茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter Ninety-Three: Bald Man

“I saw in the group chat that he said he’s not going back to America this time? What about his company?” Xiang Kun asked curiously.

Chang Bin replied, “Apparently he couldn’t carry on, so he sold it. I’m not really sure about the details, we can ask him when we see him later.”

Then Chang Bin seemed to remember something and asked Xiang Kun, “Oh right, how are things going with you and Nana? Xiao Han brought it up with

Nana’s sister a while ago, and it seems like you two have been going out often?” “Err, we’re just ordinary friends now,” Xiang Kun replied.

“Right, Nana told her sister the same thing,” Chang Bin nodded, then couldn’t help but start to laugh, “Starting out as friends is the right way to go. Your previous ‘starving tiger pouncing on its prey’ approach to courting was ineffective. Scaring them off with an aggressive attack right out of the gate.” Xiang Kun was confused, “Isn’t that how blind dates are supposed to work?”

“One might think so, but unless the other party took a liking to you immediately, you may come off as too pushy, too eager, and suffocating, causing them to retreat. There needs to be a process of understanding each other gradually, then further development is possible. Not just for blind dates, but this principle applies in business, and the workplace, as well.”

Reflecting on his unsuccessful blind dates from the previous years, Xiang Kun asked, “Why haven’t you told me this before?”

“Have I not mentioned it to you? Think about it…” Chang Bin smirked and glanced at his friend, “You always do things according to your own ideas. You never really listen to what others tell you. You’re always blinded by beauty..

Xiang Kun remained silent but thought to himself that it seemed to be true. Since college, every plan Chang Bin came up with as his “strategy consultant” was rejected by him. His own plans, on the other hand, never seemed to work. It seemed like things might go well with Tang Baona, but it just so happens to be the time when he decided not to pursue love.

Just before they reached the airport, Chang Bin had already called Zi Cheng and found out he had landed and was waiting for them at the entrance.

In the distance, they saw a chubby man wearing a short-sleeve shirt and round glasses, looking at his phone outside the glass doors. Xiang Kun told Chang Bin to park the car in advance, then took off his glasses and said, “I’ll get out first and greet Zi Cheng.”

Chang Bin was momentarily stunned. He then realized what Xiang Kun’s intention was and chuckled.

After getting out of the car without his glasses, Xiang Kun walked straight up to the chubby man standing outside the arrival hall. He bumped into him lightly with his shoulder.

The chubby man’s hand shook, and he almost dropped his phone. He glared at the person who bumped into him and exclaimed, “Hey? You…”

But when he saw the man was a sturdy bald man, whose sculpted arm muscles were visible under his short-sleeved shirt, the chubby man instinctively averted his gaze.

“What’s up?” asked Baldy, as he came to a halt and came back to the chubby man.

The chubby man took a step or two to the side and looked down at his phone, muttering, “Nothing, nothing..

“Did I bump into you just now?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. No big deal,” the chubby man replied, still looking at his phone.

Suppressing his laughter, Xiang Kun moved a bit closer and said, “How about I treat you to a meal to make it up to you?”

“What?” The chubby man was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously looked up at Baldy, then immediately looked down again, saying hastily, “Ah? No,

no…”

“Then how about you treat me to a meal? Look, you’ve made my shoulder all

swelled up…’

“I… I’m going to call security, I’ll have you know. My friend is about to pick me up, and if you don’t leave right now, I’m reporting this…”

Xiang Kun continued to press, “Why would you report this? I just wanted to share a meal with you, didn’t we already agree on this?”

“Who agreed with you… don’t come over…”

“Hey, Brother Zi Cheng, didn’t we agree on WeChat? We were going to have dinner together tonight, and play League of Legends, how could you forget so soon?”

While the chubby man was dialing Chang Bin’s number, he said, “What WeChat agreement? I don’t have you on WeChat…uh…”

Suddenly, he froze, realizing that Baldy had called him by his nicknames, the ones only used by their college dorm buddies. He looked up at Baldy again.

The muscular bald man slowly put on a pair of black glasses, and his mouth slowly curled up into what he believed to be a bright smile.

“Long time no see, Brother Zi Cheng.”

The chubby man adjusted his glasses and stared at Xiang Kun for a good while before he could finally confirm his identity. He yelled out and threw his arms around Xiang Kun in a bear hug, “Holy shit! It’s you… Damn, you scared the crap out of me!!”

Not far away, Chang Bin was filming the whole scene on his phone. He was already laughing so hard he was tearing up. As soon as Xiang Kun took off his glasses, he knew what his friend was going to do. Xiang Kun has changed a lot. Without his glasses, let alone Zi Cheng, who hasn’t seen him for years, even he wouldn’t be able to recognize Xiang Kun at first glance.

Shortly after, in Chang Bin’s car, Zi Cheng, the chubby man, was still examining Xiang Kun in disbelief, reaching out to touch his bald head, only to be swatted away.

“Damn, Ah Tu, you’ve changed so damn much. Weren’t you working in mobile application development? How did you become like…this?” Zi Cheng was still finding it difficult to accept Xiang Kun’s current appearance, which was far too different from the Xiang Kun of his memory.

“Well, I just thought about losing some weight and exercising a bit before, but it became addictive. As for my hair, it left me, and there wasn’t much I could do about it,” said Xiang Kun casually.

While driving, Chang Bin thought about the scene outside the waiting hall just now and couldn’t help but laugh, “Zi Cheng, you were such a coward just now.”

Zi Cheng glanced at him, “A big man who looks like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson came up looking for trouble, you’d be scared too if you were in my shoes.” As he said this, he couldn’t resist reaching out again to pinch Xiang Kun’s triceps, mumbling, “How the hell did he get so ripped…”

Chang Bin drove them to a popular small restaurant. Although it was located in a secluded area and the decor was rather shabby, business was booming. If it hadn’t been for Chang Bin’s early reservation of a private room, there wouldn’t have been a table available when they arrived.

After Chang Bin finished ordering and called for some beer, he looked in Xiang Kun’s direction. Upon receiving a negative answer, he didn’t insist further and just poured drinks for himself and Zi Cheng.

This was how it had always been when they went out to eat during college. Whether or not they drank alcohol was up to each individual. Whatever one wanted to drink and how much was up to them. They all knew Xiang Kun didn’t like to drink.

In fact, Zi Cheng’s alcohol tolerance was also poor. After three cans, his face would turn red, his neck thick, and he would begin to slur his as words. In contrast, Chang Bin had a good capacity for alcohol. Xiang Kun had never seen him drunk. At the graduation party, Chang Bin drank at least half a box of beer and still managed to remain composed and articulate.

Xiang Kun had brought along a small cobblestone, planning to swallow it in the restroom later. After symbolically eating a bit, he would then find an opportunity to go to the restroom to dispose of it, then sit out the rest of the meal. There shouldn’t be any problems..