茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

As Xiang Kun began to carve with precision, gradually working on the rough carving and polishing it, the full overview and details of the wood carving slowly became clear.

The palm-sized humanoid wood carving, in addition to eight arms, also has eight eyes, two rows of which are on the bald forehead. Inside the open mouth, one can see a row of sharp teeth. Yet, it is dressed in a sleeveless suit jacket, with suit trousers, and large leather shoes on the lower body.

It was the fear projection that emerged, influenced by Guo Tianxiang’s ability to “establish his own fear projection” when Xiang Kun was facing him before.

The fear projection he saw at that time was much richer in detail, and much more grotesque and terrifying, with various ugly flesh tumors all over the body, which was extremely disgusting.

Of course, the clothes were all bursting out, and there were no shoes on the feet, all of which were grotesque, strong limbs, and tumors.

That was the monster image he feared he would become if he became deformed.

The palm-sized boxwood carving in his hand naturally looks much more beautiful.

This little wood carving looks several sizes smaller than the saber he carved for Tang Baona before, but actually, it’s not any less difficult, especially those eight arms, which are a big challenge. Both the electric drill and the electric carving machine can easily mess it up, let alone his hand tools.

If he hadn’t carved the saber before and carved this directly, almost a hundred percent would have failed several times

And now that it’s done in one go, and that too with the wood that hasn’t established a super sensory connection, to be honest, Xiang Kun himself was very surprised, so naturally he was quite satisfied.

When he finally completed the wood carving after careful sanding, Xiang Kun found that it was already bright outside, and Canary “Jinshanshan” had already flown over to say hello once, and now it was past two o’clock in the afternoon.

Unconsciously, he was immersed in carving for over a dozen hours.

Looking at this finished eight-armed, eight-eyed monster, Xiang Kun really felt a bit reluctant to give it away.

Thinking carefully, he suddenly couldn’t remember why he chose to carve the monster of his own established fear projection and illusion. Did he want to create an “original” image at that time and unconsciously carved out this thing?

It seemed that for him now, he no longer had that fear of becoming such a monster deep down?

Where did this sense of certainty come from?

Xiang Kun moved his neck and shoulders, checked the information on the computer and phone, and found that the netizen who had worked with and outsource him before had sent another message.

“Boss, do you have a fixed project you’re working on now?”

Looking at the time of his message, Xiang Kun replied, “No, what’s up, any work to recommend?”

The last collaboration was quite pleasant, the other party paid promptly, and was a person who understood the industry, would not fuss over trivial issues, saving him a lot of trouble.

“Boss, are you interested in coming to Pengcheng to help me with a project? The general situation is…, the basic salary is…, depending on the finished effect, the financier will have extra bonuses. Based on my experience working with this financier, they are quite generous. As long as the completion isn’t too bad, the bonus basically exceeds 30% of the salary.”

Hearing the other party’s introduction, Xiang Kun was indeed a bit tempted, but going to Pengcheng was a bit tricky. With his situation, going to work is very difficult, not to mention having to lead a project. Disappearing for 25 hours a week without contact? Not having to eat when working overtime in the company? These are all troubles, so he can only refuse.

“Sorry, but I only take outsourced jobs. If this job allows me to set up a local team, then perhaps I could consider it,” Xiang Kun said. He wasn’t expecting much as projects like these usually require significant investments. Generally, companies would form their own teams or, if outsourcing is considered, they typically choose reputable local companies or teams for easier communication and future maintenance and expansion. Since the client is located in Pengcheng, finding such companies would be no challenge at all.

“I see… I’ll let them know. However, I don’t think the chances of them agreeing are high,” the response from the other end was predictable for Xiang Kun.

“Alright. By the way, why did they choose me to lead this project? The previous projects I worked on are not the same type as theirs.”

“The last project you worked on was funded by these sponsors. They have a technical director who keeps praising your work, especially the code you write. It’s logical, concise, clear, and although annotated minimally, it’s still very easy to understand. He said reading your code gives him a thrill…’

Xiang Kun was speechless and didn’t know how to respond, so he just sent a rolling panda emoji as an expression of gratitude.

On October 24th, six days after Tang Baona’s solo dinner at Xiang Kun’s house, where she enjoyed a lavish rabbit meat feast, she returned with Yang Zhen’er who had just returned from her trip. Xiang Kun prepared a six-course meal and a soup for them.

After dinner, the three played cards. Because they had to get up early for an errand the next day, Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er left before ten.

In the car, Tang Baona was admiring the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving and couldn’t quite part with it. Even though the carving was somewhat ugly and even a bit scary, she found it oddly harmonious for some reason.

“What kind of anime character is this? I’ve never seen it. Even the octopus men in One Piece only have six arms! And these eight eyes are creepy, I feel like my trypophobia is about to kick in…” Yang Zhen’er, who was pulling out of the parking lot, glanced at the palm-sized woodcarving in her friend’s hand and asked curiously.

“I asked him. He said he made it up on a whim.”

“Eight arms and eight eyes just on a whim? Hmm, I need to ask Old Xia when I get back if this represents something in psychology.”

Tang Baona looked at the woodcarving in her hand and suddenly felt hesitant about giving it to her grandpa: “This is called art, okay!”

As if remembering something, Yang Zhen’er said dismissively, “By the way, that enlightened bird at Brother Xiang’s house, it’s really called ‘Canary’? You named it, didn’t you? You and your weird tastes!”

When they were at Xiang Kun’s house, he showed them his interaction with “Canary,” which greatly surprised Yang Zhen’er. She was amazed that not only could Xiang Kun understand and interpret Canary’s expressions, but Canary could also understand Xiang Kun’s random gestures and sounds. It was simply unbelievable.

In addition to the titles of “Archery Genius,” “Culinary Genius,” and “Wood Carving Genius, ” Xiang Kun now also had the title of “Bird Language Expert,” which she found hard to believe.

“Don’t you think the name ‘Canary’ is very fitting?” Tang Baona said proudly.

“Yeah, right!” Yang Zhen’er retorted, but she couldn’t help but lick her lips, sighing, “Brother Xiang’s cooking skills are getting better and better. Not only the rabbit meat, but the lamb and pork chops were also delightful! Especially the pork chop, it was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, flavorful, juicy but not greasy. Oh, I’m at a loss for words… It feels like whatever I imagine the dishes to taste like, they end up tasting exactly that way… No, they taste even better because no matter how high my expectations are, there’s always a pleasant surprise. If he were to open a restaurant, I would invest all my money into it. He’s definitely in the wrong profession. What’s he studying coding and doing IT for, even going bald in the process. Huh, if he had started learning to cook ten years earlier, he’d probably be a top chef by now. Ah, Nana, you should just try to snag Brother Xiang, then it’ll be way more convenient for me to mooch off you guys…”

“Stop daydreaming! Drive carefully! Stop poking fun at me!” Tang Baona chided her, but seemed a bit unhappy, “However, I felt like the dry pot rabbit meat today wasn’t as good as the last time. The flavor was a bit too strong.”

If Xiang Kun had heard this comment, he wouldn’t have found it strange, not because his understanding of Tang Baona’s taste was decreasing or because his cooking was inconsistent, but because today’s dry pot rabbit meat was intended for Yang Zhen’er, so he naturally adjusted to her taste.

Friends who often dine together are expected to have similar tastes over time, but Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er, despite living together for so long, still differ significantly in their taste preferences. This often leaves Xiang Kun somewhat distressed when he cooks for both of them at the same time. He has to discern which dishes suit whose taste best..