茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter Ninety-Four: He Tells Fortunes

“What happened to your company? You said it was doing well before, so why did you suddenly return to the country?” After filling his stomach, Chang Bin asked first.

“Ugh, don’t even mention it. It’s a long story. The market environment was horrible, plus a poor judge of character—phew, people are unpredictable!” Zi Cheng took a drink, adjusted his glasses, and shrugged with a helpless expression before saying, “Ah, after so many years of struggle, I ended up empty-handed without accomplishing anything, so I had to return and inherit my family’s fortune…”

Xiang Kun and Chang Bin knew that Zi Cheng’s family was affluent—they owned many supermarkets and seemed to be involved in the real estate industry. So before he went abroad, they often teased him about how he would have to come back and inherit the family fortune if he failed overseas.

But honestly, having spent four university years with Zi Cheng, Xiang Kun would never have guessed that he was a second-generation wealthy heir. His lifestyle seemed normal—he stayed with them in a dormitory for four years, he bought the same laptop brand as them, ate instant noodles with them while playing games all night, and even crammed into subways and buses with them. This was far removed from the stereotype of a rich, privileged kid who drove around in fast cars and spent time with models. However, Zi Cheng was not stingy—he often insisted on paying the bill when they ate out and occasionally added items to their dorm.

“It might be better for you to have returned, actually. There are more opportunities in our country nowadays. If you get the right project, you could potentially do better than in America, especially with the support from your family,” Xiang Kun commented from the side.

Zi Cheng shook his head: “No more struggling for me. I’ll just follow my family’s arrangements. My old man wants to set up unmanned supermarkets, which is somewhat related to what I studied, so he asked me to take responsibility for it. Ah Tu, I heard from Ah Bin that your previous company closed down. If you haven’t found a new job, would you consider helping me? I’m actually just a commandeer without soldiers right now, which is quite distressing… ”

Chang Bin joked, “He’s desperate to stay in this city, so there’s no way he’d follow you. Don’t worry about his job. As soon as he’s got enough rest, I can arrange a job for him at any time.”

Xiang Kun knew his friends were considering his best interests and was touched. He pondered for a moment before saying, “I plan to sell my house soon and return to my hometown.”

“What?” Chang Bin, who had just confidently stated that Xiang Kun was dead set on staying in the city, was immediately taken aback and asked doubtfully, “You can’t be serious. You’re not giving up in the face of a little setback, are you? That’s unlike you. Can your specialty really take off in your hometown? The IT industry isn’t like retailing—done by Zi Cheng and his folks—which you can do in any city. Plus, weren’t you and…” He initially wanted to say that Xiang Kun and Tang Baona were developing pretty well, but recalling Xiang Kun’s intention to return to his hometown made it apparent what his stance was regarding their progression, so he refrained from saying more and decided to ask about the specifics later.

Xiang Kun replied, “I’m done with the internet. I’m planning to start a farm and raise chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and the like.”

At this, both Chang Bin and Zi Cheng are stunned. This wasn’t the Xiang Kun they recalled.

Could it be that the closure of the company he had worked for seven years really hit him that hard?

But they also knew that Xiang Kun was always headstrong—it was difficult to change his mind once he’d made a decision. So they didn’t try to talk him out of it. The two exchanged glances, deciding to find another opportunity to ask him again later.

The conversation then turned to their university years, and the biggest regret Zi Cheng expressed was, “Damn it, the thing I regret most about university is not having had a serious relationship!”

Xiang Kun nodded in agreement. After starting a job, it is, indeed, more difficult to get into a relationship like during university—back then, everything was simpler and purer. Now, there’s just too much to worry about. He often wondered what it would’ve been like if he had found a girlfriend in university and not long after graduation, they got married? Hmm, then regarding the incident of turning into a vampire, what would his wife have done? She probably wouldn’t have turned him in…

Chang Bin dismissed their sentiments with contempt. He scoffed, “Come on, you guys. How many times did I take you to the art and foreign language department’s activities back in university? How many times did I bring you along to help the girls fix their computers? And you were too engrossed in the tasks. When they offered to treat you to a meal as thanks, do you remember how you responded? ‘There’s a guild event tonight, let’s do it another time…”‘

Compared to Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng, Chang Bin, with his handsome face and charming personality, had solid people skills. He made a bunch of acquaintances from various departments in his first year of university itself and later became close to many junior and senior girls.

Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng looked at each other, speechless. Over their university years. when they were not playing Warcraft, they were developing some useless small programs.

Reflecting on their biggest achievement in university, it seemed to be leading their guild to achieve a first kill of a final boss in a certain version of the game on their server…

“Zi Cheng, when you were in the U.S., didn’t you find yourself a blonde girlfriend? Logically speaking, given your high academic qualifications and status as a boss, you should have easily found a girl who liked you!” Chang Bin asked further.

Zi Cheng took a small sip of beer, adjusted his glasses, and replied, pursing his lips, “Well, in America, I was quite a hit. Whether it was blonde girls, Latin American hotties, or African American women, I had fun and enjoyable conversations with all of them…

“Who cares about your conversations? Just tell us whether or not you established close friendships with them!” Xiang Kun interrupted, laughing.

Zi Cheng fixed Xiang Kun with a serious look. “I’m a patriot. I like the girls of my own country. So even though the American girls tried their best to woo me, I stuck by my principles and resisted them.”

Chang Bin almost spat out his drink with laughter, pointing at Zi Cheng, “You didn’t go abroad and become so shy that you couldn’t even talk to a girl alone, did you?”

Zi Cheng glared at him, “How is it possible? My company had more than ten girls! Forget it. After dinner, let’s go to a bar, and I’ll show you that I’m an excellent flirt…”

However, after dinner, Chang Bin received a call from his fiancée, Wang Han, who seemed to need him for something, so he left his car keys with Xiang Kun and asked him to accompany Zi Cheng, while he took a taxi home.

Xiang Kun took Zi Cheng to a bar recommended by Chang Bin. The place allegedly had a great ambiance and was relatively quieter, frequented by girls from nearby universities.

Upon entering the bar, Xiang Kun also felt the environment was much quieter than the bars he remembered from his past. There were plenty of people, but except for a female singer singing Qi Qin’s “Past Events with the Wind,” there were no loud noises from the customers.

Zi Cheng ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail for himself, while Xiang Kun

ordered soda water…

Not long after, a stylish girl with chestnut hair and streaks of purple walked up to them, asking if they would like to buy her a drink.

Xiang Kun expected Zi Cheng to promptly agree, but instead, he just smiled and shook his head, “We’re old classmates and haven’t seen each other for a long time. We’d like to chat, sorry.”

The girl smiled, not bothered at all as she walked away.

Xiang Kun curiously asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to come to the bar to show off what you’ve learned in America? How come you refused so quickly?”

Zi Cheng raised an eyebrow: “She’s a plant, only here for our money, not for a genuine conversation. These kind of exchanges have no meaning. We’re looking for a truly intellectual and spirited conversation.”

Xiang Kun laughed, “Not bad, you’ve learned to spot a plant so quickly?” He, of course, knew she was a plant from the moment they entered the bar, because he overheard the bartender’s quiet instructions to her.

Zi Cheng adjusted his glasses, “Isn’t it obvious? You and me, a chubby four-eyed nerd and a bald four-eyed nerd, how can a decent girl come over and strike up a conversation with us…”

“…” Xiang Kun surprisingly felt that his conclusion made sense.

After the performing female singer finished another old song, Zi Cheng nudged Xiang Kun with his elbow and whispered: “Ten o’clock direction, two girls, both eights.”

Xiang Kun looked in the direction Zi Cheng pointed out and indeed saw two girls sitting at a small round table. They seemed to be in their early twenties, one with short hair just above her ears, slightly tan skin, and seemed to be into outdoor activities. The other girl was wearing glasses, dressed in a jade-green long dress, and radiated an intellectual vibe.

From this angle, Xiang Kun could only see the facial features of the girl with glasses and the side profile of the short-haired girl, but they indeed looked pretty.

“Go on, strike up a conversation, aren’t you a returned overseas student and a former CEO? Show them some confidence!” Xiang Kun urged as he smiled.

Zi Cheng took a sip of his non-alcoholic cocktail while frowning, hesitated for a bit, and then said to Xiang Kun: “Should I introduce myself when I go over there? ‘Good evening, ladies. I am Thomas Liu, recently returned from America.’ Uh, no. These days, we’re supposed to use the term ‘sisters’ instead of ‘ladies’, and ‘Thomas Liu’ sounds too pretentious, better just say Liu Chuang…”

Looking at Zi Cheng mumbling, Xiang Kun sighed in resignation. Even after the alcohol wears off, he is still the Zi Cheng he knows. A few years abroad and his personality is still unchanged.

He took a quick glance at the two girls, pulled Zi Cheng over, and whispered for a few minutes.

After hearing Xiang Kun’s advice, Zi Cheng adjusted his glasses, blinked, looked at his friend skeptically, and said: “Will this work? Won’t I just get kicked out before I can finish talking?”

“How will we know if we don’t try? Don’t worry, it will definitely be better than what you have in mind.” Xiang Kun asserted.

“Are you coming with me?”

“If you don’t go, I’m driving you back to the hotel to sleep.”

“Fine, damn it. Worst case scenario, I’ll get called a nut…”

After Zi Cheng walked toward the two girls, Xiang Kun’s gaze didn’t follow, but the conversation over there reached his ears.

“Excuse me ladies, my name is Liu Chuang. I run a chain of supermarkets and I have another identity as one of the 113th-generation disciples of Maoshan, specializing in fortune-telling. It seems to me this lady is facing some difficulty…”

“I know how this might sound like a scam, but you can hear the information I’ve gathered about you two through face reading. If I’m wrong, I will leave immediately…”

“The lady with short hair must have just returned from abroad. Um, I guess it nasn’t Deen more tnan a weeK. coincidentally, 1 too nave just returnea rrom abroad although based on my calculations, you returned from Europe, which is not where I was…

“The lady with glasses, like myself, you are a student at ** University, um, a graduate student. From your facial features, I guess you are a Scorpio. Whereas, the short-haired lady is a Leo…”

“Even though both of you, ladies, have a lot of suitors, you are currently single…”

“Judging from your complexion, I think you both had hot pot for dinner? Wow, having hot pot in this weather, you ladies have quite a taste.”

Upon hearing this, Xiang Kun noticed that Zi Cheng had taken a seat next to the two girls and he nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, these were the lines he taught Zi Cheng. From the moment they entered the bar, Xiang Kun had gotten into the habit of using all his senses to unconsciously gather information about the people around him.

Regarding the two girls, he had overheard conversations between them. The short-haired girl had just returned from the UK four days ago. She mentioned a boy who proposed to her at her birthday party last month, but was rejected and ended up in the swimming pool. The girl with glasses talked about her upcoming birthday next month and asked the short-haired girl to join her for the celebration. She also mentioned moving out of the graduate dormitory and finding housing off campus, near ** University which happens to be close to the bar they were at.

From their conversation, Xiang Kun was able to deduce useful information about the two girls. Of course, assuming the girl who had a birthday last month is a Leo could mean she might be a Virgo, but the probability makes it more likely that she is a Leo. The same logic was used to guess that the bespectacled girl is a Scorpio. If the guesses were wrong, then Zi Cheng would just have to admit he was wrong.

As to what they had for dinner, it was determined by the smell on them.

Xiang Kun originally thought that with this combination of “blows” , Zi Cheng should be able to chat with the two girls for a while. To his surprise, it didn’t take long before Zi Cheng was too lost to answer the girls’ questions. Without a second thought, he pointed to Xiang Kun who was sitting at the bar, drinking soda and browsing his phone: “My friend told me all that. He…. he knows how to tell fortunes!”