Chapter 48 - Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Daring to Stop

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Daring to Stop

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Chapter 48: Truly Daring to Stop

Seeing the SUV stop beside him, Xiang Kun was surprised. There really were people willing to stop.

The passenger side window rolled down, and a middle-aged man with a buzz-cut and dark skin looked him up and down, curiously asking, “Bro, why

are you barefoot?”

Xiang Kun pulled out the prepared excuse: “Ah! My shoes broke while I was climbing the mountain, so I had to go barefoot. Are you guys heading down the mountain? Could you give me a lift? Just drop me off at the foot of the mountain, and I’ll find my own ride from there.”

The buzz-cut, middle-aged man in the passenger seat turned to his companion who was driving, and quietly asked, “Should we let him in?”

Normally speaking, given their volume and the distance from inside the car to outside, a person outside wouldn’t be able to hear. But with Xiang Kun’s hearing, he naturally heard every word. However, he didn’t mind. Even if the people in the car had bad intentions and wanted to deceive him into the car to rob him, he might have to “defend himself” once again.

But from his observation, such a possibility was extremely slim.

The driver also looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, wearing glasses, and looking quite refined. He didn’t answer, just nodded slightly.

So, the buzz-cut middle-aged man got out of the car and said to Xiang Kun, “Get in. It’s on our way anyway, and it’s hot outside, you’re not even wearing shoes. Don’t walk to the foot of the mountain and ruin your feet.”

The buzz-cut middle-aged man got into the back seat, leaving the passenger seat for Xiang Kun because there was a quiet-looking sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in the back seat.

As he thanked them, Xiang Kun took off his backpack and held it in his arms, ready to get into the car.

“Wait,” The driver with glasses suddenly said.

Xiang Kun hesitated, pulling his foot that had already stepped into the car back out. If they suddenly changed their minds, he wouldn’t complain, since he had initially never expected to really catch a ride.

But the driver, instead, pulled the handbrake, put the car in park, got out of the car and said, as he opened the trunk, “I have a pair of slippers in the car. You can wear them first. They’re size 44, you should be able to fit them, right?”

After fetching the slippers and a bottle of mineral water, and closing the trunk, the driver walked over to Xiang Kun, set the slippers next to his feet, and handed over the mineral water.

Receiving the water, Xiang Kun thanked him and was about to put on the slippers.

“That… The water is for washing your feet,” the driver reminded somewhat awkwardly.

“Oh oh.” Xiang Kun looked down and discovered that his feet were indeed too dirty, coated in a layer of dried mud that was full of dust and dirt.

After washing his feet with the bottle of mineral water and putting on the slippers, he got into the passenger seat, and thanked the driver and the buzz-cut middle-aged man in the back seat again, and again.

The car got back on the road, and Xiang Kun noticed through the rearview mirror that after he got in the car, the girl in the back seat put on a pair of sunglasses.

The buzz-cut middle-aged man sitting next to the girl noticed his gaze, and explained with a laugh, “This is my daughter, she’s blind.”

Xiang Kun had a suspicion, however, hearing the buzz-cut middle-aged man say it so candidly, he wasn’t sure how to respond. He could only nod, and then change the topic. “I came down from the mountain, and hitchhiked five times before you guys finally decided to stop. I thought I would have to walk down the mountain today. Thank you so much. You guys are good people… good people will be rewarded.”

“Little bro, if you’re going to go hiking, at least choose a pair of better quality shoes,” the buzz-cut middle-aged man in the back seat laughed. Xiang Kun gave a bitter smile, “I had no choice, it’s my first time climbing.”

“With your attire, and without shoes, it’s no wonder people aren’t willing to stop for you,” the driver laughed.

“Yes, I understand. So, I was actually surprised when you decided to stop,” Xiang Kun said honestly.

“It’s because I could tell that you’re probably not a bad person,” said the driver.

“Oh, you could tell that too?” said Xiang Kun, “Honestly speaking, if it were me driving, and I saw someone like me on the side of the road hitchhiking, I wouldn’t dare stop.”

The driver said, “The place where you were hitchhiking had no obstructive views on the road, meaning there’s no place for someone to ambush us. Also, people with bad intentions who want to hitch a ride usually look pitiful or weak and nice. But even though you didn’t have shoes, your expression was calm, your eyebrows were relaxed. You didn’t look worried or frustrated, nor did you smile. From your body language, it’s as if you were saying: ‘Stop if you want, I’ve done my part by raising my hand.’

Both Xiang Kun and the buzz-cut middle-aged man in the back seat couldn’t resist laughing at his words.

Although Xiang Kun felt that his reasoning was somewhat far-fetched, he nevertheless agreed with a flattery, “You have quite profound insight, have you studied psychology?”

“Funny you should say that, our job does require a bit of knowledge in psychology.” The driver laughed.

Not waiting for Xiang Kun to guess their profession, the buzz-cut middle-aged man directly added with a laugh from the back seat, “He’s a detective, if you were a criminal or fugitive or something, it would be equivalent to delivering a merit to him.”

Xiang Kun suddenly understood. It turned out that was the reason.

However, the driver shook his head, saying seriously, “That’s not it, if I really thought you could be a bad person, I wouldn’t risk it with you and ‘Apple’ in the car.”

After chatting for a while, Xiang Kun was astonished to find out that the driver, who looked refined in his spectacles, was a detective. As for the buzz-cut, somewhat darker-skinned middle-aged man who looked like a farmer,he was actually an associate professor at a university.

This really was… appearances can be deceiving!

Of course, when they found out Xiang Kun was a programmer, they were equally surprised, the driver even joked that if he were dressed in monk’s clothing, claiming to be a wandering ascetic monk, they would believe him.

Xiang Kun claimed he was out walking around, climbing mountains, and seeing the scenery to change his mood after his company had just gone bankrupt. Naturally, he didn’t mention that he had already spent four and a half days deep in the mountains. He simply said he started climbing from a nearby mountain, somehow veered onto this mountain, almost got lost, but luckily found the winding mountain road and walked along it. To make matters worse, even his shoes had broken.

What he said was a mixture of truths and lies, and if they were to verify it later, it would be relatively easier, as most of it was true.

The detective driver was named Li Sheng, who was the elder brother of Associate Professor Li Yang in the back seat, and the girl quietly dubbed “Apple” was Li Yang’s daughter.

Today, they had gone up the mountain to visit a relative in a temple and had planned to bird watch on the peak.

Visiting a relative was understandable, but Xiang Kun was confused by the mention of “bird watching”, especially considering that Li Yang’s daughter was blind.

Seeing his confusion, Li Yang explained, “Although my daughter can’t see, her hearing is much better than an average person. She can distinguish between different bird calls, and she can even discern the intention behind the bird calls, whether they are for alarming others, provoking, greeting, or courting.”

Xiang Kun could understand the enhanced hearing; after all, he had trained his sense of smell and hearing while blindfolded to help focus his attention on these two senses. Without relying on vision, hearing and smell can realize their greater potential.

Being able to distinguish between different bird calls was also normal. Given the time to train, he would be able to do it as well. In fact, with the aid of smell, it would be even easier for him to identify species.

But being able to understand the intention behind birdcalls through sound alone, that was truly impressive.

Xiang Kun didn’t think Professor Li Yang was bragging, so he asked the girl for advice on how to identify the purpose of bird calls..