives. Nobody replied with a “HAHAHAHA.”

Tong Xin didn’t mind. She just kept scrolling through Little Red Book.

“Leave a comment so the algorithm knows I like this.”

“Boosting this. I refuse to be the only one who dies laughing.”

“Please finish this series TT.”

One post after another.

One after another after another after another after another...

When she came back to herself again, another two hours were gone.

“Huh?!”

Tong Xin practically launched herself off the sofa.

Holy sh*t! I forgot to eat dinner!

Good thing she ordered malatang, and with how hot it was outside, it probably wasn’t completely cold yet!

Tong Xin hurriedly grabbed her phone and ran out to retrieve the delivery.

But when she reached for the doorknob, she paused.

Why did her fingers feel so stiff?

Puzzled, Tong Xin looked at her right hand. All five fingers were curled inward, still holding the exact posture she used to grip her phone.

Did she use her phone too long? What was this called? Phone hand?

Her first instinct was to open Little Red Book and search: “Exercises to relieve phone hand”

... Wait. No. F**k. How did she nearly start scrolling Little Red Book while standing right in front of the door again?!

Tong Xin laughed at herself. She opened the door, brought her delivery inside, and on the way back to the sofa, she opened WeChat and sent a voice message to her friends.

“I’m dying, just now when I went to get my delivery...”

Tong Xin set the malatang on the table. She picked up her chopsticks, ready to eat and... froze again.

Clack

The chopsticks slipped from between her thumb and index finger.

...Huh? Tong Xin stared blankly.

She picked the chopsticks up again and tried hard to pinch them between her index finger and thumb.

Her thumb still moved pretty well. But her index finger... Would. Not. Move.

Even at this point, Tong Xin’s first instinct was still to pick up her phone and take a picture.

Click

She immediately sent the photo into the group chat, followed by a voice message: “Holy sh*t, I don’t know if I’ve been on my phone too much, but my hand actually turned into this! It doesn’t hurt or anything; I just can’t move it. Should I go to the hospital???”

After sending the voice message, Tong Xin thought about it and still felt uneasy. So she hurriedly opened Little Red Book to see whether anyone else was in the same situation.

The Little Red Book home page refreshed automatically, and the very first post the algorithm recommended was:

HELP! MY HAND TURNED INTO A PHONE STAND! QAQ

Phone... stand?

Tong Xin: “?”

She looked down at her hands. Both were completely stiff and shaped like phone holders.

...Oh. So I’m not the only one.

Then it’s fine.

For some reason, an intense sense of reassurance flooded through her.

A layer of orange-red oil slowly congealed on the surface of the cooling bowl of malatang that had been forgotten on the dining table.

Tong Xin lay back down on the sofa and resumed scrolling Little Red Book. Then she discovered something even more comforting.

The top comment read:

“Ever since both my hands turned into phone stands, my hands never get sore from scrolling Little Red Book anymore!”

The author pinned the comment, and it had more than three thousand likes.

See! I knew I wasn’t the only one!

Tong Xin immediately felt even more reassured and happily moved into the comment section of HELP! MY HAND TURNED INTO A PHONE STAND! QAQ.

...

The main purpose of this emergency middle-management meeting was to discuss how to deal with the Aberrant known as [Cocoon].

It was an A-class Aberrant. As its name suggested, it created a “cocoon” that trapped people inside.

Normally, an A-class Aberrant wouldn’t justify calling everyone into a massive emergency meeting, but this one was special.

It could spread through the internet, which was a significant difference.

After all, how many people in modern society could live without smartphones and the internet?

The implications were too broad, so an emergency meeting was unavoidable.

Lin Jianyuan had absolutely no interest in participating. His mind was still full of Hesitation, Delirium, and Flash Granny.

The Director was there too, and he also told Lin Jianyuan that he didn’t need to participate in Cocoon’s containment. He just had to make a token appearance at the meeting.

Lin Jianyuan planned to listen to the opening and then skip straight through the rest.

But honestly, leaving it at normal speed wasn’t a problem either because his roommate was beside him.

His roommate once again transformed into a sleepy little snake and wriggled inside Lin Jianyuan’s shirt, lazily leaning against him.

The wet and soft intestines were too slippery and kept sliding down. So his roommate wrapped himself around Lin Jianyuan’s waist several times and rested his throat on Lin Jianyuan’s shoulder, whispering to him.

The coworkers sitting behind Lin Jianyuan: “..................”

Normally, not fast-forwarding wouldn’t be a problem. The two of them could whisper to each other, cuddle, rub against each other, or be all clingy and affectionate for a while. The time would usually pass quickly.

Under normal circumstances, two hours wouldn’t even be enough for them to finish being affectionate.

But the problem was that they weren’t at home. They were sitting in the middle of an Aberration Management Bureau middle-management meeting.

They couldn’t speak too loudly, and even while being clingy, they had to at least be mindful of the impression they made.

His roommate couldn’t fully express himself, so he got bored, and once he got bored, he started touching things.

One moment, he pinched Lin Jianyuan’s ear. The next, he rubbed against Lin Jianyuan’s throat.

Then a warm, damp, and soft loop of intestine, like a tame little snake, would affectionately brush against his abs and send a faint shiver through him.

His roommate discovered a new toy.

Two little switches. One on the left, and the other on the right. They were standing neatly on Lin Jianyuan’s chest.

Xie Yu had seen them before when they took a hot bath together. He didn’t think much of them, but today, after burrowing under Lin Jianyuan’s shirt, he discovered:

They seemed to be switches?

Because whenever he touched one, Lin Jianyuan’s abdominal muscles tightened.

Touch. Tighten. Touch. Tighten.

So fun.

Xie Yu played with the left one, then the right one. He was having a wonderful time.

“Stop playing with those, wife.” At some point, Lin Jianyuan’s entire face turned red. He reached beneath his clothes and tugged on Xie Yu’s colon. “We’re in a meeting.”

Xie Yu thought about it. Right. They were in a meeting.

So Xie Yu said: “Skip.”

Squishy: “At once! ...Huh?”

Xie Yu: “Hmm?”

Naturally, Squishy didn't dare to disobey the Queen’s command. It immediately swallowed and spat out a big chunk of time.

Skip.

By the time they got home, Lin Jianyuan’s face was still red.

The first thing he did was throw all the little toys into the baby room and slam the door shut.

He even locked it.

The babies: “?”

They had no idea what happened outside.

All they knew was that Lin Jianyuan wore a different pair of pants when they were finally let out again.

Xie Yu was cooking in the kitchen. His intestines danced around him, which was quite a sight.

But Lin Jianyuan did not go to the kitchen to admire his favorite spectacle of wildly dancing intestines. Instead, he collapsed against the sofa like a lump of kneaded-soft clay.

Limp and warm.

His face was still flushed as he raised one arm over his eyes.

Even his breathing came in slow waves, with a faint thread of tension running through it. Like a tide held back by restraints and gripped by the throat, unwilling to fully recede.

Lin Jianyuan stayed like that for quite a while. He seemed to be struggling internally.

Finally, in a hoarse voice, he said:

“Baby, I’m usually not... not that, uh... fast.”

Xie Yu was stir-frying in the kitchen. The gas stove was roaring and was quite noisy, but he could always hear Lin Jianyuan.

“What?” Xie Yu asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t hear. He simply didn’t understand.

“It-it was because what you were doing to me was a little too... too stimulating.” Lin Jianyuan licked his lips.

Beneath the hand covering his face, his eyelids trembled involuntarily.

The scene from earlier surfaced in his mind again.

It wasn’t entirely Xie Yu helping him because Xie Yu totally didn’t know how.

Xie Yu was really far too obedient and innocent, so at first, Lin Jianyuan did it himself... while Xie Yu watched from the side.

Only later did Xie Yu copy what he was doing, using slender, soft loops of intestine to wrap around him one after another.

The gaps between Lin Jianyuan’s fingers slowly widened. Then warm and soft little snakes slipped into the gaps at the base of his palm, as if trying to steal control from him.

And then they did.

Control was taken completely out of his hands.

His mind went blank, and all that remained was that unprecedentedly intense image.

He looked down at himself. The image burned itself into his retinas, and burned itself into his brain.

...So much so that even now, lying limp on the sofa with an arm covering his eyes, it still felt like he could see it.

His mouth was so dry.

His throat was also dry.

Lin Jianyuan couldn’t help licking his lips again.

He still couldn’t believe something like that actually happened.

He really did... Mm.

Xie Yu carried the food out. The clean and cute ceramic plates made soft sounds as they touched the glass tabletop.

Normally, Xie Yu would pull Lin Jianyuan off the sofa to eat. But when he saw him lying there with an arm over his eyes, and lips slightly parted as if he were still catching his breath...

He suddenly remembered what happened earlier.

His lover’s eyes went so wide like he saw a ghost, then he suddenly covered his mouth with one hand.

His eyes remained wide open, staring fixedly. As if trying to burn everything into his retinas.

Into his mind.

As if unwilling to miss a single detail, he watched so carefully that he forgot to breathe.

For some reason, Xie Yu found it incredibly interesting.

So funny.

He suddenly wanted to kiss him very badly.

But before he could, his lover pulled him close and kissed him first.

His lover shut his eyes. Beneath his eyelids, his eyes trembled faintly. There was something fragile and helpless about it.

Like someone drowning and desperately clinging to him. Needing a kiss in order to breathe, and needing oxygen in order to stay alive.

As if the two of them were the only people left in the world, who needed each other's kisses to get oxygen and survive.

All at once, Xie Yu felt unbelievably soft inside.

Funny. He didn’t even have a heart, and yet somehow, he still felt so, so soft inside.

He held his lover and kissed him gently and lingeringly.

Who knew how long passed before Lin Jianyuan, face bright red, pushed him away. Then he hurriedly grabbed some tissues and started cleaning up.

Not only himself. Xie Yu too.

Xie Yu lowered his head and watched his lover carefully lift him with both hands, almost holding his breath as he gently wiped him clean.

So funny.

He wanted to laugh again.

And so when Xie Yu finished cooking and brought the dishes to the table, he found his lover freshly showered, changed into new pants, and still lying limply on the sofa like a total shut-in.

Normally, he would drag Lin Jianyuan up to eat. But he didn’t.

Instead, he walked over, settled into Lin Jianyuan’s arms, and stretched himself out. His extended body turned into a thick and soft net that wrapped around his lover.

Lin Jianyuan’s face immediately turned red again. He lifted his arm over his eyes as if unable to face reality.

His voice was hoarse and embarrassed. “It really was a little... too... too stimulating. Usually I... I really wouldn’t... that...”

The final word was evidently too embarrassing to say.

Xie Yu rested against his chest and played with his soft, warm earlobe.

“Oh.” The corner of Xie Yu’s mouth curved upward.

“W-what do you mean, ‘oh’...?” Lin Jianyuan’s embarrassment instantly turned into anger and suddenly scooped Xie Yu up. Xie Yu turned like a cat that was suddenly stretched out as Lin Jianyuan lifted the massive bundle of pink internal organs into the air.

But the organs were simply too long, so the lower half still sprawled across his chest.

He raised Xie Yu high and shook him. “What do you mean ‘oh’?! Like you understand so much, huh?!”

Xie Yu’s smile was practically reaching the ceiling. “I don’t understand at all.”

“Stop doing that voice!” Lin Jianyuan shook him harder. “Don’t do that! Be serious!”

“Oh.” Xie Yu tried very hard to look serious, but his smile just grew even wider.

Lin Jianyuan puffed up angrily and shook him for quite a while. Eventually, completely helpless, he put him back down and viciously bit his throat.

“Just wait next time!” Lin Jianyuan threatened.

“Oh.” Xie Yu was still smiling.

“Stop laughing!” Lin Jianyuan was about to die of anger. He fiercely pinched Xie Yu’s mouth. “No laughing! Eat! We’re eating!”

Still bright red, Lin Jianyuan went to the dining table.

Then, upon seeing two huge plates of bright-red steamed hairy crabs, he automatically started peeling crabs for his wife again.

It wasn’t that Xie Yu didn’t know how, since Lin Jianyuan already taught him. Moreover, eating crab wasn’t difficult for him, but Lin Jianyuan was always worried he would get hurt.

Xie Yu was soft all over, while crabs were hard. Whether it was the shell or the claws, Lin Jianyuan was worried that if Xie Yu peeled them himself, he might damage his delicate intestinal lining.

So Lin Jianyuan always peeled them in advance. Then he would let Xie Yu eat while the meat was still warm, until Lin Jianyuan’s own fingers turned red.

Watching him made Xie Yu feel soft inside.

Xie Yu propped his chin up and stared. He could never get enough of looking at him.

Under the table, his appendix swayed back and forth.

After dinner and a walk, they took a hot bath separately at Lin Jianyuan’s insistence. Only then did Lin Jianyuan remember that he still needed to watch the recording of the meeting.

He pulled the Angel Eyeball over and adjusted the projection position. That way, the two of them could lie in bed and watch without straining their necks.

Naturally, Xie Yu had no interest in watching. Whatever they needed to do next, he would just follow Lin Jianyuan’s lead.

Lin Jianyuan watched the meeting recording at triple speed, while Xie Yu focused on playing with the buttons of Lin Jianyuan’s pajamas.

Then Xie Yu watched as Lin Jianyuan’s eyebrows gradually drew tighter. And tighter. And tighter.

Until his expression increasingly resembled that meme: Old Man on the Subway Looking at His Phone.

Finally, the Subway Old Man couldn’t take it anymore, and shot upright in bed.

He grabbed his mobile terminal and called the Director.

“What the f**k do you mean, 'summon Little Red Book for talks’?!”

Lin Jianyuan roared furiously into the phone.

“You discussed this shit for over two hours, and your solution was to haul Little Red Book in for questioning?! Weaken the algorithmic recommendation system?! And you want to add a f**king thirty-minute anti-addiction limit?!”

“Are you insane?! Who the hell opens Little Red Book and stops after 30 minutes?!!”

“If an Aberrant caused this, then go deal with the Aberrant! What the f**k are you touching my Little Red Book for?!”

“I’m warning you, don’t change Little Red Book! Don’t make Little Red Book less fun! And absolutely no mandatory anti-addiction limits!”

“Fine, fine, stop talking! I’ll catch it! I’ll catch the damn thing, okay?! Tomorrow I’ll drag that stupid f**king [Cocoon] back here myself!!!”

“Did you hear me?! I'll catch it tomorrow! Don't touch Little Red Book! If you dare mess with it, it won’t just be me coming after you. My wife won’t let you off either!!!”

“I won't let you touch Little Red Book!!!”