The next day.
As usual, Xia Xu got up early, completed the high-intensity morning exercises he had long been accustomed to, and then went to Xiao Baihua's bun shop for breakfast.
"Here~"
Normally, Tang Zhan was the one who was selling the buns, but Xia Xu was obviously treated a little specially, as Xiao Baihua stood on tiptoe and handed the buns to him personally.
Her face was flushed, and it was unknown whether it was due to shyness or the result of the steam from the steamer. Anyway, Tang Zhan, who was standing by, felt jealous. He glared at her and stretched out his hand to Xia Xu: "Twenty yuan."
"Uncle Tang, are you robbing me? Two buns for twenty dollars?"
Xia Xu, who was chewing a bun, choked and rolled his eyes.
Tang Youxin hurriedly ran to the store, poured a glass of boiled water and handed it over.
"Specially made to order, premium buns, this is the price, any opinions?"
Tang Zhan stretched his neck and said.
"Okay, I have no objection, twenty is twenty."
Xia Xu took the water cup and took a big gulp, swallowing the bun that was choking in his throat. He reached into his pocket and took out a twenty-dollar bill and slapped it on the aluminum alloy steamer stove.
When Tang Zhan saw that he admitted defeat, a smile of victory immediately appeared on his face.
It doesn't matter whether there's money or not. What matters is that he'll be happy if he can make this brat lose face.
"Just keep it for later use. You don't have a son anyway."
Unfortunately, the next sentence Xia Xu muttered made his smile freeze on his face.
"Youxin! Hurry up and bring me the rolling pin!"
The angry roar made Xia Xu wisely choose to quickly stuff the last bun into his mouth, then turned around and ran away holding Atuo's hand.
After a short episode, he got into the black business car driven by He Qing again at the alley.
"Go to this address."
Xia Xu gave him the address Pan Long left yesterday.
It didn't take long for the car to arrive at the location written above.
Pan Long was much more mature in his actions than Yao Fu. The place he gave was naturally not his own home, but a rented warehouse near a furniture mall.
The business car stopped on the side of the road. I sat in the car and called Pan Long. Not long after, I saw a young man wearing a disposable mask walking out of the warehouse, looking up nervously.
Xia Xu waved his hand forward, and He Qing immediately understood what he meant and started the car and slowly moved over, finally stopping in front of him.
Seeing the car parked in front of him, Pan Long naturally understood what was meant, but he still confirmed: "You are..."
"It's me."
Xia Xu turned his head to look at him and smiled slightly.
Because he was wearing a hood last night and had poor vision, Pan Long was unable to see Xia Xu's face.
But at this moment Pan Long still recognized his voice, and with a bit of embarrassment in his eyes he moved his gaze from He Qing to Xia Xu: "Master, why are you here so early?"
What he actually wanted to ask was why they came here in broad daylight. In his opinion, these people might need to hide their identities or something.
In fact, he was not too willing to reveal his true appearance, but it was not convenient to go out in broad daylight wearing the strange clothes he wore last night, so he could only hastily put on a mask.
"Xia Xu, just call me by my name."
Xia Xu introduced himself with a sneer, opened the door and got out of the car, while also letting Atuo out from the back seat.
"Then... Hello, Brother Xu, my name is Pan Long."
Seeing that Xia Xu also appeared in front of him with his true face without any concealment and introduced himself confidently, Pan Long's vigilance gradually decreased. After hesitating for a moment, he also said his name and raised his hand to take off the mask.
After the introduction, he led Xia Xu to the warehouse while looking back from time to time.
This master seemed to be different from the image of the lone ranger he had imagined in his mind last night.
This is simply too young.
Moreover, it looks familiar for some reason, as if I have seen it somewhere before.
"Xu..."
Arriving at the rolling door of the warehouse, Pan Long took out the key and opened the small door on the rolling door. He stepped in, suppressed his wandering thoughts and was about to introduce himself to Xia Xu when suddenly an idea flashed in his mind.
He remembered why it felt familiar.
"Xia...Xia Xueshen? Master, are you Xia Xueshen?"
Pan Long suddenly realized what was happening and turned his head away in astonishment.
These two days, the interviews about Xia Xu have been gaining popularity. Amid the jokes and cheers of the crowd, he and Tang Youxin were once dubbed the "school god" and "school immortal".
Although Pan Long didn't pay much attention, he still occasionally saw some scales and claws.
First of all, the name Xia Xu is not a secret. Any report listing his college entrance examination scores will always be accompanied by his name.
As for appearance, the mosaic in the interview video only covers the face, but the body shape and posture can still give people a certain cognitive impression, and the temperament and the like cannot be concealed.
Originally, Pan Long would not have thought of this for no reason, but Xia Xu's young face was completely inconsistent with the strong and wise image he had yesterday, coupled with the name and the inexplicable sense of familiarity, he instinctively came to this conclusion in his mind almost as if the clouds had been cleared to reveal the sun.
"That's right."
Xia Xu smiled indifferently, and jokingly said, "Now you don't have to worry about me having bad intentions."
"Hey, haha, I really can't hide it from you, Xia Xueshen."
Pan Long scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Perhaps it was the result of anxiety sold in various similar movies, he still had some concerns about meeting people with his real identity.
But people like Xia Xu who can be considered public figures to a certain extent can take off their disguises, so it would be a bit too cowardly for him to continue to worry about these things.
And to be honest, if there really was an accident, since he clearly recognized Xia Xu's identity, he would at least know who to ask the police to look for when he called the police.
"Okay, come in and introduce your secret base to me."
Xia Xu did not hold on to it, but shook his head gently and chuckled.
The reason why he pointed this out was not to embarrass Pan Long or anything, but just to break the window paper and eliminate the barrier.
This seemingly insignificant little action successfully broke the ice between strangers.
With a little bit of guilt in his heart, Pan Long became noticeably more enthusiastic afterwards. After welcoming Xia Xu in, he started making tea and introducing the place to everyone.
This warehouse is quite large, but due to the poor business of the furniture store next to it, it is difficult to rent out, so Pan Long rented it at a lower price.
However, he naturally did not rent the warehouse to store things. Part of the space inside was vacated and turned into a training area with targets and other equipment placed there.
Then there are old workbenches piled with tools such as hammers, desks with computers, piles of miscellaneous items stacked with many cardboard boxes, etc. It is rather messy and dirty, with no planning, but it looks like a secret base that many men dream of.