Chapter 553 - Chapter 553: Chapter 553: What's Wrong with Xiao Xia?

Chapter 553: Chapter 553: What’s Wrong with Xiao Xia?

Xia Libing immediately understood what Zhang Qian meant and looked down at the large, old backpack in her arms, that had some worn and tattered edges.

This backpack was initially used by Xiang Kun when he was helping her carry clothes to Citong, and it got left with her because she’d gotten used to using it.

Xia Libing liked using Xiang Kun’s big laptop bag. It was large, roomy, comfortable to carry and surprisingly durable. It was much better than using a plastic bag.

Xia Libing looked up to Zhang Qian and said, “The bag you gave me is really nice, but it doesn’t hold much, and it’s too refined, I don’t want to take it on trips.” Actually, she had never even used it once. She’d gotten so used to Kun’s backpack that she didn’t want to use another one. She knew how to frame it in a way that wouldn’t upset Zhang Qian.

“Oh, I see.” Zhang Qian nodded, grinning, “I thought you didn’t like the brand or the style of the bag.”

“You have a great taste, both Nana and my cousin said it’s beautiful.” Xia Libing said. In fact, when Yang Zhen’er and Tang Baona handed her the bag, they had complimented it too.

“That bag suits tall girls with good figures, and I think you’d look particularly nice carrying it.” Zhang Qian said with a laugh.

Yang Jie also agreed, “Yeah, yeah, that bag definitely does look good. And wasn’t that the last piece of that color available at the time?”

“Which C brand bag? Must’ve been expensive, right?” Xiao Min asked curiously.

“The price isn’t too bad, here, let me show you a picture.” Yang Jie said as she started scrolling through her phone.

Although Zhang Qian, Yang Jie and Xiao Min weren’t really luxury brand addicts, they still felt a natural interest in discussing bags, and the topic sparked an enthusiastic conversation.

…

Meanwhile, Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen’er returned little fatty girl back home.

As Shiling’s mom opened the door for them, she wished Kun a happy birthday and reached out to take her sleeping daughter. But as soon as she felt Kun’s grip on her loosen, little fatty girl clung onto Xiang Kun’s neck and cried out loudly, “My cake! No stealing! No custard pie, I eat first! I get the first bite!”

Hearing the noise from the room, Custard Pie who was coming out to welcome their little mistress, shrank its neck, obviously startled and confused.

Shiling’s mom laughingly pulled the little fatty girl’s hand from Kun’s bald head and with the help of Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er, they managed to take the girl from him.

But the loud cry woke Liu Shiling, she looked around a bit dazed and then instinctively wiped her mouth, “”Uncle Bald, where’s my cake?””

Laughing, Shiling’s mom chided, “It’s so late and you’re still thinking about eating! You little foodie! Look at how chubby you’ve gotten…Say goodbye to your Sister Nana, Sister Zhen, and Uncle Kun, go brush your teeth and go to bed!”

“Goodbye Uncle Cake, Sister Cake, Fairy Cake…” Liu Shiling’s eyes were barely open as she muttered sleepily.

“Oh my goodness.” Shiling’s mom couldn’t help but facepalm. She really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

After seeing off little fatty girl, they entered the elevator to return. Yang Zhen’er, who was close to tears from laughing, said to Tang Baona, “Nana, you’re laughing at Xiao Lingdang, but today wasn’t it you who mixed up your own name with her older sister’s?”

Tang Baona, who was laughing, reached out to pinch Yang Zhen’er’s waist, “You should reflect on why Xiao Lingdang calls Kun and me “Cake”, while you are “Fairy Cake”.”

Yet Xiang Kun laughed and said, “Nana, we should be thankful. Otherwise, I would be “Egg Light Uncle” and you would be “Egg Bright Sister.”

“Egg Light… Egg Bright… Oh gosh…hahaha…” Tang Baona, was hit right in her humor spot. She ended up crying from laughter, slapping Yang Zhen’er’s back, who cried out in pain.

Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er’s apartments were in the same building as Little Fatty’s, so the elevator only went down a few floors.

After saying goodbye to them, Xiang Kun continued to the lobby. He was heading to the hotel. When leaving the restaurant, his parents had already been driven to the hotel by Zi Cheng. During this time, including Zi Cheng, Chang Bin, Yang Jie, Yang Zhuo, Xiang Kun, Xia Libing and others were all staying at the same hotel.

Upon returning to the hotel, although it was very late, knowing that his parents hadn’t slept yet, Xiang Kun, of course, went to their room to say hello and say goodnight.

However, in the room, his parents who usually went to bed early, seemed quite energetic this time, even a bit excited.

His dad was enthusiastically asking Kun about the process of forming a company with Zhang Qian, Nana, and Zhen’er, whether they faced any difficulties while making the game, and if the company had any capital or channel issues at present.

But before he could ask a second question, his mom interrupted, “Kun, did you and Xia quarrel? Is Xia upset with you? You didn’t break up, did you?”

Stunned for a moment, Xiang Kun laughed and said, “Um~ Mom, how could we have broken up? We haven’t even officially started dating yet! Please don’t make wild guesses!”

However, he immediately understood why his mom would ask such a question. Xia Libing’s demeanor today was quite different from how she was during the New Year holidays at Citong, when she was with his parents.

As expected, his mom said: “In any case, I feel that Xia seemed preoccupied today, she wasn’t quite cheerful. Or… Is there an issue with her work or family? Kun, you should care more about Xia!”

His dad also nodded in agreement, “Yeah, Xia seemed today like a plant that hasn’t been watered or sunned in a long time, wilted and lacking energy.”

But his mom corrected him: “That’s not true, Xia seemed quite energetic, she just didn’t talk much and seemed like she wasn’t blending in with the group. Ah, Kun, did Xia have a conflict with any one of your friends?”

Xiang Kun also felt bemused. Xia’s expression today was as normal as it could be from his point of view, and for others who were close to her. But after getting accustomed to Xia’s “docile and lively mask”, his parents were finding it hard to adapt to the “normal Xia”, thinking that she was holding a grudge.

Xiang Kun knew that Xia must have been aware of this beforehand, it wasn’t that she had forgotten to match her “persona”.

If it was only Old Xia herself or just the two of them, her and Old Xia, coming to pick up his parents this time, she would most likely maintain her style at their previous meeting at his house, adjusting gradually and letting his parents adapt.

But this time there was a large group of people picking them up at the airport, if she took on a super lively and well-behaved attitude, it would inevitably attract the surprise and attention of the other people.

So after weighing it up, Old Xia chose to present her “unfiltered” self in advance.

After some thought, Xiang Kun also half-heartedly helped to explain: “Mom, Dad, Xia is actually just like she is today under normal circumstances. Haven’t you noticed that no one else finds her behavior odd? It’s just that when Xia came to our house as a guest last time, she deliberately tried to please the two of you. Today, with so many people picking you up, Xia probably felt shy about flattery like she did at our house.”

“What flattery, what are these phrases you’re using, they’re all over the place. That’s called being sensible and polite from Xia!” said Mrs. Xiang, patting her son on the shoulder with annoyance.

However, after Xiang Kun’s explanation, Mrs. Xiang’s doubts indeed dissipated to a great extent, as she also noticed, as Xiang Kun said, that the other friends, especially Xia’s cousin and other relatives, were behaving very normally and didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with Xia. This proves that her son was right, Xia is probably just like this normally.

This didn’t change Mr. and Mrs. Xiang’s attitude towards Xia Libing, they still thought very highly of the girl, Xia.

Put simply, elders tend to judge their juniors based on preconceived notions.

If they like them, a young girl’s sweet words will be considered as sensible and obedient, but if they don’t, those words might be deemed frivolous, and slippery. There’s always something to be said, after all, this isn’t a matter of principle.

As they chatted, Mrs. Xiang starts talking about Little Fatty Girl again. The moment she starts talking about her, a smile unconsciously forms on her face: “Oh, Little Lingdang is just so adorable! She just gets more and more lovable the more you look at her – she’s cute when she talks, cute when she walks, cute when she laughs, even when she’s daydreaming, she’s cute. She’s cute when she sings, and even when she eats, she’s quite adorable. She is really a treasure!”

Xiang Kun laughed: “Well, kids are supposed to be cute.”

Mrs. Xiang glared at him: “You weren’t that cute when you were little. You were like a naughty monkey, always stinking of trouble. Just seeing you always gave me a headache.”

Xiang Kun could only give an awkward laugh in response.

“By the way, that Miss Tang, the cute, delicate-looking girl with glasses called Nana, who’s your business partner. What’s your relationship with her?” asked Mrs. Xiang out of the blue.

“We’re just friends and also business partners. I generally handle the technical aspects and company issues while Nana and Zhen’er take care of marketing, operations, finance, and administration. They are also in charge of interfacing with Director Zhang.” said Xiang Kun.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Xiang said with a laughing, “You wouldn’t know this, but before you got back to the hotel, your mom was spinning a tale of a love triangle to me! She thinks you might have had a change of heart and fallen for Miss Tang while setting up the company. Then Xia decisively broke up with you, but now that they’re back together, she’s inevitably a bit awkward, that’s why she hasn’t been talking or smiling much today. Your mom was especially sympathetic towards Xia, to the point of nearly shedding a tear. She wondered how to scold you, the heartless one!”

Xiang Kun looked at his mom, speechless. His mother’s melodramatic imagination could compete with Yang Lao San’s daydreaming.

“It’s not like I’m just making it up.” Mrs. Xiang glared at Mr. Xiang and then turned to Xiang Kun, “Kun, tell me honestly, does Miss Tang like you?”

“What?” Xiang Kun was caught off guard, “Mom, what new theory have you come up with now?”

Mrs. Xiang extended a finger, hesitated for two seconds, then said: “Intuition.”

“Mom, you should go to bed early. I’ll take you to the company to have a look tomorrow morning,” Xiang Kun said as he prepared to return to his room — if he stayed any longer, he had a premonition his mother would certainly bring up questions full of fanciful and gossip-loaded ideas, ones that would make him scratch his head in confusion, unable to answer.

However, as he reached the door, Mrs. Xiang couldn’t help asking again: “Kun, who do you really like, Xiao Xia or Miss Tang?”

Xiang Kun gave a bitter smile: “Mom, what do you take your son for? How could I choose between Xiao Xia and Nana? Don’t overthink, go to bed.”

“How can I not overthink? As soon as your birthday is over today, you’re 31. I don’t know if I will be able to hold my grandchild if you keep dragging this on.”

Mr. Xiang, hugging Mrs. Xiang’s shoulders, laughed: “You shouldn’t worry so much. I see our son has changed a lot, in the way he speaks, acts, and treats others, he’s greatly improved from previous years. His career is also progressing well, and we don’t need to worry about him not finding a wife. Whether it’s with Xiao Xia, Miss Tang, or any other girl, it’s a matter of mutual affection among young people. As parents, we should support him.”

When he returned to his room, Xiang Kun sighed a bit. A year ago, a few days after his thirtieth birthday, the company went under, he lost his job, and then he slept for two full days, during which his body mutated.

Unknowingly, a year has passed, and he is now 31 years old. However, under the influence of the mutation, his life has been completely changed.

One could even say that not only his life has changed, but so have the lives of many, many people including Old Xia, Little Fatty Girl, Xiao Pingguo, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen Er, You Meng, Zi Cheng, Liu Caifu, Liu Gaoshang, Liu Zhengyi, Qi Haoguo, Mr. Liang, Guo Tianxiang, John, Joel, and many others.

In a certain sense, all human beings and all biological communities on Earth could undergo great changes due to his mutation.

The key moment is coming soon.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Xiang accompanied by a large group of people visited “Teng Jiao Entertainment”.

Though “QianKun Technology,” which Xiang Kun dominates, should be the focus, both in Peng City and Haixi Province, “QianKun Technology” temporarily does not have a decent office. “Teng Jiao Entertainment”, on the other hand, already has the look of a big company. Since Xiang Kun, through “QianKun Technology,” has a significant stake in “Teng Jiao Entertainment,” calling this his partnership company is not wrong.

Zhang Qian enthusiastically introduced the company to Mr. and Mrs. Xiang, and guided them on a tour of various departments in the building which occupies three floors with another floor rented out and being prepared. People bustled about the place. Although Mr. and Mrs. Xiang didn’t quite understand the introductions, they could see the vitality and ambition of the company.

Seeing his parents somewhat moved and pleased, Xiang Kun, who was standing at the side, couldn’t help but think back to when he just graduated and joined a company, full of ambition, fantasizing about becoming successful one day. He would bring his parents to a big city, live in a mansion he bought, and ride in his luxury car to his high-tech company, where he would introduce everything to his parents floor by floor.

And now, most of his once dreamt dreams got realized without much fuss.

He knew that, if he wanted, with Alice’s help, he could amass vast wealth. Owning luxury cars and mansions, and dominating the business world would not be difficult.

But for him now, these things seemed inconsequential and served only to make his parents smile.