茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

“Oh dear! Chef Xiang, you really needn’t be so kind. It’s good to have you back. Why are you carrying all these things?” Once she saw Xiang Kun with all these packages, Yang Zhen Er couldn’t help but joke and try to grab his stuff.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Kun directly shoves those bags into her hands, laughing, “Of course, of course! We have many specialties in Citong.”

Before she knew it, Yang Zhen Er found Xiang Kun had already exited the terminal with Old Xia and Tang Bao Na, who was smirking behind her hand. She hurriedly followed, carrying all the bags, “Hey! Chef Xiang! Nana! Old Xia! Help me with these, why are you giving them all to me? Oh come on, I’m going to drop them, really I will…”

“You can throw them away. After all, those are meant for you guys to eat.” Xiang Kun laughed back, proceeding forward without looking back, pushing Old Xia and Tang Baona along.

“Hey! You’re really leaving?” Yang Zhen Er looked at the pile of bags Xiang Kun shoved into her hands, most of which seemed to be vacuum-packed food, so she frowned for a moment, then begrudgingly half-dragged, half-carried them out of the terminal.

Once Yang Zhen Er exited the terminal, looking like a penguin carrying bags, she spotted the trio hiding not far away. She immediately dropped her load, complaining, “You really ditched me, huh? I can forgive Xiang Kun for not being a gentleman, but Nana, Old Xia, I’ve been so nice to you guys! You leave me behind too? Where’s the loyalty, the love?”

Tang Baona immediately came up to help, laughing, “Xiang Kun made a bet with me when we left earlier. I thought you would get angry and drop everything, but he said you wouldn’t dare to throw away food. You’d definitely carry it all out.” She shook her head regretfully, “Ah, I can’t believe I lost.”

Xiang Kun and Old Xia also came over to help her carry. “Admit it, Old Yang, you’re just greedy for the food I brought.”

Yang Zhen Er gave him a kick, “Old Yang my ass! I’m not a glutton! I just appreciate that you brought all this stuff for us and didn’t feel good about ditching it… anyway, it’s not because I’m a foodie. But did you really need to bring so much? I’d believe you if you said you were trying to open a store…”

Xiang Kun kept moving and said, “It’s not just for you two, but also Chang Bin, Yang Zhuo, Yang Jie, Zhang Qian. There’s also a portion for Zi Cheng…”

When Yang Zhen Er looks surprised, clearly feeling deceived, Tang Baona laughingly patted her shoulder, “You can have my share.”

“Eh? Eh? Nana, I’m not a glutton!”

The group made it to the parking lot amid laughter. When they got in the car, Yang Zhen Er looked Xia Libing up and down, “Old Xia, have you put on weight?”

After considering for a second, Xia Libing replied, “Though I haven’t weighed myself, considering my caloric intake recently, that is possible.”

“How many of the five meals Xiang Kun owes you has he paid back yet?” Tang Baona joked.

Xia Libing corrected, “I owe him five meals, actually.” He thought for a while and said, “Strictly speaking, buying groceries from the supermarket counts as two meals. He came to my house and ‘made’ a meal using the ingredients I bought, so there are two left. ”

Tang Baona asked curiously, “What about not ‘strictly speaking’?”

Xia Libing replied, “He made a few meals from leftovers. They were too simple, and I didn’t buy any new ingredients, so they don’t count. Also, he invited me for a meal at his place on New Year’s Eve, and sent me supper that night. So, in a ‘truly strict sense’, he owed me two more meals which should be added. Meaning I still ‘owe’ him four meals.”

Xiang Kun, who had just stowed their luggage in the trunk, opened the back seat door while complaining, “Old Xia, when did you learn your cousin’s rogue-like logic? If we keep counting this way, the meals I owe you… eh? No, I mean the meals you owe me, you’d never be able to finish in your lifetime…”

Tang Baona laughed, “Xiang Kun still owes me a whole bunch of meals too.” She had helped Xiang Kun with voice samples and video editing for ‘Youlong Play Rabbit’, for which he had promised “banquets” each time – far from being paid back in full.

Xiang Kun said helplessly, “Anyway, whether you’re treating me or I’m treating you, I’m the one who’s going to be cooking.”

“But that’s because you’re a great cook! You wouldn’t dare eat if we made it, haha!” Laughed Tang Baona.

Yang Zhen Er, sitting in the driver’s seat, grumbled back, “Chef Xiang, you’d better be clear! What do you mean by my ‘rogue-like logic’? If I had that, why don’t you owe me several meals? Never mind, now that you’ve accused me of being a rogue, I’ll be a rogue! You bet with Nana just now, right? What was the stake? Nothing? Then listen to me. The bet is for you to win two meals from Nana. She will then transfer those two meals to me, so I ‘owe’ you two meals. Make a list of ingredients, and we’ll go grocery shopping when you have time. Then you can come over and cook!”

“How did I end up sounding like I’m being ordered around like a professional chef?” Xiang Kun laughed.

Under Yang Zhen Er’s suggestion, they didn’t go straight home. They decided to go to Old Xia’s house first, order some late-night snacks, and chat while eating.

Usually, Xiang Libing didn’t express much opinion about what to eat, but surprisingly this time he took the initiative to call for a takeout and directly suggested barbecue.

Tang Baona worried, “If we get barbecue, will Xiang Kun like it?” She thought that Xiang Kun has always been more careful about his diet and wouldn’t like to eat such calorie-dense food at night.

Xiang Kun clearly understood why Old Xia proposed having barbecue and laughed saying, “I’ve fallen for it too recently. I just love barbecues, particularly the chicken wings; they’re my favourite!”

Yang Zhen Er, who was driving, immediately exclaimed, “Eh?! Brother Xiang, you’re in the chicken wing camp? You heretic! Aren’t chicken legs aromatic? Don’t they have more meat?”

“Chicken wings are the popular choice. Let’s vote: those who like grilled chicken legs say ‘one’, those who prefer grilled chicken wings don’t need to say anything.”

“One….Hold on! Xiang Kun, you’re playing tricks on me! I’ll ask one by one, Old Xia, do you prefer chicken legs or wings?” Yang Zhen Er said loudly.

Xia Libing, sitting in the back seat, replied very simply, “Chicken wings.”

“What? Girl, I feel disappointed…Nana, your turn, you must prefer grilled chicken legs, right?”

“Well…I kind of prefer chicken wings too. I’m not much of a carnivore…” Tang Baona said, holding back her laughter.

“That’s not possible! This is not fair! You guys are doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Chicken legs are definitely tastier than wings. It’s a universally accepted fact, it’s a law! Why do you all love chicken wings? Heresy!! Fine, I’ll start a discussion online later and ask people whether they prefer chicken wings or legs!” Yang Zhen Er grumbled. “Nana, you have many followers on the B site, why don’t you post a video asking for their opinion?”

You’re kidding, right? Me, a singer, asking if people prefer grilled chicken wings or legs? Am I invading the food community?” Tang Baona laughed and replied.

“Switching to food broadcasting is also a good idea. If you agree to show your face, I guarantee you’ll gain followers faster than singing. Hey, here’s an idea, do one episode of you eating chicken legs and one episode of wings. Then see which gets more likes and coins, how about it?” Yang Zhen Er suggested with an expression that said she had just had a great idea.

“You do the broadcasting!” Tang Baona helplessly replied. Then she remembered something, picked up her phone, found a video, and handed it to Xiang Kun. “Oh, by the way, this is a new song Apple and I recorded today. She’s getting better and better at singing. In the comments of the video I posted, lots of people are asking who the cute-sounding girl is. I’ve already talked to Professor Li about setting up an account for Apple, and next time I’ll post a video of her singing alone. I’ll help her make the mixed clip video.”

Xiang Kun listened. The song they sang together was a Cantonese song called “Hard to Find a Lover”.

Tang Baona’s voice was as astonishingly strong as ever, soaring high like an eagle. Her Cantonese pronunciation was quite natural and standard, but her powerful voice sounded somewhat strange in such a soft love song. Yet, paired with Apple’s cute voice and imprecise Cantonese, it created a peculiar contrast, which made the song sound very interesting and harmonious. In fact, it highlighted their voices’ unique features and concealed their deficiencies.

“It’s indeed wonderful,” acknowledged Xiang Kun.

Tang Baona said, “In addition to music videos, Apple can also create other types of videos, such as explaining and popularizing bird-related knowledge. She just needs to conceive the script and narration. I can help her find materials and edit the videos for her. Educational videos have become quite popular on the B site. And considering the knowledge she shared during our previous video chats, it seems like she has integrated her learnings with her own experiences. She can hear a lot of details that ordinary people can’t, so she has a lot of exclusive information and different perspectives to share. Plus, she has an appealing voice and interesting way of talking. These are her core competencies; I’m sure many people will love her videos.”

Xiang Kun agreed with her opinion and laughed, saying, “Apple is truly fortunate to have you older sisters.”

“Oh, stop it, there’s no such thing as luck or fortune. Apple is a very good girl!” Tang Baona said.

Yang Zhen Er, who was driving, also chimed in, “Indeed, Apple is smart and talented. She picks up things easily, like flipping coins; Nana and I tried for ages but couldn’t do it, while Apple got it right on her first try…Oh, Old Xia too, but Old Xia is a monster and doesn’t count.

“Eh? Brother Xiang, if you don’t take back your ‘Golden Sparkle’ soon, it might become Li’s, you know. It seems to like Apple more! Apple can command it directly; it’s very obedient and intelligent. It’s like the Border Collie among canaries! Eh, why couldn’t Nana and I get it to do anything when we tried?”

Xiang Kun chuckled, “No problem, Apple has decided to train ‘Golden Sparkle’ to be her guide bird. It makes more sense for ‘Golden Sparkle’ to stay with her as it can realize its life value better. Oh, I mean bird-life value.”

Yang Zhen Er remembered something and said, “By the way, during our video chats with Apple over the past few days, we noticed that she seemed very excited and high spirited. We asked her if something good happened during the Spring Festival, but she denied it and just said that she was happy about the new year. But I’m sure there must be something more. Apart from video chats, she seldom showed up in group chats or responded to WeChat messages in a timely manner. I suspect she might be in an online relationship. It’s quite normal for her, at her age, to be experiencing the onset of love. I just hope she doesn’t get deceived by bad people online…”

Obviously, Xiang Kun knew why Apple had been excited and high spirited recently. She now believed she had superpowers and had even used them for good deeds. She had also expanded her sensory abilities through her auditory connection with ‘Golden Sparkle’. Naturally, she had reasons to be excited.

Her decreased online presence and slower response to WeChat messages were likely due to her busy training ‘Golden Sparkle’ as Xiang Kun had suggested earlier. She was using it to gather more sensory information and collect information from farther distances.

“Don’t worry, with you capable older sisters, Professor Li, and me, her awesome uncle, no one can bully Apple,” Xiang Kun assured them.

Suddenly Tang Baona said, “Wait a minute, we are Apple’s older sisters… but you are her uncle… The generational hierarchy doesn’t add up.”

Yang Zhen Er also came to her senses and exclaimed, “Brother Xiang, you’re taking advantage of us!”

Xiang Kun laughed, “Doesn’t it just make you guys seem younger?”