What It's Like Being a Vampire

Chapter 596: Chapter 596: The Door to the New World (Part 1)

On October 3rd, Tang Baona returned to her parents’ home in Shenhai.

On the one hand, she was returning for a relative’s wedding; and on the other hand, her parents, sister, and brother-in-law planned a birthday meal for her the next day, October 4th.

Earlier, at the end of September, in Chongyun Village, Xiang Kun organized a “grand show” under the pretext of celebrating her birthday in advance. The surprise was indeed quite surprising, but she was left with questions to ponder.

The strange thing was, after that day, she didn’t see Xiang Kun anymore!

She had eagerly anticipated Xiang Kun’s return that night or the next day, wanting to ask him about the mysterious lightning storm in the mountains and how the fireworks were set up. Did he secretly develop some new technology, something like naked-eye 3D?

But Xiang Kun didn’t come back at all! He only sent a message in the group chat that he suddenly had to go on a business trip!

What business trip?! Wasn’t Yang Lao San taking care of the company in Peng City?

But Tang Baona didn’t think it was right to keep questioning like Yang Lao San. Surprisingly, this time, Yang Lao San didn’t raise any objections to Xiang Kun’s message in the group chat.

Before she returned to Shenhai this time, Yang Lao San had already brought Liu Shiling, the newly enrolled primary school student on her National Day holiday, to Chongyun Village.

Tang Baona originally planned to invite Yang Lao San to come back with her. Or they could also bring Xiao Lingdang, Xiao Pingguo, and Old Xia. Having everyone together would make things lively. After she had attended the wedding, they could all hang out in Shenhai for a few days. After all, Little Fatty Girl’s holiday wouldn’t end until the 9th when school would start again.

But to her surprise, Yang Lao San, who she believed would surely come back with her, was the first to express his desire to stay. Then Xiao Pingguo, Xiao Lingdang, and Old Xia also didn’t want to go to Shenhai.

If it weren’t for the fact that they had prepared a birthday feast for her that night to celebrate her birthday in advance, she would have felt a little left out in the cold.

However, without Brother Xiang as the chef, the Chongyun village cooking team, led by Yang Lao San and Old Xia, and assisted by Little Fatty Girl and Xiao Pingguo, prepared a meal that was somewhat underwhelming. If it weren’t for the dishes delivered from the Youlong Restaurant, their “banquet” probably wouldn’t have been filling enough.

Nonetheless, cooking was a joyful process. Little Fatty Girl and Xiao Pingguo had flour all over their faces. Yang Zhen’er and Old Xia were devoted to experimenting with some terrible dishes, setting a wager that whoever finished eating their own dish first would win.

Even Tang Baona herself made several “turtle dumplings”, “dog dumplings”, “tiger dumplings”, and even “gold shining dumplings” and “custard pie dumplings”. Of course, after boiling them, all the dumplings turned out to be of bizarre shapes. However, eating dumplings that she herself cooked didn’t feel too bad.

Despite their efforts, they still managed to whip up some dishes that were barely edible. It was unlike the Christmas Eve dinner last year; Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er had planned to prepare a full table of delicacies to treat everyone. However, they ended up losing track of the ingredients and couldn’t figure out how to cook. Xiang Kun had to step in and save the day.

Even though Xiang Kun wasn’t there today, he had prepared his birthday gift for her in advance – a wooden bracelet. Upon closer inspection, each bead made of ebony was carved with intricate patterns, with a Q version of Tang Baona, clad in armor, holding a great sword, wearing round glasses, with ponytail hair and plump cheeks, as the protagonist.

Some beads showed Q version of Tang Baona battling monsters, some of her nodding off, with a bubble on her nose, wrapped in a big quilt, some of her teaching Q version of Little Fatty Girl how to draw, some of her holding a big bun, and some of her singing with eyes shut in ecstasy…

Although the surface area of each bead was not large, and it was round and had to allow for a hole for stringing, Xiang Kun still managed to carve every story with full detail. However, without a magnifying glass, it was a bit straining to see the details.

Tang Baona loved this bracelet. Wearing it on her wrist and gently fiddling with the beads, she would squint her eyes and carefully look at the pictures carved on it. She could spend half an hour engrossed in it and even burst into a chuckle when she found a funny detail.

Little Fatty Girl was incredibly envious of the bracelet. When Tang Baona was unpacking her gift, she stood by the table looking at the patterns carved on the beads. Her eyes clearly expressed, “I want one too.” Of course, she knew it was a birthday gift from Bald Uncle to beautiful sister Boana, and she couldn’t possibly have it. However, she had already decided in her heart that she would ask Bald Uncle for a similar gift for her birthday in the future!

What surprised Tang Baona even more was, when she boarded the flight back to Shenhai, she suddenly felt that familiarity of sensing emotional melody from others on the plane. She could pinpoint exactly who it was, how far they were, and what they looked like.

This feeling was just slightly fainter than when she was with Xiang Kun, but otherwise, it was distinct and certain. She could even control whether she wanted to sense other people’s emotional melodies or sense the melody of the surrounding items as if something mixed in the vicinity was helping her locate the melody of the items.

With these recent discussions with Xiao Pingguo about the details of various melodies, Tang Baona’s understanding and control of item melodies became more adept. She no longer found the mixed melodies of various items to be overwhelming or noisy. Instead, she could actively blend them together. Using different musical instruments in her mind to perform and orchestrate, it’s as if she were conducting a mega symphony performance. It was an intense experience.

Once this integrated performance was combined, she found that her melody was no longer an expression of a single item, but an expression of the entire space. It represented the airplane cabin environment, the advertisements on various electronic screens, sleeping passengers, couples whispering sweet nothings using the same pair of headphones, the flight attendant pushing the trolley, the clouds outside the window, the wind outside, some people’s joy, some people’s distress. She was merely closing her eyes and relying on her senses. She could reconstruct the environment around her using the melody.

She could even imagine herself transforming into the entire plane, soaring through the sky, piercing through the winds and clouds, and having the time of her life.

When the plane landed, she had already orchestrated a symphony in her mind. Upon opening her eyes, she immediately looked at the ebony bracelet on her wrist.

She was certain that her sudden regain of the melody perception on the plane was not because Xiang Kun was hiding on the plane but because of the bracelet Xiang Kun gave her as a birthday gift!

This bracelet was like a miniature Xiang Kun, or a kind of antenna… No, that’s not right, an antenna passively receives signals, while she was actively exploring various melody perceptions around her. She could choose to perceive other people’s emotions or specific person’s emotions, or she could choose to perceive objects’ melodies or in a specific direction.

Yes, it should be described as a radio – it can receive signals and adjust frequencies.

As Tang Baona exited the airport, she fiddled with the bracelet on her hand while pondering the meaning of Xiang Kun’s birthday gift to her.

If the “function” of this bead bracelet is the result of Xiang Kun’s deliberate arrangements, it means that her ability to perceive emotions and objects through melodies, has been known to Xiang Kun. It might even be possible that this ability too is owed to Xiang’s schemes!

Thinking back to a few nights ago, the extravagant firework show Xiang Kun choreographed for her birthday amid a mountainous lightning storm, Tang Baona suddenly realized that Xiang Kun was leading her by the hand, ushering her into a brand new, vibrant world. The curtain encapsulating it was about to be lifted.

Tang Baona felt a mix of trepidation and anticipation. While she maintained a poised facade, the giddy, twin-tailed teenager concealed in her heart was already jumping with enthusiasm.

…

“Nana, how does the chicken your mom made taste?”

At the dinner table, after her daughter finished a chunk of roasted chicken leg, Tang Baona’s mother hurriedly asked, “I have improved both the recipe and cooking method. Your father and Baoting have both tried it and said it’s much better than what I used to make!”

Tang Baona nodded repeatedly, “Hmm hmm, it’s delicious!”

“Well…how does it compare to the dishes made by Xiang Kun that you often talk about?” Baona’s mother continued to ask.

“Ah?” Baona was taken aback. She didn’t expect her mother to ask such a question. Although her mother’s roast chicken did taste significantly better than before, it still fell short when compared to the dishes made by “Chef Xiang”. Because, after all, “Chef Xiang” was “Chef Xiang”.

“I’ve always heard you, Baoting, Xiao Gao, and the Yang family’s girl praising Xiang Kun’s cooking, saying it’s extremely delicious and you guys often eat his dishes. So, I want to see if my roast chicken, for which I’ve labored over for half my life, can best Xiang Kun,” Baona’s mother said while trying to stifle her own laughter.

Tang Baoting immediately jumped in: “Of course it can! Mom, this roast chicken you’ve made has achieved a state of supreme poultry delight – it’s as tender as beef, it fills the mouth with fragrance at first bite, adds a sweetness at the second, and by the third bite, it flips over with sensations. It’s definitely better than anything Xiang Kun makes!”

Tang Baona’s mother, laughing, smacked her elder daughter’s shoulder: “Where did you learn all these catchphrases, and a whole series of them? Go away, I was asking Nana, not you.”

Tang Baoting, covering her shoulder, said with a woebegone face: “Mom! You don’t love me anymore, you’re biased, you only dote on Nana!”

“Why are you suddenly possessed by a drama queen? That’s enough, it’s Nana’s birthday today, of course I’m going to ask Nana!” Baona’s mother said, half laughing and half crying.

Tang Baona was also so amused by her sister that she couldn’t stop laughing. Then, she nodded repeatedly, “Of course mom’s dishes are the best. Absolutely, unquestionably! You can ask my brother-in-law; he’s the most honest and would never lie!”

Gao Yao, who was happily watching his fiancée’s antics while munching on his chicken, was taken aback when he discovered that the attention of the other four at the table had shifted to him. Coughing a few times after being taken by surprise, he heard his future mother-in-law’s mild voice: “Xiao Gao, you’ve also eaten Xiang Kun’s cooking, haven’t you? Come, tell us what you think. How does this roast chicken compare to Xiang Kun’s dishes?”

“Well… I don’t think Xiang Kun has ever cooked roast chicken. He usually uses rabbit meat for his dishes…” Halfway through, Gao Yao’s speech sped up, “But even his best rabbit dish can’t compare to your roast chicken, Mom. The roast chicken is delicious. Much more delicious!”

Tang Baoting immediately said, “See mom, Gao Yao agrees too! That proves it! He’s honest and never lies!”

Tang Baona’s mother laughed, “Alright, alright, you guys are just ganging up to make me happy.” Nevertheless, inside, she was quite pleased.

As they continued their meal, Tang Baona occasionally reached for the communal chopsticks to serve dishes to her parents, sister, and brother-in-law. She had suddenly realized that she could accurately determine their statuses and predict their next actions, such as what dishes they wanted to eat, by sensing their emotional melodies.

Each time when someone raised their head after taking a few bites from their bowl, Baona could immediately determine their intentions before they could reach for their own chopsticks. Then, she would accurately use the communal chopsticks to help them complete their actions. Whenever Baoting was thirsty and wanted to fill her cup, Baona would always beat her to it.

Upon discovering this predictive ability, Tang Baona was immensely intrigued and amused by it.

However, the other four at the table had clearly noticed the anomaly. Tang Baoting couldn’t help but say, “Nana, have you been hanging out with Old Xia recently and learned some psychological tricks from him? Like micro expressions, micro actions and such? Can you tell which dishes I want to pick and what I want to eat?”

“Ah?” Tang Baona realized that she had been getting carried away with experimenting her predictive ability, so she chuckled a bit and blamed it on Old Xia, “Yes, yes, I learned from Old Xia.”

Out of curiosity, Gao Yao asked, “How exactly do you predict? Just now, you served the piece of fish that I wanted the most. But as far as I remember, I wasn’t looking at the plate at that time.”

Baona was taken aback. She couldn’t possibly say that she relied on the melody of his emotions to guide her to that piece of meat, could she? All she could do was respond, “This is Old Xia’s exclusive skill. It’s a secret and can’t be casually revealed!”

“Good, good, it’s a valuable thing for a girl to be observant and insightful. You won’t be cheated or fooled, and others will perceive you as considerate, gentle, and understanding. Hehe, you should also perform well when you meet your parents-in-law in future. By the way, Nana, how are things going with you and Xiang Kun?” Tang Baona’s mother suddenly switched to a topic that dizzied Baona a bit.

“Ah? Mom, why are you suddenly asking this? Xiang Kun and I are getting along great! Our company is doing really well now. Remember the game I shared in our family chat last time? We developed that game; it’s super fun! Mom, have you tried it?” Tang Baona desperately tried to steer the conversation.

“Your sister frequently praises Xiang Kun to me, and I’ve heard your grandpa mention him too, saying he’s a decent lad.” Tang Baona’s mother remained unfazed and looked at Baona’s left wrist, “By the way, this bracelet, Xiang Kun gave it to you, didn’t he? Did he make it himself?”

Baona was absent-minded, playing with the bracelet on her wrist, and her hand froze when she heard her mother, “Mom, how did you know that?” Xiang Kun had given her this bracelet and aside from Yang Lao San, Xiao Lingdang, Xiao Pingguo, and Old Xia, no one else should know about it. She hadn’t mentioned it to any of her family members yet.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om