NFBE Chapter 725 Double Doctoral Degree
Chapter 725 Double Doctoral Degree
The three sat by the window, enjoying their drinks and desserts. Lin Bufan watched Nana bustling between the bar and the customers, then found a moment to stand up.
"Please have a seat, I'll go see if Nana has anything else to eat."
After saying something to Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing, Lin Bufan walked naturally toward the bar.
Nana was wiping the coffee machine with her head down when she heard footsteps. She looked up and saw Lin Bufan. She gave him a gentle smile and asked, "What's wrong? Is the drink not to your liking?"
"No, no, they're all great." Lin Bufan leaned against the bar, casually picking up a small hand-woven ornament from the shelf next to him and playing with it. "You're so busy, it must be tiring."
"You'll get used to it. It's actually quite fulfilling," Nana said softly as she continued her work.
After chatting for a while, Lin Bufan suddenly changed the subject and said, "Nana, you know what? From the first moment I saw you, I felt like I'd seen you somewhere before."
Nana's hand, which was wiping the coffee machine, paused almost imperceptibly before resuming its movement, though noticeably slower. She didn't look up, her voice still gentle, but with a barely perceptible tension: "Is...is that so? Maybe I just have a rather generic face."
“You’re definitely not a generic face.” Lin Bufan’s tone was very certain, with a hint of contemplation: “It’s a very special feeling… especially when you smile, that warm yet somewhat aloof aura, it’s really familiar.”
I think I saw a girl who looked a lot like you on some live streaming platform...yes, one of those singing live streams. I don't know if you've seen her before.
Nana's body visibly stiffened. She finally stopped what she was doing, looked up at Lin Bufan, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something but swallowed it back, managing only a forced smile: "I...I've never seen you before. I don't watch any live streams, and I don't pay much attention to these things. You...you must have mistaken me for someone else."
Lin Bufan took in Nana's reaction but didn't press the matter. He feigned understanding and nodded readily, "Oh, then I probably just mixed it up. There are so many people online who look alike; it's not always accurate." Lin Bufan easily brushed off the topic and instead pointed to the menu, "By the way, Nana, this dessert looks good. Could you tell me more about it?"
Seeing that Lin Bufan didn't pursue the matter further, Nana visibly breathed a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxed, and she continued Lin Bufan's words, earnestly introducing the desserts in the shop. Her tone returned to its previous natural and gentle tone, but a trace of lingering emotion remained deep in her eyes.
Lin Bufan listened attentively, nodding occasionally, as if the brief conversation had never happened.
After bringing up the previous topic, the atmosphere between the two was very relaxed and pleasant. Just as Lin Bufan was making Nana giggle, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing walked over.
Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing smiled and thanked Nana, saying, "The dessert was delicious, thank you for your hospitality."
Nana smiled and replied, "You're welcome, I hope you like it." Then, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing called Lin Bufan and prepared to leave.
As Lin Bufan was leaving, he looked at Nana seriously and said, "You know I'm a streamer, and I'm very good at dealing with trolls and rumor-mongers. You can contact me anytime if you need anything."
Nana stared blankly at Lin Bufan's departing figure. She only snapped back to reality when other customers came to take their orders.
Stepping out of the Windy Pavilion, the warm afternoon sun shone on the cobblestone path. Chen Nanxing couldn't contain her curiosity and nudged Lin Bufan with her elbow: "Hey, I saw you and Nana chatting happily just now, what were you talking about?"
Lin Bufan, hands in his pockets, strolled leisurely, his gaze sweeping over the ancient eaves of the houses on both sides of the street. His tone was casual, yet carried a hint of seriousness: "Nothing, I just felt... I saw someone who seemed lost and hiding herself away. You know me, I'm a kind-hearted person, so I thought that if she needed help, I might be able to lend a hand."
Hearing this, Xu Hongdou frowned slightly, her tone gentle but with a hint of warning: "Bufan, I know you mean well. But we've only just met, and it's too easy to be too familiar with each other... Sometimes being too eager to get close can make people uneasy, or even... cause misunderstandings, making them think you have ulterior motives."
Lin Bufan sighed, raised his hand to rub his temples, and showed a "I'm helpless" expression on his face, but the corners of his mouth habitually curved into a slightly roguish arc: "I understand the reasoning, Hongdou. But sometimes I just can't control my eyes. When I see girls who seem to be stuck in the mud or trapped by something invisible, my legs want to walk over on their own, and my mouth wants to say something on its own. I can't help it, I'm just born with this kind of warm-heartedness that makes me want to shout out when I see injustice, no, I mean, I want to lend a hand."
Chen Nanxing immediately rolled her eyes at Lin Bufan and bluntly pointed out, "Come on! Lin, you're such a good Samaritan, but there's one important condition to this kindness: the other person has to be a pretty girl! If it were some ugly woman heartbroken somewhere, I bet you'd run away faster than anyone else!"
"Nanxing, this is pure framing! Your logic is completely flawed!" Lin Bufan deliberately looked Chen Nanxing up and down, and said in a drawn-out tone with a hint of mockery, "According to you, the prerequisite is a pretty girl, right? But look at yourself, aren't you still far from meeting that 'pretty girl' standard? Didn't I help without saying a word? It shows that I'm purely a kind-hearted person, and it has nothing to do with my looks!"
Chen Nanxing was taken aback at first, then realized that Lin Bufan was indirectly saying she was "not pretty," and she immediately became so angry that her eyebrows shot up and her cheeks turned red: "Lin Bufan! You're asking for it!"
She raised her small handbag and threw it at Lin Bufan.
Lin Bufan was prepared. He laughed heartily and nimbly dodged to the side, continuing his "taunt" as he spoke: "Hey, hey, why are you getting so worked up? I'm just presenting evidence to refute your flawed argument! Is it wrong to be factual?"
"Stop right there! Don't run away if you dare!" Chen Nanxing was both ashamed and angry, and chased after him to continue hitting him.
While nimbly dodging Chen Nanxing's harmless "attacks," Lin Bufan circled around Xu Hongdou, who was slightly frowning, muttering, "Hongdou, look at her! She resorts to violence when she can't win an argument; that's clearly a sign that she's in the wrong!"
Xu Hongdou looked at the two people chasing and dodging each other, arguing noisily, and shook her head helplessly. She reached out and gently stopped Chen Nanxing: "Alright, Nanxing, don't you know what kind of person he is? He just likes to tease you with his sharp tongue. The angrier you get, the more energetic he becomes."
Xu Hongdou glanced at Lin Bufan, who was hiding behind her and peeking out to make a face, and said with a hint of amusement and reproach, "You too, why do you have to make Nanxing angry? How childish!"
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches of the large trees lining the old street of the ancient town, casting dappled, shimmering spots of light on the bluestone pavement. The shadows of the three people, chasing and laughing, stretched out, blending into the leisurely rhythm of the surroundings, as if a lighthearted atmosphere permeated the air.
The three of them strolled leisurely through the streets and alleys of the ancient town for quite some time, sampling local delicacies and buying some interesting trinkets. Lin Bufan had completely shaken off his early morning lethargy, becoming energetic and lively again, cracking jokes and making Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing laugh continuously. Before they knew it, the sun was gradually setting in the west, the sky was painted with a warm orange-red hue, and the heat in the air began to dissipate, bringing a touch of evening coolness.
They strolled leisurely, and before they knew it, they had reached the edge of the village. Before them lay a vast grassland, with distant green mountains and lush green grass nearby. A clear stream meandered through the landscape, and the scenery suddenly opened up before them. A simple wooden sign stood at the edge of the grassland, which read "Yunmiao Village Horse Ranch".
"Huh? We've arrived at the horse farm." Xu Hongdou looked at the scene before her with some surprise.
Just then, Chen Nanxing, with her sharp eyes, spotted a familiar white horse grazing by the fence of the horse farm. It was agile and its coat gleamed softly in the setting sun; it was the same white horse that had almost bumped into them yesterday.
"Hey! Look!" Chen Nanxing excitedly grabbed Xu Hongdou's arm, pointed in that direction with his other hand, and turned to Lin Bufan, saying, "Bufan, look! It's that horse from yesterday!"
The white horse seemed to have heard the commotion, raising its head alertly, its large ears twitching nimbly. When its gaze swept over the three people and finally settled on Lin Bufan, its huge eyes widened instantly, clearly reflecting Lin Bufan's figure and a hint of... barely concealed terror?
The next second, to Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing's astonishment, the white horse seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying. It snorted loudly, turned its head without hesitation, and with all four hooves, it was about to run into the depths of the horse farm!
"Huh? Why did it run away?" Chen Nanxing asked in confusion.
Seeing this, Lin Bufan's lips curled into a playful smile. He cleared his throat and, facing the white horse, called out lazily in a low but strangely penetrating voice, "Hey—Brother Ma—you're leaving without even saying hello to an old friend?"
His voice wasn't particularly loud, but it carried clearly.
The white horse, which had already run a few steps, suddenly stopped as if frozen in place, its galloping motion halting abruptly. Its massive body even swayed slightly from the sudden stop. Then, extremely slowly and with an almost stiff posture, it turned back to Lin Bufan, letting out a low, slightly aggrieved and pleading neigh. It clearly dared not run any further.
"It...it seems like it can really understand what you're saying?" Xu Hongdou stared at this incredible scene, her mouth slightly agape in surprise.
Chen Nanxing was also extremely surprised: "Yes, how come it listens to you so well?"
"Is that even a question?" Lin Bufan straightened his back, cleared his throat, and put on his signature smug expression, as if to say, "How could you forget again?" He began to list his accomplishments: "Didn't I introduce myself yesterday? I, Lin Bufan, am not only a music king, a young entrepreneur, a philanthropist, the miracle doctor who brings the dead back to life, a researcher who improves global technology, a contemporary culinary god, and a giant of online literature..."
He paused deliberately, enjoying the helpless looks from the two women, before slowly adding, "...I am also a reclusive, god-level beast tamer, possessing the supreme method of communicating with all living things through the soul! Let alone this mere horse, even if a pride of lions came, I could just give them a look and they would obediently line up to perform the fire-jumping act for me!"
After hearing Lin Bufan's nonsensical boast, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing exchanged a glance and tacitly rolled their eyes at him.
"You're getting cocky just because I called you fat!" Chen Nanxing said irritably. "A god-level beast tamer? Why don't you just say you're the reincarnation of the Monkey King, and can be on brotherhood with the Jade Emperor?"
Lin Bufan, without batting an eye, raised his chin slightly and said smugly, "What's this? When the opportunity arises, I'll bring my Sangbiao over for you to see. That's my masterpiece. He understands human nature, is exceptionally wise, and can be called the Zhuge Liang of dogs!"
"Sang Biao?"
Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing were slightly taken aback, feeling that the name sounded familiar. Then they realized that Sang Biao was the internet celebrity dog that Lin Bufan kept.
"Are you talking about that super popular little mongrel dog online, the one that's always making fun of you and can even type messages with its paws?" Chen Nanxing leaned forward, his face full of curiosity. "Is it really that smart, able to communicate with humans without any problems? Those videos weren't staged by you, were they?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's face immediately displayed a profound and unfathomable expression. He cleared his throat, straightened his back, and said in a tone as if announcing major news: "Staging a photo? You're kidding! The wisdom of our Sangbiao is far beyond that of ordinary dogs. You'll be shocked if I told you, it recently earned a double doctoral degree in animal behavior and human sociology from Oxford University! How about that, isn't it amazing?"
"What?!" Chen Nanxing was so shocked he almost jumped up, his eyes wide open, his voice rising several decibels: "A PhD from Oxford University?! A double degree?! Really?! A dog... this... how is this possible?!"
Seeing Chen Nanxing's shocked expression, almost to the point of questioning his existence, Lin Bufan's serious face instantly crumbled, replaced by a mischievous grin of triumph. He drawled out the answer lazily: "Of course it's—fake! Hahaha… Chen Nanxing, use your limited brain capacity to think about it properly. How could a dog with no elementary school diploma possibly get into Oxford? And even a PhD? You believe that? I'm truly deeply worried about your intelligence!"
"Lin! Bu! Fan!" Chen Nanxing finally realized he'd been tricked again. His cheeks puffed out in anger, and he charged at Lin Bu Fan, fists flailing: "You tricked me again! I'll beat you to death!"
Seeing Chen Nanxing chasing after him in a "furious" manner, Lin Bufan laughed and turned to run towards the white horse in the riding arena, turning back to "taunt" him as he ran: "Come on, come on, can't catch me? Hehehe~"
Chen Nanxing was both angry and amused, and of course she wasn't going to let it go. She lifted her skirt and chased after him, shouting, "You stop right there! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
Xu Hongdou watched the two chasing and playing like children on the grass, shook her head helplessly, but a smile unconsciously curved her lips. She took a step forward and followed, calling out to remind them, "You two be careful, don't fall!"