茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Xiang Kun was busy with the ingredients in the kitchen, but his attention was naturally focused on Xia Libing and his parents. He was quite curious about how Old Xia would probe for information from his parents.

At first, Xia Libing didn’t take the initiative to say much because Mrs. Xiang talked a lot. Sometimes she would offer her tea, sometimes fruit, sometimes asking about her work and life, and sometimes asking about her impression of Citong.

Xia Libing answered every question sincerely and in great detail, clearly introducing her educational background, work status, and family situation in no time.

Upon hearing that she has two master’s degrees, both Mr. and Mrs. Xiang instinctively sat up a little straighter with a feeling of respect.

Honestly speaking, just judging by her looks, they all thought Xia Libing had just graduated from college. After all, Xiang Kun had said that his “friend’s younger sister” was several years younger than him and she indeed seemed very youthful.

Xiang Kun, cooking in the kitchen, quickly guessed Old Xia’s strategy, which was “To take something, one must first give something.” Old Xia didn’t ask any questions at the beginning but simply answered and introduced herself. The purpose was to let his parents understand her and establish a sense of trust before proceeding with the information gathering.

Anyway, judging from Old Xia’s resume, she seemed to be a well-behaved girl and a top student, whose resume was even more impressive and perfect than Xiang Kun’s, with no apparent flaws.

Of course, in this process, it also helped her understand part of Mr. and Mrs. Xiang’s individual characters and habits to find the best way to probe with words.

These were all judgments made by Xiang Kun based on Old Xia’s knowledge background, her usual actions, and the established cognitive model.

As expected, as Mrs. Xiang asked how Old Xia and Xiang Kun met, Old Xia began to control the pace of the conversation and the direction of information.

“My cousins often invite Xiang Kun for playing cards and I join them, that’s how I got to know him. We don’t play for money, just for pure fun. Xiang Kun is really smart, he’s great at poker. Basically, we can’t win against him. Auntie, was Kun always this smart when he was little? Were his grades also very good in school?”

Mrs. Xiang chuckled, “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call him smart. Our Kun has always been curious since he was little. He can spend half a day ‘studying’ whatever he gets his hands on. He is more patient than most children and can sit still. When he was in kindergarten, he was so interested in large jigsaw puzzles. Other children would lose interest after a while of no progress, but he could sit there for several hours a day for several days in a row until the puzzle was complete. I originally thought he liked puzzles and bought him one for his birthday, but he didn’t touch it as he didn’t enjoy it. Studying was the same. Even if he has no interest in the textbook, as long as he knows it will be on the test, he could spend time understanding it patiently.”

Xia Libing said, “It’s rare to have patience. No wonder Kun can code, carve wood, and write calligraphy. All of these require a lot of thought and ability to sit still.”

“Indeed, his calligraphy is pretty good. When we first moved to Tongshi Town following Xiang Kun’s dad, Kun didn’t have many playmates during the summer vacation, so he learned calligraphy from the old man next door, who often praised him for his focus. As for coding, it started in middle school. Was it in the second year or the first year? He pestered his dad to buy him a computer. He promised not to install games and wanted to learn programming and software development. He said Bill Gates became the world’s richest man by coding. He really tricked us into buying him the computer. Although he indeed learned coding and won an amateur competition, which got him a bunch of CD-ROMs as prizes, he mostly used it to play games. What’s the name of that game… something ‘Alert’? As for wood carving, I’ve never seen him do that! Every time we talk on the phone, he says he is working overtime, super busy. When does he have time to carve wood?” Mrs. Xiang rambled on revealing Xiang Kun’s secrets, “In all this, the wood carvings? I’ve never seen him do that before! Every time I call him, he tells me that he’s working overtime and is too busy… How does he find time for wood carving?”

“Kun’s wood carvings are amazing, Auntie, look at this, it’s a gift he gave to a friend. And this one too.”

Judging from the sound, Xia Libing must have been showing the wood carvings that Xiang Kun sent as gifts to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er on her phone.

After chatting about the wood carvings for some time, Xia Libing said, “Kun is fantastic at cooking, particularly good at cooking rabbit meat. His cooking is delicious. He must have inherited your cooking skills, n’est-ce pas?”

“Rabbit meat? I don’t know how to cook it…His style of cooking is different from mine. He finds recipes online and makes something fancy out of them. But, got to admit, they taste quite good.”

Xia Libing said: “Kun said he only started wanting to learn cooking a few months ago, it looks like he really has a talent for cooking. He must have inherited it from you, Auntie.”

Mrs. Xiang also sighed, saying, “Ah, this kid. I don’t know if it’s because he shaved his head, but he suddenly wised up. He never used to cook. If I didn’t make food, he’d just have instant noodles or bread. But if given a choice, I’d prefer him to keep his hair…”

“Xiang Kun’s hair can still grow back, right?”

“Who knows? I ‘ordered’ him to keep it, but it’s been almost three months since he last came back, and there hasn’t been a hint of hair growth. I’m really worried that his head has gotten used to being bald and forgotten how to grow hair…” Mrs. Xiang’s tone was filled with concern, sorrow, and self-deprecating humor.

Xiang Kun in the kitchen heard this and subconsciously raised his hand to feel his bald head but promptly realized his hands were covered in water and minced meat and forcefully repressed the movement.

From Old Xia’s way of leading the conversation, Xiang Kun figured out her strategy.

She was praising Xiang Kun as a way to induce Mrs. Xiang to openly talk about her past impressions of Xiang Kun. Even if they humbly critique or poke fun at their own child when others praise them, parents are always pleased. Whether they continue to “praise themselves” or be modest, it will further open up the conversation and enhance the talkativeness, bringing up related topics.

In the living room, Mrs. Xiang, discussing Xiang Kun’s appearance, shifted the topic, went into the room, and fetched the family photo album. She showed Xia Libing and lamented over how cute and handsome Xiang Kun was as a child.

Xia Libing listened attentively to Mrs. Xiang’s “introduction,” occasionally agreeing, and with permission, she even snapped some photos of Xiang Kun’s childhood, primary, and secondary school years.

Then Xia Libing gracefully steered the conversation back to calligraphy, and Mrs. Xiang led her to Xiang Kun’s room.

According to Mrs. Xiang, the room hadn’t changed much since they moved into the house after the renovation. The bed, desk, and cabinets were all original, so they were a bit old now. A couple of the cabinets and drawers weren’t working well. Several posters on the wall had creasing lines and magazine titles printed on them, all computer-related hardware or software, evidently inserts provided with the magazines.

Xia Libing saw the calligraphy exercises Xiang Kun had done in the past, including a piece featuring Jia Dao’s poem ‘Swordsman’ that Xiang Kun uploaded online during junior high and many other works from various periods that she had not seen before.

Xia Libing didn’t actively touch things in Xiang Kun’s room. She seemed to be just “passively” following Mrs. Xiang, listening to her explanations.

However, she silently observed and recorded the books on Xiang Kun’s shelves, the items on his desk, and the scenes revealed when Mrs. Xiang opened the drawers or cabinets.

It was lunchtime, and they were running out of time, so Xiang Kun didn’t make the meal too elaborate. There weren’t many dishes, and the focus was on speed.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Xiang, the “guide”, Xia Libing only spent less than ten minutes in Xiang Kun’s room before Xiang Kun called them for dinner.

Six dishes and one soup were on the table. Two dishes were adjusted to Old Xia’s taste, and four dishes and one soup were to his parents’ taste.

Of course, the three’s tastes were not mutually exclusive. In general, they were quite similar. Parents trying the two dishes made for Old Xia, or Old Xia tasting the dishes made for the parents, would find them equally delicious and refreshing.

However, the harmonious atmosphere at the table and the courtesy shown by the parents and Old Xia made Xiang Kun want to laugh.

Xia Libing praised as she ate, “The stir-fried chicken made by Xiang Kun is really good.”

Mrs. Xiang helped her son be modest with a smile, “Actually, it’s a bit overcooked. There’s still room for improvement.”

Mr. Xiang pushed a dish in Xia Libing’s direction: “Xiao Xia, eat more of these mantis shrimp. I read an article online that girls should eat more seafood. It’s good for your health and it also beautifies and nourishes the skin.”

Mrs. Xiang also joined in: “Yes, yes, eat more. Do you think this eggplant dish is also good? If you have time these days, feel free to visit our house more often. I’ll have Xiang Kun cook it for you, since he’s always free.”

After finishing the meal, Xia Libing had to go back to her rented room to prepare. She had to work at the hospital in the afternoon, so Xiang Kun sent her out of the residential area to catch a ride.

At the entrance of the residential area, Xiang Kun looked at Old Xia who had already returned to her normal expression. He couldn’t help but imitate the slightly heightened tone she had consciously adjusted to earlier, pretending to choke his throat and echoing, “Xiang Kun is really good at cooking diced chicken!”

Xia Libing gave him a glance, her expression didn’t change much other than shaking her head: “Not proficient enough.”

Of course, Xiang Kun understood her meaning — she was referring to how her imitation of a good and cute girl was not proficient enough. She clearly didn’t mind telling Xiang Kun that she was only imitating and “putting on an act”. Of course, anyone who has interacted with Xia Libing in her normal state could have told that she was different than usual.

“You can simply behave as you normally do with me, Zhen’er, Nana and the others. Although elders do like good and cute children, it doesn’t mean they will only like good and cute children. Being natural is even better.” Xiang Kun smiled and remembered what he had overheard his mother complain to his father about when they had just come downstairs.

“Old Xiang, don’t always keep a straight face! When Xiao Xia was at our house just now, she was so tense all the time, it must be because of you!”

“What? I was just having a normal expression, can’t I just laugh like an idiot all the time? Don’t you always complain that it doesn’t look good when I laugh, saying that I look a bit foolish?”

“I mean you look a bit foolish when you laugh with your mouth wide open! Can’t you just smile? Lift the corner of your mouth, yes… hey? What kind of ghost expression is that? Can’t you just smile without your eyes bulging? Have you ever seen anyone with their eyes bulging like a copper bell when they smile?”

“Can you show me how to smile? Look at yourself in the mirror, doesn’t your smile look fake? If Xiao Xia was really nervous, it must have been because she was scared by your fake smile…”

“Oh? Now you think my smile is fake? Who was it that said my smile was like the moon in the sky and the flowers in spring? Now that I’m old, you think it’s fake?”

“Hey? Enough, enough, I am going off topic, I’m going to wash the dishes.”

Naturally, Xiang Kun knew that Old Xia being nervous wasn’t true.

His mother thought Old Xia was nervous because she appeared unnatural to her, a bit “forced”, so she misunderstood it as being nervous.

But Xiang Kun knew that it was not nervousness, but a state between the awkward smile she displayed at the high-speed rail station entrance and her usual facial expressions and behavior. It must have been a behavioral pattern she deliberately copied through observation.

It’s likely that Old Xia had formed this habit of imitating other people’s personalities and behavioral patterns due to her lack of basic emotional fluctuations.

These behavior patterns, in her eyes, are tools for different scenarios.

Previously, at the high-speed rail station entrance, she had successfully scared off the person who tried to make small talk with her by displaying an extremely strange, “radiant” smile that showed no actual happiness. She had also used the same expression with Xiang Kun, asking him, “Aren’t you scared?”, indicating that she knew very well what feelings this “smile” can bring about to others.

On the other hand, at Xiang Kun’s house, Xia Libing was trying to extract some information about Xiang Kun from his parents. Thus, she naturally chose to imitate a “good and cute” behavior pattern to please them.

But unfortunately, she clearly wasn’t that good at this pattern.

From Xiang Kun’s perspective, he was also more accustomed to Old Xia’s usual behavior. So whatever the state and pattern were, regardless of how well Old Xia imitated them, he would find it strange and awkward.

As for Xiang Kun’s advice, Xia Libing simply nodded in acceptance: “Okay.”

Sitting in the back seat of the taxi, watching Xiang Kun wave goodbye and turn back into the residential area, Xia Libing took out her phone and browsed through several pictures she had captured earlier from Xiang family’s family album.

Looking at the little Xiang Kun in the pictures and recalling everything Mrs. Xiang had told her, Xia Libing became more certain:

Xiang Kun must have experienced something extraordinary in the past year, leading to his various peculiarities.

Similarly, she was also certain about Xiang Kun’s attitude towards her:

Xiang Kun must have realized that she was onto him, but it seemed that he didn’t mind her probing and analysis. He was even indirectly encouraging and promoting her to continue.

Why was that?

Xia Libing reached into her coat pocket, grasping the three one yuan coins. When she closed her fingers, they perfectly held the three coins.

In addition to the one she originally had, Xiang Kun had voluntarily given her the other two coins before she got in the car as he had promised earlier.

Last night, she played a coin game with Xiang Kun with the stake being who would pay for the meal. Through behavior analysis, she knew that Xiang Kun didn’t care about this bet and he wasn’t the type of person who cares too much about winning or losing.

But he had guessed correctly all five times during the coin flips. His confidence and determination clearly indicated that he was not guessing but was absolutely certain of the results.

She knew that the coin had some peculiarities, but she wasn’t sure what they were.

Xiang Kun had guessed correctly which hand held the coin by depending on the peculiarity of the coin.

But what was he relying on when he guessed correctly for the third, fourth, and fifth time in a row?