NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79 - 79: Folders
Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Folders
Translator: 549690339
Chapter Seventy-Nine: The File
The man in the photo is naturally Xiang Kun. This photograph was taken when the four of them went archery together. They had asked the archery instructor to help them capture a group photo after they had put on their archery gear.
In the document, various details pertaining to Xiang Kun have been systematically recorded and categorized.
It even precisely chronicles each encounter or WeChat conversation with Xiang Kun according to time, guessing information about him.
Xiang Kun’s previous conjecture was not wrong. On the night he played cards at Tang Baona’s house, Xia Libing recognized him as the stranger she had previously exchanged glances with at the coffee shop.
However, it was only after the card game at Tang Baona’s house that she started this document. Even though the coffee shop incident occurred earlier, it was recorded later than the card game.
Xia Libing scrolled down to the end of the document and marked a new cell with the date: 2019/9/1.
She then input content in the following cells and placed corresponding analytical questions:
His ability to deduce others’ cards and thoughts at the poker table has greatly improved since the last time we played Dowlandlord together;
Is it because he now knows more about me, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen Er, which makes it easier for him to make judgments?
Is he better at playing “Texas Holdem” than “Dowlandlord”?
Has he applied what he has learned from the numerous psychology books he read recently at the poker table?
Does he have some unknown ways to cheat?
It’s clear that he wants to win more than he did last time, but he remains very calm at the poker table, showing no significant changes whether he gets good or bad cards;
Does he not care because he knows he has a way to win overall, regardless of whether he gets good or bad cards in a single game?
Does he deliberately control his emotional changes because he knows I am observing him to ensure I do not detect anything?
He cooked meals for his neighbors. From their expressions while speaking, it appears they genuinely enjoyed both dishes. Judging from his personality, he usually would not offer his cooking unless he was confident about it; 3-1. Is he deliberately trying to build a better relationship with his neighbors?
Spicy rabbit and braised rabbit do not seem to be the dishes that he would like. Why did he choose to prepare these two dishes?
Why did he choose rabbit instead of other more common meats?
There are many types of seasonings in his kitchen, but they are scarcely used. Many matching kitchenware and dinnerware are missing. He doesn’t even own a rice cooker or a pressure cooker. The few kitchen utensils he has are new and were obviously purchased after moving. He claimed that he had just started learning to cook, which seems believable;
What prompted him to start learning to cook?
He’s raising three rabbits in his kitchen;
Why does he not simply buy prepared rabbit meat but raise live rabbits at home instead?
.
After the document was completed, Xia Libing looked at the questions she derived for a while. Then, she opened another file full of pictures and began viewing the images in it.
Upon browsing through these images, it was apparent that they were screenshots of detailed posts from Weibo or WeChat Moments.
The common feature of these posts was that they were either published by Xiang Kun or others and were related to Xiang Kun.
The username of Xiang Kun’s Weibo account is “Emperor Qiankun”. There are no details about his location, age, or college. His bio simply reads “1+1=10”.
Xia Libing found Xiang Kun’s Weibo through a graduation photo posted by Chang Bin in 2012, in which he had tagged “Emperor Qiankun”.
The last update on Xiang Kun’s Weibo was also the graduation photo in 2012. After that, there were no other activities, not even likes or reposts.
Before 2012, his posts were either about new technologies, such as VR, AR, machine learning, neural networks, and so on, or IT-related jokes, such as “Keyboard not found, please press Fl to continue…”, “A programmer bought one kilogram of meat and went home. He found it 24 grams short and unhappily went back to the butcher: You shortchanged me…”, “How to get rich using object-oriented programming? Answer: Inheritance.”
Alternatively, ne’d De engaged In aeDates witn netlzens ne didn’t even Know over a variety of issues, such as ‘Why do I need to learn PYTHON when I can use JAVA in my left hand and C++ in my right?” or “Pro Evolution Soccer is 100 times more fun than FIFA.”
Undeniably, these elements largely represent Xiang Kun during his college years.
Xia Libing believes that his confidence was the same as it is now, but back then, he had more of a reckless, fledgling fearlessness. The character of Xiang Kun that she had analyzed and interpreted now had considerable differences.
Most of the screenshots of WeChat Moments were from Xiang Kun, with a small portion from Chang Bin.
Xiang Kun didn’t post much on Moments. Most of his posts were shares of forefront technology articles, relevant industry news, or photos from company group activities like annual meetings and team-building events. He shared no personal content, or at least, none that was publicly visible.
From the condition of his Moments, in 2014 and 2015, Xiang Kun’s reshares of industry articles often came with a few lines of his own evaluation and opinions, but that dwindled in the recent years to almost none. There was no text representative of his personal will visible in his Moments.
Following Xia Libing’s judgment, the once sharp edges of Xiang Kun were almost entirely worn down after starting work. It appeared as though he lacked both the energy and the will to express any opinions.
However, this character didn’t quite align with the one she had been in contact with recently.
These discrepancies should be due to the changes that happened after he became unemployed.
Xia Libing placed three photos side by side on the screen: on the left was a group photo from a recent trip to an archery range; in the middle, a group photo taken at Xiang Kun’s previous company’s annual party last year; to the right, a photo of Xiang Kun and college dorm mates such as Chang Bin clothed in graduation gowns.
She enlarged Xiang Kun in each of these photos and placed him in the middle, comparing the differences.
In college, Xiang Kun’s eyes held a bit of defiance, a bit of laxity, and a pride that seemed to say “I know I’m right, but I can’t be bothered to argue with others”.
Last year’s Xiang Kun held nothing but fatigue and distraction in his eyes. His expression screamed, “Why am I wasting my time here?”
A few days ago, Xiang Kun’s eyes were calm, holding a confident, premeditated serenity. At the same time, he seemed to be observing the camera, almost as if he were “making eye contact” with himself outside of the picture.
The transformation from college to six or seven years after beginning work was normal. The gap between reality and ideals, burdens of mortgages and work stressors, would inevitably leave some impact on Xiang Kun’s personality
But what happened to Xiang Kun after he became unemployed? Was it because he let go of the heavy burden of work, started exercising, and therefore his entire temperament and mental state changed?
It seemed so.
However, Xia Libing investigated and found out that Xiang Kun’s previous company only went bankrupt in July of this year, which was when he became unemployed.
Comparing the current physique of Xiang Kun to the photo from last year’s company annual meeting, it couldn’t have been only after becoming unemployed that he started exercising. He must have started intense, consistent exercise at least half a year ago. This also seemed to explain why he was so careful about his diet—it was only with a combination of diet planning and physical training that his body could undergo such a significant change in a short period of time.
Therefore, the turning point for Xiang Kun should not have been unemployment, but something much earlier, and shouldn’t have been too long after their company’s last annual meeting.
While deep in thought, her phone vibrated. Xia Libing glanced at it and saw a
WeChat message from Xiang Kun.
“What flavors do you prefer? Sweet, spicy, salty, sour? Name your three favorite dishes.”
Xia Libing paused for a moment, slightly puzzled as to why Xiang Kun would ask this question. However, she quickly realized that Tang Baona had already “scored” a meal from him today. So, was he investigating their preferences? Was he that meticulous?
She thought for a moment, and then replied: “Sweet; crispy pork knuckles, smoked goose, Napoleon cake.”
Xiang Kun responded with an OK hand signal, then asked again: “And your cousin and Nana? What do they like?”
“You should ask them directly.”
“Uh, I will also ask them, but I also want to hear your opinion as you might have a more objective view.”
So Xia Libing replied: “They aren’t picky eaters, they can eat anything.”
After finishing the short chat with Xiang Kun, Xia Libing reopened the previous document with Xiang Kun’s photos, adding a few sentences.
Then she closed Xiang Kun’s document and opened two more documents with different serial numbers. In the upper left corner of these two documents were close-up photos of Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er, respectively.
But this time, she didn’t write as much in their documents as she did in Xiang Kun’s. She only added less than ten words to each.
Her phone then vibrated again, the incoming call displayed “Mom”.
After Xia Libing answered, she greeted her, then told her mother about the trivial matters of her day like visiting her friend’s house to play cards with her cousin, and then what they ate for dinner. Her tone was calm, without any trace of impatience or excitement. It felt as though she was simply narrating an objective experience, with little to no emotional divulgence.
In the end, before hanging up the phone, Xia Libing said: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Don’t you remember? I’m a doctor now. Yes, you and dad should have spoken to Dr. Li too. She didn’t mention any issues, right?
“Yes, I will take care of myself. The sun should just be rising there, right? Are you getting ready for work? I am about to rest.
“When you return to the country next month, I’ll probably be in Haixi Province.
If you have time, you can come to see me.”
“Good morning.”
After hanging up the phone, Xia Libing, who had half-closed her eyes, sat in front of the computer for a while. She then reactivated her darkened screen, reopened the previous folder, and clicked on Xiang Kun’s document..