What It's Like Being a Vampire

Yesterday morning, Xiang Kun suddenly asked Xia Libing about the topic related to her dreams and kept probing, making her realize that Xiang Kun, through some means, seemed to have started touching on her secret.

So, she also planned to adopt a more direct strategy to observe and even test Xiang Kun.

The conversation in the car was the specific implementation of this strategy.

Based on Xiang Kun’s reaction, her speculation about his activities the previous night seems to be in the right direction.

But Xiang Kun didn’t show any signs of panic or nervousness, nor did he offer any rebuttal or explanation. While she made her guesses, his responses were more of surprise and astonishment.

There could be two possibilities for this.

One is that although her guess is in the right direction, due to limited information, the results of her speculation are also limited, and she is far from “uncovering” the “hidden” secret of Xiang Kun, so he is not worried.

The other possibility is that Xiang Kun feels it doesn’t matter even if she “uncovers” his “hidden” secret.

Comparatively speaking, she felt the first possibility was more likely.

What exactly did Xiang Kun do last night?

Or rather, what has he been doing these few nights in Tongshi Town? – Xia Libing now has reason to believe that the previous few days he returned home early in the morning with breakfast were not for going jogging, but for being out all night doing “business”.

What kind of work requires a man to go out alone in the middle of the night?

Going by his actions, could he possibly be heading into the mountains?

Is it possible he’s not eating enough usually, so he’s going to the mountains to “hunt” and cook in the middle of the night?

Or perhaps, it’s related to the tourist falling off the cliff at Wushu Mountain Scenic Area on the day she arrived at Tongshi Town? Has he been investigating this “accidental event” for several nights in a row? Considering his previous arrest of a fugitive on the street, it’s entirely possible.

Xia Libing shook her head. The available information was too scant to make an accurate judgment. She could look into the news of the accident at Wushu Mountain later.

Her attention returned to the paper in her hand, wondering about the meaning of the pattern on it.

As she was thinking, a little girl who appeared to be in kindergarten next to her exclaimed, “Sister, you’re so amazing…”

Xia Libing looked at her and found her staring at her left hand flipping a coin quickly.

The little girl’s parents next to her quickly pulled her, “Don’t disturb sister”, and then smiled apologetically at Xia Libing.

After some thought, Xia Libing stopped flipping the coin in her hand and smiled back at her and the little girl. Of course, this smile was much more natural than the smile she showed to the college student who tried to hit on her a few days ago at the station.

The little girl turned back to look at her mother, then at Xia Libing, and whispered to her mother, “Sister is very pretty and her painting is also very nice.”

Xia Libing heard what the little girl said. She didn’t care about the first half of the compliment and grew interested in the second half, talking to her, “Are you talking about this drawing?” Saying that, she unfolded the piece of paper with Xiang Kun’s black circle graffiti in front of her.

The little girl looked at her and nodded, “Yes!”

Xia Libing asked, “What do you find attractive about it?”

The little girl’s parents couldn’t help but feel a bit strange, thinking that this beautiful young woman with a unique aura seemed to think differently from ordinary people.

Usually, when a girl receives a compliment from a child, whether it’s about being pretty or drawing well, they would just say thank you and that’d be the end of it. But why would she ask “What do you find attractive?” Moreover, based on her expression, it seemed that she was genuinely asking the question and not just humoring the kid.

The little girl also earnestly looked at the paper and said, “It’s just very nice, like water.”

Water? Xia Libing was stunned for a moment before realizing that the little girl was referring to the pattern of water ripples. On that piece of paper, the black circle design did in some parts indeed resemble the ripple effect in water.

At this moment, a little boy seated across the aisle from them stood up, leaned over and said, “This looks like bugs! Lots of big bugs! It also looks like beards!”

“No, it doesn’t! It’s not bugs!” The little girl turned her head and glared at the boy, indicating they knew each other.

The little boy giggled and said, “It’s a bug, a big earthworm, a cluster of bugs!”

“No, it’s not!”

Xia Libing stopped paying attention to the children’s “debate”. She placed the paper on the black leather-covered notebook on her knee and resumed her previous contemplation.

However, the children’s conversation gave her some new thoughts:

Although the black circles and arcs on the paper seem to follow an inexplicable rule and beauty and certainly were not drawn randomly, it is too complicated to find the corresponding meaning in reality based on these abstract shapes formed from simple lines. They could represent many things, or they could mean nothing at all. Even if she were to find some pattern among these lines or infer some expression from them, it might not necessarily reflect what Xiang Kun had in mind while drawing them.

She thought back to the calligraphy lyrics Xiang Kun had previously given her. The fact that Xiang Kun gave her these items which were certainly not conventional “gifts”, different in essence from the woodcarvings given to Nana and her cousin, there must be a reason and purpose.

Previously, when she studied the calligraphy piece, she at first focused on the song itself. But she quickly concluded that its relationship to the song must not be significant. Otherwise, there would be no need to transcribe the lyrics in calligraphy on such a ragged paper; sending the song via WeChat would suffice.

So she turned her attention to the writing itself, analyzing each character, even each stroke, but the useful information obtained was still not enough.

However, during her coin flipping practice with Nana and Yang Zhen’ er, she discovered an unexpected fact – the coin that Xiang Kun gave to Nana seemed a little different from ordinary coins.

She borrowed Nana’s coin and compared it in detail. On the surface, it appeared the same as any other coin, in looks, weight, and material.

But the moment she attempted to flip it, she could feel the difference. It was undoubtedly more “adhesive” and accommodated the fingers more, making the action more smooth, with a lower error rate.

Even when not flipping it, but merely holding the coin in her hand, she could feel its greater compatibility and better hand feel than an ordinary coin, as if it had become one with her palm.

Initially, she thought this was just some kind of illusion or psychological suggestion. However, she carefully experienced this several times and found it to be a phenomenon that objectively exists.

Especially just before she got off the vehicle, when she asked Xiang Kun for a coin, her suspicion was further confirmed through her hands-on experience – the coins given by Xiang Kun, whether hers or Tang Baona’s, were indeed slightly different from ordinary coins.

Thinking of the coin in Little Apple’s hand, given by Xiang Kun, and her proficiency in flipping the coin, Xia Libing felt that Xiang Kun might have some kind of equipment that could carry out some “treatment” on these seemingly ordinary coins that the naked eye could not detect, giving them properties that ordinary coins did not possess.

These properties gave her a better tactile experience when handling these coins.

However, she asked Nana and Yang Zhen’er, and in their hands, the so-called “lucky coins” given by Xiang Kun did not significantly differ from other coins. They stumbled with ordinary coins and stumbled likewise with the “lucky coins”.

So, these properties seemed to only be able to enhance, not impart. Much like a high-performance basketball shoe, it may enable a person who can already dunk to perform better and more consistently, but it cannot enable someone who can’t even reach the basket to don it and dunk immediately.

Xia Libing speculated that the action of “flipping a coin” is a simple method to “test” these special coins.

It was very likely that the video she had watched earlier, where the little fatty girl, who lived next door to Xiang Kun’s house, was so skillfully flipping coins with a unique technique, was because the coin was given by Xiang Kun as well.

In that case, what was Xiang Kun’s motivation for doing this?

How were these coins able to possess these characteristics?

Xia Libing then wondered whether the “black circle graffiti” that Xiang Kun gave her and the previous calligraphy might be similar to those coins?

Though there seems to be no connection in material or type, they might possess certain properties?

Therefore, Xiang Kun did not intend to convey some kind of information to her through that calligraphy and black circle graffiti, but the two “papers” themselves are the very things that Xiang Kun wanted to pass to her.

Xia Libing clasped her hands together, sandwiching the paper sketched with black circles and arcs between them, joined her hands together, and carefully felt it.

Hmmm, there was no difference, it didn’t have that feeling of having some kind of connection with the hand like the coin Xiang Kun had given her.

She perched the paper on her right middle finger and index finger again, trying to spin it like a book or mouse pad – she was quite skilled at spinning books before.

But it still failed. The paper was too light, with too small inertia, and could not be spun. During the spinning process, she did not feel anything special either.

Xia Libing simply covered her face with the paper and then blew…

The mother of the little girl sitting next to her, through her peripheral vision, watched Xia Libing make various weird and childish actions with the paper, and was more and more certain about her previous judgment —

Although this young lady is beautiful, her thought processes are certainly unique.

What a pity… After Xiang Kun dropped off Old Xia at the train station and drove back to the hotel, everyone had just woken up. Most people were congregating in his and Zi Cheng’s room for breakfast at this time.

There were not only the breakfast he had brought back earlier but also the ones You Meng and Liang Yulong had just brought in.

Seeing him walk in, Yang Zhen Er wondered, “Brother Xiang, you were sleepwalking while climbing the mountain yesterday, so why did you go for a run early this morning?”

“I didn’t go for a run. I went to do what you didn’t do,” Xiang Kun said seriously.

Yang Zhen Er took a bite of the rolled cake You Meng had just brought, and mumbled, “What I didn’t do? What is it?”

It was Tang Baona next to her who suddenly came to her senses. She slapped her forehead: “Right! Old Xia!”

“Old Xia? When we just came over, we passed by her room, knocked several times, and there was no response, she must still be sleeping…” Yang Zhen Er was confused.

“Old Xia had a train to catch this morning! You promised to take her! You even specifically took the keys to that Corolla…” Tang Baona said helplessly.

Yang Zhen Er was shocked, her eyes wide open. Then she started coughing, choking, and subconsciously wanted to grab soymilk to drink. Tang Baona quickly stopped her and casually picked up a bottle of mineral water from the hotel room, opened it, and handed it to her — the soymilk was still hot.

“You just drove Old Xia to the train station?” Tang Baona asked.

“Yeah.” Xiang Kun smiled and said, “But Old Xia was not surprised that her cousin forgot to take her. She was already prepared.”

Tang Baona laughed: “I should have set an alarm for her.”

Yang Zhen Er took a few sips of mineral water, caught her breath, and quickly took her phone to the side to call Old Xia: “Hey? My beloved sister…”

After breakfast, they prepared to go to Jianzhou city airport.

They had planned to let You Meng and his wife take them there like they did when they arrived before, but they didn’t expect Chu Xiuwen to send Ji Hang and Xu Kai, the two “drivers” from yesterday, once again.

Xiang Kun didn’t refuse, it saved You Meng couple the time and effort to go to and from the airport.

“Old Ji, nice to see you again.” After getting into the MPV, Xiang Kun greeted Ji Hang, who was driving, with a smile.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Xiang. I am pleased to serve you again.” Ji Hang responded with his usual hearty smile.

On the way to the airport this time, Ji Hang didn’t try to gather information about Xiang Kun by steering the conversation towards various topics, but instead proactively introduced his security company and the help he received from Chu Xiuwen, among other things.

Upon arriving at the airport, he even left a business card of their company for Xiang Kun and Zhang Qian, Zi Cheng, Tang Baona, and others.

After seeing off the guest, Ji Hang and Xu Kai drove two MPVs back to Tongshi Town, returning to Chu Xiuwen’s large house.

At this time, Liu Feibao was also here. Seeing them enter, he immediately asked, “Have you seen off Mr. Xiang?”

“Mr. Xiang and his party have already boarded the plane. The flight should have taken off by now,” Ji Hang said, noticing a look of relief on Liu Feibao’s face.

Yesterday, when he volunteered to work as a chauffeur for this “Mr. Xiang” with Xu Kai, he was under the impression they were going to expose a fraud. From Liu Feibao’s account, he believed that Liu and his friend had encountered either a scam artist or someone boastful.

Of course, he also promised Liu Feibao that even if he found out the real identity of “Mr. Xiang”, he wouldn’t confront him directly, nor let the latter know about it.

But after serving as a driver for Xiang Kun and his friend for a day, Ji Hang returned to Chu Xiuwen and Liu Feibao only to find that he couldn’t draw a conclusion.

According to his observation, as well as the communication with Xiang Kun, Xiang Kun certainly didn’t share their background, nor received the kind of training they had.

Yet, Xiang Kun gave him a dangerous intuition, invoking a sense of fear that he couldn’t describe directly.

This feeling seldom occurs, but his past experiences have proven that every time he heeded such intuition, it was the right decision, even saving his life.

This intuition is hard to describe. It’s like an unreasonable first reaction that often contradicts objective common sense or the appearance of facts.

For example, if he had to choose between a 20-something boxing champion Mike Tyson and Xiang Kun to engage in a bare-knuckle death match, logically, 100% or even 1000% would choose Xiang Kun.

But his intuition is telling him to “avoid Xiang Kun”.

Moreover, from his conversation with Xiang Kun, Kun was quite “open” about his origin, without any hint of having an important background. He only claimed to be a freelancer in internet and software development. This completely contradicted Liu Feibao’s previous mention of the “character setting” of a “secret person with official background”.

Therefore, upon returning yesterday, they did not immediately answer Liu Feibao and Chu Xiuwen’s questions, nor did they immediately voice their judgment about Xiang Kun. They first carefully asked Liu Feibao about the process that occurred after the car accident with Xiang Kun.

Thus, Liu Feibao simply explained the situation following the fender-bender with Xiang Kun after omitting Qi Haoguo’s name and identity.

However, he neither mentioned what Qi Haoguo had conveyed nor did he mention the “warning” he received when he later inquired about Xiang Kun with Qin Dong. Therefore, after listening, Ji Hang was even more confused and could not understand at all.

According to Liu Feibao, Xiang Kun simply stated at that time, “Either privately settle the car repair cost of 3,000 yuan, or report it to the traffic police and insurance company.” There was no strange behavior or flaunting of connections and power from Kun. Surely, just because the other party mentioned reporting to the police, it does not mean that they have an official background, does it?

Was it just because the “big boss” in Liu Feibao’s car seemed to fear Xiang Kun?

In this way, Ji Hang really didn’t know how to explain his judgment to Liu Feibao and Chu Xiuwen.

In the end, he could only blurt out, “Mr. Xiang is a good person, but I can’t see anything else for now.”

Such vague remarks made Liu Feibao and Chu Xiuwen understand:

They couldn’t read into Xiang Kun’s background and power either.

Therefore, Liu Feibao and Chu Xiuwen further believed in their previous conjectures, though they still didn’t have a definitive conclusion.

But anyway, they reached a consensus:

They would help out with the project Xiang Kun, Liu Caifu, and the You Meng couple would work on in Tongshi town if they could. Should they have the opportunity to participate, they would try to join.

So today, they asked Ji Hang to take Xiang Kun and his companions to the airport again, extending a kindness once more and to give Ji Hang more time to observe Xiang Kun.

But the result remains the same as yesterday:

“Mr. Xiang… is quite amicable.”