茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

The wind along the river isn’t too strong, and the four of us strolling, well-bundled in our jackets, don’t find it cold at all.

Initially, Yang Zhen’er was excitedly discussing about how cute and adorable the “Custard Pie” at Little Fat Girl’s House was, discussing with Tang Baona whether they should buy a cat as well, debating over whether to get a British Shorthair, American Shorthair, Garfield, Ragdoll or a Tortoiseshell, or maybe they should simply adopt a stray cat?

However, after Xia Libing casually mentioned the moonlit riverscape a few times, Yang Zhen’er’s attention shifted to the river as well.

“The river view here really is quite nice, isn’t it? How come we never seemed to notice during the day?” Yang Zhen’er remarked as she gazed at the moon’s reflection on the river.

“I remember that the city where you studied had a Riverside Road too, from which you could get a good view of the river,” Xia Libing brought up casually.

“Oh yes… Hey, do you guys remember when I invited you over to play in the city where I studied during my graduation? The six of us, including me, my three college roommates, ate at a roadside stall by the river, then sang songs facing the river. Ah… other than emotionless Xia Libing, everyone else burst into tears, their faces a mess of snot and tears. How embarrassing… No, I mean how touching it was…”

Yang Zhen’er sniffled, then asked, feeling nostalgic, “Nana, the song we sang then, the one that made us cry a lot, what was it called again? ‘They are getting old…They are over there…’?”

Tang Baona laughed and replied, “It was ‘Those Flowers.’ I remember I was singing along with you guys and it brought back my own graduation memories – it was really moving. Sigh, it has been a while since I gathered with my roommates.”

While saying that, she began to softly hum the song, “How that laughter reminded me of Those Flowers, scattered in the quiet corners of my life, gently blooming for me. I once thought I’d stay with them forever. Today, lost among the crowd, we’ve parted ways~”

Even Xia Libing started humming the song while occasionally glancing at Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun immediately understood Xia Libing’s intention –

It was undoubtedly because he’d previously mentioned that Tang Baona’s singing could easily invoke emotions. Hence, Xia Libing deliberately used the riverside atmosphere to evoke Yang Zhen’er and Tang Baona’s graduation memories, prompting them to hum the songs they sung back then, and stir his emotions. Then, through “Emotional Assimilation,” Xia Libing could experience the same feelings.

The three girls sang “Those Flowers” twice, swaying from side to side, should-to-shoulder before transitioning to “You Were Once Young.” This song was released the same year Tang Baona graduated and became popular during graduation season. When Yang Zhen’er graduated, they also sang this song along the riverside with her roommates – everyone cried their eyes out.

Well, everyone except Xia Libing.

Yang Zhen’er suddenly noticed Xiang Kun, who was smiling gently at the river, and asked, “Brother Xiang, did you cry your eyes out at your university graduation with Chang Bin and Zi Cheng? It looked like you guys had a great bond in your dormitory!”

Xiang Kun caught Xia Libing giving his cousin a look. It was the same usual look, not revealing any emotions, but he understood that Xia Libing was probably praising Yang Zhen’er in his heart.

Obviously, Xia Libing hoped that Yang Zhen’er’s question could help him better immerse himself in the past, remanence the student days, and experience the “Emotional Assimilation.”

Xiang Kun went along with Yang Zhen’er’s question and reminisced, “I remember the four of us in our dorm went out for a small feast. Chang Bin and one of our roommates drank four bottles of beer while Zi Cheng and I had Coca-Cola. Then we all bragged. Oh right, Zi Cheng had already confirmed that he was going to study abroad at that time and bragged about finding a blonde girlfriend, like Scarlett Johansson. Heh… Anyway, I remember we had a jolly time. After dinner, Chang Bin took the train to leave that night; another roommate left to be with his girlfriend. Zi Cheng and I went back to the dorm and pulled an all-nighter playing games. When I woke up, packed up, and left, Zi Cheng was still fast asleep…”

Yang Zhen’er curiously asked, “You mentioned that you all were bragging during the meal. What were you bragging about, Brother Xiang?”

“I was boasting?” Xiang Kun smiled as he recalled, “I was claiming that I’d develop a software or a game that everyone wouldn’t be able to do without someday. Just boastful chatter… Chang Bin said he wanted to buy an island and occasionally invite us for fishing and hunting trips.”

“Don’t laugh! But you’re not far from achieving what you boasted about! Our game might turn into a ‘game everyone wants to play’!” Tang Baona said with a chuckle.

“Yes! Yes! It’s really possible!” Yang Zhen’Er responded, nodding emphatically with bright eyes, as if envisioning herself becoming a beautiful female CEO.

Xiang Kun stated with a smile on his face, “Although I have high hopes for our game, we must stay grounded. It does have its limitations. What’s more, it doesn’t offer players the opportunity for fragmented time playing, requiring at least over 30 minutes for a single round under a quiet vocal environment. But this is just the beginning. We can develop more games and related applications in the future…”

Before long, the conversation had shifted from graduation reminiscences to the subject of gaming.

As they chatted, they arrived at the hotel.

Although Old Xia’s expressions remained unchanged, Xiang Kun knew she must be a little disappointed for not being able to invoke “Emotional Assimilation”, to experience those emotions of graduation and parting with friends.

In fact, after figuring out Old Xia’s intentions, Xiang Kun wanted to go along. But his own emotions during his high school and college graduation—having no sense of melancholy or regret, combined with regular meetings with Chang Bin and Zi Cheng, made it hard for him to empathize. Moreover, a significant part of his attention was on the river.

For some reason, from the moment he walked along the river, the sound of the water strangely captured his attention, as if the water noise contained a vast amount of information.

He had obtained similar information through his previous senses, but apart from sensing the information when river water hit the bank and boats sailed on the river, he didn’t see any special significance.

However, these pieces of information now seemed to convey more content to him. He speculated that it was due to the sensory mutation after swallowing the “mutated parasite”.

As he walked, Xiang Kun listened to the river, all the while secretly throwing four beads of “super-connected objects” into the river.

Through these four beads, Xiang Kun extended his magnetic field to expand the range of his sensory information and extend his sensory “antennae” across the entire river surface and even into the water.

It was only when he approached the hotel that Xiang Kun quietly retrieved the four beads of “super-connected objects”.

The reason he could not empathize with Old Xia and experience some nostalgia for college life was that he was distracted.

Emotions… are not that easy to dive into.

Once at the hotel, Xiang Kun had planned to book another standard room for Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’Er, but they refused and chose to squeeze into one room with Old Xia.

So that left Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’Er and Xia Li Bing to squeeze into two beds while Xiang Kun slept alone in his two-bedded room.

After bidding goodnight to the three girls, Xiang Kun returned to his own room, went straight into the bathroom, filled the sink with water, and plunged his head in.

After a long while, Xiang Kun raised his head out of the water, wiped his face, and stared at his reflection in the mirror, frowning.

He noticed that these standard rooms only had showers and no bathtubs. So, after thinking for a while, he checked the maps on his phone, recalling what he had observed on the riverside, grabbed his room card, and left his room.