Since the incident had already occurred, Xiang Kun didn't dwell on it anymore. He asked his nephew You to have a friend delete the video from Bilibili, and then left it at that for the time being.
As for finding someone to delete other related prank videos and edited versions that were forwarded to various platforms, he hadn't considered it because it wouldn't make much sense.
Sending out numerous lawyer's letters would only attract more media attention.
While watching the video, he combined his memories with the details to confirm that he hadn't displayed any particularly outrageous abilities. Overall, the version of himself in the video was cool and a little silly, casual and nonchalant—it was unlikely anyone would guess he was a vampire from the video.
Xiang Kun also briefly considered whether to make the best of a bad situation and use this momentum as the first promotional video for "Youlong Restaurant".
However, he quickly dismissed this idea. Although he didn't show any particular special characteristics in the video, he wasn't suited to be exposed to the public eye. If he accidentally became an internet celebrity, he would be easily recognized on the street, which would cause a lot of trouble. Moreover, he wasn't suited to be associated with "Youlong Restaurant".
Moreover, the video features bamboo rat meat, not rabbit meat, which is his specialty. Anyone in the know can tell that his bamboo rat meat dish was a failure and didn't serve the purpose of promoting the dish itself. It wouldn't make him famous for no reason.
For now, we can only try to let this go and hope that netizens will forget about it soon.
As for the promotional plan for "Youlong Restaurant," Xiang Kun felt it shouldn't have much impact for the time being. Anyway, no one had recognized where the video was filmed, and he didn't mention the location in the video; he just talked about the general direction of food video production. The character design, shooting script, and three-step promotion plan that he later told You Meng and his wife separately did not appear.
So we'll continue with what we've been doing. As for Xiang Kun's related videos, we'll just wait for the hype to die down on its own.
After chatting for a while in the group chat and explaining the situation of the video, Xiang Kun said goodbye and left Xia Libing's house.
When I got home, my mom naturally gave me a lecture. But the next day, after eating the breakfast that Xiang Kun had been busy preparing since 4 a. m., my mom suddenly cheered up again—she thought that with his cooking skills and diligence, it shouldn't be too difficult for her son to find a girlfriend...
After spending several hours preparing a meal at noon, Xiang Kun his parents, headed to the high-speed rail station, and left Citong City.
Before leaving, Xiang Kun left the copy of "Memorial on Dispatching the Troops" with his father, asking him to "give guidance" on it when he had time.
Although my father has not practiced calligraphy himself, he is quite capable of distinguishing whether calligraphy is good or bad. At least he will not regard "feeling at home" as "a woman's treasure", and "diligence can make up for one's weakness" as "Du Fu's skill".
After seeing the large scroll of "Memorial to the Throne on the Eve of the Northern Expedition" that Xiang Kun had written on practice paper with rough edges, his father commented, "Not bad, there's been some progress." After all, he had watched Xiang Kun start learning calligraphy and had always had a general idea of his son's level, knowing that his handwriting had improved compared to before.
Before going to the station, Xiang Kun made a special trip to the hospital where Xia Libing was, found her, and gave her another piece of calligraphy he had written the night he returned to Citong City, besides the "Memorial to the Throne on the Eve of the Northern Expedition".
At the hospital entrance, Xia Libing was quite puzzled as she looked at the rolled-up, rather unrefined piece of rough-edged paper that Xiang Kun handed her.
The paper contained the lyrics to Mao Buyi's song "Someone Like Me," totaling 301 words, but it took Xiang Kun almost two hours to write them down.
That night he wrote three pieces of calligraphy, leaving two for his father and Xia Libing, hoping to see if they could create a similar feeling and connection as the wood carving.
Of course, even if this word can establish a connection, it will have to wait until at least after he drinks blood this time.
Moreover, his state of mind when writing these words was different from when he was making the wood carving, so the terrifying and ugly Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster shouldn't appear. When he wrote the first piece, his emotion was "nostalgia," and the emotion for the second piece was "loneliness." He wanted to try and see if, as he had guessed before, he could make the people around the objects feel the same emotions in their dreams and have similar dreams.
He had thought about it repeatedly and felt that this kind of test should not cause any harm to the target, otherwise he would not have given the words to his father and Lao Xia.
However, Xia Libing's first reaction upon receiving that message was:
I want a wood carving.
"Uh, this isn't a birthday present. The wood carving will still be there. This is something I just jotted down when I got back. Didn't you ask me about my singing on Nana's birthday? I sang this song. Here are the lyrics. I just wanted you to take a look. I think my handwriting is pretty good. You can keep it; maybe it'll appreciate in value someday when I become a great calligrapher..."
After hearing Xiang Kun's explanation, Xia Libing finally accepted the letter.
However, after Xiang Kun left, she immediately took the writing to the doctor's lounge and examined it carefully. Based on her understanding of Xiang Kun, there must be a reason why he suddenly gave her something; it couldn't be as simple as just writing a few words to show off.
Of course, after looking at it for more than ten minutes, Xia Libing still couldn't figure out anything from the calligraphy. She could only take a few photos with her phone, then roll it up again and carefully put it away.
Xia Libing sent the photo to an elder who was quite accomplished in calligraphy, asking how well the calligraphy was written.
The answer I received was only four words:
"Not very good."
After boarding the train for the return journey, Xiang Kun casually sensed the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, just like checking for new messages on QQ or WeChat —of course, much simpler and faster, requiring only a thought.
Then he was "surprised" when, after sensing the wood carving, he once again felt that emotion that did not belong to him, and this time there were also blurry images.
It's still a first-person perspective of lying in bed, but this time it's not in a hospital ward, but in a very luxurious hotel room, and the bed is ridiculously large.
Even more outrageous is that not only was there the person in the subjective viewpoint on the bed, but there were also countless naked women lying haphazardly on the bed.
The women's bodies were all exposed, but their faces were blurred and their features were impossible to discern. Not far away, near the entrance of the luxurious room, stood a row of people.
The faces of this group of people were also somewhat blurry, but they were clearer than the women on the bed. They included both old and young people, men and women, and looked like a large family.
Sensing from emotions that didn't belong to him, Xiang Kun instantly understood the "scene" before him: the person experiencing these emotions had been caught cheating.
Whether it's the numerous female bodies on the bed or the group of a dozen or twenty family members by the door, these are likely exaggerated expressions born of fear.
What Xiang Kun found inexplicably funny was that the monster, who was over two meters tall and had eight arms and eight eyes, was wearing a suit that was stretched to the point of being like a bodysuit. He was also standing next to those indistinct family members, with his arms around the people next to him, as if he were also a family member, and he was there to catch them in the act.
The one who generated the emotion paid no attention to the sudden appearance of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster, just like the other emotional beings in the ward before, as if its presence was perfectly normal.
Next, through that person's perspective, Xiang Kun saw the expressions of disgust and contempt on the faces of the relatives who had caught their husbands cheating, before they all turned and left—although their faces were blurred and their true features were unclear, their attitudes were inexplicably clear—and the only one with a clear face, the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster, also glanced "contemptuously" at the person on the bed with his eight eyes before leaving with the others.
The fear in the person experiencing the emotional distress intensified rapidly. He looked down and saw his arms and legs, his stomach, covered in disgusting blisters that were visibly spreading and worsening...
After the images and emotions disappeared, Xiang Kun looked thoughtfully at the scenery rushing past the car window. This time, the person he sensed the emotions from was probably not Tang Baona's grandfather. Judging from the skin on his hand at the beginning, it should have been an adult male.
What he fears most is being despised by his entire family, and then his body collapsing due to certain actions.
It is very possible that he has cheated in real life and feels guilty and remorseful. After cheating, he may have even wondered if he had contracted some kind of disease, which is why he has this hidden fear.
Thanks to book friends liuhaixu, Sumiver and Shanyi for their tips.