"Why Not Just Tell Her?"

Xiang Kun went out and hailed a car to the coffee shop that Xia Libing had mentioned. Although it was already past nine o'clock, the coffee shop was still very crowded, with almost no empty tables.

Xiang Kun even entered the room, he had already located Lao Xia's position—at a small table with only two seats in the corner, facing a laptop and looking at something, with no sound coming from the laptop's speakers.

Besides Lao Xia, Xiang Kun also noticed a strange-looking person standing on the roadside outside the coffee shop, but he didn't stop and went straight into the coffee shop.

After entering, Xiang Kun pretended to scan the room with his eyes before walking towards where Lao Xia was.

"What are you looking at?" Xiang Kun asked casually after sitting down in front of Xia Libing and putting his schoolbag down beside him.

Unexpectedly, Xia Libing simply turned the laptop around so that the screen faced him, then reached around the screen and pressed the space bar on the keyboard.

A video then began playing on the laptop screen, showing footage of Xiang Kun "casually" saving someone at the train station just hours earlier.

Of course, in that video, Xiang Kun was only shown from behind, and he was wearing a hooded jacket, so you couldn't see his face, his bald head, or any other details; you could only see a large expanse of his back.

The video was a few minutes long, but Xiang Kun only appeared for a short time, less than ten seconds. He did intervene for a brief moment, pressing on the old man's chest for a few seconds before leaving immediately.

But Xiang Kun knew, of course, that Xia Libing had recognized him because she played the video for him, and deliberately started playing it from where he appeared.

As for how he recognized him, he realized it as soon as he saw the video.

The jacket was the same one he wore a few days ago in Tongshi Town. Not to mention Lao Xia, who had been paying close attention to him and had an exceptionally keen eye, even Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er, who had gone to Tongshi Town with him before, knew when he arrived in Citong City by high-speed train today, knew the time and place of the incident, and, given the jacket and his build, would quickly connect the dots if they saw the video.

After all, Xiang Kun had already performed acts of bravery and saving lives on more than one occasion.

He had thought that such local news wouldn't spread far, but he was surprised that Lao Xia found it so quickly. It's truly the era of mobile internet.

Well, maybe it's also because the young doctor is good-looking—good looks bring attention, sigh.

"It happened when I got off the bus. I didn't expect it to spread so quickly. It's truly the era of ubiquitous video sharing..." Xiang Kun exclaimed. "That doctor was really handsome and kind-hearted."

It basically assumes that the person in the video is him, but it doesn't say that he saved the person. In any case, judging from the video, his "contribution" is definitely not as great as that of the young doctor. He seems more like a "troublemaker" or a "clown".

Of course, he knew that Lao Xia would not see it that way, but Lao Xia also certainly wouldn't understand what he was doing.

Lao Xia closed his laptop and put it aside, saying, "The doctor in the video is the son of my aunt's former colleague. We happened to have dinner together tonight, and when we talked about this, he believed that the person was saved by that doctor who claimed to be from the cardiac surgery department of a medical university-affiliated hospital."

"What a coincidence..." Xiang Kun exclaimed in surprise, then suddenly realized that's why Lao Xia noticed the video so quickly.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell them that he was a fake doctor," Xia Libing said, glancing at him.

Xiang Kun touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.

To Xiang Kun's surprise, Xia Libing did not continue the topic, nor did she ask him how he had saved the old man. Judging from Xia Libing's previous words and attitude, it was clear that she shared the same judgment as the young doctor, believing that he had saved the old man.

"I recently saw a news report about the tourist fall from the cliff at Wushu Mountain. The report said that the tourist was startled by a bird of prey, causing a shoving and jostling that led to the fall, and that the scenic area's safety measures were inadequate. However, after comparing this with similar news reports, I found that the news about this Wushu Mountain Scenic Area accident was too brief. There was no report on the specific circumstances and cause of the accident caused by the bird of prey, nor on the specific species of the bird. I also searched on various platforms, and there was very little related discussion. Considering the casualties in this accident, this is very unusual."

Xia Libing didn't continue the previous topic, but a seemingly casual news item she mentioned greatly surprised Xiang Kun.

He didn't think Lao Xia was the type to share news or interesting stories she saw in her spare time. Once Lao Xia, who was usually very concise, started talking at length, it was definitely because she was sharing her "research findings."

Why would she pay attention to the accident at Wushu Mountain Scenic Area? Xiang Kun could tell with his own eyes... even with his leg hair, it was definitely because of him.

"You think... someone is deliberately blocking the news? Then what do you think is the truth about the Wushu Mountain Scenic Area accident?" Xiang Kun asked, following up on Lao Xia's words.

"The basic facts should not have changed, after all, there were quite a few direct eyewitnesses and eyewitnesses at the time. So it is likely that a bird of prey really did frighten the tourists, and the key point is probably that bird of prey." Xia Libing kept staring at Xiang Kun as she spoke.

"What's wrong with that bird of prey?"

"Then I wouldn't know," Xia Libing said.

Xiang Kun understood Lao Xia's unspoken meaning: I don't know, do you? If you do, tell me!

"Hmm, that raptor does seem to have a problem..." Xiang Kun said, seemingly lost in thought, spouting nonsense.

Xia Libing didn't continue that topic, nor did she bring up the incident where she discovered Xiang Kun had gone to Wushu Mountain Scenic Area in the middle of the night. Instead, she changed the subject again:

"You were frequently 'going on business trips' in the past few months, weren't you? After I came to Citong City, my cousin and Nana told me that you also had to go on 'business trips' every now and then. But a few days ago in Tongshi Town, I heard Zhang Qian say that she often couldn't find you, and most of her team members had never seen you before. Besides their company's projects, did you take on other projects that required business trips? Wasn't the last time the bus had an accident on the highway, on your way back from a 'business trip'?"

Lao Xia started hitting straight shots again.

Xiang Kun's mind raced as he tried to figure out how to get through this without lying as much as possible.

But Xia Libing still didn't seem to want an answer from Xiang Kun, and changed the subject again, saying, "My cousin mentioned that when she went to your house for dinner last time, she found a microscope in your cabinet while looking for disposable cups. Is your use of a microscope related to raising rabbits and canaries?"

Another fastball...

Xiang Kun roughly guessed why Lao Xia did this. It was like a detective investigating a difficult case who had identified a suspect but the investigation had hit a bottleneck due to a lack of sufficient evidence. So, he simply told the suspect some of the information he had gathered and the deductions he had made in person.

Next, by observing the suspect's reaction—whether the suspect becomes enraged, panics, suddenly tries to kill to silence the witness, attempts to destroy evidence, denies everything, makes up excuses, or even surrenders directly—you can determine the direction of the investigation and the correctness of your reasoning.

Looking Xiang Kun Lao Xia, who had entered his talkative mode and was chatting away, Xiang Kun even had an impulse to "just tell her."

However, it was just a momentary impulse. Although Xiang Kun judged based on his cognitive model of Lao Xia that Lao Xia had no ill intentions towards him, was a trustworthy person, and would certainly be happy to study his mutation problem with him, he had not yet found the "secret" of Lao Xia, could not build a more complete cognitive model, and could not fully grasp Lao Xia's thoughts. Therefore, he could not yet assess the impact on himself and Lao Xia after informing Lao Xia about the mutation.

Let's wait until we truly understand Lao Xia before making a decision.

"There is indeed some connection. I often use a microscope to observe 'Gold Glitter's' feces and analyze its health. I also often use it to look at all sorts of things, like tissues and leaves, purely out of curiosity." Xiang Kun was still telling the incomplete "truth".

After several direct questions, Xia Libing still showed no intention of pressing further, remaining noncommittal about the answers he received, offering no comment or doubt.

"Oh, right, these are the new clothes Zhen'er asked me to bring you. They're all loose-fitting sportswear... Your cousin really knows you well." Xiang Kun opened his backpack and took out several outfits to show Xia Libing.

Xia Libing nodded and said, "Thank you." These clothes did indeed suit her dressing habits: loose, comfortable, simple, durable, warm, and easy to wash.

She also knew that, based on this, her cousin Yang Zhen'er must have done her best to choose the most fashionable, good-looking, and suitable styles for her.

Xiang Kun put the clothes back into his backpack. "I have too many clothes, and I couldn't find a big enough bag at home. You can take this bag back with you and bring it to me next time we meet. Oh, and this is a pair of chopsticks I made myself. I said I'd send them to you, but since I'm bringing them back, I'll just bring them myself."

"Thank you." Xia Libing took the simple wooden box containing the chopsticks, opened it, and took out the pair of chopsticks inside.

She already knew that Xiang Kun had given Nana a pair of chopsticks he had made himself, which Nana liked very much. She had also seen a picture of those chopsticks and knew that their design was somewhat different from ordinary chopsticks.

Now, opening the box and picking up the chopsticks Xiang Kun made for her, she discovered that these chopsticks were almost completely different from Nana's, both in length and style.