The next day, Lin Yi woke up very early.
Glancing at his hairstyle in the mirror, he couldn't help frowning.
His current hairstyle was indeed a bit ugly—neither attractive nor fresh, and it looked way too thick. As the weather was getting warmer and warmer, he was considering whether he should change his hairstyle.
Forget it, he should study first.
Lin Yi returned to his room, took out the unfinished test paper from last night, and sent photos of the problems he couldn't solve to Yu Shanshan, but he received no reply.
It wasn't until past ten o'clock that Yu Shanshan finally replied with a "?".
"How do you solve these problems?"
"It's Saturday today. Can't we take a day off?"
"No."
"You're so annoying."
"Are you saying you can't do them either?"
"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me. I just want to take a day off."
"Then go rest."
Lin Yi didn't say anything more. According to his agreement with Yu Shanshan, today really wasn't the day to bother her; he might as well wait until he got back to school and look for Sister Wenjing.
A few minutes later, Yu Shanshan's message came through. Lin Yi tapped it open, and the corners of his mouth curved up into a smile.
"Didn't you want to rest?"
"Praise me. T^T"
"You're a tsundere, aren't you?"
"Don't go too far (▼へ▼メ)"
Lin Yi put down his phone and threw himself back into his studies.
Time ticked by bit by bit, and it wasn't until one o'clock in the afternoon that he stood up and stretched lazily.
After finishing lunch, Lin Yi changed his clothes and went out.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter. In the residential area's park, a few little children were playing with bubble blowers, their laughter so cheerful.
Riding his e-bike, Lin Yi looked for a barbershop that didn't look bad. The shop was playing Jay Chou's "Confession Balloon".
"Do you have an appointment?"
As soon as Lin Yi stepped into the shop, a girl with double ponytails walked over.
The girl with double ponytails looked at Lin Yi's hairstyle, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly twice.
"How long do I have to wait?"
Lin Yi's gaze swept back and forth across the shop. All the seats were taken, so this place probably had decent skills.
"You go inside and rest for a moment first."
The double-ponytail girl picked up a booklet from the front desk.
"Oh."
Lin Yi didn't refuse.
About ten minutes passed.
"A seat is open. Have you chosen?"
The double-ponytail girl looked at Lin Yi. If you ignored his hairstyle, the guy in front of her was actually quite handsome.
"Just this one."
Lin Yi pointed to a hairstyle in the booklet. The guy in the booklet had a face shape similar to his and looked pretty good.
"Please wait a moment."
Not long after the double-ponytail girl left, she came back with a hairstylist.
The hairstylist was a young woman in her mid-twenties with ordinary looks, fashionable clothing, and a few letters tattooed on her fingers.
"Where did you get this hair done?"
The hairstylist walked behind Lin Yi, looked at the guy in the mirror, and gently frowned.
"Is there a problem?"
"Your hairstyle does not do your looks justice."
Instead of rushing to work, the hairstylist kept sizing him up in the mirror.
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
"The reality is even more exaggerated than I'm saying. A hairstyle like this shouldn't even be on your head—it completely ruins your good looks."
"..."
Lin Yi desperately wanted to say: I've had this hairstyle for a few years now.
"Any other requests?"
The hairstylist picked up the booklet and glanced at the hairstyle Lin Yi had chosen.
"Make it as easy to manage as possible."
"You're still in school, right?"
"Yeah."
"No wonder you look so fresh."
The hairstylist picked up her scissors, feeling rather excited. It was her first time encountering a customer whose looks were this striking, yet whose hairstyle was this terrible.
Soon, half an hour passed.
"Are you satisfied?"
The hairstylist took out her phone and snapped a direct photo of Lin Yi's profile. Regardless of whether Lin Yi was satisfied, she certainly was.
"Pretty good."
The boy's hair in the mirror was slightly messy yet full of layers. Paired with his sharp facial features, it made it hard for people to look away.
Lin Yi was still a bit surprised. This hairstylist actually had great skills.
"Take him to wash his hair."
The hairstylist snapped her fingers at the double-ponytail girl.
The double-ponytail girl stood off to the side in a daze, completely unresponsive.
The hairstylist called out a second time before the double-ponytail girl finally snapped back to reality.
"Come with me."
Compared to when Lin Yi first walked in, the double-ponytail girl's tone was noticeably much softer.
"Is the water temperature okay?"
The double-ponytail girl's movements were a bit too gentle.
"Yeah."
Lin Yi wasn't quite used to it.
When he got home, it was already past two o'clock. That double-ponytail girl was just way too dawdling—she dragged out washing his hair for a good ten minutes or more.
Lin Yi was still very satisfied with his current hairstyle.
During the two days of the weekend, he spent most of his time studying. His current goal was to get into university through his own ability.
"How come I haven't seen Xiao Yi recently?"
During dinner, Mother Jiang looked at her daughter.
"The college entrance exam is coming up soon, so he must be pretty busy."
Jiang Manni didn't show the slightest bit of abnormality. The two families had always had a good relationship, and Lin Yi used to come over to eat at her house from time to time.
"His parents are both very busy. Find some time to call him over."
"Oh."
Jiang Manni didn't retort. Given their current relationship, Lin Yi definitely wouldn't come.
"Why don't you go take some fish over to Xiao Yi later? The college entrance exam is right around the corner, his nutrition has to keep up."
"He's so grown up, he can take care of himself."
Jiang Manni felt a bit irritated. Lin Yi had made it clear he wanted to draw a clear line between them—was she supposed to throw herself at him?
"You're the same age as him, and I haven't seen you take care of yourself."
"If you want to go, you go. Anyway, I'm not going."
Jiang Manni put down her chopsticks and went straight back to her room.
Looking at her back, Mother Jiang let out a silent sigh.
Back in her room, Jiang Manni directly placed a voice call to Qiyue.
"How come you sound a bit unhappy?"
Qiyue knew Jiang Manni very well.
"It's nothing. Have you figured out where you're going to college?"
With the college entrance exam imminent, Jiang Manni didn't want to be separated from Qiyue. If they could go to the same city, that would be best.
"That depends on the exam scores. There's no use thinking about it now."
"Oh, how has your review been going lately?"
Jiang Manni felt a little disappointed. Qiyue's grades were quite a bit behind hers; the two of them going to the same school was simply impossible.
"As long as I perform normally, getting into a university shouldn't be hard."
With Qiyue's comfort, Jiang Manni's mood improved quite a bit.
Hearing the sounds coming from the room, Mother Jiang subconsciously frowned. Her daughter must have been on the phone with Qiyue.
She didn't like Qiyue. When Qiyue had first moved in, she noticed that the kid had a somewhat calculating mind and was nowhere near as simple as Xiao Yi.
Yet her daughter insisted on gravitating toward Qiyue. She had warned her a few times, but not only did her daughter refuse to listen, she even argued with her, so she couldn't be bothered to say anything more.
No one knows a daughter better than her mother. She understood her daughter's little schemes better than anyone else, and she just hoped it wouldn't affect the college entrance exam.
As the night grew darker, Lin Yi picked up his phone to check the time—it was already approaching two o'clock.
He packed up his things, washed up, and got into bed. In less than five minutes, he was fast asleep.
The next morning, when Lin Yi arrived at school, he distinctly felt that girls were sneaking glances at him from time to time.