茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter 62 Observer

Xiang Kun started to take the game seriously again, and diligently kept track of the cards. He carefully observed his opponents and partners and even began to judge their cards from the way they took cards, drew cards, and where they drew from.

However…

It must be admitted that ‘Fight the Landlord’ remains a card game where luck plays a significant role. When your opponent’s cards are simply too good, and can crush you, technique doesn’t count for much. Even if you could see everyone else’s cards, it wouldn’t help.

Especially when Xia Libing is your opponent, Xiang Kun’s chances of winning are even slimmer.

If he was the landlord, things would be okay because he would have control over the whole game. But if he was a peasant… and his teammates were Yang Zhen’er and Tang Baona, then he would have to factor in their card-playing habits as well. He couldn’t just play according to his own calculations and guesses.

Yang Zhen’er had a habit of going rogue, moreover, she sat in front of him;

Tang Baona was always hesitant to play high cards and bombs. Often, the game ended with one or two bombs still in her hand.

So it was inevitable that when Xia Libing was the Landlord, if Xiang Kun’s cards were terrible, or if he failed to align his strategy properly with both girls, he had little hope of winning.

Equally predictable was his being the target of Xia Libing’s “question.”

Perhaps she was not as troublesome as Yang Zhen’er, and might ask for a “dare” like singing a song or doing push-ups?

However, just as Xiang Kun was about to choose “dare,” he saw Xia Libing glancing threateningly at the three slices of watermelon that remained on the table— all three girls tacitly never reaching for them, as if they were holding them back specifically to intimidate him.

“Ask…” Xiang Kun sighed helplessly.

Xia Libing stared intently at his face and quickly asked, “Answer quickly within one second, what animal would you describe yourself as?” Xiang Kun slightly frowned and then said, “A bull.”

Xia Libing nodded, indicating the end of the question.

Xiang Kun breathed a sigh of relief. This question was easy.

But, why did she ask this question? Was this girl doing a psychological test on me? These types of questions are the kind commonly found in personality tests run by public WeChat accounts. You have two master’s degrees, at least come up with something a little creative!

A few rounds later, Xiang Kun once again faced Xia Libing’s question as the loser:

“Answer quickly within one second, use an animal to describe each of us three.” Again, this kind of question?

Xiang Kun suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, looking at Yang Zhen’er to his left: “Monkey!”

His arm was pinched.

He looked at Xia Libing who was in front of him: “Fox.”

In front of him, she showed no expression, her eyes squinted a little, making her indeed look like a sly fox.

He looked at Tang Baona to his right: “Sika deer.”

Tang Baona smiled and adjusted her glasses.

By around 10 0’clock in the evening, Xiang Kun looked at the time and wanted to say goodbye, but was again forced to play for more than an hour by Yang Zhen’er, staying until almost midnight.

As for Xia Libing, she stayed at their house overnight.

“Aren’t you going to stay for supper with us? We’re having something light, like crab porridge, shrimp porridge and so on. You should be able to eat it, right?” As Xiang Kun was changing his shoes at the door, Tang Baona couldn’t help asking again.

“I usually don’t eat at night.” Xiang Kun put on his shoes, smiled and shook his head.

“Well… We’ll keep in touch then? Take care on the road.”

“Hmm, we’ll connect later, bye.”

Watching Xiang Kun enter the descending elevator, Tang Baona shut the door and returned to the room.

Yang Zhen’er was already questioning Xia Libing – today, she was brought here to “observe” Xiang Kun.

“So, did you notice anything? What do you think ‘Teacher Saitama’ is thinking, not daring to eat watermelon? Even if he’s obsessed with calorie control, watermelon doesn’t have much sugar, right?” Yang Zhen’er asked her cousin.

But Xia Libing just picked up a piece of watermelon from the table and started eating, “How would I know what he’s thinking?” “Eh? Aren’t you a Master’s in Psychology?”

“Psychology is not mind reading.”

But noticing Tang Baona come back in, Xia Libing tossed the watermelon rind she had finished eating, wiped her hands, and began to speak.

“Whether he’s speaking or playing cards, he likes to look intently at other people’s faces. He has a strong sense of caution.”

“From the card game, it’s clear that he can remember the cards, doesn’t stare at his own or the ones on the table, remembers easily, and has a strong memory for numbers.”

“After the first round, he clearly started to go easy. He does not have a strong competitive drive. After being questioned by sister Nana, he started to take it seriously, starting to want to win, to avoid being asked questions or eating watermelon. But even when he wanted to win, and you two were awful teammates, he never complained once. His personality isn’t dominant.”

“Whether he’s asked a question he doesn’t want to answer or is asked to do something he doesn’t want to do, he’s never backed down. He has a strong sense of self-respect and can be quite stubborn.”

“During conversations, he describes past events very clearly and logically, seldom using uncertain phrases such as ‘maybe,’ ‘it seems like,’ ‘should be.’ He’s quite confident in his memory.”

“His physical condition is very good; his abdominal and back muscle groups, his core strength, is very strong. He sits uprightly and can maintain the position for a long time.”

“He also remained energetic after over four hours of playing cards and constantly calculating and remembering cards without showing any signs of fatigue.”

“He drank a 500ml bottle of mineral water and didn’t go to the bathroom once for over four hours, with no signs of deliberately holding back. He has a good bladder. ”

Both Yang Zhen’er and Tang Baona listened seriously until this point, but then they found their foreheads become furrowed. This was getting weird!

But in retrospect, it did seem that Xiang Kun didn’t leave the couch or go to the restroom even once from the moment he arrived to when he left, and he had drunk an entire bottle of mineral water.

“What about the animal analogy question? Did you notice anything from that?” Tang Baona asked.

Yang Zhen’er immediately answered. “T know this one! He used a cow to

describe himself, proving that he thinks he is as honest as a cow, accepting of labor and diligent! He used a sika deer to describe Nana, thinking Nana was cute! He used a fox to describe old Xia, finding Xia too clever! He used a monkey… Umm, this bald guy is afraid of her majesty now!”

Xia Libing ignored her monkey-like cousin, and said to Tang Baona, “Before he described himself, his eyebrows were wrinkled, his mouth was pursed, and his eyes looked downward with a momentary hesitation, indicating that he has worries and doubts about his current situation and future.”

Tang Baona nodded, “That’s understandable, considering the company he was working for just went under, and he hasn’t determined his future employment yet.”

Xia Libing continued, “In terms of our estimation, he was most certain about his judgement to his cousin, but not so sure about Nana or me. He was easy to understand, but hearing from you all, as Nana has known him longer than his cousin and they met through blind dating, it indicates that his impression of

Nana is constantly changing.”

“What does that mean?” Tang Baona seemed a bit baffled.

Yang Zhen’er said, “Just say directly, whether ‘Teacher Saitama’ is interested in

Nana, whether he likes her or not.”

Tang Baona frowned, gave her friend a tap and snapped, “Can I just simply want to be friends!”

Xia Libing shook her head, “I can’t tell, but from tonight’s performance, except for when you guys pushed him to eat watermelon, which showed a bit of disgust and resistance, there was no negative emotions at other times. It should be no problem if you guys hang out with him and not push him to eat watermelon.”

Suddenly remembering something, Xia Libing added, “Oh, right, he said he’s only been in one relationship, that could be a bit dodgy.”

“You mean he’s been in more than one? But he is thirty years old, having had five, six or even seven, eight relationships is normal, right? He couldn’t have had twenty, thirty relationships, right?” Yang Zhen’er looked puzzledly at Tang Baona, “If he really was a playboy with too much relationship experience, your Brother Bin and Sister Han wouldn’t have introduced him to you. Besides, he doesn’t look like…”

Xia Libing didn’t say anything else. She drew her long legs onto the couch, picked up her phone and started looking at an English document, not participating in the two older sisters’ discussion about Xiang Kun.

As for Xiang Kun, there were some judgments she hadn’t mentioned, because she herself wasn’t too sure, and she knew the two older sisters weren’t interested in that..