Villain

Chapter 17: The Assailant

"Let me ask you a question: do you already have a girlfriend?"

Looking at this WeChat message sent by Tang Baona, Xiang Kun felt a bit dazed. Although it was just text, he could already faintly sense the annoyed tone on the other end.

What was going on? Could it be that Tang Baona had fallen for him?

Xiang Kun found it somewhat unbelievable. Although his body had undergone mutations, making him look younger and more energetic than before, and his physique had transformed from obese to lean and strong after two mutations, he really couldn't be called handsome. The foundation of his facial features was set; he couldn't be that good-looking, not to mention his completely bald head.

Although the two had chatted quite pleasantly when they met at the cafe, Xiang Kun wouldn't be blindly confident enough to think that a single meeting would make Tang Baona fall for him.

Could it be that after his body underwent several mutations, it possessed some abilities he hadn't noticed—like an attraction to the opposite sex?

While Xiang Kun was suspicious and guessing in his heart, he replied to the message.

Although he had no plans for a relationship right now, he couldn't let the other party misunderstand that he already had a girlfriend; that would implicate Chang Bin and Wang Han, the two who had introduced them.

So his reply was: "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

A few seconds later, Tang Baona's message came through: "Or do you have a boyfriend?"

Seeing this message, Xiang Kun's first reaction was that she had made a typo. But he immediately understood what she meant and couldn't help but have black lines appear on his forehead:

"My sexual orientation is perfectly normal!"

Tang Baona: "Then am I not good-looking enough, or do I not fit your aesthetic?"

Xiang Kun: "You are very good-looking."

Tang Baona: "Then was it because I was rude or had a bad personality when we met before?"

Xiang Kun: "Not at all."

Tang Baona: "Then why are you avoiding me?"

Xiang Kun originally wanted to reply, "When did I avoid you?" Indeed, he had only used having things to do as an excuse to decline the invitation for a late-night snack; it didn't really count as "avoiding" her.

However, replying like that would be a bit stubborn. The two had met through a "blind date," and after that meeting, Xiang Kun, as the man, had never taken the initiative to contact her once. Calling it "avoiding" wasn't an exaggeration.

Just as he was hesitating and didn't know how to explain, Tang Baona's message came through again:

"Don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything else. I just think you're a decent person and could be friends. But your attitude of avoiding me like this is really hurtful!"

Xiang Kun knew what she meant by "don't mean anything else," and he faintly understood her thoughts. After weighing his words, he replied: "It's not that you aren't good; it's that you are too good. You are excellent in every aspect. I feel there isn't much hope for us to develop further, and I don't think I'm the type you like."

Tang Baona immediately replied: "Do you know what type I like?"

She then immediately followed up with another message: "What I mean is, there has to be a process of getting to know each other, right? Even if there's no result, we can still be ordinary friends!"

What else could Xiang Kun say? Naturally, he could only reply: "You have a point. I was wrong."

Fortunately, Tang Baona didn't ask, "Where were you wrong?" Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known what to say.

"Are you free tomorrow night? Let's have dinner together. I'll bring my roommate, and you can bring a friend too. The place is TBD, and we'll split the bill."

As soon as he saw the mention of eating together, Xiang Kun felt a headache. He had to reply: "To be honest, I have my own quirks when it comes to eating; I'm quite picky, so I don't like eating with others."

Tang Baona: "Then no dinner. Let's go hiking next weekend."

"OK." This was truly impossible to refuse.

Looking at the chat history with Tang Baona on his phone, Xiang Kun felt quite regretful. If he had met Tang Baona before his body mutated, he would definitely have pursued her with all his might. But then he thought, if he had that mindset, perhaps it wouldn't have worked out from the start, just like the many blind dates he'd had before.

Suddenly, a scream came from the street outside the window. Xiang Kun leaned toward the window and looked down, discovering a young man with a ferocious expression holding a knife and chasing after a man and a woman. Those two, it seemed, were the young couple living downstairs.

Xiang Kun froze for a moment and subconsciously picked up his phone to dial 110. As the prompt tone sounded, he saw the boy living downstairs fall to the ground, and the girl, in order to protect her boyfriend, was stabbed twice by the assailant.

Without time to think too much, Xiang Kun rushed out of the room and ran downstairs. While running, he told the 110 operator who had picked up the call the street name, house number, and that someone was committing a violent crime.

When Xiang Kun rushed downstairs, the assailant was still waving the knife, but the owner of the small shop had already rushed out with a mop handle to stop him, preventing him from continuing to stab people.

Xiang Kun didn't hesitate at all; he accelerated and rushed over, delivering a flying kick that sent the assailant tumbling across the street. The knife fell to the ground, and before the man could struggle to get up, Xiang Kun had already pounced on him and landed a punch square on his face.

The fist smashed into the assailant's face with a thud, as if something had ruptured. Xiang Kun had originally raised his arm, prepared to throw a few more punches, but he noticed the assailant's entire face beginning to bleed and his neck hanging limp; he had already passed out. Xiang Kun froze for a moment, his fist stopping in mid-air without falling again.

When Tang Baona finished chatting with Xiang Kun on WeChat, Yang Zhen'er had just parked her car in the underground garage. She looked back at her best friend sitting in the passenger seat and frowned: "You really agreed to go hiking with 'Saitama-sensei'? Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"You don't actually like him, do you? Didn't you say he wasn't your type? He doesn't even pay attention to you, yet you're still chasing after him to make plans?" Yang Zhen'er asked, feeling very puzzled: "Nana, this isn't like you."

"I just think this person could be a friend! Going hiking isn't like saying I'm going out with him alone; there's a whole group of people..."

As Tang Baona spoke, she got out of the car and walked toward the elevator.

Actually, she had regretted it the moment she sent the first WeChat message to Xiang Kun, but it was too late to regret it. So she simply asked everything she wanted to ask, and then, for some reason, she felt like she was holding a breath and had to get Xiang Kun to go out with her once.

Yang Zhen'er locked the car, caught up, and stood in front of the elevator. She tilted her head to look at her friend and whispered: "You aren't planning to use your charm to make him fall in love with you, and then kick him to the curb, are you?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? You've been reading too many novels..." Tang Baona rolled her eyes.

"Or have you been doubting your own charm because I've been nagging you these past few days? Oh my, that would be my sin! You know I was joking, right? Do you remember that big silly guy you met at my house the year before last? That's my cousin, and he still thinks about you to this day... Your charm is beyond doubt! There's no need to prove anything to that bald guy..."

"Oh, it's not like that! Why are you..."

"Let me see what you just chatted with him about."