The Thug

Chapter 17: The Thug

"Can I ask you something? Do you already have a girlfriend?"

Looking at the WeChat message Tang Baona had sent him, Xiang Kun was a little confused. Even though it was only text, he could almost sense the anger in her tone.

What was going on? Could Tang Baona have fallen for him?

Xiang Kun found the idea hard to believe. Since his body had started changing, he looked younger and more energetic than before, and after two transformations his build had gone from fat to muscular. But handsome? That was a stretch. His facial features were what they were, and there was only so much he could do with them. Besides, he was completely bald.

They'd had a pleasant conversation when they met at the café, but Xiang Kun wasn't so blindly confident that he thought one meeting could make Tang Baona fall for him.

Could his body have developed some abilities he hadn't noticed after all those transformations—like an increased appeal to women?

While he wondered and guessed, Xiang Kun replied.

He had no plans to date right now, but he couldn't let her think he already had a girlfriend. That would drag Chang Bin and Wang Han, the two people who'd introduced them, into it.

So he replied, "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

A few seconds later, Tang Baona sent another message: "Or do you have a boyfriend?"

Seeing that, Xiang Kun's first thought was that she'd made a typo. But he immediately understood what she meant, and his face darkened.

"My sexual orientation is completely normal!"

Tang Baona: "Is it because I'm not pretty enough, or don't fit your taste?"

Xiang Kun: "You're very pretty."

Tang Baona: "Then was I rude when we met? Do I have a bad personality?"

Xiang Kun: "Not at all."

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

Xiang Kun had been about to reply, "I'm not avoiding you." It was true that he'd used other plans as an excuse to turn down her invitation for a late-night meal, but that hardly counted as "avoiding" her.

But replying that way would have been a little stubborn. They'd met through a matchmaking setup, and after meeting her, Xiang Kun, as the man, hadn't contacted her even once. Calling that "avoiding" her wasn't unreasonable.

As he hesitated, unsure how to explain himself, Tang Baona sent another message:

"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't mean anything else by it. I just think you're a good person and could be a friend. But the way you've been avoiding me really hurts!"

Xiang Kun knew what she meant by "I don't mean anything else," and he was beginning to understand what she was thinking. After considering his words, he replied, "It's not that you're not good enough. You're too good, in fact. You're outstanding in every way. I don't think we have much chance of getting anywhere, and I probably aren't your type."

Tang Baona replied at once: "You know what type I like?"

Then she immediately sent another message: "I mean, don't we need to get to know each other first? Even if nothing comes of it, we can still be ordinary friends!"

What else could Xiang Kun say? All he could do was reply, "You're right. I was wrong."

Fortunately, Tang Baona didn't ask, "What were you wrong about?" 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. We can decide where to go later, and we'll split the bill."

At the mention of having dinner together, Xiang Kun felt a headache coming on. He had no choice but to reply, "To be honest, I have some weird habits when it comes to eating, and I'm pretty picky, so I don't like eating with other people."

Tang Baona: "Then we don't have to eat. Let's go hiking next weekend."

"OK." He really couldn't refuse that.

Looking at his chat history with Tang Baona on his phone, Xiang Kun felt a little regretful. If he'd met her before his body started changing, he would have pursued her with everything he had. But then again, if he'd approached her with that mindset, he might not have stood a chance from the start—just like all those matchmaking attempts before.

Suddenly, a scream came from the street outside. Xiang Kun hurried to the window and looked down. A young man with a wild, twisted expression was chasing a man and a woman, stabbing at them with a knife. The couple appeared to be the young pair who lived downstairs from him.

Xiang Kun froze for a moment, then instinctively picked up his phone and dialed 110. As the call began to ring, he saw the young man from downstairs fall to the ground. The woman, trying to protect her boyfriend, was stabbed twice by the attacker.

There was no time to think. Xiang Kun rushed out of his room and ran downstairs, telling the 110 operator their street and building number as he ran, along with the fact that someone was attacking people.

When Xiang Kun reached the street, the attacker was still swinging his knife. But the owner of the convenience store had already rushed out with a mop handle to stop him, preventing him from stabbing anyone again.

Xiang Kun didn't slow down. He charged forward, accelerated, and launched a flying kick that sent the attacker sprawling across the street. The knife fell to the ground. Before the man could struggle back to his feet, Xiang Kun pounced on him and punched him square in the face.

His fist smashed into the attacker's face with a wet crunch, as if something had broken. Xiang Kun had already drawn back his arm, ready to throw a few more punches, but he saw blood pouring from the man's face. His head lolled to one side, and he was already unconscious. Xiang Kun paused, his fist hanging in the air, and didn't strike again.

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

"Why what?"

"You don't actually like him, do you? You said he wasn't your type, and he isn't even paying attention to you, yet you're still going out of your way to ask him out?" Yang Zhen'er asked, completely baffled. "Nana, this isn't like you."

"I just think he could be a friend! Going hiking together doesn't mean I'm going out alone with him. There'll be a whole group of people..."

Tang Baona got out of the car and headed toward the elevator.

She'd regretted sending Xiang Kun that first message as soon as she'd sent it, but it was too late to take it back. So she'd gone ahead and asked everything she wanted to ask. Then, for some reason, she'd felt like she had something to prove and had become determined to get Xiang Kun to go out with her at least once.

Yang Zhen'er locked the car, caught up with her, and stood beside her in front of the elevator. Tilting her head toward her friend, she whispered, "You're not planning to use your charm to make him fall in love with you, then kick him to the curb, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You've been reading too many novels..." Tang Baona rolled her eyes.

"Or have you started doubting your own charm after listening to me nag you these past few days? Oh dear, then this really is my fault! I was only joking—you know that, right? Remember that big dummy you met once when you came to my place two years ago? He's my cousin, and he still can't stop thinking about you... Your charm is beyond question! You don't need to prove anything with that bald guy..."

"Oh, it's not like that! What are you—"

"Let me see what you two were talking about just now?"