Cheng Yue was fidgeting in the passenger seat, touching the car’s roof and the seat, his eyes filled with admiration. “Is this your car?”
“No, it’s a friend’s,” Ji Xu replied, focusing on the road ahead.
“This car is so cool! The lines! The acceleration is amazing!” Cheng Yue exclaimed as he looked at the steering wheel.
“Can I touch it?”
Ji Xu nodded as he continued to navigate through the traffic.
Cheng Yue’s eyes lit up, and his hand moved eagerly towards the steering wheel, only to find it was cool to the touch.
Cheng Yue: “…”
Feeling embarrassed, Cheng Yue awkwardly smiled as he touched Ji Xu’s hand, relieved when Ji Xu didn’t show any sign of being annoyed. Cheng Yue then eagerly touched the steering wheel a few times before finally letting go.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who was now smiling contentedly. He couldn’t understand how the kid could go from being scared and crying to being so happy.
Ji Xu, still chuckling at Cheng Yue’s infectious smile, explained, “I went to Qing County in the neighboring city today, so I got here late.”
“It’s okay,” Cheng Yue replied, now feeling a bit embarrassed. He smiled and rubbed his head, suddenly remembering the debt note. “About that debt note…”
“Your dad was a big company boss, and the private loan to those three was only 500,000.” Ji Xu analyzed while still focusing on the road, “The formal contract isn’t important, but the note didn’t specify the time or the purpose of the loan. How could your dad have done something like this?”
Cheng Yue blinked, his mind racing as he realized something. “You mean… the debt note is fake? Those three were scamming me!”
“Let’s not talk about whether the note is real or not,” Ji Xu said, finding the poor acting of the three men and their eagerness to escape somewhat amusing.
“They probably just wanted to scare you on someone’s behalf. Think carefully about whether you have offended anyone here.”
“Offended anyone?” Cheng Yue frowned and thought about it. “It’s impossible. I don’t know anyone here except…”
“Except who?” Ji Xu asked.
Cheng Yue thought about it, realizing it couldn’t be possible. The only person he knew was an aunt from his parents’ company. This aunt was close to his mother and had even traveled to the U.S. with her. The car models in his collection were all gifts from her.
Seeing Cheng Yue suddenly fall silent, Ji Xu didn’t press further and parked the car. He waited patiently for Cheng Yue to come to a realization.
Cheng Yue, his mind racing and feeling somewhat overwhelmed, eventually gave up trying to figure it out. When he finally noticed that the car had been parked for a while, he turned to Ji Xu, who was sitting next to him, and said apologetically, “I got sidetracked while thinking. Where are we now?”
“Get out of the car,” Ji Xu said, reaching over to remove Cheng Yue’s cap.
Cheng Yue suddenly felt a draft on his head and, nervously, wondered if Ji Xu was really going to shave his head.
After Ji Xu got out of the car and saw Cheng Yue still sitting inside, he knocked on the window.
The car door didn’t open, but the window slowly rolled down.
Ji Xu leaned slightly and looked inside, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Yue, peeking out from the window, clung tightly to the door and said nervously, “I… I don’t want to shave… not my whole head!”
Ji Xu, resting his hand on the outside of the window, looked at Cheng Yue’s ridiculous expression with some frustration. The kid’s yellow hair was really starting to irritate him. He maintained a stern face and gave Cheng Yue a firm pat on the head. “Get out.”
“It hurts…” Cheng Yue flinched away from the unexpected slap.
Ji Xu gave him a glance, too lazy to argue, and simply opened the door and dragged Cheng Yue out.
Cheng Yue was almost carried into the barbershop by Ji Xu. To protect his precious golden hair, he put up what he thought was a serious resistance against the stern-faced Ji Xu. However, he remained still as Ji Xu dragged him along, believing he was putting up a strong fight.
Inside the barbershop, Cheng Yue wanted to reflect on why he was so afraid of Ji Xu. Ji Xu had never been truly aggressive towards him; on the contrary, he seemed like a good person.
As Cheng Yue was pushed into a chair, he looked into the clean, bright mirror and suddenly realized something.
This feeling might be… due to his presence?
In the barbershop, there were at least dozens of people present. Aside from the standing barbers, there were also seated ladies and gentlemen, all staring at Ji Xu, who was emitting a palpable air of authority.
Soon, a man in a suit and a small coat, who was nearest to them, reacted and smiled as he greeted them, “Gentlemen, how can I help you?”
“Get this kid’s messy hair cleaned up,” Ji Xu instructed.
Cheng Yue: “……”
The man in the suit and small coat was momentarily stunned by Ji Xu’s command, but soon regained his composure and began enthusiastically explaining the hairstyle options.
“This style is very popular lately…”
Ji Xu glanced at Cheng Yue in the mirror and quickly said, “Shorten it, the forehead should be visible, the back shouldn’t be too long, it’s best to trim it flat, and dye it black.”
“No way! I can’t have the front cut!” Cheng Yue protested, firmly defending his curly bangs on his forehead.
“My forehead gets cold easily!”
Ji Xu gave him a cold look and finally decided, “Just shave it all off. A clean shave looks neat.”
“I’ll cut it myself!” Cheng Yue quickly changed his stance, his eyes widening with anger as he glared at Ji Xu through the mirror.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue’s reaction and, unusually, smiled slightly. He then turned to the man in the suit and said, “Shorten it and dye it black.”
Cheng Yue closed his eyes as the suited man started preparing his tools. He didn’t want to see his golden hair being cut away.
“You don’t need to close your eyes just yet,” the man in the suit said as he tied a barber’s cape around Cheng Yue.
“What’s your name?” Cheng Yue suddenly opened his eyes.
“Uh… My name is…”
“Alright, Tony, don’t listen to the other guy. Just don’t cut the front bangs too short. Make it look shorter from the front without actually cutting too much.” Cheng Yue quickly whispered this as Ji Xu wasn’t paying attention.
“I’m not Tony…” The man in the suit glanced nervously at Ji Xu, who was standing not far away, and said, “Is that your brother? His presence is so intimidating, I can’t risk it.”
“You’re too timid. Just be a man and toughen up,” Cheng Yue said, making his final stand for his hair. “Danny, can you…”
Cheng Yue’s voice trailed off as he saw Ji Xu approaching in the mirror.
“Why haven’t you started yet?” Ji Xu asked.
“Right away, right away!” The man in the suit perked up and immediately started cutting.
Once Ji Xu left, Cheng Yue said mournfully, “Kevin, don’t cut it too short…”
“I’m not Kevin…” The man in the suit sighed in resignation.
After at least three washes and blow-dries, Cheng Yue felt like he had a completely new head of hair.
He didn’t dare glance at the mirror and only felt the texture of his hair with his hands. When he no longer felt the soft, familiar hair, he was disheartened.
Ji Xu, sitting on the sofa and watching, noticed Cheng Yue walking toward him with a new look. His eyes brightened slightly.
Cheng Yue’s hair, now dyed black and shorter than before, looked much more refined. Ji Xu had always known Cheng Yue’s skin was quite fair, but now, with the black hair contrasting against it, he looked tidy and gentle, with rosy lips and white teeth.
The new look was on a whole different level compared to his previous yellow hair.
Cheng Yue pouted, took Ji Xu’s cap, and placed it on his own head before turning and exiting the shop.
Ji Xu went to pay and was just about to follow when the man in the suit stopped him.
“The phone of the guest who came with you was left behind.” The man in the suit, blushing with either embarrassment or nervousness, handed over the phone with a face flushed red.
“Thank you.”
Ji Xu took the phone and, after thinking for a moment, asked, “Do kids not like this kind of hairstyle now?”
“Uh… Some like it, some don’t…” The man in the suit answered, nervously pulling out his own phone from his pocket, preparing to ask the tall man for his WeChat ID.
“Sorry for the trouble, Allen,” Ji Xu said and turned to leave.
The man in the suit watched Ji Xu’s retreating figure, his face twitching as he muttered to himself, “My name is… Wang Dawei…”
As Ji Xu stepped out of the shop, he saw Cheng Yue standing on the street with two girls.
The girls, their faces flushed, were asking Cheng Yue for his WeChat ID.
Feeling embarrassed, Cheng Yue rubbed his nose, nodded, and reached into his pocket for his phone but couldn’t find it after searching for a while.
When he turned around, he saw Ji Xu’s shadow under the streetlights, his expression dark and unclear.
Cheng Yue suddenly felt a chill down his back.
