Let's Play a Game

Xia Libing picked up the chopsticks and tried to pick up some food; they fit perfectly as expected.

Nana had praised the chopsticks Xiang Kun gave her in the group chat more than once before, saying they were very easy to use. She used to often lose her grip on food, especially when eating out and using pointed chopsticks. But with the chopsticks Xiang Kun gave her, she could use them very easily and pick up food very steadily.

Nana even stated that these chopsticks might be one of the culprits behind her gaining five pounds in the past few months...

The chopsticks Xia Libing is holding now are almost completely different from Nana's. They are much longer than ordinary chopsticks, with a square back that gradually transitions to a round front. Compared to the chopsticks Xiang Kun Nana, these chopsticks have much sharper tips. However, in Xia Libing's hands, they are very flexible, effortless, and comfortable to use.

In Xia Libing's view, using chopsticks to pick up food and eat is a "high-frequency, laborious lever exercise operated with one hand."

Therefore, from the perspective of simply doing work, the lighter the material of the chopsticks and the closer the center of gravity is to the fulcrum, the better. Of course, in practice, there are many other factors to consider when using chopsticks.

Although most people can use chopsticks, everyone uses them differently. When children are young, parents usually don't pay too much attention to correcting their technique, as long as they can pick up food. Just like writing with a pen or typing on a keyboard, there are various techniques. Therefore, different chopsticks are more suitable for different people, different hands, and different postures—although they can all be used to pick up food and eat.

Nana's way of holding chopsticks is rather "non-standard," similar to holding a pen. When picking up food, the ends of the chopsticks often cross, so the front ends can only close just right when the chopsticks are parallel. It's difficult to completely close the front ends with chopsticks with pointed tips, making it easy to lose control when picking up food. That's why the chopsticks Xiang Kun gave her are flat-tipped, which she finds very convenient to use, and the length and center of gravity are just right.

Xia Libing's way of holding chopsticks is relatively more standard. The main difference is that the top chopstick moves and opens, and when picking up food, the end always maintains a slight distance, making the pointed chopsticks very easy to use. Pointed chopsticks are not only relatively lighter in overall weight and easier to use, but their center of gravity is also closer to the fulcrum, making it easier to perform delicate operations such as picking out fish bones.

"How's it going? Not too bad, right?" Xiang Kun asked with a smile as he watched Xia Libing demonstrate with the chopsticks.

Xia Libing looked up at him and nodded. "Very good."

She pondered to herself: Clearly, Xiang Kun "customized" the chopsticks he gave to different people based on their individual habits. But judging from the feel of using these chopsticks, the degree of "customization" was a bit too much.

While it's said that the right way to hold chopsticks is to use pointed or flat tips, this pair of chopsticks that Xiang Kun gave her is perfectly suited in terms of length, center of gravity, and thickness. It allows for effortless and natural control of the chopsticks' gripping, opening, and closing movements, which requires a great deal of observation.

Xia Libing believes that, at least in her opinion, if she were to make them, disregarding the difficulty of manufacturing chopsticks, the data collection on chopstick usage habits alone would require a large number of observation samples and detailed adjustments. Ideally, users would cooperate, providing feedback and making fine adjustments repeatedly through the use of semi-finished products. Only in this way could the current level of fit be achieved.

But Xiang Kun didn't do that. He only suddenly mentioned giving her chopsticks a few days ago when he left Tongshi Town, and now there are finished products. Judging from the details of the chopsticks, they must have been just made. And his behavior clearly shows that he is very certain that these chopsticks are perfect and will definitely suit her usage perfectly. Without receiving any feedback from her, how can he be so sure? How can he be so confident?

Xia Libing took out the chopsticks, played with them for a while, then put them back in the box and placed the box in the backpack that Xiang Kun had used to pack her clothes.

She had some other suspicions, but she would have to wait until she got back to verify them.

"Aren't you going to order a drink?" Xia Libing asked, glancing at the Americano in front of her.

"I just finished dinner and I'm very full," Xiang Kun replied.

Xia Libing didn't ask him what he wanted to drink anymore, but instead said, "Let's play a game."

"Play games?" Xiang Kun was still thinking of an excuse to get Xia Libing to put the chopsticks in the bedroom, as close to her bed as possible, when he suddenly heard this suggestion. He was greatly surprised. "What kind of games?"

Xia Libing took out a one-yuan Coin from her pocket and said, "Let's play Coin toss game."

Xiang Kun immediately recognized that the one-yuan Coin lying in her palm was the one she had asked for a few days ago in Tongshi Town before he saw her off to take the bullet train, the one with which he had established a "Super-Sensory Link".

Guess the Coin?

Isn't this just giving away points?

When Lao Xia asked for the Coin in Tongshi Town, Xiang Kun knew she had noticed something was wrong with Nana's "Lucky Coin." Now, was she going to verify it directly?

"Sure, how do we guess?" Xiang Kun laughed. "We can't just play alone; it'll be more fun if there's a win and a loss."

Xia Libing nodded. "Then I'll treat you to a meal if I lose once."

"OK." Xiang Kun chuckled inwardly. He didn't mind Lao Xia discovering the problem with the Coin. On the contrary, he was quite looking forward to Lao Xia "discovering" something from the Coin.

So, he's not planning to let anyone win in the Coin toss or anything like that.

Lao Xia will let him guess a few times, then he'll treat him to a few meals—even though he doesn't really like eating.

Xia Libing held the Coin in her hand, put it behind her back, exchanged it between her right and left hands, and then back to her right hand. She then made fists with both hands and placed them in front of him, asking him to guess.

Without the slightest hesitation or pretense, Xiang Kun directly made a feint to her right fist.

Xia Libing nodded and said very calmly, "I lost." There was no surprise or regret in her expression, as if she had known this outcome all along.

Xiang Kun guessed four more times in a row, and each time he guessed correctly in an instant.

What Xiang Kun somewhat amusing was that, starting from the third time, Xia Libing secretly replaced the "Super-Sensory Link" Coin —she tucked the Coin under her thigh to hold it in place and then replaced it with an ordinary Coin.

Xia Libing's method was actually very secretive and fast, but unfortunately, Xiang Kun had a "Super-Sensory Link" with that Coin, and could basically sense its exact location at any time, so he knew immediately when it was switched.

Although he couldn't use "Super-Sensory Link" to cheat, Xiang Kun could still easily guess which hand was holding the Coin based on his "skills".

He can switch to infrared thermal imaging visual mode to observe. Thermal imaging is not X-ray and cannot directly penetrate to see the situation inside a fist, but there is a slight difference in blood flow between a fist holding Coin and one not holding Coin, which causes a difference in temperature. With a preset target, he can instantly find the difference between the two and make a judgment.

So, just like guessing the Coin toss about "Super-Sensory Link," there was no hesitation or error.

After five rounds, Xia Libing stopped playing with Xiang Kun, put the Coin away, and said, "I owe you five meals. Let me know when you're free, I'll prepare the ingredients, and you can come to my house."

Xiang Kun paused for a moment, then asked for confirmation, "Um... I have a question, you've prepared the ingredients... so who's going to cook?"

"You," Xia Libing said crisply, resolutely, and matter-of-factly.

"Hey, wait a minute... That's not right..." Xiang Kun pointed to himself, then to Lao Xia, holding up five fingers. "It was me who beat you for five meals!"

Xia Libing nodded. "Yes, I'm treating you to dinner. I bought the ingredients and invited you over. Since you don't want to eat it raw, you can cook it. I also have salt, oil, and other seasonings, as well as pots and other kitchen utensils. I bought everything when you came last time. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll prepare it in advance. Of course, you can eat it raw if you want."

Seeing Lao Xia speaking so seriously and naturally, Xiang Kun couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying, "You're not Lao Xia, are you? You're Yang the Third in Lao Xia's skin...!"

Xia Libing suddenly widened her eyes, looking at him with a surprised expression. "How did you figure that out?"

Xiang Kun laughed. Lao Xia was indeed an excellent deadpan comedian. No wonder she and Yang the Third were cousins. Most of the time, she was aloof and distant, but the silly genes in her bones were still the same. However, according to the monitoring of various sensory information, Lao Xia's emotions had not fluctuated much from the beginning until now. At least from the physiological feedback of heartbeat, breathing, smell, and micro-expression, this was the same as before.

In comparison, Xia Libing's emotions only showed significant changes during mealtimes.

"You are... Xiao Kun, right?" At this moment, a woman in her forties, sitting across from Xiang Kun at a table, stared at him for a few moments before suddenly getting up and walking over to ask him directly.

Xiang Kun looked in the direction of the voice, feigning surprise as if he had just seen her, before exclaiming with delight, "Ah! Sister-in-law, what a coincidence!"

The middle-aged woman was the daughter-in-law of Xiang Kun's father's cousin, that is, his cousin's wife. She had just entered the coffee shop not long ago.

Actually, Xiang Kun had already noticed his cousin-in-law when she came in. However, judging from Xiang Kun judgment, the last time she saw him was during the Spring Festival last year. Now that he had changed so much, not to mention ordinary relatives, even his mother hadn't recognized him when they first met. He figured his cousin-in-law wouldn't recognize him either, so he didn't plan to take the initiative to greet her.

Unexpectedly, my cousin's wife actually recognized her?

"When I was two or three, I went to dinner with my aunt. She told me you've gotten a 'personalized' look now, with a shaved head. When I saw your head just now, I remembered what my aunt said, and I thought you should be back for the New Year. Then the more I looked, the more familiar you seemed. I didn't expect it to really be you!" My cousin-in-law said, her gaze shifting between Xiang Kun and Xia Libing, her eyes gradually narrowing as if trying to hide her burning gossip.

"Yes, I just arrived in Citong this afternoon. Cousin-in-law, did you come here with your friends for drinks?" Xiang Kun smiled and nodded in greeting to the three middle-aged women at the table where his cousin-in-law had come over, all of whom were staring intently at them and had gossip written all over their faces.

"Yes, it's such a coincidence that a few of us old classmates and friends came out to chat! This beautiful young lady is really pretty, is she...?" My cousin-in-law looked at Xia Libing again and asked.

Xiang Kun pointed to the backpack that was now placed next to Lao Xia's feet and said, "This is my friend's younger sister. She works in Citong. My friend asked me to bring her something back this time."

"Oh, my friend's sister, it's only right to take care of her, it's only right. You two chat, you two chat! You probably won't be back to work until after the ninth day of the new year, right? Remember to come visit us after the New Year, it's been so long since you've been to my house, hasn't it? Your two nephews have been craving your red envelopes for ages!" My cousin's wife said with a smile, then went back to her classmates' table, occasionally sending them "Good luck," "I believe in you," and "Hehehe" emojis.

Xiang Kun glanced at his phone with a hint of helplessness and said to Xia Libing, "It's getting late, let me take you home. What are your plans for tomorrow night? Are you going to your third uncle and aunt's house?"

Xia Libing picked up the backpack Xiang Kun had given her, stood up, and replied, "On duty."

"Worth one night?" Xiang Kun asked.

"Worth one night," Xia Libing affirmed.

"Okay, then I'll see if I can bring you some late-night snacks tomorrow night?" Xiang Kun said.

"Okay." Xia Libing nodded.

As the two walked out of the coffee shop, Xiang Kun, who had originally intended to take Xia Libing home, glanced at her, said "See you later," and then walked in the opposite direction.

Xia Libing's expression didn't change at all. After saying goodbye, she continued walking towards the apartment complex where she rented a place, without asking Xiang Kun or showing any surprise.

Her apartment complex wasn't far from the coffee shop, about a 15-minute walk, so she didn't call a taxi and just walked there with her bag.

She hadn't walked far when she picked up her phone and saw a message from Xiang Kun on WeChat: "Someone is following you. Don't turn around, keep walking home, let me see what he's up to."

Xia Libing remained calm, replied with an OK emoji, and continued walking home at a leisurely pace.

Not far away, the young man who had been sheltering from the wind and playing on his phone in the corner outside the coffee shop looked up and watched Xiang Kun's figure disappear around the street corner. He then walked in the direction Xia Libing had left, while still sending messages on his phone.

However, what he didn't know was that after pausing for a moment at the corner, Xiang Kun checked the reflection in the glass of a car parked on the side of the road to make sure the man wasn't looking in their direction, and then turned back.

Upon arriving here, before even entering the coffee shop, Xiang Kun noticed this man outside, shivering like a drowned quail while playing on his phone.

He noticed that although the man seemed to be playing on his phone, his attention was actually focused on the direction of the coffee shop. However, at that time, he didn't know that the man was there for Lao Xia, so he didn't pay much attention. But when he and Lao Xia came out, he noticed that the man's furtive glances were fixed on them, and his body tensed up noticeably. He immediately realized that this man was outside the coffee shop, watching Lao Xia.