茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter Ninety-Two: Zi Cheng

Xiang Kun watched the first season of One Punch Man overnight. Seeing the slowly brightening sky outside, he felt a tinge of nostalgia. It had been a long time since he had watched an entire anime or series consecutively.

Ever since he started working, he felt a strong sense of urgency. He constantly encouraged himself to stay busy, never allowing a moment of relaxation. This habit remained even after the mutation.

In the past, whenever he was not working, once he had spare time, he’d experience an inexplicable sense of guilt. He felt he was still far from his initial goal and wasn’t working hard enough.

In fact, a year ago, he had noticed that the company’s path seemed somewhat awry, as if the direction of development had been impeded by the giants, making it difficult to stand out.

But he kept being optimistic, perhaps there was a chance for a turn of events? He didn’t want to admit that his years of effort and dedication would eventually be fruitless. He was unwilling to give up the motivation and hope that had sustained him for so many years, until the moment reality hit.

So when the boss, who was just two years older than him, told everyone in a tired and depressed manner that the company was finished, his heart sunk to the bottom. However, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

Xiang Kun let out a long sigh, maybe he should relax a bit? After all, for now, he probably wasn’t going to die.

His gaze returned to the computer screen, where episode 12 was automatically replaying from the beginning.

Witnessing the bald-headed hero on the screen, he was a super-strong character who could defeat all opponents with one punch. Yet, when not fighting monsters, he was often seen using coupons, hopping from one supermarket to another to purchase discounted food items…

He called himself a “hero for fun”, focusing on the act of being a hero, not for fame, profit, or to prove his strength.

Xiang Kun knew that even though, in a sense, he had become a “superhuman” and a “strong character”, he had never thought about being a “superhero”. After all, the circumstances were different and there weren’t as many situations that required his rescue.

Unless he absolutely had to intervene, he wouldn’t take the initiative to look for troubles.

Punishing crime was the police’s job. Heroes could only help certain individuals, while it was the order that maintained the majority.

Furthermore, compared to helping others, what he worried about most was whether he would be exposed…

After all, he was a rather selfish person.

But now, he had his own interests, which were guiding, developing, and training his mutated body, and investigating the origin of all these changes.

This was not only for survival but also out of interest.

According to the plan he set at the beginning of the Blood-drinking Period, he should have trained at home today. But Xiang Kun changed his mind at the last minute, deciding to switch up his training location and program.

He took the subway and bought a ticket to the final stop.

Although there were vacant seats, he didn’t sit. Instead, he stood in a corner observing the passengers on the subway.

Actually, the subway was the best place for him to train his observational ability. It offered a closed space, a large number of people, constant movement, and a fixed downtime.

Previously, his ability to collect and process sensory information wasn’t strong enough, so going to coffee shops made it easier for him.

But now his brain could fully handle sensory information at a satisfying speed. He could easily observe and assess all passengers in the carriage during one stop.

This was the route he took every day in the past.

Looking at the people in the carriage staring at their phones, the office workers, and the middle school students, Xiang Kun saw a reflection of his past self.

Rushing between studies and work, for the goals and future he had set for himself.

He wanted to earn a lot of money using his abilities to buy a big house, to get married, have children, to retire his parents in the same city, provide his family a comfortable life, make friends, family and the industry acknowledge his abilities…

This was the hope and effort direction Xiang Kun had in the past. Now, everything naturally has changed. Although he had plans and arrangements, he found it hard to really imagine what his future would look like.

This made him feel a bit lost yet at the same time, somewhat excited.

After several transfers and round trips on the subway, he originally planned to stay until around 8 PM. However, he received a call from his old friend Chang Bin at around 3 PM.

“Where are you? Let’s have dinner together!” Chang Bin said right off the bat.

Upon hearing about dinner, Xiang Kun’s first reaction was one of refusal. But Chang Bin’s next sentence made him hesitate for a moment, and then he changed his mind.

“Zi Cheng is back. I’ll come pick you up and we’ll go meet him together. He leaves for Zhejiang tomorrow after staying in the city for the night.”

Xiang Kun took the subway to the agreed station with Chang Bin. After paying the overtime fee and exiting, he saw Chang Bin’s Volkswagen a short distance away: “Hurry up! I can’t park here!”

Rushing into the car, Xiang Kun asked while fastening his seat belt, “When did Zi Cheng get back?”

Zi Cheng, like Chang Bin, was also Xiang Kun’s dorm mate. The four people in their dormitory used to get along quite well. However, another dormmate had a girlfriend since his freshman year, and he often spent time alone with her. In his sophomore year, he rented a house outside with his girlfriend. As a result, Xiang Kun, Chang Bin, and Zi Cheng often hung out together.

Zi Cheng’s real name is Liu Chuang. “Zi Cheng” is a nickname given by Xiang

Kun.

The nickname seems to have nothing to do with his real name at first, but initially, Xiang Kun called him “Chuang Wang”. But Liu Chuang was a somewhat introverted chubby boy when he first arrived at school, so the nickname “Chuang Wang” didn’t go well with his personality. Slowly, the name Li Zicheng, who was known as Chuang Wang, became his nickname.

Zi Cheng also gave Xiang Kun a nickname. When they first arrived at the dormitory, the counselor came to call their names. Since the dormitory member list was handwritten, Xiang Kun’s handwriting was a bit clunky and ugly so the counselor read his name as “Xiang Tu Shen”.

Thus, Zi Cheng called him “Tu Shen” and eventually started calling him “Ah

Although Chang Bin had always taken care of Xiang Kun, if he had to name the best friend during his college years, it would probably be Zi Cheng.

Zi Cheng went to study in America after graduation under his family’s arrangement and later started a business there, which was said to be doing quite well. Plus, with Xiang Kun busy at work, they gradually lost contact, only sporadically chatting in the WeChat group.

As he drove, Chang Bin said, “He’s been back for a week. He mentioned it in the group before his return. Didn’t you read the message?”

Xiang Kun was taken aback. Picking up his phone, he scrolled down and indeed saw in their dormitory group, a message from Zi Cheng mentioning his return to China. It also talked about visiting their city today and Chang Bin’s reply to pick him up and meet him.

Xiang Kun was somewhat embarrassed. He had set most of the WeChat groups to Do Not Disturb, and he had a lot of groups. He hadn’t checked the messages in these groups recently, so he only knew that Zi Cheng was back in the

country now..