茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter 16: The Frustrated Baona

“Ah, Qi… Mr. Xiang, are you also working out here?”

Meeting Xiang Kun here was also a surprise to Tang Baona, she almost blurted out “Teacher Saitama”. However, she changed her words in time, after all, they had only met once and were not that familiar. It was alright to use this nickname jokingly in private, but now there were other people around, and it would be strange to call him that to his face.

“Yes, I just got a membership here a few days ago.”

After Xiang Kun exchanged a few words with Tang Baona at the entrance of the gym, he left.

Both of them tactfully avoided the topic of Tang Baona’s previous barbecue invitation being rejected, partly because there were others present, and partly because it was not something that needed to be brought up. You invite me to late-night snacks, I can’t go because I’m busy, isn’t that normal?

Watching Xiang Kun leave, a tall girl who had been silently standing beside Tang Baona curiously asked, “Is that the ‘Teacher Saitama’? He looks so strong…”

This surprised Tang Baona as well. Xiang Kun had just finished working out and didn’t sweat much, so he didn’t change out of his workout shorts and vest, which indeed had a strong visual impact. The last time they met at the coffee shop, Xiang Kun was wearing loose jeans and a T-shirt. She could tell he was muscular, but she never expected him to be this buff.

The girl looked at Tang Baona, “But he is just average-looking, and bald. And from what you said, he’s a programmer? Oh, an unemployed programmer? Nana, why didn’t he like you?”

“What are you saying, it’s as if I got dumped…” Tang Baona gave her friend a look, “I’m not interested in him either, I just casually asked if he wanted to join the barbecue. He happened to be busy that’s all.”

The girl’s name was Yang Zhen Er, Tang Baona’s best friend and current roommate. They shared everything, so Yang Zhen Er knew about Tang Baona’s matchmaking date, and about her later invitation to Xiang Kun to have a barbecue. In fact, Yang Zhen Er was the one who encouraged her.

“Oh please, after he rejected your invitation, he did not initiate any contact or counter-invite, doesn’t this mean he’s not interested in you?” Yang Zhen’er said pointedly.

Tang Baona couldn’t argue with this and could only exclaim, “So what if he’s not interested in me, I’m not some sort of universally loved fairy… I wouldn’t have even messaged him if it wasn’t for you wanting to see ‘Teacher Saitama’, it’s all your fault!”

“Oh my, are you angry? Alright, it’s all my fault! You’re a universally loved fairy, the bald guy is just blind…” Laughing, Yang Zhen Er put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and they walked into the yoga studio together.

After the yoga class, on the way home, Tang Baona couldn’t help but feel bothered.

There had always been many suitors around her, she just hadn’t met anyone she particularly liked. She was stubborn and determined not to put up with anything if it didn’t feel right. So she hadn’t been in a relationship, and as she grew older, her family began to worry.

She had always disliked matchmaking, feeling that it was too goal-oriented. She had refused many times when her family arranged for her to go until this year, barely managing to go twice. The date with Xiang Kun was the second one.

She had only gone along reluctantly, out of consideration for her sister and her sister’s roommate Sister Han, who participated to maintain appearances. She had even planned to leave after twenty minutes with an excuse. But she didn’t expect the bald man’s ‘Teacher Saitama’ to be quite interesting, and they had a good chat without any pressures of matchmaking.

She was a bit worried at first, wondering if she had made the “Bald Uncle” misunderstand because they had such a good time. She even thought about what to do if the “Bald Uncle” frequently invited her out or kept sending her messages or calling her. She wanted to figure out how to refuse him appropriately.

But contrary to her expectations, after they parted that day, the “Bald Uncle” didn’t send her a single message, neither greetings, casual chats nor invitations.

Although she was not interested in Xiang Kun and had planned to decline if he invited her, his sheer silence made her feel strange somehow.

At first, she didn’t care, as this was the outcome she wanted anyway. But a few nights later, when she and Yang Zhen’er were eating barbecue outside, they brought up the “Bald Uncle” she had gone on a date with. Yang Zhen’er suggested that ‘”Teacher Saitama” must not have liked her, which was why he hadn’t contacted her. They even made a bet that Baona couldn’t invite “Teacher Saitama” to join them for the barbecue.

As a result, Tang Baona’s invitation was actually refused. It is quite common for such a last-minute invitation to be rejected if someone happens to be busy. But Xiang Kun’s reply was too cold and casual, and he didn’t send any other messages afterwards. It was clear that he was saying, “I’m not interested in you.”

Although Tang Baona dismissed it verbally, Yang Zhen Er’s constant chattering made her feel both frustrated and curious – why didn’t Xiang Kun like her? Why such a straightforward rejection, not even considering getting to know her better?

As they drove, Yang Zhen’er kept hypothesizing about why Xiang Kun wasn’t interested in her. Sometimes it was because he preferred women with big butts and full bodies who could bear children, sometimes it was because he already had a girlfriend that Tang Baona’s sister and her roommate didn’t know about, and other times it was because Xiang Kun might be into men…

Finally, Tang Baona couldn’t bear it anymore and sent Xiang Kun a message on her mobile phone.

…

While bumping into Tang Baona at the gym did surprise Xiang Kun and cause some slight awkwardness, he didn’t think much of it afterwards. In his view, after his previous messages, Tang Baona would definitely not contact him again, and he really didn’t have the time or mood to consider anything about relationships.

Today at the gym, he confirmed through heavy one-arm curls that his left arm was much stronger than his right, which proved that targeted training could indeed determine the direction of body mutations or increases (evolution) after drinking blood.

So Xiang Kun adjusted his training regimen today, performing only one set at max weight to test the degree of strength increase in each muscle group after drinking blood. He stopped doing high-intensity or near high-intensity training, and instead adopted a regimen of at least 24 repetitions per set, while reducing the weight and focusing on coordination, flexibility and reaction time.

A lot of the training methods and moves were found online and hastily organized by him last night.

However, due to his mastery over his own muscles, he was already proficient and free after doing them twice.

Next, Xiang Kun planned to strengthen his sensory training, such as vision, hearing, smell, etc., he wanted to see where the limit of these sensory abilities was.

While he was sitting at the computer planning his training, his phone rang. He picked it up and surprisingly, it was a message from Tang Baona.