"That Explains It!"

Xiang Kun was already very experienced with banquets like this, where ten people sat at a table and many people ate together. So he knew how to eat very little without anyone noticing, blending into the rhythm of the other people's meals and getting away with it by only eating a small amount.

Normally, according to his original plan and deduction, under his deliberate guidance and the influence of the preconceived notions formed in the past, apart from the initial attention drawn by his changes in appearance and hairstyle, no one's attention would be on him during the rest of the wedding banquet.

However, Chu Xiuwen's unexpected appearance changed the situation, especially Li Peiye, who was sitting next to him, became very attentive to Xiang Kun.

"Xiang Kun, didn't you like programming back in high school? You've been at your previous company for several years now, right? Why did you suddenly quit and switch to the catering industry? That's quite a leap. Is there a reason?" Li Peiye asked curiously.

"My original company went bankrupt, and a friend of mine happens to own a restaurant in Tongshi Town. We discussed it and decided to give it a try together." Xiang Kun tried his best to make his situation sound ordinary and commonplace, reducing the other party's curiosity and interest. He actually knew that Li Peiye's main doubts and curiosity stemmed from Chu Xiuwen's attitude towards him.

"It's good to try a different industry. Hey, if you need any help, just let me know. Although we don't have a branch factory in Jianzhou, we still have quite a few acquaintances... Hmm, but since you know President Chu, you shouldn't have any problems in Tongshi Town."

Xiang Kun smiled shyly and said, "Actually, my friend did most of the work; I was just there for show."

"Where's your restaurant? I'll invite some friends to Tongshi Town sometime, and you'll have to treat us!" Li Peiye said with a smile.

"No problem," Xiang Kun nodded in response.

After a while, Li Peiye whispered again, "By the way, Xiang Kun, didn't you used to have a crush on Shen Shuling from the next class when you were in school? Look at that table over there, isn't that Shen Shuling?"

Xiang Kun was both amused and exasperated. "You're mistaken... It's Zheng Shaokun from the next class who's pursuing her, isn't it?"

"Really?" Li Peiye looked surprised.

Wei Zhuo also laughed and said, "Peipei, Shen Shuling got married too. You forgot? I couldn't go because of something, so I asked you to bring the red envelope."

"It seems so... Holy crap, am I being drafted for Alzheimer's?" Li Peiye patted his forehead and said to Xiang Kun, "It's okay, there are a lot of single young female teachers at my wife's school. I'll have her introduce you to a few later!"

Xiang Kun quickly said, "No need..."

He was just about to find an excuse to refuse the blind date when Xiao Jie said directly to Li Peiye, "Peipei, stop worrying about things that aren't your business! Xiang Kun's girlfriend is a real beauty!"

Wei Zhuo chimed in, "Yes, yes, she's a stunning beauty, an absolute beauty. She'd be the school beauty queen in any school, and she's incredibly tall, only half a head shorter than Xiang Kun. And it looks like she wasn't even wearing heels?"

Xiang Kun immediately knew that the couple was referring to Lao Xia, whom he had bumped into at the supermarket entrance, and quickly said, "That's not my girlfriend..."

Wei Zhuo, with an "I understand" expression, said, "We went grocery shopping together, so even if she's not his girlfriend, she's practically one. Anyway, good luck!"

Li Peiye laughed and said, "My bad, my bad. I didn't even ask if you had a girlfriend first. Damn it, it must be your bald head that gave me the illusion that you were single... Haha."

Seeing that the other students' interest had been piqued again by Wei Zhuo and Xiao Jie's conversation about "Xiang Kun having a beautiful girlfriend," Xiang Kun felt somewhat helpless. He knew that explaining was pointless, so he could only continue to maintain his introverted, shy, and unsociable persona with a polite but slightly awkward smile.

Halfway through the wedding banquet, after the bride and groom came over to toast, Xiang Kun said he had other things to do and Chu Xiuwen to his old classmates and Chu Xiuwen, preparing to leave first.

Before leaving, Li Peiye pulled him aside and whispered, "What are your plans for tonight? It's rare to have all of us old classmates together, so I'm thinking of treating everyone to dinner and karaoke."

"Sorry, I'm going back to the city where I used to work today. I have some things to take care of there. I booked a flight for tonight. Maybe next time, we can get together sometime," Xiang Kun said honestly.

Watching Xiang Kun speak to the groom again and then leave the wedding banquet, Li Peiye noticed that Chu Xiuwen was a few tables away, was also keeping an eye on Xiang Kun's movements, and more questions arose in her mind.

Although he and Xiang Kun weren't exactly close, they had been classmates for many years. Every year during holidays, when Xiang Kun Citong, their group would occasionally get together for a meal or a late-night snack. He considered himself to Xiang Kun fairly well.

Based on our conversation today, Xiang Kun's appearance has changed quite a bit; he's lost his hair and gotten stronger. But his personality is still the same as before. He doesn't like to talk in crowded places and always stays in a corner, pretending to be dead. He's not scheming, doesn't like to show off, and doesn't like socializing.

There's no reason why Xiang Kun would suddenly give up his technical work of so many years and switch to the catering industry. It can't be just because his company went bankrupt; there must be some other reason.

He had previously guessed that Chu Xiuwen's attitude towards Xiang Kun might be because Xiang Kun at the dinner was very influential. But now he thought again, even if Xiang Kun's friend was very influential, it was unlikely that Chu Xiuwen would transfer his respect for that "friend" to Xiang Kun in the absence of that "friend." There was no reason for that.

Unless Xiang Kun himself has an unusual identity or other abilities.

But they, his old classmates, knew very well about Xiang Kun's family situation, so there was no reason for Chu Xiuwen to behave this way.

However, the words of Wei Zhuo and his wife just now gave him a flash of insight, connecting several pieces of information together:

He overheard his father and some elders talking about the unusual behavior of certain powerful figures, suspecting that the higher authorities were planning to focus on developing Tongshi Town...

Xiang Kun suddenly changed careers and went to Tongshi Town to open a restaurant...

Chu Xiuwen, a local "wealthy man" in Tongshi Town, treated Xiang Kun with great respect, even a touch of awe...

Xiang Kun has a "very beautiful girlfriend"...

Li Peiye came to a conclusion that, while not yet verifiable, seemed to explain many questions at once:

Xiang Kun became the prospective son-in-law of a powerful figure. Instead of working in a first-tier city, he returned to Tongshi Town Citong City instead opened a restaurant in Tongshi Town. This was because he received advice from the powerful figure. Chu Xiuwen, a local tycoon in Tongshi Town, knew that Xiang Kun might "represent" the powerful figure in Tongshi Town in the future, which is why he had that attitude.

If that's the case, then it makes sense!

Li Peiye couldn't help but wonder, if the catering industry in Tongshi Town presented a development opportunity, what kind of policies would be introduced from above? Probably something related to promoting tourism, right?

He hadn't initially given any thought to his father and elders' discussions about Tongshi Town; after all, matters of that level were beyond his current capabilities and resources. But if Xiang Kun truly held such an important position, perhaps he really did have a chance?

Li Peiye thought to himself that he would have to find an opportunity to go and explore the restaurant after Xiang Kun and his team reopened.

Around 7 p. m., after having dinner at her third aunt's house, Xia Libing went out with her third aunt to the parking lot to pick up Xiang Kun —her third aunt was going to take them to the airport.

Because I need to ask for leave from the hospital, and for several days at that, it's impossible to sneak away without my aunt, who is the vice president of the hospital. I have to come up with a good reason and get her permission.

Once in the car, Auntie couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Bing, are you carrying a huge bunch of keys or something? Why do you make so much noise when you walk?"

Xia Libing said "Oh," and pulled out a handful of Coin from her left coat pocket, saying, "It's money."

Auntie asked curiously, "There seems to be a sound from the right as well?"

Xia Libing then pulled out a handful of Coin from her right pocket. "That's money too."

Auntie was even more puzzled. "Why are you carrying so many Coin? Young people these days use mobile payments, they don't even carry paper money anymore, why are you carrying so many Coin?"

Xia Libing said, "Play." Then she deftly flipped a Coin quickly on the back of her hand with her right hand.

"Carrying so much, don't you find it heavy..." Auntie San noticed the clearly men's backpack that Xia Libing had placed at her feet and asked, "Xiao Bing, where's the bag I gave you? That bag can hold quite a lot, right? I don't think I've ever seen you carrying it."

Xia Libing said, "This bag Xiang Kun. We should return it to him and carry it with us."

Auntie asked curiously, "If you return the bag to him, what will you use to pack your things?"

Xia Libing took out a large, thickly folded square plastic bag, which looked like a gift from an electronics store, from the side pocket of her backpack and said, "I can use this."

Third Aunt was speechless.

After driving to the agreed bus stop, Auntie picked up Xiang Kun large bags and small packages, and asked curiously, "Why are you carrying so much stuff?"

After greeting them, Xiang Kun replied, "These are all local specialties from Citong, to take back to my friends." He had gone shopping after leaving the wedding banquet at noon; these were for Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, and Chang Bin. However, when he got home, he discovered that his mother had already prepared many local specialties for him, since he had told her he would be going back that evening. Xiang Kun figured he was strong and wouldn't get tired, so he simply took them all.

"Why are you suddenly going back now? It's already past the ninth day of the lunar month, isn't it?" Auntie San asked curiously.

Following the reason he had agreed upon with Lao Xia, Xiang Kun said, "The main problem is that the project I'm currently working on has run into some issues, and Xia happens to be quite skilled in some areas, so I asked her for help... Will this delay things at the hospital?"

"No, not at all." Auntie glanced at Xiang Kun in the back seat through the rearview mirror and asked, "So you've been seeing each other a lot these past few days just to discuss the project you're working on?"

"Yes, thanks to Xia, she helped me solve a lot of problems," Xiang Kun said "sincerely."

"Oh? What specific project are you working on? Is it related to Xiao Bing's major?"

"It's related to psychology and user psychology. The specific details are difficult to describe in words. Once our project is launched and undergoing internal testing, we'll ask Dean Song for guidance again," Xiang Kun said, half-jokingly.

Auntie didn't press further, but instead asked, "Xiao Xiang, your cooking skills seem pretty impressive?"

"I suppose I have a tiny, insignificant talent for cooking," Xiang Kun said modestly.

This afternoon, when my third Xia Libing her rented apartment to take her home for dinner, she made a point of wandering around the kitchen and checking the leftover food and ingredients in the refrigerator—most of it had been used up.

She knew that Xiang Kun had delivered a late-night snack to Xia Libing at the hospital on New Year's Eve, and then cooked a large meal at Xia Libing. She also knew that Xiang Kun had been going to Xia Libing's rented house frequently these past two days, and had used the kitchen and cooked meals. Based on her understanding of her niece, she knew that if she were alone, the leftovers and ingredients would not have been consumed so quickly. Xia Libing rarely cooked for herself at home.

Moreover, Auntie San had secretly asked the security guards in the neighborhood and learned that Xiang Kun had been returning home late at night these past two days. She didn't specifically "bribe" the security guards to act as informants; it was just that Xiang Kun's physique and "hairstyle" were too distinctive and easy to recognize.

In addition, the fact that Xiang Kun helped Xia Libing take down two thugs on the night of the 29th of the lunar year before the New Year led Third Aunt to have a very "reasonable" imagination about their relationship.